SGGAZ's Build - Rechristening the 98 SR5

[sggaz]

We bought our '98 SR5 4WD in July 1998. We were through with the quality issues of our US manufacturer vehicles and believed that the legendary Toyota quality justified the comparably high price. We also looked at the Nissan Pathfinder (test drive nightmare) and the Mitsubishi Montero Sport (two tone paint jobs!) but neither captured our fancy. My wife and I both loved the looks of the 4Runner and had liked the 2nd Gen almost as much. We planned to drive it until the wheels fell off but never considered modifying it until finding this site a few years ago. Why mess with something so well engineered?

I wasn't the type to take pics of my vehicles so I unfortunately don't have any older ones.

In 2011 we developed a constant air leak from a wheel that apparently corroded due to long-term exposure to fix-a-flat. And we needed tires. At about the same time our sons became of driving age and I decided we'd get them a T4R as well and then we'd work on them ourselves. Anything we learned on one would transfer to the other. So I pulled the trigger on new wheels and tires. Moto Metal 951 16x8 with Yokohama Geolander 265/70/16's:



If we're going to ride in style we should have a good sound system and a bluetooth phone, so I installed a Pioneer AVH-P3200BT and some decent speakers:





I was actively reading this site by then and was scared of LBJ failures and pink milkshakes! So I replaced the LBJ's, OTRE's, and installed a transmission cooler all with the aid of excellent writeups. Thank you! (SpongerX, BFAD, and others) I had very limited wrenching experience in general and zero truck suspension or steering experience so I did it all with trepidation but got it done.

We bought a 2000 Highlander SR5 4WD for our sons and installed an SS7.2 lift on that. For mine I went with the SS1.2 lift. Steve at Sonoran helped me out a lot with both as I was coming up with questions. Thanks Steve!

Front installed:



Done:

 

[sggaz]

Shortly after installing the lift the CV boots on both sides were torn. I opted to go with new Napa Max Drive CV's and did the DIY install using links again from this site. I found that install frustrating but eventually figured it out and have had no issues since the install.

I didn't want to spend any more but the tires weren't big enough. I elected to go with 265/75/16 Cooper Discover AT3's. Someone here posted a good deal at Discount Tire online so I saved about $200 on the tires and sold my old ones to a local kid who just happened to have a T4R as well:





And the closest thing to a flex photo (before the new tires):



Regarding 'driving it til the wheels fall off' I believed my own hype enough to purchase these the day we picked up the 4Runner from the dealership:



I believe they had to order them for me and then shipped them to my house a few weeks later. Little did I know how seldom I'd need to touch those manuals. The only major things done on the truck before now were the TB/Water Pump and a Rear Axle Seal, both done by a dealership.

Thanks for looking!

 

[TheArkMaster]

Great build so far man! Clean rig!
One questions. How do you like the location of the mic for the BT-phone. I have mine ready to install and this caught my eye.
How does it function? Any complaints from anybody you're on the phone with?

 

[sggaz]

Great build so far man! Clean rig!
One questions. How do you like the location of the mic for the BT-phone. I have mine ready to install and this caught my eye.
How does it function? Any complaints from anybody you're on the phone with?

Thanks ArkMaster. The mic has done very well there. The only person who says they have any trouble hearing me is my wife , but generally it has been good and I thought that location much easier than messing around with trying to route it up and hang it from the visor.

 

[sggaz]

199mm TBU

I was able to install the 199mm TBU this week. All of the parts came from Napa. The Napa rep was nice enough to give me a discount without a request so after returning the caliper cores the total part cost was $335 OTD.

Here's some pictures:



I can see why the new rotors can dissipate heat better:



I did have to remove some material from the shield on the inside diameter:



Finished product:



First day of driving it today and happy so far.