Ocmedic build thread

Hey everyone, have not been on for a while mainly due to the fact that I don't have a computer up here but wow are things different here. First off two nights ago it got down to -30 and I wasnt sure if my car was going to start in the morning but sure enough all was good. Secondly its not easy at all to mob through powder, I tried to drive through like 3 feet of it near my house the other day in a field almost couldn't get back out. Guess I should just be patient and wait for spring to start mobbing again. All that said I have a few questions.

First, my sway bar, when I initially did my build it seemed like most people recommend that i remove it do I did. My question is do I really lose that much travel because to be honest I'm not as interested in crawling as I am going to long road trips deep into the mountains on fire roads mostly doing 60-80 mph, but when I try to corner at those speeds or even just turn for that matter I feel like I have very little control. So I guess where Im going with that is if I put my sway bar back on will I still be able to crawl over little stuff if necessary?

Next, ever since I first got up here and went on my first very minor off road adventure I have had this very annoying exhaust rattling. It sounds like it's coming from under the middle of the car but the thing is it only rattles when I am idling in drive, so if it's in park or I'm in drive but using the gas it stops. Has anyone experienced something like this or have any idea what could be wrong?

And lastly the one thing I would still like to get for my car is skid plates. Although a rear bumper w/ a tire carrier would be nice I just don't have enough money and have too many other expenses. But I plan on doing a ton of off roading this summer so I feel like I need them. I'm curious what my options are for skids, the only company I know that makes them is budbuilt, is there more affordable ones than those? Also if I don't want to get all of them in one buy and just want to get one or two at a time should I just start from front to back? Any recommendations on this would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks for the help everyone.
 
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/125636-4th-gen-armor-thread.html

we made an armor thread while you were gone lol it lists all the available(mostly used) fabrication companies and what they offer

if you go with budbuilt yes you purchase front to back with the exclusion of the diff skid you can put that on whenever, but the transfer case skid and gas tank skid and cross member they offer all bolt together.

If your not doing much crawling and major flexing (anything that would involve picking up a tire) you can probably leave the sway bar on to get a bit more control. hope this helps

and that sucks no computer lol
 
For the exhaust rattling I would bet that it's the heatshield for your muffler or cats, I had to remove all of them in my other 4runner
 
Welcome to the COLD!

As far as the sway bar goes, I'd put it back on if I were you. For what you're doing, it seems to be the safest option and you'll be fine to crawl over stuff if you need to with the sway bar... many people do it, but you'll be a little more "tippy" with the reduced travel.

The rattling you're hearing is probably the heat shield above the muffler... I think that's a common rattle. You might not hear it in the summer when temps are warmer. Cold has a tendency to create a lot of creaks, groans, and rattles!

Lastly, your quest for skid plates is what I went through a while ago. Although the BudBuilt skids are awesome, they are more than I need so I bought 4+Plus skid plates through Man-A-Fre. Solid, well built, and provide plenty of protection if you're not doing hard core rock crawling, dragging the belly of your Runner over 3' boulders. I also bought a pair of B.A.M.F. LCA skids to add some more protection.

~Doozi
 
Got a couple new things I have been wondering about. First if your off-roading really hard and going fast over all kinds of stuff do you ever have to worry about the air bags deploying? Are you supposed to turn them off or something?
Also, my car has a minor lean to the left and although its not a huge deal and no one notices it but me it drives me nuts. I assume the solution there is adjusting the front left coilover a bit to raise that side a bit. Is that a difficult job? Should i pay a shop to do it or is it pretty easy?
 
Almost all of the 4Runners have the driver side lean. I corrected mine by raising my drivers front coilover 1/4" or so. Took about 15 min with adjuster wrench. Just spray a little wd-40 on the threads before you adjust them.
 
OCMEDIC said:
Got a couple new things I have been wondering about. First if your off-roading really hard and going fast over all kinds of stuff do you ever have to worry about the air bags deploying? Are you supposed to turn them off or something?
Also, my car has a minor lean to the left and although its not a huge deal and no one notices it but me it drives me nuts. I assume the solution there is adjusting the front left coilover a bit to raise that side a bit. Is that a difficult job? Should i pay a shop to do it or is it pretty easy?
Click to expand...


Hope all is well Ocmedic!
For the air bag question- I researched this a bit myself and from my understanding of the information about the air bags they wont deploy from this type of hard driving (unless of course you swipe a tree hard enough)

Can you adjust your coil-overs by 1/4 or so?

Also- did you ever find a solution for the exhaust rattle? I had a Jeep Cherokee that had similar issues and ultimately it was the catalytic converter- I found this after a chunk went through the pipes, became lodged in and the Jeep wouldn't rev over 3kRPM.

Hope this helps or at least you have fixed it already. Post some more pics of Idaho when you get a chance.
 
So I'm back in California and had a chance to finally do some good wheeling where I was flexing a pretty good amount and I found out the body mounts have to go immediately. Anyone know someone in socal that may be willing to help me or do it for cheap? If not I will just have to pay some shop to do it. Also this may be a silly question but what does it mean when you are giving the car gas and you lose traction and the power temporarily cuts out? I experienced this briefly in the snow when accelerating on ice but more so when I was going up this mountain the other night, it seems like all you have to do is let off the gas completely and then go again. Is this what lockers fixes? Another thing is there any way to put my car in 4low without it beeping constantly?

Feel like I have a lot of questions but this was the first time briefly seeing what my car could do and it was way more fun then I expected, can't wait to get back out there after dealing with my body mounts.
 
I used to not really be feeling 35's but now I have changed my mind and decided I want to change my wheels and tires. My question is will a Body Lift be necessary in order to run these or can I get away with it with my OW 2.5 setup? To be honest I really like the look of that Rough Country lift that Satanos just installed and thinking that could be an option.
 
OCMEDIC said:
I used to not really be feeling 35's but now I have changed my mind and decided I want to change my wheels and tires. My question is will a Body Lift be necessary in order to run these or can I get away with it with my OW 2.5 setup? To be honest I really like the look of that Rough Country lift that Satanos just installed and thinking that could be an option.
Click to expand...

in searching around here and on toyota 120, i dont think anyone has accomplished 35's without a body lift, or front/rear bumpers for extra clearance, if you could crank up the coilovers enough to fit them, the ride wouldnt be great. a body lift or what satanos did will be the easiest option
 
OCMEDIC said:
I used to not really be feeling 35's but now I have changed my mind and decided I want to change my wheels and tires. My question is will a Body Lift be necessary in order to run these or can I get away with it with my OW 2.5 setup? To be honest I really like the look of that Rough Country lift that Satanos just installed and thinking that could be an option.
Click to expand...

That DB lift won't compare to your OW setup unless you replace those enormous spacers with coilovers meant for 6" lifts. At which point it would be more worth it to just go LT imo.

wnelax04sr5 said:
in searching around here and on toyota 120, i dont think anyone has accomplished 35's without a body lift, or front/rear bumpers for extra clearance, if you could crank up the coilovers enough to fit them, the ride wouldnt be great. a body lift or what satanos did will be the easiest option
Click to expand...

I think Demello runs 35's with no body lift, no build thread though.
 
kkz said:
That DB lift won't compare to your OW setup unless you replace those enormous spacers with coilovers meant for 6" lifts. At which point it would be more worth it to just go LT imo.



I think Demello runs 35's with no body lift, no build thread though.
Click to expand...

redswan is running 34's without a body lift, remote resis and a front bumper though
 
If you don't mind losing some clearance, the Rough Country lift with King or Icon 6" Coilovers made for the Tacoma would be your best option for running 35s. You could also save a lot by selling your Radflo 2.5"s. Although Long Travel would be nice too
 
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