3rd gen 4runner/1st gen tacoma thread

[YotaAtieToo]

Instead of trying to make a lame ass build thread of my 99% stock 4runner, why not make a thread for everyone to post info. Trying to google and ending up on t4r or yota tech sucks, so why not have real info here. I'm sure I'm not the only one with on
of these on a ~2" lift and bigger tires here.

Years ago, I wanted to put 285s on it, but it was still the wife's DD and I didn't want to cut or have ridiculous rubbing. I Googled what it would take to fit them and everything I found said a 2.5"+ lift and wheel spacers, plus cutting sounded ridiculous to me, so I ordered some and mounted them on the stock (5th gen) wheels. They barely kissed the fire wall and bumper trim. So I just tapped on the bolt that holds the flair on and cut the little corner off the inside of the bumper plastic. This was with no lift far cry from 3" and spacers. They still rubbed while wheelin, but totally manageable.

Ended up adding 5100s on the lowest lift setting, 0.8" iirc and 2" spacers in the rear. I had went up to the highest setting on the front shocks to try and hold up the wieght of the 1/4" skid plate (more on that later) bumper and winch. It now sits higher than I want, and is still too soft.

So I recently wore out my second set of 285s and decided to try something different.....



View attachment 448888

Kenda makes a 35x10.50r17 that many guys are raving about them and that they're easy to fit because of the narrow width. Mostly new tacoma guys, couldn't find anyone who fit them on a 3rd gen 4runner.

Put them on today and so far it's looking good. I unbolted the fender and pulled them out of the way to hammer the pinch seam over. Still rubbing a bit on the plastic when flexing, but oh well. Rear is kinda stuffing everywhere but a little bit of hammer love, I think I'll be good.

So to sum it up, 285s WILL FUCKING FIT WITHOUT A HUGE LIFT. They will rub, but only slightly, they will rub the stock upper a arm, but it doesn't matter. The key is stock wheels.

And also 35x10.50s will fit with some finagling.



I mentioned the 1/4" skid plate. It's from 4x4 innovations and I didn't realize it was that retarded thick when I bought it. It's so damn heavy and overkill, I hate it. It also hangs down an inch below the crossmembers, which is pretty lame also. I am considering selling it and either building my own or buying a much lighter one.


I have some fabtech (fox) coilovers I got used. I'd like to put them on, but they need bushings, anyone have any idea where to look for them?

I'm also thinking it may be time for stiffer coils, front and rear. Ome is probably the way to go.

5.29s are also high on the list, especially now with 35s.

 

[Slander]

255/85/16 > 285s they are taller, fit on the stock wheels and require almost zero anything besides banging on the pinch weld.

 

[rockota]

255/85/16 > 285s they are taller, fit on the stock wheels and require almost zero anything besides banging on the pinch weld.

both of you need to qualify your statement with : depending on wheel and model of 4runner.

Ie: - no flares, base SR5 flares, or SR5/limited flares.

 

[YotaAtieToo]

255/85/16 > 285s they are taller, fit on the stock wheels and require almost zero anything besides banging on the pinch weld.

A little too skinny for me and everything I've seen says they're the same height. The 285s fit without doing that by the way.

both of you need to qualify your statement with : depending on wheel and model of 4runner.

Ie: - no flares, base SR5 flares, or SR5/limited flares.

Mine is a limited, so big flares.

 

[Slander]

both of you need to qualify your statement with : depending on wheel and model of 4runner.

Ie: - no flares, base SR5 flares, or SR5/limited flares.

2002 Tacoma TuRD

A little too skinny for me and everything I've seen says they're the same height. The 285s fit without doing that by the way.




Mine is a limited, so big flares.

It's about the same level of work you did LOL!! Best the pinch weld flat with a hammer, go hang out on yota tech if that's too hard!

Skinny tires are best tires on a Toyota anyway!

All seriousness I loved that setup and ran it for 10yrs until I did the solid axle swap. The 255s, a crawl box with a rear locker and you could do damn near any trail if you could physically get over the rocks, not break and drive it daily with no real issues. I only did the SAS because my ifs was wore out and I wanted a front locker.

 

[rockota]

A little too skinny for me and everything I've seen says they're the same height. The 285s fit without doing that by the way.




Mine is a limited, so big flares.

I have 285’s on my Tacoma. Stock wheels and 1.25” spacers. No clearancing or rubbing

285’s on my 4runner in the aftermarket TRD wheels. No rubbing or clearancing.

Slander is FOS .

 

[AK_F250]

Not the best picture but a low profile plate mount to fit 2.0 shocks with 285's. I'll see if I can find some better ones.

 

[YotaAtieToo]

2002 Tacoma TuRD

It's about the same level of work you did LOL!! Best the pinch weld flat with a hammer, go hang out on yota tech if that's too hard!

Read again, I only had to do that for the 35s. I did almost nothing for the 285s, I'm sure the 255/80s would have cleared as well.

Skinny tires are best tires on a Toyota anyway!

All sousness I loved that setup and ran it for 10yrs until I did the solid axle swap. The 255s, a crawl box with a rear locker and you could do damn near any trail if you could physically get over the rocks, not break and drive it daily with no real issues. I only did the SAS because my ifs was wore out and I wanted a front locker.

It's capability is by far limited by how much you care about body damage. Last time I was at the Rubicon there was a 4Runner almost identical to mine and they didn't give a shit and it looks like a lot of fun

 

[Slander]

I mathed wrong I thought those were the 265s people in the Tacoma world get all excited over.

Agree on the body damage.

rockota can't even make it out of the AOP parking lot so take what he says with a grain of salt.

 

[YotaAtieToo]

This Pic was supposed to be in the op. Driveway flexin with the 35s

 

[rockota]

35

This Pic was supposed to be in the op. Driveway flexin with the 35s

correct me if math error.. essentially the same size as 265-85/17?

 

[YotaAtieToo]

Sure? What are you, a commie?

 

[rockota]

Sure? What are you, a commie?

just doing math... dammit.

4runner and tacoma both have 4.88's... wish they had 5.29's... fo-sho

 

[YotaAtieToo]

just doing math... dammit.

4runner and tacoma both have 4.88's... wish they had 5.29's... fo-sho

I was also tempted to try some 285/75r17s which are supposed to be a 34x11.50. I like that the 285s are about flush with the big flares, the 10.50s are tucken in a hair, which looks a little goofy, but were talking ~1/2"

Mine has stock 4.30s, no way in hell am I spending the money to regear for 4.88s. Would barely be noticeable. With the tall OD of the auto, I would be fine with 5.29s and 33s. I can see doing 4.88s in a 5spd that came with 3.xx, if you were doing lots of freeway.

Cracks me up reading posts on those other forums about guys who "did the math" and put regeared from 4.30s to 4.56s to be back to stock. Yet couldn't tell a difference.

 

[rockota]

I was also tempted to try some 285/75r17s which are supposed to be a 34x11.50. I like that the 285s are about flush with the big flares, the 10.50s are tucken in a hair, which looks a little goofy, but were talking ~1/2"

Mine has stock 4.30s, no way in hell am I spending the money to regear for 4.88s. Would barely be noticeable. With the tall OD of the auto, I would be fine with 5.29s and 33s. I can see doing 4.88s in a 5spd that came with 3.xx, if you were doing lots of freeway.

Cracks me up reading posts on those other forums about guys who "did the math" and put regeared from 4.30s to 4.56s to be back to stock. Yet couldn't tell a difference.

Had plenty of discussions with people on expo about that...

no one does math. 5.29's, auto, 33's is still "less" gear than stock 5-speed, 4.11, 31's...

 

[YotaAtieToo]

Had plenty of discussions with people on expo about that...

no one does math. 5.29's, auto, 33's is still "less" gear than stock 5-speed, 4.11, 31's...

You also can't math rotating wieght, extra wind drag from increased height, bumpers, cargo, ect. I don't want to be stock, I want to be lower. I'd run 5.29s on 31s no problem.

I actually did that on my 22re/5spd 4runner for a day to get a fix it ticket signed. I was thinking it was going to be all ridiculously low, turns out it was totally fine on the freeway and somewhat nice around town

 

[Yotota]

My old 3rd Gen 4runner was a mild/cheap daily driver build, so just 1.5" of spacer lift front and rear to comfortably fit 32" tall 235/85r16 Cooper ST Maxx tires. Worked well for what it was meant for, mostly rough road adventuring and occasional green trails. Swapped to an E-locker/front diff with 4.30s which was just fine though I agree, lower would have been better.

My current 1st Gen Taco has 5.29s which was nice on 37s, and now I have 39s here for it, so that won't be as fun for gearing but worth it for diff clearance.

A tire that would be awesome on this chassis with a small lift is the C-rated LT255/75r17 Yokohama G003 MT. I just installed a set on my GX470 and I LOVE these tires. They measure out to a legit 32.3" tall and aren't too loud for an MT. I'd say they are a hair louder than a Duratrac, and a hair quieter than a Cooper STT Pro. I'm a fan of C-rated tires for a daily as they tend to be less harsh and lighter than an E-rated. That size is OEM for JK Jeeps so there are many other options too, but the Yokohamas are specifically nice for being tall, meaty and not too expensive.

 

[YotaAtieToo]

I agree on the c rated comment. My first set of 285s was c rated. They aired down nice, rode better and were lighter. The 2nd set was e rated and seemed to be OK. But had to go to 3 lbs in the snow to really get some bag where the c rated ones I never went below 5 because they were so bagged out. The new kendas are D rated, I went to 7 lbs on our little test run just to see. They seemed to bag out well and felt very squishy. I doubt I'll need to go below 5 on these either.

 

[Yotota]

I agree on the c rated comment. My first set of 285s was c rated. They aired down nice, rode better and were lighter. The 2nd set was e rated and seemed to be OK. But had to go to 3 lbs in the snow to really get some bag where the c rated ones I never went below 5 because they were so bagged out. The new kendas are D rated, I went to 7 lbs on our little test run just to see. They seemed to bag out well and felt very squishy. I doubt I'll need to go below 5 on these either.

Yeah, my new 39s are E-rated and the Taco will probably be 4500-ish-lb when complete so I'm planning for low low pressures. But in the bigger radial sizes, load ratings are basically "you get what you get, and it's probably E-rated, and you better be happy about it". I'm going to gorilla tape the inner beads to reduce burping and figure I'll be in single digit pressures more often than not on the trail.

 

[YotaAtieToo]

Yeah, my new 39s are E-rated and the Taco will probably be 4500-ish-lb when complete so I'm planning for low low pressures. But in the bigger radial sizes, load ratings are basically "you get what you get, and it's probably E-rated, and you better be happy about it". I'm going to gorilla tape the inner beads to reduce burping and figure I'll be in single digit pressures more often than not on the trail.

Most of the 40s are C rated, but ya, usually not a choice. Should be good for puncture resistance

 

[rockota]

D-rated on the 4runner
E-rated on the tacoma

Both ride similar.

 

[Slander]

Up until I got my 37s my taco always had e rated mud tires on it and it rode fine. I have no idea where this myth that they are stiff and ride rough came from, but it needs to die. Don't air them up to 75psi and they ride like any other truck tire. The mall crawling type forums are filled with people pissing their panties over e rated tires and it spilling their monster all over their cb/ham/rugged radio/backup cam/led light switch pod on their center console.

I used to run them low double digits high single digits and only popped a few beads, but it would have blown any tire off the bead sans beadlocks.

 

[YotaAtieToo]

A stiffer tire riding stiffer isn't a myth

Although I'm sure most blow it out of proportion.

Also, monsters are fucking expensive and spilling them isn't funny

Anyway, anyone else have actual tech? Anything good or bad to add about other brands skid plates?

Front shocks? Are the cheap fabtech/foxes worth the effort over the 5100s?

 

[rockota]

Up until I got my 37s my taco always had e rated mud tires on it and it rode fine. I have no idea where this myth that they are stiff and ride rough came from, but it needs to die. Don't air them up to 75psi and they ride like any other truck tire. The mall crawling type forums are filled with people pissing their panties over e rated tires and it spilling their monster all over their cb/ham/rugged radio/backup cam/led light switch pod on their center console.

I used to run them low double digits high single digits and only popped a few beads, but it would have blown any tire off the bead sans beadlocks.

it's not a myth... 10 ply will ride harder than 4... it's math

 

[Yotota]

Most of the 40s are C rated, but ya, usually not a choice. Should be good for puncture resistance

Yeah, the hard part is that most 40s these days actually measure 40-40.5" tall and are all 13.5+" wide. I'm getting really snug on clearances and would need to chop firewall and limit steering throw if I went to a 40x13.50. So 39x12.50 is perfect.

 

[Yotota]

A stiffer tire riding stiffer isn't a myth

Although I'm sure most blow it out of proportion.

Also, monsters are fucking expensive and spilling them isn't funny

Anyway, anyone else have actual tech? Anything good or bad to add about other brands skid plates?

Front shocks? Are the cheap fabtech/foxes worth the effort over the 5100s?

I can absolutely tell a difference on and off road. Why else would tire companies make their comp/sticky tires in lighter carcasses? MT makes their 40" Baja Boss sticky in a B rated carcass...

 

[Yotota]

For shocks, it's a big "it depends" as usual. 5100s and comparable sealed shocks work okay until they don't, then you smoke them. Fast choppy offroad driving is especially bad. But for DD use, slower speed offroad use, etc, a sealed can shock will hold up. Otherwise make the jump to Fox/Icon/etc that has more volume, better seals, more tuning, rebuildable, etc.

OEM style rubber lower control arm bushings will die a quick death with lifted/longer travel suspension. I love the Whiteline poly bushings. Make sure you have a 20ton hydraulics press and lots of spacers to press them in.

Any lift over 1" or so and the front suspension geometry will start to go to shit, so aftermarket upper control arms are a must. SPC is a good option for stock travel, and after that it's uniball time. Total Chaos, Element, etc. Something that has geometry to correct for the new lift/travel.

Over 3" or so lift on the front will start to kill outer CV boots. There are some upgrades, but honestly the IFS design limitations seem to work best with a maximum 2-2.5" of lift anyway.

Steering has some quirks on these trucks. Rack bushings wear quickly, but the Energy Suspension poly replacements are an easy upgrade. Also the tilt steering column ball wears a bit and can have slop so I like to shim between the two halves with a thin sheet of plastic (like from a salad container). Then the steering rod can also have slop, which gets fixed by a tack weld or roll pin.

I'm sure I'll remember more shit that I had to do on mine. It's still going strong 4.5 years later since I sold it to a friend.

 

[Yotota]

OH!!!

Lower ball joints SUCK on these trucks. They are under tension so when they fail the front wheel flops out sideways and fucks up the fender, suspension parts, ABS and brake lines, and more.

Treat the LBJs as a consumable part and replace them with a Japanese unit every 100k. OEM Toyota or Sankei 555. I'm trying Proforged ball joints in my GX now and they could be another option for these trucks as they make one that fits.

 

[Slander]

it's not a myth... 10 ply will ride harder than 4... it's math

Guarantee you would not be able to tell blindly riding in a truck with E rated tires vs others

 

[YotaAtieToo]

For shocks, it's a big "it depends" as usual. 5100s and comparable sealed shocks work okay until they don't, then you smoke them. Fast choppy offroad driving is especially bad. But for DD use, slower speed offroad use, etc, a sealed can shock will hold up. Otherwise make the jump to Fox/Icon/etc that has more volume, better seals, more tuning, rebuildable, etc.

Well I have 5100s installed, been happy with them for the price and having the adjustable lift is cool for a stock replacement.

I picked up some of the nicer fabtech shocks, made by fox, for like $100. The bushings are pretty gone and they seem to have leaked a bit. I'm trying to decide if they're worth rebuilding or not.

OEM style rubber lower control arm bushings will die a quick death with lifted/longer travel suspension. I love the Whiteline poly bushings. Make sure you have a 20ton hydraulics press and lots of spacers to press them in.

Good to know about the polys.

Any lift over 1" or so and the front suspension geometry will start to go to shit, so aftermarket upper control arms are a must. SPC is a good option for stock travel, and after that it's uniball time. Total Chaos, Element, etc. Something that has geometry to correct for the new lift/travel.

Spc is the one that won't fit without spacers?

Over 3" or so lift on the front will start to kill outer CV boots. There are some upgrades, but honestly the IFS design limitations seem to work best with a maximum 2-2.5" of lift anyway.

2.5" lift already killed 3 boots. I want to drop to the 2" or so.

Also, what about diff drops? I have lots of room in the skid plate, but a few people say they kill pinion bearings which would be easy enough to remidy, but it's seems that it doesn't really move the cv centerline down that much. Peeking in there, it looks like it would be pretty hard to drop the pinion side down.

Steering has some quirks on these trucks. Rack bushings wear quickly, but the Energy Suspension poly replacements are an easy upgrade. Also the tilt steering column ball wears a bit and can have slop so I like to shim between the two halves with a thin sheet of plastic (like from a salad container). Then the steering rod can also have slop, which gets fixed by a tack weld or roll pin.

Knock on wood, I haven't touched any of the steering at 338k, the last ~80k or so has been a fair amount of bad dirt roads and a little wheelin. Maybe that's next. I have always been impressed with the steering force on the stock rack over my 90 with a box.

I'm sure I'll remember more shit that I had to do on mine. It's still going strong 4.5 years later since I sold it to a friend.