The 3rd Gen All Questions Allowed Thread

[xochitl18]

Sway bar links too small?

so i just recently lifted my 4runner, 2.5” lift and i was told to put, i think, rear third gen sway bar links on the front and 2nd gen fronts on the rear or something along those lines but the fronts are very worn and now i have like a 1/8” gap between the bushings and the sway bar. not to mention the nut and the bushing below has space (i torqued it to spec). do i need to just get extended aftermarket links?
if it’s important, i put it on about 2 weeks ago and have since taken a long range trip to the southwest and have gone off-roading here and there.
thanks!

 

[Shmuckatelly]

You’re running the Tundra/ Sequoia axles, correct? Sounds like it’s torqued to spec but the nut needs to be turned slightly more to align the hole in the axle with the slot on the nut. Similar to what often happens on the lower ball joint nut. A photo would help confirm that we’re talking about the same scenario. Unless you’re saying the hole in the axle is sticking out past the nut altogether?

I am in fact running the Tundra axles. I will get a photo when I can, but the situation I am in is the one you described second where the axle is sticking out past the nut altogether.

 

[Dezert4Runner]

I am in fact running the Tundra axles. I will get a photo when I can, but the situation I am in is the one you described second where the axle is sticking out past the nut altogether.

Do you have the castle nut piece that slides over the actual axle nut? It’s what the cotter pin is going to lock into. The link below explains it well with photos. There’s a photo with the Toyota part number in case you need to order one.

CV Axles - Napa new - can't get cotter pin locked | Page 2 | Tacoma World

 

[Shmuckatelly]

Do you have the castle nut piece that slides over the actual axle nut? It’s what the cotter pin is going to lock into. The link below explains it well with photos. There’s a photo with the Toyota part number in case you need to order one.

CV Axles - Napa new - can't get cotter pin locked | Page 2 | Tacoma World

I forgot that piece, put that on and everything lined up, thank you!

 

[AyWey]

Hey y'all,

I recently joined the 3rd gen community and I am trying to replace the timing belt/water pump combo, and the brakes for the front and back of my 4wd SR5. I am lost in trying to find threads and posts related to OEM part identification for these, but also in general. How do y'all find/know the OEM numbers for each part? Is there a list/post/thread that has a list of OEM Toyota parts and/or Toyota manufacturers based on each maintenance/repair job?

 

[Spiker Engineering]

Hey y'all,

I recently joined the 3rd gen community and I am trying to replace the timing belt/water pump combo, and the brakes for the front and back of my 4wd SR5. I am lost in trying to find threads and posts related to OEM part identification for these, but also in general. How do y'all find/know the OEM numbers for each part? Is there a list/post/thread that has a list of OEM Toyota parts and/or Toyota manufacturers based on each maintenance/repair job?

This is my favorite source for part diagrams - TOYOTA 4RUNNERVZN185L-GKPZKA - TOOL-ENGINE-FUEL - | Japan Parts EU

You may need to adjust the search for your year and model (e.g '99 vs '97, MT vs AT, etc).

In most cases, I use Amayama to purchase the parts - Toyota 4Runner - VZN185L-GKPZKA complectation - Amayama

 

[fatherdoug]

This is my favorite source for part diagrams - TOYOTA 4RUNNERVZN185L-GKPZKA - TOOL-ENGINE-FUEL - | Japan Parts EU

You may need to adjust the search for your year and model (e.g '99 vs '97, MT vs AT, etc).

In most cases, I use Amayama to purchase the parts - Toyota 4Runner - VZN185L-GKPZKA complectation - Amayama

Might also try the "Timmy The Toolman" videos on youtube. He has posted multiple repair videos for his '99 SR5. He is also a member of this forum. Very thorough and he posts toyota part numbers for his repairs. This is what I used for replacement of the timing belt/water pump on my '99.

Toyota Timing Belt Replacement (PART 1) for 3.4L V6 5VZ-FE (4runner, Tacoma, Tundra & T100) - YouTube This is part 1. He also has Part Deux.

The timing belt tensioner is no longer available from Toyota, so you'll have to find aftermarket for that.

 

[Shmuckatelly]

Steering rack alignment

Hello, I recently installed a new steering rack while installing a long travel kit. I do not believe the rack is alligned properly between the threads from the inner to outer tie rod, how should I go about fixing this? Thank you!

 

[jcs2000t4r]

I live in northern Canada and have some rust issues with my 2000 4runner - the rocker at the back and the fender lip is rusting out. Also the wheel well lip where the fender joins up is rusting.

I've attached a couple pictures of the rusting area.

Is there a way to fix this without having to weld? I'm concerned the welds would rust from behind, but glad to hear others experience. Also generally what preventative maintenance I should be doing to prevent/slow down this rust

Thanks!

 

[gh25_]

Gas Mileage?

Hey everyone,

Even though I usually kinda don't care most of the time I decided to record my total miles of my gas tank with the trip odometer in my 98' Runner w/ the 5vz-fe. I filled it to the top and reset my trip odo and then did about 176 miles of pure highway / mountain road and the rest was mostly city driving. My total for that tank ended up being about 243 miles. I didn't get the tank completely empty but I tried to go as low as I could without obviously stranding myself. I got to the point where the gas light was on. With a bit of division that's 243 / 18 gallons = 13.5MPG. Obviously that isn't very good in terms of MPG but in terms of our trucks is that any good? Should I be getting better MPG? It feels like I am at the gas station quite a bit lol so wondering if anyone had any input, If that is bad and I need to replace something: EX. a O2 sensor. For reference less than 1,000 miles ago I did a bunch of maintinence on it. Replaced w/ new OEM fuel injectors, new spark plugs, new air filter, cleaned MAF, cleaned throttle body, cleaned IAC valve, cleaned entire intake manifold, replaced almost all vacuum hoses. I also have brand new 265/75r16 tires too so old tires aren't a factor. Pretty much anything related to MPG I just replaced.

Anyways. If anyone has any input feel free to chime in. She's running amazing regardless

 

[MCgrease08]

Hey everyone,

Even though I usually kinda don't care most of the time I decided to record my total miles of my gas tank with the trip odometer in my 98' Runner w/ the 5vz-fe. I filled it to the top and reset my trip odo and then did about 176 miles of pure highway / mountain road and the rest was mostly city driving. My total for that tank ended up being about 243 miles. I didn't get the tank completely empty but I tried to go as low as I could without obviously stranding myself. I got to the point where the gas light was on. With a bit of division that's 243 / 18 gallons = 13.5MPG. Obviously that isn't very good in terms of MPG but in terms of our trucks is that any good? Should I be getting better MPG? It feels like I am at the gas station quite a bit lol so wondering if anyone had any input, If that is bad and I need to replace something: EX. a O2 sensor. For reference less than 1,000 miles ago I did a bunch of maintinence on it. Replaced w/ new OEM fuel injectors, new spark plugs, new air filter, cleaned MAF, cleaned throttle body, cleaned IAC valve, cleaned entire intake manifold, replaced almost all vacuum hoses. I also have brand new 265/75r16 tires too so old tires aren't a factor. Pretty much anything related to MPG I just replaced.

Anyways. If anyone has any input feel free to chime in. She's running amazing regardless

There are lots of threads on fuel mileage, including this one: How many miles on your 4runner?

There are a lot of things that would factor into your MPG, including any lift you may have, tire size, gear ratio, weight of bumpers, aftermarket stuff, etc.

I've only had my rig for about 9 months so I don't have a ton of data to pull from. But I run 285/75/16 tires and have about a 2-3 inch lift from refreshing my suspension. I get about 14.5 miles per gallon. That's probably an 80/20 mix of in town driving versus highway. It was only slighly better when it was stock, but I also haven't done much in terms of the maintenance other than new O2 sensor. I still need to clean MAF.

All that said, from what I can tell, most folks running stock set-ups are still consistently getting somewhere around 18-20 MPGs. Some even better. So 13.5 sounds kind of low.

I didn't buy mine expecting to save money on fuel, so I just expect to fill up at least every 200 miles personally.

 

[Pete4Run]

Question about Tie Rod boots

New member here. On my 97 4runner, I replaced a bunch of steering rack components ( Steering Rack and Pinion, sway bar bushings, lower ball joint, upper ball joints, sway bar links and tie rods), all oem.

On the driver side tie rod end , I noticed as soon as I started the castle nut that the grease started oozing out. I wasn't able to get it torqued to spec before it had flattened out and release all the grease. The passenger side was fine when I installed and torqued. Took it back to dealer and long story short, they said I had installed it wrong and would not exchange. They lost a customer, fine.

Went to Autozone and got a Duralast and the exact same thing happened. As soon as I started wrenching the grease started to ooze out. So my question is wth am I doing wrong? Could it be the lower ball joint is defective and cutting into the boots? Needless to say I'm about to get a third tie rod end but want to understand where the problem is before destroying a third one. Thanks!

 

[Bad Luck]

Hey everyone,

Even though I usually kinda don't care most of the time I decided to record my total miles of my gas tank with the trip odometer in my 98' Runner w/ the 5vz-fe. I filled it to the top and reset my trip odo and then did about 176 miles of pure highway / mountain road and the rest was mostly city driving. My total for that tank ended up being about 243 miles. I didn't get the tank completely empty but I tried to go as low as I could without obviously stranding myself. I got to the point where the gas light was on. With a bit of division that's 243 / 18 gallons = 13.5MPG. Obviously that isn't very good in terms of MPG but in terms of our trucks is that any good? Should I be getting better MPG? It feels like I am at the gas station quite a bit lol so wondering if anyone had any input, If that is bad and I need to replace something: EX. a O2 sensor. For reference less than 1,000 miles ago I did a bunch of maintinence on it. Replaced w/ new OEM fuel injectors, new spark plugs, new air filter, cleaned MAF, cleaned throttle body, cleaned IAC valve, cleaned entire intake manifold, replaced almost all vacuum hoses. I also have brand new 265/75r16 tires too so old tires aren't a factor. Pretty much anything related to MPG I just replaced.

Anyways. If anyone has any input feel free to chime in. She's running amazing regardless

In order to get accurate mpg you need to fill up again to get how many gallons you actually used for how many miles you went. My low fuel light comes on when I still have 5 gallons left in the gas tank.

 

[gh25_]

In order to get accurate mpg you need to fill up again to get how many gallons you actually used for how many miles you went. My low fuel light comes on when I still have 5 gallons left in the gas tank.

Good idea. Now that I think about it I don't think I have ever filled up 18 gals from empty. I just was just assuming the gas gauge is correct. That's crazy though. 5 gallons still and it was empty? Yeah I honestly never really payed attention to how many gallons I was putting in it but I know for sure I am never putting an actual "full tank" in. So if our tank is 18 gal total and at empty it really still has 5gal & I filled it full 18 - 5 = 13 / 243 = 18.6mpg. Assuming that scenario. I remember usually when I top it from "empty" its only like 12 - 13 gallons max.

 

[gh25_]

There are lots of threads on fuel mileage, including this one: How many miles on your 4runner?

There are a lot of things that would factor into your MPG, including any lift you may have, tire size, gear ratio, weight of bumpers, aftermarket stuff, etc.

I've only had my rig for about 9 months so I don't have a ton of data to pull from. But I run 285/75/16 tires and have about a 2-3 inch lift from refreshing my suspension. I get about 14.5 miles per gallon. That's probably an 80/20 mix of in twon driving versus highway. It was only slighly better when it was stock, but I also haven't done much in terms of the maintenance other than new O2 sensor. I still need to clean MAF.

All that said, from what I can tell, most folks running stock set-ups are still consistently getting somewhere around 18-20 MPGs. Some even better. So 13.5 sounds kind of low.

I didn't buy mine expecting to save money on fuel, so I just expect to fill up at least every 200 miles personally.

Yeah hahaha I didn't expect to be saving money on fuel either. Our machines definitely aren't known for the best fuel economy. Life is too short to drive boring gas saver cars though. I'd rather drive my 3rd gen all day .
Yeah my 4runner is essentially stock besides the wheels and tires. No heavy bumpers or anything, or even a lift (yet). I looked on more forums and it looks like our 3rd gens have the fuel light go on at around 4-5 gallons left in the tank. So my calculation with 243mi for 18 gallons is completely wrong. I adjusted it and its more like 18.6mpg which sounds more correct. Anyways. Thanks for chiming in.

 

[Twisted Sid]

New member here. On my 97 4runner, I replaced a bunch of steering rack components ( Steering Rack and Pinion, sway bar bushings, lower ball joint, upper ball joints, sway bar links and tie rods), all oem.

On the driver side tie rod end , I noticed as soon as I started the castle nut that the grease started oozing out. I wasn't able to get it torqued to spec before it had flattened out and release all the grease. The passenger side was fine when I installed and torqued. Took it back to dealer and long story short, they said I had installed it wrong and would not exchange. They lost a customer, fine.

Went to Autozone and got a Duralast and the exact same thing happened. As soon as I started wrenching the grease started to ooze out. So my question is wth am I doing wrong? Could it be the lower ball joint is defective and cutting into the boots? Needless to say I'm about to get a third tie rod end but want to understand where the problem is before destroying a third one. Thanks!

I'm wondering if you somehow got a tacoma LBJ and not a 4runner one. They use a different outer tie rod.

 

[Pete4Run]

I'm wondering if you somehow got a tacoma LBJ and not a 4runner one. They use a different outer tie rod.

Sir, you are a genius! I measured the part of the ball joint where the tie rod end connects to with a caliper and it measured around 17-18mm on the driver's side. The passenger side measured 10.5mm. I compared with my 98 4runner and both sides measured around 10mm. So Jim Ellis Toyota in McDonoug GA got me again!

Anyways, thanks for the insight. I'll order from Amazon from now on so I can return in case of defects like these.

 

[Bad Luck]

Sir, you are a genius! I measured the part of the ball joint where the tie rod end connects to with a caliper and it measured around 17-18mm on the driver's side. The passenger side measured 10.5mm. I compared with my 98 4runner and both sides measured around 10mm. So Jim Ellis Toyota in McDonoug GA got me again!

Anyways, thanks for the insight. I'll order from Amazon from now on so I can return in case of defects like these.

There’s a good chance of getting knock offs on Amazon and eBay. If you really want to order online I suggest amayama.com

 

[Twisted Sid]

Sir, you are a genius! I measured the part of the ball joint where the tie rod end connects to with a caliper and it measured around 17-18mm on the driver's side. The passenger side measured 10.5mm. I compared with my 98 4runner and both sides measured around 10mm. So Jim Ellis Toyota in McDonoug GA got me again!

Anyways, thanks for the insight. I'll order from Amazon from now on so I can return in case of defects like these.

Screw that! If you got the wrong one, take it back! They are not cheap and that wasn't install error.
And like bad luck said, amazon and ebay are full of fakes and counterfeit parts.

 

[Reefbest]

Need advice on a odd issue p1135

So I picked up a 2002 SR5 2wd a few months ago. Has been running fine until about a week ago. Started running rough and getting bad fuel millage. No CEL but I ran codes anyway. (Think my CEL may be burned out) it's got a p1135 p0306 as well as a random misfire code. It's a Cali spec vehicle apparently but, so no biggie replace the AF sensor right, easy day. Well apparently the previous owner cut the exhaust foward of the sensor and cat an welded a new straight pipe up to the muffler. No bungs for the AF sensor or rear O2 sensor and the sensors are not there. What I really don't get is how this thing ran fine before and why is it running like crap now. And of course what the best remedy for my situation? I also live in a place where it will not be doing inspections. Idk if it's possible to throw a computer tune at it or what. Could really use some advice. Thanks

Sorry I'm a new forum member and can't make my own post