Gave the 4r some TLC over the weekend

[stevezero]

Spent the weekend showing my 88 4runner some much needed lovin. New radiator, hoses, coolant, alternator, and then moved on to the body. Degreased the engine compartment, washed it, hit it with the rotary buffer and Mcguiar's Ultimate Compound (roof really needed that badly), then two coats of carnauba wax. Cleaned up the interior (didnt take long because all the flooring is vinyl.) Still need to bolt the skid plate back on, wanted to make sure there were no leaks.

Took a couple of mandatory poser pics at a local park at lunchtime.

 

[KLF]

Holy crap that thing looks sweet!

 

[onemanarmy]

Thanks for sharing. that is great looking.

 

[pappy]

Envy. Nice job. [My top needs attention.] I think I'm inspired.

 

[stevezero]

Thanks guys. I'll admit we bought it pretty much as it sits over 3 years ago for my daughter for her first ride. She could never really get the hang of the 5spd (yet she is learning to fly, which requires all hands and feet doin stuff simultaenously....LOL) I've done some little things here n there. The build thread by the PO is over on t4r.org, if you do a search for puddy, it will take you to his build thread. It was a total basket case, owned by a sailboarder/windsurfer. the PO found a rust free v6 sr5 body, and they lopped it at the floorplan and windshield posts, and put it on the cleaned up dlx chassis. work was done by a pro body shop that he was friends with.

When they did the body work on it, they should have spent a lil more time block sanding where the factory stripes were. I could cover the small waves by putting a stripe kit on it. The roof was sanded down to take most of the texture off of it, and he deleted the rear wiper (which i would like to have). I think they sprayed the roof with some single stage paint, because the rotary took off a lot of junk and oxidized paint. The blue is a great two stage, with lots of clear coat.

Next up will be a valve cover gasket set, valve adjustment, air filter and oil change. I think i found my ac leak (hoping it was a loose fitting at the compressor), so i can get it vaccuumed down and recharged.

A little bit about it.
Motor is stock (with advanced timing for a tiny bit of ooomph, running on 89 octane), lce header, high flow magnaflow or flowmaster cat and muffler, dumping out 3 inch exhaust. Its got heavy duty rear springs, torsion bars cranked to level out, bilsteins all the way around, and a marlin shifter bushing kit. dlx flooring, sr5 seats, instrument panel, altimeter/inclinometer, 2nd gen cargo pockets behind the access panels, and an upgraded stereo (clarion dual din dvd nav unit).

Trying to decide if we are going to keep it, or sell it. Daughter would lilke a 2002 4r sport 4x4, or maybe a little newer 4r (up to 2009 or so), or a 95-97 80 series (pref locked lx450). Last choice would be a newer suby (but thats not really in the budget.)

If I keep it, I'll work on getting rid of the tired engine exhaust smell...hoping it would be something that a newer design intake, maybe an lce or 22re perf head might help. Its been that way since we got it, and the motor runs nice n smooth. I'm trying to keep myself off the top of the slippery slope that ends up with a motor on a stand tryin to crank out 200hp

 

[onemanarmy]

Oh nice. I remember reading that thread on T4R. Glad to see it has resurfaced. He did put in a good bit of work.

 

[stevezero]

Did some more work on the 4r this weekend. Oil change, new air filter (napa is having a great sale on thier napa gold filters).

Also wanted to cut down on some of the exhaust noise in the rear, so i went to work on the rear. Found a 4'6 x 12' remnant piece of shaw carpet from home depot ($18.00), and got a harbor freight moving blanket on sale for $6.00. removed the vinyl, used it as a template for the moving blanket and carpet. installed the blanket over the small piece of jute, then the vinyl, then the carpet over top. Still need to form the fenderwells a little better.

My rear seats never had the upholstered pieces on the back, so i took some more of the carpet and made some panels. They are secured under the gray strip up top, and all the plastic push pins were intact. I also put a couple pieces of velcro along the bottom to hold them in place. When these wear out, I'll make another set, and take em further down and out to the edges of the seat. Not a bad way to spend a sunny sunday afternoon with my daughter. Its by no means perfect, but it will work. I think I have enough material left over to do the rest of the cab, and if i dont, theres a big giant roll of it at home depot.

 

[stevezero]

More lovin was given over the weekend on the 4r. Worked on some interior upgrades. I wanted to keep it as stock appearing as possible.

Bought some Kenwood KFC-1695PS speakers at Best Buy. They run about 80.00 or so, but I had a store credit, and then saw they price match amazon, which has the listed for 35.00 with free shipping. So, my out of pocket was $16 and change.

Was too cheap to order dynamat or fatmat off of amazon, so I used some Frostking Duct Insulation (two rolls at Lowes, 18.00 a piece).


I used the speaker template, marked where I wanted my speakers to be on the door panel, removed the door panel, and saw that there were no interference issues (vent windows and manual windows rock). Cut up my pristine door panels for the speakers, used the dremel to cut out the sheet metal for the speaker.


Inside of Pass Door after primer applied, but prior to adding the insulation.

I cleaned with acetone, and lined the inner side of the outer door skin with the insulation, then did the outer skin of the inner panel. I should remove the panel and seal up the upper right corner where the linkage is...

Lather, rinse repeat on the driver side. I used some foil tape to seal the seams on the skins. I used about 2/3 or 3/4 of a roll per door. On the drivers door, i used the foil tape on the adhesive side where the linkage was, to allow smooth pulls. Linkage is very smooth, and the doors feel slightly heavier, and not tinny/thin/twangy when ya thump it with a finger or close it.

While I was doing the insulation, I sprayed some primer (very close match to the gray vinyl) on the speaker grilles and frames. By the time they were dry, I was ready to install the speakers. All connections were soldered and heat shrink applied, and some duct tape applied over the foil to insulate it. While the panels were off, I relocated the map pockets down the door. The seats still slide up and back, and maintain a factory look. I'll put the plastic caps back in the arm rests once im sure I dont need to go back into the doors. I need to put some loom to cover the wiring, and tuck them into the grommets I installed in the door and chassis to run the wiring.

Sound is dramatically improved, and the road/exhaust noise is much less. I got the teenage daughter seal of approval (on factory appearance, and sound quality). Plans going forward will be to use the insulation on the floor and rear quarter panels. I ordered an rca/bluetooth adapter that arrived today, so that will go in over the weekend.

I highly recommend those kenwood speakers, and definitely price check on amazon. Best Buy made nothing off of me that day. I'm tempted to go back and get a second set.

 

[Jonathan_Ferguson]

Nice result.

 

[stevezero]

Next up: Hella H4 E code headlight conversion and IPF harness upgrade so I could see at night.

I ordered a Hella H4 rectangular lens/bulb kit off Amazon for about a $100.00 shipped. Search for
HELLA 003427811 190 x 132mm Series H4 High and Low Beam Headlamp Kit

It came with two large rectangular euro spec (non DOT compliant) bulbs. E spec lenses have a very sharp cutoff on low beams, (DOT rules stipulate light has to get diffused upward to illuminate overhead street signs). E spec lenses put a ton of light down low on the road. The kit is from Germany, so the lenses are designed for driving on the right side of the road. I looked at the rampage kit, but they were smooth lenses with no diffusion, and spread the light up and around too much for my liking. The kit came with two lenses, two hella h4 55/60 or 55/65 watt bulbs, and dust boots for the sockets. This is a direct bolt in replacement, and the h4 bulbs will use the stock connectors on the factory harness. Since I was pressed for time, I skipped any testing with the factory harness, and installed a new one.

I ordered a new IPF M002 wire harness from low range offroad.
http://www.lowrangeoffroad.com/ipf-wiring-harness.html

It is a direct bolt in replacement for the stock harness, complete with all relays, relay sockets, fuse, loomed wiring, and connectors. Took me a couple hours to install everything, because I unbolted the radiator to get the new loom up against the old loom with tie wraps under the support. Connections are simple. Mount the relays blocks and fuse with supplied self tapping screws at location of your choice. I removed my battery, and I put mine on the inner fender beside the battery. Follow the directions to place the relays in their proper sockets (all relays are labeled, all sockets are labeled). Connect male and female connector on relay block to supply high beam indicator signal on dash. At the passenger light location, plug signal feed connector (male blade connector) into existing headlight connector. This provides the signal power to trigger the new relays and feed the new harness. Run the new loom alongside the old loom, and secure with kit supplied tie wraps. I wrapped my unused drivers side connector in a ziplock bag and tie wrapped it to seal it up.

Youll need to remove the washer tank (one connector and one hose), the radiator overflow tank, and unbolt the black plastic airbox support on the drivers side to run the harness. Take the opportunity to blow out your washer lines, to the hood, and back to the tank.

Installing the lenses is simple. The removal and installation of the grille takes the longest. Remove grille, and unscrew the 4 headlamp bucket retaining bezel screws and remove the bezel. Place the h4 bulbs in the new lenses, trim the dust cover to fit, and place the new harness connector onto the bulb. Put the bulb in the headlamp bucket, and replace the bezel and screws. Lather, rinse, and repeat for the drivers side. I used dielectric grease on all connectors, and sealed up the connectors as best i could with electrical tape.

Reinstall the battery, and connect the power supply and ground wires. I tested the lights at this point, and once happy that all high and low beams were operational, mounted the grille.

At dusk, I aimed them as best i could (sloping driveway,so was a bit inaccurate). I found a desolate and dark 2 lane road and spent some time aiming the lenses. You can do that with the grille on the truck, using the two phillips adjusters.

Holy cow the light output is awesome. On dark roads, you can see the pattern of the lenses, with the sharp cutoff . One each lens, there is a slight rise of light in the right side of the lens, to illuminate sidewalks, pedestrians, etc. The drivers side lens puts extra chunk of light right on the center of your lane. High beam spread is amazing, and sends a lot of light down the road.

I'm still fine tuning the aim of the lights, and will find a level spot and wall at work, and follow daniel sterns aiming instructions. With the sharp cutoff, I've yet to be flashed by oncoming traffic. Best of all, it looks stock, and the light is about 4000k or so. Nice white with a slight warm yellow tint.

No pics right now. Raining and dreary outside. I highly recommend this upgrade

 

[liveoak]

Those speakers look good in the doors but that only works if you have wing windows. There is almost no useable room on the full window models

 

[stevezero]

There are ways you can get a 5 1/4 or 6 1/2 inch speaker into the door. You can use a slim mount speaker (all the manufacturers have them), or you can build a small trim ring that pushes the speaker out an inch, or you can use a plastic shim near the back of the speaker that rests against the window track, pushing it toward the outer skin of the door by about 1/4-1/2 inch. It really depends on how large and deep the magnet and bucket are on the speaker. In my old 87 that I built in 1989 or so, I started off with a pair of boston acoustics pro series 6.2 components built into an mdf pod on the door, covered in factory materials, and eventually ended up with a soundstream pro series 8 inch sub in the door (in a semi sealed enclosure), and a boston acoustics 4.2 pro series component set, the 4 inch midrange was in the stock location with a baffle behind it, and the tweeter was up on the top of the dash, integrated into the dashpad.

Yet another reason vent windows rule