Project $400Runner: It's the little things

"rctothefuture" (rctothefuture)
10/02/2020 at 17:00 • Filed to: Oppositelock, Project Car, $400Runner, Off-Road, Build, hooptie

In our last update, I brought home Project $400Runner and did a quick checklist of what was needed. After building a preliminary parts list, I got a few things on order from my friends over at RockAuto. I wanted to get the vehicle driving straight so I could assess the suspension and see how it ran. It was going to be a few days before the rear upper and lower control arms came in, so I’d get the easy stuff out of the way.

Surprisingly clean, for once

First and foremost was wires and plugs. Nothing hard, just have to move an intake boot out of the way to get access to the passenger side plugs. Remember how before I mentioned there was a bad misfire? Well say hello to the culprit:

They went all out with NGK, thankfuly

So yeah, no electrode. But in classic Toyota fashion, she started right up and still ran. I got some OEM plugs from Advance Auto along with some wires and let ‘er rip. So now I had a good running engine that would start easier and of course accelerate properly. I did not get a chance to hold up a timing light to it. If it runs it, it runs! Right? (famous last words).

The next issue was the battery. It was about 5-7 years old and didn’t really hold much of charge.

So I decided to upgrade the battery. Since this will be an offroad rig at some point, I figured the bigger I can go the better. After some discussion with a few Jeep guys, they recommended trying out the “Marine/Starter” battery from Walmart. It’s a 1000cca battery that’s the same price as an equivalent factory battery at about 550-650cca. I felt like I found a lifehack or something, I was extremely excited!

That was, until I installed it. The positive leads were too short, as was the wire for the voltage gauge as the battery is “backwards” from factory. After spending some time looking at the wiring routing, I saw a few clips meant to hold the battery cables up to the timing cover and popped them loose. Now the cables fit, and without any excess strain! I did verify they would not come in contact with the belts and will use some zip ties to hold them close, just to be safe.

EverStart, Wisconsin made!

The other issue was the wire for the voltmeter in the car was too short. As you can see it’s hooked into the fuse box. I quick fix with some new wiring and now she’s golden!

Loving the terminal options on this battery

Now I had a working battery and working ignition system. It was time to test the remote starter. As you can see, it works brilliantly!

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Last, but not least, came to the “Oakley” sticker. Look, I’ve got nothing against Oakley’s and if you REALLY like them, then by all means please wear a sticker with pride. That being said, the whole rear window was covered in an Oakley sticker. It was so douchey, I couldn’t bring myself to even take a picture of it. I didn’t want the shame of owning a vehicle with it. So I cleaned it up and now it’s factory! (don’t mind the missing wiper arm, we’ll get into that story soon)

Don’t mind the canoe, it’s temporary storage.

With a few days left before the control arms showed up, I decided to go for some creature comforts! A/C! I’ll be doing a whole article on the 100% wrong way to do it and why I’m a complete moron next.

DISCUSSION (8)

MM54 > rctothefuture
10/02/2020 at 18:32

Very nice! I need to do the plugs/wires in mine, no idea when they were done last but I think the wires are original. Runs fine, though.

DipodomysDeserti > rctothefuture
10/02/2020 at 18:32

Is that a 2wd or 4X4 OFFROAD! 4Runner?

avalonian > rctothefuture
10/02/2020 at 19:03

I am seriously in the market for one of these to have fun in. It looks like a hoot, and it is still a solid looking vehicle

Jayvincent > rctothefuture
10/02/2020 at 19:25

you turned your “innie” plug into an “outie” - good job!

barnie > rctothefuture
10/02/2020 at 21:05

Good to see progress. Ch anged plugs and wires on Sully today, too. My plugs looked like yours with oil burnt on the insulators. Probably original 150k ago. Wires sure were.

I noticed that you’ve connected a black wire to the positive terminal. That could be confusing. I’d change it to red. On boats, according to ABYC, yellow is for DC ground, black for AC neutral. See a lot of black DC grounds,,,

rctothefuture > barnie
10/05/2020 at 09:51

Under the insulator, it’s a red wire going to the positive terminal for the starter and to the alternator. I will eventually replace the voltmeter wire with a red wire (it was black from the factory, mind you).

I’ve been burnt by projects before where they only used one wire color. Don’t want to be that guy!

rctothefuture > DipodomysDeserti
10/05/2020 at 09:51

I’m contemplating keeping the sticker after I repaint it. It’s just gaudy enough to make me laugh every time I look at it.

rctothefuture > avalonian
10/05/2020 at 10:03

Highly recommend it! These 3rd gen 4Runners are the most well known and are the last “Pure” 4Runners if you ask most 4Runner guys. You can get them in much cleaner condition and there are a ton of mods and “how-to” videos out there.

I get why Jeep people like Jeeps, but these 4Runners have just a big of a community.