Introduction and My Ride - Love Suggestions!

[Trigrammaton]

Hi guys,

Glad to be here. Hopefully I can learn a lot from of all of you, and share my progress along the way. I am an American Expat living in Vilcabamba in the South of Ecuador. I just recently picked up a 95 4 Runner 2.4L 4-cyl in the capital, Quito. It cost me an arm and a leg($11,000 ), because of how high the imports cost here, and how much cars retain their value, but..I am very happy to have a Toyota since I live in a very rugged part up in the mountains!

I am doing regular maintenance to it now, and getting the fluids changed, but I am trying to get a plan together of other things I'd like to do.

Can you guys recommend anything, especially mechanically (non cosmetic stuff) that will help out with the 4 cylinder ..for power and anything else. Also the rear looks a bit saggy doesn't it?

**The sticker isn't my doing**!! It's coming off

Anway, here are some pics! These are taken from when I was shown the vehicle.











Needs a headrest, but the rest of the interior under the cloth covers looks great!

Thanks guys!

 

[Trigrammaton]

Also, here is a pic of the patio where we are living right now!

 

[MatS]

That is one hell of a view, congrats on the living quarters!

Butt looks a bit saggy on the 4 Runner but I don't seen any stock ones that are different. Where you live are you going to be wanting slightly bigger tires? You could get away with just doing rear suspension work to make it level if you don't need anymore clearance. You'll lose a little low end power if you go to bigger tires but you'll end up with lower highway RPM as well.

After that kind of purchase price I wouldn't want to spend another fortune on re-making the whole truck if it doesn't need it. Hopefully the size and functionality are already there for you and just fix the saggy butt and keep it stock reliable.

 

[Trigrammaton]

Yeah I am not in much of a hurry to spend more, but I may do a few things, since the vehicle will still sell quite easily out here. Do you think I could get away with using these :http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/CoilSpringSpacer.shtml ? Or do I need new rear springs and struts?

 

[Trigrammaton]

Thanks by the way MatS ! Also, I may get some ever so slightly bigger tires, I am just worried about the power loss since it's the 4 cylinder version.

 

[Mudder]

I would suggest new springs and struts if those ate the original ones the truck came with as you'll get a better ride quality