1998 e-locked 5speed evergreen pearl sr5 (1 Viewer)

[5speed addict]

4runner has been on jackstands for a little too long, almost two weeks now.

New lower ball joints, old ones weren’t too bad but changed out just as a precaution. Old ones will be kept as trail spares.

New timken wheel bearings (really just koyos in a timken box) also Spc arms and durobumps installed.

333 fab alignment plates. 3 settings: fully in, neutral, fully out. Going to set it at fully out on the back cams and neutral on the front and see how it aligns.

Also new replacement leather from hotrodupholstery, can’t wait to add in seat heaters when these go on.

 

[5speed addict]

So good news is the 4runner is back on the ground and driving, bad news is the noise I thought was front wheel bearings wasn’t wheel bearings.

Could really use some second opinions with diagnosing the noise.

Light pshhhh noise almost like a bad skateboard bearing:

• Only happens when rolling above 10mph.
• clutch position and gear or trans in neutral do not change the noise
• Neutral on the tcase makes the noise much quieter but it’s still there
• Noise is very loud if you put your hand on the tcase shifter​

So far what’s been done is:

• Front wheel bearings
• Greased driveshafts and u joints
• Rear axle had just had the axle seals done before I bought it
• New front pads and rotors

Thinking I’ll check the tcase fluid level and the front diff. Will probably end up draining and filling those


Here’s an alignment chart. Gained a ton of clearance from the firewall with the alignment cams at max caster and the Spc arms almost all the way forward. Hopefully will make fitting 33s pretty easy

 

[5speed addict]

Noise was found. Tcase was almost completely dry

The inside is full of a mud like mixture made out of aluminum shavings and gear oil. Ive filled and dumped the fluid a few times

Every time Ive dumped the fluid it looks like this, the case seems pretty hurt but is currently functioning fine and seems to really like synthetic gear oil because the noise is almost completely gone with a synthetic but if I put in a conventional the noise is pretty loud.

Found what looks like a bearing and some other chunk of ferrous metal in the last flush attempt

Rebuild kits are in the $500 range (no rebuild kits available and reman tcases are $1000 from toyota) and I don’t want the 4Runner torn apart for too long right now so I think I’m going to try and find a used one locally or in the junkyard

Thinking at least the planetaries in this case might be repurposed for a northwest fab eco crawler later on if I ever find a suitable first gen Tacoma to build into something I won’t feel bad about beating on

 

[5speed addict]

Time for an update. I found a new tcase a few months back, haven’t put it in yet.

Rebuilt the rear seats with the pans out of a 99+ for these silly headrest holders

Finally have a working clock again.

You take the springs and pins out and then solder the pins right to the board to permanently fix these clocks.

More to come when I have a chance to take pictures

 

[yotadude520]

Nice job on the clock! When can I send ya mine? It's getting a tad dim.

And get to work installing that TC! It's not so bad - eight bolts plus the driveshafts and shifter parts! I would recommend replacing the shifter gasket while it's out, it's like $3.

 

[5speed addict]

Nice job on the clock! When can I send ya mine? It's getting a tad dim.

And get to work installing that TC! It's not so bad - eight bolts plus the driveshafts and shifter parts! I would recommend replacing the shifter gasket while it's out, it's like $3.

a friend of mine soldered the parts on the clock, he might be able to do one for you but not sure if it changes the brightness.

The spare tcase needs some seals and bearings just for peace of mind before I spend the time installing it, will eventually get around to it.

 

[5speed addict]

So the tcase finally failed and did so in the most destructive way possible. Think most of the damage happened when the tcase fully locked up while removing it from the tow truck. Anyway have a new trans/tcase

Also it’s been on 33s and 80 series wheels for a while now

 

[5speed addict]

Finished up the trans/tcase swap last night, putting on some miles today just to see if any problems pop up. So far worst problem that’s come up is I was so excited to drive it I forgot to tighten down the battery connections

 

[5speed addict]

Added in this 3D printed multi outlet piece from shtbx customs

 

[5speed addict]

never got around to taking any good pictures of the reupholstered seats, I ended up going with completely new foam seat and backrest in the drivers seat and just a new seat pad for the passenger. Upholstery is hard work and though I am happy with the results I achieved I think I will pay someone else to do any future auto upholstery I may have.

I put in seat heaters but currently only have the drivers plugged in, that’s going to have to change which brings me to the future wiring stuff to tackle. I need to create some kind of auxiliary fuse box that has switched power and constant so I can run both seat heaters on switched power and the rear hatch charger thing on constant

 

[5speed addict]

Now that I’m not fixing major drivetrain destruction I have been buttoning up little projects on the 4runner. Good bye nasty frayed drivers side seatbelt

 

[5speed addict]

Thought the roof rack was leaking so I resealed that, rained again and the interior got soaked so I took the headliner down just enough to look in and found this. Got that fixed and everything works as it should.

Have a few things on the back burner for the 4runner, want to get a good simple electrical system setup and have been waiting on this fuse panel mount from scarab off road technologies.

Need to get some rock sliders figured out as well, thinking 4xinnovations but modified to mount with u bolts to the frame like metaltech 4x4 does for other models since I don’t want to weld them on just yet.

Rear springs has been a huge conundrum, the 906 old man emu springs aren’t quite strong enough for a weekend of camping gear but it seems as though every spring that can handle a slight load will add more lift than the ~2in that I’d like to be at and there’s lots of reports of a poor ride with those springs. Haven’t heard much about the dobinsons options but they seem to be my only hope for a decent spring for a low lift height

 

[5speed addict]

Its basically a Supra now right?

 

[aowRS]

Nice work with all the fixes/upgrades. The leather seats look fantastic, and will probably outlast the short-lived factory stuff.

I am selling a few sets of Dobinsons springs in the classifieds. Let me know if you have any interest.


Andreas

 

[5speed addict]

Got a picture from fedex this morning:

Thanks to @aowRS dobinsons c59-137v are going on the 4runner sooner than I had planned, we will see if these are what I want. If not it’s the 7 wrap land cruiser springs next.

 

[5speed addict]

Gave the c59-137v a try for a week, ended up sitting too tall for my taste, front would have to be raised some to match but I’m thinking it could be right with a rear bumper so not going to get rid of them just yet.

C59-137v rake

Spring comparison using drivers side springs. Stock, C59-137v, OME 906

Ome 906

 

[AmericanKing]

Awesome build. There a lot of great content here thanks. I'm new to the 3rd gen community. This page has made it easy for information. Recently picked up a 99 4runner. As I was reading this thread I came across High Desert Cruiser club which is awesome. I'm in Los Lunas so finding a group with like minded people is great. Hope to see your rig soon.

 

[5speed addict]

Little update here, added in an auxbeam 8 switch thing awhile ago and some amber pods behind the grille and kinda had a wiring rats nest going on so I got a fuse panel mount thing to sorta help organize

Also got a roof rack

Thinking I’m going to change wheels to 17s and downsize the tires to a 255/75r17 at some point so I can get away from the e rated tires for a little softer ride and maybe get a little better mpg by shaving some weight and width

 

[5speed addict]

No big updates so here’s some pictures

Oh also I sold my tepui roof brick that used to live on my jeep XJ and got a GFC superlite pics of that soon.

 

[5speed addict]

Since the last update:
Alternator- denso reman for 99+ (10 extra amps over stock)

O2 sensors - it seems impossible but I’m now averaging around 18mpg up from 16mpg.

Passenger caliper sized up - wanted to do tundra brakes but needed this fixed faster than I could get the oem tundra rotor/pads I wanted to use, will do tundra brakes in the future. Reman caliper leaked out the pistons as soon as brakes were bled, old one still seems functional, I’m confused as to why it seemed like it wasn’t working properly but put it back together and everything seems fine.


Gfc superlite

I had been debating winch options for awhile, do I get a cheaper brand or go for the trusty USA made warn offerings? Then this open box but otherwise brand new m8000 landed in my lap for less than I’d have spent on one of the cheap winches.

Previous owner put on a synthetic line and then realized the winch didn’t fit his jeep