TheOGConCon's Build Thread

[TheOGConCon]

As of June-October 2018, see page 2 for posting update

As of December 2016

The Beginning

Purchased by my parents in December of 2011 shortly before my 16th birthday to be my first car (I know I'm gonna catch some crap for that) since they wanted me driving a "safe" car, ya know that "bigger vehicle is safer in an accident" thing. So a 4Runner is what I decided I'd want, since they had a '95 (I think it was) back when I was younger and I remembered loving that rig.

Anyways, purchased for $5500 with 197K miles on her, and luckily, the seller was fairly mechanically inclined, so everything was/is in good shape.

Fast forward to the following December, didn't know much about the vehicle, and didn't have much interest either, it just got me from place to place. Then I find out from Firestone that the timing belt is in dire need of replacement. I couldn't afford what they quoted me, so I called a few other places for quotes, even considered doing it myself with help from someone else. While looking up how difficult a timing belt job would be, I found my way here on a write up for a timing belt replacement, but decided that I'd be in way over my head. Later on, I found myself coming back to this website time and time again, looking at what people were doing with their 4Runners, and realized that the 4Runner is not just another vehicle - this vehicle that I had the luck to acquire has the potential to be legendary. & so it begins...


Specs & Mods
Engine:
3.4 V6 5VZ-FE
4" Deckplate Mod
Flowmaster 40 Muffler


Diffs & Transmission
Factory E-Locker
4-Speed Auto (Rebuilt July 2018, ~266k)
B&M 70268 Transmission Cooler
Toytec 1" Diff Drop
Tom Woods Custom Driveshaft

Suspension
Front:
Moog Springs Part#81088 (Removed)
Bilstein 4600 (Removed)
Wheeler's Offroad/Eibach 3" Lift Coil
Bilstein 5100
SPC Upper Control Arms


Rear:
Moog Springs Part#81041 (Removed)
Bilstein 4600 (Removed)
Toytec Superflex
Bilstein 5100 for 3"+ lift from Wheeler's Offroad
Toytec BumpStop Drop
eimKeith Panhard Correction Kit
Airlift 1000


Tires/Wheels
BF Goodrich T/A KO2 265/75/R16 E (Removed)
Falken Wildpeak AT3W 285/75/R16 E
OEM 5 Stars
SpiderTraxx 1.25" Spacers (Removed)
Tundra 13WL Brake Upgrade


Armor
Badlands Bumpers & MFG Front Bumper
SRQ Fabrication TRD Skidplate
Trail Gear Rock Sliders


Electrical/Lighting
Front
Innovited H1 4300K HIDs with 55w ballasts
House Tuning Flood Pods w/ Amber Covers for fogs
House Tuning Spot Pods for ditch lights
LED License Plate Lights, Turn Indicators


Rear
EBay LED Brake Lights



Body/Misc
Running Board Removal
Roof Rack (Removed)
Tacoma Whip Mod
Hi-Lift Roof Mounted
Plano Case Roof Mounted



Interior/Sound/Communications
Kenwood DDX373BT
Alpine Type S 6.5"
NVX NSP525 5.25"
JBL GTO-751EZ Monoblock Amplifier
Kenwood Excelon 10" shallow mount

Cobra 75 WXST
Firestik Firefly 4' Whip
Insain Fabrication mount

Baofeng UV-5R

Scangauge II

 

[Hephaes7us]

That's a nice looking truck you've got there!

 

[TheOGConCon]

That's a nice looking truck you've got there!

Thank you!

 

[habanero]

What a great choice for a first vehicle. You've got an excellent starting point to have a lot of fun with.

 

[ua330]

Great looking truck.

Some constructive criticism if I may: Please reconsider putting HIDs in OEM reflectors (due to glare) and think about putting some proper projectors in there.

 

[TheOGConCon]

Great looking truck.

Some constructive criticism if I may: Please reconsider putting HIDs in OEM reflectors (due to glare) and think about putting some proper projectors in there.

You guys and your damn projectors :lalala:

Just kidding. In all honesty, I have considered it a few times, because HIDs have better light output and I love the look of projectors. However, these really don't glare much..

Not a perfect cutoff, but I'd imagine it's better than what you were thinking. If not, just know that I've considered HID's and might go that route later on. :thanks:

Edit: I made a thread a while ago with photos of the lights/output/cutoff here: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/209277-vleds-led-headlight-bulbs.html

 

[TheOGConCon]

What a great choice for a first vehicle. You've got an excellent starting point to have a lot of fun with.

Thank you! I'm hoping to keep her around for as long as I can, I've become attached to the point that my girlfriend gets jealous every now and then

 

[offroadxplr]

How do you like the Moog coils? I have been considering those as a hold over to replace my 220k mile '02 suspension. Did you get any lift by using the '99 part numbers?

 

[TheOGConCon]

How do you like the Moog coils? I have been considering those as a hold over to replace my 220k mile '02 suspension. Did you get any lift by using the '99 part numbers?

The Moog could are decent paired with the 4600's. I didn't measure before and after, but I know they did lift me up a bit because there was a noticeable toe-in on the front tires, so I'm guessing it just brought me back to where I should be sitting. But on any given day, I've got a bunch of weight in the back from my sub, tool kit, and other miscellaneous stuff so I had to get an airlift to keep from sagging too much.

 

[SnowLizard]

cool, now I get to watch another rig be built

keep it up

 

[TheOGConCon]

Update:

A few days late, but I received the SpiderTraxx 1.25" spacers I had ordered. I promptly left to install them in the O'Reilly's parking lot with a torque wrench loaned from them and a jack borrowed from someone else. Before & after photos, with one in between.

Before:

Took a shot of one on the rear, just to show how it sits:

After:

 

[TheOGConCon]

I'll add more photos of the whole truck once I get her washed and some new decals/stickers put on.

 

[Unner]

You put the threadlocker on right? Also, don't forget to check the torque on them after 50-100 miles to make sure they're tight.

Any rubbing afterwards? I had to cut a good bit after I installed mine even with the lift.

Glad to see someone else went with the black over blue also.

 

[TheOGConCon]

You put the threadlocker on right? Also, don't forget to check the torque on them after 50-100 miles to make sure they're tight.

Any rubbing afterwards? I had to cut a good bit after I installed mine even with the lift.

Glad to see someone else went with the black over blue also.

Yes I did use the thread-lock, and I'm planning on checking the torque on them tomorrow since I've put on 60 or so miles since I installed them on Friday.

I don't have any rubbing that I've noticed thus far, however I think your tires are bigger than mine right? Mine are 265/70R16

Primary motivator for me to go black over blue was that the blacks were on sale for $80/pair from the SpiderTraxx outlet, as opposed to $100/pair regularly. I can live with some cosmetic blemishes on a part like this layball:

 

[SnowLizard]

I too went through the outlet (scratch&dent), I actually had to wait a few months between the sets, they just both happened to be blue when I bought them... I would have fine with black too... or mis/match

I think adding spacers does make it look more 'aesthetically' stronger... I think it hugs better with 2.5 inches more between the wheels lol. Keep it up!

 

[Unner]

Yes I did use the thread-lock, and I'm planning on checking the torque on them tomorrow since I've put on 60 or so miles since I installed them on Friday.

I don't have any rubbing that I've noticed thus far, however I think your tires are bigger than mine right? Mine are 265/70R16

Primary motivator for me to go black over blue was that the blacks were on sale for $80/pair from the SpiderTraxx outlet, as opposed to $100/pair regularly. I can live with some cosmetic blemishes on a part like this layball:

Awesome, I think that's what I paid for mine over black friday. I forgot you have smaller tires, with a 265/75 even you'll probably have to do some trimming. Mine are a little taller but narrower than a 265/75/16

I too went through the outlet (scratch&dent), I actually had to wait a few months between the sets, they just both happened to be blue when I bought them... I would have fine with black too... or mis/match

I think adding spacers does make it look more 'aesthetically' stronger... I think it hugs better with 2.5 inches more between the wheels lol. Keep it up!

I think it does help handling too. Makes sense. I can drive mine pretty hard and it feels super stable for a lifted top heavy truck. Drives like stock pretty much.

 

[TheOGConCon]

I too went through the outlet (scratch&dent), I actually had to wait a few months between the sets, they just both happened to be blue when I bought them... I would have fine with black too... or mis/match

I think adding spacers does make it look more 'aesthetically' stronger... I think it hugs better with 2.5 inches more between the wheels lol. Keep it up!

There were a bunch in the outlet when I ordered, at least that's how it seemed. I ordered the first pair, not really thinking that they'd have more, but they still showed up in the outlet. Out of curiosity, I upped the quantity to see how many it'd let me add, stopping at 7. So maybe there's still a few left...?

Awesome, I think that's what I paid for mine over black friday. I forgot you have smaller tires, with a 265/75 even you'll probably have to do some trimming. Mine are a little taller but narrower than a 265/75/16

I think it does help handling too. Makes sense. I can drive mine pretty hard and it feels super stable for a lifted top heavy truck. Drives like stock pretty much.

I agree with you both on how they feel, the truck definitely feels more planted.

As far as me having smaller tires... stop reminding me :Cry:
I've been looking at tires and the prices associated with them hurts. However, just got my Walmart Associate Discount :cheer2: and that would help bring down the cost of some Duratracs, but still way out of reach for now.

 

[Unner]

I agree with you both on how they feel, the truck definitely feels more planted.

As far as me having smaller tires... stop reminding me :Cry:
I've been looking at tires and the prices associated with them hurts. However, just got my Walmart Associate Discount :cheer2: and that would help bring down the cost of some Duratracs, but still way out of reach for now.

Haha tires are crazy expensive, but I still find myself looking at 34's for some stupid reason. I have a problem...

 

[TheOGConCon]

Haha tires are crazy expensive, but I still find myself looking at 34's for some stupid reason. I have a problem...

We're all together here, with a very similar problem..

 

[TheOGConCon]

Got some new photos with the 'Runner all cleaned up! New decals/stickers too.