SCRunner's Build Thread

[SCRunner12]

Head up to your cabin soon, all the trails around here are open now! And I'll get us a boat from work to do some fishing if your into that stuff.

Trust me I want to so bad. My parents were up there last weekend and invited me to go, but my daughter got sick. I'm booked for the next 3 weekends, but maybe the weekend of the 23rd. We definitely want to make it up and I'm definitely down to go fishing. I think later in the summer I'm going to see if some local guys want to set up a wheeling weekend and just stay at my cabin. That way we can get a good group up there.

 

[t4r4life]

Trust me I want to so bad. My parents were up there last weekend and invited me to go, but my daughter got sick. I'm booked for the next 3 weekends, but maybe the weekend of the 23rd. We definitely want to make it up and I'm definitely down to go fishing. I think later in the summer I'm going to see if some local guys want to set up a wheeling weekend and just stay at my cabin. That way we can get a good group up there.

im down.

 

[SantaCruzRunner]

im down if youd allow me to go!

 

[Zachpins34]

me too!

 

[Supra725]

can I come too please?

 

[SCRunner12]

im down.

im down if youd allow me to go!

me too!

can I come too please?

I'll probably look into good dates to go and set something up for August. I'd probably drive up Sat early, wheel for part of the day, spend the night then either wheel or hang out the next day before driving home. It's only 3.5 hours away from me (shorter for some of you in the Bay). Depending on cosy people want to get we can fit quite a few people up there. Maybe 10.

 

[SCRunner12]

6/21/2012

I have a few updates since my last post. In preparation for a trip down to LA I needed to get my 4runner running a bit better. My right rear shock was leaking, I had a terrible vibration at highway speeds, my 4runner still wasn't tracking right even though getting 4 alignments done and I was looking for a full size spare 265/75/16 (I have a 5th LC wheel to use as my spare).

To cure the vibrations I ended up finding a shop with a Hunter Road Force balancer. The first try ended up in a worse vibration, but they had a Hunter tech come out and recalibrate the machine. After that my vibrations were completely gone. It was like driving a new 4runner. I ended up trying to replace my rear shocks one afternoon, but they were unbelievably stuck so I gave up. So I had the same shop replace my shocks for $30. I probably could have eventually gotten the shocks off, but I was running out of time and it was worth not dealing with the hassle.

Since I lifted my 4runner I have had a really bad floating feeling in my steering at highway speeds. It was due to the caster being -.4 degrees. It has always bugged me and I even had the alignment shop redo my alignment 4 times, with no change. Finally I caved in and took it to a 4x4 and truck alignment specialist. He ended up having to break free a seized LCA bolt and raised my Caster 2 degrees and my 4runner drives awesome. Much better and worth the money.

While waiting for my ride to pick me up I popped into the local 4x4 shop to browse. They ended up having a 265/75/16 Bridgestone Dueler Revo 2 with 30% tread for sale. The owner says $10 for the tire and $20 to mount and balance. I was sold. Now I have a full size spare on my spare LC rim.

After all of this I had a great drive down to LA. Didn't get the best gas mileage, but I'm looking into that now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now for the big update. After having my sliders from BAMF sitting around for 2 months I got them installed. We ended up running into some trouble when initially mounting them. He had pre-set them at a 20 degree angle as all his sliders are. Well my limited cladding and flares were making contact with the sliders and didn't allow me to open my doors. So Jerry had to completely remove the legs, grind the sliders smooth again and mount them flat. It's not ideal as I would have liked them at more of an angle, but it's what had to be done. Plus my Fiance will be able to use them more as a step.

The craftsmanship and customer service were awesome as Jerry spent 4 hours having to redo my sliders for me and didn't charge me a dime over his usual price. They look sweet and will be saying hi to some rocks soon enough. I highly suggest anyone in the market to consider his sliders. My situation was a fluke and I believe all SR5's shouldn't have an issue mounting at the usual angle.

Sorry for the crappy pictures. I only had my cellphone, but will be getting better pictures this weekend.

The shop.

Getting ready to be welded on.

\

Being painted, what a pain in the a$$!

The Finished Product!

I've officially been BAMF'd!

Not sure what my next step is with the 4runner. I'm either thinking of saving for a s/c for this winter, getting a new muffler or start getting parts for a projector retrofit. Any suggestions?

 

[SantaCruzRunner]

Those sliders are sweet dude. Now I either want jerry's sliders or the savage front bumper??? I personally would get a new exhaust. It's only a couple hundred bucks and makes a huge difference! In my honest opinion.

 

[4-Ripcord]

Very nice!

That's too bad he could angle them up at least a little bit. They still look great though!

 

[fightman80]

Looks good man! I say Supercharge it!

 

[SCRunner12]

Those sliders are sweet dude. Now I either want jerry's sliders or the savage front bumper??? I personally would get a new exhaust. It's only a couple hundred bucks and makes a huge difference! In my honest opinion.

I'm really tempted to get an exhaust, but not quite sure yet. I'm mulling it over.

Very nice!

That's too bad he could angle them up at least a little bit. They still look great though!

Yeah I will admit I was a bit bummed. They're great as steps, but they stick out a bit and aren't as efficient as rock sliders. The nice things is that they are square tubing where the legs connect so in theory I could have them remounted at an angle later on pretty easily if I wanted. I would need to do a body lift in order to achieve that though. I'll let them be for a little while and see if they grow on me more.

Looks good man! I say Supercharge it!

Thanks and that's where I'm leaning towards. I'm hoping to find one for around a grand which might be doable by this Christmas. I just need to stop buying the little things along the way.

 

[Zachpins34]

Looks awesome! When I can afford sliders, it looks like ill be getting the same ones

 

[BigFishAllDay]

Since I lifted my 4runner I have had a really bad floating feeling in my steering at highway speeds. It was due to the caster being -.4 degrees. It has always bugged me and I even had the alignment shop redo my alignment 4 times, with no change. Finally I caved in and took it to a 4x4 and truck alignment specialist. He ended up having to break free a seized LCA bolt and raised my Caster 2 degrees and my 4runner drives awesome. Much better and worth the money.

Not sure what my next step is with the 4runner. I'm either thinking of saving for a s/c for this winter, getting a new muffler or start getting parts for a projector retrofit. Any suggestions?

It's crazy how big a difference just a couple degrees of caster will make. Once you find yourself a good alignment tech, buy him a lunch or throw him a tip now and then, and hope he doesn't quit because those guys are hard to come by.

I agree that the sliders need some angle. I think they look a little funny sticking straight out like that, and the kickout sticks out WAY past the rear tire, which would prevent the tire from climbing whatever obstacle the slider is keeping off the body.

How's the plasti-dip/paint finish holding up on the wheels/flares/cladding?

RE the next mod... Don't go down the supercharger road unless you're ready to commit to it. It's definitely worth it when it's all said and done, but IMO it's all or nothing (meaning fuel mods, exhaust, and a smaller pulley) if you want to get your money's worth.

 

[SCRunner12]

Looks awesome! When I can afford sliders, it looks like ill be getting the same ones

Do it, they are really beefy and very well built. Plus Jerry is the man.

It's crazy how big a difference just a couple degrees of caster will make. Once you find yourself a good alignment tech, buy him a lunch or throw him a tip now and then, and hope he doesn't quit because those guys are hard to come by.

I agree that the sliders need some angle. I think they look a little funny sticking straight out like that, and the kickout sticks out WAY past the rear tire, which would prevent the tire from climbing whatever obstacle the slider is keeping off the body.

How's the plasti-dip/paint finish holding up on the wheels/flares/cladding?

RE the next mod... Don't go down the supercharger road unless you're ready to commit to it. It's definitely worth it when it's all said and done, but IMO it's all or nothing (meaning fuel mods, exhaust, and a smaller pulley) if you want to get your money's worth.

Trust me I told him how thankful I was of him doing my alignment. There is a 4wd shop next door and they only take their customers vehicles there. I plan on only taking my 4runner there from now on.

Yeah I'm getting use to the sliders at this angle, but I really want them to angle up. They stick a bit far out from the tire and I have to stand a bit further back from the kickout to put my daughter in her car seat. I'm going to put a body lift on once I save up for the slider reinstall. I'm going to be talking to Jerry at BAMF about what the costs are and hopefully get it done this summer.

The wheels are holding up awesome. They haven't chipped at all and I've even dropped tire irons on them. I think it's due to the Rustoleum Hammered paint being a bit thicker and durable than regular spray paint. Although I want to redo them to match my sliders and cladding.

The rest of the paint is holding up well so far. The front bumper has some chips from bugs and rocks, but nothing major. The sides and everything is doing good even with things hitting it. It's not permanent, but will work for the time being.

Haha, I've heard that about the s/c, but all I'm looking for is a little extra power for the hills. My 4runner slows down quite a bit on hills and I'd like to gain the extra umpf. I know if I got one I'd eventually want to do the upgrades, but I understand these vehicles will never be fast and I drive the speed limit anyways (too many tickets). I plan on bumping up to 33's next summer and I want either gears or a s/c to help push them along.

The other mods I'm thinking of projectors, muffler, LED interior are more form mods than function. The projectors are very useful, but I don't drive all that much at night. I just have to stop buying small stuff. I'm picking up a hi-lift tonight for $40 and might be getting a Trasharoo for my camping trip next weekend. Man I need a raise.

 

[madbomber08]

SC, when you say floaty steering on the highway, do you mean you have to fight the steering wheel to keep the 4runner from taking its own path into the ditch? I just took a 100 mile round trip today and boy do i have to fight the wheel to keep it straight.

If its only an alignment issue i'd be stoked.

 

[t4r4life]

Yeah I'm getting use to the sliders at this angle, but I really want them to angle up. They stick a bit far out from the tire and I have to stand a bit further back from the kickout to put my daughter in her car seat. I'm going to put a body lift on once I save up for the slider reinstall. I'm going to be talking to Jerry at BAMF about what the costs are and hopefully get it done this summer.

deff talk to jerry about that, cutting the legs off and putting new ones are are not that hard, it's the angle, you wanna have at least half inch of space between the door and the slider, just cuz how much they shift if you come down hard on a rock.

 

[BigFishAllDay]

The other mods I'm thinking of projectors, muffler, LED interior are more form mods than function. The projectors are very useful, but I don't drive all that much at night. I just have to stop buying small stuff. I'm picking up a hi-lift tonight for $40 and might be getting a Trasharoo for my camping trip next weekend. Man I need a raise.

Good to hear the paint/plasti-dip is holding up for you. I'm guessing that the plasti-dip is acting sort of like an adhesion promoter more than anything. It makes sense in my mind.

I hear you on the little stuff. 40 here, 60 there adds up fast.

 

[JLee]

I agree that the sliders need some angle. I think they look a little funny sticking straight out like that, and the kickout sticks out WAY past the rear tire, which would prevent the tire from climbing whatever obstacle the slider is keeping off the body.
.

Yeah i really wanted the sliders at a angle but with his flairs they would of had to of been 5" shorter or trim the flairs. The kickout it's not going to stop you from climbing an obstacle if your climbing something that large your slider would already be on top of it from the front tire going over it. Also if he was running larger tires the kickouts would fit the tires much nicer I think of it as motivation to bump up to 35's

 

[SCRunner12]

SC, when you say floaty steering on the highway, do you mean you have to fight the steering wheel to keep the 4runner from taking its own path into the ditch? I just took a 100 mile round trip today and boy do i have to fight the wheel to keep it straight.

If its only an alignment issue i'd be stoked.

Yeah, basically if I hit a bump on the freeway the steering wheel wanted to keep going the direction it got jerked to. I would constantly have to readjust my steering and would trail close to the edges of the lane. I didn't feel safe driving long distance due to it.

deff talk to jerry about that, cutting the legs off and putting new ones are are not that hard, it's the angle, you wanna have at least half inch of space between the door and the slider, just cuz how much they shift if you come down hard on a rock.

I have and at some point I will probably change them. It's honestly more of a preference thing than function in my case since I don't wheel all that often.

Yeah i really wanted the sliders at a angle but with his flairs they would of had to of been 5" shorter or trim the flairs. The kickout it's not going to stop you from climbing an obstacle if your climbing something that large your slider would already be on top of it from the front tire going over it. Also if he was running larger tires the kickouts would fit the tires much nicer I think of it as motivation to bump up to 35's

I want to say thanks again Jerry for all you work. These sliders are freaking sweet and ready for some wheeling this weekend. I'd love 35's but that is not going to happen. 33's will be on by next summer.

 

[SCRunner12]

8/11/2012


I haven't updated the thread in a while since I haven't really done anything to it. I've decided I wanted to make a S/C my next big mod, so I've tried saving for that. I've been wanting one for a long time and I'm pretty sure I can scrounge up the cash this winter. I will still do some small mods like sway bar bushings and fuel filter when I get the time.

I recently went on a trip up to my cabin at Pinecrest, Ca. It's a really small lake, but absolutely beautiful. I met up with Stockwell45 and too a ride up one of the trails. It took about an hour to get to the top and a 10 minute hike to the top of Eagle Peak. I've never heard of this place, but the views were absolutely amazing. You get an unobstructed 360 degree view of the Sierra's and the surrounding land.

The pictures don't do this view justice.

It was a great quick trip and gave me some new ideas for trails up there.


I also picked up some Wade In-Channel Vent Visors off COB. I've been wanting some for a while, but never really took the plunge as it wasn't winter or raining. James was nice enough to send me his. I really like the look and they will be useful this winter because I like having my windows down even when it's raining. I forgot to take pictures today, but will post some tomorrow.

My other big update just happened today. I ended up picking up a set of SAW 2.0's. I wasn't planning on upgrading my suspension for a while, but for the price I couldn't pass them up. They are the older style, but everything I have read says they are the same as the new ones. They have been rebuilt with new oil, seals and bushings, as well as new Eibach 600lb coils.

These are a general picture of the SAW's. The guy deleted the for sale thread after I bought mine, but they are identical with silver Eibach coils.

Some people might be wondering why I'm getting rid of my Tundra/5100 lift. I like the lift a lot, but it was a cheap lift for the time. The ride is great on road and feels very planted, but it's lacking the adjustability I was looking for. Right now I'm set at the 2 notch and it's not harsh at all, but it's a little too low. I could go to the 3rd notch, but that means the ride will get a little more harsh and it's more lift than I'm looking for. I think the SAW's will be perfect since I can level both sides out and reduce the rake. Plus the 600lb coils will ride a little softer, which is perfect for my DD.


I forgot to add I should be getting a couple more additions this coming week. I'll wait for those till I have them, but I'm pretty excited.