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New Addition To The Family


DJ Dank
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Went to Seattle this past weekend to go pick up the folks' 1997 4Runner. It was rolled about 3 years ago and got some major damage to the hood, fenders and rear quarter panels. They had some shade tree mechanic work on it and they've had it for about 3 years and did a $hitty job on it. Didn't even both taping anything up when they painted it. Its going to need a need paint job and some body work on the roof. During its 3 year jail sentence at this $hitty mechanic, the wheels somehow got stolen from it also. He tried to fit 15" wheels on there but they wouldn't fit on the front because of the it wouldn't clear the calipers.

 

So there are 15's on the rear, and a 16" spare on passenger front and a 16" aluminum rim on the driver side front.

 

I did drive it from Seattle to Montana with no problems and on my first fill up logged 21MPG and made from my parents' house to Spokane with still 1/4 tank of gas left! 300 miles exactly. Then the drive from Spokane to Livingston, I logged 24 MPG. Ithink this was due to finally cycling out the old 3 year old gas that was in the tank.

 

Its only got 102k and runs pretty strong. The ONLY probem though is when I come to a complete stop or coming to a stop and then decide to accelerate,. there is a pause of about 1-2 seconds where the RPM's rev up but the car doesn't move. If you keep on the gas pedal as its revving up, the tranny or whatever the culprit is finally catches and it'll clunk forward and accelerate.

 

What do you guys think this could be? I'm afraid that its the tranny. I'm going to have it looked at this week. Despite the issues, its still a strong runner and it was free. Can't beat free!

 

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Edited by DJ Dank
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Well turns out the tranny fluid was like 3 qts low!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I checked it before I left Seattle and I recall that it was fine. I ended driving about 1000 miles before filling up the tranny to the proper oil level. :stickwack:

 

But the problem has been solved and she drives like she did when she was new. Tons of power now and no hesitation whatsoever!

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Nice looking truck, especially for a rollover victim. She'll run for a good long time with only 102k on her. Same as the WD21 Pathy's though, make sure you keep cleaning out, and coating that frame.

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Looks good dank! I really like those model runners. I might be looking into something like that soon for myself, that way my wife will drive the pathy since she is pregnant and the accord is just not going to cut it for much longer.

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It drives completely different than my pathy. Its got a 3.4 and it seems that I can feel the extra 100 cc's it has over the Pathy. I'm also used to the stiff ride in the Pathy that when I drive the 4runner over washboard and dirt, it does a good job absorbing all bumps.

 

You should have seen it when it was first rolled over. It has had some major body work to it and a crappy paint job. The a$$ who worked on it didn't even tape anything up when he painted and there are little white specks everywhere. There is some major cracking of the bondo on the roof...I'm taking it to a real body shop in town that does the amazing work and have them do it all the right way.

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It drives completely different than my pathy. Its got a 3.4 and it seems that I can feel the extra 100 cc's it has over the Pathy. I'm also used to the stiff ride in the Pathy that when I drive the 4runner over washboard and dirt, it does a good job absorbing all bumps.

 

 

The better acceleration is due to the much smaller wheel and tire package that you have on the 4Runner. If you prep the 4Runner the same way you've prepped the R50, you'll discover it's a lot stiffer.

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The better acceleration is due to the much smaller wheel and tire package that you have on the 4Runner. If you prep the 4Runner the same way you've prepped the R50, you'll discover it's a lot stiffer.

 

I'm not so sure...the stock tires on that are 265/70/16, which is 30.6" and on the rear there are 31's on there. So I'm not sure if the better acceleration is due to the tires since they are pretty much the same in size.

 

 

Well you go from stock suspension to aftermarket coils and shocks, OF COURSE its going to be alot stiffer. The point of that statement was an observation between a stock rig and a rig with aftermarket suspension.

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