95-Superlift4runner

Hi-

This is my first post, but I will cut to the chase.

Purchased a 1995 4Runner 4x4 with 120,000 miles and a superlift suspension. It has 33" bfg mud tires. The brakes on the car are not very responsive, much too spongy for my likes.

What is a good fix for putting better brakes/lines on this year 4runner?
(stainless lines made by..., maybe slotted/drilled rotors, ebc brake pads?)

The motor has been running great for me since I got it, but I am concerned about the motor and transmission as they are both original and never rebuilt.

All in all I love this SUV and I dont want to give it up for many years. I wanted to maybe put some more attractive tail lights on it, but I have found nothing in my searches for a 1995 in terms of aftermarket tail lights.
I have projector headlights on order that I am going to wire into a 4000k hid kit I had from GE.

Anyone else have good ideas or suggestions to keep my new baby running strong and most importantly, stopping

freshman

welcome aboard! pics!

LOCKnGO

Welcome!

Lets see some snaps of the runner.

msw0085

Do you know if it ever had the headgasket recall? If you said the motor was never rebuilt it sounds like it hasnt..

CoedNaked

About the brakes - I think it's something like for every inch in tire size you go up you lose 3% braking ability or around there. Stainless steel brake lines may help a little. Also a simple brake fluid flush may be in order. Sometimes the fluid gets cooked and since the person before you had larger tires they may have had to work harder to get the thing to stop and hence the fluid is cooked. Thus New fluid (fluid flush) may help )(should cost you only like $3-5 for the fluid alone). Also have the rotors and pads checked out. Some may chime in on good aftermarket pads/rotors, etc but I myself am partial to stock unless you want to consider upping rim sizes which may give you more options potentially for better calipers/rotors, etc. Consider downsizing one tire size (say 32 x 11.5x15) to bring your braking and a little more power back if you have stock gears. Won't make a huge difference but will help.

About the engine and tranny. 120,000 miles is jack˟˟˟˟˟, I wouldn't be concerned one bit. If the thing has been reaosnably well maintaned with regular service done on it it should go to 200,000 miles for most people until you may want to start considering a rebuild and such. For some it's more than that, for some less, but I think that's about ball park for the 3.0. I strongly suggest switching over your auto tranny fluid to a high quality synthetic ASAP and also dropping your diff fluids and switching those to synthetic if it hasn't already been done. Also, you might want to consider switching to a high quality synthetic oil if it hasn't already been done, such as Mobil1. Just swapping fluids alone will probably really help smooth out tranny's shifting and make the engine run a little smoother on top of giving you a tiny bit more horsepower and increasing your gas mileage a tiny bit too. You may run into problems with the rings potentially letting synethetic oil through if you switch (because of their age) and in that case you may want to switch back to regular oil to rebuild up the gunk dino oil does to help keep the seals sealed. I myself, despite the fact I usually burn about a quart or so of oil between oil changes would rather keep Mobil 1 synthetic in my engine just because it's that much better oil.

CoedNaked

My uncle has a 95 pickup with the 3.0. His was one of the ones that never had the head gasket recall tacked on to it as it supposedly had the right head gasket. He never had a headgasket problem though. He rebuilt his engine at 190,000 miles just because he wanted to keep the truck and keep it running strong. In fact I think his was one of the very last toyota trucks destined for North America that was made in Japan.

Paul H.

Welcome to the boards. Don't worry about the engine or trans, This is a Toyota not a Ford or Dodge. Call Toyota with your VIN and see if the headgasket has been replaced under a TSB for the 2nd gen 3.0

brandontrek

i don't mean to hijack...but what years does the headgasket recall cover...i have a 1993 pickup 3.0 and i think she may be leaking a little bit..BTW about the rotors...i am looking at picking up a set of LC enigneering crossdrilled and slotted rotors for my pickup...they seem to be the best for the price that i have found...you can also get new calipers from advanced auto parts for about $40-$60 a peice...well thats what i was quoted...hit photobucket and lets see some pics....

tc

Also the steering relay rod recall.

I didn't think any projector headlights are made for a '95 ... where did you find them?

msw0085

Cant say I know for a fact but I know if you search you will find the answer

LOCKnGO

[QUOTE=brandontrek]i don't mean to hijack...but what years does the headgasket recall cover...QUOTE]
They can go by the VIN #

tc

Oh - didn't answer your actual question...

They are actually pretty decent brakes - 4 piston in front, drums with ABS in back.

In addition to checking/flushing the fluid and rebleeding the brakes as coed suggested, check and make sure all the pistons are moving on your calipers. This is a 10 yr old truck after all...especially if you live in the snow/rust belt. Also, make sure the e-brake and pedal level adjusters in the back are set right. The previous owner may have never used the e-brake (esp if it's an auto tranny) and they are just out of adjustment. When you pull the e-brake, it should extend something like 11 clicks.

Slotted and slotted/cross drilled rotors are available, but only in the OEM size. I have not found any "big brake" kits for the 2nd gens.

I just bought a 1993 with 178,000 mi. My 89 had 270,000 miles when I totalled it. Don't worry about the mileage - it's irrelevant in a Toyota.

Still interested in where you found replacement headlights...

ebelen1

I have a 3rd gen and would recommend tundra rotors and calipers. Others w/ 2nd gens have asked about this working on their trucks but no one has chimed in yet that I know of.

Performance Products has a product called powerslot rotors. They come highly recommended by a buddy that has a 2nd gen. With these rotors and the high-performance pads they sell (don't know the name), he says that his braking has improved substantially. Hope this helps.

95-Superlift4runner

I use ebay for all my product needs, which is where I found the projector headlights for my 95 runner, very inexpensive too.
If you know a kick@$$ place for 2nd gen products for my 4runner, please speak up!

Im all about modifing, thats why I bought this lifted 4runner.
The Superlift is quite a large lift and If I downsized the tires from 33, it may look plain silly. I was actually thinking about putting 35s under, but that may not be a good idea at all. They sure could fit tho...

And I know from previous XP that Toyotas are solid cars/trucks - also a reason I purchased

I will get a flush immediatly on the brakes, and I have to appologize about no current pictures. I have original pictures from the seller of my vehicle, but I can not take current pictures until I get my digital camera in 2 weeks.

I also would like to upgrade the OEM rotors to slotted/drilled OEM size with maybe a better pad. Every little bit right?

On an aftermarket appearence note- OH HOW BEAUTIFUL LED TAIL LIGHTS would look in my 4runner, I cant even find other than stock ones for it tho!

This place is a wealth of knowledge, im soaking up like a spongy. Thanks guys

CoedNaked

Yeah that's another thing that was mentioned that is a good idea about brakes. Check to make sure the [rear] Drums are actually doing some of the braking. You can tighten them with the adjustment dial when you open them up. This should also tighten up your e-brake cable. That should help your braking at least a little bit too. Good point TC

As was also eluded too, a good mechanic can do a visual inspection of your calipers to make sure they are in top shape. I was told this by the Toyota Master Technician who works on my truck and who checked out my calipers recently.

Paul H.

Headgasket TSB is for the v6 1989 till early 1995.

Epic Ed

My '95 wasn't covered by the TSB, but blew around 90,000 miles, anyways. Call Toyota and give them your VIN # and they'll tell you whether yours qualifies and if so, if work has been done yet.

As for the brakes, I run 32x11.50's and was blowing through brake pads and warping rotors about once a year. I switched to Brembo rotors and Performance Friction brake pads in May. The 'Runner has been out of commission for 4 months (just got it back), so I haven't had enough time yet to know how they will hold up, but it seems to be a good combo so far. I did a lot of research before deciding to go with the Brembo's, and was torn between those and trying slotted rotors. Overall, I heard at least as many complaints about slotted rotors warping as I did other aftermarket rotos. Other complication people noted with the slotted are that they are susceptible to retaining debris and mud when off-roading and can get trashed easliy.

Also -- bleed the brakes and check the brake booster (or have a mechanic check). I just had to replace mine recently and it made a difference is that "spongy" feel.

Have fun, and get ready to empty your bank account.

Ed

95-Superlift4runner

Ed where did you pick up the brembos? And how much?

>>>and I love my bank account, and will avoid empting it as much as I can<<<

which brings me to why im here, understand the problem first, then fix, and try to find most cost effective way to fix

tc

got a link to the ebay site with those headlights?