raKnizek's 2000 SR5 Maintenance and Build

[raKnizek]

Hey everyone,

This is going to be very slow going for me initially as far as any modifications to my 4Runner but I would like to document things as I go. The primary focus is restoration and maintenance and of course enjoying it.

2000
5-speed manual
V6
4x4
No rear locker
Leather interior
Full TRD stainless headers and cat-back exhaust
Purchased July 2016
96k miles to start

Current-ish Pictures. Not much has changed visually over the last few years: ~128,000 miles as of Jan 2022

I purchased this 2000 SR5 in July 2016 in North Carolina with 96k on the clock. The truck was in pretty immaculate shape, just dirty. It was clearly taken care of and did not show signs of any abuse or even off-road use. The major flaw with this vehicle is that its maintenance history is basically non existent. After looking over the vehicle and driving it as much as I could I took the risk. I am the third owner and it has spent its life in GA, NC, and now SC.



Here is how it looked the day I got it. I managed to get the seller to toss in the roof basket he had on a different 4Runner. As you can see it also came with a front bull bar.

After some cleaning and detailing:

 

[raKnizek]

The following items I did almost immediately and don't have much in the way of pictures but it is nothing new.


Right away I replaced all the fluids in the vehicle including bleeding the brakes and flushing the PS fluid.

I used MT90 for the transmission and Toyota red for coolant. I used generic fluids for the diffs and transfer case.

Timing belt service with all OEM parts including new WP, belts, and bearings. I did not replace cam seals as they were in fine shape. I needed to create a service tool to undo the crank bolt.

Next I replaced the LBJs with OEM parts. The existing parts looked okay but there was no way I was risking that!

Lastly I replaced spark plugs, plug wires, PVC, and the air filter. These were all original aside from the air filter.

 

[raKnizek]

After about 1000 miles of ownership I noticed the leaking rear axle seals. It is possible I bought it this way and did not notice as it was a very minimal leak. Fluid was not sprayed all over the place as I have seen with some. Just the lower half of the backside of the drums were damp. Had a friend assist with replacing the seals. I was lucky enough to be able to turn down the braking surface on the drums and just replace the shoes. I used the store brand parts from Oreilly's and they fit well and work fine.

 

[raKnizek]

The first non-maintenance item I did was removing the running boards. This was within days of owning it! Changed the look but because this has the skinny black SR5 flares I ended up with the flairs abruptly ended before the rockers.

Here is what that looks like

As a temporary solution I removed the plastic piece from the running boards that connects them to the flairs. I trimmed them to give a more finished appearance. However this did nothing for protecting the body work and paint. That is visible in the first picture

 

[raKnizek]

Did a little restoration of the flairs and rear mud flaps. I removed them from the vehicle and cleaned them with some all-purpose cleaner. Then I gave them 3-4 coats of some trim restoration paint. They turned out great and have been holding up very well so far. I also shot the center caps as all they paint was faded and chipped from those.

 

[raKnizek]

Next I had to remove this door guard trim that was only present on the passenger side when I bought it. Unfortunately it had been there so long and with such intense tape that the clearcoat underneath did not fare so well. The previous owner removed it on the driver side and stopped so I either had to find matching parts or take it off the other side and deal with the side effect. I really don't like the look of them so I decided to remove. I have since done some not-so-great touchup that improved it some.

 

[raKnizek]

The previous owner included a factory foglight kit with the sale that they never got around to installing.

This is the kit that comes with a rocker switch and you have to splice in the wires. Not the way I would prefer to do it but for the time being I have working fog lights!

 

[raKnizek]

This is the first time I took it in any dirt. Probably 2 weeks into ownership I took it on Horse Pasture road overlooking Lake Jocasee in NC/SC. It really is just a dirt road. Only put it in 4WD once and that was more so I could feel accomplished.

I learned quickly that driving with the rear window down on a dusty road produces a layer of dust over the entire interior.

All stock suspension by the way.

Drive up this wall they said...

 

[raKnizek]

Tires were the first upgrade I did.

I got General Grabber AT2. Size 265/75/R16 Load Range E

I was able to get an excellent deal on these tires through a personal contact who deals with General/Continental tires specifically. Wanting to take advantage of the discount my options were quite limited so that is how I ended up with this specific tire. E rating was my only option in that size. They are certainly stiffer than the highway tires I had but overall I am very happy with them. Traction seems endless and they are not too loud. That being said next time I will go with a softer sidewall to reduce the harshness. So far even on stock suspension I have not experienced any rubbing

 

[raKnizek]

Did a beach cruise in OBX. My dad made sure to stay in my tire tracks with that Jeep Cherokee!

PS: Wash your 4Runner over and under after driving on an ocean beach

 

[raKnizek]

I took it for a spin up Hurricane Creek trail in NC. I believe this is when I officially got addicted to my 4Runner. Couldn't believe how easily I was chugging along with an essentially stock truck. The trail is certainly nothing crazy but for me it was a big thrill. I should mention that while I am no stranger to cars in general, this is the first four wheel drive truck I have owned personally.

Water crossing as you enter off the highway

Second water crossing

 

[raKnizek]

Added an LED strip to the interior hatch trim. I wired it to the dome light so it comes on when you open the hatch. I ran the wires under the weather stripping for the rear window and into the interior where the hatch harness enters.

I am extremely pleased with the results of this. It took less than an hour to install and less than $20. I ordered the waterproof LEDs off Amazon and used clear silicon adhesive to mount the strip. So far so good. I chose a more natural white so it wasn't as jarring at night. Ideally this helps when packing/unpacking at night or rigging up a fishing pole in the back. The first time I tested it I was loading groceries in a parking lot. When I opened the hatch it was so bright I got some looks from the fellow food enthusiasts around me.

 

[raKnizek]

I lost my previous car to rust. I am from upstate NY originally and that car spent the majority of its life there. Any signal of rust I see on the 4Runner gets attacked full force. The first instance was a few areas where the SR5 flares rubbed off the paint over time and some rust pitting was forming. I ordered some touch-up paint and primer and spot sanded the areas until it was clean metal.

This may not be the best way to approach this from an aesthetics standpoint but ill tell you first hand rust is far uglier and catastrophic than a few paint blemishes.

Passenger side rust pits

Driver side was not as bad

Sanding

Primed

I also treated a few spots on the pinch welds (during the process shot)

 

[raKnizek]

I was following a very slight oil leak for a while and sourced it to the valve cover gaskets. As these leak it tends to travel down the backside of the engine. I was noticing it collecting on the bottom of the bell housing, on the front skid plate, and even the steering rack boots.

I used toyota parts and replaced the valve cover gaskets, spark plug seals, half moons, cam plugs, and finished with new washer gaskets.

Not knowing the maintenance history I was nervous about what I might find under the covers. Luckily it was this:

Notice the tape around the plastic wire loom cover. As others have mentioned in the past, this is a must do. Sure enough they wanted to shatter into a million pieces. This saved said pieces from falling into the heads.

 

[raKnizek]

Local 4Runner meet outside the Tile and Carpet center.

 

[raKnizek]

LED swap

Swapped my interior bulbs for green LEDs.

I liked the green color I just wanted it to be brighter primarily.

I used the chart thoughtfully put together by a member here to select the bulb type for my year.

I used these from Autolumination.com:
You can select the base type from the drop down.

Overall a great bulb that is extremely bright and seems well made. However I ran into a few issues along the way. The bulb was too long for the key ring so I had to stick with the existing incandescent bulb. Not a big deal. They are so bright that I ended up with some hot spots that you can see in the pictures. I know most people experience this with LEDs. Lastly, it ended up washing out the reds and blues on the gauges (redline) and HVAC controls. Not a huge deal but it could look better. The green color itself is great.

This is on nearly the lowest setting and this picture is in a parking garage during the day. I used to have the brightness on full with the original bulbs.

This is LEDs on full :flame:

Here is a good comparison of the old green (clock) and the new LED green. This is full brightness. You can also see how washout the red and blue of the HVAC knob became.

 

[raKnizek]

ScanGauge

I am a sucker for data and was wanting one of these for a while. The truck came with a set of Flexalite electric fans installed so my primary motivation was to monitor temperature. The fans seem to work great but without installing them myself I needed to have reassurance.

The second motivator was gas millage. The first road trip I did I averaged 18-19 mpg. Highway 99% of the way. Even after all that maintenance I felt this was lacking. I discovered by taking the roof basket off that not only is it WAY quieter inside, but now I can easily get 21 mpg highway. I have even seen it above that on occasion.

My requirements for mounting the gauge were that it had to be legible without taking my eyes off the road. This eliminated anywhere on the center stack. I also wanted a very solid mount. In other words, I didn't want it to move around as I pushed the buttons. This eliminated the velcro mounts supplied with it.

I ended up mounting it to the overhead console. I had to sacrifice the sunglass holder but I was okay with this.

1. First I removed the overhead console (one screw) and pulled out the roll pins holding the door to the console.
2. Determined the location at the rear of the console. It happens to be angled nicely downwards if you push the gauge all the way to the back. Roughly a 45 degree angle.
3. I drilled a hole in the back of the console large enough to pass the cable through and plug it into the gauge.
4. Drilled 4 small holes in the ScanGauge case (take it apart first!) and 4 matching holes in the rear of the console. These are for zip ties.
5. I apologize for the lack of pictures on this part as it was the most difficult during this project. I had to progressively feed the zip ties through the gauge as I tightened them from the inside of the console.
6. I ran the cable through the headliner and behind the A-pillar trim so it is completely hidden. I had to extend the cable by a foot or so using a female-female coupler and extra cable.

 

[raKnizek]

Undercoating

I am moving back to NY soon as I finish up my degree in SC. I will likely be in MI soon after as I am in the automotive industry. Ill be damned if I don't do all I can to keep this truck as spotless and rust free as it is now.

I spent way too much time researching the best method to go about protecting the undercarriage from rust and salt. My belief is this:

Best solution: POR15 (or similar) on the entire frame, topcoat, fluid film over top.
This will give the most comprehensive protection for the longest time. The downside is mainly the cost. It can also be a bit messy but I doubt any of us here worry about that!

Medium solution: Fluid film all over. This will not 'cure' any existing rust or even really stop it per say. What it will do when applied correctly is prevent salt and snow from sticking. If you are starting with a clean frame this can help prevent the rust from even starting in the first place. The downside is that you need to apply it every year and it makes it messy to work on. However it is cheap and effective. This should be combined with flushing out the frame rails every so often.

Not ideal: Wire-wheeling the rust and using a converter and top coat (such as rustoleum). This was the method I originally thought I would take but from my research everyone experienced the rust returning shortly after and even worse than when they started. Basically the rust converter products don't do a completely thorough job so it just comes back. Again, this is only based on my reading so there could very well be other methods and better products available.


Here is how my frame looks after the Fluid Film. Unfortunately I had to use a bunch of the spray cans since my tools are limited at the moment. If you can swing it, use a compressor and spray gun.

 

[raKnizek]

Went back to Horse Pasture Rd. for a nice fall view.

 

[raKnizek]

Front mud flaps

I check the local pull-a-part site every once in a while for SR5s that might have the front mud flaps that I am missing. Sure enough today I see an image of one that has them. Its pretty smashed up and the image is only of the driver side so I had no idea if the other side was there, or if someone else already beat me to it. I struck gold today with this. Both there in good shape. $6.50 out the door for both.

I ended up taking the trimmed pieces off a few weeks back so this is how I was riding:

Now:

I cleaned them up and gave them a few coats of the same trim paint I used on the flairs and they are good to go. Bolted right up.

The General Grabbers pick up and throw stones quite a bit. Maybe that is obvious but I was not expecting it. I am hoping this will help keep rocks from hitting the bottoms of the rockers and doors.