traben27's 96 Build & Adventure Thread

traben27 · Jun 2, 2017

I bought the 96 in September of 2016 with 206k miles on it from the 2nd owner who had just bought a new Tacoma. It was in pretty good condition and ran just as well as our 01 we had just sold even though it had almost 100k more miles on it. This is my 4th 4Runner, and number 3 in 3rd Gens.

1996 Limited 4x4 Automatic

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Current Set Up
- E-Locker
- 265/75 Hankook Dynapros on FJ80 Wheels
- Bilstein 5100s
- 99 Talls/OME 906
- 4xInnovations Sliders

Future Plans
- Full Skids

Past 4Runners

1994 With Lots of Leaks - Lift/Rear Bumper/Sliders

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1999 Limited - PP Lift, Savage Sliders, Addicted Offroad Front Bumper, LX450 Wheels

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2001 Limited - Completely Stock

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Early Mods/Adventures

First thing I did was remove the running boards, replace the front seats with some from KSL (nobody uses Craigslist in Utah), and do some basic maintenance.

Took it on a camping trip with my son up in the mountains by our house.

Went on a trip down to the San Rafael Swell to camp and visit Goblin Valley and Capitol Reef NP. Took as many dirt roads down there as possible. Nothing too serious but somehow ended up on about 7 miles of an ATV/UTV trail that did require 4Low in some spots.

It had been awhile since it snowed so I went to check out which forest roads had been opened up.

I'm a big fan of armor before suspension, but I was having bad tire wear, brake dive, and bottomed out on the tired old suspension. I ended up going with 4Runner specific 5100s with 99 Tall coils up front and OME 906s in the back. I absolutely love the set up.

Took it to 5 Mile Pass Rec Area outside of Eagle Mountain, UT and ran Rattlesnake. It did great, but I sure could use some sliders.

hodolla · Jun 17, 2017

Looks like you know your way around the 4Runner world. Stoked to what your next project!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

traben27 · Jun 19, 2017

Found some videos from the Rattlesnake run last month. All are of the same obstacle, just different POVs and parts.

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Kiefy4Runner · Jun 19, 2017

Such a sick build man! Lookin to do the same to mine! :rockthrow:

traben27 · Aug 1, 2017

Nothing too exciting to update. I picked up some FJ80 wheels and put those on. I also ordered some 4xInnovations sliders and should get those on sometime in the next couple of weeks.

We also went on a camping trip up Spanish Fork Canyon. Only saw one other group of people the whole time. It was mostly maintained dirt roads, but there was a small creek crossing and some ATV trails we explored.

the walrus · Aug 1, 2017

Looks good man! Be sure to join for the run up AF Canyon this Saturday. We are meeting at the Chevron in Alpine at 9am. More detail in the Utah thread in the Mountain section.

Justin

traben27 · Aug 12, 2017

My transfer case sprung a small leak from the front output shaft. The replacement was pretty simple and the only hiccup I had was the lack of a seal puller to get the old one out, but once I had that it popped right out. I think it was leaking because the companion flange was so dirty that it wore down parts of the seal. You can tell how dirty everything was in the picture below.

I got my sliders welded on and I couldn't be happier with how they turned out. I should have them all painted up tomorrow. I've been working on an upcoming trip down to the San Rafael Swell to run a few of the iconic trails and hopefully I'll get to use my sliders a little.

traben27 · Oct 14, 2017

Well, the 4Runner was due for safety and emissions this month so I took it in only to fail. It turns out my driver side rear axle seal is leaking and everything inside of the drum had a fair bit of gear oil on it. There's a tiny bit on the inside of the wheel, but barely anything at all. I'm hoping I caught it early enough that I could just replace the inner seal and not have to do the wheel bearings.

I've also got some 2016 TRD 4Runner wheels (the matte black ones) that I'm debating on putting on, but I think I'm going to sell them instead. If anyone's interested, shoot me a PM.

traben27 · Oct 25, 2017

Finished up the axle seal replacement last night. I opted to not replace the wheel bearing as there was no play and it sounded/felt great. I believe my leak was caused by a very rusty/dirty diff breather. It was a pretty simple and straightforward process, especially after watching the video [MENTION=120071]mtbtim[/MENTION] made.

While I was at it, I replaced my front rotors and pads as well as the rear brake shoes (drums were fine) and extended the diff breather. The diff breather extension was as quick as everyone says. I routed it up by the gas cap.

Before the snow hits this year I need to clean up the rear axle, it's looking a little too rusty for my liking.

nopnotme · Oct 25, 2017

Lookin good! Curious as to why you didnt paint your sliders before you mounted them? PS. your last video's title is 2016 (im sure this is a typo)

traben27 · Oct 25, 2017

nopnotme said:
Lookin good! Curious as to why you didnt paint your sliders before you mounted them? PS. your last video's title is 2016 (im sure this is a typo)

Good catch on that typo. I didn't paint them just because I ran out of time before I dropped them off to be welded on. I'd recommend painting them before because doing it after was way more complicated than it needed to be haha.

Johnny_K · Oct 25, 2017

looks like you got your sliders pretty quick.

Any tips on mounting them?

MattJakobs · Oct 25, 2017

Looks good man. Really like the land cruiser wheels you’re running, trying to get my hands on another set. Curious as to why sold the other two haha.

calnhob · Oct 26, 2017

BS 5100 with 99 talls

what setting on BS are you using with 99 talls? I'm assuming it's the height adjustable BS?

traben27 · Oct 26, 2017

Johnny_K said:
Any tips on mounting them?

I don't know how to weld, so I had a local guy do them (worked for Low Range). He said the 4xInnovations sliders looked really well made and didn't really have any complaints.

MattJakobs said:
Curious as to why sold the other two haha.

I still regret selling the 99 to this day. I sold it right before I got married to get something a little more economical and ended up with a 2 door Civic for a couple years. After totaling our second car, we found the 01. It was great, but when we bought our house we wanted some extra cash and it wasn't getting driven much so we sold it and bought this one for less than half the price. Sure it has 100k more miles on it and some dents, but now I don't feel so guilty when I add more dents to it haha.

calnhob said:
what setting on BS are you using with 99 talls? I'm assuming it's the height adjustable BS?

I set it up one clip. I honestly wish I had kept it on the lowest one, the front's a little taller than I'd like. My suspension review is here.

traben27 · Nov 23, 2017

Christmas came a little early. Ended up buying my cousins roof top tent as he wanted a newer version. It's only about a year and a half old and he gave me a great deal on it. It's the Tepui Gran Sabana (aka Autana XL) and it's huge, but we have two kids and plan on having a couple more so it should be useful for a long time. It also includes an annex for more room if needed. We're planning on taking a trip down to central Utah tomorrow/Saturday to test it out.

I followed the instructions here to build an inexpensive unistrut rack. I used the half channel strut as I wanted it a little bit lower. I'd also recommend getting slightly shorter bolts for the actual mounting part from the tent to the rack. They're about 1/4" longer than I'd like but shouldn't cause issues.

Dimensions
Closed - 72" x 48" x 12"
Sleeping Area - 72" x 96"
Annex - 90" x 90" (Optional)

traben27 · Dec 5, 2017

Went down to the San Rafael Swell and did some hiking and camped. I went a similar route to a trip earlier this year, but my wife wasn't with me and I knew she'd want to see it.

First stop, the Wedge/Little Grand Canyon Overlook. It was super crowded, but still nothing compared to a National Park. After that we drove down Buckhorn Wash, hit I-70 and then went south to just outside of Goblin Valley.

We wanted to find a place to camp while it was still light, so we hiked the first mile of Little Wildhorse (great intro to non-technical slot canyons for families) and then drove farther down the wash until we found a good spot.

All I can say is that I absolutely love the roof top tent. It was a lot more comfortable than sleeping on the ground and trying to stay on a narrow sleeping pad. With the 4 of us in there, it stayed plenty warm despite temperatures in the 30s. I also just love how fast set up and take down are.

We were going to go into Goblin Valley the next day, but our kids woke up really early and were not having it, so we just drove home the next morning. It was still a great shakedown trip for the roof top tent and I'm really happy with it. I didn't have any noticeable extra wind noise and i averaged 18 mpg going 40-50 on dirt roads and 75-80 on the highway/paved roads, so not a noticeable decrease by any means.

traben27 · Mar 27, 2018

This last weekend we went on another camping trip as it's finally starting to warm up. We ended up going to almost the same place as our last trip, but went straight to Goblin Valley State Park via the highway and camped just outside of the park Friday night.

The next morning we went into the park and explored and let the kids rsun around. After that we went to hike Little Wildhorse Canyon, but it was an absolute zoo in the parking lot so we went down the road a little to Ding and Dang canyons instead. I was going purely off of my memory from 8 years earlier, so we missed the turn off for Ding and ended up hiking the 2 miles to where Dang canyon started. By that point, my kids were ready to be done, so we turned around and headed back without getting into any of the real slot canyon area.

Instead of taking the paved road back to I70, we decided to take Temple Mountain Road via Temple Mountain Wash. It was a fun drive up the wash with some small ledges and one small obstacle that we cleared without issue. After passing some old mining buildings and an old car, we ran into a fairly steep and very loose and rocky descent. Despite all of the bouncing around, my kids somehow managed to sleep through it.

Once we hooked back up with Temple Mountain Road, we hit the gas and made it to I70 in no time.

traben27 · Apr 15, 2018

Well, the 4Runner's time with me is coming to a close. Picked this up today, 06 Sequoia Limited 4WD with every option including captain's chairs in the second row. The difference in comfort and power is incredible. I'm thinking we'll have one more adventure with the 4Runner before selling it.

traben27's 96 Build & Adventure Thread

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