Seattle_SR5's 99 Limited 4WD: Repairs, Upgrades, Adventures and Build Thread

[Seattle_SR5]

The 4Runner:

1999 Toyota 4Runner Limited. Millenium Silver, 3.4 liter V6, 4-speed automatic, multi-mode transfer case with full time 4WD.

Purchased 2/17/2018 from a used car dealer in Bend, Oregon. Originally sold at Putnam Toyota in Burlingame, CA.

224k miles. One previous owner. Timing belt changed at 95k and 186k, so apparently the maintenance wasn't totally being slacked off on.

This is the truck as purchased.

The Plan:

Stage 1: Repairs & Replacements

- Worn Firestone Wilderness tires - Replaced with 265/70-16 Cooper Discoverer AT3s (2/17/2018)
- OEM Toyota lower ball joints installed. Alignment performed. (2/17/2018)
- Install trans cooler and/or new radiator for peace of mind (no milkshakes here!)
- Cruise control is nonfunctional (fixed 1/26/2020 - used cruise control motor from local 4Runner dismantler)
- Automatic climate control display does not light up - Replaced with rebuilt unit from Auto Tech Rescue (10/19/2019)
- Power antenna is broken off
- Missing headrests - 1 front and 1 rear headrest (front passenger seat has the rear headrest): Used Oak Leather headrests from a couple Ebay sellers (2/23/2018)
- Missing cargo cover (I have decided I don't care - my German Shepherd would shred it anyway)
- Functional but weak headlamps - Replaced with Sylvania Silverstar Ultras (3/3/2018) - Upgraded with LED lights from Amazon (01/2019); upgraded again with Hikari Eye of Megatron LED bulbs (1/26/2020)
- Dent in rear hatch
- Worn leather seats (ripped passenger seat cushion replaced 1/20/2020; the rest TBD)

Stage 2: Upgrades

- Running board removal (4/21/2018)
- 231mm Tundra Brake Upgrade
- Stereo upgrade with bluetooth supporting deck or Apple Carplay unit - PO installed a low end JVC CD player that has no aux input: Had Kenwood KDC-X302 installed (2/19/2018)
- New speakers
- Rear ladder for roof access
- Roof basket rack?

Stage 3: Build

- Rock sliders
- New shocks + coils. Either stock height or moderate (2" or less) lift to support front bumper
- ARB or similar front bumper? Depends on suspension options
- Supercharger? Pro: MORE POWAH; Con: Premium fuel & reducing the already not great fuel mileage to something even worse.
- Skids?

 

[yella]

Looks clean. I like your "stage 1, stage 2". I think I need to do that as well. I have a feeling I will be spending some money on the truck this year...


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[Seattle_SR5]

I got tired of the awful old JVC CD player with no aux input. Car Toys had a President’s Day sale with some deals so I had this Kenwood deck (KDC-X302) installed.

Review and details from Crutchfield here: https://www.crutchfield.com/S-A9OiVhHQOZq/p_113KDCX302/Kenwood-Excelon-KDC-X302.html

The speakers definitely sound like they’re nearly 20 years old and nothing like the speakers in my former ‘00 SR5 with the “Limited look” package which sounded surprisingly good for an older truck. Not sure if that truck had upgraded speakers, but this truck definitely needs them. Time to add to the roadmap for the truck.



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[xdustin]

Down in Tacoma! Looking forward to your progress since I'm at basically the same point as you! Clean rig!

 

[Hepar]

Looks like you'll need to change your name to Seattle_Limited. Great looking rig. Love the color. But I may be a little biased.

 

[Seattle_SR5]

Pulled out the old headlight bulbs (which were an off-brand headlight I didn't recognize from China and put out a weak yellow light) and threw in some Silverstar Ultras.

WOW what a difference for night vision! Headlights went from "barely acceptable" to "pretty good for non HID/LED".

I know that Silverstars have some mixed reviews as far as bulb life goes, but I'll see how these are.

 

[Seattle_SR5]

Pulled the running boards off last weekend and got her nice and dirty today up the Icicle River near Leavenworth, WA. The stock suspension with '99 tall coils rides pretty well over washboard and deep potholes.

As much as I'd like to throw a lift on this truck to deal with an ARB bumper + give more ground clearance, I'm loathe to mess with the ride. I've had the chance to get some seat time in an '02 Tacoma 4x4 Double Cab with the TRD package with a 3 inch Revtek lift and K02s and that truck's ride is pretty stiff compared to the stock 4Runner suspension.

And if I choose to keep the front bumper stock, it's in pretty janky shape. The bumper cover has a number of rock chips and some sun fading. A repaint or replacement may be in order.

 

[Hepar]

Pulled the running boards off last weekend and got her nice and dirty today up the Icicle River near Leavenworth, WA.

I was down the Icicle yesterday.

 

[Seattle_SR5]

Geez, it's been a long time since I updated the build and upgrades thread. I've done a few things to the truck.

Before doing anything functional to the truck I decided to enjoy it in relatively stock form for a while. It was *GREAT* in the February 2019 snowstorms in Seattle. Didn't miss a day of work despite having a 26 mile round trip commute.

 

[Seattle_SR5]

In June I did the Northwest Overland Rally in Plain, WA. Went up there for a day and hung out with a few people I know who stayed there the whole weekend and did all the fun stuff like the driving courses. Going to get in on that this June. Did a quick side trip on part of the Washington Backcountry Discovery Route (WABDR) and drove off it to a nearby fire lookout.

Didn't even scratch the surface of what this truck is capable of stock, although the ride offroad could be better.

 

[Seattle_SR5]

Now because this is a repair and upgrade thread - here's some actual repairs:

Repair #1: Air/Fuel Sensor

I had a pesky CEL for a couple of months - P1135. Quick Google search revealed that it's an air/fuel sensor. Helpful link below.

Check Engine Light Code P1135 (Air Fuel Sensor) - YotaTech Forums

It's an easy enough fix to do - slide under the truck and the sensor's in plain sight. Just don't do what I initially did - buying a cheapass sensor off Ebay and not clearing the CEL + giving the 4Runner a strange surging issue under light to moderate acceleration. I sucked it up and spent $190 on a Denso sensor from my local Autozone which cleared the CEL and got rid of the surging issue. Cry once, buy once.

 

[Seattle_SR5]

Repair #2: Automatic climate control panel

After working almost flawlessly for a year and a half - my automatic climate control started becoming nonresponsive. Buttons only worked some of the time and spinning the temperature dial would sometimes change the temperature...and sometimes wouldn't. Also the backlighting never did work.

Solution: I purchased a refurbished climate control unit from Auto Tech Rescue and swapped it in using this helpful guide I found on Yotatech. There are several good how-to videos on Youtube as well. This guide covers replacing the bulbs in the unit...I didn't need that given that my refurbished unit came with new bulbs so skip that step.

The unit I purchased: Toyota 4-Runner Climate Control | Auto Tech Rescue

DIY: Replacing Climate Control Lights - 99+ Limited Auto - YotaTech Forums

It's been great having a climate control display that I can see at night and more importantly that works as Toyota intended it to!

 

[Seattle_SR5]

Repair #3: Instrument cluster bulbs

As a late christmas present to me the 4Runner decided to burn out one of its instrument cluster bulbs. Super annoying at night - at least to me.

I purchased new LED bulbs from superbrightleds.com - Decided to go for bright white bulbs for a more modern Lexus-like look instead of the pale green original color.

Thanks to the person behind myt4r.com for the helpful DIY guide to this task: Convert Your Interior 4Runner Lights to LED – My T4R – 3rd Generation 4Runners

It took maybe 45 minutes start to finish. The hardest step was getting the cluster out from the instrument binnacle. After that it was smooth sailing.

End result:

The difference is more striking in person but you get the idea.

 

[Seattle_SR5]

Not sure whether to call this one a repair or an upgrade...how about both?

Replacement of seat cushion cover - front passenger seat

After 21 years (18 in California) the leather seats in the 4Runner were in pretty sorry shape. The passenger's seat had a notable rip in it - which made it look and feel like a clunker.

Time to get this truck back to some of her former interior glory. I bought a replacement seat cover from https://www.usautoseatcover.com/ and went on Amazon and got a hog ring puller - which is needed for pulling the hog rings off the old seat cover. I also grabbed a bunch of small zip ties.

Pulling the seat out of the truck is pretty easy, and disassembling the bottom cushion isn't too bad. But painstakingly getting the new upholstery back on the seat cushion and then reassembling was a pain in the rear. I couldn't have done it without the excellent video from Hot Rod Upholstery (YouTube - watch parts 1 & 2) and didn't bother using hog rings to attach the new seat cover. Zip ties work perfectly well, thanks.

The end result - 2 different views:

At some point I'll get around to doing the driver's seat bottom as well. That one will require new seat cushion padding as the stuff on my truck is shot after 250k miles and 21 years of someone's butt being in the driver's seat.

 

[rightyouareken]

Pics don't seem to be working for me.

 

[Seattle_SR5]

You're absolutely right. Working fine on my home computer but not on my phone. This latest batch of images are on Google Photos...not Flickr as previous images were.

Will have to switch them to another service like Imgur. I'll try and do that later today.