I picked up my Runner in early November completely on impulse. Literally sold my car (4th Gen Celica) and bought this truck in the same hour. Could not be happier with my decision. Ironically we had the biggest snowfall my city has seen in six years a few weeks ago and I had no problem plowing my way through it.

Anyways its an SR5, standard and it even came with a rear tire carrier.










So far I've;

-Replaced all the ignition components.
-Fixed the rear defrost.
-Installed a CD deck.
-Changed all the drivetrain fluids.
-Changed engine oil and filter.
-Undercoated the bottom.
-Fixed a few rust spots.
-Replaced the rear coils and shocks. (No more ass sag.)
-Ditched the running boards.

This is the most recent picture I have.



There's a few issues I'd still like to fix.

- My front brake rotors are warped and need to be replaced. I've never done this on a 4x4 though and I'm kind of intimidated by taking the hubs apart.

- The radiator is always pretty much empty. I want to replace the thermostat, rad cap, flush the system and switch to Toyota red coolant but that's hard to do in mid winter since my garden hose is frozen.

- The idle is inconsistent. Sometimes it sits at 500 RPM, other times its right where it should be at 850. I'm hoping its just a vacuum leak or dirty throttle body but I haven't had a chance to play around with it too much.




Now I also have a couple questions that I haven't been able to answer through searching around for over a month now.

1. I'd like to buy some 33x10.5x15" BFG AT's. I have a standard transmission and 4.56 gears. Is there anyone with this setup that can comment on the driveability? I know the 4.88 gears are more ideal but I don't have the money to re gear.

2. I'm thinking about buying some BJ spacers and relaxing my torsion bars for more articulation. Is there anything else needed to do this such as shocks or a diff drop? Or can I just install the spacers, relax the torsion bars and call it a day?

Thanks in advance, this site has been beyond helpful.

 

1. 4.56s are fine with 33s. not worth the upgrade if you ask me, it wont be much of a difference. keep the 4.56s

2. get BJ spacers and shocks, then relax the torsion bars.

 

Thanks man, exactly what I wanted to hear.

 

Good looking rig.
Taking the hubs off is pretty simple. You just need to beat on it for a bit to get the cone washers to come out.
33s with 4.56s should be fine. Alot of people on here run them with 4.10s. You WILL notice a difference, but you will get used to it.
Im pretty sure that the bjs give a small enough lift that you dont need shocks.
Although i would reccomend getting a set of manual hubs. That way you wont go through cv boots like crazy.

EDIT: Dont take my word on the shocks. If you arnt short on cash i would say get them, but i dont think you NEED them to do the lift.

 

aww...mak beat me to some of it.

 

I'm running 33x10.5's on 4.56 gearing, it's not too bad. I do have a 3.4 swapped in, but the power band is in the same place, so I think you'd be alright until you do get 4.88's set up. I'd still recommend 4.88's soon...I'll be going to them even with my extra power.

On the bj spacers, it may be a good idea to have the diff drop stuff on hand. It's not necessary, but with my aftermarket cv axles(EMPI is the brand) I had to shim the droop bumpstops to keep them from binding. Shocks you should be alright on. I still feel it was worth it to be able to relax the torsion bars, makes my ride nicer and lets the side with weight on it compress more, so it still gave me a little practical articulation even if I didn't gain any more droop travel yet.

 

3.4 has the same power band as a 3.0????

 

Power band yes...meaning it comes on at the same RPM...however....it has more umph in the power band...i.e...Horsepower and Torque...get it??? got it???good. 3.4 and 3.0= night and day difference..their two different animals.
-Ted

 

more horsepower and torque making the powerband.....yes completely diffrent

 

Not really...Snowshredder has got it right. More power doesn't mean the power band is different. If you looked at a dyno graph for each engine, the curves would basically be parallel. They make their best respective power at the same rpm points. Yes, 3.0 and 3.4 is night and day, biggest difference I noticed was that it could keep speed on hills a heck of a lot easier, but really...190 hp for a 4,000+ pound vehicle? It's still no hot rod, that's why I still plan to get 4.88's installed when I fit my Elocker.

 

Wow nice buy!!!
Changing 4WD rotors isn't that hard,just take your time and make a map.At least your not Rebuilding Drum brakes I hate those!

 

Dudeman,nice 4Runner! and whats with your radiator always being pretty much empty? HG?

 

Thanks for the comments.

I don't think its the head gasket since my oil and coolant aren't contaminated. The overflow tank is always at the same level so I'm pretty sure its just the rad cap. I'll grab a new one this weekend and see if it helps.

If everything goes smooth I should be picking up my 33's in a couple hours.

 

you'll like the 33x10.5 and they should tuck alright. I have the 3.0 auto & 4.88's 33x12.50 You will be able to turn the 10.5's easier with the 5spd than me with the trashed auto and 12.5's.

Your leak, if not the rad cap it's going to be the HG. Might have a small leak on the gasket somewhere leaking out or possible burning it.

I'd get the BJ spacers and longer shocks then relax the torsion bars. That's my plan anyway. I have LC's coils in the rear and she is raked a bit. I want to get large BJ spacers and then relax the bars to level it out. Get a bit more travel as well.

 

Got the 33's on. The power loss isn't that bad at all, I have to work first gear a little harder but other than that its pretty much the same. There is some rubbing though, I think its the pinch weld but not completely sure. I'll try pounding it down soon and see if it helps.

Just to clarify, the pinch weld is inside the front fenders on the back side right?

I'm getting kind of nervous about the head gasket and my rad always be low on coolant. I think I'll do a compression test.






Looks much better.

 

I think its rubbing on your mud flaps that's what mine rubbed on...Took the flaps off a while back. Looks like you have a saggy butt, time for some LC Coils and BJ spacers. I have have of it, I still need to get my spacers.

Check my build thread, we have basically the same ride. Yours has less cancer and is a 5spd, mine will be someday.

 

The rear end isn't sagging, it just looks that way in the pictures because my front tire is up on a little curb. I replaced the rear coils and shocks within a week of owning the truck and it brought the back end up 1 1/2", leveling it out.

I read your build thread a few weeks ago actually but I'll go through it again. When its a bit warmer I'll play around with the tires and see exactly where its rubbing.

Might top up the rad today, put a new a cap on and see if it stays full.

 

Dude Man, any pictures/posts on your chop? Really interested in it..

 

Nice runner! Carbon copy of mine!