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My name is Keith and ive been a member on this forum for about a year and a half. I havent posted much. I've just been reading and learning a lot about my 4runner. Im new to anything off road so i figured it would be best to sit and read. So here's the story of the runner. We traded our other car in for this one for the wife. She has been wanting a 4runner and so have I. It was supposed to be a daily driver for her but about 6 months later i starting a job that gave me a company car. So, of course she started driving mine (2006 Subaru Legacy) to work and back because the gas prices were getting up there. Now we only use the runner on weekends and to travel to lake and camping, etc. So i now want to turn in into a little bit of a project. I dont plan on going full blown off road. I just want it to be able to tackle obsticles if need be! So.. here is what ive got...
2000 4runner SR5 4WD boguht in july 2010 107,000 miles on it. it now has 124,000 on it. has the Electronic rear dif lock and really every extra you can get in this year!
I cant find a pic of when i first bought it. but it looked like this minus the tint
First thing i do on all my cars in az is tint the windows. Heres before:
After 15% all around which made the rear limo. and limo windshield strip.
And we needed some new tires. it was still a daily driver at the time so they are big "o" highway tires. 265/70/16
Then it was off with the running boards after constant harrassment from assyrianrocker.
Problem is the wife is all of 5 ft tall and needs something to help her in. so we replaced the running boards with these off an 01 limited
After a lot of reading, the deck plate mod was next along with a true flow filter
with the deck plate in. wow what a difference!
I then replaced the silencer/air restrictor and removed the elbow in the fender
This made even more of a power difference! finally the thing can get out of the way of itself! lol
But after about a month i got tired of the look of it and wanted to do it right! got the air raid MIT from my step dad in return for a wax job on him and my moms RAV4. not a bad trade
I put some extras inside too.
Added and mounted the Garmin Gps and installed a JVC double DIN stereo. Was the only double DIN i could find that wasnt a screen. lol. rear stock speakers were dry and blown so replaced them with some sonys. and threw in one 12" audiobahn powered by a 400 watt audiobahn amp. just for my listening pleasure.
before any of the mods we also went out and had some fun with assyrianrocker and got her dirty for the first time:
Thats really about everything ive done to it so far. this is how she sits now after a fresh wash!
Next on the list for now is:
Replace plugs and wires. have the wires just gotta get the plugs
Change tranny fluid and dif fluids
fuel filter
and a couple other little things before i get into the big stuff
I have future plans also but im still deciding on what they will be!
Comments are always welome! Thanks for checking it out!
Last edited by 4Runnin2000; 02-20-2012 at 08:20 AM.
It was beautiful man. It was pretty rough though. You'll see in the video when I'm done editing. Wanna do table mesa this weekend? Its easy. And it spits you out at bartlett lake.
Man its been a while since I updated this thread.
I added this upgrade in Nov 2012 and everything has kinda been on hold since then. But I am slowly getting back into it.
Since my last post I have changed all fluids in the runner. Did a few drain and fills on the transmission and replaced rear and front dif fluids. Also did a ps flush too.
Headed to the dealer and got spark plugs and installed the NGK wires I already had. They added some color to the engine!
Also picked up all the drive belts and got those replaced.
I was hoping that the dry rotted belt was causing the noise under the hood from the a/c compressor area. But it was a no go. I am guessing it was the clutch on the compressor or the bearings. The noise was constant whether the ac was on or not. Either way, can't drive around AZ in the summer without ac. So off to Amazon!
Picked up a Denso Compressor with clutch and also picked up the Denso Dryer for $210 total. Not too bad. Here is the comparison of old and new.
The job itself actually wasn't too bad after you get everything out of the way. Had to remove the air box, move the power steering pump out of the way (without disconnecting any hoses) and remove the bottom skid plates. Should have taken pictures of the process but was just too deep in it. Got the compressor and dryer in and everything back together. Took it to a shop down the street and had it recharged. It held vacuum and had no leaks! Whew! Blowing 43 degrees at idle. The wife is Comfortable again!
Did a few other things also. Painted a lot of the trim black since the sun was fading it pretty bad
Rear bumper moulding
The roof rack. It was peeling pretty bad
Windshield trim around the wipers.
Also tinted the turn signal lenses.
Mounted a holster under the steering wheel for my 9mm also. Didn't want to drill holes so I used a couple large zip ties and an extra holster with a clip I had laying around. Holds the gun very well and is removable if I no longer want it there.
As of right now this is how she sits in the garage. Dirty because it just rained.
Next on the list is brakes. And then full suspension. And new tires!! Can't wait for that! This stock look is killing me! Hopefully not too long til my next post!
Last edited by 4Runnin2000; 04-26-2015 at 02:17 PM.
Finally got some all terrains! Was waiting for those highway tires to wear out. I went with firestone destination at. One size bigger. 265/75/16. No rubbing and they feel good! Can't wait to get them dirty!
Didn't get the lift yet. Still setting money aside til I have enough to buy everything. But after a lot of research I think I'm going with the bilstein 5100s all the way around and ome 881s up front and 890s in the rear.
Looks real nice, all that fresh black and fresh meats.
Have you already done the tranny oil cooler/strawberry milkshake preventer and are the lower ball joints in the plans yet?
I haven't heard of the preventer. Might have to look that up! I'll have to get the runner jacked up to check the play of the ball joints. I might add that to the list anyway since I'll have everything apart for the lift.☺
02-20-2012, 08:19 AM
4Runnin2000's Build Thread
So.. here is what ive got...
