Hey all! I just bought a 1999 Toyota 4Runner 6cyl, 2WD with 184k miles on it. I have MANY questions. I'm new to these forums, but am stoked to have found it! There's an amazing amount of information here, posted by some awesome individuals. I can tell that this is where I'll find most, if not all, of my answers. Most of the articles that I have read lean toward the performance/offroad side of the house. I'm looking for answers that will help me take this 'Runner back to stock, or better. I'm looking for the smoothest ride possible for my wife and my kiddos. We did the "Dave Ramsey plan" and sold our 2007 Honda Odyssey with a note and paid cash for this 4Runner. Woohoo, no more car note! Now, I'm starting my adventure of repairing all of the little things that I would like fixed for my beautiful bride.

If you have any of the following items for sale, please let me know. I'd like to take the 'runner back to stock, as nicely as possible.

WTB:

• Tan OEM Steering Wheel (Tan) w/ Cruise Control
• Tan center console arm rest (the leather is really boogered up)
• Toyota Center Caps for OEM Wheels
• Used/New Tires (265/70/R16 or something just as smooth)
• Shocks/Struts for a silky smooth ride. It's quite rough right now.

Would Like Advice on the Following:

• Cruise control worked fine on test drive, but doesn't now. The light comes on, but it will not engage. I read that the C/C circuit goes through the brake lights, so I thought I would try that first. I checked the brake lights and they come on just fine.
• Front leather seats are cracked and in poor shape. The dealership quoted me at $2500 for replacements!!! Needless to say, I can't do that. Are there any seat covers out there that fit really tightly and don't look like the weak ones you might buy at Autozone? What about having an upholstery shop resurface them. Has anyone had luck with this?
• I'm gonna put new shocks/struts on it soon and want to make the ride really smooth. It's really rough right now. I'm pretty certain that the shocks/struts are the originals. I recently did a rotor/brake job on it and they appeared to be OEM. I'll never take it offroad and just want a smooth ride, but with a budget. Can anyone recommend struts/shocks?

I think that's all for now. Thanks in advance for taking a look at my post and my questions!!

Lance
US Marines

 

Welcome to YotaTech lance !!
First off, Thank you for your service !!

Seat covers, "Wet okeles", They are made from wet suit material, Fit very well and I havent heard a bad thing about them, Other then the price

Shocks and struts, Im pretty sure the originals are tokiko ? Someone please correct me if im wrong..
Although I like My OME (old man Emu) setup I just put on my truck, I put on the lift setup (OME 881's) but they make stock replacements (880's) and the OME N91SC are the "comfort" ride...
If your going to replace the front might as well put new coils and shocks in the rear as well..
Im a tacoma guy so I cant offer advice on rear coils..

Wheelers OR has pretty good prices, Although TRDparts4U is a forum sponsor and gives discounts..
On the link to wheelers, Tacoma 4x4's and 3rd Gen 4Runners have the same front suspension, FYI..

Again Welcome !!

 

first, thanks for your service.

second, you need to let people know where you at, easier for those who want to help you out. there's a WTB section in the classified part of the forum.

i also have a 99, check on Sonoran Steel's website, read everything: www.sonoransteel.com , get the green tokiko shocks, keep your 99 tall springs and you're gold. don't buy used shocks, it doesn't make any sense to use some 10 years old shocks no matter who makes them.

replacing the shocks without lift can be totally DIY. i just swapped out my wife's 2004 4runner stock suspension with FJC coils and shocks, it's done in 3 hours all by myself in my drive way with simple tools. if you don't want to deal with coil spring compressors, just take the stock front strut to a local shop let them swap the new shocks in, shouldn't be more than 30 bucks.

hold on to the steering wheel, changing it may not solve the problem. i have the same problem with the CC going in and out randomly, even after i switched to a new steering wheel, but i changed it because the leather was crapped out on me.

i have no idea about the seat covers.

 

In red

 

Thanks for the information guys! I'm located in Houston, Texas. The steering wheel IS crapped out on the leather, so I'll still need to get one of those. I thought about wrapping it, but can't bring myself to do it. It makes it feel fat, and un-natural. THanks for the info and links though! It certainly gives me more direction.

Semper Fi!
Lance

 

For the steering wheel I recommend the wheelskins.
http://www.wheelskins.com/index.php
I have a two tone one on my 99 and it feels 10x better than stock with better grip.

 

Pic of it;
http://www.ultimateyota.com/index.ph...36885#msg36885

 

I bought a non-leather steering wheel of a 98 4Runner for $20 on craigslist while I was in San Diego. Because it's all plastic, I feel more comfortable driving it when I have dirt/oil on my hands knowing I won't do any harm to the steering wheel, plus, plastic doesn't smell funny when wet.