Microlander Overland 4runner Build Thread

Hey everybody! Long time reader, first time poster.

Figure I should start my build thread before it gets too far out of hand and I forget everything I've done to my runner!

So!
Bought my Anthracite 1998 Limited 4wd V6 4runner in the beginning of 2015 with just under 230k from one of my good friends that had owned it for just over a year.

He didn't do much to it in the year he owned it with exception of the curt basket and light bar. He also re-did the blinkers with the amber eagle-eye LED lights in the blank plate under the headlight housing.



How it sat the day I bought it!

Front- Procomp Shocks OME881 springs

Rear- Procomp Shocks OME890x springs

Front Addicted Offroad Tube Bumper

Addicted Offroad rock sliders

Curt Roof Basket

40" straight Amazon light bar



Now. 2/2017


Front Suspension:

Camburg Uniball UCA
2.5" Body Sway A Way Racerunner extended travel coilovers 650 lb. springs

Rear Suspension:

OME 861 coils
Fox 2.0 remote reservoir 8" travel shocks
Sway A Way 2.0 hydro/air bump stops
Custom D.O.M. 7/8" Heim joint upper and lower rear links

Armor:

Addicted Offroad tube front bumper W/ Warn 9000 lb. Winch
Rockware rear plate swingout bumper

Engine:

TRD Black supercharger stock pulley ATM.
Walbro 190lph fuel pump
Deckplate
ISR
K&N drop in filter

Driveline:

Custom fabbed e locker wiring harness

Lighting:


Recovery:

Interior:








Buddy I bought it from had a 96 4runner with an E-locker in it that he totaled before he got this 98, he sold the whole truck EXCEPT e-locker axle

First things first! We swapped it in!





Next on the list, I added a small thing. Well two actually, the 3w driving lights. (They were taking up space in my toolbox)




Then 2x 55w 7" HIDs to fill the stinger hole in the Addicted Bumper!





I didn't hesitate at all with adventures, it was spring time and the red deserts of southern utah were calling me!

Found a group of guys, UtahDesertT4R.com and we headed up to the San Rafael Swell





Good ol' Bungee cord holding down a plastic 5 gallon can!





She did great for the first trip of hundreds to come! Very happy. Keep in mind I still hadn't wired up the E-Locker.

I was trying to figure out how to build my own harness with using the stock switch.


My 4runner came with ZERO factory wiring harness for the locker from the factory. Some did, some didn't.



Just like that BAM! We're cruising down the road to the desert again!
This time to the needles district of Canyonlands National Park just outside of Moab.
We went down there same weekend as EJS (easter joop safari) I hate people, especially joop owners JK!
But nonetheless we headed AWAY from the crowds and into our backcountry remote campsite far away from the ruckus of the death wobble-ing wranglers.

Oh and I have projectors/gaylos now!



Nothing like enjoying a nice twist off at sunset with one of your best buds!






Another almost un-eventful (no breakage) weekend.

BUT! being the noob I was then, I decided to strap on a full 15 gallon jug of water to my basket and head down, up, over, around all sorts of obstacles in the desert.


Those skinny plastic cross bars didn't last an hour....




Oh well! Found one from a part out for $15 and I was back on my way to more trail runs!

But not before a new light bar! This one switches between amber and white. Very functional for multiple driving conditons without having to use covers or extra lenses.




This trip was back to the San Rafael Swell. North section this time near Temple Mountain




Tons and tons of old metal mining structures spread across the not so silent desert valleys.


Got off work early one afternoon and headed up Big Cottonwood Canyon with the snowmobile to catch some fresh powder at Guardsman Pass between Brighton and Park City




Picked up a commuter/grocery getter! 1991 Honda Rebel 250.

$700!!!




Amber eagle eye LEDs doing what they do!

 

My good friend Jake picked up a 2004 Tacoma!




So naturally we had to go break her in! Quick evening trip up American Fork canyon about 30 min from our homes.






I REALLY emphasized the "Break in" part. Smoked that CV out from bouncing her up a rock ledge.



I'm 90% sure it was the original CV shaft. Not too bad for 235k!



Under the knife.

New Cvs

New Power steering rack and ITR, OTR, rack bushings





Got her back on the road after an alignment!

That weekend the old lady and I took her up to the trail head @ Christmas meadows on the north slope of the Uinta Mountains to do some backpacking!





A collapseable fishigpole is about the best invention ever.



Beautiful weekend up at Amethyst Basin!






Traded up the nighthawk for this 97 CBR600. Full yoshimura pipe, caged and 12 O'clock bar for you know, all the times I have her nose up with the rear dragging on the pavement!

$850!!!! Just over 35,000 miles! I feel like I stole it at that.



Enough with the onroad stuff. My buddy myself and our laddies took a weekend trip to Moab!



The good ol' 3.4 pulled that 2500 lb. Pop up trailer pretty well!






I went out to Ouray/Telluride Colorado with my family with our ATVs. One night we were in Telluride for dinner and I saw this beaut and couldn't resist snappin a few! Look familliar to anybody here??



Uhh Ohhhhhh

Billy 5100s- Check
Toytec 620 lb. springs- Check




Got the lift on and had to go test it out for my birthday weekend! I organized a trip up to Murdock basin in the Uinta Mountains with some local 4runner guys. How many can you count?? (that 2nd gen 4runner has a rear mount turbo)

 

I'll take this one

 

I'll hang onto this one too

 

Aaaaaand this one

 

Okay. Last one

 

Some alright flex out of her!

Found a nice little cliff to jump in at cataract gorge!








We pilled in the runner and pointed the wheels towards the red desert!

Journey started at the top of Capitol Reef National Park at Cathederal valley. Some amazing scenery there! From there we went to Fruita, UT a small original farming community in the middle of the waterpocket fold in the middle of the desert. The fremont river is a life giving river that allowed the early settlers to plant all sorts of trees from Apple to pecan and everything in between!

It just so happened that we were there in the peak of apple season!! As many apples you can fit in a 5 gallon paper bag for one and a half dollars. I highly suggest stopping there if you are ever in Utah in the fall.





I'm not even mad about finding this spot to camp on the beach of Lake Powell. We had no plan after we left Capitol Reef!









After a few close calls on that trip in soft sand/mud I finally told myself it was time to get the locker wired up!



Take your time and you can make what you are working on turn out well! Anything worth doing is worth doing right.






Fall foliage up near Strawberry reservoir!



Made another quick weekend trip down to Moab. Fins n' things will always be one of my favorite trails!







Before


After!

I hated the peeling clear coat on my hood but I really love the anthracite color so I did quite a bit of research and found 3M M211 charcoal metallic is almost an exact match to the Toyota Anthracite Metallic 1A1 color code on the runner!

 

OH haaaaay


Just in time for the halloween bro trip to Moab!!!





I sometimes make pretty pikshurs

@ Landscape Arch



2x 3rd gens and 4 dudes. What else do you need for a good weekend??




Baby elephants back, that puddle was 3 feet deep!


Dat hammock life!


So on a sunday afternoon in Green river Utah, this is what you do to fix an upper rear trailing arm.....




Oh yeah! I had a 2nd gen. Thats all you need to know. Its gone now. I made money on it and dumped the extra funds intoooooooooooo *hold please*



This guy! On the right! 2009 Summit X 800 163" track. It's my 2nd love. Okay 3rd with the girlfriend






Thanksgiving day 2015 near our cabin in southern Idaho!

 

Saw your post on facebook. Come... hang out with us cool guys:

4runner BS Thread - https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/tws-active-4runner-builders-bs-thread.382470/

My 3rd gen 4runner build thread - https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/ramonortiz55-4runner-build-la-venenosa.370253/

 

Yeah, This will be one of those things that takes up more of my time. I can feel it now!

 

Nice build up you have going, love exploring southern Utah!

 

Ordered myself one uh dem fancy light burrs.
40".
White.
Curved.

Mounts from @SRQ_Fabrications







I organized my first "real" overland trip wiht the Local Utah Toyota Offroad Facebook Group!

Begining of December through the Maze District of Canyonlands National Park.

Friendships of a lifetime were made on that trip!





It DUMPED the week after we got back from Canyonlands.

So had to give the sled a good rip! We went up to soapstone basin in the Uinta Range

 

Quick trip out to 5 mile pass with some of the local guys. Met some cool people and dented the $#!+ out of one of my wheels...








I had snow for breakfast one morning.







OOOOHHHH!

I think these joints will suffice.

Oh. In the meantime since the last one broke in Moab on halloween, I had a buddy boxweld the rear upper links.







This is my other love. Dirt scooter-ing.

How many loves do I have now? 4? ehh.

Mine is #9 in the back!

2004 CRF450R

 

Warner valley is an awesome area to explore, right along the UT/NV border




Making the roof look better now with that 3M M211 Wrap so I can finally get my light bar on!



Before




During



After






I dont like when the body has to be friends with a drillbit....







Also got my Lower links done!




Nice comparison vs. Stock





I gots da parts noww.

Uniball UCAs

@totalchaos Spindle gussets

Sway A Way racerunner 2.0

New OEM Toyota LBJs

Fox 2.0 8" remote reservoirs

and one of the lower links!

 

Light bar- Mounted.



Retrofits- resprayed





Shes sitting pretty!




Spindle Gussets- Welded on




Had to do some hard park shots!

Note: front sway bar is off, rear is on







Finished up my scuba certification just in time for spring break to playa del carmen!









2nd official Group trip of Microlander Overland.

We explored eastern Utah and Western Colorado near Dinosaur National Monument

















The Canyons area spectacular out there!





The entire group!

 

#raverunner

 

Thats right

Where's your build thread??

 

Went down to Moab with my parents and rode their ATVs and my Dirtbke around down there! Went out to secret spire and dellenbaugh tunnel!









Fast forward to the weekend after that was supposed to be boating at sand hollow, what we didn't realize, it was the WORCS ATV/MC race down there that weeknd and the windy-est night I've ever experienced. I'm pretty sure the runner went up on two wheels at one point.

So we ditched the plan of boating and headed south out of Hurricane, UT to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon!












Blew up one of my rear shocks down there catching air on the way to the rim.

Pinched the hose and leaked alll the fluid out.













The north rim is very spectacular!

Our group were the only ones at Toroweap overlook at that time.

NO bussloads of tourists, NO selfie sticks, NO giftshops. It's the way I imagine a national park should be.









Picked up some sick 20s for the runner. Figured I needed to change it up some!






Nahhh! JK! I could never rock those....
My buddy needed some tires to pass saftey (better tread than his) so we swapped for the day!






Me and the girl went camping with her family up near Daniels Summit above Heber, UT and figured we should take the dirt scooters!







There was still tons of snow on the trail so we turned around





It was the first weekend that lodgepole campground was open (where we stayed), and they had just chopped up all of the timber fall from the winter and told us to take as much as we could!

I absolutely hate paying for firewood so I'll gladly put a scratch or two and fill the cargo area with dirt!













My buddy just picked up a brand new RZR Turbo 4 seater just in time for Rally on the Rocks in Moab! (big RZR event)








He even let me drive!






Taken on the Onion Creek trail in the "Narrows" section






Stayed near Dewey bridge/Delores river area that saturday night so we had to run Top Of The World trail!

 

3rd Microlander Overland Adventure now under way! May 2016





























San Rafael Swell to Henry Mountains to lake powell to San rafael swell


If anyone wants the routes for these trips just ask! I have all of them on file!




Rock therapy 2016 in Moab with Utah Toyota Offroad group and @shootmymime
@ajpkunz

notice the new nitto trail grapplers!!

33x11.5x16