We recently added another vehicle to our garage: a 1999 4Runner Limited. It was the father-in-law's truck. He ended up buying a new Explorer and didn't really want to sell the 4Runner. Asked us if we wanted it, and we said "hells yah." So. Now we haz it. It's got a touch over 200K miles on it, and the father-in-law is the original owner. He also did his due diligence on maintenance, and kept records. So apart from some maintenance stuff that I will get into in a bit, this truck is pretty damn solid.
The *only* complaint I have - and this is minor - is that it's 2WD. I wish it were 4WD instead. But it's not. Welcome to Florida. Where it's flat. And doesn't snow. Ever. Anyway, I can totally live with it being 2WD. It can still tow stuff, and still fit big(ger) things in the rear than any of our cars....so welcome to the family!
It's a Limited, so it's pretty much got everything that came on these trucks in 1999 (with the exception of the aforementioned 4WD and related electronic rear locking diff). We really don't plan on doing too much to it - I'd rather dump the money into the Mustang. So the work we have here are some basic things plus some much need upgrades. But before we get to that, some pics of it as we received it:
This thing is as stock as stock can be.
Alright, so issues. Truth be told: not many. Not many at all. The biggest issue is the suspension. It, frankly, rides like shit. Out of all the 3rd generation 4Runners, the 99 has what are called "tall springs." Of the 3rd gen, only the 99 has springs that provide an extra inch of lift. The father-in-law had some new struts & shocks put on a little while back, and I guess the shop that did the work used the cheapest ones they could (and reused the shot rubber bushings in the shock hats, way to cheap out and do a sub-par job, jerks). My guess is that they couldn't really handle the 99 tall springs, and now the truck bounces all over the place because the struts & shocks aren't really doing their job.
Sooooooooooo. Time for new ones, yay! I also decided that, while the 99 has the "desirable" springs, after 200K+ miles, they are probably sagging a bit. Along with the struts/shocks, I got new springs as well.
Other projects include: swapping out the interior lights for LEDs, replacing all the suspension bushings and body mount bushings with poly ones, updating the audio, and new wheels and tires.
I also had to get a larger jack (my current one is "only" a 2 ton - I wanted a 3 ton) and a pair of 6 ton jack stands, as I only have 3 ton ones currently:
Coming in the next several posts will be progress as it is made!
The *only* complaint I have - and this is minor - is that it's 2WD. I wish it were 4WD instead. But it's not. Welcome to Florida. Where it's flat. And doesn't snow. Ever. Anyway, I can totally live with it being 2WD. It can still tow stuff, and still fit big(ger) things in the rear than any of our cars....so welcome to the family!
It's a Limited, so it's pretty much got everything that came on these trucks in 1999 (with the exception of the aforementioned 4WD and related electronic rear locking diff). We really don't plan on doing too much to it - I'd rather dump the money into the Mustang. So the work we have here are some basic things plus some much need upgrades. But before we get to that, some pics of it as we received it:
This thing is as stock as stock can be.
Alright, so issues. Truth be told: not many. Not many at all. The biggest issue is the suspension. It, frankly, rides like shit. Out of all the 3rd generation 4Runners, the 99 has what are called "tall springs." Of the 3rd gen, only the 99 has springs that provide an extra inch of lift. The father-in-law had some new struts & shocks put on a little while back, and I guess the shop that did the work used the cheapest ones they could (and reused the shot rubber bushings in the shock hats, way to cheap out and do a sub-par job, jerks). My guess is that they couldn't really handle the 99 tall springs, and now the truck bounces all over the place because the struts & shocks aren't really doing their job.
Sooooooooooo. Time for new ones, yay! I also decided that, while the 99 has the "desirable" springs, after 200K+ miles, they are probably sagging a bit. Along with the struts/shocks, I got new springs as well.
Other projects include: swapping out the interior lights for LEDs, replacing all the suspension bushings and body mount bushings with poly ones, updating the audio, and new wheels and tires.
I also had to get a larger jack (my current one is "only" a 2 ton - I wanted a 3 ton) and a pair of 6 ton jack stands, as I only have 3 ton ones currently:
Coming in the next several posts will be progress as it is made!
Also, the truck had a 6-disc CD changer under the passenger seat stock, and a factory amp mounted behind the factory radio. Both the factory radio and factory amp have been removed, along with the 6-disc changer.
