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6/9/19: Got Yoshi back from Ernest with an expensive bill because he took care of a lot of stuff. Mostly, preventative 170,000 mile, "well, while we're there we might as well..." sort of stuff: Valve Cover Gaskets - OEM Spark Plugs, Wires, and Tube Seals, Coil On Plug Boots - Denso, Denso...

PartSouq, they didnt have all of them but I ordered 3 different ones and Zuk made the others work by reusing my existing shims ans using toyota shims that fit when needed.

Love it, looks like new!

So to sum everything up with the gear work - Zuk at Gear Installs LLC has a legendary status in the Toyota world and is known as the go-to-guy for gear work. And now, I can totally see why and certainly share those sentiments. The man is a differential savant and even though he is technically...

5/12/19: Onto the much simpler front diff 4.90 install: "First paint using 070 pinion shim and you can see that although the drive and the coast look okay, you can see that the Comet Tail on the pinion tooth is hugging the root inside the tooth real hard so I can add 003 or 004 to the pinion...

5/10/19 cont'd: The front diff's driver side seal was seeping but rather than just replace that one, I took this opportunity to replace all the oil seals in both diffs with new OEM parts just for good measure. I kept the bearings the same, not because it wouldn't have been best to replace...

5/10/19: Onward! Let's rejoin the diff work over at Gear Installs LLC. Zuk started with the rear diff and began sending me live texts and photos of his progress. Inspecting/Measuring the existing 4.30 Gears: He found that they were in excellent shape, not that it really matters since...

4/14/19: Here's another quick and easy mod I did a few months ago. For some reason, later years of the Gen3 got a different computer screen than earlier years. I'm not sure if the change happened in 2004 or 2005 but I do know that 2001-2003 screen were full color with a nice bright red compass...

A JK made it to 200k miles!?

Yep, I think the factory plastic rack is only rated for 150lbs. Mitsu doesn't say if that is static or dynamic but I'd bet it's dynamic because I've seen guys mount hilifts and roof top tents up there without issue. If you've got the factory rack off and want to upgrade to something slick...

1/28/19: Let's take a break from the diff work for a second and go back in time because I forgot to mention this handy mod. I noticed that this Montero had a much dustier and natural type of smell to the air that blew through the vents than my 2003. On one trip I swear that I could taste the...

That makes sense because the Montero uses a different kind of MAF than most other cars. It is a Karman Vortex MAF and should never ever be cleaned with traditional MAF cleaners or the risk of damaging it is very high. It really never needs a cleaning since it operates completely differently but...

Ahhh yes, the Hilux; that was a real Toasty Special. AKA spending a ton of time and money building something amazing and then sell it right after finishing it. I'm not complaining though, as you know, that's how I got Black Betty :-)

I think that is definitely the case!

Low mileage one just popped up today: https://phoenix.craigslist.org/wvl/cto/d/peoria-2003-mitsubishi-montero-limited/6904338200.html

This is a much more toned down version of Toasty vs 3 years ago when he had the GX which was "this thing is so weak", "the CVs are tiny and the Toyota dudes think it's normally to spend thousands to make them stronger", "it can't hang with the Monteros, I need to buy a Gen3".

Great post tj90, my best friend has a 2015 SR5 4Runner and we've wheeled it a lot together. I share many of your opinions. Things that stand out to me on the 5th Gen 4Runner: lots of cheap plastic, poor visibility, small interior, traction control not as good, better reliability because it's...

Well if you made it this far you're probably wondering what I went with? And the winner was...............................................Option 6 - Harrop E-Locker Here's why: 1. Reliability is the name of the game here since I'll often be alone, far away from civilization, and with my...

Rear Traction Device - Which to choose? As you probably have figured out by now, my analytical personality caused me to study every option for months in as much depth as possible. When my daughter was around 3-6 months old, she would only contact sleep. So I had literally hundreds of hours of...

There is not a consensus around here that a 4runner is more capable. 4Runners are good, Monteros are good. Both would be good overlanders. Gen3 Montero Pros: Size - There's no way I'd want anything smaller than a Montero when traveling with 2 or more people. Suspension - IRS is better for...