Hello from Florida

Hello,
Last week I purchased a 1993 4Runner 4x4 after my 06 Colorado was totaled and I received a decent pay off. I didn't want any more payments and our family truly didn't need a second vehicle, so I decided to finally get a 4x4 for the Jetties and beaches.
This unpolished gem has 211k miles and when purchased, it required both front drive axles, door latch and handle and most likely a solid engine tune up. This beauty sags a good bit in the back and has what I believe is an exhaust leak maybe right from the engine. I've spent the few hours to change the drive axles(previous owner had the remanned set) and the latches/locks on the doors (also came with it when purchased). Back passenger door is rusted fairly well and so is the back bumper.

Any suggestions you can give so I can keep this truck on the road are greatly appreciated. I plan on making this somewhat of a daily driver, 10miles to work, and going to the drive on beaches to surf fish with my two sons who are under 3 years old.

Thank you for the community!

 

welcome

 

Welcome from Ormond Beach.

 

Welcome from SWFL.

 

I had been wondering what ob stood for. Lol. Jacksonville here. Grew up in deltona.

 

Welcome.

 

Welcome!

 

From Jacksonville, FL myself. I have not been able to give the truck much attention yet, two boys under 3 years old has taken a majority of my time. I hope to find the time this week to check the compression within each cylinder and change the oil and coolant. When is took her for a ride on Saturday afternoon she lost power dramatically so I parked her until it was cool out then drove her home slowly. I hope I dont have a blown HG..... Will let you know more as the week goes on.

 

Welcome from Colorado

 

Goodluck on getting her running tiptop. Join the first coast toyotas facebook page. We have meets every few weeks

 

Welcome from Texas....

 

Welcome to the forum!

 

I see you have the soundqubed emblem in your avatar

 

Time has not been in my side, so far only changed front axles as well as got the door handle and lock on so I can get in the door with a key. The spark plugs were changed and compression test went well(155 to 170psi). Ideally brakes arrive in the mail tomorrow, I'll have those changed out in the next couple days. I'm looking to source a rear bumper since this one is rusted out and I don't want my 2 toddler boys poking their fingers through rusty holes. Definitely need a new muffler as well. We gave her a good wash since she was covered in 2 years of pollen. Here's some pictures

 

My buddy recommended a shop who was able to do the front and back brakes as well as swap out the idler arm. No more shakes and frozen front caliper. She runs great now, I still need to invest in all the tie rods and other suspension parts for the front and rear. Driven to the beach/river 3 times already for some 4x4 fun. Even took my 2 boys

 

Just over 4,000 miles since May 2019 but nothing adventurous. Had a good time working on her here and then. This truck has has been loyal as all hell. These past couple months I've put new inner/outer tie rods up front with idler & pitman arm. New Struts and springs as well a wheel upgrade from a Tacoma (2015-16?). Found a good second hand rear bumper form the local pick-a-part and recently splurged for a $45 Amazon special for the touch screen w/ bluetooth and a backup camera.

I went from 33 1/4inches to 36 1/8 inches in the rear ride height. Immediately I felt the difference once I changed the rear springs (Moog) and struts and happy that she doesn't sag in the back(as much). I just saw a video online to adjust the front torsion springs and noticed they were nearly maxed out so will fix that early mañana.

Tires are next, still no idea where I'm going with that but needs to get done soon. Also, I went for a free A/C check during lunch and when I came back they showed me where the leaks were via black-light. I have my own compressor and gauges to vacuum/charge the system though was happy they put the dye in and changed the inputs from R12 to R134 for free, props AAMCO Transmissions for the free A/C check.

I was thing a re-manned compressor kit from E-Bay with all the seals, any thoughts?

Here's a pic of Rear with sag before I changed springs with a spacer.


then after i changed the springs



Next is this holy bumper



New touchscreen radio from Amazon w/ Bluetooth and backup camera was a deal. Minor trim work to the bezel to get it to fit to my liking.




Rear springs. Old vs new w/ spacer



Thanks and have a great day, on purpose!

 

Nice! I live just down the road in Columbia county (more like Georgia than Florida). I got a good deal last year on a 2019, but I'd love to have an older one to mess around with. yours is lookin good!

 

Besides this pandemic it's been a great year for the family and I. Truly living the dream and enjoying the great outdoors with my '93 4Runner. The OEM roof crossbars started to fail with two 11ft kayaks on top, thankfully nothing broke going across our Dames Point or Buckman Bridge here in Jax, FL. I used the factory rails and attached Unistrut to make a much better roof rack w/ cross bars for our Kayak J-Hooks. These Yaks aren't moving at all now while tied to the top!

After watching several DIY YouTube videos on making an awning so bought a few pieces of 10ft long 3/4in EMT conduit for the fold out structure and a Harbor Freight tarp for the awning material. Worked like a charm, held up for several hours on the beach with decent winds. Cost under $100, setup takes just a couple minutes for 1 person and no more carrying around a bulky pop-up canopy! Going to add some mounts for the fishing rods and kayak paddles to the roof rack and find new places to launch our kayaks.



Kayak J-hooks crushed the original OEM crossbar. It is 27 years old and made of cheap materials; just glad it lasted this long








The OEM roof tracks fit the strut very well. I used 12-gauge to get the right height for the riser and 14-gauge strut for the actual crossbars.