Kwik's Mall Crawler

1998 Toyota 4Runner Limited

A done up Tacoma just wasn't cutting it for me anymore, so I decided to switch it up -



And so it began...

 

First thing's first, as well it drove and as solid as it was compared to the Tacoma with leaf spring in the back, the 4Runner's 4-link was just way smoother. So, why not make the suspension better?

Seeing as how I ran Fox 2.5's on the Tacoma, I thought I'd give these King 2.5's a try. They look good so I figured that'd get me extra likes -



The rear coils needed help too as the rear end was sagging badly. With that, I bought both OME 906 (left) and 890 (right). Why both you ask? Because the latter of the two is meant to hold more weight as I had bigger plans down the road -



Onto the install -



As mentioned above, unlike the Tacoma, the 4R sports a 4 link rear with panhard bar. Really, this setup is just so simple to work on!

That is of course, with the exception of the rear shock. Toyota decided to use this mount, and place it in the most awkward place you could think of. You're supposed to use an allen key on the top of the shock, and get a wrench to turn the bolt to loosen things up -



Fortunately, I was able to just man handle the shock body and unscrew it right off.

After undoing the sway bar end links, drop the rear end low enough to be able to pull the coils out -



New OME 906 going in place for the meanwhile; meant to give a 2" lift over stock payload -



It was only fitting to remove the rear bump stops while I was there; just a bolt for each one and out they come.

Here you can see how the stock rears compare with the Kings -



Those Durobumps sure look pretty -



But of course, something's missing at this point -



Onto the front -



Had to skip picture taking during install. I had just gotten sciatica, and as much as I wanted to power through everything, I had to take my time -



At least the install was done -

 

Following suspension, I needed to figure out my tire situation.

On one hand, I could take the low-mileage Falken Wildpeak AT3W's I had from my Tacoma (235/85/16) 32" and put them on the 4Runner, or finally install my brand new Cooper ST Maxx (255/85/16) 33" on the 4Runner's stock wheels.

Here they are -





Really, the decision was simple and so off with the Cooper's we go -



Fortunately, it helps knowing people. Got my tires mounted and balanced (road forced), alignment, and I was ready for my upcoming trip to Moab -



Following shortly after this picture, I went ahead and removed the sway bar and running boards -

 

With all maintenance up to speed, it was time to make the 34+hr round trip from Salinas, CA to Moab, UT.

Along the way, I linked up with my good friend as I wasn't far from him having stayed at my in-laws the night before.

The things we do just to hit an off-road trip with friends huh -



Four hours later, and we link up -



From here, it was just a straight shot for the next 12 hours as we make the trek to our camp site but not without going through Vegas first -



The steep climbs into Utah, I swear I think we hit over 7,000 feet by this point -



Funny thing, every time he was at 1/4 tank, I still had about 1/2 tank -



The scenery is just beautiful -



But of course, we need gas again -



By this time, another friend of ours that we were meeting with, has just found a good camp spot for us. We would link up with him right off the highway, then run the short trail to a nice spot where we can take a nap -



Fortunately, being a backpacker means I already own a ton of ultralight and easy to pack stuff. Was able to make it an easy, warm and comfortable little spot for myself -

 

Waking up bright and early and excited -



Today we were set to meet up with a few other friends, who at this point have been making their way to us. Plan was, hit town to refuel and refit. Make it back to BLM and establish a nice large campground to house multiple vehicles. But first, we head out for a nice big breakfast in town -



After getting back and establishing a camp spot, we just wait for the rest to arrive.

Here's one now -



And shortly after, another arrival -



That's almost everyone -



We've got camp setup and everyone is good to go.

With bellies full and campsite set up, we decided to hit M&M trail before the last of our friends showed up -



We weren't exactly expecting it to be a difficult trail, and it really wasn't, but there were some spots that really made you flex with some technicality involved; so glad we decided to run it -



Wouldn't be cool if we didn't get out and take some shots together right -





Off we go -



Not only was it fun, running fast through those washboards especially, the scenery was gorgeous -







What absolutely made this run even better was that, our expected company had arrived at our site and was making burgers for us for when we got back -



Can't have wheeling, burgers, and beer without a camp fire -

 

It's day two, and we're waking up bright and early -



Breakfast was consumed, and off we went to get some fuel and ice before hitting the trails -



There was a little bit of a line, so after a small wait, we finally got in. You can see the enthusiasm around me -



Can't start without airing down! My friend here? He hates rock stacks so don't let him catch you stacking them -



Here we go -







Always fun watching this rig -



He even climbed it afterward -



This one required a little finesse -







There were many areas where the rest of my friends took pictures but, I'll refrain from posting a ton of different shots. We did capture some footage though -

https://youtu.be/xqD9Th8bKsc

Pictures and/or videos never do these climbs justice, but maybe this second point of view of the same climb helps -

https://youtu.be/_7bMycAICN0

 

Pushing into our last day as a group bright and early. This last day was meant more of a 'chill' scenic drive kind of day -



The views are seriously out of this world -













Was pretty much the end of the day for some, whereas myself and the rest left right the next morning -



Airing back up and back to CA we go -

 

With the long driving back and forth, or the bouncing around on the trails, you'd think something would've been up right?

It wasn't until a day after I got back that my 4Runner was refusing to turn on. When it did stay on, it would idle at over 2,000RPM. This lead to the vehicle thinking it was cold and an issue with my ECT -



There was a little pain in the butt just getting there with the fuel connection in the way, but overall easy to get to -



The new unit next to the old -



Once replaced, all went well!

 

My CV axle boots didn't fair well either as not one, but both sides were torn and flung grease all over -





Fortunately, I had already heard about these 'extended' travel CV axles offered by O'Reilly's so I figured why not -



Boy do they look beautiful -

 

With the front having received some love, it was time to start hitting the rear.

Sonoran Steel adjustable panhard bar -



Resz Fabrication offset lower links -



Lotus rear lower control arm skids -



Let's get rid of that panhard bar seeing as how the stock one is crazy thin, not to mention the wrong length with this height -



These arms have got to go; now I did run the rear arm skids for a bit first before replacing the arms but shortly after I replaced those too -

 

It was at this point, that I got the text message I had been waiting for; my NguyenWorks dual swing out rear bumper was ready! I had order this thing and waited several months so off I went on a 12hr round trip.

Off with the old -



On with the new -



The craftsmanship is out of this world -





Once it was all done, they had me park out for a quick photoshoot -

 

The rear wasn't quite done as I had to make the rear legal as far as license plate goes.

Fortunately, the spot is just below the gas tank so off I went to get wiring done -



It was one thing splicing into existing wiring, it's another when you have to remove a trailer brake/light harness -









At this point, I've got the wiring done.

Unfortunately, I don't have the right kind of light that'll fit underneath because the one I bought on a whim is too tall.

Take notice at how level my panhard bar sits; you'd think this was a good thing but seeing as how my front is lifted, that means I've got some major squat going.

Decided to take advantage of the lift at my work to swap out the coils and inspect underneath -



You'll see the makeshift license plate light; I'm hating it but right now my coils are more important. Once installed, you can see I've regained some of that lift due to the added weight I had put on -



And back to my license plate light as I was able to finish it later that day -

 

Knowing maintenance was up to snuff, the only thing I was questioning was the front diff so I went ahead and tackled it -



Make sure you remove your FILL first, because if you pull your DRAIN and fuck up your FILL, you'll be left driving around with an empty diff -

 

With maintenance being done, I had to add some utility. I never cared for the stock roof rack and so when I heard about Sherpa Equipment Co I just knew I had to get it -



Man this roof rack looks badass!

Of course, let's remember why we got it in the first place -



Have always wanted an Awning so I went with a Smittybilt Gen2 -



It will be nice to add chase lights to the rear, as I own a pair, but haven't decided what I want to do for switch options.

 

Just one aesthetic change before I decided to enjoy her as is for a bit -

 

Some random wheeling pics spanned out over time -

















And for a change, another video -

https://youtu.be/QBJ0vOTPxcE

 

My 4Runner started to sound like a semi as the fan was blowing pretty oddly, at least as of recent so I went ahead and replaced the fan clutch -



I do regret not going with the orange initially, but I'll get to that later.

 

Inspecting our vehicles often means we get to catch things before they become a larger issue.

Unfortunately, I found I had dented the reservoir on one of my King 2.5 rear shocks so I quickly ordered some Bilstein 5100's as a temporary replacement -



Installed -



You can clearly see which one leaked -



And the visible damage -



Even in this pandemic, I was fortunate enough to have King send me a new reservoir replacement immediately -

 

It was back to enjoying the rig for awhile as I waited for my tires to come back to stock -

 

Tired of waiting, I decided to get a tire I've considered switching to which was a Toyo Open Country M/T (255/85/16) 33.5"

I finally have a full-sized spare -

 

Over the next few weeks, I've had a sometimes 'click no crank' issue. After reading about the possible causes, and how easy the remedy was, I figured I'd dive into it; replacing my starter's plunger and contacts.

Let's start with the kit -




The location, which is only revealed once you remove the splash guard away -



ABS bracket needs undoing -



Popping off the plastic to undo this feed terminal and harness below it -





Took me a 3/8" drive 12" long extension, with a 6" long extension and swivel at the end for the bottom bolt -



The top one needed some creativity. Because the bolt heads are shallow, I do not recommend going at it at the angle similar to the first one.

Instead, I went 1/2" drive, 6" long extension, 12" long extension, another 5" long extension, and one more 5" long extension which takes you just passed the cross member. At the end, I used a 24" long breaker bar.

Once those bolts are out, you're not free yet as I have the transmission dipstick tube to remove -





Once that's out of the way, you can deliver the baby -

 

The starter rebuild, kind of, sort of.

Let's start by pulling this cover off -





Plunger looks bad next to the new one -



Wonder how the contacts look -





Not bad for 280k miles am I right -



Time to button her up -



I hope I don't see you for a long time -

 

Amazing amount of work and travel in a 2 hour time line
Thanks for the post and the great pics. You have a fine looking rig!

 

Got bored

Didn't realize I never put anything up here so thought I'd give the girl some love.

First mods were at the beginning of October of 2020. So you can see the date on my watch above, I only had 2 weeks to get the 4Runner ready for Moab since I decided not to take the Tacoma.

 

After the starter debacle, decided to enjoy her a bit more so don't mind the photo dump -



Our boy Bronx -



He's 9, still recovering from 2 back surgeries (last one was just a couple of years ago) so we try to give him the best life -











He sure loves his Puppuccino's -

 

At this point in time, as I type this, several mods that I've been wanting to install have been put on hold.

This includes my rear chase lights -



4XInnovations sliders -



AMP'd LLC hidden winch mount -



Tacoma OEM upper and lower ball joints with Tacoma tie rod ends -



My CB radio for comms -



And even finishing the install of my B&M transmission cooler -





With a new house being built in the time to come, and moving stuff from my apartment to a storage 2 1/2 hours away, all I can do is enjoy it for the meanwhile.

 

Work's been stressful as of late, and with my wife starting work back up soon (she's a SPED teacher), we've been busy putting her classroom back together.

So when I was invited to lead a few buddies on another forum to do some wheeling, I couldn't pass it up.

Pictures taken this last Friday -



If you're wondering about my spare, I've been making runs to and from my storage during my days off. Figured I'd keep a 70lb tire off to help with gas mileage -



If I wasn't wheeling, I was spotting -









I love going where others dared not to -





Couldn't end the day without a group photo -



Everyone likes videos -

https://youtu.be/SqPbKDKd2d4

What I hated about this next one is how you can't see how deep and soft that sand and dirt is. I even had my locker on -

https://youtu.be/kIQFR8w8Zx0

 

Your title says "Mall Crawler". I don't see no stinkin' malls. Nice write-up. I am envious.

 

Sure there are, I just happen to go the back way

Thank you!

 

After Friday's shakedown, I decided to get the 4Runner up on the rack to check things out -







Also, I never posted up even in my other forum to say that I ripped my CV axle boots some 6-7k miles ago.

Due to the design, they don't seem to leak which is nice because even after wheeling with them in mud, snow, and everywhere in between, everything looks good -