If you'd asked me a couple years ago, "How long will you have the 4Runner?" My response would have been something along the lines of, "Forever." Or at the very least, "Until @mini.turbodb needs her first car." I surely didn't think we'd be selling it after just a couple summers. But, as it turns out, the plans for how the 4Runner fit into our lives just didn't work out the way we'd envisioned it. Sure, it was great for those family outings that we'd bought it for - the kiddo sleeping inside, and @mrs.turbodb and I in the CVT on…
4 CommentsCategory: T4R Build
General catch-all category for content relating to 1997 4Runner modifications.
The plan with the 4Runner was always to keep it a little bit more tame than the Tacoma. After all, it's our family adventure vehicle - used mostly for home-base-style camping, and less for prolonged driving adventures. But, some systems need to work in both vehicles - and the fridge is a great example. The Backstory Up until this summer, when we ventured over to Washington's Olympic Peninsula, I'd always just nursed the fridge along - running it as we drove to camp, and then turning it off once we reached our destination. There were a few reasons for that…
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I have a confession to make: I procrastinated this job and it may have cost me. So let's back up for a moment. See, this was a mod that I knew I needed to do to the 4Runner as soon as I got it. Toyota has conveniently placed the rear diff breather right on top of the rear diff - pretty much as low as it can go. All well and good except that it's not at all well and good. In that position, not only can the breather can suck water into the diff when submerged in deep water,…
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May 7, 2019. Roof rack built, we now had a place for @mrs.turbodb and I to sleep, but what about the whole reason we decided to get the 4Runner in the first place? We wanted to have something more comfortable for @mini.turbodb! The idea was for her to sleep in the back of the 4Runner - "downstairs" as she likes to call it - but for that to work, I needed to make the back storage area just a little higher so that it would be level with the folded down back seat. Not only that, but I knew that…
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May 3-5, 2019. If you're going to turn a 4Runner into a family adventure vehicle to replace the Tacoma, one thing is for sure - it's going to need a way to carry the CVT @Cascadia Tents Mt. Shasta that we sleep in every night. With an Exped Megamat 10 Duo, it's some of the most comfortable sleep I've had, really. So with most of the mechanical work done for now, I figured the next bit of work was to figure out the roof rack situation. I generally start with a mid-level design for these kinds of projects, but this…
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April 23, 2019. It's been a busy few weeks getting the 4Runner whipped into shape mechanically. As I've said before - I knew there were a few things to do when I bought it, and I felt like it was easily accounted for in the purchase price of the vehicle. The last of those mechanical things was one that I wanted to do out of an abundance of caution - preemptively replace the lower ball joints (LBJs). These are a part that's known to fail - and catastrophically - on 3rd gen 4Runners, and since I had no idea when…
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January 9, 2019. With winter here and therefore the weather a bit crappier, it's a generally a good time to take stock of the truck and perform the maintenance and modifications that will keep it going strong for another year. This year however is a little different - there's not just one vehicle that needs attention - there are two! In fact, the still relatively new-to-us 4Runner might even be the more important vehicle to get right, since it'll be the one we take when we venture out with @mini.turbodb. There are only a few things on tap for the 4Runner…
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April 2, 2019. I like to think that I live and learn. I'm also a creature of habit, and I wonder if I'm starting down the same road I've been down before. See, with the Tacoma, I thought long and hard about the first set of aftermarket suspension that I put on it. Originally I wanted to spend a couple hundred dollars. Luckily - and before I spent any money - I realized that I didn't want a block lift, I wanted a suspension lift. So then I did a bunch of research and came up with Toytec BOSS coilovers as…
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If you're here looking for how to install Tundra 13WL or 13WE brakes on a 3rd gen 4Runner, you can read how I did it on this particular day, but the more useful page for you will probably be this guide: Step by Step Tundra Brake Upgrade on a Tacoma (or 4Runner) The guide shows step-by-step (with pics) how to do the upgrade, and has links to all the parts needed (at varying price points). You know that feeling when you've got a project to do that you're a little apprehensive of because you're not sure if it'll go well,…
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March 31, 2019. Ever since we picked up the 3rd Gen 4Runner back in September 2018, we knew that it needed some work to really be a viable family adventure vehicle. Some of that work is cosmetic, and some is mechanical - but all of it took a back burner to the various trips that we had planned and the winter weather that prevented too much work on any of the trucks. But now, things are starting to look up for the 4Runner. Spring is here - or at least threatening to be - and it's time to start getting…
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September 21, 2018. Well, we're now a two-Toyota family. For the last several months, @mrs.turbodb and I have been talking about getting a 4Runner so that our adventures with @mini.turbodb can be more comfortable for her - the extended cab of the Tacoma becoming a tight space for a growing kiddo. A 4Runner - especially an older 3rd gen one - seemed like a good choice. Proven Toyota reliability, a similar platform (and the same engine) to the Tacoma, and four doors! So when this beauty came along, we were quick to go check it out. It's a 1997 with…
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