Rics Update

[Ric]

Rics update:
To keep this short and sweet, my 99 is in wheeling heaven, lol, and replaced with a new (to me) car, that’s right I said “car” it drives and feels like a “car”
She`s a 2004 4Runner sport edition with the V8, 57K on the clock, leather heated seats, 10 speaker Boise system, and YES, she will be something like the 99.
Heres what she looks like "now"
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd139/Rix4rnr/2004%204Runner-new/IMG_8177.jpg

http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd139/Rix4rnr/2004%204Runner-new/IMG_8179.jpg
The lift is waiting to be installed (probley this fri.) and Ive talked to Armorology about some bumpers and possibly armour, trying to get a hold of Richard (Stubbs) to talk about sliders.
Yes we got pretty much everything off of and out off the 99, talk about my head spinning, I cant keep a straight thought on mods, lol
Ill do my best to keep this updated with the progress :D

[YotaFun]

Yeah, uncle has the same year and package, and i agree, it rides and drives like a car.

Can I ask what happen to that beautiful 99 of yours that I looked to for ideas for my truck?

Can't wait to see your new built 4th gen!

[Ric]

Im geussing lower balljoint was bad, but I was driving it, went over some railroad tracks, at about 30-40MPH, next thing I know, Im airborn, truck landed on 3 wheels, the forth was under the frame.
Ins. totaled it, my guess is that cause it had 220K on the clock, sad thing is, the motor ran like the day I got it. buy back was $5300 thank God I still had full coverage, lol, it got me the 20004 and I can start modding this one, when I get time, lol
Oh the Ins. co. logged it as a "No Fault" accident, woohooo

[tacoclimber]

Im geussing lower balljoint was bad, but I was driving it, went over some railroad tracks, at about 30-40MPH, next thing I know, Im airborn, truck landed on 3 wheels, the forth was under the frame.
Ins. totaled it, my guess is that cause it had 220K on the clock, sad thing is, the motor ran like the day I got it. buy back was $5300 thank God I still had full coverage, lol, it got me the 20004 and I can start modding this one, when I get time, lol
Oh the Ins. co. logged it as a "No Fault" accident, woohooo


Bummer to hear this, man. And it reminds me to get mine in to get my balljoint recall done!

I'm stoked to watch you build up this rig, though! :thumbup:

[Whitey]

Wow. Talk about the end of an era. Looks like it's Toyota120ville for you!

[Ric]

Yes, EVERYONE, please check your balljoints, this could have been REALLY bad, I feel very grateful that Im still here, that I was cruising up I-70 at 80MPH when it decided to go.


I'm stoked to watch you build up this rig, though!
Im stoked to start over, change a few things, my head has been spinning since Fri. night, just what am I going to do with this one, lol



Wow. Talk about the end of an era. Looks like it's Toyota120ville for you! yea Im gonna miss her, but I was getting a little tired of the old 99, I was going to let my boys have it, and I wanted to get another 4th gen, lol well doesnt look like the boys get the 99, lol now there gonna get a beater :D
Ive been on toyota120 for awhile, there pretty cool guys, and a few very sweet rigs over there.
The engine bay on this thing is HUGE, plenty of room for things like a compressor (lockers) a York, dual batteries, airhorns, heck, I could sleep in there, lol compaired to the 99

[Seanz0rz]

looks like im getting balljoints for x-mas!

whoops i thought i posted in this thread already!

glad you are OK ric, sorry to hear about the 4runner! ive seen lots of tacomas with wheels tucked under the truck, wonder if its becoming more common? either way its time for me to replace mine!

[04 Rocko Taco]

Wow Rick, sorry to hear about the '99. Super glad you re alright!
On behalf of UY, I want to say, we can't wait to see your ideas for the new baby!

Again, glad you are okay!!

[Ric]

Chris, thankx man, that means alot to me :thumbup:
as far as my ideas, well if i can keep my mind on ONE thing at a time, lol :shake:

[Scooter25]

Wow that's scary. Glad you're ok. Time for me to start thinking about upper control arms. :wrenchin:

[neliconcept]

damn Ric, sorry to hear that, i will miss that 99 of yours,

im gonna try and come out there sometime this year if possible, hope you get this thing ready soon

[Ric]

Thankx guys, and Blake let know when, If the boys aint here, or Im not back in KC, you got a place to stay, just let us know.
And yea, it should be "wheelable" buy then :D the lift is suppose to go on tomorrow, I cant wait, lol but yea, the 99 will be greatly missed, she has so much time, love and blood in her, she was a part of me and the boys, but as with anything, all great things have to come to an end. :(

[Whitey]

How could the insurance company ask book value to buy back a totaled vehicle? I hope that truck is bare bones when you hand it over.

[neliconcept]

i agree Ric, strip the hell out of it

[YotaFun]

Holy S*&^ Ric!
Glad your okay dude!
I guess like everyone else, I need to check my lower ball joints.
I also agree with the others in that Strip that sucker!
At least I would have, like you said, a lot of blood sweat and tears, went into it and it became part of your life.
While all great things must come to an end, some great things should stay.
I pray that my truck lasts long enough that I too can pass it on to my baby brother.

[jrallan26]

Glad to see you are okay.

[ecchamberlin]

man sorry to hear about the Runner. I always liked the way you had it set up.

It is sort of ironic though in a way. I am heading out for a deployment and told my wife that when I get back I plan on doing all new ball joints and bearings on the front end as preventative maint.

I guess if you think about it, we wheel these things way beyond the intent of the design and something is bound to give eventually. Infact I am suprised sometimes on my way home from a trail that mine even goes down the road in a straight line at all after pushing it so hard.

Look forward to the build with the 4th gen. Lots of power with that V8.

[Ric]

I hear ya. good thinking, get them replaced... but more importantly, come back home safe and sound.

THANK YOU, thank you for your service :thumbup:

[Scooter25]

Doh! I'm a :loser: Just realized you said it was a LOWER ball joint failure. UCAs won't really help me there.

[Seanz0rz]

so ill finally say it: :pics: of the carnage

[ttora4runner]

Sorry, to hear about the 4runner that sucks but at least your okay. The new 4runner should be a good build up :wrenchin:.

[neliconcept]

he knows one piece of that 4runner will live on

his old wheels which are on mine!!

[Ric]

ok Sean, heres a couple of pix of the carnage, lol
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd139/Rix4rnr/2004%204Runner-new/Wrecked%2099/IMG_8125.jpg

[Seanz0rz]

oh man thats aweful!!!! im so sorry ric!

[Ric]

damnit, it the submit to fast, lol
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd139/Rix4rnr/2004%204Runner-new/Wrecked%2099/IMG_8126.jpg
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd139/Rix4rnr/2004%204Runner-new/Wrecked%2099/IMG_8127.jpg
BTW did get the new lift on tonight, heres some teaser pix:
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd139/Rix4rnr/2004%204Runner-new/Mods/IMG_8241.jpg
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd139/Rix4rnr/2004%204Runner-new/Mods/IMG_8244.jpg
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd139/Rix4rnr/2004%204Runner-new/Mods/IMG_8239.jpg
Ill probley start a build-up thread for the 04

[Ric]

oh man thats aweful!!!! im so sorry ric!

no worries, it was her time, Im just glad I didnt take anyone out with her.

[YotaFun]

They really totaled it cause of the one side.
Was there more damage then I am seeing?
Mine is a 97, and i was broadsided and had to have body work and a rear axle replaced...
Sorry its just I had over 4 grand worth of damage to my runner, yours just does not look as bad...

[Ric]

They really totaled it cause of the one side.
Was there more damage then I am seeing?
Mine is a 97, and i was broadsided and had to have body work and a rear axle replaced...
Sorry its just I had over 4 grand worth of damage to my runner, yours just does not look as bad...

how many miles on it ? mine had 220K, im guessing thats way they totaled it, it wasnt that bad IMO

[YotaFun]

They really totaled it cause of the one side.
Was there more damage then I am seeing?
Mine is a 97, and i was broadsided and had to have body work and a rear axle replaced...
Sorry its just I had over 4 grand worth of damage to my runner, yours just does not look as bad...

how many miles on it ? mine had 220K, im guessing thats way they totaled it, it wasnt that bad IMO


That must be it, Mine still had only 120K, wow she is young yet....

[Seanz0rz]

well new upper and lower control arms, spindle assembly (ball joints to drive flange, including brake components), potentially a new rack, at least new tie rod ends, damage to firewall/wheel well, new wheel and tire. adds up quick. not to mention any unknown frame damage.

[bigwapitijohnny]

Good talking to you last night...again, bummer about your 4runner. On to bigger and better things...Glad you are OK, and that you got your new ride...

Regards,

BWJ

[neliconcept]

ric you plan on selling the front bumper? have someone else carry on the legacy of that runner?

[Ric]

BWJ,
yea it was catching up with you also..

Blake,
yeppers, the bumpers are sold, they was spoken for once the buyer knew I was ok, lol they are living on.

[neliconcept]

who got them? i wanted the front

[RunnerUp]

damn ric, really sorry to hear about that, i wish i could have seen your truck before it died! oh well, next best thing is to try and vulture some parts off of it lol! im trying to decide what to do to our 07 sport edition, but i just cant think of what direction to take it, so i will be watching this thread very closely!

glad your okay!

[Terracoma]

well new upper and lower control arms, spindle assembly (ball joints to drive flange, including brake components), potentially a new rack, at least new tie rod ends, damage to firewall/wheel well, new wheel and tire. adds up quick. not to mention any unknown frame damage.


... Then add in all of the labor time to R&R or R&I everything and it adds up even quicker.



Good to hear you're in one piece and taking everything in stride, Ric!

:thumbup:

[johnny utah]

is there a known problem with the ball joints on that genreation 4runner? My wife drives my kids around in our 01 4runner and i want it to be as safe as possible

[RunnerUp]

is there a known problem with the ball joints on that genreation 4runner? My wife drives my kids around in our 01 4runner and i want it to be as safe as possible


there was a TSB on the lower BJ's a couple years ago, might want to check if your truck had that done at some point.

[20005spd]

ugh its so sad to see something like that get totalled for something that dosent even look bad. i cant beleive the buy back is $5300 that sounds like bullshit to me. people i know always buy their junk back for under $1000. and 4th gens are nice good luck with it, but ive always liked the 3rd gens more since they still keep that "mini truck" style.

you shoulda bought the 99 back and sased that thing. from the pics i just dont see how that can be totaled :shake:

[ecchamberlin]

is there a known problem with the ball joints on that genreation 4runner? My wife drives my kids around in our 01 4runner and i want it to be as safe as possible


There was a recall on the BJ's for some years. Many did not qualify for it though. I don't think that normal driving could lead to a BJ failure like this. More than likely it was the harsh weekly punishing Ric put his rig through that led to this level of failure. Many of us are probably in the same boat with ours.

Funny thing is that some people said that this rig was not pushed hard off road... Ric knows what I am talking about.

...Oh and I like the lower control arm skids on the 4th gen already!

Okay I will stop

[Seanz0rz]

haha, i know ric wheels alot harder than i do (and some of you have seen me wheel...)! thats why i asked him to be a tester for me.

my new ball joints will be ordered monday. i cant afford to have a wheel fall off... haha.

[DHC6twinotter]

Bummer ric. That was one of my favorite 3rd gens. Glad you are ok though.

I'm looking forward to what you end up doing with the 4th gen. :thumbup:

[neliconcept]

Ric beat the rig offroad

also i dont think Ric can really pony up to SAS it with the way the economy is, we discussed it with his truck before and he would want to do it right. that is $$$$

[20005spd]

ya it isnt cheap, im coming up with around $4-5k when i price out a sas the way i want, keeping it all toyota, and thats with keeping 4:10 gears and my 34"s and a single case w/4.7s. if you regear and double cases then your talkin near $8-9k...o well

[Ric]

no SAS, I thought a SAS for about a second, lol and Blakes right, "if" I did that, it would be Diamonds etc, etc. at that point why not buy a ready made rid ? save me the time, money and headaches. lol
IFS does just fine IMO.
So far, Im more happy with the 4th Gen. power, comfort, a fraction of the miles, lol (58K)
The lift is on, XREAS is sitting a dumpster right now, lol, looking a little funny with stock tires, lol Im researching bumpers, and skids right now, also looking at ARB sliders, these 4th gens dont have the room on the dash like the 99, lol so my Cobra wont fit, looking at that Cobra 75 WX ST.
When I get more time, Ill start a build up thread.

[20005spd]

a sas is a big investment, i understand....and IFS works well enough to get you on the trail and have alot of fun, it just cant take me everywhere i wanna go :D

[Good Times]

Ric,

I'd pass on the ARB sliders. They're not "true" sliders as they use the stock bolts for your running board. I'd say it's definitely "underrated" for what many of us would want to do. If ARB did change their designs on the assembly then that's a different story but I'm not sure if they did or not. This is based on what I remember seeing back when they first released it so they may or may not have upgraded their designs.

Go with you local shops to get some real sliders :D Promote your local shops!

[Ric]

Lance,
thankx for the heads up :thumbup: I was trying to find some decent pics of them and cant. Im going to call Armorology tomorrow, maybe even take a cruise down there, lol
again, I appreciate the info. :bowdown:

[YotaFun]

well new upper and lower control arms, spindle assembly (ball joints to drive flange, including brake components), potentially a new rack, at least new tie rod ends, damage to firewall/wheel well, new wheel and tire. adds up quick. not to mention any unknown frame damage.






well new upper and lower control arms, spindle assembly (ball joints to drive flange, including brake components), potentially a new rack, at least new tie rod ends, damage to firewall/wheel well, new wheel and tire. adds up quick. not to mention any unknown frame damage.


... Then add in all of the labor time to R&R or R&I everything and it adds up even quicker.




I understand where you both are going.
But my truck had over $4500 worth of damage done to it and was still fixed.
And that was replacing the entire left side quarter up to the rear door, new glass, new door, new rear axle, with new components on the left side.
so it all depends

[Ric]

She will be missed:
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd139/Rix4rnr/2007%20Wheeling/John%20Park%20%20clean%20up%2010-25/meflexcopy.jpg
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd139/Rix4rnr/2007%20Wheeling/John%20Park%20%20clean%20up%2010-25/IMG_0993copy.jpg
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd139/Rix4rnr/2007%20Wheeling/october20-2007/IMG_0892.jpg
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd139/Rix4rnr/2007%20Wheeling/Twin%20Cone%20oct-13-07/IMG_0551.jpg
http://<a href="http://s224.photobucket.com/albums/dd139/Rix4rnr/2008/Oct%2012th%2008/?action-view&current=IMG_7473.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd139/Rix4rnr/2008/Oct%2012th%2008/IMG_7473.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd139/Rix4rnr/2008/Oct%2026/IMG_5210.jpg
RIP.

[Robinhood4x4]

Too bad, especially considering this is your month in the calendar.

[jrallan26]

buy it back from the insurance company and make it a buggy out of it.

[Ric]

Too bad, especially considering this is your month in the calendar.
I know, but gives me insperation to get the new one trail/calender worthy :D


buy it back from the insurance company and make it a buggy out of it.
the buy back is $5300, so NO, Im gonna put that money into the new one :D

[jrallan26]

That seems like a lot....

[Ric]

That seems like a lot....

tell me about it, I wanted the motor and tranny, but NOT at 5 grand.