good find nice and clean

 

That's a lot of lift for a set of 285's!

I run a set of 285's on my '96 DD runner with a set of Sway-a-Ways set for about an 1 1/2......... no rubbing after some work on the pinch weld and getting rid of the plastic inner liner. :grinpimp:

Nice find!

 

Nice runner! The only thing I don't like about those and the limited models for wheeling are all that fragile, expensive plastic sticking out on the sides. At least that one doesn't have it on the doors.
That and wanting a 5speed was why I never built my Limited and picked up an sr5 instead.

I agree that will be a lot of lift for 285's. I had 2-2.5" on mine and cleared them just fine with only minor inner fender/bumperette plastic trimming.
Put some 305's or 315's on it if you're going to go that high.

http://home.4x4wire.com/erik/97Runner/
285's are little!

 

I wish I had a better profile shot of it to show, but hopefully this will do it. He claims they are the OME Heavies front and rear which usually gains 2.5-3" of lift. Those are 265s on it now. The concern is clearing the back end of the front bumper. A 305 is basically the same height as a 285 at 33" tall. Its just wider. I also really want to keep the stock wheels for now. I like the Sport/Limited alloys for a mild rig.

I agree with you about the excessively long front bumper. Obviously that will change with time. I don't mind the wider flares so much especially with how much crap gets thrown up on my current rig out here when the weather is nasty.

 

Yeah, those are probably my favorite Toy wheels. They came on my T100 but I went to 15's (T100's had them before 4runners I think :flipoff2: ). I really like the ones that Bruce TS had beadlocked. :grinpimp:

The front bumper won't be a worry once you build a new one.

That OME stuff is really stiff and rides rough, IMO. I put it on because I read of a lot of others liking it, but I didn't. I and the "comfort" valved shocks too.

 

Well, I hope it doesn't ride too rough. I have a 975 mile drive in front of me on Saturday.

Not worry about the front bumper at all. Its got some scuffs already anyway, so I really don't care too much. I'll design something soon enough.

 

That will be a fun dd/weekend rig. So is the clean 1st gen, gone?

 

The new owner is flying in from Reno on Friday to drive it home.

 

Nice buy, I still can't get over how clean the gen1 was!
congrats


Justin

 

Nice looking 3rd Gen. Makes me miss mine. Looking forward to this build!

 

I'll be interested to see what you come up with for the rear bumper.

 

scotty i might of sold my runner but the buyer doesn't want the tires... if u feel the need for 35's on a good deal let me know. i also might be gettin a 1st gen in the trade so some bumpers might be in order.

bobby

 

just cut those stupid A arms off you puss!:evil:

 

Well, she is officically in the driveway. Drove it the 975 mles from Phoenix to Windsor, CO yesterday/today.

It drove flawlessly. The OME kit rides great on the hwy IMO. Its just so damn smooth.

My biggest complaint with it is the stupid tall OD in the auto tranny. Just based on that drive I will be installing 5.29s with the 33s instead of 4.88s. I hate how it searches for 3rd on even slight inclines.

 

Did you try the "ECT power" mode? I always left mine in that since I liked how it downshifted sooner and stayed in the lower gear longer, especially with stock gears and 285's. Its kind of what you'd do naturally with a manual.

Good plan on the lower gears regardless. Those autos love low axle gears. It seems like all the tranny gears are high, not just OD.

 

Yeah I played with the ECT mode. The only "real" difference it made was allowing the torque convertor to unlock earlier and hold longer before the up shift. But when you are running 2600 rpms and it shifts to 3800rpms its a bit much. Obviously the motor can handle it, but deeper gears should at least allow it to hold better in OD. And with me towing the pop-up with it, I will want the deeper gears.

I am going to order tires this week, I just am really torn on what to get. You guys are telling me 285s are too small. I could go 295s which is the way I am leaning, but I think that I will need a 1" body lift to clear them. They measure out at 33.5". I need to decide in a hurry since I will need to install sliders next week as well.

285s will clear as is. 295s may need some extra clearance though.

 

Kopy cat .. Did the other already sell, I got a call from someone asking if it was clean, I told him it was crap , but the best I've seen.

I love my 3rd gen nut my 80 mi commute is gonna start to ware on me gas wise. I am resisting the temptation to consolodate my still
yet to be finished trail rig parts into this and go Eric B's route and get a better milage car DD.

 

Yeah Nick, thanks for talking to him. I guess the guy bought Shaeffer's old buggy a while back as well. He picked it up on Friday afternoon, and I flew out to Phoenix on Saturday morning to grab this one.

I got 19mpg on the middle leg and 20mpg on the last portion which I was pretty happy with. I did notice that I really need to top off the gas tank when filling it up though. It clicks off way before its full. I can literally add almost 3 full gallons more after it stops. I think that I may have a vent issue with it. Minor though. I was pretty disappointed when I only got 260mi to that first tank of gas until I realized what the deal was.

I'm curious what Eric averages on hwy with his on 37s.

 

I love my 3rd gen nut my 80 mi commute is gonna start to ware on me gas wise. I am resisting the temptation to consolodate my still
yet to be finished trail rig parts into this and go Eric B's route and get a better milage car DD.

Not a bad idea. Just make sure you build it so it handles good and it will be much more enjoyable on that commute.


I'm really tempted to buy a Rav4 for a DD/commuter lately.

Compared to a 4runner, its cheaper, gets better gas milage (26mpg, more for the 4cyl), still has 4wd/awd, and maybe most importantly- I won't be NEARLY as tempted to modify it! :homer:
I know if I bought a cushy 4th gen I'd inevitably put a mild lift and bigger tires on... :shaking:

 

I am also going to install a tranny temp gauge and a larger cooler. Saw this on YT where he just plumbed in this junction:

I am thinking that running that in the "out" line may not give a true temp reading though.

 

Throw a level-10 or IPT kit at the tranny and adjust the kick-down cable and you'll be VERY happy. My 96 had both, and it makes for a great combination with controlled (but firm) shifting and 4-3 downshifts. Well worth the investment.

Also, people often talk about gear 3.5 on that tranny - the torque converter will unlock in 4th often. I'm guessing you noticed that quite a bit during your travel.

 

Yes, I noticed it a lot. I have run an A340 before in my 88' 4runner and wrote this up at one point a few years ago:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=587521&highlight=a340+solenoids

Its amazing what you forget when you no longer have the auto though. I will say that the ECT button in the 88' worked VERY different than the one now.

 

Snapped some clean poseur pics tonight after a bath. Bugs in New Mexico were aweful....................

New home in Colorado. I pulled the floor mats to clean them. It will need new floor mats up front for sure. The DS front is trashed.

 

This is very low tech, but I love Husky Floor Liners. They are tough, fit well, and they keep most of the crap off the carpet.

 

I like the Catch-All ones too. Either way, one of them is a must in the winter out here.

 

thats a cute station wagon scotty! i bet you get all the soccer moms checkin you out at walmart!:flipoff2: bring out the torch!!!

 

At least mine's a 4wd bitch!

Besides, we both know the soccer moms are on my junk regardless of what I drive. I'm bringing sexy back ****er! :flipoff2::shaking:

 

Well, I ordered my tires on Thursday. Ended going bigger than I was originally going to. Got some 255/85-16 KM2s on the way. They measure out at 33.5" tall. I am going to need a 1" body lift based on all of the reading I have done.

I also ordered my sliders, a 3/4" Toytec spacer for the front to level everything out, and a tranny cooler for it.

On a side note to add some tech. I was forced to wire in a new trailer controller harness because the factory one was fried. I have heard this is pretty common on these. Just pull the rear driver side inner plastic panel and its located just in front of the tail light. Its a little black box. I went and grabbed a $23 controller(the one for seperate turn signals) at Checker and just spliced it into the stock harness wiring.

Oh, and I also did an SOA on my pop-up today and netted a whopping 3" of lift. I swear my 14" tall tires are really pathetic on that thing.

Before

After the SOA

 

damn, you shoulda brought that popup to moab...that tweeker coulda spent the night with you

you gonna put your own bumpers on this thing?

 

Tires showed up today.

255/85-16 BFG KM2s. These are a 33.3" tall x 10.3" wide tires. So, basically they are a 34x10.5 roughly.

Tires showed up today.

255/85-16 BFG KM2s. These are a 33.3" tall x 10.3" wide tires. So, basically they are a 34x10.5 roughly.

I am a new Toytec dealer now, so I figured I might as well run what I am going to sell. So, I also went down on Monday and grabbed a 3/4" front spacer for the OME springs, a diff drop, and a 1" body lift.

The body lift is backordered a couple weeks, so the tires will have to wait to be mounted until then. Same with the sliders.

 

those tires will fit without the body lift scotty... nate (00regcab) from cottora has the exact tires on his taco with the same springs and the work for him.

bobby

 

Taco is different than the 4runner though. I've talked to Nate, and we both agreed that a BL would be needed on the 4runner. Nate has done a lot of trimming on his to make them fit. While I will still need to do some, the BL will help me clear them in the rear wheel well better.

At full stuff the 265s almost hit the rear of the wheel well already. A 255 would mangle it with no more lift.

 

kill the body lift order and get it from roger brown(4crawlr.com). TRUST ME!

 

Roger Brown body lifts are NICE. I installed one on my ex's 4runner

 

Pretty sure its the same lift actually. Looks the same to me in the pics, and includes the steering shaft extention just like Roger's kit.

Besides I am a dealer and get a decent price on it.

 

ya it is the same body lift. the only difference is the selection of toytec's body lift size... i'm pretty sure they only come in 1in from toytec, and up to 3in from 4crawler.