PK's '95 4runner build "Chico"
08-20-2015, 08:23 PM
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PK's '95 4runner build "Chico"
Hello everyone! I've been lurking around for a couple of months and doing research. I recently purchased a 1995 limited 4runner with a 5speed and 3.slow for $1k. I will post the story of buying it in the next reply. I hope it's ok to post this here, I also have a build thread on another site but I feel like it's always good to get input from multiple sources.
This is how it looked when we first got it home:
I had originally planned on a crazy full out build with an SAS and all the bells and whistles. That got put on hold indefinitely when my wife and I decided to start saving for a house (with an actual shop!). So I cut my budget in half and started scaling back my build. I had originally planned on doing a Blazeland kit, but I really wanted more of a "complete" build. This rig will be for camping, exploring, fishing and general hooning. My wife decided to name the runner "Chico" to remind us of how it started.
I've been doing a little bit of maintenance as I can afford to. I'm waiting on another vehicle to sell to finance the build. Until that happens I'm stuck doing small things and using elbow grease. That's not a bad thing by any means as the vehicle needs a LOT of elbow grease! I just got it smogged today and will finish up the last of the registration next week.
I want to do everything myself. I'm planning to buy a new welder for this project since I had to sell my old transformer TIG, I may also pick up a press brake and a tube bender. I'm new to 4x4's but grew up working on dirt track cars and muscle cars. For the past 8 years I've been mostly working on motorcycles. I'm hopeful this thread will serve as a to do list for me and a place to keep everything together.
What I've done so far:
What needs to be done (maintenance):
Mods! Here's a link to my current buildsheet, it seems to change by the hour.
This is how it looked when we first got it home:
I had originally planned on a crazy full out build with an SAS and all the bells and whistles. That got put on hold indefinitely when my wife and I decided to start saving for a house (with an actual shop!). So I cut my budget in half and started scaling back my build. I had originally planned on doing a Blazeland kit, but I really wanted more of a "complete" build. This rig will be for camping, exploring, fishing and general hooning. My wife decided to name the runner "Chico" to remind us of how it started.
I've been doing a little bit of maintenance as I can afford to. I'm waiting on another vehicle to sell to finance the build. Until that happens I'm stuck doing small things and using elbow grease. That's not a bad thing by any means as the vehicle needs a LOT of elbow grease! I just got it smogged today and will finish up the last of the registration next week.
I want to do everything myself. I'm planning to buy a new welder for this project since I had to sell my old transformer TIG, I may also pick up a press brake and a tube bender. I'm new to 4x4's but grew up working on dirt track cars and muscle cars. For the past 8 years I've been mostly working on motorcycles. I'm hopeful this thread will serve as a to do list for me and a place to keep everything together.
What I've done so far:
- Replaced the fan pulley bracket
- Changed all the fluids
- Replaced filters
- Replaced driver side CV axle
- Replaced driver side wheel bearings
- Replaced rear driveshaft U-joints
- Cleaned the interior (a little)
- Broken the sunroof switch (it was already kind of busted, I just finished the job!)
- Installed a new battery
What needs to be done (maintenance):
- The rear diff is shot (PO didn't bother to let me know it was leaking before I towed it 600 miles!
) - Bodywork on the tailgate and driver side fender
- Fix the sunroof switch
- Fix all 3 mirrors (rearview is on the floor, driver side has a tissue shoved under it to shim it in place and the passenger side had it's wires cut)
- Deep clean the interior
- Deep clean the exterior & undercarriage
- Fix PO's horrible hackjob rear speaker installation
- Replace valve cover gaskets
- Replace oil pan gasket
- Replace vacuum hoses
- Replace spark plugs & wires
- Fix passenger side door (it won't lock)
- Rebuild power steering pump
- Replace battery cables (or at least the terminals)
- Fix a crack in the muffler
Mods! Here's a link to my current buildsheet, it seems to change by the hour.
- Custom winch front bumper
- Custom rear bumper w/swingout, jerry can holder and fold down table/lamp post
- Custom skid plates
- Custom full length roof rack
- Decking the rear for a sleeping platform
- Uniden PRO520XL CB Radio
- Firestik SS-3H Antenna Spring
- 18' RG-58A/U Coaxial Cable
- 4ft Black Firefly
- Nilight® 2 X 18w 6 Cree LED Spot
- 52" 300W LED Light Bar
- LED Light Bar Wiring Harness Kit
- Blue Sea Fuseblock 12 terminal
- OTRATTW switches
- Hi-Lift Jack HL484 48"
- 140amp alternator
- Alternator wiring harness adapter
- Hayden adjustable fan thermostat
- Upgr8 Universal electric fan 16"
- Energy suspension kit
- Rear Elocker diff
- WARN 26502 M8000
- Ball joint spacers
- Coil spacers
- OME 60072 Front shocks
- OME 60073 Rear shocks
- 2901 Rear coils
08-20-2015, 08:25 PM
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This is a copy/paste from my other thread. I hope that's ok, I didn't want to re-type it.
Warning, long story before build info. Feel free to skip down to the next post for the actual build guidelines.
I've been lurking and doing research for months on 96-02 T4R's. Thursday (7/24) afternoon my wife texts me a craigslist posting for a '96 4runner for $1k. The catch is, it's 500 miles away. I call the guy and he still has it and I convince him that I will buy it and to pull the ad.
He tells me it's got a bad fan clutch bearing and it needs a battery. I figure it's no big deal and picked up a replacement fan clutch and a battery from the parts house. I figure at $1k if I don't hurry he might sell it before I get there. I left work an hour early to hit the parts house on the way home. So, my wife and I load a bunch of tools in the car along with our 2 dogs and hit the road. The plan was to just turn and burn, get up there swap the fan clutch and get home.
The plan went horribly awry!
What was supposed to be about a 5 1/2 hour trip each way turned into a brutal 9 hour one way death march. The dogs were extremely unruly, the wife had to pee every 5 minutes and we hit a ton off construction and traffic. We left home by 5pm and arrived at 2 am. Luckily the seller had plans to be up and awake extremely late so he was fine with us coming in so late. Unfortunately for me by the time we got there I was so tired I wasn't thinking clearly.
When we got there things went from bad to worse. It wasn't the fan clutch (I may have misunderstood the seller) It was the fan pulley bracket and it was bad. The fan was wobbling probably an inch off center back and forth. There was no way I was driving it home without fixing it first. I should have waited and come back the next day before deciding to purchase it, but I was so exhausted I just wanted to get it done. I put the money down, he signed over the title and I agreed to come back the next day to get it.
We drove to the nearest town and found a hotel, I'm pretty sure as we were checking in somebody got shot across the street. It was pretty damn sketchy but by this time it was 4 am and I had just shut off mentally. The dogs did not do well being in a hotel and I got maybe 45 minutes worth of sleep. I got up at 8 and started calling shops and parts places. By 10am I knew I was in deep trouble, nobody had the part and I had no way to get the runner home.
I called my buddy back home and told him what was going on. He is eternally my hero, he dropped what he was doing and agreed to drive 400+ miles right then and tow it home for me. We just had to rent a tow dolly and wait for him to show up. Since we had several hours to kill it seemed like a good idea to take care of what we could before picking it up. So we decided to go to the DMV and take care of the title transfer...
When I started filling out the pink slip I realized I had screwed up. It wasn't a '96 as advertised, it was a '95. If I hadn't been so tired and had some light to check it out I would have noticed. It was to late for that, I own it now. I get into the DMV and find out the registration is past due and it cost me double was I was expecting to transfer the title.
My buddy shows up around 4pm and we rent the dolly, which was a horrible experience by itself. The U-haul site had no issues giving us the dolly but the system at the rental place showed we couldn't tow it with my buddy's truck (V8 F150 with a 10k hitch). We had to call corporate and get them to approve it so the dealer would rent us the dolly, that took almost an hour and a half. We get to the guys place, load the runner on the dolly and start heading home around 6:30 pm. Traffic and construction are horrid, the dogs and wife are exhausted, whiny and I'm awake only through the sheer power of caffeine. About 150 miles from home my buddy calls me and says he's to tired to keep going and is only 45 minutes from home. He says he'll head home and bring the runner to my place tomorrow.
He heads home and about half an hour later I have a blowout on my Driver side rear tire. It's 12:30am and we're 120 miles from home in the middle of nowhere. Roadside couldn't get anyone that had the capacity to carry both of us, the dogs and the car. The tire is (luckily) a run-flat, so we limp it to a truck stop 5 miles down the road and call my brother in law who came and took us home.
We took my truck over there today and ended up having 2 new rear tires put on the car. My buddy had to work and said he'll bring the runner over tomorrow (7/26). So now, I'm the extremely tired owner of a pretty beat to hell '95 4runner. All of my research over the past couple of months has been pointless since I was only considering 3rd gens and haven't read into 2nd gens at all.
I apologize in advance for the plethora of questions I'll be asking. I promise I will try and search out all the info I can before I ask about things. Let me start out with this though;
Does anyone have the part # or a link to the Fan pulley bracket? I need to fix that so I can get this thing smogged.
I've been lurking and doing research for months on 96-02 T4R's. Thursday (7/24) afternoon my wife texts me a craigslist posting for a '96 4runner for $1k. The catch is, it's 500 miles away. I call the guy and he still has it and I convince him that I will buy it and to pull the ad.
He tells me it's got a bad fan clutch bearing and it needs a battery. I figure it's no big deal and picked up a replacement fan clutch and a battery from the parts house. I figure at $1k if I don't hurry he might sell it before I get there. I left work an hour early to hit the parts house on the way home. So, my wife and I load a bunch of tools in the car along with our 2 dogs and hit the road. The plan was to just turn and burn, get up there swap the fan clutch and get home.
The plan went horribly awry!
What was supposed to be about a 5 1/2 hour trip each way turned into a brutal 9 hour one way death march. The dogs were extremely unruly, the wife had to pee every 5 minutes and we hit a ton off construction and traffic. We left home by 5pm and arrived at 2 am. Luckily the seller had plans to be up and awake extremely late so he was fine with us coming in so late. Unfortunately for me by the time we got there I was so tired I wasn't thinking clearly.
When we got there things went from bad to worse. It wasn't the fan clutch (I may have misunderstood the seller) It was the fan pulley bracket and it was bad. The fan was wobbling probably an inch off center back and forth. There was no way I was driving it home without fixing it first. I should have waited and come back the next day before deciding to purchase it, but I was so exhausted I just wanted to get it done. I put the money down, he signed over the title and I agreed to come back the next day to get it.
We drove to the nearest town and found a hotel, I'm pretty sure as we were checking in somebody got shot across the street. It was pretty damn sketchy but by this time it was 4 am and I had just shut off mentally. The dogs did not do well being in a hotel and I got maybe 45 minutes worth of sleep. I got up at 8 and started calling shops and parts places. By 10am I knew I was in deep trouble, nobody had the part and I had no way to get the runner home.
I called my buddy back home and told him what was going on. He is eternally my hero, he dropped what he was doing and agreed to drive 400+ miles right then and tow it home for me. We just had to rent a tow dolly and wait for him to show up. Since we had several hours to kill it seemed like a good idea to take care of what we could before picking it up. So we decided to go to the DMV and take care of the title transfer...
When I started filling out the pink slip I realized I had screwed up. It wasn't a '96 as advertised, it was a '95. If I hadn't been so tired and had some light to check it out I would have noticed. It was to late for that, I own it now. I get into the DMV and find out the registration is past due and it cost me double was I was expecting to transfer the title.
My buddy shows up around 4pm and we rent the dolly, which was a horrible experience by itself. The U-haul site had no issues giving us the dolly but the system at the rental place showed we couldn't tow it with my buddy's truck (V8 F150 with a 10k hitch). We had to call corporate and get them to approve it so the dealer would rent us the dolly, that took almost an hour and a half. We get to the guys place, load the runner on the dolly and start heading home around 6:30 pm. Traffic and construction are horrid, the dogs and wife are exhausted, whiny and I'm awake only through the sheer power of caffeine. About 150 miles from home my buddy calls me and says he's to tired to keep going and is only 45 minutes from home. He says he'll head home and bring the runner to my place tomorrow.
He heads home and about half an hour later I have a blowout on my Driver side rear tire. It's 12:30am and we're 120 miles from home in the middle of nowhere. Roadside couldn't get anyone that had the capacity to carry both of us, the dogs and the car. The tire is (luckily) a run-flat, so we limp it to a truck stop 5 miles down the road and call my brother in law who came and took us home.
We took my truck over there today and ended up having 2 new rear tires put on the car. My buddy had to work and said he'll bring the runner over tomorrow (7/26). So now, I'm the extremely tired owner of a pretty beat to hell '95 4runner. All of my research over the past couple of months has been pointless since I was only considering 3rd gens and haven't read into 2nd gens at all.
I apologize in advance for the plethora of questions I'll be asking. I promise I will try and search out all the info I can before I ask about things. Let me start out with this though;
Does anyone have the part # or a link to the Fan pulley bracket? I need to fix that so I can get this thing smogged.
Last edited by Peevedkitten; 08-20-2015 at 08:30 PM.
08-21-2015, 12:03 AM
#3
Registered User
Wow, that sounds like quite the adventure. It's too bad it turned out to be a 95 rather than the 96 he advertised (I'm thinking he may have done that on purpose...sorry).
I personally like the body style of the 90-95 better than the 96-02, but the engine (3.4/5VZ-FE) is hands down a huge improvement over the 3.0. As you do more research, you'll find lots of people who seem to hate the 3.0 like there's no tomorrow and others that will defend it to their death. For me, my 3.0 was fantastic, it certainly was no race car motor, but it did the job, and when it didn't, just downshift and rev it up between 3,500-4,500 rpm. I replaced one round of head gaskets + a valve job, then 8 years later I burnt a valve and decided to 3.4 swap it and haven't looked back.
As sort of a random thought, if you keep it on 31x10.5s you'll be fine with a 3.0, 5sp, and 4.56 gears (front and rear axle), but if you plan to step up to a 33x10.5 or 33x12.5, you really should look into regearing to a 4.88 (that poor 3.0 just doesn't have the guts to do 65-70 in 4th with a slight incline (regardless of how slight) with the 33's and 4.56). As a word of advice, do your homework on a 3.4 swap, it has been the single greatest thing I've done to my 4Runner in the 13 years I've owned it; I'm not saying to go out and do it now, but be ready and knowledgeable when the time comes.
So, fan bracket, a quick Google of "toyota 3.0 fan pulley bracket" gave me these two links towards the top:
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...racket-168951/
http://www.yotashop.com/cooling-fan-...arly-155-2416/ (says it's for a 88-92, maybe they have a 93-95 option? If you can find it Aisin is the manufacturer and supplier for Toyota for a lot of products).
For a rear bumper option, I would recommend talking with Luke at 4x4Labs in Grass Valley, he did mine and was excited by the opportunity to build a "different" (meaning a non-FJ-80) bumper. A word of advice though, his work will cost you $$$, but it is top notch.
For your alternator, you can drop it off at (or ship it to) Boyle Future tech in Auburn (especially if its a "Toyota" branded alternator, much higher quality than most aftermarket replacements) and they can do either a rebuild (replace the wearable components, but leave the output current the same), or do a rebuild and a rewrap to bump the output from 90A to 120-140A, call them for pricing.
Do yourself a favor and AVOID the electric fans altogether. They were a big fad about 10 years ago, but very few people were able to get them to work as effectively as the belt driven fan even with a custom fan shroud. Now, as for mechanical fans, it seems there has been a rather high occurrence of fans exploding that had the outer ring on them between the individual blades, but being a 95, you're probably ok without that outer ring. Here's a link to my swap where list the couple of different fan options: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f160.../#post51853767
Don't bother with the coil spacers, just buy some OME 901 (HD) or 900 (SD/regular) coils and they'll give you the lift you need to match the BJ spacers.
I'd also suggest looking into the OME steering stabilizer to replace the 20 year old little Toyota stabilizer.
I get the impression that you're in Northern California somewhere, whereabouts do you call home?
Lastly, welcome and good luck with everything.
I personally like the body style of the 90-95 better than the 96-02, but the engine (3.4/5VZ-FE) is hands down a huge improvement over the 3.0. As you do more research, you'll find lots of people who seem to hate the 3.0 like there's no tomorrow and others that will defend it to their death. For me, my 3.0 was fantastic, it certainly was no race car motor, but it did the job, and when it didn't, just downshift and rev it up between 3,500-4,500 rpm. I replaced one round of head gaskets + a valve job, then 8 years later I burnt a valve and decided to 3.4 swap it and haven't looked back.
As sort of a random thought, if you keep it on 31x10.5s you'll be fine with a 3.0, 5sp, and 4.56 gears (front and rear axle), but if you plan to step up to a 33x10.5 or 33x12.5, you really should look into regearing to a 4.88 (that poor 3.0 just doesn't have the guts to do 65-70 in 4th with a slight incline (regardless of how slight) with the 33's and 4.56). As a word of advice, do your homework on a 3.4 swap, it has been the single greatest thing I've done to my 4Runner in the 13 years I've owned it; I'm not saying to go out and do it now, but be ready and knowledgeable when the time comes.
So, fan bracket, a quick Google of "toyota 3.0 fan pulley bracket" gave me these two links towards the top:
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...racket-168951/
http://www.yotashop.com/cooling-fan-...arly-155-2416/ (says it's for a 88-92, maybe they have a 93-95 option? If you can find it Aisin is the manufacturer and supplier for Toyota for a lot of products).
Mods! Here's a link to my current buildsheet, it seems to change by the hour.
- Custom winch front bumper
- Custom rear bumper w/swingout, jerry can holder and fold down table/lamp post
- Custom skid plates
- Custom full length roof rack
- Decking the rear for a sleeping platform
- Uniden PRO520XL CB Radio
- Firestik SS-3H Antenna Spring
- 18' RG-58A/U Coaxial Cable
- 4ft Black Firefly
- Nilight® 2 X 18w 6 Cree LED Spot
- 52" 300W LED Light Bar
- LED Light Bar Wiring Harness Kit
- Blue Sea Fuseblock 12 terminal
- OTRATTW switches
- Hi-Lift Jack HL484 48"
- 140amp alternator
- Alternator wiring harness adapter
- Hayden adjustable fan thermostat
- Upgr8 Universal electric fan 16"
- Energy suspension kit
- Rear Elocker diff
- WARN 26502 M8000
- Ball joint spacers
- Coil spacers
- OME 60072 Front shocks
- OME 60073 Rear shocks
- 2901 Rear coils
For your alternator, you can drop it off at (or ship it to) Boyle Future tech in Auburn (especially if its a "Toyota" branded alternator, much higher quality than most aftermarket replacements) and they can do either a rebuild (replace the wearable components, but leave the output current the same), or do a rebuild and a rewrap to bump the output from 90A to 120-140A, call them for pricing.
Do yourself a favor and AVOID the electric fans altogether. They were a big fad about 10 years ago, but very few people were able to get them to work as effectively as the belt driven fan even with a custom fan shroud. Now, as for mechanical fans, it seems there has been a rather high occurrence of fans exploding that had the outer ring on them between the individual blades, but being a 95, you're probably ok without that outer ring. Here's a link to my swap where list the couple of different fan options: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f160.../#post51853767
Don't bother with the coil spacers, just buy some OME 901 (HD) or 900 (SD/regular) coils and they'll give you the lift you need to match the BJ spacers.
I'd also suggest looking into the OME steering stabilizer to replace the 20 year old little Toyota stabilizer.
I get the impression that you're in Northern California somewhere, whereabouts do you call home?
Lastly, welcome and good luck with everything.
08-21-2015, 07:36 AM
#4
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Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: SLO, Ca
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Wow, that sounds like quite the adventure. It's too bad it turned out to be a 95 rather than the 96 he advertised (I'm thinking he may have done that on purpose...sorry).
I personally like the body style of the 90-95 better than the 96-02, but the engine (3.4/5VZ-FE) is hands down a huge improvement over the 3.0. As you do more research, you'll find lots of people who seem to hate the 3.0 like there's no tomorrow and others that will defend it to their death. For me, my 3.0 was fantastic, it certainly was no race car motor, but it did the job, and when it didn't, just downshift and rev it up between 3,500-4,500 rpm. I replaced one round of head gaskets + a valve job, then 8 years later I burnt a valve and decided to 3.4 swap it and haven't looked back.
As sort of a random thought, if you keep it on 31x10.5s you'll be fine with a 3.0, 5sp, and 4.56 gears (front and rear axle), but if you plan to step up to a 33x10.5 or 33x12.5, you really should look into regearing to a 4.88 (that poor 3.0 just doesn't have the guts to do 65-70 in 4th with a slight incline (regardless of how slight) with the 33's and 4.56). As a word of advice, do your homework on a 3.4 swap, it has been the single greatest thing I've done to my 4Runner in the 13 years I've owned it; I'm not saying to go out and do it now, but be ready and knowledgeable when the time comes.
So, fan bracket, a quick Google of "toyota 3.0 fan pulley bracket" gave me these two links towards the top:
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...racket-168951/
http://www.yotashop.com/cooling-fan-...arly-155-2416/ (says it's for a 88-92, maybe they have a 93-95 option? If you can find it Aisin is the manufacturer and supplier for Toyota for a lot of products).
For a rear bumper option, I would recommend talking with Luke at 4x4Labs in Grass Valley, he did mine and was excited by the opportunity to build a "different" (meaning a non-FJ-80) bumper. A word of advice though, his work will cost you $$$, but it is top notch.
For your alternator, you can drop it off at (or ship it to) Boyle Future tech in Auburn (especially if its a "Toyota" branded alternator, much higher quality than most aftermarket replacements) and they can do either a rebuild (replace the wearable components, but leave the output current the same), or do a rebuild and a rewrap to bump the output from 90A to 120-140A, call them for pricing.
Do yourself a favor and AVOID the electric fans altogether. They were a big fad about 10 years ago, but very few people were able to get them to work as effectively as the belt driven fan even with a custom fan shroud. Now, as for mechanical fans, it seems there has been a rather high occurrence of fans exploding that had the outer ring on them between the individual blades, but being a 95, you're probably ok without that outer ring. Here's a link to my swap where list the couple of different fan options: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f160.../#post51853767
Don't bother with the coil spacers, just buy some OME 901 (HD) or 900 (SD/regular) coils and they'll give you the lift you need to match the BJ spacers.
I'd also suggest looking into the OME steering stabilizer to replace the 20 year old little Toyota stabilizer.
I get the impression that you're in Northern California somewhere, whereabouts do you call home?
Lastly, welcome and good luck with everything.
I personally like the body style of the 90-95 better than the 96-02, but the engine (3.4/5VZ-FE) is hands down a huge improvement over the 3.0. As you do more research, you'll find lots of people who seem to hate the 3.0 like there's no tomorrow and others that will defend it to their death. For me, my 3.0 was fantastic, it certainly was no race car motor, but it did the job, and when it didn't, just downshift and rev it up between 3,500-4,500 rpm. I replaced one round of head gaskets + a valve job, then 8 years later I burnt a valve and decided to 3.4 swap it and haven't looked back.
As sort of a random thought, if you keep it on 31x10.5s you'll be fine with a 3.0, 5sp, and 4.56 gears (front and rear axle), but if you plan to step up to a 33x10.5 or 33x12.5, you really should look into regearing to a 4.88 (that poor 3.0 just doesn't have the guts to do 65-70 in 4th with a slight incline (regardless of how slight) with the 33's and 4.56). As a word of advice, do your homework on a 3.4 swap, it has been the single greatest thing I've done to my 4Runner in the 13 years I've owned it; I'm not saying to go out and do it now, but be ready and knowledgeable when the time comes.
So, fan bracket, a quick Google of "toyota 3.0 fan pulley bracket" gave me these two links towards the top:
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...racket-168951/
http://www.yotashop.com/cooling-fan-...arly-155-2416/ (says it's for a 88-92, maybe they have a 93-95 option? If you can find it Aisin is the manufacturer and supplier for Toyota for a lot of products).
For a rear bumper option, I would recommend talking with Luke at 4x4Labs in Grass Valley, he did mine and was excited by the opportunity to build a "different" (meaning a non-FJ-80) bumper. A word of advice though, his work will cost you $$$, but it is top notch.
For your alternator, you can drop it off at (or ship it to) Boyle Future tech in Auburn (especially if its a "Toyota" branded alternator, much higher quality than most aftermarket replacements) and they can do either a rebuild (replace the wearable components, but leave the output current the same), or do a rebuild and a rewrap to bump the output from 90A to 120-140A, call them for pricing.
Do yourself a favor and AVOID the electric fans altogether. They were a big fad about 10 years ago, but very few people were able to get them to work as effectively as the belt driven fan even with a custom fan shroud. Now, as for mechanical fans, it seems there has been a rather high occurrence of fans exploding that had the outer ring on them between the individual blades, but being a 95, you're probably ok without that outer ring. Here's a link to my swap where list the couple of different fan options: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f160.../#post51853767
Don't bother with the coil spacers, just buy some OME 901 (HD) or 900 (SD/regular) coils and they'll give you the lift you need to match the BJ spacers.
I'd also suggest looking into the OME steering stabilizer to replace the 20 year old little Toyota stabilizer.
I get the impression that you're in Northern California somewhere, whereabouts do you call home?
Lastly, welcome and good luck with everything.
A 3.4 swap could definitely be in the trucks future. For tires, my plans were 33x10.5's for now. This isn't a DD for me, it's strictly a toy. I'd love to regear to 4.88, but it's not currently in the budget. It's definitely something I want to do later down the road though.
I've actually already fixed the fan pulley bracket. The story was a direct copy paste from another thread on another site, I should have just cut that part out. I'm actually on the central coast (San Luis Obispo).
As for the rear bumper, I really don't have the $$$ to have someone build something for me. If I build it myself I can get exactly what I want and I enjoy sticking pieces of metal together.
Good to know about the alternator, I'll check that out. My grandpa's neighbor back in Georgia owns a junk yard so I have him looking out for the alternator I'd need.
I'll check your thread out for sure on the fan. I've done electric conversions for dirt track cars several times and never had to much of an issue. Always good to know about issues though and if I can find a slap in replacement that would definitely be easier.
Thank you for letting me know about the coil spacers! I built the suspension lift based on a thread I found here The coils listed in the build are the OME 901HD coils so it's nice to know I can just cut those out.
Thanks for the input on the steering stabilizer, I actually have it on the spreadsheet but wasn't sure if it would give me much of a benefit. I'll add it back in! This is exactly why I wanted my thread in 2 different places, that's some helpful info!
This weekend I'm hoping to get some bodywork started and figure out what's happening with my sunroof. It was working fine, but the "lockout" button broke and I couldn't close it. Does the "lockout" button normally keep you from closing it or does it keep you from opening it?
I'm wondering if the PO screwed with it. After pulling the small panel and switch I was able to remove the plastic tab that was keeping me from closing it. However it still wouldn't close. The motor would spin but there was no movement in the sunroof. I ended up just manually shoving it close since it was late, but it's sitting in the down-forward position so it's still open.
08-23-2015, 11:31 AM
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So yesterday we started working on fixing the sunroof. We also decided to pull the carpet and trim to give the runner a deep cleaning. I knew it was bad but didn't expect it to be quite this nasty. The floors were horrible and everything was absolutely coated in a layer of red clay dust (reminded me of being back home, I'm from Georgia). The floors were all sticky (spilled soda is my guess). and half the screws for the door and trim were missing. The amount of dog hair is just staggering, my poor wife's allergies were just killing her.
The PO did an amazingly horrible speaker installation in the back, he really hacked some stuff up. There's a red 2 or 6 gauge cable that runs into the engine bay, I'm assuming it was for a sub or something along those lines. None of the speaker cables were run properly, they were all on top of the carpet. I'm going to fix all of the little things and re-run the speaker cables and possibly re-locate them.
Here's some pics.
My wife and I were having some trouble removing the rear glass. The tailgate is pretty badly dented and I'll be taking a body hammer to it as part of this process.
Front trim removed, tailgate off and working on the rear trim.
Carpet out rear trim removed and roof dropped.
Rear seat bottoms out and rear carpet removed. Look at all the dog hair! This is after I pulled a bunch of it out.
All rear trim, carpet and roof removed. On the right you can see where he just cut into something to place the speakers, which made no sense at all since he had an inch of wood standoffs...
We've still got a ton of stuff to pull out and will need to borrow or rent a carpet cleaner We'll vacuum everything, scrub down the trim panels and all of the interior before re-assembling. I'll have to pick up some more trim clips and plastic snaps before then too.
Got further along, pulling front panels and there's so many cut wires and WIRE NUTS!!!!!!
The PO did an amazingly horrible speaker installation in the back, he really hacked some stuff up. There's a red 2 or 6 gauge cable that runs into the engine bay, I'm assuming it was for a sub or something along those lines. None of the speaker cables were run properly, they were all on top of the carpet. I'm going to fix all of the little things and re-run the speaker cables and possibly re-locate them.
Here's some pics.
My wife and I were having some trouble removing the rear glass. The tailgate is pretty badly dented and I'll be taking a body hammer to it as part of this process.
Front trim removed, tailgate off and working on the rear trim.
Carpet out rear trim removed and roof dropped.
Rear seat bottoms out and rear carpet removed. Look at all the dog hair! This is after I pulled a bunch of it out.
All rear trim, carpet and roof removed. On the right you can see where he just cut into something to place the speakers, which made no sense at all since he had an inch of wood standoffs...
We've still got a ton of stuff to pull out and will need to borrow or rent a carpet cleaner We'll vacuum everything, scrub down the trim panels and all of the interior before re-assembling. I'll have to pick up some more trim clips and plastic snaps before then too.
Got further along, pulling front panels and there's so many cut wires and WIRE NUTS!!!!!!
Last edited by Peevedkitten; 08-23-2015 at 02:48 PM. Reason: Wire nuts
08-23-2015, 06:11 PM
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Done for today! Got all of the interior out. I'm going to borrow my mother-in-laws carpet cleaner and do the truck carpets. I hung them and beat them to see how bad the dirt was and honestly I'm kinda of speechless.
My hood was clean before this pic:
Me after smackin carpet:
The carpet after being whacked for about 30 minutes, wish I had a before pick (side not the interior is grey I think):
Interior completely out:
Some of the PO's hackjob wiring:
I'm freaking exhausted now lol. There's still a lot to do, but I think we made some progress this weekend. I'll work on cleaning up the wiring this week and see how that works out.
My hood was clean before this pic:
Me after smackin carpet:
The carpet after being whacked for about 30 minutes, wish I had a before pick (side not the interior is grey I think):
Interior completely out:
Some of the PO's hackjob wiring:
I'm freaking exhausted now lol. There's still a lot to do, but I think we made some progress this weekend. I'll work on cleaning up the wiring this week and see how that works out.
08-24-2015, 04:19 PM
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LOL... You brought back some memories for me when I removed my carpets. Not good memories. You would be surprised at how clean and what a difference taking the carpets to the carwash will do for them. The stuff that comes out should be considered hazardous waste. It is nasty!!!!
Seeing wire nuts always makes me cringe. I think removing them is just part of being a Toyota owner. You are posted in the correct area and it is okay to copy and post from other build sites. I suggest having a build thread just for keeping track of what you have done. Also if you find a link from this or other various sites for parts or information it is a good place for you to quickly find it.
Time flies and one day you can go back and look what you started with and see the transformation. Welcome to Yotatech.
Seeing wire nuts always makes me cringe. I think removing them is just part of being a Toyota owner. You are posted in the correct area and it is okay to copy and post from other build sites. I suggest having a build thread just for keeping track of what you have done. Also if you find a link from this or other various sites for parts or information it is a good place for you to quickly find it.
Time flies and one day you can go back and look what you started with and see the transformation. Welcome to Yotatech.
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08-26-2015, 10:20 AM
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LOL... You brought back some memories for me when I removed my carpets. Not good memories. You would be surprised at how clean and what a difference taking the carpets to the carwash will do for them. The stuff that comes out should be considered hazardous waste. It is nasty!!!!
Seeing wire nuts always makes me cringe. I think removing them is just part of being a Toyota owner. You are posted in the correct area and it is okay to copy and post from other build sites. I suggest having a build thread just for keeping track of what you have done. Also if you find a link from this or other various sites for parts or information it is a good place for you to quickly find it.
Time flies and one day you can go back and look what you started with and see the transformation. Welcome to Yotatech.
Seeing wire nuts always makes me cringe. I think removing them is just part of being a Toyota owner. You are posted in the correct area and it is okay to copy and post from other build sites. I suggest having a build thread just for keeping track of what you have done. Also if you find a link from this or other various sites for parts or information it is a good place for you to quickly find it.
Time flies and one day you can go back and look what you started with and see the transformation. Welcome to Yotatech.
I borrowed my MIL's carpet cleaner and found out it's dead. I guess I'll take the carpets to the car wash and just pressure wash them. I really don't feel like renting a carpet cleaner, but I will if pressure washing them doesn't help. I also picked up a new diff last night. V6 diff with 4.56 gears for $250. I wanted a locker, but since my car hasn't sold yet money is still tight.
I'll be installing the diff this weekend barring any serious complications. I should also get all of the stuff in for my audio installations this week. I'm going to run extra cable and just cut it flush/tape the ends so I can add more later if I want to without removing all the trim and carpet again. We also sprang for fatmat sound deadener. I should have enough to do the entire truck front to back. This is more my wife's thing but I want her to be happy so I'm doing it.
Current mods list looks like this after more research, input from other members and my latest buying spree:
Custom winch front bumper
Custom rear bumper w/swingout, jerry can holder and fold down table/lamp post
Custom skid plates
Custom full length roof rack
Decking the rear for a sleeping platform
Uniden PRO520XL CB Radio
Firestik SS-3H Antenna Spring
18' RG-58A/U Coaxial Cable
4ft Black Firefly
Nilight® 2 X 18w 6 Cree LED Spot
52" 300W LED Light Bar
OTRATTW switches
Hi-Lift Jack HL484 48"
140amp alternator
Alternator wiring harness adapter
Energy suspension kit
WARN 26502 M8000
Ball joint spacers
OME 60072 Front shocks
OME 60073 Rear shocks
2901 Rear coils
08-26-2015, 07:02 PM
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Took the carpets down to the coin operated car wash. $30+ later the carpets are STILL terrible lol. The things that I saw while cleaning these carpets I cannot ever un-see... LOL
This red clay is amazingly stubborn. I'm originally from Georgia and grew up mudding, I know how nasty it gets and how tough it is to clean out. Honestly, I've never seen carpets this bad because in trucks we built for mudding we just ripped the carpet out.
Cleaning:
Drying:
I'll see how they turn out once they're fully dried and see if I feel like renting a carpet cleaner. I don't need the carpet to be spotless. Since I'll probably be sleeping in the back a lot though and I don't want to be disgusted when I lay my head down. t least it seems like I got most of the evil dog hair out.
This red clay is amazingly stubborn. I'm originally from Georgia and grew up mudding, I know how nasty it gets and how tough it is to clean out. Honestly, I've never seen carpets this bad because in trucks we built for mudding we just ripped the carpet out.
Cleaning:
Drying:
I'll see how they turn out once they're fully dried and see if I feel like renting a carpet cleaner. I don't need the carpet to be spotless. Since I'll probably be sleeping in the back a lot though and I don't want to be disgusted when I lay my head down. t least it seems like I got most of the evil dog hair out.
08-27-2015, 08:06 PM
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I had a couple questions, was hoping maybe some people with experience could chime in.
I'm considering just ditching the sunroof altogether. Has anyone ever welded up and removed the sunroof before? What thickness of metal should I use if I decide to go that route?
My original plan was to do an SAS, I had tempered that to just an OME lift but I'm kind of reconsidering it. It's hard to justify the cost but I don't want to spend $800ish and rip it out 2 years later. I've done a lot of research on this, but it's a fairly serious project. I'm looking at the 4" Trailgear kits for a SAS and rear leaf conversion. What else am I going to need if I buy those kits to complete the full SAS? The axle upgrades can come later (longfields etc.) since I won't be hardcore wheeling to start with. Will I absolutely need an aftermarket driveshaft or other things?
I'm considering just ditching the sunroof altogether. Has anyone ever welded up and removed the sunroof before? What thickness of metal should I use if I decide to go that route?
My original plan was to do an SAS, I had tempered that to just an OME lift but I'm kind of reconsidering it. It's hard to justify the cost but I don't want to spend $800ish and rip it out 2 years later. I've done a lot of research on this, but it's a fairly serious project. I'm looking at the 4" Trailgear kits for a SAS and rear leaf conversion. What else am I going to need if I buy those kits to complete the full SAS? The axle upgrades can come later (longfields etc.) since I won't be hardcore wheeling to start with. Will I absolutely need an aftermarket driveshaft or other things?
08-30-2015, 11:34 AM
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Hey guys, need some advice. I just pulled my rear diff and will be installing the new one soon. The old (I think) ABS sensor looks to be completely shot. The new diff has an ABS sensor in place already, but it's not the proper one for my year.
Does the ABS sensor matter? Can I leave the new one in the new diff and just zip tie the old on up and out of the way somewhere?
Does the ABS sensor matter? Can I leave the new one in the new diff and just zip tie the old on up and out of the way somewhere?
08-31-2015, 06:57 PM
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I am pleased to say that the new rear diff has been installed! That was an absolute beast to do by myself. The axle shafts are back in place and now I just hope everything holds together. I still need to bleed the brakes, hook the drive shaft back up and re-attach the sway bar and some other minor things before I can toss the wheels back on and put her on the ground again. Work is going to slow for a bit so I can put a motorcycle back together for someone and then it should pick back up again.
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