Excellent job on the bumper. I would like to copy it but I don't have the tools for the round tubing, mine would be all square tubing. I wonder how it would look if the quarter panel was painted black where the factory bumper used to be?

 

Yes, I bought them from Superbrightleds.com. If I was going to do it again I would use these for the hatch LED Marine & Boat Products : Waterproof Marine LED Flood Light . I just ordered a few for rock lights and they are awesome; small, super bright (for the size), and only one watt!

 

I thought about painting it black, but I like the contrast. It makes the bumper stand out, directing your attention to the bumper not the background.

 

Don't know why I didn't even think of using those for rear lighting. I have 10 similar lights (still in a drawer) I picked up off eBay: http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewi...id=01772147553
a hair cheaper than the oznium lights.

They do put out a ton of light,

Nice thing is since they hardly pull any power they won't need a relay.

Seeing how fast you are moving on your truck is great motivation for the rest of us

Starting on the front bumper this weekend?

 

That’s the plan.

I picked up all my steel today, got enough to build the front bumper and the sliders.

 

I'm so excited to see the front bumper!

 

If this was Facebook I'd "Like" your last post Dirtco.

 

Awesome build thread! I love 3rd gens, although, I just got rid of my 3rd gen 4runner and went with an FJ Cruiser! I will keep watching this but check back in 2 years to see if you build an FJ next

 

I got a good start on the front bumper; the winch mount had to be built first so I got to work. My front bumper is going to be a lot like the one I built for the Turbo 4Runner, but I wanted the back side of the winch mount to be open for extra air flow to the radiator and transmission cooler. That required a lot of extra bracing and reinforcement. Like the Turbo 4Runner, I tried to angle everything to give it a more aggressive look.

Pictures for reference





I didn’t take many pictures during the building process, but here are a couple I snapped along the way







And here it is mostly completed, I made a few modifications after these pictures

 

And here it is after I welded it on the 3/16” 2x3” crossmember

 

Looking good!

 

Nice! Those are some sexy welds there

 

Thanks guys, I really appreciate all the complements!

 

Inspiring work for me to get working on my mine before winter sets in.....

Your build looks great......

 

Dirtco,

quick qestion, i got a 99 sr5 w a 2 inch body lift, and 2.5 inch daystar coil spacers, looking at going to sonoran steele 1.2 lift same as yours, do you think 315/75/16 would clear with the 2 inch body or would i be cutting alot, My rear bumper is similiar to yours is savage offroad front bumper is stock without bottom skirt on as of now. I have 0 rubbing issues as the stock rear suspension my panhard bar pulls and it allows little flex. any advice.
thanks man great build been following the whole thing. sickest 3rd gen ive seen

 

I think you would be fine. You might have to trim the pinch weld area a little but I don't think you will have to do any "major" trimming. I can give you a better idea once I really wheel my truck with all the weight on it.

 

Suspension Update…

As you guys know, I was having issues with the front spindle contacting the coil at full droop. I contacted Steve at Sonoran Steel, he said I needed more weight on the truck and that it was setting too high, allowing for more droop (all the details and pictures can be found a page or two back, it’s a long story).

Last weekend BigFishAllDay contacted me; he noticed a banging noise in his front suspension and after reading my thread he checked his front coils for any sign of contact. Well his 4Runner is doing the same thing as mine, but he has an ARB front bumper, winch and sliders. So it seems that the weight of the 4Runner really has nothing to do with it, the fact that my 4Runner sat taller just made the problem more pronounced and constant. Both of us think that this is a more common issue than Steve says, and I really feel that if you have the SS1.2 kit (at the 2.5” front setting) you need limit straps, period!

More info can be found in this thread: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-ge...ts-please.html

We discussed several different options to solve the problem, but only one seemed to be a 100% fix and not create more issues in the process. That was limit straps.

I had already bought limit straps before BigFish contacted me, for the following reasons: to 100% solve the spindle/coil problem, to reduce stress on the bushings with the weight of the 35’s w/ heavy beadlocks, and reduce some stress on the CV’s from drooping too far. I got them installed, but I still need to go wheeling and see if everything works the way it should.

 

I also replaced the rear bump stops, I had a set off the old green 4Runner that were 1 ½” taller. They are still a progressive rate bump stop (really comfortable) and they should stop the travel right before the tire rubs the inner fender.

Here’s the old set that are included with the SS 1.2 kit, they are starting to compress as the tire rubs.







And here’s the new set, at full compression they should be the same as the above pictures. I might get a slight amount of rubbing when I’m really flexed out but I think it will minimal (I don’t mind a little trimming). I am loosing a small amount of up travel in the rear suspension, but I feel the 35’s make up for that. Also, I’m not building this for rock crawling; it’s a trail/expedition/snow wheeling 4Runner that will see some rocky trails. I don’t mind taking the easy line or bypass, I’ve run all the hard lines in my last two rigs.

 

I also finished the front bumper! It took a couple long days, (there were a few times I thought about pulling the trailer in the shop and going to bed ) but it’s done! I still need to wire the winch and install my Master-Pull winch rope but I’ll take care of that later this week.

I didn’t take any pictures during the process but here is how it turned out…





Fender clearance

 

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