txbonds 97 4runner limited project

[sschaefer3]

Did this one in May of 2014.

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[kolelt]

Can u take up close pics of under the car how the tire holder is done ? Do u work for SS?

 

[txbonds]

Put in new front washer nozzles today as the original ones had paint on them.

Also noticed the tundra rotors I put on last year have holes for the bolts that are a little large allowing the rotor to move ever so slightly. Anyone else done the upgrade and noticed this?

Lastly, I tightened the remaining bolts and nuts in the front end to specified torque and I'm still getting the popping sound during left turns and when going down hill. I'm not sure what else to check but every bolt or nut I touched during upgrade has be checked and rechecked for proper torque so it's not one of them.

I'm wondering if it could be one of these items:
- reman steering rack inner tie rod arms making contact in the joint due to lack of flexibility
- a bad u-joint or drive shaft issue
- maybe one of the front suspension items I replaced has an issue or a bad bushing allowing too much or not enough movement

Not sure where to start now on narrowing down.

 

[gs300tt]

Check for play in the pads. I ended up getting OEM Tundra pads and the clicking noise I was getting went away.

 

[txbonds]

Check for play in the pads. I ended up getting OEM Tundra pads and the clicking noise I was getting went away.

I used OEM tundra rotors, pads, shims and springs/clips. Only thing non OEM was the Napa Eclipse calipers.

That said, I don't think this is brake related as the sound is coming during compression of the suspension and on left turns. I've got a few more things to try to see if I can narrow it down more.

Things to try:

- lock front hubs and see if it still does it with CV Axles rotating
- re grease the drive shafts again to see if it changes
- pull rear drive shaft and drive with just front wheels to see if it changes
- swap out the transmission mount to see if it changes
- mount skid plates and front bumper skid to see if lowering front end helps

Those items should help rule out a bunch of possibilities. Given all the things I replaced with brand new OEM parts and now that I've double checked the torque on everything I just feel like I have to start looking for other causes than the replaced items.

 

[txbonds]

My excitement for the holiday weekend. ODO rolled 190k and kept on going. :bravo:

 

[541joseph]

My excitement for the holiday weekend. ODO rolled 190k and kept on going. :bravo:

So your saying you've only put 3,000 miles on it in a year?

 

[txbonds]

So your saying you've only put 3,000 miles on it in a year?

Yeppers


Beauty of having another vehicle, and heated and cooled garage and too many other things going on to get much time to work. Took me almost a year to get it into current drivable condition and plan to put it back into garage for round 2 next month. Will be focused on electrical and finishing interior next go round.

 

[txbonds]

Made a little progress on the winch. Covered the winch wires with tech flex and removed the loom that came on it as it stayed full off water.

Didn't get wiring to battery finished as I have a lot of wiring to redo first

Pulled synthetic rope through drum and put the wedge in place that holds the rope. What a pain in this ass this was as the rope was too large to easily pull through and the loop was too small to easily get the wedge in.

Got rope spooled on but need to do it again under some tension to tighten the wrap

Fitting skid into place

Ready to go

Noticed the alternator belt was shredded while the hood was open so I'm picking up 3 new factory drive belts to put on. The timing belt still needs to be done but not for another 18k miles so I'm going to wait on it and just tackle the 3 belts for now.

 

[txbonds]

Took some time at lunch today and changed out the belts. Followed a write up on yota tech here:

How to: Change Drive Belts 3.4 L 5VZ-FE - YotaTech Forums

Only made a few changes by not taking fan off and I did take air filter box out. I used an air ratchet which made it much quicker. Found I could reach all bolts with it except the PS pump adjustment bolt as it's behind some tubing. Had to use my fingers and a wrench on it.

Pictures

Before

New belts

Old one

 

[t4r4life]

so is the belt big enough to go around the fan?

 

[txbonds]

so is the belt big enough to go around the fan?

Yep. Just go one or two blades at a time. Smallest belt for PS pump doesn't go over fan. Only Alt and AC belts do.


I don't know how I ever worked on this thing over the last year without air tools. Man what a difference it makes.



.

 

[txbonds]

Another progress update. I prepped the grille finally last night by cutting the bottom out to clear the winch and look symmetrical. I also took steel wool and a steel wool buff attachment on my dremel and scuffed the Crome surface to a brushed stainless look to help hold the paint.

During lunch I sprayed a coat of fusion satin black on it. May come back and paint over this with the same krylon rust tough semi flat that I used on everything else but will wait to see how well this matches when it dries

And a random shot I forgot to share.

.

 

[txbonds]

I think it turned out okay but I probably shouldn't have trimmed so much. I ended up going over the fusion paint with a layer of the krylon rust tough semi flat black because it was a better match for my bumpers and sliders. Maybe I can clean and paint some flat black paint on the visible areas behind it. Oh well.

 

[NateMob]

I think you will like it more once you go in and touch up everything behind it in a nice even coat of black. It made a world of a difference when i had to do the same thing on my truck.

 

[txbonds]

I think you will like it more once you go in and touch up everything behind it in a nice even coat of black. It made a world of a difference when i had to do the same thing on my truck.

I was thinking the brackets and whatnot could easily be painted but did you paint the fins on your condenser cooler too?

 

[NateMob]

I did, first i looked up if it would have any adverse effects and i couldn't find anything saying anything negative. A lot of radiators and condensers you buy now come with a light coat of paint on the from the factory anyway.

So i just hit the condenser with a couple quick sweeps, just enough to get a uniform coat and called it good. Going with as little paint as possible, I haven't noticed any problems in the NM heat either, the AC works as good as it ever did.

 

[txbonds]

Thanks Nate. Spent the day at out cabin up in GA riding a backhoe all day so no work done on the runner but did have an old boss from about 25 years ago come up to me at a restaurant last night complimenting the runner and wanting to look it over. He had an 85 land cruiser that he had given some TLC and his wife had a 2004 runner that I think they were checking mine out for ideas.

And because I like sharing pictures a few from today.

I did, first i looked up if it would have any adverse effects and i couldn't find anything saying anything negative. A lot of radiators and condensers you buy now come with a light coat of paint on the from the factory anyway.

So i just hit the condenser with a couple quick sweeps, just enough to get a uniform coat and called it good. Going with as little paint as possible, I haven't noticed any problems in the NM heat either, the AC works as good as it ever did.

 

[txbonds]

Nothing major but was playing around with truck to see some flex. Need to trim my front fender wells before pushing it further though.

 

[BrianSD_42]

As usual truck looks great. Now let's see it on the rocks!