Just one piece of advice, if the vehicle is in motion keep your arms inside at all times! Do not reach out side the vehicle for any reason, even if it is tilting. Easy for a limb to get torn off, crushed or snapped in half. Please please keep your windows up if you can't keep your arms inside the rig. Hold the grab handle at all times. Please don't laugh or dismiss this advice its serious!!
Builds Big Green Buffalo Build Thread
- Thread starter Wermz
- Start date
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Just one piece of advice, if the vehicle is in motion keep your arms inside at all times! Do not reach out side the vehicle for any reason, even if it is tilting. Easy for a limb to get torn off, crushed or snapped in half. Please please keep your windows up if you can't keep your arms inside the rig. Hold the grab handle at all times. Please don't laugh or dismiss this advice its serious!!
- Thread starter
- #202
And or a 3 link
I wish for both of those, soon, but not yet.. this is just as exciting, to me anyway. Ill drop a spy photo tomorrow
- Thread starter
- #203
Until this sub-project is done this is all i want to share.. but i can assure you its the most exciting thing ive done so far. id guess theres another 7-10 days until itll be finished, waiting on a few parts and pieces.
Its been about 10 days...when we get the big reveal!
- Thread starter
- #206
Okay here we go.
I did not paint the truck. As much as i wanted to, i just couldnt spend that kind of money on a trail truck. I kept looking at monstaliner, as cool as that is, its just not paint.. So, i decided to buff the paint first, I figured I couldnt make the paint look any worse than it was, yolo and such. I HAVE NEVER USED A BUFFER IN MY LIFE, before this, now im a pro. The results were mind blowing. This turned into a big beautification project, you can tell by looking through this thread that i dont really half ass things, at least i try real hard not to. Beyond shiny paint was the desire for a long lasting protectant, like a ceramic or something of that nature. What i was aiming for was keeping some of the mud from sticking to the paint in the first place and to make what did stick easier to remove, Georgia clay is a MF. After a couple heavy washes and clay barring, I buffed with heavy cut compound on a firm pad, polished with with a fine polish on a softish pad, and coated everything in 303 graphene nanotech spray. The shine is deep and the green really pops for the first time since ive owned the truck. The 303 beads beautify and is a really nice product, super easy to apply, we'll see how it lasts over time(they say re-apply every 6 months or so).
All that said, the paint is 26 years old but still looks okay all things considered. Id say it wins an award for most improved at the very least..
Here comes a pic dump of semi chronological photos.. btw thats @bencallaway white 80 while i was putting 4.88s in it
Untitled by bill bill2, on Flickr
Untitled by bill bill2, on Flickr
Untitled by bill bill2, on Flickr
Untitled by bill bill2, on Flickr
Untitled by bill bill2, on Flickr
Untitled by bill bill2, on Flickr
Untitled by bill bill2, on Flickr
Untitled by bill bill2, on Flickr
I did not paint the truck. As much as i wanted to, i just couldnt spend that kind of money on a trail truck. I kept looking at monstaliner, as cool as that is, its just not paint.. So, i decided to buff the paint first, I figured I couldnt make the paint look any worse than it was, yolo and such. I HAVE NEVER USED A BUFFER IN MY LIFE, before this, now im a pro. The results were mind blowing. This turned into a big beautification project, you can tell by looking through this thread that i dont really half ass things, at least i try real hard not to. Beyond shiny paint was the desire for a long lasting protectant, like a ceramic or something of that nature. What i was aiming for was keeping some of the mud from sticking to the paint in the first place and to make what did stick easier to remove, Georgia clay is a MF. After a couple heavy washes and clay barring, I buffed with heavy cut compound on a firm pad, polished with with a fine polish on a softish pad, and coated everything in 303 graphene nanotech spray. The shine is deep and the green really pops for the first time since ive owned the truck. The 303 beads beautify and is a really nice product, super easy to apply, we'll see how it lasts over time(they say re-apply every 6 months or so).
All that said, the paint is 26 years old but still looks okay all things considered. Id say it wins an award for most improved at the very least..
Here comes a pic dump of semi chronological photos.. btw thats @bencallaway white 80 while i was putting 4.88s in it
Untitled by bill bill2, on FlickrUntitled by bill bill2, on FlickrUntitled by bill bill2, on FlickrUntitled by bill bill2, on FlickrUntitled by bill bill2, on FlickrUntitled by bill bill2, on FlickrUntitled by bill bill2, on FlickrUntitled by bill bill2, on Flickr- Thread starter
- #207
Swing arm and roof rack delete.. Also added some new reverse lights.
Untitled by bill bill2, on Flickr
Untitled by bill bill2, on Flickr
Untitled by bill bill2, on Flickr
Untitled by bill bill2, on Flickr
Untitled by bill bill2, on Flickr
Untitled by bill bill2, on Flickr
Untitled by bill bill2, on FlickrUntitled by bill bill2, on FlickrUntitled by bill bill2, on FlickrUntitled by bill bill2, on FlickrUntitled by bill bill2, on FlickrUntitled by bill bill2, on Flickr
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- Thread starter
- #208
I figured i cant have nice paint without fixing that broken taillight, might as well replace all the lights at that point.. I got a set of front turn signals and corners from depo on ebay, cleared them orange and satin blacked the grill and all the chrome on the front end. ended up painting the emblem "gold" which sucks a fat one. i need help finding a proper gold emblem if anyone knows.....
Untitled by bill bill2, on Flickr
Untitled by bill bill2, on Flickr
Untitled by bill bill2, on Flickr
Untitled by bill bill2, on Flickr
Untitled by bill bill2, on Flickr
Untitled by bill bill2, on Flickr
Untitled by bill bill2, on FlickrUntitled by bill bill2, on FlickrUntitled by bill bill2, on FlickrUntitled by bill bill2, on FlickrUntitled by bill bill2, on FlickrUntitled by bill bill2, on Flickr- Thread starter
- #209
Then finally, the crown jewel of the entire job, the part that really, more than any other part, excited me..
Untitled by bill bill2, on Flickr
Untitled by bill bill2, on Flickr
Finally, half as many people will ask what year 4runner this is...
Then i took this clean truck up to the cabin and did some light wheelin, got a bit of mud on it, then it rained, then it snowed overnight, a real torture test for the 303.
Untitled by bill bill2, on Flickr
Untitled by bill bill2, on Flickr
Untitled by bill bill2, on FlickrUntitled by bill bill2, on FlickrFinally, half as many people will ask what year 4runner this is...
Then i took this clean truck up to the cabin and did some light wheelin, got a bit of mud on it, then it rained, then it snowed overnight, a real torture test for the 303.
Untitled by bill bill2, on FlickrUntitled by bill bill2, on Flickr
Looks great! The orange glass paint looks better than stock. I've been wanting to do that to a set of clear Depo tails. Thanks for the motivation to do so.
You went against the grain with those fender flares. I like them.
- Thread starter
- #213
They seemed nice when i bought them, theyre too small so i took them off. There is a few larger sizes that i could try. Also i only put them on the right side of the truck, i was trying to see how they did against the no flare side, assuming they would keep the right side much cleaner, they did not. I may install the widest one available, but idk when or if ill even do it. Ive been looking at large pocketed flares and trying real hard to like the look of them. Then again, ill wait til i have 40s on before i do anything with flares.
Incredible video man!
- Thread starter
- #218
So from the day i bought the truck the center diff lock never worked properly, half-the-time faulty actuator, failing relay box/4wd computer, failed position switches on the tcase itself... frustrating..
At one point i replaced the computer with a used ebay unit and 2 of the 3 switches on the case with new toyota parts. It was half a fix, the actuator worked intermittently and for a while that was good enough.
After 2 years of mods and restoration and 20k+ put in the truck (not including the price of the truck) i decided it was time to fix it, but i was wrong. I bought a trailgear spool for the t-case and what i was sold as authentic aisin hubs, which turned out to be cheap chinese knock offs, ironicly sold in cheap chinese knockoff toyota parts boxes labeled with cheap chinese labels, then packaged in boxes marked as made in china.. you see where this is going.
I installed the spool no problem, easy enough. The hubs went on like they should have, i did have to cut a groove in the birfs with a dremel, it wasnt pretty but it worked. Hubs engaged properly spool did spooly stuff.. HOWEVER. Maybe it was my lack of understanding, maybe my lack of research, maybe my refusal to spend the big money on what seemed like maintenance items, but i didnt full understand that i still needed a functioning center diff lock actuator to make this work properly.
I never, ever, actually wanted to go part time 4wd. I always wanted full time awd. I shot myself in the foot by going against my gut. After installing all these parts, manually locking the cdl by removing the actuator and rolling the gear into locked position and reinstalling the actuator, i had a “cdl locked, hub free wheeling, all 4 axle shafts powered 2wd” and now all i have to do is get out of the truck and manually lock my hubs for 4wd.. not for me.. as this most recent trip approached(video above) i ordered factory cdl actuator, computer, and cdl switch(dash).
On thursday, i installed all the stock stuff and removed all the part time stuff, we left for the trip on friday. All stock and orginal parts, not chinese! New oem actuator, new oem 4wd computer, new oem center diff lock switch, my original full-time drive flanges, original open center differential, finally, I now have factory functioning truck!! I also did the pin7 mod. Im actually, properly trippple locked yo. And it feels so good.
I didnt take pictures of most of this but i do have a couple. Ill get them up shortly.
At one point i replaced the computer with a used ebay unit and 2 of the 3 switches on the case with new toyota parts. It was half a fix, the actuator worked intermittently and for a while that was good enough.
After 2 years of mods and restoration and 20k+ put in the truck (not including the price of the truck) i decided it was time to fix it, but i was wrong. I bought a trailgear spool for the t-case and what i was sold as authentic aisin hubs, which turned out to be cheap chinese knock offs, ironicly sold in cheap chinese knockoff toyota parts boxes labeled with cheap chinese labels, then packaged in boxes marked as made in china.. you see where this is going.
I installed the spool no problem, easy enough. The hubs went on like they should have, i did have to cut a groove in the birfs with a dremel, it wasnt pretty but it worked. Hubs engaged properly spool did spooly stuff.. HOWEVER. Maybe it was my lack of understanding, maybe my lack of research, maybe my refusal to spend the big money on what seemed like maintenance items, but i didnt full understand that i still needed a functioning center diff lock actuator to make this work properly.
I never, ever, actually wanted to go part time 4wd. I always wanted full time awd. I shot myself in the foot by going against my gut. After installing all these parts, manually locking the cdl by removing the actuator and rolling the gear into locked position and reinstalling the actuator, i had a “cdl locked, hub free wheeling, all 4 axle shafts powered 2wd” and now all i have to do is get out of the truck and manually lock my hubs for 4wd.. not for me.. as this most recent trip approached(video above) i ordered factory cdl actuator, computer, and cdl switch(dash).
On thursday, i installed all the stock stuff and removed all the part time stuff, we left for the trip on friday. All stock and orginal parts, not chinese! New oem actuator, new oem 4wd computer, new oem center diff lock switch, my original full-time drive flanges, original open center differential, finally, I now have factory functioning truck!! I also did the pin7 mod. Im actually, properly trippple locked yo. And it feels so good.
I didnt take pictures of most of this but i do have a couple. Ill get them up shortly.
Glad that you are happy again but I’m not understanding why you went to part time to fix a faulty actuator. It’s called a center differential lock but the differential never actually locked like in the axle diff.
Why did you buy these kinds of parts from Trail Gear? TG=China
Why did you manually lock the two output shafts together ?
Why did you buy these kinds of parts from Trail Gear? TG=China
Why did you manually lock the two output shafts together ?
