v3's maintenance/build thread

v3bahumut

New member
Well, figured I may as well catalog my exploits with the new-to-me 4Runner.

Picked up my 2001 SR5 4WD with 222k on the clock and one previous owner for $4500 from a high end motorsport dealer who really just wanted it off his lot as most of the other cars were $90k Porsches and $100k Bentleys .

Exterior has normal rock chips, and a couple hail dents on the hood but otherwise excellent condition. Leather interior is a bit rough on the drivers seat, passenger is ok and rear is mint. Driver carpet is torn up and the drivers door panel is coming loose......last owner spent a lot of time in this thing, but everything worked, every button did what it was supposed to and the engine/trans/transfer case sounded great.

So here she is the day I brought her home:
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The puppies will enjoy the room in the back instead of being cooped up in a travel crate and belted into the tiny back seat of the Celica:
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Sitting next to the 01 Turbo Celica:
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Fist things I needed while I was re-cooperating my bank account was windshield wipers, got a nice set of rain-x latitudes....work wonders and confused the parts store guy when I asked for a rear blade part number. Which I guess is a Toyota only thing.

Next was new tags, never had the Marine tags before....lady put the emblem on crooked and I had to patiently peel it off and put it on straight....grrrr
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Checked and re-checked all the fluids, making sure nothing was leaking or burning.....everything looked good.

Drove it as-is for a couple weeks, notices the right front tire was loosing about a pound of air a day, let it go this way, filling it up once a week for around four weeks before I got a chance to bring it into Discount Tire. They found and patched a nail hole.......I've been tracking my MPG since I got the truck and just having the semi flat tire was costing me a full 1 mpg, yeesh. I went from 15.8 to 16.7 MPG all city.

Then I decided after having the Mrs. get out of the truck without ever touching them that the sissy steps had to go:
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Someone bashed them up pretty good.....I needed a crow bar to get them off:
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Cleaned the MAFS, the throttle body, ran some Seafoam through the PCV and smoked the neighbors out then changed the spark plugs and reset the EFI to let the truck learn my driving style.
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Everything was already pretty clean, just a little touch-up cleaning. Apparently the previous owner took pretty good care of her, I bought plug wires along with everything else, but apparently I should have checked because they were practically brand new having 2012 written on them along with the other information and the kicker, every wire was perfectly aligned and spiral wrapped where they came close to anything warm.


Now my first mod, a snazzy new deckplate for my intake box:
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Hopefully I gain a little MPG from all the cleaning and deckplate, I'd be happy for a fraction honestly.

Next up I have a B&M trans cooler waiting on my workbench to ward off any would-be pink milkshake maker of a radiator, and I bought myself this kit for the timing belt and other goodies you are supposed to change while you are in there ....then after all that is done I can start the fun stuff.
 
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Found some time to get the external trans cooler installed.

I may have went a little overboard with the heater hose "armor" but oh well.

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Got my WeatherTech liners in today.......they are a bit pricey but I'm going with all the great reviews I've seen on here.

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Hopefully they will start to lay flat with a little time....or I may have to heat em up a bit, or maybe just wait for a nice warm sunny summer day for them to conform.



Now I just need to replace that torn up drivers seat cushion and the door panel then the interior will be perfect.
 
Forgot I had made this thread,
I disabled the DRLs....I found them to be annoying.

Replaced the lower ball joints:


As well as poly steering rack bushings and a full set of poly sway bar bushings

Did the Andymod 2.0 using an Avalon switch, relay and an add-a-fuse:


And did the Tundra 231 upgrade

 
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