The 3rd Gen All Questions Allowed Thread

[flash989]

9inch lift

Howzit everyone,

Im gonna get a 6inch lift for my 96 3rd gen runner but had some questions. I a 3inch rc lift with the N3 shocks in the front so no spacer. I want to put the 6inch shock extender on the N3 so its gonna be 9 inch total infront. My questions is what to use in the back? Ive heard people using chevy springs but which one? and i heard thats for 6inch not 9inch. Any words of wisdom is appreciated

 

[Bad Luck]

Howzit everyone,

Im gonna get a 6inch lift for my 96 3rd gen runner but had some questions. I a 3inch rc lift with the N3 shocks in the front so no spacer. I want to put the 6inch shock extender on the N3 so its gonna be 9 inch total infront. My questions is what to use in the back? Ive heard people using chevy springs but which one? and i heard thats for 6inch not 9inch. Any words of wisdom is appreciated

My advice is don't. If all you are planning on doing up front is a shock spacer then that's not going to work at all. How are you at fabricating? Because that much lift is going to require a lot of fabricating. There isn't a bolt on solution for that much lift.

 

[96RedRunner]

[MENTION=764766]flash989[/MENTION] 63" eye to eye chevy springs has been the go to. Adjust the pack to suit the ride
shackles for height it a mix of the two.

As for the front I've seen it used one time in person if it the lift kit I'm thinking of on a 2WD Mall Crawler.
You'll find answers to your questions on the forums but you'll have to dig back 20-25 yrs. there's a reason.
IH8mud comes to mind for Info. its Dodo bird category. Good Luck!

 

[fourfive]

New OEM shocks and springs will give you the best ride at factory height. My first 4Runner I did the 13WL Tundra brakes on, but my current one is all stock brakes. I prefer the feel of the stock brakes, and I haven't noticed any issues braking with the stock brakes with the rear shoes properly adjusted. The Tundra brakes felt very soft because of the increased brake caliper piston size. I wouldn't recommend it unless you are in the mountains and need the extra rotor thickness to keep from warping them or you have large tires installed.

I've been happy with my stock brakes too & this is with 35s. I've driven 3rd gens with 199mm & 231mm tundra brakes & didn't notice a difference. I'm wondering how much of the claimed brake improvements were due to new brakes vs tundra upgrade.

 

[96RedRunner]

I'm in the camp with you guys on factory brakes. Biggest deterrent was how tundra brakes were going to
play with 01 MC and its tentacles into the system. It bad enough changing MC and bleeding.

 

[octanejunkie]

I've been happy with my stock brakes too & this is with 35s. I've driven 3rd gens with 199mm & 231mm tundra brakes & didn't notice a difference. I'm wondering how much of the claimed brake improvements were due to new brakes vs tundra upgrade.

I notice it off-road, especially since I've added 800# of armor and tires and gear to my truck - bigger brakes help, a lot.

I'm in the camp with you guys on factory brakes. Biggest deterrent was how tundra brakes were going to

play with 01 MC and its tentacles into the system. It bad enough changing MC and bleeding.

This is why I avoid 01-02 like the plague, that dang MC costs a mint to replace.

Anyone need a set of new set if 13SWM calipers, rotors and pads (factor 16" brakes) lmk. I'm happy with the 13WL upgrade for me.

 

[Dezert4Runner]

Howzit everyone,

Im gonna get a 6inch lift for my 96 3rd gen runner but had some questions. I a 3inch rc lift with the N3 shocks in the front so no spacer. I want to put the 6inch shock extender on the N3 so its gonna be 9 inch total infront. My questions is what to use in the back? Ive heard people using chevy springs but which one? and i heard thats for 6inch not 9inch. Any words of wisdom is appreciated

2wd or 4wd?

2wd easiest way is to get a Solo Motorsports 3” lift spindle, keep your 3” RC shock and do a 3” body lift. That will keep the geometry reasonable and you can still get an alignment so it drives decent. This is probably a $2k option, so not exactly cheap.

4wd is much more complicated. You’d probably need a 6” drop bracket lift ($$$) and a 3” body lift. Fabtech makes the drop bracket lift still but require you to cut out the factory crossmember, which is a pretty invasive and hard to reverse type of modification. The factory control arms bolted in stock mounting points won’t allow more than 3-4” of lift while still being able to align and be driveable. I’m not sure how a RC shock extender you referenced would work unless it was meant to be used with a drop bracket lift.

For rear lift, the tallest land cruiser coil with a small Daystar coil spacer will get you in the 6” range and the 3” body lift you’d need to get the front up to 9” high will also assist in getting the rear end that high. I’d love to see the panhard bar correction needed to get the panhard back to factory angles and wonder if the rear links can play nice and still operate normally with that much lift though. Those might need to be extended.

 

[Devbot]

Howzit everyone,

Im gonna get a 6inch lift for my 96 3rd gen runner but had some questions. I a 3inch rc lift with the N3 shocks in the front so no spacer. I want to put the 6inch shock extender on the N3 so its gonna be 9 inch total infront. My questions is what to use in the back? Ive heard people using chevy springs but which one? and i heard thats for 6inch not 9inch. Any words of wisdom is appreciated

op2:

 

[96RedRunner]

This is why I avoid 01-02 like the plague, that dang MC costs a mint to replace.

Didn't like it but I take into account what I payed for Runner plus what MC cost total $5750.

 

[Maxfightmaster]

Buying a supercharged '99 SR5, need help figuring out what I'm in for

First time posting here, I have managed to get my hands on what sounds like the deal of the century, but I need input on what I'm in for and what the best method would be to make repairs affordably. This will be my first 4Runner but I've loved them forever.

221k miles, the body is extremely clean, everything works like new, windows, sunroof, heat/AC radio CD etc. Interior is extremely clean as well, all original with factory floormats and tonneau cover. 4x4 with rear locker. Supercharger was installed at time of original sale and it still has all the paperwork for it in the glovebox. I'm buying it for $1200.

I had it put on a lift and inspected, and what we found is as follows.

1. 1 small hole in the frame, back passenger side just in front of the wheel on the inner side of the frame, the usual spot. The mechanic who was inspecting it for me said it was patchable but that it's hard to find people willing to do it. Is that true? and if so how much should I expect to pay?

2. Cap on the back of the rear differential is rusty and will need to be replaced before too long, which I was told involves grinding out the old weld and re-welding the replacement. Same as above, is that accurate and what should it run me?

3. Minor oil leak, not terribly worried about that given the age and mileage its to be expected

As clean and solid as everything else is on it I'm willing to move ahead. If it turns out to be insurmountable I can part it out and triple my money but I really love this thing and would much rather put in the effort to have a great vehicle I've always wanted.

I don't plan to wheel with it beyond gravel and dirt roads or the occasional camping trip, just need it to be a decent daily and do truck stuff when called upon.

 

[3GFrunnerMatt]

Starter issue?

Perhaps your thread can tell me. I turn the ignition key, and get a loud metal on metal grind. Just a quick bump, cuz the sound is a bit scary. I think the starter may be engaged, and that is what I'm hearing. If that's the case, is a new starter the answer, or is something else causing it? Battery is holding at 13.3, so it's good. I'm going to check the starter wire now, but I'm a DIY guy, though necessity 8s teaching me I had better learn. What do you think? Could something be causing this other than a bad starter?

 

[Twisted Sid]

Sounds like your starter is grinding on the flywheel. I had this issue a few years ago when the bearings on the front of my starter when out and allowed the bendex to move around and hangup before disengaging. I'd pull the starter and check it out. You can also have them tested for free at autozone.

 

[ECST5]

I have a no start with P0340 code. Replaced camshaft position sensor and car still won't start and the code came back. I just did timing belt and head gaskets but the timing lines up fine. Continuity checks out fine from sensor ground to ground, so could be something in wire to ECM. Anybody have any ideas?

 

[Tacketx]

car will not start but cranks over

so i have a 96 sr5 4wd and its a automimic . i will crank over all day long but wont fire up. i have replaced the battery the spark plugs, spark plug wires the coil packs and the alternator . the fuel pump is working im also going to replaces the fuel filter tommor. my gf dad thinks its my ECU witch im staring to think it is. i have also replaced all the fuse that where bad as well. on top of that my car will only lock manually and im not getting any power to the lights in the cap or to my radio but the heater works and only the driver side window will roll down. any ideas on what could be or anything eles i could look at would be a huge help.

 

[spartacus]

I have a no start with P0340 code. Replaced camshaft position sensor and car still won't start and the code came back. I just did timing belt and head gaskets but the timing lines up fine. Continuity checks out fine from sensor ground to ground, so could be something in wire to ECM. Anybody have any ideas?

Not sure if it helps but I pinched the wire for the cps under the cover one time after a timing belt job had to re solder it.

 

[JoeT4R]

Attention 300K+ Owners

To those of you with 300K+ on your rigs, are you guys noticing any oil consumption in between changes? If so, how much, roughly?

 

[Devbot]

To those of you with 300K+ on your rigs, are you guys noticing any oil consumption in between changes? If so, how much, roughly?

As in burning oil? None at all
But oil pan is leaking and loses between 1/2 - 1qt every 5000mi

 

[JoeT4R]

As in burning oil? None at all
But oil pan is leaking and loses between 1/2 - 1qt every 5000mi

Would/could a used oil analysis tell me if I'm "burning" oil? I'm definitely right there with you in terms of 1/2 to 1 quart in between 5K mile oil changes. I do have some seepage but it's not significant (from what I can see) so I don't know if it's really from that or if it's just getting burned off. Either way, I'm not pleased about it and would like to prevent it as much as possible.

 

[OpenYota]

Overheating question:

My ‘01 overheated on the highway without me realising as a coolant hose split and the engine completely locked up and the whole car shut down, electrics and all.
This happened roughly 10k miles ago.

Is there anything I should be checking regarding head gasket or cracked head issues to determine if there is an issue?

I don’t have any coolant loss and haven’t experienced any other overheating issues since that day.

 

[luke98]

Seeking Advice: '98 4Runner with Zero Compression in Cylinder 5

Hi everyone,

I'm new here but have been a proud owner of a '98 4Runner Limited V6, my first vehicle, for two years. This community seems like a great place to seek guidance, so here's my situation:

My 4Runner's been rolling faithfully with 320,000 miles on the engine. I've managed to keep her running with various repairs and replacements over time. However, I recently embarked on a cross-country journey and ended up extending my usual oil change interval from 3,000 to 6,000 miles. I suspect this might have contributed to my current predicament.

I'm now facing a flashing check engine light and a misfire in cylinder 5. A compression test revealed a worrying ZERO compression in that cylinder. My mechanic's recommendation? A new engine.

I'm at a crossroads with my beloved '98 4Runner. It's more than a car to me — decked out with a roof rack, a custom wood platform for camping, and brand new tires. I'd hate to say goodbye to ol' Betsy, but I'm trying to be realistic about the options:

1. Engine Replacement: Should I go for a used, rebuilt, or remanufactured engine? Any trusted sources or tips?

2. Sell/Scrap: Is it more sensible to let her go, either selling as is or for parts?

3. Another Solution: Any other possibilities I might not have considered?

I deeply appreciate any advice, insights, or experiences you could share. This 4Runner isn't just my ride; it's been a part of many adventures and holds lots of memories.

Thanks in advance!