Mc1337sauce's Turbo 1997 4Runner Build

Sam a.k.a. Mc1337sauce's Build



History: My parents bought the truck new in 1997, and drove it unmodded until right before I started driving. The first mod I remember us doing was the K&N intake, followed by the BFGoodrich All-Terrains, exhaust, and various other small mods. I began driving the truck the day I got my permit, and when I turned 16, I became its sole driver.

Specs:
1997 Toyota 4Runner 2WD with the 2.7L 3RZ-FE 4 Cylinder Engine
Desert Dune Mica with Oak Interior
4 Speed Automatic
175K+ Miles
Mint condition inside and out



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Mods:

Engine and Performance
-KO Racing Turbocharged @ 5psi
-Garrett T3/T4 Turbo (46 trim option from KO Racing)
-TiAL Q BOV
-TiAL MV-S Wastegate
-AEM UEGO Wideband O2 Sensor
-NGK Iridium Plugs
-NGK Silicone Spark Plug Wires
-Injen/AMSOIL dry filter
-JBA Catback Exhaust
-Magnaflow Catalytic Converter

Wheels and Tires
-2015 FJ Trail Wheels
-Dunlop Grandtrek AT20 265/70R17

Interior/Sound
-Turbosmart Boost Gauge
-AEM UEGO Wideband Gauge
-35% Tint Front/15% Tint Rear
-Full Woodgrain Conversion
-Clarion CX501 Headunit
-2 Kicker CompVR 12s

Suspension
-Stock Coils
-OEM Toyota Tokico Shocks
-2.5in Lift ToyTec Spacers front/Fat Bob’s Garage Spacers rear

Exterior
-Rebadged to Hilux Surf
-Sport Edition Skid Plate
-OEM JDM Corner Lights
-TRD Grille Emblem

Future Mods
-OEM Hilux Surf or JAOS Rear Spoiler
-Upgraded Door Speakers
-OEM JDM Headlights (99+)/Rumin Sport Projector Headlights and OEM JDM Corners (99+)
-JAOS Skid Plate (PENDING INSTALL)
-OEM Homelink Sun Visor
-OEM JDM Field Monitor

Now that we've been through all of that, here's a few pics.

Here's the engine bay that most of my friends ogle over. I pride myself in keeping my truck clean and detailed inside and out.


Sitting pretty in the driveway.


Gotta have this sticker. There's actually a purpose, too: the snail under the hood only drinks the finest petrol available.


Also gotta have some stickers on the back.


Sitting next to my buddy Juan’s Tacoma (JuansTaco on TacomaWorld).


In front of my friend Angel’s Volvo.


Lurking behind my friend Juan’s Shelby.


Next to my dad's Xterra (I tried to convince him to get another 4Runner, but my attempts were futile) and 2 of his bikes. I do not ride but I enjoy working on the motorcycles.


Thanks for taking time out of your busy day to check out my humble build. I hope you enjoy, because even though it is not as modified as many others' 4Runners, that's not what I am after. I want a semi-stock truck with some tasteful mods. I'm more into car shows than offroading, if you catch my drift.

 

Hung out with JuansTaco today. We bedlined his new bumper, got some new-to-him 265/75R16 BFGoodrich All-Terrains to tide him over until he does his mid-travel setup, and I got some ToyTec spacers for the front of my truck. The lift is finally coming together! I still have to find a rear setup (probably 2.5in spacers from Fat Bob's Garage). Now for pics:



You can see the bedlined bumper here - looks pretty sweet!


And my parts. 3in ToyTec spacers (I am most likely only going to use the preload spacers for 2.5in of lift) on some Tacoma TRD Offroad coils (keeping these in case the preload spacers make my coils sag significantly).

 

Replaced my PCV valve today. With over 165K miles on it, I figured it was time for replacement, plus it *should* improve my gas mileage (13-15mpg city, 20 highway). It was a quick job, only hard part was taking the old grommet out - it had essentially turned into plastic. No disassembly of any other part of the engine required. Also, if any of you are interested, my dad and I make videos of all the maintenance we do on the trucks, bikes, etc. They are posted on my YouTube channel here. We have over 150 videos, 200K+ views, and over 300 subscribers, so stop by if you're interested in step-by-step videos on Toyota maintenance - there's even a convenient "Toyota Maintenance and Mods" section right under recent uploads. Anyway, here's a pic of today's completed work:

 

I have seen ur 4runner on youtube. How dose it feel to drive a turbo 3rz?

 

ya he edits all those vids. i think the youtube channel is RedonKillas

but hes a good budy of mine. still hasnt taken me for a ride yet. but the pics look killer!

 

The turbo 3RZ is awesome. Still working out a few kinks, and may end up getting some sort of fuel management, but overall, it's great (and I think all of my problems stem from the fact that my truck is autotragic). Definitely worth the money.

Here's some pics.

Partway through install


A bit of my vacuum routing (looks pretty factory IMO)


Gauge wiring (my dad is far superior to myself when it comes to wiring)


How I got it running before it was all finished (I call it the unicorn setup)


Gauges in action


All done from the front


All done from the side

 

I want to add a turbo to my 96 single cab 5 speed, should be loads of fun. First I have to rebuild the engine and put stage 2 cams and bore 20 over. Witch turbo did you get quick spool, good spool, decent spool, or laggy lagster?

 

I got the 46 trim Garrett (.63 A/R exhaust and .50A/R compressor), which is the quick spool. I like it; gives you the power you want at pretty much any time. You can't push it as far as other turbos, but it is good up to at least 300WHP from what I have heard.

Just wondering, why do you want to rebuild your engine? If it's still running well, you are fine to bolt on a turbo. I have nearly 167K on my truck and it's doing great with the turbo at 5psi, and I could even go higher if I wanted.

 

Also, I am uploading a test drive video shortly, so if you want to see that, just visit my YouTube channel - it will be up within the hour.

 

My engine only has 22xxxx miles on it but it has been dogged by the previous owner, so it has worn rings, a misfire, poor acceleration, and very bad gas mileage. I figured since Im going to have it apart I might as well just upgrade while I am working on it. I plan on the quick spool too, I can Imagine how bad the lag would be with a big turbo.

 

Will do!!!

 

I watched the video, 0-60 is impressive my 0-60 is around 20ish seconds if I remember correctly.

 

Yeah, the 0-60 will be significantly quicker once I get some other issues resolved, too. The run in the video was with A/C on, and for some reason, the ECU stays in closed loop in first gear despite being WOT, so it runs lean and pulls timing. That's the main issue that I'm trying to figure out right now, but I'm sure that it is because my truck is automatic (autotragic...lol). My gear ratio is also terrible for how much the truck weighs/the power it has; stock, its 3.91, so I am looking for a 4.30 or possibly a 4.56 Toyota 3rd member from a 6 lug first gen Tacoma/third gen 4Runner.

 

Check out LCEngineering for all of the engine rebuild components; I can't recommend them highly enough from my experience, and I have heard that the rebuild kits are top quality as well.

 

Yea Lce is where I was going to get master rebuild kit, cams, valves, and valve springs. For the standalone ecu I am on the fence between Lceperformance, or URD.

 

3.91's seem geared high for a 4runner, I have 4.10's in my single cab Tacoma. I want to re-gear to 4.88's with 33's. But for stock ecu and internals , and how heavy your 4runner is, the acceleration is good. Good luck getting all the kinks worked out.

 

Yeah, the 4Runner is not too heavy by SUV standards, with my 3RZ 2WD being about 3400-3500lbs, but compared to a single cab Tacoma, its a bit beefy. I have no idea why they put 3.91s in them, while they put 4.10s or 4.30s in the V6 models; it should have been the other way around. The 3.91s also make it especially anemic with the automatic transmission and 31in All-Terrains I'm running. I'm hoping to find a 4.30 3rd member on eBay sometime in the future and be able to swap that into my truck; I'm sure that will make it a LOT quicker.

Also, if you are doing a standalone ECU, make sure your state does not have OBDII inspections, as you won't pass with a standalone. I don't have any sniffer test where I live, but they do scan my computer, so I am limited to piggyback solutions like the URD FTC or MAPECU3, although those are not too bad from what I have heard. I will likely end up with one of them, depending on the prognosis from the turbo gurus on CustomTacos. Everything runs well, even when it is running lean (there is no ping/knock/misfire), so I'm really not sure what exactly is going on, or if that is normal for first gear to be locked into closed loop. Hopefully I will find out soon...

 

never heard of 3:91s or 4:30s for tacomas haha. you can have my 4:10s and third member if you fins me a tundra axle

 

You have an E-Locker third...wont fit my truck sadly. I need an open third.