RedPreRunner4x4

[RedPreRunner4x4]

2001 Toyota Tacoma PreRunner

Purchased February 2012, 102,000 miles. Bone stock.

Budget lift, 33" Nitto Trail Grapplers done at 104,000 miles

Removed the bed rail bars sometime there after and didn't change a thing for years while I was in high school.
February 2018: Finally got together all my parts and fluids for the 4x4 swap and got busy on it one weekend at a buddy's house who has his own lift. Not as bad as you think, but it was no dream project!




Finally got it all done and on the first test run the driver hub blew out so I had to replace it.

 

[RedPreRunner4x4]

Replaced front end with Eibach coilovers, Moog ball joints and outer tie rod ends, Toyota inner tie rods

Replaced factory leaf springs with General Spring of OKC's HD leaf springs and replaced worn out ProComp shocks with Toytec BOSS

 

[SubeeBen]

Nice looking build. Good job

 

[RedPreRunner4x4]

Thank you, just adding little things here and there when I have extra time and funds.

 

[flyingnome]

Nice job with the 4x4 swap. I'm sure it was plenty of work.

 

[RedPreRunner4x4]

So after waiting anxiously for a week the Softopper was delivered this afternoon and I installed it immediately as I could barely contain my excitement. It looks AWESOME and I cant wait to put it to use. The canvas is incredibly thick and feels like it will last for a long time. The weak link on this top is the rear vinyl window but that can be replaced with a new panel or with a full canvas panel for $64 if it were to ever tear or otherwise fail!

I am glad I went with the tan top, I think it looks great!

 

[French]

That color looks great!

 

[RedPreRunner4x4]

That color looks great!

Thanks! After several weeks I am still enjoying it and have received many complements. We don’t see anything but hard shell campers around here, so it sticks out like a sore thumb...in a good way!

 

[RedPreRunner4x4]

I’ve been making some changes recently. I added a Cobra 75WXT CB radio and 3ft Firestick II antenna on a Rago Fabrications mount a month or so ago and the reception is great and sound is clear. More recently I threw a Lock Right lunchbox locker in the rear end to up my trail capabilities. Since the Toyota is my DD as well as my trail truck I was slightly concerned about road manners. I have no complaints. Once you get used to the lockers behavior on sharp turns from a dead stop there’s really nothing funky about it. I have yet to test it on the trail but I can do positive burnouts now and I think that’s pretty great in itself. The install was very easy considering I have all the tools at work to make it a breeze. Of course, the cool factor has began to wear off and I just found myself ordering 5.29 gears for the truck that I’ll probably get around to installing deeper into the holiday season when work begins to slow down. The third member is coming back out after only a few weeks of being sealed back up! Some say that 5.29 is overkill for 33” tires but my truck is an automatic so its basically like going down a gear size because of the power loss in the converter. I’ll try to post some pictures of the gear install when it happens.

Next on the list? Maybe another lunchbox for the front axle. Maybe chromoly axle shafts, who knows? There’s always something to upgrade if you’ve got the funds to do so right? Luckily I save a lot by doing everything myself but things are still expensive and it seems like there’s always something that needs to be done first.

 

[RedPreRunner4x4]

Found a deal on some USA standard ring and pinions. I got the rear in last week, the front is still disassembled while I try to find some time before/after work to get to it.