Tyler James Inc's OEM+ '97 Limited

[JayRolla]

Nice start on the 4runner.

Front spacer lift!!!! You should fix that before custom lower control arms. Lol. I'm hoping very temporary.

My lower ball joint failed in less than a year on spacers with no off-roading.

 

[Tyler James Inc]

Man...what a beautiful 4Runner.

Makes mine look like it belongs in the junkyard.

Haha Thanks. It's nothing special, I just like keeping it clean and detailed. Don't get me wrong- it's special to me [emoji23]

Nice start on the 4runner.
Front spacer lift!!!! You should fix that before custom lower control arms. Lol. I'm hoping very temporary.
My lower ball joint failed in less than a year on spacers with no off-roading.

Really? That's extremely strange. Well, I guess if you were running top plate spacers it would make sense. Been running the spacers for 2+ years/25k miles on OEM 248k mile LBJ's without an issue. The spacers aren't ideal, but there's no reason for them to cause premature LBJ failure. Unless you're running the top plate spacer, and over-drooping. Mine are pre-load spacers, so they don't increase droop. 1/4" top plate spacer, but that only adds ~5/8" droop at the tire- not enough to over-stress the LBJ.
I'm gladly taking C/O donations if you're offering [emoji6]

Hit the 1/4 million mile mark this morning! [emoji322]

Was so disappointed when I saw I had missed it by 2miles [emoji23]

 

[Chim]

I had fun Saturday, it was good to hang out! You got those fogs installed quick!

Was your buddy able to use the cargo cover? And why is he selling his runner?

 

[JayRolla]

Nice on the mileage, I was happy when I hit that mark. Trying for 300k now.

I also was using a preload 1.5" spacer when my LBJ failed. I guess it was just the high mileage on the not the spacer. Mine luckily failed at slow speed but did cause major damage.

 

[Tyler James Inc]

I had fun Saturday, it was good to hang out! You got those fogs installed quick!

Was your buddy able to use the cargo cover? And why is he selling his runner?

Yeah, thanks for having me out there ☺
He got the '98 for cheap on CL, and is just fixing it up to sell. He has a green '99 that he is keeping, and that's the one the cargo cover went in. He sent me a pic of it last night all installed and he was stoked! He really appreciated that.

Nice on the mileage, I was happy when I hit that mark. Trying for 300k now.

I also was using a preload 1.5" spacer when my LBJ failed. I guess it was just the high mileage on the not the spacer. Mine luckily failed at slow speed but did cause major damage.

I'm so glad I got mine swapped before they had a chance to fail. I was so stressed they were gonna let loose. I hate thinking about that.

 

[AssBurns]

Not sure how I haven't seen your build yet, but damn! Make me wish I cared about the way things look so I can actually have a decent looking rig. Eventually, once I stop breaking things, I'll focus on making it look pretty. Great work man!


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[Tyler James Inc]

Not sure how I haven't seen your build yet, but damn! Make me wish I cared about the way things look so I can actually have a decent looking rig. Eventually, once I stop breaking things, I'll focus on making it look pretty. Great work man!

Thanks brother!
You know, I've come to realize that keeping things nice makes me feel a lot better about just about everything. I guess I'm kind of OCD, and although I'm not the best at keeping things organized(see garage pic [emoji24]), I feel like my rig is kind of a POS when it's dirty inside and out. Just having a clean rig to drive to work makes my day/week better. Makes me sound sick. Maybe I am...
Anyway- I want to be able to daily drive it comfortably, for it to handle well, be reliable, and I want to be able to take it out on reasonably-tough trails and have it perform well. It may not be the best rig for any of the above, but I think it's perfect for what I want. I've had a lot of rigs, and I love the 3rd gen more than just about any of them. I don't have much extra cash for it, so progress is slow, but I'll get there.

 

[JBurt]

Thanks brother!
You know, I've come to realize that keeping things nice makes me feel a lot better about just about everything. I guess I'm kind of OCD, and although I'm not the best at keeping things organized(see garage pic [emoji24]), I feel like my rig is kind of a POS when it's dirty inside and out. Just having a clean rig to drive to work makes my day/week better. Makes me sound sick. Maybe I am...
Anyway- I want to be able to daily drive it comfortably, for it to handle well, be reliable, and I want to be able to take it out on reasonably-tough trails and have it perform well. It may not be the best rig for any of the above, but I think it's perfect for what I want. I've had a lot of rigs, and I love the 3rd gen more than just about any of them. I don't have much extra cash for it, so progress is slow, but I'll get there.

I understand you completely. I wish I felt the same way about keeping my house and garage clean as I do about keeping my rig clean.

 

[Tyler James Inc]

I understand you completely. I wish I felt the same way about keeping my house and garage clean as I do about keeping my rig clean.

Me too. I guess it's 'cause the rig is fairly quick and easy to keep up on- and extremely rewarding. Though the house/garage might be about equally rewarding, it's easier to let slide, and more work to catch up on. Those late nights in the garage- not getting the tools put away- kills me! And, naturally, it's the wife's job to keep up on the house, right? No matter how much of the mess is mine [emoji23]

 

[Tyler James Inc]

Pretty icy in some areas here, and we're expecting freezing rain sometime today. Job site got shut down, so I'm home today. The wife's RWD IS250 has summer tires, and can't get around in this at all- not even outta our street. So, while I'm her chauffeur, I'm gonna try to grab some headlights for my retrofits. Found a set for $80 not too far away, and hoping to pick those up today(condition dependent). Also getting a corner light to go with them. Sold my retrofitted corners yesterday. Since I had money from selling the corners, I asked if he'd take PayPal. Maybe that annoys some people, but not me, so I have no problem asking. He said he'd rather have cash. I understand-

I didn't go out of my way to get him all 1's, but I thought it was funny that's all I happen to have.
So, hopefully I'll have some retrofit action this weekend. Still need the HID kit, so I won't be able to install them yet, but I'm gettin there!

 

[Snowden]

Thanks brother!
You know, I've come to realize that keeping things nice makes me feel a lot better about just about everything. I guess I'm kind of OCD, and although I'm not the best at keeping things organized(see garage pic [emoji24]), I feel like my rig is kind of a POS when it's dirty inside and out. Just having a clean rig to drive to work makes my day/week better. Makes me sound sick. Maybe I am...
Anyway- I want to be able to daily drive it comfortably, for it to handle well, be reliable, and I want to be able to take it out on reasonably-tough trails and have it perform well. It may not be the best rig for any of the above, but I think it's perfect for what I want. I've had a lot of rigs, and I love the 3rd gen more than just about any of them. I don't have much extra cash for it, so progress is slow, but I'll get there.

Man you said that pretty darn well. I'm a lot like that myself and sometimes I wonder if I need counseling or if there's something wrong with me (okay well there still actually may be) with my OCD. As an original owner my little Snowden somehow seems to have gained family member status and I dote on it like we did our cars back in high school days. And that was a damn long time ago for me... Like you I just feel better about driving it when it's clean and I could totally relate to you going to the car wash with snow on the ground in the middle of winter lol... But sometimes I envy those guys that can just go about their business, drive them hard and not worry on the little things... Their minds must be free of clutter while I stress over the dumbest of things.

 

[Tyler James Inc]

Haha [MENTION=133775]Snowden[/MENTION] Glad you can relate [emoji23] At least I didn't get mine new! It was actually pretty well used and scratched up when I got it, so I don't stress about little nicks or scratches. I got it to be able to go play off-road, so I can't be too anal. The more things I replace and clean up on it, the more I do love it though, that's for sure. At least it was above freezing that day. I've washed other rigs and had the water freeze before I could dry it off. That was slightly less rewarding, but I think still worth it. Haha We're sick, but at least it's not something that makes our faces cave in and teeth fall out, right?

 

[JayRolla]

You could be like me and keep my garage heater on just to keep my Power Washer thawed. Wife thinks I'm crazy and I'm sure neighbors do when Im out at 8am before work power washing my rig 3 times a week in sub freezing temps. HAHAHA.

 

[Snowden]

Haha [MENTION=133775]Snowden[/MENTION] ..... Haha We're sick, but at least it's not something that makes our faces cave in and teeth fall out, right?

No doubt on that one brother. That other stuff will ruin a life! On the contrary, our little rigs give us purpose. Dude for not being an original owner you've done a great job as the next in line caretaker. I'm stealing your undercarriage appliance paint idea come spring!! I just wish I had some of your other skills... like welding for one!! Guys like you, emkeith, dirtco, jayrolla (just to name a couple here) , make me wonder what the hell I've even done with my life till now lol... :hail:

 

[Tyler James Inc]

Hey [MENTION=133775]Snowden[/MENTION] I appreciate that a lot, thank you[emoji1374] Welding is something I really like(when the welder is working well for me), and would like to get better at. I'd really like to learn how to TIG weld, as I have some AL parts on my VW project that I need some welding work done on. Maybe some day. For now, I just enjoy the MIG my buddy let's me borrow.

Headlights trip was a success! They look a little dingy in the picture, but they look great in person. Stoked to crack the housings open and get the projectors fitted. I know I'll have to trim the shrouds a lot, but that's no big deal. Was contemplating painting the reflectors and shrouds Anthracite, but I think I'll just keep them chrome. I don't want the front end to just disappear in the darkness [emoji1361]
Headlights-

Retrofitted corners off to new owner-

I sold the corners because of 2 reasons: 1- I want the '99+ corners to go with the new headlights, and 2- I actually like the bumper signals in the '99+ bumper I have now, so I wanted those functioning. I'm not sure if I'll retrofit the new corners or not, but I love how bright they are with the 7443 lamps, so I probably will.

 

[Mark_BC]

No doubt on that one brother. That other stuff will ruin a life! On the contrary, our little rigs give us purpose. Dude for not being an original owner you've done a great job as the next in line caretaker. I'm stealing your undercarriage appliance paint idea come spring!! I just wish I had some of your other skills... like welding for one!! Guys like you, emkeith, dirtco, jayrolla (just to name a couple here) , make me wonder what the hell I've even done with my life till now lol... :hail:

I bought a Lincoln Electric Mig Pak 140 for $500, probably cheaper in the US, then just follow the setup instructions, get some scrap metal and play with it, you will pick it up easy. Make sure to grind off galvanizing before you weld, the vapours are toxic. Welding is intimidating until you start then it's not too bad.

 

[Tyler James Inc]

I bought a Lincoln Electric Mig Pak 140 for $500, probably cheaper in the US, then just follow the setup instructions, get some scrap metal and play with it, you will pick it up easy. Make sure to grind off galvanizing before you weld, the vapours are toxic. Welding is intimidating until you start then it's not too bad.

Maybe you haven't read my thread...? I've been welding since high school, I'm just not as proficient as I'd like to be.

Started on getting my Mini D2S 4.0's fitted into my new headlights last night. Well, new-to-me OEM '02 headlights.
I took the shrouds apart, and painted the 4 "dots" of the optic silver. I don't like how it turned out, so I'm going to pull it back apart and strip the paint off.
Anyway, one side together-

 

[NoVAphotog]

I've seen guys do this('99+ overhead console) swap, and they made it MUCH harder than necessary. They used the old two-rocker control board, and retrofitted it into the new console. This requires cutting the new map light lens, and looks horrible.
All that needs to be done to swap in the '99+ overhead console, is re-pin 3 ground wires, one constant power wire, and one switched power wire- THATS IT! I had a spare constant lead, so I used that to power my new rear 12v receptacle.

So I just picked up a 97 Limited sunroof assembly and want to remove and replace the broken one in my 2000 SR5. Is the wiring for the motor and all the same as what is coming out of the overhead console controls that you swapped? The guy gave me everything associated with the sunroof so I have the 97 controls, relay, etc. But I don't want to have go back to the 97 controls when I already have the 99+ console...

 

[Tyler James Inc]

[MENTION=131728]NoVAphotog[/MENTION] the motor plugs are the same; you'll have no issue [emoji1360]

 

[NoVAphotog]

[MENTION=131728]NoVAphotog[/MENTION] the motor plugs are the same; you'll have no issue [emoji1360]

Sweet. That's what I thought, but it just hit me on the way home with the thing after I tested it that I was pressing different buttons lol

Any tips from your experience on removing the headliner? Guy who I picked it up from had it all removed and was saying to make sure to start low (seats, trim, etc) and stay organized.