shinyblackdeer's 98 T4R SR5 V6 build thread

[shinyblackdeer]

Rear axle tear down.

A month or so ago, we found a junk yard that claimed to have a 3rd Gen e-locker rear end, so we drove an hour away to buy it. It turned out to be a regular open rear end, so back home we went, empty-handed. The same junk yard located a true e-locker rear end in MO and had it shipped up to IA for us. It's out of a 97 and has 4.30 gears. Our 4Runner has 4.10s, but we found a 4.30 front diff, so all is well.

Jeff has been working really hard on this rear end -- cleaning, sanding, painting and replacing worn parts as needed. Check out these axles (yes, they're from the picture above):

3rd member primed:

Examining the e-locker actuator:

It goes without saying, but we're pretty excited about this part of our build. Since we have the e-locker wire harness, factory diff lock switch and 4WD ECU, I'm going to wire it up like stock. I briefly considered bypassing all that and buying the diff-to-dash setup that 12voltguy sells, but we'd rather have everything function as it was designed to. Can't wait!

 

[T4R2014]

That is some amazing work right there.

 

[zacattack20]

everything here is good clean work.
well done.

where in Iowa are you guys from? I grew up in council bluffs.

 

[RockyMtnHigh]

everything here is good clean work.
well done.

where in Iowa are you guys from? I grew up in council bluffs.

Yep I was wondering the same, Im from Cedar Rapids. Great build!

 

[paddlenbike]

It goes without saying, but we're pretty excited about this part of our build. Since we have the e-locker wire harness, factory diff lock switch and 4WD ECU, I'm going to wire it up like stock. I briefly considered bypassing all that and buying the diff-to-dash setup that 12voltguy sells, but we'd rather have everything function as it was designed to. Can't wait!

Consistent with the rest of your build, it's looking great. I highly recommend going the factory route. I had a '94 pickup that I installed an e-locker and used all OEM stuff, except that the wiring between the ECU and the the rear diff harness was Cat-5-type cabling. I sold that truck for more than 2X bluebook value the first day it was on sale. I think it pays to go OEM when you can.

I now have a factory-equipped difflock 4Runner and I've seen no reason to do the gray wire mod--I have only found the need to lock the rear diff when in 4-Lo, just as the factory intended. The factory safety feature to not allow the diff to lock above 5 MPH is good to have too. I installed a safety switch on my swapped truck just to make sure no one hit the difflock button when going down the freeway at 70MPH.

 

[shinyblackdeer]

Yep I was wondering the same, Im from Cedar Rapids. Great build!

Cedar Rapids it is! Thank you.

 

[shinyblackdeer]

Consistent with the rest of your build, it's looking great. I highly recommend going the factory route. I had a '94 pickup that I installed an e-locker and used all OEM stuff, except that the wiring between the ECU and the the rear diff harness was Cat-5-type cabling. I sold that truck for more than 2X bluebook value the first day it was on sale. I think it pays to go OEM when you can.

I now have a factory-equipped difflock 4Runner and I've seen no reason to do the gray wire mod--I have only found the need to lock the rear diff when in 4-Lo, just as the factory intended. The factory safety feature to not allow the diff to lock above 5 MPH is good to have too. I installed a safety switch on my swapped truck just to make sure no one hit the difflock button when going down the freeway at 70MPH.

That's good to hear, thank you. I've gone back and forth on my decision, but I'm sticking with stock.

 

[paddlenbike]

That's good to hear, thank you. I've gone back and forth on my decision, but I'm sticking with stock.

I have to say, this is one of my favorite builds on the internet. Rather than go crazy, I love the fact that you've addressed all the maintenance issues first, totally cleaned it up, added things that this truck never had like additional sound deadening, better audio, etc., then added upgrades that make it work better on and offroad without compromises. That's kind of the path I have taken with mine--I wanted the increased offroad capability but I still want to be able to tow and drive comfortably on several thousand mile trips in comfort, all of which it still does. But best of all, it's so cool that the two of you are working as a team on this build. My wife is taking more of an interest in the 4Runner now that she's realizing the 4Runner is our ticket to get us fun places we can't go in the car, but she's far from wrenching on it at this point. Kudos to you in that regard.

 

[fightman80]

Holy mother of God!! Those refurbished axles look AMAZING!

 

[JWaldz]

Jeff has been working really hard on this rear end -- cleaning, sanding, painting and replacing worn parts as needed. Check out these axles (yes, they're from the picture above):

Geez, I need to send a couple of my spares your way... That's truly impressive.

 

[shinyblackdeer]

CBI rear plate bumper/tire carrier installed.

Paint turned out great on the CBI rear plate bumper. Here it is installed:

Check out the lines -- it's like it was made precisely to fit with the Bushwacker flares. Nice work from CBI.

Here's a photo showing what wires to tap into when wiring up your license plate light. Green is power, white/black is ground. As you're looking at the back of the taillight assembly, tap into the bottom plug of wires (there are 3 plugs). Easy.

I used bullet connectors at the license plate light, so I can easily disconnect the wiring if needed.

 

[hearno]

I know others have said it but I must add - this is an extremely well done, thorough build and I'm slightly jealous.

 

[shinyblackdeer]

I know others have said it but I must add - this is an extremely well done thorough build and I'm slightly jealous.

Thank you so much!

 

[cdrewferd]

The tire carrier turned out great. I like the color matched bumper, but black swing out.

 

[fightman80]

Looks good! I like the color matching on the bumpers! Only needs some bigger tires now... (I know you didn't want bigger rubber... but I'm a huge fan of big meats!)

Beautiful rig.... and love the fact that you and your Hubby have both done this work!

 

[YotaFun]

As all others have already mentioned, this build is amazing.
The attention to detail and time and effort put into it.

I am in the process of putting my 4Runner back to lift status after doing a frame swap, nothing as beautiful as this build (its more a trail truck) but I hope to inherit my stepfathers truck one day and I will definitely being using ques from this build as my inspiration!

Keep up the good work!

 

[4RunnerChaos]

Amazing thread, you should do a catalog with completed and incomplete and mods in progress using colors, like

Sound system upgrade. With link to the mod post.
E-Locker and 4.30 Front regear with links to products being used.
blah blah mod with links to products being used

It would be an amazing addition to a thread with an amazing build just my .02

 

[NateMob]

I like how you left the swing arm black, gives it a cool contrast. I also agree and cant say enough about how well my experience and Hybrid bumper from CBI turned out.

Nathan

 

[shinyblackdeer]

Amazing thread, you should do a catalog with completed and incomplete and mods in progress using colors, like

Sound system upgrade. With link to the mod post.
E-Locker and 4.30 Front regear with links to products being used.
blah blah mod with links to products being used

It would be an amazing addition to a thread with an amazing build just my .02

Thank you! I kind of have that going on at the top of my first post...without the colors...and the links to actual products :sadwave:

 

[JWaldz]

Sick! The rear bumper setup looks great with the matching paint!