SkiRunr - My 3rd Gen Saga

[KingPrat]

Today's Project

So as I'm awaiting a quote on the work I need done, I wanted to make at least a little progress and get moving forward on some rust mitigation.

Today's project was small, grinding down and painting under the rear bumper trim, as well as cleaning the filth that was in the rear hatch area.

First step, remove rear carpet:

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Here is what the bumper looked like:

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I first started out with a paint scraper and wire brush and got to this point

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The said "F--- THIS" and broke out the wire wheel. I also felt like I needed to get down better metal than what I had manually.

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I then taped off the rear bumper and made sure i was getting coverage on all of the worn paint. I used Rustoleum flat enamel finish paint.

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Irony: The primer I used was rust colored...

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Finished product

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I do wish I had taken a photo of the rear plastic bumper trim before I took it off. I hit it with a layer of Armor-All protectant and brought out a bit of the shine.

I also completely vacuumed the interior, cleaned the plastic in the rear hatch area, and started on cleaning the headliner (which I think is mold. Blegh... uke


The next step will be getting it on the lift and starting on the rear portion of the frame and trailer hitch. Felt like I made some good progress today, though. Started off small.

 

[KingPrat]

Well I spoke to my mechanic today. Got the skinny on what it will take to get this thing up and running.

Low end estimate is $2500

High end esimate is about $3100

That includes basically everything it would need including frame repair, suspension fixes, etc.

I'm hoping I can (finally) catch a break on this thing and it will come back at the lower end. At the high estimate I will be into the truck about $6k.

Here we go!

 

[octanejunkie]

Well I spoke to my mechanic today. Got the skinny on what it will take to get this thing up and running.

Low end estimate is $2500

High end esimate is about $3100

That includes basically everything it would need including frame repair, suspension fixes, etc.

I'm hoping I can (finally) catch a break on this thing and it will come back at the lower end. At the high estimate I will be into the truck about $6k.

Here we go!

$6K all in isn't bad if that puts you over the hump on PM and repairs

 

[KingPrat]

$6K all in isn't bad if that puts you over the hump on PM and repairs

I agree, it's just a big pill to swallow when the goal was to be into it for less than or equal to what it's worth. ($4200 ish) I figured $1200 was a good budget to work with.

Oh well. If I spend 6K and it lasts 100kmi then it will be a worthwhile spend.

:fro:

 

[nc-grayson]

ok....explain the head gasket issues? what other kinds of "issues" did your mechanic find?

what are suspension fixes etc. ? $2500-$3100 is a lot of money when you don't know what it's getting you.

 

[octanejunkie]

Just for perspective, I spent $6K buying my 4runner over 5 years ago and put 130K miles on it before any serious PM (radiator, LBJs, etc)

The fact that I have a reliable vehicle that I love to drive, regardless of its blue book value, is priceless and no car payments.

Buying used is sometimes a crap shoot: deferred maintenance, undisclosed damage and negligence, abuse - all become your burden in a total cost of ownership situation.

I don't know of too many other vehicles that will go 400K on the original drive train with proper maintenance today that I want to drive.

But I also agree with nc-grayson to an extent, what does $3,100 net you?

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

 

[KingPrat]

ok....explain the head gasket issues? what other kinds of "issues" did your mechanic find?

what are suspension fixes etc. ? $2500-$3100 is a lot of money when you don't know what it's getting you.

My mechanic gave me the full rundown over the phone, was just being vague. Also, this is a guy I know and trust, he takes care of my father's company vehicles, so a pretty good preexisting relationship.

Head Gasket, TB/WP, Therm
Full coolant flush
Front sway bar end links, bushings, rear shocks (I could probably do these myself but I will come to that hurdle when we get to it)
Frame repair/weld
Couple other odds and ends

$2500

If the heads need to be reworked

$3100

The big ticket item is obviously the HG and the time that goes into it. I don't like doing big jobs like that because I'm not 100% confident in my abilities and I'd be driving the damn thing around nervous that I F'ed something up. Peace of mind is just as valuable to me as my truck running well.

 

[octanejunkie]

How is he going to determine whether a head gasket is bad or not and why is this a concern?

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

 

[KingPrat]

How is he going to determine whether a head gasket is bad or not and why is this a concern?

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

Low coolant, oil in the overflow, I'm assuming he will do a compression test prior to fully breaking it down.

 

[4Reak Show]

How is he going to determine whether a head gasket is bad or not and why is this a concern?

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

They also make a tool called a "block tester" which is essentially a turkey baster you put a special chemical in that changes colors with be presence of combustion gasses. You suck air in from radiator cap opening and if it changes colors it's got a combustion-to-coolant leak.

 

[KingPrat]

Small, but effective change tonight.

Old battery out

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Wrong size, wrong CCA rating. It was also from 2011, so figured it was time to go. Looks like a cheap-out... Shocker.

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New bling. My family has always trusted Die Hard batteries, never left any of our vehicles hanging. I know everyone has their brand, this is mine.

The truck started like a freakin champ. SUCH an incredible difference.

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And in the interest of rust mitigation, I figured, "why the hell not?"

Too humid for it to dry out tonight. Black tomorrow after work.

 

[TejasRunner01]

What condition are the shocks/springs in? You may want to consider that in the future for your budget if you decide to keep it.

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

 

[TravThePro]

Just for perspective, I spent $6K buying my 4runner over 5 years ago and put 130K miles on it before any serious PM (radiator, LBJs, etc)

The fact that I have a reliable vehicle that I love to drive, regardless of its blue book value, is priceless and no car payments.

Buying used is sometimes a crap shoot: deferred maintenance, undisclosed damage and negligence, abuse - all become your burden in a total cost of ownership situation.

I don't know of too many other vehicles that will go 400K on the original drive train with proper maintenance today that I want to drive.

But I also agree with nc-grayson to an extent, what does $3,100 net you?

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

I'm running 315k on one and 230k on another, both are going strong and once I fixed the neglectful treatment the last owner left on my 315k she seems to go almost like new (with a couple added squeeks haha)

 

[KingPrat]

What condition are the shocks/springs in? You may want to consider that in the future for your budget if you decide to keep it.

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

Shocks are on the list, springs have no sag. My mechanic said R shocks needed to be done, but honestly, driving it around it felt more than fine. They're not currently on my list for this go round, but will be a "next year" project, and will likely be 5100s.

Also, apparently I was heavy handed with the primer on the battery bracket. Still tacky this morning. :clock: Then again, the humidity has been brutal the last few days. Thankfully it broke today, back into the 40s tonight.

 

[octanejunkie]

Shocks are on the list, springs have no sag. My mechanic said R shocks needed to be done, but honestly, driving it around it felt more than fine. They're not currently on my list for this go round, but will be a "next year" project, and will likely be 5100s.

Also, apparently I was heavy handed with the primer on the battery bracket. Still tacky this morning. :clock: Then again, the humidity has been brutal the last few days. Thankfully it broke today, back into the 40s tonight.

Load the rear end and drive around before making any decisions; after doing so I replaced rear shocks and springs at the same time. It was the right move for me.

It's been super humid here this summer so I've been hanging all my paint projects in front of a slow fan overnight, just to move the air around - works a treat.

 

[TravThePro]

Shocks are on the list, springs have no sag. My mechanic said R shocks needed to be done, but honestly, driving it around it felt more than fine. They're not currently on my list for this go round, but will be a "next year" project, and will likely be 5100s.

Also, apparently I was heavy handed with the primer on the battery bracket. Still tacky this morning. :clock: Then again, the humidity has been brutal the last few days. Thankfully it broke today, back into the 40s tonight.

Unlucky paint conditions are the worst, goofed up my hatches paint and a couple of plastics due to me "hoping it would work out" Humidity is a beast I dealt with when I lived in NY but pretty well leaves me alone in the big ol' desert of Utah.

Projects really add up so I have a bunch of those "next year" projects myself...:faint: If I even begin to list them I will just want to dig a hole, therefore ignorance is bliss.

 

[KingPrat]

Load the rear end and drive around before making any decisions;

Haha well I've got a few weeks before I'm in any position to do that, so I'll find out soon enough! :beer:

 

[KingPrat]

Little bit of work today. We have a large festival in town so Saturday was pretty well shot to do anything. This morning I spent crushing grapes (about 1200lbs...) to make wine.

My brother had mentioned at one point that the TRD decals on the rear fenders were a bit obnoxious. Only bit of blue on the entire vehicle, maybe change em up.

I didn't initially agree, but as I looked and thought, I figured it would be a small change that would help the truck look good.

This is the decal. It is the TRD Flag decal, and it was a PIA to get off, but some patience and a heat gun/plastic scraper helped a ton.

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And they're off!

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This is what I'm replacing the decals with, in silver.

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I then brought it up to the shop, got it on the lift, and spent a little time with the wire wheel and started rust cleanup on the chassis. No photos there, but I will get some as progress goes.

Trying to take care of little stuff in the next week so I'm ahead of the game when I drop it off at my mechanic's.

 

[KingPrat]

Tried like hell to get the nuts off of the lower end of the sway bar links with no luck. Rusted enough that the allen inserts just rounded off. Not enough room for a sawzall, either.

We have a nut breaking tool that I will try Thursday. If all else fails we'll torch 'em out.

Working very slowly on the bracket mounts. Don't want to break those off, so putting pressure and using plenty of penetrating oil. Hopefully they start to back out. Need to replace those bushings...


One thing that DID work is that I was able to get the truck into programming mode and got one of my new remotes programmed! Felt good to actually have something work properly... :bravo:

 

[octanejunkie]

Penetrating oil 48 hours in advance of all first time swaps, brah :bounce: