Second Life

[Dudus]

Hello,

Edit: I'm mainly posting this to get input, in general, on anything I am doing. So if you have any comments what so ever, please reply. I'd love to discuss what I am doing/plan to do.

I'm new to the forum, and 4 runners. To recap my story, I moved to Denver and I love getting off the beaten path. My car was not cutting it so decided on a 4 runner.

Got a 2001 Limited for a good deal, but need to bring it back to life a bit. Was a family car forever (NOT ANYMORE!) and well maintained, but with just 103k miles it is just hitting round one of the bigger maintenance items. It is time to give this things it's second life as my outdoor runner. Runs great, just want to get a lot of the stuff out of the way so I can forget about repair and focus on upgrade. I want to use this thread to track my progression.

*My yet to be named 4runner, as purchased*

Round 1 - My To Do List:
-Tune up - 103k miles. Sparks and wires.
-Headlights - Standard bulbs are super dim (I may be blind too)
-Air filter - Want to go rechargeable. Cheap mpg upgrade.
-Timing Belt - due at 90k, doesn't look bad but doesn't look way more than 13k miles old

Round 2 - My Wallet's To Do List:
-Rear drums
-Rear axle seals
-Brake flush
-Power steering flush

Round 3:
-Valve cover seals
-Fuel filter

Round 4:
-A fly fishing decal in a window
-Rear window wiper blade - WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH THE REAR WIPER BLADE? I plan to buy 100 of them, they seem like gold so far.
-Those cool window rain shields, because I am a child

Time to get dirty. Looking forward to keeping up with this thread.

 

[Dudus]

Second Life - Round 1 - Tune Up/Air Filter/Headlights

Got going on this today, been driving Ralph (my 4 runner's brand new name) now for 2 months. Had no issues and had a trusted mechanic take a solid look at it (most of my To Do list).

Started today with headlights. Replaced both bulbs some high end bulbs. The lens were fine and I may want to replace them later anyways, so for now... bulbs only. I'll take a picture tonight when I know they work!

Air filter was next. Picked up a K&M rechargeable. 50 bucks, 11 dollar recharge kits (grabbed 3 so when they change models I can still get 6+ years from this filter), done. Forever. I'm sure it is just me making a big deal out of it, but I swear I can feel that air flow when I stomp on it now. Just feels like less resistance or something. No pics, because it is an air filter and you don't care.

The fun part, the tune up. Picked up sparks, just standard copper from a mid range brand. Never been a fan of "upgrading" sparks past stock material. I hear rumors of voltage issues and copper has never failed me. Matching wires, only 35 bucks and still 'performance' (do I have to put the sticker in my window...cus I'm not). They are blue, which I'm not a fan of as it looks random under my hood now. Could care less, but it will mentally mess with me all the time now.

Before someone asks (and they should if not mentioned) I did use dielectric and anti-seize on the plugs and thanks to the various cable lengths and wire placement I could do them in pairs very easily.

I did have to remove the vertical support for the 6th plug but all in all these were easy plugs. Be sure to brush off the surfaces before you remove the plugs/coils. I nearly lets a small dirt clog fall into a spark cylinder, scared the crap out of me. All in all this was an easy job that took about an hour
after I did my research on the spark plug replacement forum to see what to remove and how. I didn't even disconnect half the hoses recommended after seeing how much room I had the quality of the hoses.

Ralph is running great now. Never ran bad, but I can feel a solid difference at higher RPMs and my acceleration seems much smoother. Between the air filter and new sparks wire, this was a great day one. Headlight pics to follow.

 

[farmerjon]

Truck looks really clean, engine too! Any frame rust? Is the truck native to CO?

Air filters have always been really controversial. If it works for you, go for it! Glad it helps, I know it helps to get more air into these trucks at the higher altitudes. I might have to go that route myself sometime, I hail from the WY/MT border myself.

Looks great! You've definitely gone the right route by focusing first on maintenance, and then "extra" stuff second. These trucks will treat you right - my own rig is one of the most solid constants in my life ironically.

Keep it up! Welcome to T4R.org!

 

[SilverRidgeRunner1]

With the title of this thread I would think u would call this thing JESUS

 

[LittleCaesar]

Did the PO give you a reason why they replaced the radiator?

Don't delay with the TB/H20 replacement. Also just replace the rear axle breather with a new one; I wouldn't take to task of changing out the rear seals just as PM. If it is 4wd, consider replacing the lower ball joints as PM.

Looks great. And welcome.