4RunnerAquasport
Senior Member
it do be like that sometimes
Lol! Narnia feels like the underside of a 4th gen for the last few weeks and foreseeable future.
y=mx+b's Build Thread
- Thread starter y=mx+b
- Start date
Lol! Narnia feels like the underside of a 4th gen for the last few weeks and foreseeable future.
y=mx+b
New member
<a id="pooreagle">Poor Eagle Jack</a> | <a target="_self" href="!287301!4th-gen-t4rs/287301-y=mx-bs-build-thread.html#directory" >Return to Directory</a>
I can't remember if I mentioned it here or not, but I bought pieces to make myself a Poor Eagle Jack. I really didn't like carrying around the 90lb 3 ton jack, so a 35lb aluminum 1.5 ton was a great replacement for on-the-go use.
I bought the parts ages ago, but never got around to properly fitting the shims. Looking back now as I type this up, it does seem the prices have increased since I purchased.
The shim rings ID is perfect, but the OD needs to be shaved a bit. I tried doing it the other way with a washer of proper OD and an ID that needed drilling, but that did not turn out well. Shaving down the OD was much easier. I used 3 shim rings total
I used this disc sander setup I made for my lathe
This is how much I needed to shave down the rings for proper fitment
And here is the final assembly
I can't remember if I mentioned it here or not, but I bought pieces to make myself a Poor Eagle Jack. I really didn't like carrying around the 90lb 3 ton jack, so a 35lb aluminum 1.5 ton was a great replacement for on-the-go use.
I bought the parts ages ago, but never got around to properly fitting the shims. Looking back now as I type this up, it does seem the prices have increased since I purchased.
- I used the HF 1.5 ton Aluminum jack: 1.5 Ton Aluminum Rapid Pump(R) Racing Floor Jack
- The Pro Eagle Lift Pad: Lift pad EXTBM - Pro Eagle
- The Pro Eagle 5-8" extension: Off Road Jack Extension 8" OR 15" - Pro Eagle
- 25mm ID Shim rings: McMaster-Carr
The shim rings ID is perfect, but the OD needs to be shaved a bit. I tried doing it the other way with a washer of proper OD and an ID that needed drilling, but that did not turn out well. Shaving down the OD was much easier. I used 3 shim rings total
I used this disc sander setup I made for my lathe
This is how much I needed to shave down the rings for proper fitment
And here is the final assembly
Last edited:
BagiMT
Member
Lower control arm rebuild
Thanks for the detailed write-up on the lower control arm rebuild. Being on the west coast, the ones I worked on barely had any rust (the image shows them without any painting, just some basic cleaning). Pressing out the old bushings turned out to be the easiest part of the whole job. Using the bottle jack and a bit of heat they popped right out. Getting the ball joint out was the worst part. The ball joint press did not do anything! After soaking it with PB blaster I ended up hammering it out with a big mallet. There was no rust at all around the ball joint, so not sure why it was so hard to get out. Pressing the new one in was quick and easy. I struggled a bit with pressing the bushings in and ended up doing all four with the bottle jack method. Worked much better than using the ball joint press. This job would definitely be much easier with a shop press. Glad I don't have to do this again for another 200k miles!
Thanks for the detailed write-up on the lower control arm rebuild. Being on the west coast, the ones I worked on barely had any rust (the image shows them without any painting, just some basic cleaning). Pressing out the old bushings turned out to be the easiest part of the whole job. Using the bottle jack and a bit of heat they popped right out. Getting the ball joint out was the worst part. The ball joint press did not do anything! After soaking it with PB blaster I ended up hammering it out with a big mallet. There was no rust at all around the ball joint, so not sure why it was so hard to get out. Pressing the new one in was quick and easy. I struggled a bit with pressing the bushings in and ended up doing all four with the bottle jack method. Worked much better than using the ball joint press. This job would definitely be much easier with a shop press. Glad I don't have to do this again for another 200k miles!
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y=mx+b
New member
Hey thats awesome! Glad you didn't have any trouble with rust, that certainly made this job more interesting lol.
Weird that the ball joint press didn't work on your clean arms When I did the one side with a breaker bar, I did notice the hammer shocks definitely helps it jump through, so maybe that is the ticket. Looks good dude!
y=mx+b
New member
<a id="lockactuator3">Door Lock Actuator #3</a> | <a target="_self" href="!287301!4th-gen-t4rs/287301-y=mx-bs-build-thread.html#directory" >Return to Directory</a>
Welp, seems the original bad bois are failing on me once per year lol. Thankfully I now have 3 out of 4 replaced haha. This time the driver front actuator. Was easy enough to just use the key in the hole for a while, but that got old eventually. When it warmed up beyond plastic breaking weather, I dug into replace this one.
Ordered from the same seller ActuatorPlus on eBay. Here is the Driver front: Toyota 4Runner OEM Front Left Door Lock Actuator 2003-2009 **LIFETIME WARRANTY** | eBay
I have a writup here that is all encompassing about the actuators that I will update with the driver front: 4th Gen Door Lock Actuator Replacement: Step by Step with Pictures
There are few differences in the driver front because it has the key slot, and at first I was having a hard time, but the "key" (pardon the pun) is to remove the lock cylinder.
This little guy has to come off on the front door
pop out this extra clip the rear doors don't have
these covers come off just like the rear doors and there is one screw behind each (These are pics from rear door, but same thing)
Then the door card comes off bibbidi bobbidi and the actuator can come out. Door card comes off just like the other doors.
Where is gets tricky is the front door has the keyhole. I struggled to get this piece out because I thought It would just slide out based on the plastic cutouts on the actuator. In reality, the lock cylinder needs to come out, but it was actually really easy. So you should remove the key cylinder before trying to even get the actuator out.
Interface for the key. This little cutout in the plastic on the actuator is why I thought the actuator could go in without removing the cylinder. Way easier to just remove
To remove lock cylinder, this little cap comes off and there is a lil torx screw behind it to take out. The the lock comes right out
the to get the actuator out, I peeled back the moisture barrier from the butyl. If you do it carefully, the butyl will just stick back to itself. for the front door, removing this bracket that holds the window track made it much easier to come out. Wasn't required on the rear doors, so I fought it a bit before wisening up. Once that bracket is loosened, I zip tied it out of the way through where the window comes through the door
Also, unlike the rear doors, the front handle connects to the actuator with a little rod that goes through a hole on a small arm. whereas the rear doors have a plastic arm that sits on a pin
front door
rear door for comparison
Lining that little rod through the hole was a bit difficult and I fought with the key/lock cylinder for a while on reassembly, but after pulling that out, it was easy peasy to get back together
Welp, seems the original bad bois are failing on me once per year lol. Thankfully I now have 3 out of 4 replaced haha. This time the driver front actuator. Was easy enough to just use the key in the hole for a while, but that got old eventually. When it warmed up beyond plastic breaking weather, I dug into replace this one.
Ordered from the same seller ActuatorPlus on eBay. Here is the Driver front: Toyota 4Runner OEM Front Left Door Lock Actuator 2003-2009 **LIFETIME WARRANTY** | eBay
I have a writup here that is all encompassing about the actuators that I will update with the driver front: 4th Gen Door Lock Actuator Replacement: Step by Step with Pictures
There are few differences in the driver front because it has the key slot, and at first I was having a hard time, but the "key" (pardon the pun) is to remove the lock cylinder.
This little guy has to come off on the front door
pop out this extra clip the rear doors don't have
these covers come off just like the rear doors and there is one screw behind each (These are pics from rear door, but same thing)
Then the door card comes off bibbidi bobbidi and the actuator can come out. Door card comes off just like the other doors.
Where is gets tricky is the front door has the keyhole. I struggled to get this piece out because I thought It would just slide out based on the plastic cutouts on the actuator. In reality, the lock cylinder needs to come out, but it was actually really easy. So you should remove the key cylinder before trying to even get the actuator out.
Interface for the key. This little cutout in the plastic on the actuator is why I thought the actuator could go in without removing the cylinder. Way easier to just remove
To remove lock cylinder, this little cap comes off and there is a lil torx screw behind it to take out. The the lock comes right out
the to get the actuator out, I peeled back the moisture barrier from the butyl. If you do it carefully, the butyl will just stick back to itself. for the front door, removing this bracket that holds the window track made it much easier to come out. Wasn't required on the rear doors, so I fought it a bit before wisening up. Once that bracket is loosened, I zip tied it out of the way through where the window comes through the door
Also, unlike the rear doors, the front handle connects to the actuator with a little rod that goes through a hole on a small arm. whereas the rear doors have a plastic arm that sits on a pin
front door
rear door for comparison
Lining that little rod through the hole was a bit difficult and I fought with the key/lock cylinder for a while on reassembly, but after pulling that out, it was easy peasy to get back together
Broke_Runner
New member
it do be like that sometimes
Something tells me I’ll be closer than road-trip distance this year with the latest purchase I may have gone back to the darkside however lol
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y=mx+b
New member
Oh no haha. Glad you finally got back into something and hopefully it doesn't cause you as many problems as the t4r lolSomething tells me I’ll be closer than road-trip distance this year with the latest purchase I may have gone back to the darkside however lol
Broke_Runner
New member
Solid axle things was always where I felt most comfortable I wish I could’ve had more luck with the 4runner it made super long trips easy but this thing is pretty damn good still we’ll have to get together and wheel sometime thinking about going down to uwharrie in NC as well as trips to PA and WV and western Virginia this summer
y=mx+b
New member
I will either be in Illinois this summer or southwest VA, it's still kinda up in the air.
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Broke_Runner
New member
You get another internship gig? That’ll be dope if you’re not around I get it get those intern hours bro. started my degree over the winter and it’s been something else sometimes.
y=mx+b
New member
Yep have an offer with Caterpillar in Peoria, IL. I accepted and sounds like they're going to be in person, but lot of stuff still seems to be on the fence about WFH. I'm still here until May, and will be back in August
Thats awesome dude! What field are you studying?
I'm an hour outside of Uwharrie, that's our go-to spot when we go to do some light wheeling. My brother has a 2017 rubicon on 37's, makes it for a good comparison the IFS vs Solid Axle front for sure.
Your rig should make it right up everything at Uwharrie :guitar3:
y=mx+b
New member
Off from school and work this week, so I've been getting on some projects
Lost a bet with a friend, and my once black spindles, are now gloss berry pink. Funny how that works out lol. At least they will match Patrick! Maybe install this week, we'll see
fixing some boo boos. Not quite done, but I'll have full pics of the process
Still need to type up the blurb and pics for my sliders to post. Going to rain one of these days this week, so may get to writing it up then
Lost a bet with a friend, and my once black spindles, are now gloss berry pink. Funny how that works out lol. At least they will match Patrick! Maybe install this week, we'll see
fixing some boo boos. Not quite done, but I'll have full pics of the process
Still need to type up the blurb and pics for my sliders to post. Going to rain one of these days this week, so may get to writing it up then
y=mx+b
New member
<a id="midframerust">Mid-Frame Rust Hole</a> | <a target="_self" href="!287301!4th-gen-t4rs/287301-y=mx-bs-build-thread.html#directory" >Return to Directory</a>
This past week was my spring break, so I had some truck mods planned. I was getting ready to make a skid plate for my trans and tcase areas, when I discovered some rust holes
1st hole was about mid frame on the passenger side and the second was right where the frame connects to the trans crossmember. Both of these, and all of my other rust problem areas, are on factory weld seams. So my thoughts are that the weld seals were not properly prepared before paint
I did not get to the trans crossmember hole this week, but I did get to the one on that mid frame seam
Started by cutting it out, and it was crusty. Used a combination of the grinder and plasma cutter
Interestingly enough, the weld seam was super crusty, but the other side of the frame was mint looking. These frames are welded together of C shaped sections that are offset, like hardwood floors, so weld seams aren't directly across from each other
I then made up a patch piece and painted the inside
Here is the rough cut hole that was cleaned up a bit from here. Before cutting the hole entirely, I made a little crossmember to span the hole area and keep the frame from spreading
The I burned it in and painted the outside to prevent future rusting. There is an exhaust hanger here, so I did drill and tap an appropriate hole so it could be reinstalled.
This past week was my spring break, so I had some truck mods planned. I was getting ready to make a skid plate for my trans and tcase areas, when I discovered some rust holes
1st hole was about mid frame on the passenger side and the second was right where the frame connects to the trans crossmember. Both of these, and all of my other rust problem areas, are on factory weld seams. So my thoughts are that the weld seals were not properly prepared before paint
I did not get to the trans crossmember hole this week, but I did get to the one on that mid frame seam
Started by cutting it out, and it was crusty. Used a combination of the grinder and plasma cutter
Interestingly enough, the weld seam was super crusty, but the other side of the frame was mint looking. These frames are welded together of C shaped sections that are offset, like hardwood floors, so weld seams aren't directly across from each other
I then made up a patch piece and painted the inside
Here is the rough cut hole that was cleaned up a bit from here. Before cutting the hole entirely, I made a little crossmember to span the hole area and keep the frame from spreading
The I burned it in and painted the outside to prevent future rusting. There is an exhaust hanger here, so I did drill and tap an appropriate hole so it could be reinstalled.
y=mx+b
New member
<a id="spindlegusset1">1/2 Gusseted Spindles</a> | <a target="_self" href="!287301!4th-gen-t4rs/287301-y=mx-bs-build-thread.html#directory" >Return to Directory</a>
I've had these spindles since August, where I purchased them from a junkyard and stripped them down. Just got caught up with school and didn't get around to them. Came with spindles, great condition dust shields, some parts store wheel bearings, OEM speed sensors, and the speed sensor wiring harness
I ordered the JD fab tacoma gussets and welded them onto these OEM spindles
Then I painted them black, made a joke post for my friend EatSleepTacos on TW, and then lost a bet and had to paint them patrick star pink lol
Installing the driver side was a breeze!
I was worried about tire to spindle clearance, since I'm running low offset wheels, but it cleared fine for street driving! I was thinking I'd pick up some 1/2" bora hub centric spacers to keep scrub radius low, while also adding a bit more room there for a budged, aired down tire. The are close enough that they'd probably rub when aired down
The doing the passenger side led to problems. Started by breaking the wheel speed sensor and ended up finding out that spindle must have been bent. The tire was contacting the gusset and was really close to the UCA with the ball joint slider in about the same position as the driver side. Also looking down the tire, the wheel was cambered in much more without changing any of the alignment.
It was a big bummer, and I was trying to go wheeling the next day, so I quickly reversed it all back to the original spindle. Fortunately or unfortunately, I'm now pretty quick at this. Also added some pink to the stock spindle for good measure
While I was in there, I also did Sankei 555 inner and outer tie rods, since I think mine were original at 238k lol. They didn't actually have a lot of play in them, but it was a "while I'm in there" kind of job
so now I have 1 gusseted spindle, and 1 regular spindle. Hence the title, 1/2 gusseted spindle lol. Hopefully I can just buy one gusset and make a day out of gusseting my current spindle.
I've had these spindles since August, where I purchased them from a junkyard and stripped them down. Just got caught up with school and didn't get around to them. Came with spindles, great condition dust shields, some parts store wheel bearings, OEM speed sensors, and the speed sensor wiring harness
I ordered the JD fab tacoma gussets and welded them onto these OEM spindles
Then I painted them black, made a joke post for my friend EatSleepTacos on TW, and then lost a bet and had to paint them patrick star pink lol
Installing the driver side was a breeze!
I was worried about tire to spindle clearance, since I'm running low offset wheels, but it cleared fine for street driving! I was thinking I'd pick up some 1/2" bora hub centric spacers to keep scrub radius low, while also adding a bit more room there for a budged, aired down tire. The are close enough that they'd probably rub when aired down
The doing the passenger side led to problems. Started by breaking the wheel speed sensor and ended up finding out that spindle must have been bent. The tire was contacting the gusset and was really close to the UCA with the ball joint slider in about the same position as the driver side. Also looking down the tire, the wheel was cambered in much more without changing any of the alignment.
It was a big bummer, and I was trying to go wheeling the next day, so I quickly reversed it all back to the original spindle. Fortunately or unfortunately, I'm now pretty quick at this. Also added some pink to the stock spindle for good measure
While I was in there, I also did Sankei 555 inner and outer tie rods, since I think mine were original at 238k lol. They didn't actually have a lot of play in them, but it was a "while I'm in there" kind of job
so now I have 1 gusseted spindle, and 1 regular spindle. Hence the title, 1/2 gusseted spindle lol. Hopefully I can just buy one gusset and make a day out of gusseting my current spindle.
y=mx+b
New member
few updates on the previous page, ran into the 20 pic limit on previous post and it happened to start a new page.
<a id="3pooches31221">3Pooches Farm: Barely any Snow, mostly Mud</a> | <a target="_self" href="!287301!4th-gen-t4rs/287301-y=mx-bs-build-thread.html#directory" >Return to Directory</a>
My buddy from TW has a farm with some trails and obstacles, so we headed out there for the day. There was a little snow, but mostly mud.
The Kenda's did great out there! They cleared well with wheel speed, although that does get scary when they finally hook up, and I didn't ever get formally stuck!
Here are some pics from the articulation area
and probably one of my favorite pictures of the 4runner: featuring the super stuffed tire
<a id="3pooches31221">3Pooches Farm: Barely any Snow, mostly Mud</a> | <a target="_self" href="!287301!4th-gen-t4rs/287301-y=mx-bs-build-thread.html#directory" >Return to Directory</a>
My buddy from TW has a farm with some trails and obstacles, so we headed out there for the day. There was a little snow, but mostly mud.
The Kenda's did great out there! They cleared well with wheel speed, although that does get scary when they finally hook up, and I didn't ever get formally stuck!
Here are some pics from the articulation area
and probably one of my favorite pictures of the 4runner: featuring the super stuffed tire
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4RunnerAquasport
Senior Member
What's up Flex Luthor! Lot's a travelin goin on under that 4Runner...
y=mx+b
New member
yeah I love it! If only the front could keep up with the rear. Rear is on 12" shocks and articulates probably around 16" or more (haven't actually measured, but hub above bottom of body at bump, to tire edge below body at droop is at least half the 35" diameter worth of articulation), but the poor front with its 6" of travel haha.
I'd like to design and built my own LT kit eventually, but I'm a ways out from that. Gotta get my own place and a daily first
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4RunnerAquasport
Senior Member
Yeahhh buddy, Corolla's are lookin reeeaallly sexy right now.....
y=mx+b
New member
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