What Did You Do To Your 3rd Gen Today?

[Mark_BC]

Here ya go! I'm super happy with it. I used SEM trim black on my lower valance and grille. They actually go together well.

That looks great with that colour combo. I googled images for black flares with desert dune tan and I don't know if I like it that much. I think silver might look better. But the flares are currently black so any chips in the silver paint will show through. They are scratched up so they have to be painted.

Big life decisions...

 

[NWoods24]

Had my mechanic look to see if I made a horrible mistake!

I apologize if this spoils the intent of the thread!

I bought a '98 from someone two weeks ago and had it looked at by a mechanic first. He got under the car, was thorough under the hood, and we took it for a test drive together. He said that it has a lot of life left, the repairs it needed were not a huge deal, and the rust was "normal" and "not too bad." For $2,000, he thought I was getting a great deal, and he still talked them down to $1,850. I'm from Texas but live on the south shore of Lake Superior now, so I'm not as familiar with rust woes as I probably should have been when considering a 20 year-old car. The rust on the side rails worried me, but when the mechanic said it was not too bad, I decided to make the buy. My ex has a '99 Limited, and I definitely miss that car more than I do her, so I admit to being a little too 4Runner hungry in the moment.

I got under the car myself with a good light this past weekend and started to get nervous. After researching this site, I diagnosed a major rust problem with the rear control arm bracket. So I decided to have a mechanic and body shop person both tell me how much money I was going to need to get the Runner up to a safe and reliable condition. Today, when my mechanic asked me to step into the garage to take a look at the frame, I knew it would be bad news. He said what I was afraid to hear: don't put any money into the mechanics until you find out for certain that you can get this frame fixed.

Long story short: there's a place in Duluth that specializes in frame repair. The guy I talked to guessed correctly at the problem when I told him it was a 98 4Runner. The arm bracket, side rail replacements, and new brackets for the gas tank (all needed), will be somewhere around $1,900. So here's my question for you all:

If you had a '98 with 190k miles on it that was in good mechanical shape, would you put down $1,900 to bring the frame back to life? That's a lot of money, but it's also a lot of truck with a lot of life left. I'm leaning yes since I'm already $1,850 into this idea, but I want to hear from you all.

Thanks in advance!

 

[97t4r81]

I apologize if this spoils the intent of the thread!

I bought a '98 from someone two weeks ago and had it looked at by a mechanic first. He got under the car, was thorough under the hood, and we took it for a test drive together. He said that it has a lot of life left, the repairs it needed were not a huge deal, and the rust was "normal" and "not too bad." For $2,000, he thought I was getting a great deal, and he still talked them down to $1,850. I'm from Texas but live on the south shore of Lake Superior now, so I'm not as familiar with rust woes as I probably should have been when considering a 20 year-old car. The rust on the side rails worried me, but when the mechanic said it was not too bad, I decided to make the buy. My ex has a '99 Limited, and I definitely miss that car more than I do her, so I admit to being a little too 4Runner hungry in the moment.

I got under the car myself with a good light this past weekend and started to get nervous. After researching this site, I diagnosed a major rust problem with the rear control arm bracket. So I decided to have a mechanic and body shop person both tell me how much money I was going to need to get the Runner up to a safe and reliable condition. Today, when my mechanic asked me to step into the garage to take a look at the frame, I knew it would be bad news. He said what I was afraid to hear: don't put any money into the mechanics until you find out for certain that you can get this frame fixed.

Long story short: there's a place in Duluth that specializes in frame repair. The guy I talked to guessed correctly at the problem when I told him it was a 98 4Runner. The arm bracket, side rail replacements, and new brackets for the gas tank (all needed), will be somewhere around $1,900. So here's my question for you all:

If you had a '98 with 190k miles on it that was in good mechanical shape, would you put down $1,900 to bring the frame back to life? That's a lot of money, but it's also a lot of truck with a lot of life left. I'm leaning yes since I'm already $1,850 into this idea, but I want to hear from you all.

Thanks in advance!

Shop around. Not crazy high, but never know.. Also explore the local fab dept at the community college.. Or now is your moment to learn a little metal fab and get some tools. Cl may be your friend. Best of luck

 

[Mark_BC]

I apologize if this spoils the intent of the thread!

I bought a '98 from someone two weeks ago and had it looked at by a mechanic first. He got under the car, was thorough under the hood, and we took it for a test drive together. He said that it has a lot of life left, the repairs it needed were not a huge deal, and the rust was "normal" and "not too bad." For $2,000, he thought I was getting a great deal, and he still talked them down to $1,850. I'm from Texas but live on the south shore of Lake Superior now, so I'm not as familiar with rust woes as I probably should have been when considering a 20 year-old car. The rust on the side rails worried me, but when the mechanic said it was not too bad, I decided to make the buy. My ex has a '99 Limited, and I definitely miss that car more than I do her, so I admit to being a little too 4Runner hungry in the moment.

I got under the car myself with a good light this past weekend and started to get nervous. After researching this site, I diagnosed a major rust problem with the rear control arm bracket. So I decided to have a mechanic and body shop person both tell me how much money I was going to need to get the Runner up to a safe and reliable condition. Today, when my mechanic asked me to step into the garage to take a look at the frame, I knew it would be bad news. He said what I was afraid to hear: don't put any money into the mechanics until you find out for certain that you can get this frame fixed.

Long story short: there's a place in Duluth that specializes in frame repair. The guy I talked to guessed correctly at the problem when I told him it was a 98 4Runner. The arm bracket, side rail replacements, and new brackets for the gas tank (all needed), will be somewhere around $1,900. So here's my question for you all:

If you had a '98 with 190k miles on it that was in good mechanical shape, would you put down $1,900 to bring the frame back to life? That's a lot of money, but it's also a lot of truck with a lot of life left. I'm leaning yes since I'm already $1,850 into this idea, but I want to hear from you all.

Thanks in advance!

You got a good deal on it so why not. I've seen threads / posts here of people re-welding all that stuff. I'd try to do it myself and improve my welding skills, if you have the space to do it. How bad is it, like the recent photo posted in the Frame Recall thread?

 

[NWoods24]

It's not broken off yet, but it's definitely not stable and one of the side rails has a hole in it. But yes, that photo is the direction it's headed in. I'm brand new to even considering working on my car myself, so this is way beyond my skill level.

 

[John7M7]

I was told that I couldnt remove the front grille without taking off my ARB bumper. Trying to have my retrofit installed.

Is that true?

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[Wedgy]

In the process of rebuilding a junkyard sunroof assembly because I'm tired of not being able to use mine. It seems there's a common trend with the cable seizing/rusting inside of the casing its in...

Hoping to have the rebuilt assembly in this weekend.

I am in the same boat, motor works but the rest is seized. I can't find that repair thread, just all the ones about leaking and cleaning the drains. I really want to fix it while I have the entire interior removed and headliner out. I'm in the process of insulating/sound proofing and removing the previous owners "spunk".
If you can link that thread that would be great !

 

[ltsr]

I was told that I couldnt remove the front grille without taking off my ARB bumper. Trying to have my retrofit installed.

Is that true?

Thanks in advance for the help!

This is true. At least on my 01 it is, and how I installed the arb bumper. I tried to take my grill off yesterday and just realized this. :doh:

 

[infamousRNR]

I was told that I couldnt remove the front grille without taking off my ARB bumper. Trying to have my retrofit installed.

Is that true?

Thanks in advance for the help!

I CAN NOT remove my grill with my ARB Bumper on....

even when there was a 1.5" bumper gap i still wasn't able to wiggle that thing out.

My buddy helping at me at the time removed my drivers side headlight to eventually wiggle the grill out but honestly i would recommend getting a buddy to help you lift the bumper off the crush can mounts and getting your new grill in will be soooo much easier.

 

[thecole1098]

I am in the same boat, motor works but the rest is seized. I can't find that repair thread, just all the ones about leaking and cleaning the drains. I really want to fix it while I have the entire interior removed and headliner out. I'm in the process of insulating/sound proofing and removing the previous owners "spunk".
If you can link that thread that would be great !

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/how-to-sun-roof-repair.260221/

The above link is for a Cruiser of our era, however its pretty much the same process. There are some minor differences between ours, but personally I did mine just by taking it apart and taking pictures as I go. It really isn't that bad, just keep track of everything and know how it goes back together.

Also, be sure to have a new copper casing and/or new cable assemblies on hand... I had to replace the casing and the passenger side cable on mine due to it being rusted inside of the casing which caused the copper to snap in half.

 

[LittleCaesar]

Ran over some mole tunnels with it to compact the dirt. I hate moles. They tear up one's yard and kill the roots of the grass.

 

[Cree]

So I didn't get the Sport hood like I was hoping. That's ok though. I found something WAAAAY better. Not a S/C, but almost as good. I'll put up pics tomorrow after I get the other half of it, but let me say this.... it's the score of my life.

 

[4Runner4Leon]

Finished POR15 on the inside of the front bumper and on the frame rails. That stuff is amazing, very happy with it:









Also updated the Glowshift trans temperature gauge sending unit to a waterproof connector (I was able to salvage an underhood connector from a 2nd gen 4runner at the junkyard, so keeping it "Toyota" authentic ):

 

[2ndhandyotaman]

Nothing exciting, I just drove mine today. The gas light came on at 210 miles, so I've seen an improvement in fuel usage after fixing the exhaust leaks and installing a new down stream OXY sensor. Hopefully this will keep the P0420 turned off.

 

[dmcwhorter9974]

Picked up Brembo Rotors and OEM brake pads for a brake change and seafoam Saturday one man party- as well as new factory radiator cap for kit ordered from Royal South Toyota (odd it had the radiator and hoses but no cap...). Ordered OEM crank bolt. Installed and ran wires for JBL GT-Bass Pro 12 to new head unit- contacted crutchfield for an exchange on JBL stagepro component set (garbage- dont get them). Ran sea foam through the fuel tank. Checked transmission fluid (still no strawberry milkshake- fingers crossed). Trying to get ready for the big timing belt change and doing my research on a potentially cracked valve seal- noticed some build up on there today. Working on ABS Brake Pump- starting to get the whirring noise down a bit. It's going to be a 4runner weekend! Excited to get some stuff done!

 

[John7M7]

This is true. At least on my 01 it is, and how I installed the arb bumper. I tried to take my grill off yesterday and just realized this. :doh:

I CAN NOT remove my grill with my ARB Bumper on....

even when there was a 1.5" bumper gap i still wasn't able to wiggle that thing out.

My buddy helping at me at the time removed my drivers side headlight to eventually wiggle the grill out but honestly i would recommend getting a buddy to help you lift the bumper off the crush can mounts and getting your new grill in will be soooo much easier.

Thanks guys. That suuuuuuucks the most. Oh man that sucks.... :/
The retrofit project just took a bad turn haha.

 

[albertschmitz]

Maintenance done

This week instead of one day

Plugs & wires
New knock sensors and wiring
Valve cover gaskets
Struts, shocks and rear springs
Gas tank
Fuel filter
tires
brakes

It is always fun buying a different vehicle.

 

[sonjason]

Thanks guys. That suuuuuuucks the most. Oh man that sucks.... :/
The retrofit project just took a bad turn haha.

Winner, winner, you were post #25000 in this thread.

arty:

 

[PCF4runner]

Tint strip [emoji41]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[infantry503]

So I didn't get the Sport hood like I was hoping. That's ok though. I found something WAAAAY better. Not a S/C, but almost as good. I'll put up pics tomorrow after I get the other half of it, but let me say this.... it's the score of my life.

You can't leave us hanging like this!!!!! haha.