In September of 2010, I broke down and sold Blanch in favor of a 2010 Chevy Colorado p/u. The cool thing is that a young local couple I know bought her and I see her several times a week driving around town. The new owners are into mods too, so you might end up seeing them on here. My plan is to check YT from time to time, so feel free to PM me with any questions. A pic of the new rig is at the bottom of the page.

As she sits today...



Model: '02 4Runner SR5 - White On Natural Oak, Tan Interior
Engine/Performance: 3.4L V6, Auto, AndyMod, Magnaflow Exhaust, S&B Intake
Rear Suspension: 3.75" lift with LC coils and Rancho RS5000 shocks
Front Suspension: 3" lift with OME 882 springs and OME N91sc shocks, Diff Drop
Tires: 285/75 R16 Fierce Attitude M/T's, Pacer Aluminum Wheels, EBC Brakes
Misc: Full Time Power Outlet Mod, Extra Power Outlet Mod, GE Nighthawks

Emptypocket's 4Runner history...
When I was a kid, my dad would let me help him fix cars and work in the garage with him. We changed shocks, mufflers, oil and the occasional head gasket. Ever since then, I've been addicted to working on cars. That's something my wife doesn't appreciate so much. In 2004, we bought a shiny 2002 SR5 4Runner and I promised her that I wouldn't do any "fixing" on the Runner (fingers crossed of course). Then one night I stumbled across YT and the rest is history!

Here's a pic of the completely stock Runner...




So, I found YT and decided a Daystar spacer lift would look pretty nice. This pic is shortly after the 2-1/2" Daystar lift with stock 265/70 R16's.




In the snow (it's Iowa after all!). Here, I've upgraded to 265/75 R16's.



REMEMBER: PLEASE FOLLOW THE RULES AND DO NOT POST IN THIS THREAD. PM ME FOR MORE INFORMATION.

 

After about two hours of tinkering, I finally got the Land Cruiser coils installed. They're LONG and lifted the runner about 4". Here's a comparison shot of my factory springs/spacers next to the LC coils




Here's a shot of the rear wheel opening...lots of space! Maybe time for 285's?




A height comparison between my 4Runner and my wife's '99 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I'm at least 6" higher!




Now, it's time for a detailing for better poser shots. In the next few weeks, I'll try to get some flexing shots too.

REMEMBER: PLEASE FOLLOW THE RULES AND DO NOT POST IN THIS THREAD. PM ME FOR MORE INFORMATION!

 

I took a few poser shots while doing some solo wheeling near a local gravel pit. I'm trying to have the owner open it to everyone in the area!

Up a steep hill...


On a ledge...


Rear stuff...


Rear droop...


My new S&B Cold Air Intake...


Sorry about the "poser" shots. This is Iowa afterall (flat)!

 

Ok, so I'm a picture whore...lol! My 285's are now on the way, so time to post some final pics of my rig with 265's. Pics with the 285's are on their way soon!





Front and rear wheel wells, which will be much fuller with 285's!

 

285's finally came in and found time to get them mounted. They're Multi-Mile Wild Country/Wild Spirit TXR II's. They seem to lean a little towards the M/T instead of A/T design, and are very aggressive looking. On to the pics...



Rear wheel opening...


Front wheel opening. Had to do a little trimming to make it fit...


Very beefy sidewall...


Super deep 20/32" tread...


Upper a-arm clearance...

 

Time for more pics! These were taken on a recent solo snow wheeling trip to a trail someone told me about. The trail was pretty easy, but the scenry was nice.

Before the run...


Along the trail...


A very narrow area of the trail...


Closeup of the tire. These things perform very well in the snow!


Poser stuff...


Full rear droop...

 

After spending about 6 months dealing with a badly sagging front Daystar spacer lift, I decided it was time to do something about it. My decision was between the OME 882 and 883 springs. After speaking with several people, most thought the 883's would be too stiff and give too much lift considering I'm running a stock front bumper. So, I pulled the trigger and ordered a pair of 882's. For those that are interested, I've posted my lift and prelift measurements. All are from the ground to my limited fender flares.

Stock - front: 34.5", rear: 34.5" (265/70 R16 tires)

Current front: 37.25" spacers (285/75 R16 tires)
Lifted height: 2.75", 1.15" from tires alone
Net spacer lift: 1.6", sagged almost a full inch from new

Current rear: 39.25" LC coils (285/75 R 16 tires)
Lifted height: 4.75", 1.15" from tires alone
Net LC coil lift: 3.6", sagged ~ .5" from new

Notice the difference between the front and rear. The ultimate dragster look!



Unfortunately, while attempting to install the 882's, I ran into a problem. I removed the strut assembly and brought it to a shop to have the new springs installed using my current Rancho shocks. After a while, the tech came out and said that the springs are too long for the shocks. It seems that my old Rancho shocks don't extend far enough to allow the springs to be installed. If they could've gotten the springs mounted, the coils would've been touching, a very bad idea!

After hours of research, it seems that most all of the shock companies build an internal bump stop and spring into their shocks, which limits full extention. I know this to be true of Rancho, Monroe and Gabriel shocks, and probably most others as well. I spoke with the tech departments at each company, and got the facts straight from them. So, a phone call to ARB/OME in Washington confirmed that both the OME N91S and N91SC shocks have a full extended length of 18.5", while all of the other manufacturers hit the internal bump stops at ~16.5" - 17", which is not enough extention to fit the 882's.

I suppose you could say that I learned a very valuable lesson here: no matter what anyone tells you, do your research first to make sure things will fit. It gets expensive when you start guessing! I've now ordered OME N91SC shocks and will be posting pics when they're installed, which is hopefully very soon.

 

Well, I finally found some time to get the 882's installed and man what a difference! A quick measurement shows ~38.25" from the ground to the fender lip, so a full inch over my old sagging springs and spacers. The new springs bring the front up to nearly exactly level with the rears. After driving for just a few miles, I'd say that the 882's are stiffer than my previous setup, but not harsh in any way...almost perfectly controlled. I think the OME comfort shocks are ideal with these springs. On to the pics...







The diff drop...


CV angles are decent...

 

As it stands now, my list of future planned mods includes:
- remove running boards and install sliders
- install 1" or 2" bl (height still undecided)
- new wheels with 305's

Probably going to wait until next year to tackle the list, but in the meantime, here are some poser shots...

 

Just got the Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 program and found a few minutes to play around with some pictures of the Runner. You can do really cool things with this program...as you can see!

 

This fall, my plan is to get a set of 305/70 16's. Although I haven't decided on which tire to get yet, basically no tire that size would've cleared my upper a-arm. So in preparation, I installed a set of 1.5" wheel adapters. Now, there won't be any clearance issues and they definitely gave my rig a more aggressive look. On to the pics...

Front tire before and after...



Rear tire before and after...

 

One thing I've found out by working on my 4Runner over the years is that it's very sensitive to modifications. That was the case with the spacers I recently installed. One of the spacers wasn't machined quite correctly and caused a constant steering wheel shake at 40-60 miles per hour. Instead of dealing with the spacer, I made the decision to take them off and install new wheels instead. The wheels I chose were Pacer's 164P model. They have a 4.25" backspace and -6 offset which gives about .75" more clearance than the stock wheels, and should be plenty for 305's or 285's with larger lugs. I love the new look of my Runner...funny how new wheels can make such a difference!

 

Wow, been a while since this has been updated. Got new shoes in the form of Fierce Attitude M/T's in the 285/75 R16 variety. They're a Goodyear/Kelly sub brand and absolutely rock! They're unstoppable in mud, snow and do very well on slick and icy roads for an M/T. In the little bit of trail driving I've done so far, they're incredible. They feature a 3 ply sidewall and are made in the USA. Obviously, I highly recommend them to anyone.







Mods still to come: 2" BL, remove running boards and sliders. We'll see how that goes for the rest of the summer.

 

As promised, here's a pic of my new rig. It's a 2010 Chevy Colorado p/u with the Z71 off road package, including skid plates and a locker. I've been very happy with it's performance so far, and it does better off road stock than my modded 4Runner...prob due to the locker. My future mod plans are a 5" lift, new meats and wheels and who knows what else.