YouInTheShirt's 2001 Build Thread

[YouInTheShirt]

2001 Sport Edition 4x4.

I originally purchased the T4R as a second vehicle in 2013 to keep miles off my truck I owned at the time due to an hour long drive into work. After several months I realized this was the only thing I drove, sold my truck, and paid this off. I joined the forum to get information on how to perform my own maintenance but have since modified & benefited from so many great write ups and builds and feel the need to give a little back.

As of Feb. 2018 @ 218k miles


When I purchased in Feb. 2013 @ 144k miles for $7200 out the door. 2 owner vehicle I got from a small mom and pop dealership in Austin. 1st owner purchased in SoCal and 2nd in Arizona I believe.


Modifications

Front Suspension
SPC Adjustable UCAs 25460
Toytec 112620 Coils
Bilstein D558 Shocks
KYB SM5184 strut mounts
OME 881 Springs (removed)
Toytec top plate spacer (removed)
Rough Country N2.0 (removed)
Sonoran Steel Diff. Drop

Rear Suspension
LC 9 wrap springs
Pro Comp Extended travel shocks

Wheels & Tires
17" 2016 TRD Off Road T4R Rims
285 70r 17 BFG KO2 Load E
Spidertrax wheel spacers

Exterior / Armor
CBI Front Hybrid Bumper w/ black powdercoat
Tacoma Whip Mod
Rear Diff Breath Ext.
Energy Suspension Steering Rack Bushings


Interior / Audio
White LED Dash Lights
Viper Alarm & Remote Start
Pioneer Head Unit
Kicker 6.5 Speakers front and rear
Boss 10" Amp / Sub combo under driver seat
Low Profile Storage Box

Performance
Magnaflow Muffler due to damage to stock
Deck Plate Mod

Major Maintenance Items
Koyo OEM radiator
CV Axles rebooted
Front Axle seals
O2 Sensors
Fuel Filter
Alternator




Upgrades in the works

-Complete Front & Rear suspension overhaul

-Winch & Bumper lights

-E Locker axle swap



Planned Maintenance / Upgrades
Tundra Brake Swap
Full length roof rack
Rear bumper w/ swing out
Timing belt & water pump
Bullet Hole repair
Storage box modification / replacement

Earlier Wheeling Trips:

-Splendora, Tx-

-Barnwell Mountain-

-Barnwell Mountain-

-Sam Houston Nat. Forest-

 

[YouInTheShirt]

Reserved

Reserved

 

[Lamer]

looks very sharp!

 

[jbeebe]

Those TRD rims look great. With the locker, winch, and other mods, hopefully you'll take her out wheeling!

 

[YouInTheShirt]

Those TRD rims look great. With the locker, winch, and other mods, hopefully you'll take her out wheeling!

I usually get out to some parks about once every 2 or 3 months. But because it's kinda the same ole, just a different park. To kinda change scenery, I have started planning out some adventure trips this next year that will probably be between 3-5 days here in the Tx, Ok, Ar area.

 

[Wedgy]

It looks really nice ! There's a ton of old 4runners out here in So Cal that don't have a spot of rust on them.
"Bullet hole repair" ??

 

[YouInTheShirt]

It looks really nice ! There's a ton of old 4runners out here in So Cal that don't have a spot of rust on them.
"Bullet hole repair" ??

LOL. Ya, I use to work for Houston Fire Dept. and was in a very shady part of town. Anywho, I was washing the vehicle about a year back and noticed 2 bullet holes that had come down on my roof. I just chalked it up to those fine citizens doing a little celebratory fire. :gun4:

 

[Wedgy]

I worked in South central LA for 2 years and after New Years and 4th of July you could go onto the flat roof of our 2,000 square foot building and find at least a dozen bullets. Never got any in my car though.

 

[YouInTheShirt]

New suspension

Most all the parts for the front suspension overhaul has arrived. Just missing a few bushings and lower ball joints. Will be selling current front set up when I am finished up.

 

[YouInTheShirt]

Bridgeport,Tx

 

[jeredcollins]

Curious to why you are overhauling your suspension and what you’re about to do

 

[YouInTheShirt]

Curious to why you are overhauling your suspension and what you’re about to do

With recent job change and moving across the state, It turned back into a DD for the past 2 years and now with more time off and $$ I am going to be doing more long range trips instead of just going to the off road park once every couple of months. Its peace of mind to ensure I can get to my next destination or drive back home after a trip, especially with the entire family.

With the new tires, I will be putting on the new UCAs for proper alignment. Changing out all bushing in control arms, rack, and sway bars as several of them are toast.
Obviously I am installing new coil-overs and this is mainly due to the weight. Keeping LC coils in rear but will be replacing the shocks that I picked up used originally 65k miles ago.
Lastly LBJs will be replaced as I have not done them and unsure if it was done with previous owner.

 

[derpiful]

You're going to like that suspension setup, I have really liked mine. Good call on swapping all of the bushings, it's going to feel so much better driving.

 

[Jeremy107]

With recent job change and moving across the state, It turned back into a DD for the past 2 years and now with more time off and $$ I am going to be doing more long range trips instead of just going to the off road park once every couple of months. Its peace of mind to ensure I can get to my next destination or drive back home after a trip, especially with the entire family.

With the new tires, I will be putting on the new UCAs for proper alignment. Changing out all bushing in control arms, rack, and sway bars as several of them are toast.
Obviously I am installing new coil-overs and this is mainly due to the weight. Keeping LC coils in rear but will be replacing the shocks that I picked up used originally 65k miles ago.
Lastly LBJs will be replaced as I have not done them and unsure if it was done with previous owner.

Just curious how much the old lift is going for?

 

[YouInTheShirt]

Broken Bow, Ok

4 Day Vacation to Broken Bow with the family. Got some trail miles in too.

 

[YouInTheShirt]

lower ball joints

LBJs are in and were the last pieces needed to start this suspension project. Hoping to finish it in the next couple of days and get some trail miles on it this weekend. Wholesale prices at Toyota of Dallas.

 

[YouInTheShirt]

Front Suspension rebuild completed

I for sure underestimated the effort needed for this project, but if you don't get easily distracted and drink consistently with the neighbor instead of work, I would say this would be easily a two day job. I had installed my own lift and rebooted CVs previously so only used a couple of write ups in which I referenced below.

Key Points to take away:

1) LCA bushings were all pretty rough & spending another $70 in quality Whiteline bushings is worth it.
2) Don't use Energy LCA bushing because they require you to use the old sleeves. As you can see, mine were completed rusted
3) Besides the required sized sockets that are pretty large, I purchased a pitman puller from Harbor Freight & rented a 3 arm, 5 ton puller from Autozone and needed no other specialty tool to remove or install anything.
4) The Cam or Eccentric bolts and sleeves, whichever you prefer to call them, are hard to find and cheap to replace. Go ahead and buy replacements for all 4 from Toyota as they are cheapest there (Toyota Parts of Dallas) and you get OEM. My vehicle has only been in California and Texas and one was seized that Alignment shop has worked around and never bother to tell me and two of the bolts had damaged threads removing them to replace the LCA bushings. I have added the parts numbers below.


Parts List:
Upper Control arms - SPC 25460
Shocks - Toytec 112620
Springs - Bilstein D558
Upper Strut Mount - KYB SM5184
Strut Stem Kit - Wheelers
LBJs - Toyota 43340-39465 & 43330-39585
LCA bushings - Nolathane Rev034.0060
Steering rack bushings - Energy 8.10103G
Eccentric kit - 48452-35020 x4 / 48409-35050 x4 / 90080-11283 x4

Threads utilized for build

Tacoma Suspension - Control Arms

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/steering-rack-bushing-replacement.412826/#post5867828

 

[Road Bull]

Weird... Google Chrome doesn't seem to want to display your pictures. I tried on another browser and it worked just fine. Hrrrm. Nice looking rig man.

 

[YouInTheShirt]

Weird... Google Chrome doesn't seem to want to display your pictures. I tried on another browser and it worked just fine. Hrrrm. Nice looking rig man.

Ya I have run into this a few times. Only thing I can think of is it is google photos where the pictures are kept.

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[jbrentd]

Howdy from a neighbor to the north. Great looking 4Runner! Love those wheels.