So this happened this week!

[volkinator]

Hey everyone,

I was finally able to get my hands on a 3rd gen T4R. I've been searching for a long time and with a limited budget made it hard to find something that would be worthwhile. But then, on CL in my local area, I found it.

Here's what I've found:
2000 Limited 3.4L 4x4 w/ E-Locker!
It's got 205K miles on it and 2 owners (making me the 3rd) Best part is, the 1st owner had all the maintenance records and receipts up to 180K. The 2nd owner didn't do as good, but I'm hoping to get it back to new. Body has one small rust spot on the hood, and the frame has some surface rust, but that's all. It came with the Yakima rack which is what I would have put on anyways, and has K&N air intake.






My initial list of things to do will be tuning it up. I know it needs some help in the suspension. The previous owner did quite a bit on front suspension, so I'll be checking over all that as I go. Also need to do a cleaning job on the interior. He left a lot of junk in there.

List of things that are currently not working/need fixing:

• Rear window wiper
• Antenna (Taco Whip)
• Sunroof is currently not opening
• Key Fob doesn't work
• Doors don't lock with key out of ignition (Any input!?)
• Fog lamp (hopefully replace with Amber)
• Parking Brake is seized (thankfully in the good way)
• AC not blowing cold air
• Gas door is a little bent

List of things that I need to inspect:

• Fuel filter
• O2 Sensors
• Spark plugs/wires
• PCV/MAF/TB
• Brakes
• Exhaust
• Suspension/LBJ/TRE/sway bars
• All fluids (oil, tranny, diffs, t-case, coolant)

List of future Wants:

• Suspension Lift (OME or TRD Tundra/Billies & LC 7/8 wraps (~2.5-3"))
• Blue Wire Mod
• Rear Diff Breather
• SGII
• LED Interior conversion
• Big 3
• Sleeping/Storage
• WeatherTechs?
• Ditch the running boards for sliders
• Eventually a full length roof rack
• Lights for said roof rack
• Eventually new tires
• TBU when replacing brakes

I'm really excited for this, and wanted to share it!

 

[volkinator]

Cleaning...

Spent all afternoon yesterday cleaning interior. Took out the seats and center console. Also did a quick once-over on mechanicals. Got all the wheels taken off and did some preliminary inspection.

Carpets are all vacuumed and cleaned with stain and spot remover, all the plastic and leather has been wiped down so no more sticky residue!

I found $7.03 in change, and a bungee cord! as well as a TON of garbage, and had to empty out the vacuum twice from all the dog hair and garbage on the carpet.

Sunroof motor/actuator are all fine, so the tracks are stuck somewhere. I've been looking into solutions for that.

Mechanically everything seems fine. The usual rust underneath, but it's on the list to get to this summer. Front is really tight, I think the PO redid a lot. The steering rack seems new and new sway bar bushings. CV's are new. I'm going to replace LBJ's for sure, and plan on doing the TBU soon as I've got the shakes when braking.

Rear suspension is gone. basically I'm resting on the bump stops with no weight in the back. And the shocks are pretty well gone. I'm considering holding off for replacement and going straight for a lift. Any thoughts? I'd like something 2-2.5" eventually.

Last problem I have is the locking mechanism. I cannot lock the doors using the power locks with the key out of the ignition. I've done some searching and it might be the controller in the driver door. Not looking to replace it, so I'll start into that hopefully soon. Just really annoying having to manually lock all the doors as I leave. And I can't program the FOB since I can't lock or unlock the doors with the power lock switch! And not sure if this is related, but I can't roll down the back window with my key...

Next on the agenda is to check the spark plugs/wires. Then start ordering parts.

• Spark Plugs/Wires
• Fuel Filter
• Oil Filter/Oil
• PCV Valve
• MAF/TB cleaner is on the list too

 

[SpidermanGeek]

Nice find! Does the E-Locker actually work?

 

[volkinator]

Nice find! Does the E-Locker actually work?

It does

 

[Scramble]

Nice find, good luck with it.

 

[MyHigh]

Nice find!

I remember how happy I was when I found my 3rd gen, funny thing is the only other vehicle I was ever that happy about was my pristine 71 GMC 402BB. That's one rig I wish I never got rid of, and I know I will feel the same way if I ever sell my runner.

Oh and I'm still finding dog hair in my rig even after 3years of ownership, I equate it to sand, just something you never fully get rid of.

Have fun, good luck....

 

[gamefreakgc]

x2 on dog hair, bleh. I'm not a big fan of dogs in the first place. I keep finding gobs of it when I remove dash parts since the last guy let his dog ride in the front seat (there's stains to prove it).

By the way, unless you are dead set on a taco whip mod, the antenna is not a hard fix at all. A couple of screws come out, break a few clips (you'll need to buy more from Toyota) and you're at the motor. All you do is take out the old fragments, mount it back in place temporarily and then feed your new antenna in. I don't listen to the radio a whole lot so I like the fact that the antenna is not visible at all most of the time.

If you search for "antenna" you'll come across some good writeups and suggestions.

 

[Kmurt]

Congrats on the purchase. Glad to see your catching up on maintenance first and mods second.

I'm the same way when I get a new to me vehicle, take it all apart, inspect things, maintenance, etc. Its fun.

I'm guilty of letting my dog ride passenger but I make sure I clean up all the hair. I can't stand a messy interior.

 

[1998 Runner]

Check the grease on your sunroof motor - I had same problem and grease was dried and caked up and spiral wires would not move. Got different tracks from junk yard and everything works fine now. biggest issue was removing headliner, not hard but lots of stuff to remove

 

[volkinator]

So... Did a little digging today. Noticed the MPX B fuse was blown in the engine fuse box. changed it out and as soon as I plugged a new one in 'pop' it blows. Any ideas for isolating a short in the rear hatch?

Possible culprits:
latch mechanism
wires from body to hatch
Other wires inside rear hatch.

I know this is the problem area for why my locks aren't working when the key is out of the ignition, and I'm willing to bet this will solve my rear window problem (can't raise/lower window with key) as well as the dome light in the rear does not work when in the 'door' switch.

I'll keep you posted to progress though. Still learning so much about this truck! I'm loving it!

 

[volkinator]

Figured it out! 4 wires severed and one sheath broken on the wire bundle from the cab to the hatch. Dome light is working, rear window will open/close with key, power locks work, and the key fob works. Now the MPX B fuse holds. Feeling better about it already!

And I hear poser shots are in now:

 

[gamefreakgc]

I hate it when people mess with wiring and have no clue what they are doing :mad2:

Glad you found it though! Wiring issues are a pain.

 

[HiLife]

That's one nice rig you scored.
This looks like a garaged car with it's gloss of the paint and rims.
You got a nice find with a limited budget.
Being at 200K plus, it's good to go over everythng anyway to get the truck to baseline.

 

[volkinator]

She has a name!!

Atalanta (Attie for short): Greek Goddess of Adventure and competitive runner. Seems fitting to me!

A few other new updates. Installed a new head unit for some tunes. Went with Alpine and it sees to be working really well. Also, rear suspension! Got home from work and had the new coils and shocks installed in 2 hours on my own. Key findings: I need bigger jack stands! I had just enough room to move the axles down to get the 99 springs in. But it was SO worth it! Love the slight forward rake now instead of the California Lean. I'll post a picture from my phone though when I'm done.

Next on the list is thoroughly clean out the engine bay and undercarriage. It's rust prevention time. I'll have some before/after pictures up in a while. The plan is to POR-15 (using the 3 step process) and see how it goes. (And it's always a good reason to need more tools! Now I've got my angle grinder!)

 

[volkinator]

Here's the post rear suspension picture:

 

[scrapper]

I like. The solid silver ones always did it for me.
You're off to a good start giving her some TLC.

 

[ben550]

Spent all afternoon yesterday cleaning interior. Took out the seats and center console. Also did a quick once-over on mechanicals. Got all the wheels taken off and did some preliminary inspection.

Carpets are all vacuumed and cleaned with stain and spot remover, all the plastic and leather has been wiped down so no more sticky residue!

I found $7.03 in change, and a bungee cord! as well as a TON of garbage, and had to empty out the vacuum twice from all the dog hair and garbage on the carpet.

Sunroof motor/actuator are all fine, so the tracks are stuck somewhere. I've been looking into solutions for that.

Mechanically everything seems fine. The usual rust underneath, but it's on the list to get to this summer. Front is really tight, I think the PO redid a lot. The steering rack seems new and new sway bar bushings. CV's are new. I'm going to replace LBJ's for sure, and plan on doing the TBU soon as I've got the shakes when braking.

Rear suspension is gone. basically I'm resting on the bump stops with no weight in the back. And the shocks are pretty well gone. I'm considering holding off for replacement and going straight for a lift. Any thoughts? I'd like something 2-2.5" eventually.

Last problem I have is the locking mechanism. I cannot lock the doors using the power locks with the key out of the ignition. I've done some searching and it might be the controller in the driver door. Not looking to replace it, so I'll start into that hopefully soon. Just really annoying having to manually lock all the doors as I leave. And I can't program the FOB since I can't lock or unlock the doors with the power lock switch! And not sure if this is related, but I can't roll down the back window with my key...

Next on the agenda is to check the spark plugs/wires. Then start ordering parts.

• Spark Plugs/Wires
• Fuel Filter
• Oil Filter/Oil
• PCV Valve
• MAF/TB cleaner is on the list too

Good on you. Its a lot of work to clean out a car like that, but once you're finished its well worth the effort.

nice clean truck.

 

[volkinator]

I like. The solid silver ones always did it for me.
You're off to a good start giving her some TLC.

Good on you. Its a lot of work to clean out a car like that, but once you're finished its well worth the effort.

nice clean truck.

Thanks! It's kind of fun working on it after work. Especially now that the weather is nice! I'm just sick of bolts breaking off!

Anybody have any suggestions? I let them soak for days in PB blaster re-applying every day. They're just fused in there! Also, anybody have any suggestions on getting them out!? I've tried the reverse threaded back out's but I've broken the!

 

[volkinator]

A little update! Spent the morning giving her a wash, wax, and interior detail, finally had access to a pressure washer and shop vac! Also had a chance to change the oil. Not as bad as I thought it would be, but definitely not as easy as my Silverado.

Last week I got to install a scan gauge and got rid of my braking wobbles with the TBU. So much better braking. They pedal is a little supple right now, So probably needs another bleed, but so much better than what it was when I got it.

Next week is the B&M cooler and undercarriage treatment plan! And it's nothing without pictures, so here you go!

Scan gauge instead of ash tray. Also matches the Alpine HU!

I think my parents really like the Camry, and gray/silver must be a good color!

 

[volkinator]

So! Another update here.

Greased the driveshaft finally. The clunk is gone. Thanks for the info from the forum! Installed the B&M cooler bypassing the radiator and the temps are lower than before. So can't complain with that! Also found a sunroof assembly on CL! Best find so far. Installed the whole thing in replacement of my own and it works like a charm. My cables/guides were rusted through and were solid. Learned how to drop the headliner. It's actually pretty easy!

Last but not least! This came in the mail today! Didn't think it would actually come! So totally worth it!