So, after a while of assuming the drip spots under the 4Runner was just coolant from my leaky radiator (getting rebuilt pretty soon) I decided it wasn't very coolant like so I decided to check it out...



It was oil, UGHHH! I figured it was a simple fix so I traced where the oil was dripping from and it was the oil pan drain plug... It was really loose and needed to be tightened, but that doesn't explain the oil all around? Eh, I guess we'll see in the morning.



Apparently it has been leaking oil for a while... Mileage wise an oil change wasn't needed, so I never really checked the level... Just for the sake of caution, it's not gonna be moved until I can be sure there isn't another oil leak/do a full oil change. I guess we'll just have to see what happens :/




Anyways, I thought I had gotten a Craigslist score a couple of weeks back, but apparently I was wrong... The guy said the nerfs were for an 84-88 pickup/4runner and that he just didn't have hardware... Since he had a 1st gen 4Runner and 1st gen pickup in his driveway I took his word for it and didn't bother to check fitment... BIG MISTAKE. Definitely NOT the right ones.. I guess I'll have to make brackets in metal shop to make them fit since it's kinda hard to sell something on CL when you don't know what car it's for :/

 

*deleted*

 

Nice, it would be great thing to go back in time and bring the runner back with you.
I was out of the picture for a short time and back to work on my runner...

 

nice rims an top looks good after the paint

 

Thanks! The wheels aren't in very good condition though :/

 

So my 4Runner hasn't moved for quite a while now, but it's not my fault! lol

So the plan was to drop the radiator off on a Friday to have it rebuilt and have it done by Wednesday with the price quote of $150ish... Well, knowing they were very busy I wasn't surprised when it still wasn't done the next Friday... After the weekend I called to see if it was ready to be picked up yet and they told me they hadn't even touched it yet because it was shot and it would cost $330 to have it rebuilt.. OUCH! This made me very frustrated because they made no attempt to contact me to tell me that! Ugh, this is why I do most of everything I can at home!



Anyways, I picked up the radiator and jumped online to do some searching... After looking around (even on here) I found out about RadiatorBarn.com! Looking at their reviews I decided to make an educated leap of faith and just buy the radiator from them! It should be here by tomorrow and I can finally get the 4Runner back on the road! Also, I got the final check for working all summer so I now have some money to play with!

Current plans are 4 inch bracket lift (w/ rear springs), 15x10 AR Outlaw II's, and 33x12.50 BFG A/T's! I already have the cash for the lift & wheels, but the tires might be a problem. I might have to sell some music gear to afford them, but it'll be nice not having practically bald tires with Winter approaching!

 

i know its a bit late but i got a rad for the lady of the houses 90 off ebay for 135 all aluminum 4 core a huge improvement over the stock which was all buggered up from a grenaded fan blade

as for the rims elbow grease an some 1K grit then polishing balls an buffs with some compound i'd bet they'd look great

 

Would that work for aluminum rims? I would think you'd need to clear coat them again?

Oh yea, and...



Got the radiator and picked up a couple of Toyota oil filters along with drain plug gaskets for good measure!

 

well you can clear coat um but most people just use a buffing ball an paste wax to keep um shiny after re-polishing

so basicly you remove the scratches an pits with 1k wetsand paper then 2k then buff if its reeealy curb rashed you can hit those spots with 220 then 800 then the 1k an on theres several aluminum polishing vids on youtube they get some epic results

 

I might have to look into that! Thanks

 

So I was bored and I had a bit of free time so I decided to paint my mudflaps! There are tape-lines from where I taped off to paint the 4WD because I didn't let the black cure due to impatience, but who cares... it's a mudflap!

On top of that I got the new radiator installed & changed the oil. All is good so far and it should be even better after I do a well-needed seafoam treatment (probably this weekend)!

Before (L) & After (R)

 

look good!

 

I've been trying to think of ways to deal with my saggy rear springs for a while now and after considering a few options I decided to go with a zuk mod!

From what I've read the zuk mod is usually done with a new set of black magic springs, but since I'm on a high-school budget I went the cheap route... I was at my Uncles house and found his stock height front coils off of his '01 Cherokee Sport (now lifted) and I thought I would give them a try. Turns out they worked great! They were originally 18 inches long and that was WAY too much so I cut them down to 12 inches long and it seems just about exactly where I wanted it to sit!

I was at my Dad's friend's house since he was bending me up a new exhaust so I asked him if we could just take advantage of the fact that he had all the tools to do it, so with the help of a forklift and spring compressors we got 'em in!

The donor springs:


How we got the springs in:


Before Zuk (this is an old pic, it was actually worse!):


After Zuk:


The back does sit a little high, but I think I'll get either get beefier torsion bars or BJ spacers to level it out. At least I'm not riding on the overload springs anymore!

Oh, and here's a vid of the exhaust! http://s1170.photobucket.com/user/Ni...f820e.mp4.html

 

rear looks good with the springs they will settle a bit so id wait a bit before doing more
i wish i had a friend with the stuff to bend me up a new exhaust! mines a frankenstine mishmash of parts lol an its gona get replaced

 

Actually looks good to me, Nick. Mine setttled to 9.25 bottom of frame to top of leafpack after a few months. How much does yours measure now?

 

Looks really good.

 

I may have looked past it, but what kind of exhaust set up are you running?

 

No cat, flowmaster 40 series, and 2.25" pipe!