willhaman21's 3rd Gen Build Thread

Well guys, I figured I'd finally start a build thread. This is gonna be fairly slow for starters, I mainly just want to keep track of mileage, maintenance, etc. From here on out I will be logging dates and mileage for each service performed in this thread, as well as all my mods!

I bought my 4Runner in June 2014, in Bozeman, MT with 194,000 miles on the clock. Has the factory locking rear differential. I snagged it for $5,600 at the time, a pretty good deal for a Toyota in Montana. I believe I am the third owner.

How it sits as of August 2019:

DSC_5914 by Will Haman, on Flickr

1999 Toyota 4Runner Limited

Front Suspension
Icon 2.5 extended travel coilovers
SPC Light Racing upper control arms
Wheeler's Offroad differential drop
Toytec extended brake lines

Rear Suspension
Bilstein 5160 rear shocks (5th gen takeoffs)
Toytec Superflex coils
2nd gen 4runner rear sway bar links
Relocated differential breather

Wheels & Tires
Pro Comp 7069
Falken Wildpeak A/T3W 285/75R16

Armor
Shrockworks front bumper, full hoops, flare width
Stubb's Welding HD-SKO sliders

Brakes
Napa Eclipse 13WL calipers
OEM rotors, pads and shims

Lighting
Morimoto D2S retrofit headlights, 50W
PIAA 510 Ion Yellow fog lights
Baja Designs XL Sport

Electrical
Die Hard Advanced Gold battery
Blue sea fuse block and circuit breaker
Tacoma whip mod

Interior
LED swapped dash using VLED bulbs
Paranoid Fabrications switch panel and OTRATTW switches
Alpine CDE-HD148BT receiver
JL Audio 10" subwoofer and amplifier
Uniden 520XL CB radio
Heated seats

Recovery
TRED Pro traction boards
ARB 17,500 pound snatch strap

 

Important Maintenance:

2015
06/01/15 - Spark plugs, wires, fuel filter, air filter, and upstream O2 sensor replaced, installed SC throttle body gasket, cleaned MAF and throttle body.
08/04/15 - Shrockworks bumper installed with PIAA 510 ion yellow fog lights.
08/15/15 - 231mm tundra brake upgrade installed. Napa calipers, OEM rotors, pads and shims.
10/11/15 - Rear axle seals, bearings, and brake shoes replaced. Filled with Mobil 1 synthetic gear oil. Extended the rear differential breather to fuel filler neck.

2016
03/15/16 - Transfer case replaced with a 55,584-mile unit. Installed at 215,618 miles. Replaced all three upper sensors, and filled with Royal Purple synthetic gear oil.

2017
04/25/17 - Icon/Toytec lift installed, Falken 285's mounted. 225,500 miles.
05/02/17 - Alignment
10/23/17 - Front end rebuild: AAE steering rack and ITRE. OEM OTRE and LBJ. Napa Premium CV axles. Whiteline LCA bushings. Toytec extended brake lines. SPC upper control arms. Rebuilt Icon's to extended travel. Painted frame and LCA with Chassis Saver. Front differential drained and filled with

$30 Mobil 1 75W-90 Synthetic Gear Lube - 1 Quart (Pack of 2)

Mobil 1 75W-90.
10/26/17 - Alignment. SPC set to position D.
11/15/17 - Fat Pat's 1/2" body lift installed. Gray wire mod.
12/01/17 - Alignment. SPC set to max forward position.

2018
01/21/18 - Cleaned MAF, replaced air filter.
02/09/18 - Welded on rock sliders.
02/13/18 - Hitch flip mod, cut and weld.
03/09/18 - Replaced spark plugs and plug wires. Checked timing belt, in good condition.
03/19/18 - Trimmed front fenders to clear tires after Moab trip.
07/26/18 - Rebuilt leaking rear shocks. Recharged to 150psi per Icon's instructions.
08/03/18 - Completed and installed retrofit headlights. Trimmed and installed a replacement fender flare on the passenger side, after the original one ejected on the interstate months ago.
08/26/18 - Installed Magnaflow muffler, trimmed exhaust tip to axle dump. Trimmed rear mud flaps.
08/29/18 - Deckplate mod, installed Airaid intake tube. Absolutely hated the Airaid, removed and returned within a week. Insanely loud, and killed any hill climbing torque I previously had.
10/17/18 - Replaced headlight hardware with OEM adjusters. TYC cheapos were stripped and falling out. Roughly 248k miles on odometer.
12/09/18 - Found a leaking right rear shock, again. Nasty vibration on the way back into town. Drained rear diff and transfer case, replaced with Mobil 1 75W-90 after finding no signs of damage. Dropped driveline and found a very wobbly U-joint. Driveline rebuilt by Jim's Drivetrain Specialties of Boise and reinstalled next day. Rear shocks rebuilt *again* shortly after.
12/20/18 - Fixed bad wiring job on halos, and installed replacement LED driver. Note to self, no more t-taps.
12/31/18 - Took my brothers Yakima load bars because he wasn't using them. Installed in anticipation of a RTT.

2019
01/12/19 - Replaced timing belt, water pump, idlers, tensioner, thermostat, coolant, radiator hoses, and radiator. Used the aircabinman kit from eBay, plus an OEM thermostat, hoses, and a Denso radiator. 253,226 miles.
01/25/19 - Installed CB radio and built custom antenna mount for front fender/hood.
02/01/19 - Repainted sliders and hitch. Also painted front inner fenders black to help everything blend better.
02/10/19 - Finally completed my custom roof rack. It was the original prototype from Sawtooth Offroad Fab which needed some fixing. Made all new cross bars, designed better feet for rail and front mount, and trimmed down the fairing a bit. Added new stainless hardware and installed. Swapped out CB antenna mount for a TNF rear hatch mount at the same time.
02/16/19 - Bought a RTT, finally!! CVT Mt. Baker (pre-production fiberglass model), picked up from factory in Bend, OR.
02/23/19 - Stupid right rear Icon leaking again. Rebuilt both, charged to 200psi per Jberry's advise.
03/01/19 - Drilled a big hole in my fender, decided to put a snorkel there to cover it up. 254,700 miles on odometer. Oil changed as well.
03/16/19 - Durobumps installed
03/19/19 - Moab trip - alternator died in the middle of I-15 in SLC. Replaced with O'Reilly reman in the parking lot at 10pm in a wind storm. Good fun. Somehow cracked my headlight lens on the drive down.
03/29/19 - Sold custom roof rack. Cleaned up wiring for headlights once again, and finally replaced the last of the t-taps. Installed the correct new LED driver after have no halos for months...
04/05/19 - Recently replaced OEM balljoints are already loose. Replaced with 555 LBJ from FROR and OEM hardware.
04/08/19 - O'Reilly alternator is squealing. Returned for complete refund, and replaced brushes in OEM alternator. Rebuilt starter with OEM contacts and plunger after sticking in Moab.
04/18/19 - Replaced driver side fender. OEM fender had badly peeled paint, new fender is in much better shape. Also snagged a correct silver flare to match - no more black.
05/05/19 - Picked up and installed a new Prinsu rack from CBI in Idaho Falls. This thing is legit.
05/31/19 - Done with the rear Icons after they are leaking once again. Replaced with Bilstein 5160, takeoffs from a 5th gen TRD Pro. 259,500 miles.
07/02/19 - Drained and refilled transfer case due to sticking. Refilled with 75W-90 Royal Purple, and true GL4 gear oil, the correct stuff. No more sticking. Cleaned and verified continuity on all 5 transfer case switches, found one dead and replaced.


Oil Changes:
04/13/17 - Converted to Mobil 1 synthetic. 224,806 miles.
06/08/17 - Replaced leaking drain plug gasket. 228,107 miles.
10/23/17 - Mobil 1. 233,353 miles.

To Do List:
Full-time fog light mod
Skid plates
Supercharger

 

Even though I haven't washed my 4Runner all winter, I went out and did a little posing today. The new transfer case is finally wrapped up, and she's finally back on four wheels. Feels good to drive it again.

 

Big update for today, installed the new suspension and tires finally! Odometer was exactly at 225,500 miles.

Front: Icon standard travel coilovers with a Wheeler's Offroad differential drop.
Rear: Toytec Superflex with Icon 2.0 for a 4th gen 4runner, as well as Moog extended sway bar links for a 2nd gen 4runner.
Tires: Falken Wildpeak A/T3W 285/75R16, with Spidertrax 1.25" spacers on stock wheels.
Maintenance: Energy suspension steering rack bushings and front sway bar mount bushings.

Hub to fender measurements are 22" inches up front and 24" in the rear. I plan to crank the Icon's up another inch before getting everything aligned and happy.

 

Looks good man

 

Thanks man, I appreciate it! Front needs to come up a bit, then I'll be really happy.

 

Nice build. Love my 3rd gen.

 

Thank you, I appreciate it! Pretty slow haha. I've read a lot of your build on T4R.

 

Mine been pretty stagnant lately. It's pretty much stopped since we are going to build the wife's truck. Ohh well maybe I'll acquire it in the future. Lol.

 

Took a trip up to Glacier National Park this weekend. Took the front end up another 8 turns, hub to fender up front is at 23" now. The 4Runner did great, and we had a ton of fun and slayed the fishies. Even got 19.7 mpg!













Quickly learning that I need a new fancy camera... The Samsung S7 photos don't do this place justice.

 

GAHHH I love glacier! Ill be there beginning of August!

The 4runner is coming along nicely too man! I just dont understand the mileage thing... it must me a 2000-2002 thing to get good mileage with the different vacuum line setup or something because I can never get over 16 mpg in my supercharged 98, it actually went up to 16 mpg from 14 when I threw the blower on too! I'm thinking the 75 lb load range E nitto trail grapplers aren't helping either tho...

 

Thanks man, I appreciate it! Glacier is a ton of fun, I wish going to the sun was open when we were there... definitely going back once it opens up! The mileage is all over the place to be honest, that was all back roads and whatnot. I've been averaging in the high 15's before correcting for the miles, so corrected mileage is around 17ish. I was about 18 before so it's not too bad of a loss. Looking for a SC still, I've been craving one.

 

Quick update for you all. Had a set of Pro Comp 7069's installed today, and I'm loving them so far. I left the Spidertrax installed for now. I do have some rubbing but the stance is worth it IMO. Rolled over 233,333 miles on the way to the shop for install! Big project coming later this week...

Parts currently in the garage awaiting installation:

• OEM lower ball joints and bolts
• OEM outer tie rods
• AAE steering rack and Toyota Dex III ATF
• Energy Suspension steering rack bushings
• Whiteline lower control arm bushings
• OEM alignment cams
• SPC upper control arms
• Stubb's Welding HD-SKO rock sliders
• FatPat's 1/2" body lift
• Monstaliner - 1 gal for fender flares

Will post another update when I get everything wrapped up. For now, enjoy my photowhoring!

 

Ordered everything necessary to rebuild the Icon 2.5 coil overs up front. Here's a breakdown of the part numbers and pricing directly from Icon.



Will update this post with a full write-up on the rebuild once I get everything done.

 

Good looking rig! ​

 

Thank you! It's currently in the garage on jack stands patiently awaiting surgery. Can't wait to get it back on the road again.

 

Nice rig! Why are you ordering the extended travel spacers for your rebuild? I thought the spacers come out if you go from normal to extended travel. Unless you are extended travel now and want to go back to normal travel.

Also curious how you're filling the nitrogen. I'm looking around for a set of used rebuildable shocks and coilovers to upgrade my current suspension on my 4Runner.

 

Thanks! I was curious about the spacers when I called Icon, but apparently, the spacer is mandatory. There are two different spacers for standard and extended travel, where the extended travel one is a few millimeters shorter. But yes, I am rebuilding from standard travel to extended travel, so I just ordered the shorter spacer!

Not 100% sure on the nitrogen yet. I have the nitrogen needle from Icon, so I just need to find someone to charge them for me. The welding shop might actually be able to. As far as rebuildable shocks go, I've been very happy with the Icons, but I'm also curious how Kings would be. Can't go wrong with Icon, King, or Fox honestly.

 

Interesting and good to know. I'm thinking Kings up front and fox 2.0 in the back. I've been looking at their rear shocks for the 2nd gen Tacoma and 4th gen 4Runner. They have one that seems like it would just about match the length of the land cruiser shocks I'm running right now.

How do you like those 4th gen 4Runner shocks on yours? Any fitment issues?

 

Love the 3rd gen 4runners, great build