A New Opponent Enters!

"Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!!" (eurylokhos)
02/15/2019 at 07:22 • Filed to: None

By new, I mean the 2001 4Runner I bought earlier this week. On Tuesday I had a chance to get it up on the lift and really check it out. For an 18 year old vehicle with 255k miles, it’s in damn good shape. Here’s the immediate to do list:

Timing Belt - It has 170k miles on it, they have a 60k interval. Oops.

Lower Ball Joint and Tie rod on driver side have to be replaced. Going to do the passenger side as well for safety, they are both junk aftermarket parts on the truck.

Oil Change

Get rid of wheel locks. Wish there was a key.

Power Steering fluid is low.

Bumpers need to be replaced, currently covered in duct tape.

Replace radio with newer unit with bluetooth and Carplay.

So not bad on the immediate list. Longer term needs are:

Deal with undercarriage rust. Inspection camera didn’t find any surprises, inside of the frame is clean aside from the very end by the rear bumpers. I’ll have the section cut and patched with new metal where it is rusted through, and I’ll clean up the rest and paint the frame with some rust killer.

Shocks are on the way out, springs have a ton of rust that annoys me. I don’t intend to lift it, but I may do a minor 1-2" lift with good quality components that can handle some weight.

Tires are at 7/32 now, so they are good for a while. However, they also have a 2013 date code, and not much siping (Yokohama Geolandars), so they’ll be replaced with Duratracs. Had them on my Jeep and loved them. Amazing off road and in snow and ice, very good on pavement. Best all around truck tire I know of for those of us in the snowy north.

Front receiver mount hidden in the bumper for a removable winch.

One tear on side of driver’s seat needs to be patched before it gets worse. It’s not on the seating surface itself, but it will spread.

Front brakes are fine, but they have some vibration and will be replaced. Common upgrade for these is to put on Tundra calipers and rotors. They bolt right on and are much thicker and heavier duty without the tendency to warp that the stock setup has.

Possibly lose the running boards and put on a set of rock sliders.

In all, not bad for a $2k 18 year old truck that has lived in NH its whole life. I have an appointment for the timing belt and water pump next week, ordinarily I’d do it myself, but it’s cold and I just don’t feel like it, still nursing a hurt elbow and a broken left index finger from wrenching on the BMW.

I already dealt with the wheel locks by buying 4 cheap 19mm sockets from Home Depot and hammering them onto the locks. Also did the driver side ball joint and tie rod yesterday. Working on this truck is a joy. There is so much room, and everything is laid out in an obvious manner. The ball joint took less than an hour not including the time I spent finding a socket to hammer onto that lock lug so I could get the wheel off.

Oil has been changed, power steering topped up. I’ve put a Sony XAV-AV100 in the dash for radio duties, and new black bumpers are on the way. Apparently the bumpers come via freight, and no one can provide any tracking on them. Annoying.

I’m deeply smitten with this 4Runner. I love driving it, and I love working on it. Parts are practically free compared to what I’m used to buying parts for. When I buy a cheap project, I usually have the next thing in mind for when I sell the project, I’m not feeling that this time. This truck is special.

Ball joint out. Finally broke down and bought a puller for the ball joint and tie rod. $30 for both. Should have done it years ago rather than hammer on things or renting.

Home alignment. Tracks great after replacement.

The instruments of a wheel lock’s death.

Fun with sledge hammers

Screw you, wheel locks.

DISCUSSION (7)

E90M3 > Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!!
02/15/2019 at 08:44

Is the V6 in these an interference engine?

Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!! > E90M3
02/15/2019 at 08:51

Nope. I’ve thought about just driving it until it gets warm and doing it myself, and if it breaks then knowing that I’ ve found the life limit of a Toyota belt . However the cost to have my guy do it is only $300 over what parts would cost me and I can hear a pulley or tensioner in there making noise and it bugs me.

E90M3 > Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!!
02/15/2019 at 09:33

Well, you’d know the life of one belt. Being an engineer, one result does not count as a large enough sample size. I am surprised it’s lasted that long, but as you said, it’s not that expensive of a job, might as well go ahead and knock it out.

vicali > Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!!
02/15/2019 at 09:47

Buys 4Runner with broken bumpers, worn out shocks, bald tires... ‘oh I’ve got some plans for you ’...

Great find! Excited to see it shape up.

MM54 > Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!!
02/16/2019 at 13:57

Nice! Have fun, I picked up my ‘99 in September and haven’t had the chance to go wheeling, but it’s completely stock and at 108k miles so I have plenty of time to do so.

Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!! > MM54
02/16/2019 at 18:23

108k? Wow. That’s barely broken in. I didn’t see a single one under 200k and most were 225+.

MM54 > Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!!
02/16/2019 at 18:32

One-owner ( middle aged lady) will have that! Had to do some catch-up maintenance from neglect, but it’s otherwise good. Some rust underneath (from western PA) but nothing significant; I fluid filmed the frame before winter to slow the spread.