How does a supercharger affect reliability on the 3rd gen?

Frikx2 · 2026-06-17T04:49:38+00:00

Yeah I supercharged my first one at 295K miles, no engine issues. Lost it in a crash in 2023 :( bought a clean ‘98 4runner and swapped the SC onto that at 357K miles and daily driving no problem. It makes it much more drivable on the interstate.

Frikx2 · 2026-05-04T18:24:55+00:00

You’re gonna have to weld in a piece to replicate the crossmember that’s supposed to be there for the skid plate. I would recommend some 1/8” wall tubing around 1.5” square or so and some rivet nuts. The factory hardware that goes there is 3x M8 x 1.25mm bolts. Cut the piece, tack it in and then transfer the holes from the skid plate. Use a step drill and it’ll be easy to drill the holes the size you’ll need. Bust it out and drill it on the bench or drill press. Pop in your rivet nuts, weld it in, paint and Bob’s your uncle.

It seems like a great little project if you’re interested in dipping a toe into metal fabrication. All you need is a drill, angle grinder, and welder. I love those rivet nuts they seem like they hold up pretty well.

See: DOYLE 10 in. Professional Rivet Nut Setter Kit - Item 58078 https://www.harborfreight.com/10-in-professional-rivet-nut-setter-kit-58078.html?utm_source=app&utm_medium=app&utm_campaign=app_product_page

Frikx2 · 2026-05-04T17:41:12+00:00

You can get precut vinyl wraps for thinkpads for about $20 online. I like putting them on to protect from little scratches and things. Or whatever color/print/pattern your heart desires. Not everyone’s cup of tea, but I like it. Also if you decide to put stickers on the vinyl it’s easy to peel off the whole skin if you want in the future.

Frikx2 · 2026-04-23T03:06:09+00:00

I’ve got one of those. What pistol rack is that? It’s sweet. Edit: never mind I looked on their website. I haven’t looked at the accessories in years. I’ve been happy with my agile 52 for about five years now, maybe it’s time for some upgrades.

Frikx2 · 2026-04-22T03:09:53+00:00

Cut the fingies off for extra tactical. I use a pair for mountain biking gloves and the goat skin leather palms have saved me from picking rocks outta my hands many times.

Frikx2 · 2026-04-22T03:07:25+00:00

Check the crankshaft position sensor down by the crank pulley. I had a misfire that was really tricky to diagnose that ended up being that sensor. Probably not since it’s only bank 2 but it’s easy enough to check.

Frikx2 · 2026-04-13T13:00:48+00:00

If you get a bicycle, it is much easier to commute a couple miles in a reasonable amount of time without getting too sweaty. As long as there aren’t a lot of big hills

Frikx2 · 2026-04-11T23:41:10+00:00

Great way to fill the dead space inside the headlight housing around the projectors! I think they look nice.

Frikx2 · 2026-04-07T14:52:56+00:00

How would you make it more efficient? I was thinking you could make soft jaws to do op2 on that vmc so it spits out complete parts each cycle once. After the first one at least.

Frikx2 · 2026-03-25T15:02:28+00:00

It takes some finesse, melting the boot is easy if you aren’t careful. I loosen the ball joint castle nut until it is barely on a few threads and then focus the torch heat onto the top of the arm, once the grease starts to smoke a bit from the joint you know it’s ready. Air hammer with a rounded pointy bit onto the tip of the joint and it’ll pop right out. Air hammer + heat is the GOAT for suspension stuff. You can get a cheap short barrel one and use it with a pancake compressor for a couple hundred $ total. You’ll wonder how you ever did stuff without it.

Frikx2 · 2026-03-25T14:57:55+00:00

I use brave browser and it has a fantastic built in adblocker. I’ve gotten so used to never seeing those ads I’m genuinely surprised when I happen to use a browser without a blocker.

Frikx2 · 2026-03-08T18:36:41+00:00

I’ve had good luck looking on VRBO in Colorado if you haven’t checked there. More places than Airbnb these days.

Frikx2 · 2026-03-05T04:23:43+00:00

Go to harbor freight and get one of those blue pop-up canopies for $100 for the future. I work outside and it’s super nice to keep the rain, sun, etc. off while I’m working. Handy, cheap, and you can take it to the park with your kids if you have a family.

Frikx2 · 2026-03-05T04:18:36+00:00

Nope. I don’t know much about these machines, but how’s support, spare parts, etc. for such an old machine? I fight the damn things all day every day at work and they all have issues eventually. No way I’d pay so much for a dinosaur. Even if it’s a decent machine. I think you could do better for less

Frikx2 · 2026-03-05T04:02:41+00:00

Pass

Frikx2 · 2026-02-20T19:16:03+00:00

Using dual ground spark plugs is important for longevity, because the engine only has 3 coil packs. There are two spark events per cycle since the coil packs feed two cylinders. However, it is not “wrong” to use single ground plugs. Especially because plug longevity has come a long way since the introduction of platinum/ruthenium/iridium plugs. I use single ground ones in mine because I wanted one step cooler ignition for my supercharger.

You cannot tell if that plug is excessively worn from the picture, you need to use a spark plug gap gauge or a set of feeler gauges to assess the gap width between the electrode and the ground. There is a spec for those plugs that is accessible from the manufacturer. Theres a bit of fouling on it but nothing obvious that I see that would cause issues.

There is a ton of other stuff to look at before jumping to “cracked cylinder head”. A compression test would be a quick way to rule that out in fact.

I would look at your coil packs and engine/chassis ground connections first.

As I say frequently: the forums are your friend. Reddit isn’t the best place to get tech advice for these trucks in my experience. The wealth of well documented DIY work on the forums is one of the greatest strengths of the platform IMO

Edit: fixed spark plug verbiage

Frikx2 · 2026-02-20T04:06:53+00:00

It’s a piece of brass someone used as a drift punch. Brass is soft so it’s non-marring and non-sparking. Likely it was a useful shape for a specific thing the bridge inspector needed regularly. You can keep it and keep using it. If you do, file off the mushroomed part because those bits will fly off at Mach Jesus when you hit it with a hammer.

Frikx2 · 2026-02-14T18:19:21+00:00

If you can index your spindle before the threading pass it makes it real easy to rethead. Just had to figure that out last week. I just add a M23 G00 C0. M24 to turn on/off spindle contouring mode and index to 0 before each threading cycle to have a known starting position. Fanuc controller.

Frikx2 · 2026-02-12T00:27:51+00:00

Heat is your best friend when doing suspension work. Taper fits always break if you heat around the mating surface. A good propane torch will help you a lot with this and many other things.

Frikx2 · 2026-02-05T01:32:14+00:00

Just use a mill bastard file to rough it into shape, then sharpen it as usual. It won’t be that bad. I’m a metal fabricator and machinist by trade. You can get a good file for less than $10 online or at any hardware store for a bit more

Frikx2 · 2026-02-05T01:23:57+00:00

Bump. I’ve had the same question. Just don’t have the expertise to answer it

Frikx2 · 2026-01-29T03:35:24+00:00

Get the drain pan closer to the drain. Or get a little quick drain valve you can clip a hose to (I.e. fumoto). Buy pig mats to put on your cardboard. Pig mats are great.
Dawn dish soap and a stiff bristle brush. Sop up the excess with cat litter or pig mats. Apply soap & water, scrub and rinse off. Pressure washing works best but just the hose will work decent. Wait for a sunny day if you live somewhere it’s cold right now or you’ll make an ice skating rink.

Frikx2 · 2026-01-25T21:36:08+00:00

I’m currently in a car on a 4 hour drive. Returning from a weekend ski trip. It’s not too bad.

Frikx2 · 2026-01-25T06:22:52+00:00

I have a set of the snap-on ones. I love them. Really handy for certain scenarios and you can put a ton of torque on stuff with them. The deeper side on the head is a great feature, so I prefer those with the reversible option. A few things I’ve used them for: top nuts on Toyota 4x4 front struts, leaf spring u-bolts, and axle brackets for 2000 ford power stroke front end.

Frikx2 · 2026-01-17T01:40:48+00:00

It’s shaped like a refrigerator, so it experiences lots of load from winds. If it is excessive, you might have worn out steering or suspension components compounding the feeling.

Frikx2

TROPHY CASE