1999 Toyota 4Runner "Highlander Edition" 3.4L V6 5-speed 4WD, factory E- locker

This is my Daily Driver, so when I decided to start making all the changes, it had to stay road worthy. The whole project has been a series of compromises, making it able to play on the rocks, as well as go high speed desert running, yet handle as well, if not better on the highway.

..............................................................................Before and After................................................................................

What better than have a few Laker girls pose with your rig!

April 07 Issue of Offroad Magazine

....................................................................................fullsize article here ..............................................................

...........Johnson Valley TTORA March 2008 ..............................................................................................................

....Nightmare Gulch & Last Chance canyon 2007...............Calico December 2007 .......................................

.......................................................................Pismo 4RJ 2007.....................................................................................

Click HERE to see more photo's and video's from Moab

............................................................TinBender's Toyota Jamboree "The Hammers" - Clawhammer trail

.......................Locos Mocos 2007...............................................................Miller Jeep Trail ....................................

.................TTORA Big Bear - Holcomb Creek...........................................MCR4 - Rubicon Trail.........................

..................................................................2007 Offroad Expo - The Girls .................................................................

(06/01/2008)
Just finished relocating the fuel tank. Instead of building one from scratch, I found one that is a perfect fit where the spare tire used to be located. The tank came from a 95 Ford F-150 and has the same capacity as my original one.

Now to fabricate a skid plate.......

By far the best upgrade is the addition of a Marlin crawl box. This gives me an extra shifter in the cab that adds another low range for a gear ratio of 226:1.

List of the Modifications:

ARB Front Air Locker with exteneded diff breather and catch can
ARB on board air compressor
1" front diff drop
Motive 4.88 gears
1 1/2" Rodger Brown Body Lift
Airbox Deckplate mod with internal custom snorkel system
True Flow air filter and intake tube
Stainless Steel Flowmaster 50 series muffler
Marlin Dual T-Case MC09 4.7:1
Dual Optima Red top batteries w/ painless battery Isolator kit

Custom OMF Beadlocked Stock Toyota rims 16x7 now 16x8+
GoodYear LT315-75R16 MTR's
Total Chaos Long Travel Front Suspension
* Sway-A-Way 2.5" Remote Reservoir Coilovers w/500lb King springs
* Limit Straps
* D.O.T. Approved stainless steel Brake Lines
* Modified Tundra Axles
* Heim steering kit
Modified Glassworks Fiberglass front fenders
Custom designed rear suspension
* custom built bolt-in spring pockets
* ACOS ride adjusters
* OME 891 rear outer 210lb and Ebach 8" 150lb inner springs
* AirLift 1000 air bags
* Bilstein 7100 12" Travel Short Body Shock - Remote Reservoir
* Energy suspension 4 1/2" bumpstops
* Limit Straps
* Spider Trax lower control arms with Evolution Heim joints
Modified TJM-15 Front bumper w/ sequential LED turn signals

Hella Rallye 4000 driving lights with a 5000k HID conversion kit installed
3" fog lights, intergrated into the bumper
LED rock lights
Clear corner side markers
All bulbs replaced with LED's
Custom built Rear bumper Build-Up Here , Rock sliders & skid plates
Custom built spare Tire & HiLift jack carrier
Cobra 75 WXST CB radio
ICOM V8000 Ham radio
1200 watt 120v power inverter
Halon Fire extinguisher
Warn HS9500 winch with 100'x3/8" Viking Fireline from winchline.com
in-cab winch controls

Just to answer some of the questions that have been posted

The rear bumper is of my creation, the link to the bumper thread is fixed, but if it goes down, you can contact me at brucethesniper{at}hotmail.com.

The TC LT kit widen the track by 3 1/2" each side, for a total of 7". The front suspension has 15 1/2" of travel measured, but with the limit straps it's held at 14", to prevent damage to the CV axles. Yes I did some additional mods to get the extra travel. The rear is currently at stock width, so it looks kinda funny when someone is following from behind. I did have some custom 3" wheel spacer made, but they were meant to check clearances and take measurments, back when I first installed the TC kit. At that point the decision was made to hold off on going wider in the rear, as there would be quite a bit of sheetmetal fabrication to be done, but if for some reason one of my rear quarter panels get damaged, then I'll persue it. Most likely I'll use a 4th gen rear disc brake assys, then have a custom width Diamond axle built with a Ford 9" full floating.

I no longer need a front swaybar, because of the wider track and higher roll center of the Total Chaos long travel kit.

The swaybar has been removed since the upgrading of my rear suspension. I currently have 15 1/2" of vertical travel and 26 1/2" of articulated.

To clear the 35" tires, I went with an 1 1/2" body lift and had to trim the front kick panels about 2" back, then rewelded them. The front fenders from Glassworks needed fitting, then I moulded in a fiberglass inner wheelwell. The rear fenders didn't need any trimming, but the stock SR5 flares needed to be cut off at the front lower corner. I've been told that the stock bumper has clearance issues as well, but I had already fabricated my new rear bumper before the 35" tires arrived.

The total lift I'm running is 6", the breakdown is; 1 1/2" body lift, 2 1/2" suspension lift and 2" from the tires.

The rims were beadlocked by www.omfperformance.com.

As for offroading an IFS rig, expect to break a few front axles, 35" tires are pushing the front drive train to it's absolute limit, anything larger will need a SAS "Solid Axle Swap" in which I have no plans to do, rather build a full rock buggy instead. For you eastcoast wheelers, you should consider 33" to be maximum, since much of your wheelin is in wet muddy trails that usually takes lots of wheel spin to heat up the tires to gain traction. Unfortunately the drive train can't handle the sudden grip and usually snaps axles. Here on the westcoast much of the wheelin I do is in the rocks, so a slow steady pace is perfered, hence the Marlin crawler, even then I still carry one or two spare axles.

As for what's next?

Soon the 5-link rear suspension will be remove and I'll fabricate a triagulated 4-link to replace it. This will eliminate the rear steer that I currently experience after recent rear suspension mods. Now that the tank has been relocated, I'll be able to remove a few crossmembers, clock the T-case, this will give me about 3" more breakover clearance. The goal is to achieve a full flat belly, from frame rail to rail.

goto ultimateyota.com for more info on upgrades