T4r4life Build Thread (shenanigans)

As it sits today
5/19/14
DSC_0729 by EricZhan Photography, on Flickr
1/16/14


12/20/13



Tires:
35x12.5x15 pro comp mt2

Suspension:
Bilstein 5100 w/ Eibach coils
Toytec diff drop
LC 8.25 wrap coils
LC shocks
Tacoma brakes
Stainless steel brake lines

Armor:
Trail gear rock assault front bumper
Trail gear 68" DOM sliders
Home made rear tube bumper

Interior:
Led full conversion
Pioneer head unit
Cobra CB radio
Lev-o gauge
LED flash light mount
Ultra gauge
12 inch sub

Exterior:
HID 5000k headlights
15 inch LED bar
T4R4LIFE CB antenna mount
Jaos spoiler
Satoshi grill
01 clear tailights&headlights

Performance:
Tacoma intake
K&N filter
Deckplate mod
Flowmaster 40s

 

Little history, got the 4runner when i first got my license it is my first car/truck, i still drive it today. first thing that was really bought and owned by me. It was mint when i first picked it up.
1998 limited edition 130k









Instead of bore all you guys with my boring old mods, i'll just post a time line photos of my runner from stock to today.

 

Led conversion.
i got everything i needed from Amazon, it was a lot cheaper and from what i read on the review the quality is much better than the ebay ones.
My truck is a 98 so it takes 3 #194 for the gauges, i choose a 5 sided Led for better light distribution



Climate control was 2 #74 i went with the 3 sided led on these


i also changed the ignition ring, glove compartment which all take #74 bulbs

since i had left over Leds i also changed the bulbs in the corner lights and licence plates.

The map lights took 2 31mm bulbs and i went with the bigger panel type leds for the cargo and dome lights.

 

Since the rear tube bumper i made was only a single tube i felt it was a bit flimsy if i were to hit a boulder backing up on the trail, so to beef up the bumper i decide to add a tow hitch and use that as a brace to strengthen the bumper, it came out better than i thought.

 

My buddy who works at a body shopped grabbed these hood struts from a totaled Mazda, always wanting hood struts for my runner i took them from him with deadly force(begged like a little b), and purchased 2 sets of ball stud mounts from Amazon for 8 bucks a set. so im in this mod 16 bucks instead of 70 bucks from redline.


Also got my package for my Big 3 upgrade stuff, i didn't go cheap with this mod, bought 20 feet of 0 gauge Candace power wire, copper terminals, new battery terminals, wire loom. Im hoping to upgrade my alternator to a CS144 in the future and the Big 3 upgrade goes hand in hand with it. since my stock alt is still working i'll just do the big 3 now and do the cs144 when my stock alt really craps the bed.

 

So my ghetto satoshi grill has been falling apart, the paint on the grill are starting to come off and the mesh is coming off the grill, so i decide to redo it.
instead of using adhesive this time i went ahead and drilled 10 holes around the grill and rivet it to the mesh, and i also bend the mesh to be flush with the grill instead of sitting behind it. came out better than it was imo

 

Also Put in the hood struts. But im not very happy with it, because i lost about 2 inches of hood opening. reason being the struts only have 6 inches of draw. im going to look for some replacement that has better draw.

 

Finished my big 3 upgrade.
Used copper wire terminals, marine grade battery terminals, solder, wire loom, and a lot of electrical tape.
Wires i've replaced: Neg battery to chassis, Neg battery to block, Pos fused link to alt, Neg engine to chassis.
Took me a whole day, its a pretty time consuming mod, but the benefits for me is worth it. Before the big 3 i had 13.1v when running, which led to be believe my alt was going out, after big 3 i have 14.3 when running, which tells me my alt is still good(god knows how) after being under mud water for a good 20 mins and the occasional mudding trips.
Also i got rid of the bass lag, before the mod my bass hits about a beat behind the music, but now the bass is on point, which is one less annoying thing to think about when driving.

Pics tomorrow.

Quick observation just now, the idel seems to be smoother, at least according to my ultra gauge, before at idel the rpm jumps around between 550 and 610, today after big 3 it stays between 560-575. also the weird ticking sound went away.

Also this came in today
DROK Electrical Test Meters Digital Car Clock Volt Gauge 18B20 Temp Monitor Sensor


My stock clock has been touch and go, sometimes if i tap it it would come on but one bump later it would be gone. Got fed up and thought maybe i can add a different gauge.



some hot glue and solder later, it is in. pretty nifty gauge. looks stock which is what i wanted. it reads voltage, time and temp. again will post better pics tomorrow with my dslr.

 

scored this roof rack off of craigslist for 50, but i don't know what brand it is, it doesn't look like the loadwarrior i use to have.

did a video today of the hood struts working. and showing the big 3 upgrade.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUm4YpjcZg0

 

Little update
1/16/14

School started last week so modding is starting to die down as well, but i did add 2 small things to the truck before all the madness sets in.

After i got my roof basket the wind noise was crazy, my old rola rack was nowhere as loud, so i got a wind faring for it, not a direct fit so some drilling were required, but the change in wind noise was instant.


I also added in some Led strips as turn signals, my old ones were hideous and really made the truck look weird with the big ol housing, took me a while to find amber led strips but i got lucky and found some, 4 self tapper later.
I tried to pain the white housing black but the paint just wont stick to the rubber, huge fail on my part


Little poser shot

 

Well so i broke my own rule and mounted my 35s without gears

 

Aux box in went with a little 6 bank box.

 

Had some LED strips left over from my motorcycle build, so i installed some under the hood.

 

Finally got skids

 

The build is looking good Eric, nice new skids.

How were you able to mount the stock skids on the TG bumper? I've been having trouble with mine. Also where did you get the turn signal lights? They look good (minus the shitty paint job)

 

Those 35's look mean.