ATG Parker's 91 4Runner Build

Update on the 4Runner for 2024. The 170 Amp alternators bearings are making a ton of noise so back in went the OEM 50 Amp Denso. I think the uprated 170 Amp Alternator with its smaller pulley just kills the bearings prematurely as this has been in service since 2019 and would be about 4 years old which really stinks.

I have had a problem keeping the T-100 front anti roll bar centered since I put in the modified bump-stop bracketry. So I have added a couple of aluminum plates to space the bar away from the frame a small amount and then added a pair of aluminum split collars that clamp around the diameter of the bar. They are shoved up tight against the inside of the frames rubber bushings and this stops the bar from laterally translating through the bushings as the link rods are not quite at the same angle which would cause the bar to migrate and start to rub on the rear bottom out snubber and bracketry which as you can see in the picture is a fairly tight fit as the anti-roll bar goes around the outside of the snubber shown here with the suspension at ride height.

This picture has reminded me that the PowerStop brake kit with drilled and slotted rotors has been replaced as I managed to ruin a rotor by letting the pads go to nothing. Must be getting old!...

The power steering pump is leaking yet again but this time the Trail Gear 1,650 psi uprated pump kit will be replacing it.
3.0L PICKPU 4RUNNER POWER FLOW 1650PSI POWER STEERING PUMP KIT (trail-gear.com)

 

The OEM power steering pump is a rather leak prone device. So now that it is yet again spewing I decided to solve this problem with a Trail Gear Rock Assault Power Steering upgrade kit. The challenge is installing this and keeping the AC lines and system intact which I have managed to do. The key is to mount the reservoir to the plenum on the 3.0L engine and forgo using the TG bracket. This does make the EGR-delete rather a permanent affair and will have to reconcile that when I have to get it smogged again next year. A simple three hole adapter plate is fashioned from some 1/8" thick aluminum plate with an M6 torx headed flat head used to fix the bracket to the threaded hole that was for mounting the EGR valve. I had to purchase and extra AN10 x 5/8 slip on 120° Elbow to make the suction line to the pump work and I reused my longer original fan belt as the one supplied in the kit is shorter and I could not see how to position the pump to make this work. Some grinding of the supplied bracket to mount the pump was needed to rotate things to an acceptable position.
The oil cooler by the instructions in the kit calls for removal of the AC's pusher fan which I did not do. So it is fixed to a welded in bar with steel strip that works well when the steering stops for the pitman arm and idle arm are used. All of this is below the radiator and just clears the steering center link and steering damper. The location allows for easy plumbing from the steering gears return line to the cooler and then from the cooler to the OEM cooler pipe that sends the fluid back the reservoir.

I made a plate and put an 8 watt, 4" box fan on top of it to pull air through the lower portion of the oil cooler and it is triggered by a Deral thermal switch.

I may need to pop some holes through the skid plate at some point!...

 

Well the 33 year old clutch fan exploded last week in the Smart & Final Parking Lot and went into about 20 pieces which wreaked the fan shroud but did not damage the radiator. So super lucky in that case. I was but a mile away from the house that was a down hill coast to the neighborhood as I idled it home with some nasty vibration. Managed to strip the alternator belt off the pulley so the battery light was on but it was a coast home so no big deal.

So I reverted back to an electric fan but this time it is a SPAL 16" 2048 CFM high performance fan that totally exceeds the Zirgo I had on before. So will see if the AC is happy with this get up. The visibility to the front of the engine is greatly enhanced in seeing belt condition and observing things for leaks that my occur as well as removing the radiator is much easier to do with the electric fan attached to it. The hole pattern in the SPAL is identical to the LUXERAD fan shroud and the Zirgo I had in place before so bolting it up was simple. I sould note the ZIRGO is rated at 3000 CFM but that is in a free air condition. The SPAL's CFM rating is when its pulling air through a typical radiator and the air moved by this fan is definitely more than the ZIRGO could manage. The motor is deeper as well so more current draw and more air moved when it comes on.

The one year and 3 month old Fan Pulley Brackett from O'Reilly's with life time warrantee was making some noise so got my money back and I reverted back to an AISIN FBT-006 through CarParts.com as it has Koyo bearings in it and my original OEM AISIN had well over 250k miles on it before it started making a racket as the bearings were tired. Still spun freely but was on the verge of seeing its end of life with a seizure in the future. Found this on Amazon for a bit less money but 22 hind sight is what it is: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0031GCUDU?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

Other new addition to the engine is a Rock Assault Trail gear power steering pump and oil cooler with a new huge fluid reservoir and no leaks in the future is the hopeful outcome. The OEM PS-pump is a a bit of a turd in that the main O-ring at the back of the housing seems to be only good for about 20K and then it starts spewing fluid and soaking the AC compressor and the rear axle ABS modulator. This TG unit is a bit less quiet than the OEM unit but the quality and kit seems first rate and should afford years of trouble free service. The only additions I made to the kit were a PS fluid oil filter by Edelmann and a second elbow (black fitting) to get the feed line to the pump sorted out.

Cheerio,
AP

 

Found a new puddle under the 4Runner on the front passenger side this week which is not where the remote oil filter is located that was weeping the week before. Turns out the added pressure from the Rock Assault PS pump has done in my blasted Anti-Lock-Braking-Actuator as it is producing PS fluid from the lower rubber vent pipe that is dribbling it all over my idler arm and making a mess. So the ABS-actuator is obsolete on Toyota's parts listing and cannot be gotten from what my initial internet searching has discovered. So I will be taking this thing apart and seeing if I can figure out what seal in it has failed? Hopefully it is an O-ring that I can source and replace?

But a few months prior I had found some closed out stock at Summit Racing Equipment which was a Professional Products Powerfilter Oil Filter (model number 10881) which works for replacing the WIX 51515 filters I have been using on my Hayden remote oil filter relocation kit. But the best thing was it cost $16.99 which I thought was a grave blunder on Summits behalf. But it arrived and I called up Professional Products and they sent me an O-ring kit for it. It is the last oil filter I will ever need to buy for my 4Runner. I added a really nice all stainless steel 1/8NPT quarter turn ball valve to the bottom of the housing which is going to make the oil changes and servicing of the oil filter a breeze as no more hot oil will dripping down the outside of the housing when I remove it to get at the stainless steel 45 micron filter element that is removable and easily cleaned and replaced. Inside the filter has and end cap that sports a nice strong magnet for catching metal from engine wear. As for the leak, I had installed this new filter housing three weeks ago and had not tightened the outer housing fully and it leaked a bit after a couple of days driving with it in this loose condition. But a quarter turn of hand tight and leak is no more. This seal is a classic O-ring gland seal and the added quarter turn has compressed the O-ring and all is good.