Jay's step into the Yota world - 05 v8 4Runner

[jayson44]

I've been a Jeep guy for the last 13 years and when we had my daughter I figured that a TJ on 35s wasn't the best vehicle for toting two kids around in. I sold it and picked up this 05 Toyota 4Runner Sport. I've wanted one for a while and always wanted the v8. my wife has a 4-door JK, so I didn't want two of those.

completely stock when I bought it, 171k on the v8. runs strong, but the truck has some corrosion on the undercarriage that I'm not a fan of. no major rust issues, just a layer of junk on everything, it seems. the tires were balding, so I picked up a used set of 255/75 BFGs from a rubi on Craigslist to start the first "mod" of many planned. they lasted only about 4 months and I found a nice used set of 285/70 Nitto Terra Grappler g2s. mounted them and painted the wheels black. stuffing 33's on saggy stock suspension required some "massaging" of the pinch weld in the wheel wells, removing the front mud flaps, moving the front inner fender forward a little into the bumper, and adding 1.25" spacers to the wheels. I still rubbed the body mount area on full lock, but only a little.

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Rocked it this way for over a year due to a loss of job and no time. I had the bike racks and stickers already, so those went on as well. :)

J.

[jayson44]

I had some light pods sitting around that I got for my TJ when I still had it, so I decided to put those on. I found a stock-style switch that mounted to the switch panel and wired into the harness for the lights, easy-peasy. $29 on Amazon was never better spent on lighting!

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I did some light wheeling, but it was hard with all the squeezing of tires and the low ride. these 4th Gens weren't too great in the ground clearance department from the factory, and my XREAS suspension was old and tired.

the last time I went out in the winter I got turtle'd pretty good in some snow and had to call a friend...

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I was getting pretty tired of all that, so I started looking for upgrades in my favorite spot...Craigslist!

J.

[jayson44]

I scored a full set of shocks/struts for an FJ cruiser with less than 60k miles on them for $50. the FJ stuff is the same as the 4th gen, with the exception that the front struts actually give a 1" lift for me. I bought a Daystar 2.5"/1.5" spacer lift just to get by for now and put it all together. The struts looked almost new.

I also scored a used set of JBA HD upper control arms off Craigslist as well. the ball joints will need rebuilding within the next year, but for $150 less than new, it wasn't a bad deal. these will help me get a better alignment when I get my new tires installed.

I also grabbed a v8 badge off ebay since mine had apparently fallen off at some point...

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I had a friend help me install the front struts, new sway bar links, and the UCAs a couple weekends ago at his dad's shop. went pretty smooth outside of needing to PB Blast the crap out of everything under there. we didn't have time to finish the rears and we noticed that one of my shocks had rusted off completely and wasn't even there...who knew!

I got the truck up on stands in my driveway and finished the install the next weekend. it finally looked like a proper 4x4!

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J.

[jayson44]

and to bring everything up to speed, I got my Trump check in time for my tires to start balding. so...this arrived today!

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yeah yeah, there's supposed to be 3 others. I guess FedEx was having a hard time getting them on the same truck? the other 3 are gonna be delivered on Monday, I guess?

35x12.50r17 Kanati Trail Hogs. Goodyear Duratracs with a different name...and half the price! got all 4 shipped to my door for $725. they look nice, and are identical to the Goodyears, so I guess we will see how they do.

I also ordered a set of wheels and new TPMS since these stock ones didn't have any in them. I hate that TPMS light being on all the time...

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Vors 17x8.5 in bronze...should look sharp with the silver. they're knock-offs of $3400 set of Volk wheels, but they have good reviews from folks. I guess I'll find out soon enough. the UPS guy just drove around my neighborhood tonight with them on his truck, and then left. he's down in Golden now, so I guess I'll get them tomorrow? or whenever UPS decides they want to drop them by?

anyways...gotta get them mounted, then check to see what kinds of trimming I'll need to do to make them fit. :D

J.

[goSlo]

I'd say that's coming along nicely.
I've wondered what my silver 06 would look like with a bit more aggressive tire. Now I see.

[jayson44]

yeah, they really should have come with a 1-2" lift from the factory, haha. they look like such hybrids with their small tires and low stance when they're stock. with a lift and 33s they finally start to look proportional.

sort of like how the very base-model Wranglers look with their tiny tires and steel wheels, haha. they just don't look right.

J.

[jayson44]

finally! got my wheels in today...

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just waiting on my lugs and the other 3 tires. however, eBay emailed me this morning saying that I got a refund for my tires. except they already delivered 1 of them...so...not sure what to do. I emailed the seller and asked what was going on. haven't heard anything yet.

J.

[jayson44]

so I got a full refund on those tires that didn't all get sent. so I found a different seller and bought another set. paid $80 more, but oh well. the first company still hasn't said anything, so I still have the 1 tire that they sent. I'm guessing it will cost too much for them to have me ship it back, but who knows. I'll use it as a spare if they stay silent.

on to the pics!

got the new tires and wheels mounted by Big O and picked them up today. all 4 fit easily in the back of my 4Runner. that was never the case with my TJ!

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got them home and despite the rain sprinkles, I couldn't help but see what kind of fitment issues I'll have. I knew going into it that 35s require some delicate massaging (i.e. sawzall & grinder work) to fit. the rears just need some trimming of the rear bumper plastic, it seems the fronts will require more...

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the front has about 2" more lift than the rear, so I'll definitely need to look at getting actual lift springs and longer shocks for the rear. I'm running a 1.5" spacer in the rear and that's it.

on the front I'll need to remove the side steps (already planned on doing that) and cut a chunk out of the steel around the body mount. that's a pretty common thing to do on most Yotas that go bigger than 33s. the part I'm a little bummed about is that it's rubbing the inside of the outer fender. a test turn actually pulled it out, haha. wasn't expecting that. so I'll have to take them off until I can figure out what to do with them. as far as I know, there's no such thing as an aftermarket pocket flare. kinda surprising with all the Bushwhacker stuff out there...so I'll need to figure out what to do there.

but the overall stance is looking nice!

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J.

[jayson44]

progress update:

got the steps removed and got the cutting wheels out. made quick work of the bumpers and plastic, and took out the body mount extra metal as well. cleaned it all up, beat in the remaining pinch welds and got the tires on!

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it finally is starting to look about how I want it to!

sticks out a little, but I like the stance.

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the front sits a little lower than I wanted, so I'm gonna order some actual lift struts instead of the cheap spacers.

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overall, I'm liking where it's going. the front tires still rub though, so I need to do an alignment to push them forward a bit. the JBA control arms provide extra caster so they're pushing back further than normal. I tried to do a quick home-alignment just to push them forward, but found all my bolts and bushings to be seized from rust...of course!

so I ordered new LCAs with ball joints and bushings, and new SPC cam bolts that are greasable to keep from seizing again. I have to literally cut out the old ones, but the install doesn't look too bad, really.

I REALLY want the 35s to work out, but at this point if I do the alignment and they still are rubbing, I might toss in the towel and put these tires on our JKU. then I'll just stick to 33s on the t4r.

J.

[jayson44]

new LCAs are in, and I just picked these up for a song and a dance today. I'm beyond stoked!

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I got lucky and saw his post on Craigslist just a couple hours after it went up. $650 for the whole setup...Toytec Boss coilovers, OME rear shocks and springs for 3" lift in the front and rear.

we're dropping the kids off with the in-laws next week and I'm gonna put the truck on the jack stands and just work on it little by little all week.

J.

[Jim]

Congrats on the find! Have fun doing some nice wrenching.

[RockyMtRebel]

Nice! Get that thing all built up for Canyonlands in September :)

[jayson44]

Nice! Get that thing all built up for Canyonlands in September

that's the plan! it should be done here in the next few weeks.

J.

[jayson44]

torn boots, seized bushings, mystery noises!

I spent last week with the truck on blocks and got it all done except for the rear springs! I ordered new CVs from Napa w/lifetime warranty & HD boots since one of mine was leaking/torn. I also picked up a Milwaukee sawzall since I will use it for other projects. a couple Diablo Carbide blades and some blisters on my hands was all it took to get the old LCAs out.

I also got the suspension cleaned up and put in. According to the tech I spoke with at Toytec, for every 1/2" of threads showing there is 1" of lift. granted, these are for an FJ Cruiser and not a 4runner so it might be a little different. but now that it's in, it does sit higher than my 2.5" spacer lift I had on there, and by a noticeable bit. I may have to find a set of spanner wrenches and adjust it down a little. the PO of the suspension couldn't find the wrenches that came with it, so I'll have to buy them from Toytec.

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but here's how it looks w/just the front finished.

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the rear springs/shocks will be easy to put in and I should have those done this week. the new wheels & tires will go on once I get it aligned. I did a self-alignment for now, but I will take it to a shop to do it right once I'm ready.

J.

[TyTheJeepGuy]

I feel you on the torn boots, after the 4" lift my IFS Grand Cherokee blew out a CV axle on my way to visit family. I was stuck at the AZ/NM border. I was going through the cheap CVs like crazy, bought the doubly-expensive Mopar ones and never had a problem since, including another trip to Phoenix and back. The NAPA CVs with lifetime warranty sounds great.

[jayson44]

phase 1.5 is complete! I finally got some time to get the rear springs and shocks installed. while I was back there, I removed the sway bar. the links had been seized, so I had cut them out and it was just sitting back there. I bought new links, but hadn't put them in. after driving it for the last few months and not feeling any difference, I decided to just remove it.

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and it finally is looking good in the rear. I had a guy come and get my old wheels/tires, so I finally got the 35s on there. it's thiiiiiis close to being done! I'm waiting on a pair of Toytec spanner wrenches so I can bring the front down just a bit. it's set at 4" and these 4Runners can really only handle 3" w/out killing the CVs and having vibrations. but after looking at it with the tires on, I think putting it down an inch in the front will be perfect.

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and now, both rigs are on 35s. new fenders are coming in this week for Kayla's Jeep, so the rubbing will stop and it will look better. now it's time to hit some trails!

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J.

[Jim]

Good work!

[jayson44]

finally got out on the trail to check for clearances. the rears stuff pretty well, but rub, so I gotta cut more from the rear bumper. but the fronts have no rubbing anywhere.

need to get some rear bumpstop extensions as well. at "full stuff" the stock has about 2" of space left to go.

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J.