Ripcord's 2002 4Runner Sport Ed.

[Brian757]

Ripcord!!!
WTF dude! I really enjoyed your company here on T4R, and its a shame that beauty is gone. Wish you luck in the future man.

I can't wait to see your future build bud.

 

[the great him]

Jim, man hold on a sec before you start tearing into this thing...

think about what is going on, and what has happened and what you have replaced in the last 6months... you take the truck off road, you wheel it, it will break, you will expose weak links everytime you up grade one part but no the whole truck... every vehicle manufacture designs their vehicles to have weak links or failure points. typically they are easy(relative term i know) and not cost exorbitant parts. but when you start up grading parts it puts stress' in other areas that might not have other wise failed.

4wheeling in general and rock crawling specifically is a sport that sees a lot of carnage not only to the physical appearance of your vehicle but to its components that are not seen as well... while you have taken care to build a rig that is capable and looks nice, you are still not immune to failures. below is a quote im taking from my post regarding the Lotus Development axles and the discussion over there about the cost and the point of them...

so what if you move the breaking point somewhere else, that just means its time to up grade that item next. look if you install a nice set of gears on a ARB diff and these axles i really dont think your are gonna be breaking too much, and if you do, i think its time you start looking a an SAS... our rigs are very capable as they sit stock, so you wheel it a bit. but you become limited on where you can go because you dont have a lift or big tires. so you put bigger tires on it, lift it up a few inches, and put some extra weight on the rig and now you have exposed the CVs as the weak point, but you are now able to get further down the trail and into new terrain that you other wise before could not access. so you know where your limit is and have fun with what you have. and once that gets old and its not "fun" any more, then you upgrade to these axles... then you get out and do more trails once again, going further and new things that you hadn't previously been able to do... then you find out that the diff and or the gears you have are holding you back, because you break that. well at this point you upgrade that to a stronger unit like an ARB, or the likes. then get back out on the trail and see what you can do and where you can go... if you break that stuff its time to seriously look at the SAS or getting a different rig.

bottom line if you are into this sport enough to be breaking CVs enough to justify getting these, or you enjoy wheeling enough to toss in a couple of ARBs in your rig then you probably really dont care about the the $500 a stick for these bab boys, and you have been waiting for something like this to come along so you can run your trails with out swapping CVs every 40min...

i for one have not spent a lot of time or intrest in putting an ARB up front just cause i know ill snap CVs left and right, but now with this out on the market, i might be changing my song and dance... i do not want to SAS my runner, i like the nice ride of the IFS, and besides i already have a SA truck... i think for most of us who actually wheel our rigs this is just the thing we have been looking for. PROPS to LD for making a set and getting them out there on the market.

are they unbreakable no, i dont think so, i mean hell ARBs are strong, and some would say they are unbreakable, but i can tell you from first hand experience that thats not true, but they also stand behind their product too... i dont think a company as small as Lotus will hang someone out to dry, they have too much riding on their products, and dont have the name like ARB, or Warn, or Toyota to tell someone "sucks for you pal, buy another set..." thats just poor customer service and i dont think they have a big enough market to start hanging their customers out to dry... not saying they are gonna bend over backwards to fix your stupidity but im sure they will work with legitimate failures if they happen.

yeah the price is kinda high, but two of these are the cost of one ARB locker... just sayin

now while you dont have the LDAs or and some of the points i addressed in that post are specific to that topic, most of it carries over and reflects my comments about you exposing weak links in your own rig. not to say that some of the failures you have experienced are ones that are common or are typical, because i think some of them have just been bad luck, like this read diff you dont strike me as a guy who is rough on things and abusive to his rig.

what im trying to say here is that cost wise you have already spent the money to up grade this rig to where its at, you will no way get that money back, sure you might get some back but not all. and selling the rig, you have continually put more miles on this truck and every day it will lose more and more of its value as it ages and you drive it -you already have one of the lower mileage rigs here, and its the last year model... my advice -take it or leave it its not my money or life(not trying to sound like a dick so please dont take it like so), is to keep the rig, repair it/upgrade it as needed, its not like you are planning on making this a king of the hammers rig, so its not going to be extreme or cost that much more money to make it a bullet proof rig for your needs and wants. your rig is already very dependable(yes i know its had to be towed home a few times and i realize the irony in my comment). but yeah you dont have that much more to do, to make this truck bullet proof reliable and not have to worry about breaking things. i would how ever, think about buying a small economical vehicle for daily driving to save on gas and something that you can drive while your rig is down for upgrades... just my thoughts on this and felt i should state them before you make your final decision.

 

[steezemcqueen]

^Excellent post. Issac, you really have a way of getting a good point across.

Jim,

I don't want to tell you want to do since it is your rig and your money. If you remember, i actually had the same plan a couple years ago. Please just do me one favor though. Fix the diff and hang on to the truck for a little longer. I know breaking shit really sucks but give it a little time before you throw in the towel. I know a bunch of people that say selling their 3rd gen was a huge regret. [MENTION=8329]MillerPKA[/MENTION]

I do see your point though. It was easier for me to say screw it and continue wheeling mine since it is already kind of a POS.

Good luck with what ever you decide to do and like i said in Moab, just give me a call if you need help sourcing a diff.

 

[SCRunner12]

I understand his want to sell the 4runner. I love wheeling my 4runner, but I'm hesitant to beat on it or end up stranded. They are nice vehicles and while I'm not worried about body damage, I will be selling mine one day and that person will. Plus it sucks having the thought that if you mess up your 4runner wheeling you will have to figure out what to do the next day to transportation. If I had the cash I'd retire my 2000 from wheeling and get a beat 1st gen. It just makes more sense since you can modify and wheeling it a lot more extreme than your DD and not having to worry about messing it up for an extended period.

Jim, GLWS and throw some links to your new builds when they begin. Also I'll get that diff out to you tomorrow so she is back on the road.

 

[Dirtco]

x2 with the above two posts by The Kid and Dylan!

Wheeling is going to break stuff, no way around it without upgrading and then it moves that weak point to another place. A lot of your breakage was when your rear upper links broken, which took out out your driveshaft, links, shocks and gas tank. It was a shitty deal. The spider gears in the front diff are a known weak point, not much you can do except ARB it.

I'm with Dylan on this, fix the rear diff and wait a few weeks before you make any rash decisions. Trust me! There have been many times I almost sold my rigs because I was all pissed off from breaking something. You have a great all around rig, your not going to find a much better all around platform out there. Maybe it's time to scale back the trails your running and just enjoy being out on the trail? I was running the hardest trails in Colorado in my last rigs and things broke, it also became more stressful than enjoyable. So I built my current rig and made a clear choice to not run the hardest stuff, just go out and have fun!

A full on crawler is fun, but without a tow rig and trailer I wouldn't build one. Stuff will still break, and you still have to find a way to get it home. Give yourself a couple weeks to clear your head, then we can talk more! :

Edit - Also, don't forget how long it took you to get to this point! It's a lot of work starting over, ask me how I know! If after a couple weeks you feel the same way, and your willing to start at page 1, then go ahead and do it. I just don't want you to regret it and and give up on the hobby.

 

[smallfry]

All kidding aside I have to agree with the above posts. I just went though this very thing a little over two weeks and about bought 100 series because of issues I was having with my 4runner.

When you look back at the time and money that you have into your 4runner it be very difficult to make it back if at all then your starting over with a new rig and a second vehicle on top of that to daily drive. Like others have said fix what is broken and scale back a bit on the trail difficulties. Stuff happens when you wheel it's a part of sport.

 

[JWaldz]

Jim man, I hope you get this figured out. I would hate to see you let go of such a gorgeous rig and see you out of the game. I myself have been debating dropping out of the game for a few years while I focus on my work career. I just know that the friends I've made here and my local offroad family is something I can't just give up. I love my 4Runner to death despite the problems and breakage here and there. I know I would forever be sad and regretful to see it go. I understand your situation though and I hope you get it all worked out.

 

[Dous]

I have found that the best way to get over the fact that you think the rig is "too nice to wheel" is to go beat in the body panels on rocks.

Worked for me anyway :rockon:

 

[the great him]

ok so i talked to the wife, and she said no on the SC, so there, now you dont have to part out the runner man, you get to keep it, see how easy that was. this way EVERYONE is happy! :trophy:


on a side note, if you do decide to sell and part out i am seriously interested in your yakima rack setup, i need a rack system for my new bike and yeah -so passing on the SC and intern calling dibbs on the rack system

 

[farmerjon]

So sorry to hear this man, but I get it - there's a season for everything...

But, I am NOT happy. First [MENTION=63060]rickashay[/MENTION] and now you.

I agree with the others, fix the diff and wait a bit, what do you have to lose by waiting a few weeks?

Hope it all works out well for ya.

 

[the great him]

another thing you might want to do, is trade cars with a budy for a couple of weeks, do you have any friends who have a vehicle with a value similar to yours runner, and someone you know who takes care of their things and is responsible?... trade with them use of your vehicles for a couple of weeks, and see if you really miss your runner.

i know for me i will every know and again the the idea to sell and try something else or start over with another vehicle ect... but each year i have this thing called AT(annual training) its usually 2-3weeks long and i am stuck driving other vehicles -GSAs and humvee's... by the time i get back home, i can not wait to get into my own vehicle and drive it, then once im back in it and going down the road, i feel like a dumbass for ever thinking about selling because i fall in love all over again with my runner.
try it, if you still want to sell then by all means.

ps im gonna be gone from friday of this week, till july 1st, so if you decide to sell shot me a text 5o3 953 3o85 with how much you want for the rack system and ill let you know if i can swing it.

 

[GottaBeTRD]

dang man, I kinda know how you feel but then i see your rig and just hope that mine will be there one day. But you gotta do what you gotta do. I love the IS300, it's a good trade.

Keep us posted man, I hope the best for you. I too would love to have a little but of Rip on my rig if you end up parting it out, just so we can keep your epic legacy going!

 

[ALBPM]

Oh Hell No!!!!!!!!!

You can't sell the Silver Beast.....

 

[A.Wilson013]

I understand your decision, and support it. I would be thinking the same, if I were in your situation. Wish you all the best.

Let me know a price on the sliders/front bumper. I know mine is green and you probably won't want it =(

Sliders for real though. If you're willing to ship via fastenal, that'd be great.

 

[GSPRunner]

Yes all my least favorite people are selling their 4runners and leaving this board

 

[4Running Daily]

I might be doing the same...soon... I drove a blue FR-S, I like it. I've broken the universe because my reliable Toyota is less reliable then my Dad's 23 year old Porshe. Da Fuq? In the last week my sunroof has broken and I blew the Power Steering pump as well as possibly the steering rack too.

 

[smkd13]

I have found that the best way to get over the fact that you think the rig is "too nice to wheel" is to go beat in the body panels on rocks.

Worked for me anyway :rockon:

Ha ha ha roughly that explains it perfectly lol

 

[atipps]

If you do end up selling.. witch i hope you dont, i am extremely interested in buying your yakima rack and snowboard mounts. Possibly the bumper too

 

[A.Wilson013]

I am 100% serial on the sliders. I have them in my shopping cart, just waiting a bit to purchase since I don't want my wife to have to recieve them while I am still deployed.

I can even pre-pay, if it helps you out any man.

 

[steezemcqueen]

Everyone stop giving him reasons to sell it!!!!

Jim, I will buy nothing from you so you should probably just keep it