I also took the 4Runner out the following day for some mild snow wheeling on a couple rocky trails. I was hoping that two solid days of wheeling in different conditions would work any bugs out, and it was a good opportunity to get some more seat time in the 4Runner. It started out as a beautiful blue bird day…

St. John












End of the road

 

I came back down and headed up another trail, with the same result. On the way down I found a car that had drove into the ditch, so I pulled him out and headed over to Webster Pass. By this time the weather was starting to change but I kept going…



I made it half way up the switch backs and had to turn around; if I had a working front locker and my CO2 tank (I wanted to be at 5 psi, but I had to drive home so 10 psi was my limit) I think I could have made it to the top. The snow drifts in this area and settles into the switch backs, there were spots were the snow was a foot deep.



View of Radical Hill across the valley



Coming back down

 

looks great. looked like you did a little snow bashing lol

 

And for the hell of it I headed up Radical Hill, I knew I wasn’t going to make it very far but it was worth a try.



Webster Pass and Red Cone, I made it to the switchback on the very left.



And again, the end This spot is just too steep when there’s snow, I always get stopped here.

 

Since we will get this out of the way do you know the dude in the xj with it turbo'd? Glad tosee tour out playing hopefully I will by May the latest. I miss it so much. Cool pics!

 

I've said it before and I will say it again. Your attention to Detail and your fabrication skills are Amazing!!! This rig is turning out just as AWSOME as the last two!!

And it looks Great in the snow!! One of these days I'll have my truck a little further along and I'll go play in the snow too. Though our Sierra snow isn't nearly as light as the Colorado Rocky Mountain snow.

Keep up the Great work and Thank You for your detailed threads and inspiration!!!! If/when I make it to Colorado, I'd like to stop by to see your rig(s) and shake your hand.

Grant

 

took a while to go through this thread but wow great build.

 

Thanks Grant, I really appreciate the awesome compliment! If you make it out to Colorado let me know, I would love to BS about Toyota's while drinking a cold one.

 

Thanks!

 

Overall I am happy with the 4Runner. It’s very comfortable, powerful and it seems like it should be pretty capable on the trail (I need to run a couple more trails and get it in some deep snow before I can really answer that question).

With any build you’re going to have issues, and I’ve had a few. First the small stuff:

The rear brakes were acting up after my trip to Wheeler Lake, so I replaced the shoes, springs and the drums. I plan on doing the Tundra upgrade up front once I get some of the other stuff on my list taken care of.



I noticed some noises in the front suspension, I found that the front sway bar end links had loosen up so I used some blue Loctite and retightened it. There’s something else that feels loose through the steering wheel but everything in the front suspension is tight, I really don’t know what it is. I think I need more time on the trail to pin point it.

And the worst problem that REALLY pisses me off, the supercharger is leaking again after spending a LOT of money to have Magnuson rebuild it! I noticed some oil leaking after I installed it, so I took some pictures and cleaned it thinking it might be oil in the seal from assembly.









After my trip I noticed the same leak again





So I have to take the supercharger back off and send it back to Magnuson. It’s not the hardest job in the world but it means I’ll be without a vehicle for another three weeks, and I’m going to miss a wheeling trip that I wanted to go on.

 

looks pretty sick only problem i see with the 99 is that its an automatic

 

man, sorry to hear about the SC issues, I hope their customer service is good!

 

onch, that sucks bout the SC, hope they get it right this time. did the autos have a lower gear ratio transfer case compared to manual, if so the auto isnt that bad on a 99. less work lol since you did a BL maybe the steering extension you added came loose?

 

The auto is awesome on the trail, anyone that saw the Turbo 4Runner in action knows what I'm talking about.

 

Thanks man, they are going to warranty the repair and install my 2.2 pulley while it’s there. I’m out the time it takes to remove / install the S/C and the time I don’t have a vehicle to drive.

 

I'm not sure about the gear ratio of the T-case, but I've heard it's lower than the stock gear drive mini truck case. I need to get it in the rocks before I know how well it crawls, but so far it seems to work pretty good.

I looked at it, and it looks tight, but I will double check all the bolts. Thanks for the input! It almost feels like something is loose inside the steering column, I read some place (a long time ago) that there is a bushing that can wear out inside there but it's only been off road a couple times. I really need to wheel it some more and try to pin point the issue. The very first time I wheeled it was on a rocky trail and everything felt tight when I started, on the way back down I started to notice the issue.

 

I did get my ARB compressor installed, but I need to finish wiring it. I also teed off the pressure switch port so I can use it as a back up compressor when I run out of CO2.





I used masking tape to mock up my sliders, the main support and legs will be 3/16” 2x2 square tubing with a round tubing kick out. I got all the square steel cut and ready to go, I just need to make some frame plates and start bending some tube.

 

OOOOHHHH, slider fab. Man I'm gonna be chompin at the bit to see more progress on this! lol

 

I pulled the supercharger; it will take three days to get to CA, five days at Magnuson (they are going to try to expedite the process, but that’s if they can “fit it in”) and three days back to CO. If I get lucky I’ll have it right before the weekend of the 19th, but it might be the following week.

It went a lot faster the second time around



I go wheeling just about every weekend (more during the fall and spring), and I always air down. Airing down, and filling back up is always a PITA, so I bought some Monster Valves from Powertank to speed the process up. You install them opposite of the stock valve stem. It’s a little scary drilling holes in your nice wheels but after the first one it’s not that bad. It now takes 43 seconds to air up my 35x12.50x17 tire from 0 – 30 psi (yes, I timed it ). That’s just awesome!







I was a little concerned about a rock coming inside the wheel and breaking the extra valve stem, so I bought a couple plugs to replace the valves if I need to. I really doubt that will happen, but you need to prepare for the worst.

 

hope you figure out the steering issue after getting the SC fixed. i have heard good things bout those monster valves and how scary it is to drill into your rims. in your cause, your brand new, expensive rims lol. i dont mind the down time on airing up. lets me relax and talk to the other guys about the trail.