Newbie to the Forum, 1997 4Runner, a little feedback please!

[4runner4boards]

Jahloha... I just bought a 1997 4Runner for a sick deal. 99,890 miles for $4000, in California! Bought it off some rich lawyer, who bought it for his wife new, and she only drove to and from her kids school. The interior is pretty good, tons a dog hair and exterior has two scratches. So I am stoked! I have been reading this forum a long time to prepare myself to make an educated decision. So what I've done is rip off those lame running boards, full detail (myself, used to be my job), put in new tail lights (still stock ones), and working on some electrical shorts that came from a loose CD changer wire (stripped that out). So with all of these DIY jobs I have learned how to do the Dash Gash, what the undercarriage looks like and a little on engine mechanics. HERES MY QUESTIONS!!! 1. Where should I look for a 99' center console to do the cup holder mod. 2. To upgrade to the 99' headlights, is that a simple strip and replace or do I need do some housing modifications? 3. I saw on here a guy who did a "hatch LED light" mod, I need that! Anyone have a write up? 4. Should I do a cold air before an exhaust or exhaust then cold air? 5. What else are some things I should look at, change out or upgrade in your opinion? (The engine is running great, all belts and pumps were replaced less then 10k ago and took it to my uncle who works at Toyota and says she's running cherry, so for question 5, just things that are extras, mahalos!) And YotaTech is an AWESOME forum, I was reading articles and threads from here starting about six months ago before I made my purchase. A lot of you are very intelligent and I hope to gain some of your expertise and knowledge over time. Mahalo, 4runner4boards

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[ocdropzone]

welcome to YT.
here are some parts sources for question1:
Toyota Truck Dismantlers: body parts/axles etc
The Toy Man (newberg, OR) http://www.thetoyotaman.com/
MazToy (troutdale, OR)http://maztoy.com/
Davez Off Road (CA): http://www.davezoffroadperformance.com/
Yotayard (colorado) http://www.yotayard.com/home.htm
Jim's Got Parts (Denver, CO) http://jimsgotparts.com/
California Mini Trucks (Cali) http://www.calminitruck.com/
NIX99 (washington state) http://nix99.com/
Rancho Toyota Truck Dismantler (Cali) http://www.ranchotoyotatruckparts.com/
ToyoKings (FLA) http://www.toyokingsusedparts.com/
Yotatech Classifields :http://www.yotatech.com/f91/
TTORA Classifieds: http://ttora.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=3

#3

Originally Posted by paddlenbike

I had the same issue with my 4Runner's cargo light, so I did a custom job and stripped out the incandescent stuff. The stock incandescent cargo light draws 5 watts and puts out around 50 lumens of light. The modded dome light uses the equivalent of 3.8 watts and puts out around 200 lumens, so the LEDs save a bit of power but puts out far more light. It's bright enough back there now that everyone comments how bright it is as soon as I open the cargo area...I mean everyone, even my 86 year old grandparents.



Note the difference in intensity between the LED cargo light and the stock dome light:


I should also note that I when I tried to take this very same picture with the stock cargo light turned on, there literally wasn't anything to see in the photo--too dark.

I liked this enough to add a light where there wasn't one previously, in the rear hatch. This particular single LED pulls 1.7 watts and puts out 150 lumens of light. It turns on when you open the rear hatch...the switch is simply so I can turn it off if I want.

Here's where I installed it:


And here's what it does in 100% darkness:

the search function works pretty good on YT...you can find it up in the YT tool barm 3rd one from the right..


as far as what mods to recommend? Depends on your plans for your truck.
MallCrawler, Light Trails, Rocks, Muds, Sand


Pirate classifieds: http://pirate4x4.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=4
Parts Locators: http://www.autopartslocator.com/
http://www.seekautoparts.com/