Tim's 98 Rebuild/redesign thread

Tim McBride

Tim McBride

New member
Picked up this 1998 4Runner SR5 early last week.
Here is what I got;
4x4, 3.4l
MT Wheels and MT Swamper Tires (285/75/16)
Rock Sliders
2" Old Man Emu Lift
1" Body Lift
Deckplate Mod with K&N Filter
185k miles

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My first addition was at the DMV. Got Centennial Plates from some reason
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Already done:
Change the oil, Mobil 1 synthetic
Replace Plugs and wires 29 Feb 2012
cleaned MAF and TB 29 Feb 2012

Planned upgrades & Repairs:
Switch to plain steel 16inch wheels (en route)
Switch to 265/75/16 AT tires
Install Tranny Cooler to avoid the strawberry milkshake (parts in)
Remove Intake silencer
Replace Upper and lower ball joints (parts in)
New skid plates
New Roof Rack(The old one fell off at one point during my shake down off road trip)

Considering: Removing the Body lift after installing new tires depending on how things clear and look

Goal: This truck will be used on highways and paved roads 70% of it's life. The other 30% will be desert off-roading to go shooting and hunting. I am hoping to find a compromise between abilities.
 
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They'll be up for sale in another week or two. My new wheels should arrive on Thursday but I have drill with my AZArmyNG unit this next weekend. So I might not change them out until week after next.
 
Did some more intense inspection today and pulled the skid plates. Looks like my FR CV boot is cracked. And got a leaking right valve cover. Both diffs are full and fluid looks good.
Wondering it is is worth it to just pull the diff covers and replace gaskets and refill with synthetic? I don't think they've ever been into them, the plugs were in tight.
 
I see a ton of people on here who photoshop the licence plates...... not sure why??

O.P. The rig looks good....just curious....Why are you going down a tire size?
 
fightman80 said:
I see a ton of people on here who photoshop the licence plates...... not sure why??

O.P. The rig looks good....just curious....Why are you going down a tire size?
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Drivability and cost of tires. This is not a going to be a dedicated off road truck, so I am willing to sacrifice some ability.
 
Looks like a nice starting point. Good luck, looking forward to seeing your progress. Interesting to see one get smaller for a change. LOL. I like it though, mine is very mild for the same reasons you're doing what you're doing.
 
Good looking Runner. Don't worry i am paranoid about my info getting out there too and photo shop my plates.
If the diffs aren't leaking i would worry about the seals, just drain and refill with your fluid of choice. If you are worried about what might be in there, you can drain and fill them, run them up to operating temp, drain and fill again. that will flush anything nasty out.
The valve cover gaskets are fairly easy to swap out, and gives you a good idea of how gunked up things are.
From experience i would suggest you get rid of the K&N air filter if you plan to drive in any dust. The last time I cleaned mine (before replacing it with a stock filter) I looked into the air tube and saw that the entire thing had a nice coating of fine dust. Just some food for though.
 
eosandov said:
Nice view of the supersition mountains!
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Thanks. Was out past Gold Canyon, Peralta Trail.
Was going to go run Bulldog since it is right by my house but I had forgotten that was gated. Sent the Park service my info and got my pass/gate combo today.
 
99runnerwa said:
Good looking Runner. Don't worry i am paranoid about my info getting out there too and photo shop my plates.
If the diffs aren't leaking i would worry about the seals, just drain and refill with your fluid of choice. If you are worried about what might be in there, you can drain and fill them, run them up to operating temp, drain and fill again. that will flush anything nasty out.
The valve cover gaskets are fairly easy to swap out, and gives you a good idea of how gunked up things are.
From experience i would suggest you get rid of the K&N air filter if you plan to drive in any dust. The last time I cleaned mine (before replacing it with a stock filter) I looked into the air tube and saw that the entire thing had a nice coating of fine dust. Just some food for though.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. I was considering ditching the K&N also. I pulled it out when I did the oil last night and noticed it didn't seem much better then a regular air filter, and we have a crazy about of dust here.
On the diffs I guess I'll just leave em for now and keep an eye on them.
 
Did the plugs, wires, cleaned the MAF and Throttle Body today

TB was filthy. MAF was ok.

The plugs were ridiculous, previous change did not use Anti Seize or install the correct plugs. The plugs I pulled were the single style and burned down to a small point. Also very ashy.
Installed new, NGK double style plug, and new NGK wires. Made sure to use anti seize.
Truck idles so much smoother and sounds better. I'll drive it to work tomorrow to see if it runs as good as I think it will.

I did notice the Coil packs are the original ones. Don't know if I should replace them or just run em until they go.
 
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