Pearl's mod/build LT rear/DK +3.5 LT/Custom Baja Bumper/Thorley Headers/Manual T-case

[4RunnerAquasport]

Bought a cheap catch can, since the Moroso I bought for the 5th gen years ago has gone up, costing over $200.

This one was easier to mount anyway. Plenty of clearance to empty it, and I can still pull the front spark plug.

When I installed the 06' (used) plastic intake plenum, I scrubbed the crap out of the runners to clean all the carbon build up. So I figured the catch can might help keep them carbon free.

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

DRT cab mount relocation getting installed.

Timbo's Customs
Auburndale, Florida

He's done several dozen of these and a good dude.

I put this off way too long, as the OEM mounts were butchered when I bought it.

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

Not just a chop, DRT completely relocates your cab mount.

The other thing I like is the backing plate that gets welded to the frame, instead of just the mount itself.

Other relocation kits were cracking the thinner Tacoma frames after awhile, so DRT designed a way to reinforce and spread the load across a broader portion of the frame.

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

Still working on my idea for the rear suspension. 14" Triple Bypass w piggyback reservoirs in the first pic, is what I started with because I got a deal on them last year.

But they won't work because of clearance between the res and the frame at full bump, so I converted them to remotes. First I had to disassemble them, and pull the resi off the fittings. Then I had Apex Fabrication tig weld a JIC fitting on to the old fitting and had some -10 hoses made.

Also bought some shock mounts from Ruff Stuff. Going to try an idea one of the Cali members had years ago, where he frenched the the old shock mount structure.
Not sure if I can find a way to use all of the 14" of travel, but others have pulled it off on the 120 frame before. I installed the FJ tank to gain more droop, so I think avoiding an intrusion into the cab will be the main limiting factor.

 

[aemravan]

I've seen some rear mounts frenched into the frame on a few builds, definitely doable. Are you against having to clearance into the cab a little? I did see a couple of builds that had to clearance into the cab, but nothing that a little sheetmetal work afterwards didn't cover up. Are you against going into the cab at all? I certainly wouldn't want exposed shocks in mine, but a mild recess that could be fabricated over afterwards wouldn't be a deal breaker for me.

full 14" of travel would be pretty sweet

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

I've seen some rear mounts frenched into the frame on a few builds, definitely doable. Are you against having to clearance into the cab a little? I did see a couple of builds that had to clearance into the cab, but nothing that a little sheetmetal work afterwards didn't cover up. Are you against going into the cab at all? I certainly wouldn't want exposed shocks in mine, but a mild recess that could be fabricated over afterwards wouldn't be a deal breaker for me.

full 14" of travel would be pretty sweet

Yea, not sure if I can get the up travel for the full 14", not without a lot of fab work. I think the droop this suspension is capable of might work though.

I've seen different mounts done w hoops and frenched in the frame. [MENTION=87687]LTDSC[/MENTION] is the first person I found that did this. Cailifab developed a 3 link w a similar mounting set up recently, but Sam fabbed his a long time ago, ironically w Califab links. These are the shock mounts that he used on his 4th gen. 2nd pic is the mock up stage of his build from years ago.

 

[aemravan]

It's certainly a lot of work.. I had aspirations of doing this to my rig soon-ish, but now it looks like it will be a distant project, if I hold onto it long term.

Can't wait to see yours together man! Particularly on the rack update and how it does/feels highspeed offroad.

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

It's certainly a lot of work.. I had aspirations of doing this to my rig soon-ish, but now it looks like it will be a distant project, if I hold onto it long term.

Can't wait to see yours together man! Particularly on the rack update and how it does/feels highspeed offroad.

Well I hope you hang on to it. That would be a shame, but life happens.

As far as the rear axle, I am scared to death lol. Once the cuttin wheel gets fired up and the oem shock mount gets tossed, there ain't no turning back. I just have to take my time. Cycling a suspension on a sloped drive way is no fun either.

I put the cvj oem rack back in for now. The 200 rack had way too much bump steer, and the used Tundra rack I have needs to be modified still.
This brand new 200 w custom bushing is ready to go cheap if anyone wants it....

The suspension is starting to settle in and the steering is beginning to loosen up some. With a larger reservoir and some lucas additive in the fluid, it's doing ok.

LT takes some getting used to on the hwy of course, but it ain't for the faint of heart either.
I've had this thing jump a foot to one side or the other at 70 mph when coming off a bridge transition.

I'm hoping to get some more caster soon to help with tracking, but my favorite tech at Firestone retired....
She is sitting at just over 4* now and there is a tight balance between pulling +5* caster and still having tolerable toe and camber numbers. A lot of techs have trouble doing this.

I also wonder if the front diff always spinning with out being powered creates opposing forces when the front goes into negative weight situations like bridge transitions and construction ruts or bumps.

Rutted out 2 lane trucker roads aren't really much fun either lol.

I do have to also add,
The Anti Rock was some of the best money I've spent on this thing. Between the bypass slow speed compression on the front and the Anti Rock in the back, it corners really well. Better than the stock length TC setup I had before.

 

[aemravan]

Well I hope you hang on to it. That would be a shame, but life happens.

As far as the rear axle, I am scared to death lol. Once the cuttin wheel gets fired up and the oem shock mount gets tossed, there ain't no turning back. I just have to take my time. Cycling a suspension on a sloped drive way is no fun either.

I put the cvj oem rack back in for now. The 200 rack had way too much bump steer, and the used Tundra rack I have needs to be modified still.
This brand new 200 w custom bushing is ready to go cheap if anyone wants it....

The suspension is starting to settle in and the steering is beginning to loosen up some. With a larger reservoir and some lucas additive in the fluid, it's doing ok.

LT takes some getting used to on the hwy of course, but it ain't for the faint of heart either.
I've had this thing jump a foot to one side or the other at 70 mph when coming off a bridge transition.

I'm hoping to get some more caster soon to help with tracking, but my favorite tech at Firestone retired....
She is sitting at just over 4* now and there is a tight balance between pulling +5* caster and still having tolerable toe and camber numbers. A lot of techs have trouble doing this.

I also wonder if the front diff always spinning with out being powered creates opposing forces when the front goes into negative weight situations like bridge transitions and construction ruts or bumps.

Rutted out 2 lane trucker roads aren't really much fun either lol.

I do have to also add,
The Anti Rock was some of the best money I've spent on this thing. Between the bypass slow speed compression on the front and the Anti Rock in the back, it corners really well. Better than the stock length TC setup I had before.

I feel you on the sloped driveway man... I'm in the same exact boat... it is sketchy as hell doing anything really.. I have to double and triple check before pulling anything off to make sure I'm not dropping the thing by accident, or even worse, have it run away towards my neighbors house lol. If I had a dedicated garage space with a lift it would make life SO much easier with these projects..

I am with you 100% not being for the feint of heart haha. I feel the same with my rig but over the last 4-5 months I have definitely gotten more used to it, even with the added bump steer.

I have wondered a similar thing with front diff in 2wd without the ADD disconnect.. surely it can't help to have 0 power going through the front diff, with different wheel speeds (ie: spider gears doing work) cycling suspension, etc. It's hard to judge.. but now that i"m in True 2wd with both front axles out, it does feel less "bulky" up front while driving around town.

Running the LC200 rack I'm running will certainly keep me from going LT, unless I also want to switch over to the tundra rack like you, and realistically.. if I do anything crazy from this point, it will likely end up with a 3-link SAS swap up front with a matching junkyard axle to go in the rear with something similar as far as the shock mount.

You at least seem on track and decided with what you want out of your rig, on mine I have no idea what I actually want (since need is a strong word.. and i dont NEED it to do anything different it does now lol). Absolute end-goal for me with mine would be some junkyard chevy 14 bolt axles, 4-link rear/3-link front, ORI struts, atlast t-case on 37-39" tires.. mainly just because..

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

mainly just because..

LOL yep, that would be a good enough reason for me.

I think the 37" beast mode w dual SAS would make you the happiest in the type of terrain/camping that's closest to you in NC.

Obviously with suspension tech getting better everyday, the ultra 4 guys have proven you can tune those things to have the best of crawling ability and speed in humps, so there is no reason you couldn't do the same on your rig.

If I had the money and means, this would be a project in my near future also.

 

[aemravan]

LOL yep, that would be a good enough reason for me.

I think the 37" beast mode w dual SAS would make you the happiest in the type of terrain/camping that's closest to you in NC.

Obviously with suspension tech getting better everyday, the ultra 4 guys have proven you can tune those things to have the best of crawling ability and speed in humps, so there is no reason you couldn't do the same on your rig.

If I had the money and means, this would be a project in my near future also.

Yea.. I don't really see getting rid of it. It may turn out to be a long-term, way down the road project, but I have full intention of having a SAS toyota at one point in my life.. my problem is I like to tinker and do things myself (I'm also too cheap to pay someone lol) so I don't see just buying one .. plus I like the unique aspect of my build so who knows. I agree that suspension technology has come a tremendous way.. with the right geometry on the linkage, you could still retain a decent level of streetability with the SAS. Hell.. while I'm at it, maybe it would be a good time to throw in the 5.7L tundra v8 to really turn those 37"+ tires :lookout:

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

Yea.. I don't really see getting rid of it. It may turn out to be a long-term, way down the road project, but I have full intention of having a SAS toyota at one point in my life.. my problem is I like to tinker and do things myself (I'm also too cheap to pay someone lol) so I don't see just buying one .. plus I like the unique aspect of my build so who knows. I agree that suspension technology has come a tremendous way.. with the right geometry on the linkage, you could still retain a decent level of streetability with the SAS. Hell.. while I'm at it, maybe it would be a good time to throw in the 5.7L tundra v8 to really turn those 37"+ tires :lookout:

Might as well back half and cage it too.....:jump:

 

[aemravan]

I know I've probably shared this before... but talk about dream build! Just in a different gen T4R lol
Meet Jason From RSG and His T40R, A 5.7L V8 SAS 5th Gen 4Runner

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

I know I've probably shared this before... but talk about dream build! Just in a different gen T4R lol
Meet Jason From RSG and His T40R, A 5.7L V8 SAS 5th Gen 4Runner

I remember that truck when he first swapped in the front axle and put 40s on it and it still had the 1GR engine.

What an incredibly difficult puzzle that 5.7 swap must be.
Jason does some bad ass stuff.

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

Drivers floor pan had soaking wet carpet the other day, squeezed about a pint of water out of it.
Thought maybe two days of driving rain might be the culprit, but I noticed the AC drain isn't dripping.
Rubber tube is clear, so I tried a 4' piece of plastic strip in the drain where it connects to the hose.
I can hear it rattle around inside the evap housing but nothing shook loose, so I buttoned it up and it started to drain again.
Now yesterday it stopped draining again.
Really don't want to tear this dash apart.......
Anyone have experience with this? Any ideas would be appreciated.

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

I finally got a chance to push the suspension hard enough to realize my suspicions that the rear will never keep up until I can upgrade it.

Hitting a close together set of whoops any larger than 2' sends this thing into "bucking mule" mode.

I pushed it pretty good for about 15-20 minutes and felt the heat of the shocks all around.

C/Os and triples up front-ice cold, the rear shock bodies were almost too hot to touch and I could feel them fade after about 10 minutes. The rears aren't holding the full nitrogen pressure of 150 psi, dropping to about 75 after a little while, so after 4 years of abuse they need a rebuild.

Truck handles good offroad, so I'm pretty happy with the DK kit so far.

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

I've been cycling the rear suspension today, really not sure my plan is gonna work out. There are several limiting factors for travel, on top of my lacking knowledge on this subject.

So in case I have to put it back like it was, I'm rebuilding the smoothies.
They will only hold about 70psi of nitrogen, and were fading pretty quick out on the trail. Oil is pretty much cooked from the looks of it. It got pretty frothy when I pulled the piston. A little bit of cavitation is normal but foam is no bien.

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

Upon further investigation and research, I believe these smoothies were WAY under valved. On top of needing a rebuild and this weak tune, these poor things could never keep up. Ordered some shim stacks from Kartek and will make some changes.

Happy New Year Everybody!!

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

The problem with working on your build during the holidays is ordering specialty parts and expecting them to get delivered in a reasonable amount of time. So while I await the arrival of my valve shims (luckily the guys at Kartek got them sent out on Friday), I decided to do some house work.

Wet sanded the shock bodies with 1500 and simple green lol. Worked pretty good. They ain't beautiful, but it took the worst of the corrosion and discoloring out. I'm going to hit them with a light coat of engine clear and see if that holds up.

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

Also want to remind everyone to protect them shocks, at least on the rear. I swear by these Pro Comps just zip tied to the lower mount and the shock body. They have stayed in tack and have no rips or tears, and did their job pretty well because there is no scaring or pitting on the chrome.

2nd pic is from my 5th gen rebuild back in 19'. These were unusable and now they cost $65 just for one. Although ugly, the rod ends could have been reused w new heims and spacers.