TiVo's 4Runner Timeline

[tv4184]

Here is my build thread...

This should be my second build thread but my first 4Runner happened during my college years so most of the stuff I did wasn't much to write about.

I'll try to keep it interesting. The only other build thread I have so far is for my FD RX7. Mod list will be added once there is enough to add... ...

Here is the chapter selection...few at first of course...

 

[K.C.]

 

[ChildrenOfBodom]

woot 3RZ!:guitar3:

 

[tv4184]

Day 1 - Pick up in Greeley, CO

Here is my old one...

I had an 02' grill on her too. I was test fitting that Satoshi grill I never got to finish at that time...

Here is day 1...when I picked her up in Greeley, CO back on 4/6/10.
1999 4 cylinder 2wd with 5 speed...115k on the clock...less than my old one

Crossing the border...

This was the halfway point...8 hours to Texas...another 10 hours to get to Houston...

Some of the sights...

An interior shot...its sort of going to stay this way...the only thing I did was add Weathertech floor liners and I had bought these prior to buying the runner and TSA had even inspected the boxes when I checked them in flying out to Denver...

 

[tv4184]

July 31, 2010 - Photoshoot at UT

Just some more pictures after many trips for my move to Temple, TX...

Bike rack was also borrowed. I had 31.5" tires from the previous owner. I think they were Open Country. I have something else on her now for temporary purposes until I get new wheels in August. I hadn't officially been building my car for an entire year mainly because I was saving up to get my RS4. Second I picked up that RX7 and spend my funds working on that. Now that I have stabilized and finished my residency... The fun begins with my new project...continued from when I sold my first one back in '07...

 

[tv4184]

June 23, 2011 - Lower Ball Joint Replacement

I may not have needed but with threads like the ones I've seen with failures...better to replace them before upgrading my suspension

Got 'em from 1st toyota parts.

Had a chance to use my new tool box

Gotta love the forum. I would have used a pickle fork but ended up buying that pitman arm puller instead. I might have to do the outer tie rods. Accidently pushed the fluid out of one of them. I'll see for now.

 

[tv4184]

July 11, 2011 - Temporary Basslink

So I bought this for my RX7 but since she is out of commission for a few weeks. I decided to throw this into the 4Runner for my upcoming road trip to NOLA.

A little embarrassed to say this but I really hadn't driven her since late April after my roadtrip back from Vegas. I was worried about the LBJs so until I replaced those late last month I hadn't been driving her. I think some wasps decided to make a new home on my battery terminal.

Know the 4runner so well that I can do the install in the dark...well by the light of the dome lights

Done

 

[fightman80]

Lookin good man! Did you have any play in the balljoints?? I had my mechanic (brother in-law) check out mine, but said no play = no need to replace.

 

[tv4184]

Lookin good man! Did you have any play in the balljoints?? I had my mechanic (brother in-law) check out mine, but said no play = no need to replace.

Yeah that would have been a good route to go. I don't think they had any play when I tried to move the wheel in the air. They weren't that expensive to me to replace as an insurance policy. With my rig hitting 130k I was fine with spending that amount on the LBJs. And also with me lifting the rig now as well. She isn't my daily so I don't plan on putting many miles each month anyway.

 

[tv4184]

July 21, 2011 - suspension teaser

UPS and FedEx fairies stopped by Monday

Monday install part one!

USPS Fairy dropped off OME 890s today. Commence part deux!

Teaser from this past night...4 hours into midnight at my friends shop

Sorry only teasers tonight it's pretty late

 

[tv4184]

July 18, 2011 - Epic Install Part 1

Before...

Ready to go...

Unboxing...

Removal...

Breaking bolts...130k of mileage on them...

Ended up using the portable impact...and then turns out I totally did it all wrong...

2 hours later...yeah really took some bad turns lol...

Then I found the portapower to use to open the suspension to install the coilover...

Also after this it took me 20 minutes to do the passenger side

Here is the before

After

I need to adjust the coilovers. Except I don't have the wrench...I'm gonna see if I can use an allen wrench to move it but the lift is 0.5" higher on the passenger side... I left it with the factory settings which is SUPPOSED to be 2" of lift...but maybe because mine was on 2wd springs and the suspension was so old that I got about 2.75" of lift on driver and 3.25" on passenger. Going to lower it a bit for sure...the ride was so stiff on my road trip this past weekend.

Boy do I have some sagging in the rear

 

[tv4184]

July 20, 2011 - Epic Install Part 2

Then USPS dropped this off two days later...just in time for my trip to NOLA this past weekend...

Just the springs...I got the shocks from Toytec on Monday lol...

Before the work day starts...

Unboxing the OME comfort shocks...

Removed...gotta say without that air ratchet the upper stock mount sucks major...

OME 890 vs. stock...courtesy from troyboy162

Installed

Before

Passenger side after

Driver side after

I don't know why one side would be different from the other. Maybe I didn't rotate the coil in correctly. I might actually go with LC 7.5 wraps to make it a bit higher. The ride is so stiff now...stiffer than my RS4 and almost as stiff as my RX7... Anyway July is almost over and so are my mods for the month More updates soon.

 

[tv4184]

July 22, 2011 - Bushings...bushings...and some more bushings

So...steering rack bushings. Talk about...man it was such a pita to push these out with the wrong tools. I was at my parents so I was limited on tools. I had to use a c-clamp to partially push out my bushings... Then I installed the wrong sleeve in the center bushing...apparantly they gave me two and one was just 1mm too small for the center bolt. And I installed the wrong one costing me another 30 minutes...anyway...

Removed

Comparison

Installed

Also went ahead and did the sway bar bushings since I had to remove it. I do recommend either keeping the endlinks connected or the brackets connected. Trying to maneuver both to reinstall is almost impossible. There was alot of cursing involved. Anyway steering response...excellent. It's so light on its feet now and and tracks pretty straight after I had the alignment done. Just have the rear brakeline and rear sway bushings left. I'm also pretty beat up from all this work in one week so it'll be a bit of time before I install anything else...

 

[tv4184]

08/17/11 - UPS & USPS Fairies Make Deliveries

First up USPS.

A set of clears and Sonoran Steel shackle hangers Line-x'd purchased from Punch on yt. I just happened across them on a bump to his thread from 01/2011.

Second UPS.

So awesome that I finally found a set of SR5 textured flares. I about emailed and contacted anyone that was selling a 4runner with these on and no one would part with them. I finally found a set from a guy parting out his 4runner which was barely posted on yt. Can't wait to plastidip / restore these and get them on the 4runner.

 

[tv4184]

09/23/11 - Interior LEDs

I've been busy at a new job and moving from Temple back to Houston in the past three months and then I started suspension work on my FD. I did some minor updates since my last update.

Interior PCB leds delivered after waiting a month. Since I moved the post office was confused and took longer to reroute the package. I missed it by one day.

Rear hatch before

After shots...super bright but it does look kind of odd with the pcb board there. I've gotten used to it. Don't mind the furniture. I was too lazy to handcart it into my place. I live in one of those places with multi-level parking garages. By now I've already moved it in.

Before map lights

After map lights

Before dome lights

This is the same board for both center and rear dome lights. Unfortunately I can't post a after picture of the center dome light because it keeps popping my cover off. I had to put the double sided tape on the back to prevent the board from getting turned on by the bare metal contacts and now the soldering has come apart on the board from the wire so I'll need to find a fix. Otherwise I might get a new festoon bulb from VLEDs once they get it back in stock.

This was the group buy. I think all the components of this kit is great with the exception of the center dome. I think it should just be the four smb LED festoon for simplicity. I ended up putting the license LEDs in my front corners for now.
Direct replacement LED interior group buy #2!

More updates to come later today. I did a few more projects before the New Years with parts I had sitting around in boxes at my apartment.

 

[Hepar]

Looking good! Those Icons are super sexy.

 

[tv4184]

12/23/11 - More New Parts

...After a three month hiatus from buying parts I finally got back on it. Putting the FD on the back burner and starting to use funds to finish up the 4runner.

First up, I received this from tineman06.

Freighted from Seattle to Houston in a matter of four days. Impressive except they caused some damage. I'm sure a body shop will be able to fix it. Just a little bummed about it anyway.

FS: 3rd Gen.

Same day I also received these.

Projector specs
- EvoX-R 3" Bi-Xenon Projectors
- 6000k Morimoto 55w bulbs
- TRS HD wiring harness
- Morimoto 5Five ballasts (Gen.2)
- Gatling v1 shrouds

I bought them under the Black Friday special sale from TRS. Inspiration from this thread by Rickashay. Don't mind the other headlamps. They're the retrofits for my FD.

Rickashay's Projector Retrofit Thread

 

[tv4184]

12/29/11 - Retrofit in Progress - Part 1

First major modification since my suspension lift.

First to remove the headlamps.

Then you take it apart. Actually I realized if you don't want to take it apart you don't have to but it makes it easier. However then you'll have to either mark your alignment or re-align once you put them back on the car. If you have the right tools you should be able to align without having to take it on and off. Unfortunately I didn't so I constantly had to take it off the car to adjust the bolts.

Set the oven to 350 then turn it off and leave the lamp in for 7 minutes.

Put it on cardboard to prevent any metal from melting your headlamp. I used a smaller screwdriver to initiate the separation. Came apart like butter.

Part 1 complete.

 

[tv4184]

12/29/11 - Retrofit in Progress - Part 2

Time to fire up the dremel.

I also had to modify the v1 gatling gun shroud for it to fit the projector correctly.

Then you can start to paint the housing if you'd like. I can see why everyone paints the entire housing. You sustain some scratches and shadowing effect leaving the original reflector housing. I masked off the reflector leaving only the outside portion for painting.

Finished product. I decided not to wet sand but you could do that to smooth out the finish a bit. I can't tell since they're behind the glass anyway.

Next up to fit the projectors. Got the shrouds trimmed enough to fit on.

Remember to measure 3-10 times before drilling. Never realized drilling the housing would be so hard. Pilot holes are a must. I ended up having to fill up a hole because it was misaligned.

2" #8 screws plus a box of bolts to match. Maybe overkill though getting so much.

Then to install the wiring and ballasts, which didn't take long at all.

Then partial reassembly to aim the projectors and lamps.

 

[tv4184]

12/30/11 - Retrofit Progress Part 3

Foil tape the openings on the projector.

Then glue the shroud in place.

And the wires for the high beams.

Some vestigial parts left over in the end.

So I started out like this.

Then to this in 2 days.

There were some mishaps along the way. During the aiming process I broke the tabs off my 55 watt lights so I ended up having to swap in my 35 watt lights that were meant for my FD. This also meant swapping the 35 watt ballasts in, at least while I wait for replacements. The 55 watt are definitely brighter.

Left is the 35 watt bulb.

Black ballast is the 35 watt ballast.

There are a few things that didn't turn out the way I expected. I'm going to have to do some adjustments in the future. Several things I didn't have access to that I'll have to take into account. A 12 volt supply (no computer, only laptop access at the moment) and more convenient access to my car for aiming. Also I should have reassembled all the components onto the headlight housing when testing the projectors. I have them aimed slightly too high at the moment therefore having to compensate by pointing the headlamps down. This may also be due to my reverse rake I have going on right now. I have one more minor update after this one. The other thing I would have gone for is a new set of headlamps just because after 13 years, the glass is all pitted from all the freeway driving my rig has seen.