What did you do with your 4runner today?

I am in the middle of doing engine maintenance, and one project is replacing the timing belt. I got to the point where it required removing the crank pulley bolt. That bolt is torqued to 181 pound feet and is difficult to remove. I did some reading and saw various suggestions on how to remove the bolt...some solutions were to use a long breaker bar wedged against the ground and bump the starter, use a bar wedged into the flexplate or flywheel to lock the engine, use chain wrenches, and purchase ready made tools. The ready made tools cost about $70 and I thought that was too much for a tool I may never use again, so I made a tool. It cost me about $1.60 for two bolts, some scrap steel I had left over from my bumper build, and maybe a half hour of my time.

Here is the tool I ended up with:


It fit on the crank and worked flawlessly



I rested the long end on top of the frame and used a breaker bar and the bolt came right off, not even a struggle! When I put the new belt on tomorrow all I have to do is put the tool back on with it resting on the other side of the frame and I will be able to torque the required value with no problem.



Can't beat that! Working smarter not harder [emoji1417]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
383ad2553d04a06ff39818dae308ccb9.jpg


Got my light bar and pods installed last night.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
What light bar did you go with? I haven't decided on what to put inside my bumper yet.



They are not name brand lights.. couldn't justify spending a lot on them if I'm rarely going to use them.. they were recommended from a shop by my house and apparently pretty damn close to rigid brightness and design wise. They definitely get the job done tho!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
Installed some rear coils

dobinson 59-559s. for an FJ, 30mm lift/220# spring rate..dont mind the rake should settle a bit. big improvement..:flame:
 

Attachments

  • dobinson 1.jpg
    dobinson 1.jpg
    112.6 KB · Views: 304
  • dobinson 2.jpg
    dobinson 2.jpg
    110.1 KB · Views: 290
They are not name brand lights.. couldn't justify spending a lot on them if I'm rarely going to use them.. they were recommended from a shop by my house and apparently pretty damn close to rigid brightness and design wise. They definitely get the job done tho!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You just got me to buy one of the $70 30" single rows on ebay. 2yr warranty isn't bad, and it has the 5w leds. Would only use mine maybe a couple trail runs a year; can't beat the price. I wanted to find something nicer, but dang, $70...
 
I wrapped up CB Install with Uniden 520 Pro XL, Firestik Firering Coax, 3' Firestick Firefly antenna, and a CBI Antenna bracket.

Initial SWR
Ch 1 = 2.2
Ch 20 = 1.3
Ch 40 = 2.3

Going to retune in a better location, but I'll take it for my first CB Install.

Tap a fuse - I had open fuses so I decided to tap an always on fuse.
uh8LRMXl.jpg
The under dash business...
fhFfOcNl.jpg
CBI Antenna Mount with Firering and antenna installed
fP5GQxpl.jpg
 

Attachments

  • uh8LRMXl.jpg
    uh8LRMXl.jpg
    59.3 KB · Views: 316
  • fhFfOcNl.jpg
    fhFfOcNl.jpg
    40.9 KB · Views: 291
  • fP5GQxpl.jpg
    fP5GQxpl.jpg
    42.9 KB · Views: 280
Last edited:
Had it die on me :crybaby:

Not 100% sure what the issue is, but this sucka is pissing me off. I am hoping it is just a bad battery, but the battery I have is only 1.5 years old and I haven't really stressed it at all.

Long story short it has been running fine, and then I went to dunkin donuts this morning. Came back out and the truck wouldn't start. I could hear the relay click, but I couldn't hear any clicking like the ignition/starter was trying to go. Really strange. I looked at it for about 5 minutes, made just all of the connections were tight, and then tried it again and it fired up.

Drove for about 45 minutes to my parents house, and then turned it off. Did some stuff and came back about 3 hours later and it was dead. Same exact issues. I literally hit the battery a couple of times and it fired up. Drove down the street and it died on me. RPMs dropped to zero and I lost power steering and had to pull over. Took me 20 minutes to get it started again and limped home.

So yea I have no clue what the issue is. I am hoping just my battery is bad, but the fact that it isn't clicking on start, and it died on me while driving makes me think the issues might extend further to the starter and/or alternator. Anyone have any input or advice? I haven't had a chance to verify the battery is good yet. I am going to call AAA tomorrow and have them come out and test it. Any tips??
 
Had it die on me :crybaby:

Not 100% sure what the issue is, but this sucka is pissing me off. I am hoping it is just a bad battery, but the battery I have is only 1.5 years old and I haven't really stressed it at all.

Long story short it has been running fine, and then I went to dunkin donuts this morning. Came back out and the truck wouldn't start. I could hear the relay click, but I couldn't hear any clicking like the ignition/starter was trying to go. Really strange. I looked at it for about 5 minutes, made just all of the connections were tight, and then tried it again and it fired up.

Drove for about 45 minutes to my parents house, and then turned it off. Did some stuff and came back about 3 hours later and it was dead. Same exact issues. I literally hit the battery a couple of times and it fired up. Drove down the street and it died on me. RPMs dropped to zero and I lost power steering and had to pull over. Took me 20 minutes to get it started again and limped home.

So yea I have no clue what the issue is. I am hoping just my battery is bad, but the fact that it isn't clicking on start, and it died on me while driving makes me think the issues might extend further to the starter and/or alternator. Anyone have any input or advice? I haven't had a chance to verify the battery is good yet. I am going to call AAA tomorrow and have them come out and test it. Any tips??

Sux!!!

I'm not an electrical expert, but did you confirm cables are still in good shape, clean off terminals, and that the ground bolts are tight and secure? I might also suggest checking connections at alternator.

Good luck!
 
Sux!!!

I'm not an electrical expert, but did you confirm cables are still in good shape, clean off terminals, and that the ground bolts are tight and secure? I might also suggest checking connections at alternator.

Good luck!

Thanks man! Yea unfortunately I checked all of those. Cleaned the terminals. Checked and rechecked all of the cables and terminals and connect toons. Checked the alternator connections and even checked the starter and didn't see any noticeable issues. Such a strange problem. Hoping I can figure it out with the battery tomorrow
 
Got the spindle gussets all welded up! Paint and put them back on next week.
 

Attachments

  • 20170218_145413.jpg
    20170218_145413.jpg
    130.5 KB · Views: 306
  • 20170218_152950.jpg
    20170218_152950.jpg
    132.2 KB · Views: 299
  • 20170218_153003.jpg
    20170218_153003.jpg
    136 KB · Views: 296
Sounds

Had it die on me :crybaby:

Not 100% sure what the issue is, but this sucka is pissing me off. I am hoping it is just a bad battery, but the battery I have is only 1.5 years old and I haven't really stressed it at all.

Long story short it has been running fine, and then I went to dunkin donuts this morning. Came back out and the truck wouldn't start. I could hear the relay click, but I couldn't hear any clicking like the ignition/starter was trying to go. Really strange. I looked at it for about 5 minutes, made just all of the connections were tight, and then tried it again and it fired up.

Drove for about 45 minutes to my parents house, and then turned it off. Did some stuff and came back about 3 hours later and it was dead. Same exact issues. I literally hit the battery a couple of times and it fired up. Drove down the street and it died on me. RPMs dropped to zero and I lost power steering and had to pull over. Took me 20 minutes to get it started again and limped home.

So yea I have no clue what the issue is. I am hoping just my battery is bad, but the fact that it isn't clicking on start, and it died on me while driving makes me think the issues might extend further to the starter and/or alternator. Anyone have any input or advice? I haven't had a chance to verify the battery is good yet. I am going to call AAA tomorrow and have them come out and test it. Any tips??

like a starter solenoid
 
Thanks man! Yea unfortunately I checked all of those. Cleaned the terminals. Checked and rechecked all of the cables and terminals and connect toons. Checked the alternator connections and even checked the starter and didn't see any noticeable issues. Such a strange problem. Hoping I can figure it out with the battery tomorrow

You say you checked the starter, how did you do so?

Isn't the starter on a 2003 V8 under the intake like it is on all the other V8s, if it is I'm just wondering how you were able to access the starter without removing the intake?
 
Last edited:
sitting waiting for this group buy. just one more mod that i need. good thing my truck is paid off more mods soon looking into skids and sliders

Stemming from the interest in the 4th gen section I bring you the group buy thread for the rear recovery points we've been working on!

Specs: 1/2" steel bent with a CNC press brake designed to bolt in place of the rear OE tie-downs.

The grade 10.9 bolts themselves are rated to fail at 23,000 lbs of shear force for both combined.

A metal shackle can be used to pull straight back, but pulling at 90 degrees a soft shackle would be recommended; the metal shackle fits a bit awkwardly at this angle.

  • Our pricing will be $55 shipped for a pair, with 4 grade 10.9 bolts.
  • For those with the factory rear exhaust pipe in the way of the passenger side, $30 shipped for one recovery point with 2 grade 10.9 bolts. (I don't have factory exhaust so I can't verify if they will work on that side with mine.)
  • The corners will be sanded down to be soft shackle friendly.
  • They all will ship bare steel, so you can paint or have them powdercoated whatever color you like.

There is a 3-4wk lead time from the machine shop. Plus we need to bend them and sand the edges. After this, we will send out PM's and start receiving payments and shipping orders.

Reply down below with how many you want and I will add you to the list. We are making 150 recovery points this first batch and the FJ guys already have around 37 pairs accounted for. No guarantees we will be doing a second batch so hopefully everybody can get in.







 
The weather was finally nice enough so I could inspect the front brakes, I've been driving my 3rd-gen for the last several weeks because of a front-wheel vibration at highway speeds, brake pulsation, and really crappy mileage.

The verdict: one inner piston seized on the driver side caliper, both inner pistons seized on the passenger side. The previous owner had the front rotors, pads, and calipers replaced before. The pads have barely any wear, the rotors will probably need to be resurfaced due to the pulsation.

I also have to drill out the snapped bolt holding the hood latch release lever to the hood, got too dark and chilly to do today though.
 
Painted my Demello 3-hoop today with some Monstaliner. Should be ready to go on tomorrow:)
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1492.jpg
    IMG_1492.jpg
    132.5 KB · Views: 297
  • IMG_1493.jpg
    IMG_1493.jpg
    133.4 KB · Views: 302
LEDs in the DO fog light holes

Thanks [MENTION=143757]MisterNickG[/MENTION]. Got the FCKLightBars P4 Pods installed.
With the LEDs.
Without the LEDs.
Front to the 4runner, at night, in the rain: :shocked:
 

Attachments

  • With.jpg
    With.jpg
    71.1 KB · Views: 302
  • Without.jpg
    Without.jpg
    51.6 KB · Views: 304
  • Front.jpg
    Front.jpg
    33.7 KB · Views: 296

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
278,316
Messages
3,554,120
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Trending content

Back
Top