Introducing my 98 4Runner DD.

[Mr Chuck Norris]

Oh and there are a few good writeups on LED swaps... I used them to get info to replace my stock bulbs as I like incandescent bulbs for their dimming ability. I run my lights just bright enough to distinguish (maybe 50%) but no brighter. LED's cannot be dimmed effectively without special circuitry.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/58227-led-dash-lights-changing.html

Pull the cluster out to swap those bulbs, pull the face plate to get to the HVAC bulbs, pull the center console top trim to get the shifter bulb, pull the trim around the stereo/hvac to get to the AC/defog switches and lighter. The window/ect switches need disassembly and soldering to swap the bulbs. Not sure for the ignition ring...

 

[jynx]

I got my new leathers in to recover my seats today.

I went with a darker leather than the original, but it is a VERY close match to the brown trim. I threw the recovered armrest back on the console to see how it looked and I am pretty stoked. It is going to completely change to look of the interior. I also got a new drivers side seat cushion and a pair of seat heaters for the front seats. Going to do them one at the time and probably install some wiring for the stereo upgrades while I have more room inside.

I will post more of the new covers once I get home and get everything out of the box, but for now here is the new armrest.

 

[theferg]

That leather looks really nice! wow

 

[Mr Chuck Norris]

Damn, that looks awesome and I'm jealous of your butt-warmers.

 

[jynx]

Thanks guys. I was going to get some pictures last night but I had a little helper that made it not so easy. The quality of the covers is pretty amazing, and Shane sets you up with the hog rings, hog ring pliers and utility knife, so it is a one stop shop. I just need to get some silicone spray to help me convince the new leather to go on the old foams. I may try and pull the passenger seat to start the disassembly process. That is the seat where I am going to locate my amp so I can go ahead and get that situated and start running some wire while I have it out.

Too many projects + not enough daylight + my favorite little helper = slow progress.

 

[jynx]

Well I got my Tacoma whip and my new HU installed today and if the effin Mobile App wasn't being difficult I would post a picture.

I will get them off the real camera later tonight. Anyone else have trouble with the mobile app crashing when you try to upload pictures?

 

[jynx]

Real Camera pictures downloaded.

First off, I hate the little two wire connectors that seem to connect everything in the center console. I managed to get one off on my security indicator, pulled the light out on the second one and just laid the shifter in the floorboard because it wouldn't come apart, anyone know if there is a trick to those little suckers?

Anyway, once I got the trim off, I got the old radio out and then had to swap my antenna. I am not sure, but I believe that my antenna had been swapped once before because the routing was not along the AC duct as noted in the write-up, but wedged in above the dash steel tubing. There were no zip-ties to access and the cable could not be pulled at all, so since I had a new one to go in, I cut the end off so that I could pull the wire out. I then just pulled in the new antenna cable and routed it myself, zip-tying it up out of the way, but in a more accessible location. This process was not documented because I was too busy trying to figure out WTF was going on, but I did snap a couple pictures of the finished product.

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k8/mrtucker80/IMG_3243_zpscca0ef87.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k8/mrtucker80/IMG_3242_zpsbc3a4720.jpg

My new routing gave me ample cable to plug in the new HU, and the best part is no more wha wha up, wha wha down everytime I turn the key over. If anyone needs a power mast in good condition, or a motor for their power unit, I have both that will be going to the garbage can later if no one claims them. The overall unit is trashed since I cut the cord, but the mast and motor are still good.

I spent last weekend hooking up the HU harness to the plug-n-play harness that crutchfield supplied with the radio.

Guts hanging out
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k8/mrtucker80/IMG_3239_zps19a04c26.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k8/mrtucker80/IMG_3236_zps63cbb4b7.jpg

And I went ahead an installed the remote wire and two sets of pre-amps so that I don't have to tear the dash back apart in a week when I get ready to do the amp and bass-link.

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k8/mrtucker80/IMG_3237_zpsf3f1fac9.jpg

Everything is routed under the console out under the passenger seat. I wrapped all the ends in split loom and electrical tape to prevent them from shorting until I get the amp installed.

And I am very pleased with the finished product.

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k8/mrtucker80/IMG_3240_zps5da2c894.jpg

I haven't played with it much, just turned it on and made sure everything worked correctly and then back off.

I am looking forward to being able to play a CD

I also have my OEM Amp that came out of the dash as part of this process if anyone wants/needs it. Anyone know what the rating on those things is anyway?

Next on the list inside is to start installing the new leathers and to start pulling wire for the Amp and Bass-link.

On a side note, anyone know if the auto disconnect is prone to leaking. I was crawling around underneath after I finished up and noticed I had some oil dripping and it looked like it was coming from the front long side axle tube either on the differential end or the CV end. I don't think it is the engine, but I could be wrong. I am going to pull the skids tomorrow while I am changing the oil to check things out.

 

[jynx]

A few of the ELS Lights

Here are a few of the Fog light install that I did a few weeks ago.

Here is the semi-factory Harness that is in my rig. Apparently in 98 fog lights were not a true "factory" option, but alot of 4runners got port-side fogs installed, so it is basically a stand alone harness, tapped into my low-beams. They only power up when the low beams are on and go off when I hit the brights. I figure it will do for now, but eventually will re-wire them to stay on with the brights also. Anyway, I basically just cut the old ends off and installed the supplied ELS connectors to match the lights.

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k8/mrtucker80/IMG_3224_zps11f60818.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k8/mrtucker80/IMG_3223_zps7f053034.jpg

I modified the original bracket to allow me to accommodate the deeper mounting of the ELS LEDs. I have a pair of spots and a set of floods, I mounted the floods for now, and overall I am quite happy.

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k8/mrtucker80/IMG_3235_zps88f8c2cd.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k8/mrtucker80/IMG_3234_zpsc06595ea.jpg

 

[Mr Chuck Norris]

I'd be interested to see those in the bumper! I've been considering the same for additional trail light.

 

[jynx]

If my cut/ paste worked, here is a cell phone pic. I will get some more of the finished product tomorrow.

View attachment 730371

Sorry, looks like i was hosed by the mobile app again.

 

[Mr Chuck Norris]

The photo link worked. I'll have to jump in a group buy for some of those, they look good!

 

[jynx]

Thanks. They really make me want to replace the headlights with some silver stars, which will probably happen soon. I have a 21" bar that I plan to mount on my Shrockworks bumper once it gets here, which will probably be late April/ early May.

Has anyone ever tried to build a slider that integrated the factory running boards? I don't have grand off-roading designs for this rig, but work sometimes requires a trip into the bush and I don't want to end up putting the boards into the sills or crunching the boards on a hidden tree stump. Was looking around under there today and it looks like it would be fairly straight forward. Thoughts??

 

[Mr Chuck Norris]

Thanks. They really make me want to replace the headlights with some silver stars, which will probably happen soon. I have a 21" bar that I plan to mount on my Shrockworks bumper once it gets here, which will probably be late April/ early May.

Has anyone ever tried to build a slider that integrated the factory running boards? I don't have grand off-roading designs for this rig, but work sometimes requires a trip into the bush and I don't want to end up putting the boards into the sills or crunching the boards on a hidden tree stump. Was looking around under there today and it looks like it would be fairly straight forward. Thoughts??

For the bulbs, skip the Silverstars and go with PIAA Night Tech bulbs. I have had both bulbs before and I have the PIAAs in my 4runner now. They are great and work well with the factory wiring.

For the running boards, I don't see why that wouldn't work. Some 2x2 steel would tuck nicely under the stock boards and then tie that into the frame for strength.

 

[jynx]

Metric TLC Leather Install Begins

Ok, so anyone who has been in any of the TLC forums knows Shane at Metric TLC and that he makes some killer Leather Seat covers to replace any 40, 60 and 80 seats as well as LX450, and maybe some 100 series (not sure on those). When I got my 98 the leather was decent for 169k miles but the drivers seat was pretty worn and I decided I wanted to put some new covers in. Well I took a shot in the dark and PM'd Shane to see if he had ever done and 3rd Gen 4Runners and after a few email exchanges and some pictures, we struck the deal.

***Disclaimer****
Per Shane to help avoid confusion:

Metric TLC does not make 96-02 4Runner seat leathers as a regular catalog item and it just happened that he had done a set for a friend and had the "sport" seat patterns on file. Anyone who is interested in some of these covers will need to confirm with him that the pattern that he has will work with your seats.

***End********

So that said, after a couple of weeks I got the big box at my office. I opted for both rows in a darker brown leather with tan stitching. I sent him my console lid and he even recovered that for me to match. See previous picture.

So I finally found the time to start working on the seats. I went with the rears to start with because they seemed to be a good point to cut my teeth on this upholstery business.

The bottoms come out with two bolts at the hinge. To remove the backs you need to remove the carpet cover from the back, a screw driver or a panel removal tool will work to pop the push pins out of the frame. Once the back is exposed you just remove 2 bolts and the back comes right out.

I started with the bottoms, there is a plastic edging that hold the cover onto the metal seat pan. Then 4 hog rings need to be removed to separate the cover from the seat foam.

Here, 2 on each side

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k8/mrtucker80/IMG_3256_zps608ef0b7.jpg

Then the cover comes off.
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k8/mrtucker80/IMG_3257_zps520d4468.jpg

New bottom
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k8/mrtucker80/IMG_3259_zps46bed257.jpg

Need to remove and reuse the little metal rods that come from the OE cover
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k8/mrtucker80/IMG_3261_zps9ef9400b.jpg
The material that Shane uses for the sleeves is a little heavier than the OE material.

Then 4 New hog rings to hold the bottom on

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k8/mrtucker80/IMG_3262_zps8f8334d5.jpg

Shane provides a bag of new Hog Rings and a pair of pliers to install them with his kits, talk about a one-stop-shop.

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k8/mrtucker80/IMG_3265_zps7af8e4d0.jpg

Then you just have to fight the plastic edging back onto the metal pan and Ta-Da

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k8/mrtucker80/IMG_3267_zps71dbb456.jpg

Bottom done and ready to go back in.

Now to start the back

Started like this

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k8/mrtucker80/IMG_3270_zps833dec25.jpg

There are about 14 hog rings holding the cover onto the frame

Then the headrest and latch pull handle trim pieces have to come out so you can get to the one pair of hog rings holding the cover to the cushion

On these there isn't a metal rod, but a plastic one that is made into the material

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k8/mrtucker80/IMG_3271_zpsd122502e.jpg

Using the supplied utility knife (yep came with that too) I cut the plastic rod off

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k8/mrtucker80/IMG_3272_zpsa86036dc.jpg

Now you are ready to prep the new cover

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k8/mrtucker80/IMG_3273_zpsa16dddec.jpg

Note the black edging and the precut holes for the push pins to go back thru. On these covers Shane uses a heavy plastic edging that you use to hog ring the edges of the cover back onto the frame, however, there is a small hole in the edging and if you cut one end off of the original metal rod then you can actually slide the metal rod back into the plastic to give it some added rigidity.

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k8/mrtucker80/IMG_3268_zps3b1d1256.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k8/mrtucker80/IMG_3269_zpsf620cd08.jpg

I did one completely before I realized this and I went back and fixed it. The plastic trim bows considerably and the addition of the rod seems to keep more even tension on the whole length of the fabric.

After fighting with those 14 hog rings again you end up with this

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k8/mrtucker80/IMG_3274_zps1dd81aa8.jpg

Cut the holes for the headrests and BAM!

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k8/mrtucker80/IMG_3275_zps88fb7783.jpg

Then four bolts and you are back in business.

I actually did the drivers side last night so below are a few pictures of it next to the original passenger side seat.

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k8/mrtucker80/IMG_3252_zps74289db8.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k8/mrtucker80/IMG_3249_zps887b5d15.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k8/mrtucker80/IMG_3253_zps3f365aab.jpg

The flash gives it a slightly yellowish tint, but the brown actually matches the dark brown trim very closely in the natural light.

I did the passenger side tonight and I will get a couple pictures of the completed pair tomorrow.

The texture and quality of the new leather is fantastic. The old leather is slick and worn, and the new leather has a very soft feel.

Aside from my hands and fingers being very sore, I am very happy with the end result. Shane makes a top quality product and if any of you 3rd Gen guys are looking for some new leathers, then he could be your guy. If you are looking for a good quality replacement cover, then look him up.

I still have to do the fronts and will document that in a later post.

 

[jynx]

Does anyone know if the Toyota Security speaker/light thing that is located in the center console can be removed or relocated? I want to move the rear window switch down and use the two top blanks for my seat heater switches.

 

[theferg]

Does anyone know if the Toyota Security speaker/light thing that is located in the center console can be removed or relocated? I want to move the rear window switch down and use the two top blanks for my seat heater switches.

Easy enough to extend the wiring if it doesn't reach the new spot where you want it to go.

 

[jynx]

Is it going to do anything if I just unhook it? Or tie it up inside the console out of sight? I have a clicker, but it doesn't work right so I am not sure if the Alarm is even operable at this point.

 

[theferg]

Hmmm. Not sure what'd happen if you remove it. You sure the battery isn't just dead on your fob? If you really don't care for it in the dash, id just leave it connected but back behind the panel somewhere if it'll fit.

 

[Sam Stewart]

Is it going to do anything if I just unhook it? Or tie it up inside the console out of sight? I have a clicker, but it doesn't work right so I am not sure if the Alarm is even operable at this point.

If you have the "factory" alarm then it should just be an indicator. If it has a button on it (port option) then it has to be connected or the truck won't start. Do you have the factory remote? What does it look like?

Sent from another Galaxy

 

[jynx]

I got a remote with the truck, it is just black with two big buttons on it. I will try to post a picture later, or I may just text you one if the mobile app is still being stupid.

On a side note, has anyone tried one of these:

http://www.bluesea.com/products/7725/SafetyHub_100_Fuse_Block

It has several different fused connections and I need a fused connection for my primary stereo feed and I will need fused connections for the LED bar when I get it mounted and since it will hold up to a 200A MIDI fuse, I could also power an inverter or something like that. Would kill a couple birds and is sealed.

Thoughts??