3rd Gen 4Runner Maintenance Must Haves & Why We Did Them

hey everybody in our last video we talked about all the problems with our new to us 99 200,000 M thirdd gen 4Runner in this episode we're going to take you through all the things that we thought were most important to take care for maintenance and repairs let's get to [Music] it hey everybody Isaac here I got my buddy Andrew with me and in this video we're going to talk about a lot of the the key maintenance that we've done since we picked up this truck so just a little reminder we bought this project third gen 4Runner a couple of weeks ago and before we wanted to touch it we wanted to get it up on a rack we wanted to assess any needed maintenance and repair so we brought it over to my buddy Andrew's house and uh put it up on the rack and immediately we kind of had an idea of what needs to be done right nothing major all little expected things that it's like 205 200,000 yeah 200,000 miles yeah so it's all little stuff it's just how can we make sure that we're planning ahead a little bit right it's it's taking care of maybe some negligence that it had over it last few years of life right and what can we check to make sure some known things right these have been out in the market and there's a lot of them so thankfully there's a lot of data tribal knowledge experiences that we just can peruse forums now right we're not the first posting absolutely and and thankfully uh you know David's also a part of this build and he's done lots of third gen forigner builds and projects in the past so between the three of us we've been able to collectively uh kind of put together a good plan of action on on how to take care of this thing and when I say perusing forums like it's David forwarding us Links of all of the already he already has them bookmarked like here's the answer here's the answer here's the answer stop asking questions absolutely and thankfully when we went to buy it yeah you know we brought the flashlights cuz it was like 8:00 a.m. 8:00 p.m. when we went right and we noticed like there was a couple leaks underneath you know like the valve cover gaskets things like that so we had an idea like okay it's got 200k miles you know it's going to need you know for sure these five things right U but really until we got it on the rack you know we didn't know exactly what we wanted to do to it so totally where where should we start I want to I want to kind of hand it off to you and so we'll start at the rear and kind of like I think the theme that we're going for here is this balance between replacing everything that we see with brand new shiny Toyota parts and not doing anything right we're just trying to prolong the life of this car in its current condition cuz it's in eerily good condition yeah um so what we what we started with was the rear axle seal um and that's again a common failure like you see the grease on the wheel you're like why is that wheel at black on it okay we already know what's going on here the issue with that one is that it been leaking for so long that it also completely saturated the rear drum break shoes bad everything that whole corner of the truck is just how long do you think it had been leaking like that it's got to be two years 3 years it was caked down there like after you fixed it and after we you know were messing around with it I took it to the car wash I brought you my floor jack which you're probably not supposed to do it says on there don't do this he's doing it I pulled that back wheel off yeah and between like purple Power and all these different D greasers and I got like a paint scraper and I got all these like detail tools to like not only clean the rear axle yeah uh but also clean the wheel and then you know we spent like an hour in in the shop just cleaning like the brakes and the I went through after removing stuff I went through two cans of brake cleaner and a roll of paper towels right and that was just to get it to the minimum require just going to say that literally just got to start it I was like this won't contaminate the new shoes I'm leaving it yeah which which at the end of the day it all needed to be cleaned anyway because I think a couple days later I went and tossed new tires on and I don't think anybody would have touched that wheel no they would have been like uh this this is a non-serviceable item right I mean it was on man these clean wheels it had like it looked like a a two-tone wheel a machined wheel the inner spoke was black and the front was silver yes and it was thick caked on there it looked like an old BMW wheel like a 5-year-old BMW yeah yeah old so so the inner axle seal was pretty straightforward right you got an inner axle seal in there and then there's a o-ring around where the axle The Hub mounts to the axle housing so easy picked them up down there at Groove Toyota got those two parts because of the brake shoes and I was already tired of using that much brake clean we ordered a new set of brake shoes so the brake shoes come with both sides so we've got spare ones in the hopes that if the other side starts leaking which is okay I now have a fresh set and I can get rid of the contaminated ones again so we got new brake shoes on there got them all set up adjusted cleaned the heck out of the drum and got that all put back together so that was um a couple hours honestly most of it was cleaning if it had been done at a reasonable time it would have been such a big deal um but it's at least on this model is pretty easy I bought these little silicone plugs so when you take that brake line off at the back to slide the whole axle housing out you just hurry and stick one of those in and then we're okay um but actually after we did that we used I have a a pressure bleeder and you and I went around Each corner and bled the brakes and filled this bottle full of like green brake fluid and it's supposed to be kind of clear or yellow and it's like dark green that bad um so maybe it had never been done probably not and that's you know the brakes worked right uh but if we're trying to just again prolong this life fluids $8 a bottle right and again it I stand by the fact that I I know that we want to get this thing a bit more buttoned up because we're going to be doing suspension Wheels tires armor right and we want to be able to take it across country and you and trust it right but I also am a firm believer that you could not touch this thing for the next 200,000 mil except for like the critical stuff and be totally fine so my thought process when we're doing the break fluid was okay I've got this pressure bleeder that's supposed to make it easy and it's up in the air and we were I hadn't picked up no no we ordered timing belt stuff and it hadn't come yet so I'm like we're already under this truck I have this pressure bleeder let's just do this like let's just try this out that was the mindset not like all right this brake fluid is toast we need to get in here and of course it's like this will be fun yes might kind of might as well do it exactly yeah we're underneath it we've got it on the rack we got stuff pulled apart we might as well do it right yeah so basically the first jobs that we did was axle seal gear oil in the rear diff and brake fluid y um and that while that's when we were waiting for the other parts we had already done our inspection we knew what we were going to order so we're waiting for all those to arrive so after we finished that up the other parts came and I spent a full Saturday doing engine related items and to your point everything ran fine it was okay um but lots of leaking around of valve cover gases which is totally normal and actually like when I was first starting in school that was like the first side job I did was valve cover gas 5 they all leak yeah yeah it's just a known thing and actually this one had been done before with aftermarket gaskets they were like bright blue and they're supposed to be black okay if you get OE ones and everything we read on the forums is that within sent us within like 5,000 mil aftermarket ones tend to start weeping again so we went again we got all OE stuff to put on there do it once it's you got to remove a bunch of stuff to get in there so um I did timing belt water pump thermostat and uh valve cover gaskets spark plugs and spark plug wires that was like the full Saturday and a radiator and a radiator yeah um so everything looked fine water pump was fine but you know everyone knows when you're in there doing timing belt you do the water pump you have to pull the thermostat off to get it to it we put a thermostat on there no leaks no crusties nothing crazy the belt was okay but it did have some light cracking on it there was one spot that had a bigger crack so we're glad that we changed that um and you know it's like 100,000 Mi interval so right and this was done at 100,000 Mi but now it's got 207 so it's due Tech it time it was time we're trying to be diligent and do what the engineer said we should do right um when I was doing that it took me a while because I open it up you know you you you turn the engine to top dead center right you can see the crank you get to top dead center you pull the covers off and the cams are off I'm like okay maybe there's a different Mark like maybe I'm not doing this right so I pull off more covers and still crank is good cam off I'm like what is going on so I moved the crank to where the cams are on and the crank is off and it's a tooth off and weird I was messaging with David and I'm like look man I feel like I'm going crazy here because it was running fine but we're a tooth off so long story short it was a tooth off we got it back to the correct tooth but on this engine at least it runs decently well with the tooth off like you'd have never known yeah the 2 u z V8 you definitely notice with a tooth off but this one was like no no problem it was weird right so that that threw me for a loop but everything else was as expected right very straightforward no leaks no weird things um valve cover gaskets were just not they were hard and flat um they didn't change there's little grommets on the bolts to hold it down they didn't change any of those so some didn't have any right so you've got it leaking around there as well um spark plugs didn't look hammered but they obvious ly were're well used and then since we're in there a lot of that is like well since we're in there and that's again the balance of well since you're in there you should replace all this like okay if it's cost effect for $40 for yeah for $40 for for wires for $40 for spark plugs since I'm removing all of the intake anyways and we don't know when they were last replace then we will do it as well do it um but if you're talking you know like I I didn't check the valves cuz they suck to adjust and it does doesn't tick not going to touch it right leave it alone same thing uh timing belt kit comes with Cam Shaft seals crankshaft seals dri the bone look beautiful sick leave it alone yeah absolutely um as much as I like doing extra work we don't need to yeah um and then when I was uh putting it all back together the intake boot that goes right into the throttle body it came off okay but you know it's old and I pushed it on it was just came on and then split open so uh we ordered a new one of those and then radiator was kind of brown on top and tribal knowledge says that it's common for them to mix with that transmission cooler in there so we ordered a new one of those and tossed it in and yeah perss like a kitten yeah better safe than sorry yes yes so with that that's like the majority of the mechanical items um I'm trying to think CV axle boots were good those don't leak um so as far as like maintenance items that covers the whole and I don't think on this truck the suspension has ever been touched no it's it's it doesn't look bad but it's it doesn't ride the rear shocks coils the front coilovers everything's 200,000 Mi old from 99 it's in Immaculate condition but there's nothing left of it either yeah dampening is so soow yeah yeah so so as far as mechanical work that was upgrades yeah then the last thing was just what we did for brakes right so the brakes were let's go into brakes and let's go into the number one issue with third gens right lower ball joints yes so we're doing all those together and and I guess I guess that could be considered that that is probably considered maintenance but they weren't bad right that's the thing we're just better safe and sorry on something again known problems let's go in there and tell you so we got OE ball joints group Toyota new bolts as well for the lower ball joints and then we bought 06 Tundra rotors yep uh OE rotors and OE pads and then some reman calipers so quite a bit bigger calipers um bigger rotors a lot more meat to them and then some nice OE pads so the braking was so so in the truck it could not lock anything up save its life and the brake pedal engagement was really low um but the booster worked you could you could pump it back up and be where it needs to be and it didn't lower back down so it was just kind of weird honestly I was confused by it so we knew we were going to do the T break upgrade well and regardless it needed braks yes so then we're like we might as well do the tundra break upgrad because it's what not only everybody does but it makes most sense for these trucks right we spent the same amount of money right OE breaking is just not good even new it's all right but it could be better that what I heard from my dad who's really yes he's been around the block who's the man multiple times yes he's like a factory third gen phoner will never activate ABS because it literally doesn't have enough power to stop any of its Wheels it's wild which can confirm this truck couldn't do that yes yes so we we changed all those out um we got some trouble on the ti rod end um for the left hand side yeah a little bit like where the cotter pin sits in there in the castle nut it just so was water and mag chloride and it was just crusty so it took me a little while to clean that up with a file and get it all back on and thankfully we didn't have to replace it right the joint great no movement and it was just like from the cotter pin hole up so you know we've got plenty of threads down there below and I'm not driving anyway so no worries okay okay just kidding it is safe uh we cleaned up those threads got it all back together and um you know trim the dust shield everything honestly went straight forward compared to what you read on everybody's write up like yep that's what I saw that's what I did went back together there were no extra steps there was nothing tricky like it was right the only thing was that nut yes that was the only outside of the norm and I broke a ball joint polar trying to get that tie rod end out went to Harbor Freight yeah that included a run to Harbor Freight half an hour before they closed which we almost broke that one I bent that one B that one it was a whole thing so I just on the driver's side though this side was like problem easy peasy I was like oh I'm going to be done with this in an hour and then 4 hours later the other side was done because we said it yeah I shouldn't have said anything um heck yeah yeah so everything like looked good again nice and tight steering feels great in the truck we went out burnished the pads beded them a little bit and it activated the ABS so I'm I call win yeah it's it's 10 times better and way better than I've ever experienced like my old third gen and stuff yeah and the pedal's in the right spot now too right so we kind of we were like okay let's do the brakes and see where we're at and go from there and thankfully like we bled them really well long yeah um rides and drive is great now I took it up I 25 like 30 Mi North today right took it back home looped around I put like 50 60 miles on it it's TI rod end didn't fall off big deal it's it's great truly yeah yeah um so after that was just fluids basically um oil change um we did everything front diff engine oil trans full trans flush transfer case rear diff brake fluid like there's no other movable liquid in here that we Haven change I haven't touched the washer flid but oh dang it I knew I was missing [Laughter] one thank so yeah and then obviously fresh coolant with our new radiator so I feel like she's all buttoned up it's basically a new truck and and honestly like was that a lot of parts yes but like the whole time about water pump kit it was like $300 delivered $90 for radio I mean these again when they drop in that 20-year range of a high volume car everything's affordable it wasn't crazy and and these are so I should say so easy to work on but we've worked on them before yeah so it's not like learning a new thing no you and when you do the the steps like normally I don't want to remove the radiator okay we're going to change it remove the radiator boom well now this is all easy I got all this space and we already have the FR bumper off cuz that's we threw that away get the grill off so it's easy access in there yeah yeah everything was was straightforward and it just reconfirmed that boy this looks and feels like a clean truck and then when you get in there it is a clean truck and that's it makes life so much easier like you're not frustrated fighting every single the only thing I had to get frustrated with it was like everything else has been so smooth I can't even get mad at this yeah I know so yeah um it's been nice and then we obviously spent some time inside working on the um there's a the blendor actuator the forums tell me the blend door actuator yes the blendor so switching from hot to cold Isaac would turn to hot it would just go click a click a click not do anything hop on the forums locate where it is take it take the gear out rotate a 180 stick it back in boom blendo works again now the only issue is like thermostat controller right yeah the control buttons we thought we had a good controller yeah we don't it's just a bit Hit or Miss like it still works but it's not perfect right so I think we might have to get that rebuilt yeah for now it's like it's fine leave it on hot when it's it's like four times a year Isaac is going to change the temperature and futs with it and then he's going to leave it alone right each season yes you you spend 60 seconds adjusting to it yeah guessing if it's going to yes yeah and wherever it lands it lands it is what it is you stick with it for the rest of the season it's got Auto you don't have to tell it what to do it it's got a to do yes that's awesome so yeah I mean that's been it and then you've just been driving it right which is exactly that's why I love Toyotas I work on Toyotas I buy Toyotas because I do the things I need to do and then I don't worry about it y you going to take this to North Carolina yes just go take it to North Carolina honestly at that point what with what we've done it turns into like how good are your tires right right do you have the right air pressure did you drive over a nail everything else is going to be okay yep heck yeah I love it me too thanks for going over all that yeah of course appreciate it of course and now yeah the next steps are we'll try to build this thing right it's all upgrades now it's fun stuff yeah so probably do Wheels Tire suspension yeah and a roof rack skid sliders yeah but obviously that's over the course of the next few months right where you're going to use it and how you're going to use it part of me wants to say let's just leave it like this you know with with the ATS on it yeah you know put the OEM front bumper back on it maybe put a set of skids or slides on right but no suspension leave it like this right and go take it on a couple of trails the tough part is it's dead middle of winter right but if we did Moab I would be curious what a bone stock limited with rear Locker now that it's all buttoned up tuned up ready to go set the cruise go down I70 hit Moab see what this thing can do so we'll see I mean I like that idea we'll see I like that idea especially we'll bring a couple spare tie rod ends for that side yeah exactly but I mean I can't I my guess is that it's just going to get the deal done like usual right sometimes you'll use the rear Locker most of the time you just walk it right maybe the only limiting thing will be the nice big old lip bumper but right well we'll see if it gets torn off it gets upgraded right cool I mean I think I think we covered it all I think that's it so yeah sounds good for now yeah well thank you for getting up on the rack and putting all this work into it not only diagnosing it but like actually fixing all the problems right and uh yeah I'm excited to to keep driving it and keep building it and the best part is like the only problem was the rear axle seal right everything else was technically preventing techically there was no issues other than that and one to off but it didn't really present itself as a problem so instead of just doing that and then addressing the rest later it's kind of like well let's just do it we don't you it is frozen outside right now is the time to take care of it so you can enjoy it all summer right cuz in a month or two we're going to want to be on the trails and yeah yeah and it gives us like a week where if I screwed something up we can get it corrected I doubt that that has yet to ever happen to me but maybe you never know CU I was the first oh I'm just kidding well cool thanks absolutely and uh probably do this again once we to get the next set of mods and accessories and things like that done so thanks for watching guys and uh see you in the next one

Channel: Team4Runner

Views: 4,986

Keywords: 4runner, toyota, automotive, auto, off road, off roading, rock crawling, wheeling, car mods, 4runner mods, toyota mods, toyota installs, 3rd gen 4runner, 1st gen 4runner, team 4runner, team4runner, t4r, team4r, 4runner off road, Maintenance, 4runner maintenance, 4runner mechanic, 4runner engine, 4runner timing belt, 4runner brakes, 4runner ball joints

Id: u9sOY1QPxB8

Length: 21min 11sec (1271 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 05 2024