Project Oliver

glockman

I hate Jeep trucks
Location
Pleasant Grove
As I mentioned in another thread, a friend of mine had a 97 4 runner that his mother had been driving and wrecked. He asked if I was interested and I told him joking that I'd give him a grand for it. He said OK and so it started.

I have always like 3rd Gen 4 runners but have never been able to swallow Toyota used prices. This deal will allow me to get a great family camping and mtn biking rig for a reasonable price.

I have dubbed this rig Oliver because all of the parts are worth more than what I paid for the rig. Here are Oliver's specs

1997 SR5 151k miles.
Rear E locker.
I'm the third owner.
The lower ball joints and timing belt are original[emoji15] so those are on the short list.
I'm pretty sure most everything is original including shocks and Springs.
It has Tundra 17 inch wheels with 26t tires.
It has wood grain interior panels which will be coming out soon.

My long term plans are
Small OME lift to run 32" tires.
Off-road front and rear bumpers.
Routine maint
Spark plugs
Timing belt and water pump.
Lower ball joints
Drain and replace all fluids.

I towed it home today and got to work.
Here is how it looked when I got it home.

uploadfromtaptalk1431151785415.jpg
Not bad right

uploadfromtaptalk1431151814062.jpg
Oh but there is this.
 
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glockman

I hate Jeep trucks
Location
Pleasant Grove
Got digging into things to see what exactly what bent. The bumper and Grill are obviously done along with the hood and core support.

Once it was apart I found the ac condenser and the radiator as well as the fan clutch are bad.
The drivers side of the frame and inner fender are untouched. The passenger side inner fender and bumper bracket were slightly tweaked.
uploadfromtaptalk1431152280547.jpg
uploadfromtaptalk1431152294383.jpg
I stripped everything down tonight and now just need to get a pile of parts to get the rebuild going.
uploadfromtaptalk1431152309708.jpg
 

glockman

I hate Jeep trucks
Location
Pleasant Grove
Any advice on timing belts? Where to get parts and oem vs aftermarket? I plan on doing the timing belt and water pump while the front end is off.
 

glockman

I hate Jeep trucks
Location
Pleasant Grove
Looking at the kits, there are a couple different options. I am going to go with and Aisin water pump. Looks like there are a couple different pumps. Some have an oil cooler line? There was only transmission lines (x2) and coolant hoses (x2) attached to my radiator so I assume I don't have the oil cooler. There was also no external cooler on the core support, only the AC condenser and the radiator. Anyone know what the extra oil cooler water pumps are for? Or is this some rare breed of 5vzfe?
 

SLC97SR5

IDIesel
Location
Davis County


To be precise, on a '97 4Runner the filter is mounted forward of the oil cooler, threaded into a block adapter. The oil cooler is the round can with a large bolt in the middle with 2 coolant hoses connected to it.

Awesome project!
 

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
since you have to replace the radiator anyway, it might make sense to get one meant for a 5 speed manual trans, then get an aux tranny cooler. The stock units have the tranny cooler sitting in the bottom of the radiator. Over time, the internals can corrode or shake loose, and then you get coolant mixing with your ATF. The toyota term is "pink milkshake." It's not as common as people make it sound, but since you're already replacing it, I'd do that. If they're the same as tacomas (which they probably are), the manual trans radiator should give you an extra bit of clearance up front too, since it won't hang down so low because it won't have the lower reservoir.

I bypassed my tranny cooler tank on my tacoma for that reason, and it did great. Plus the aux cooler was better at cooling the trans than the stock one.
 

glockman

I hate Jeep trucks
Location
Pleasant Grove
Thanks for the info Steve. I have been devouring T4R.org posts since I brought this home. I have a B&M external cooler on the shelf waiting to go in my LJ. It might get "borrowed" for Oliver. I had planned on bypassing the tranny cooler after reading about the milk shake. I hadn't thought about just getting a radiator without one. Great idea.

I am very rapidly becoming a Toyota fan. This thing is so easy to work on.
 

Kevin B.

Big hippy
Moderator
Location
Vehicular limbo
Thanks for the info Steve. I have been devouring T4R.org posts since I brought this home. I have a B&M external cooler on the shelf waiting to go in my LJ. It might get "borrowed" for Oliver. I had planned on bypassing the tranny cooler after reading about the milk shake. I hadn't thought about just getting a radiator without one. Great idea.

I am very rapidly becoming a Toyota fan. This thing is so easy to work on.

Hah! Wait until you have to replace the rear shocks.
 

glockman

I hate Jeep trucks
Location
Pleasant Grove


To be precise, on a '97 4Runner the filter is mounted forward of the oil cooler, threaded into a block adapter. The oil cooler is the round can with a large bolt in the middle with 2 coolant hoses connected to it.

Awesome project!
Thanks for the pictures. Mine does have the oil cooler.
I ordered the kit Kevin recommended. It should be here Friday but I'll be in moab :)
I'm going to pick up the body parts tomorrow. Now if I can be reasonable and not install the core support until after I do the timing belt.
 
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