Topic: 3rd GEN 4RUNNER INPUT..

[toygasm]

so ive been goin through a little toyota withdrawl..after a bad accident that mangled my right shoulder i was in need of an automatic..and money since i couldnt work..i had to sell my fully restored built 85 4runner(pavement dd) and my built 85 xcab(trail and dd).with that money i bought a mint 04 rubicon ..anyways,im still havin some issues but want another toyota(they were right..its a jeep thing and not my thing...im a yota guy).im having a really hard time finding a 1st gen runner locally in good shape.ive even looked at a couple 2nd gen 3.0 runners.so im sellin the jeep and lookin into a 3rd gen 4runner with a 3.4 auto(also considering a xcab taco).it will be a dd and im thinkin about ifs lift and 33s.also thinkin instead of another trail truck i would invest the money and do a sas and 35s.i would love some input on what to look for in a 3rd gen as far as issues,better years than others ect..am i wasting my money thinkin about sas'n it?ive looked into it a bit and could probably get another weekend beater toy for less than what it would cost to sas the 3rd gen.either way i want to lift it a bit but dont want to spend big money on a ifs kit that could go towards sas'n it.any and all input is appreciated.feel free to insult me for buying a jeep..all my friends have.

[TacoRunner]

http://board.marlincrawler.com/index.php?topic=60773.0

[toygasm [OP]]

holy crap..thats quite a build...most extreme case,im thinkin stock rear diff/elocker and something like a tg rock assult front housing on leafs...i was always dreamin about 60s under my 85...i guess my main question is what should i look for in a 3rd gen runner as far as common issues/problems..how are the auto trannies?so far im just going to be lookin at milage and elocker..and go from there..

[Snowtoy]

A buddy has had 3 over the last 10yrs(sold or traded them all), and they have all wheeled well from slightly modified to having all the goodies.  Unlike the auto w/the 3.0, the auto with the 3.4 turns large tires a lot better.

The 1st 3rd gen we installed a custom 2” BL. Trimmed the front fenders, and it cleared 305’s on 7” wide rimes.  It had the oem e-locker, and wheeled pretty well.

The second 3rd gen was SAS’d with some trimming, 37’s, dual ARB’s, and dual cases.


It looked and felt tipsy on the street, felt tipsy on the trail, but my Buddy never came close to rolling.  The dual cases and auto trans made it very smooth on the trail.

The last one was also an auto w/2” BL, coil spacers, trimming, and it cleared 35’s(barely). 

With an ARB upfront and a spool(or welded) in the rear he ran the Rubicon last fall nothing broke, he wheels pretty hard as well.  He was happy w/it and planned to keep it until someone offered to trade them for an early Bronco(he always wanted one), but like you he found his way back to a Toy.


00Rokyoat had an extensive build of his '00 Tacoma.  It wheeled very well as well.

[toygasm [OP]]

thnx snowtoy...ive been lookin at toytec lifts as one option for now.

[96runner]

The last one was also an auto w/2” BL, coil spacers, trimming, and it cleared 35’s(barely). 

With an ARB upfront and a spool(or welded) in the rear he ran the Rubicon last fall nothing broke, he wheels pretty hard as well.  He was happy w/it and planned to keep it until someone offered to trade them for an early Bronco(he always wanted one), but like you he found his way back to a Toy.


00Rokyoat had an extensive build of his '00 Tacoma.  It wheeled very well as well.

How much suspension lift did it have?  I am looking to put 315's on my '96 with a 4" suspension and 1" BL and 1.5" wheel spacers.  How much will I have to trim to make it fit?  It will be use as an all purpose wheeler (Moderate expedition's to mild Rock Crawling)  I am currently running 265s on stock no lift no rub