PM Inbound 4Msfam.
Picked up the truck last night and drove home. I am going to want to take a look at the steering bushings, I want to see if I can tighten things up some. Also oine of the headlights (the busted side) died on the way home, so need to get that fixed.
I am going to pick up a second set of rims and tires on Saturday for $200, if the tires are better then I am going to swap them out, they are from a later model 4Runner and look a bit nicer.
Since the headlights cannot be turned off, expect to change them frequently.
My 99 does not have the DRL feature, that started in 2000. There is a bypass as well that can be made to turn off the DRL feature. I have been reading over on a few forums.
Ebay shopping today:
Trim piece tool set- interior.
Passenger side window switch
2 replacement remote key fobs
I know I am going to be working in the interior quite a bit, and have had bad luck scratching things up on previous vehicles. Hopefully the plastic trim tools will help with that. Passenger window switch works on the driver's side, but the passenger side doesn't function, so for 5 ubks I will try a new one. Replacement key fobs. There is an aftermarket alarm for the car, but no fobs. I want to see if I can go back to just the factory ones and remove the aftermarket deal. Hopefully no one tries to break in while the aftermarket one is on there, as I would have no way to turn it off.
Did a couple things yesterday when the temp was above freezing and there wasn't any rain (rain scheduled for the rest of the week, and I don't have a garage).
One of the headlights was out, the damaged one, so just to test, I took the good bulb and installed it on the bad side. Lit right up, so I knew I just needed to replace the bulb. Also picked up some coolant as the overflow tank was empty. Finally got some Stoners Invisible Glass cleaner (my preferred glass cleaner) because whatever was used to clean the windows last time left so much smudging it just looked like a camel tongue bathed the glass.
Also got a chance to peal back the duct tape and take a look at the corner light, it is broken off at the mounting point, but looks clean. I can either get a new set for about 30 bucks (for both sides), or try some JB Weld first. I am going the JB weld route and then see how it holds up. I need to get the tape off there and tweak the mounts anyway, it looks like things got pushed around a little bit, and I am worried that the headlight is misaligned.
Picked up the second set of rims and tires. The tires are basically gone, but I do like the rims. I am thinking of paining them either Bronze or Gunmetal. Either color would look pretty good, it just depends on what I might do for the rest of the car. I also have a can of black plasti dip that I want to play with, might do emblems or part of the front grill.
Got the LEDs in to do the interior, but I am waiting to install those until I get the interior trim tool kit.
In reply to LifeIsStout:
Good luck trying to find bronze wheel paint. I tried to do the wheels on my 4Runner that color a few months ago and was unable to find any paint.
Use these bushings to tighten up your steering. I'm betting the stock steeeing rack ones are shot by now. They helped mine quite a bit.
In reply to thatsnowinnebago:
Awesome, I just ordered those bushings. I might do the rims in gunmetal instead of a bronze. Or I could go with World Rally gold... 
The installation is kind of a PITA but not impossible. I think you will have to pop a TRE off the knuckle to get one bushing on so make sure you've got a puller handy.
Thanks for the tip, I don't have a puller, wonder if that is something I can borrow from the local Pep O'rizone
LifeIsStout wrote: Thanks for the tip, I don't have a puller, wonder if that is something I can borrow from the local Pep O'rizone
Most definitely available at LPS.
Happy Holidays! I finally got some time to start working on the truck. And as I live in the PNW, it gets dark really early this time of year. This means 2 things. 1. I don't get to work on the car except for the weekends or holidays and 2. I really need all the interior lights to actually work.
So using this guide- http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/132012-write-up-climate-control-dash-bulbs-2000-limited.html
I ordered up some LED replacement bulbs, as my climate control lights were completely gone, as well as the ones under the transmission drive indicator.
I forgot to take pictures of most of the process, but here is what I did grab. Taking the dash apart was fairly easy, no screws to undo. The gear shift one I needed to undo, but that was mostly for leverage, as I couldn't get my fat finders underneath to twist out the bulb. I ended up replacing the climate control, the transmission ones, the ashtray and a couple more. I need to get a final picture in the dark, as the ones I did don't really give it justice. The LED are pretty directional, but better than nothing at all.
Dash pulled apart, climate control bulbs in. One thing I learned is that the bulbs are directional on the wedges, so you can put them in the 'wrong' way and they won't light up. I learned this after taking apart the dash about 3-4 times.
Panel back on:
Transmission, sort of glowey:
I also realized how grungy this vehicle is. A deep cleaning is in order.....
Bronze paint can be had here here.
Ive used duplicolor on my wheels before. works great.
Ordered up some more parts. Valve cover gasket kit is on the way. Going to wait on the paint for the rims since it is in the 30-low 40s temp wise around here.
can you save me some work and tell me what lights I need? my climate control and shifter lights are out too.
If you need a hand painting those wheels, let me know. I have this uncanny knack for spray painting E36 M3. I'd be happy to help.
AClockworkGarage wrote: Bronze paint can be had here here. Ive used duplicolor on my wheels before. works great.
No way! That paint was unobtanium last time I decided I wanted bronze wheels.
In reply to lnlogauge:
It's going to depend on the year of your 4Runner, since mine is a 99 and I don't have the auto climate control, I referred to the chart at the top of this thread- http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/132012-write-up-climate-control-dash-bulbs-2000-limited.html
So for the climate control there were 2 #74, the ash tray and trans shifter were 2 more #74s, and the ECT and Rear window were the NEP-Wedge A (X2). The ECT and rear window ones were the most difficult of them to replace, they don't seem like they are going to fit, but they did.
In reply to AClockworkGarage:
I may take you up on the offer, I think I am going to wait a bit on the paint, but I will be replacing the tires here soon. I may also practice and do the original split spoke ones in gunmetal, then sell them.
Little projects got done today. After changing out the climate control lights I noticed that my clock no longer worked. So I know I needed to go ahead and fix that, since it worked before. Turns out that there is an extra 'plug' on the back oof the panel, that fits the plug for the clock, but has no pins in it. Oops! But after plugging it back in where it should be it works just fine. Also decided that this is a good chance to go ahead and do some cleaning inside. Mostly just the plastics, the carpets will have to wait until things are a bit warmer. It's in the low 30s here today, so didn't want to work with the doors open.
Made $.06!
Before:
After (not really easy to tell);
I also got in the passenger side window switch replacement (thanks ebay), and that is all of a 30 second install, so nice and easy.
Goodbye broken switch:
Fixed and in place, totally works again!
http://i.imgur.com/sXOfP9g.jpg
I also has friends point out that my driver's side taillight was not activating the 'bright' when hitting the brake pedal. So that needed to get done as well. No pictures of that, because well, I replaced bulb....
Finally, there is a little cubby in the rear of the truck, and I know it was stuffed with 'things', but I had not taken an inventory yet. The previous owners mentioned that they put a bunch of stuff back there to jack up the car, but I guess they never flipped up the rear seats, because I found totally unused, a complete set of jacks and tools. I also picked up a cheap first aid kit that I knew would fit back there, found a deal on Amazon.
Tally of what was in the cubby: 2 small jacks (bottle style), 1 ball hitch reciever (good, now I don't have to buy a new one), 4 lock pins for the receiver, a replacement headlight bulb (could have used that last week, but oh well, spares), and uninstalled HID setup with ballasts, Driver's side window switch panel- like the one I replaced on the passenger, but more switches.
I won't end up using the HID setup, as I don't like doing HIDs without projectors, so I will probably just sell them off, cheap, since I don't actually know if they work.
I also purchased at the store various de-greasers, some plastic weld stuff to fix the front light bracket, a grease gun and grease so I can take care of the driveshaft (has zerk fittings), and a new air filter for the engine (replaced). I also got in the bushings for the steering, so when I do some of the other stuff suspension wise, I will take care of those too.
Awesome, little progress every day is what it takes!
There are a ton of zerks on those things, is the card in the visor still that shows them all?
In reply to java230:
Luckily the community is awesome, and there are a bunch of collected youtube videos I can reference. But if I remember for the entire 4WD setup there are something like 7-8 places to add grease to. Might was well drop the tail shaft and lube things up at the same time, ifyouknowwhatImean. Gasket set came in for the valve covers as well, so now I need to figure out a time to drive down to my friend's place where a majority of my tools live. I don't have storage or a garage at my place, so he is kind enough to let me keep stuff there.
I also went snowboarding for the first time in 4 years on Sunday, the truck worked perfectly, even used the 4WD for a time, everything was sure footed and I didn't have any issues.
There was even a bunch of new powder on the slopes! they got something like 8" on New Year's eve. It did get a bit foggy at the top, and I didn't see a jump, so took a tumble, but hey, it was soft, and the beard looked legit afterwards. I am also a fan of my new helmet
Nice! Good to see it getting used already!!
That's pretty funny about the clock plug. I've done that once or twice on mine too...
Another small update. I was getting tired of the SpongeBob tape fix for the side light up front. So I pulled off the light, and used some plastic resin 'fix-it' to glue the mounting hanger back together. The reason it was taped in there in the first place is that shortly before they sold the truck, it had probably hit a pole, so the fender was pushed in, and it broke the bracket. I did need to do a bit of massaging with a rubber hammer and a pry bar, as the light wouldn't go back into place. Eventually I think I will pull off the whole fender and see if I can get it ever better, but for now at least I don't have to have the tape. I also used glue gone to get rid of the residue, and am happy to report that your fingers will still smell like chemical orange after 2 days.
On to the pics!
Before:
Fixing the bracket:
And After (not too many pics, it was lightly raining out):
In reply to LifeIsStout:
It's funny that you mention Stoners Invisible Glass cleaner because at the shop I work at, that's what we use haha! It's the E36 M3!
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