JPeaslee's T4R3

[jpeaslee]

I've had my Runner for a little over a year, figured I ought to starte a thread here. After selling my 05 Element with 134k that i've had for 1 month shy of 10 years in March of 2010, I snagged a new to me 4runner. It's an 02 SportEdition 4wd, 234k, previously owned by a gulfstream mechanic's son. It was in better shape than my E, so while it's a little older and higher mileage, in my eyes it's an upgrade. The toaster was a great vehicle, but I was really wanting/needing a real suv, not a compact mini van. I didn't manage to take any pics before I plastered a few stickers on, but I did get a one before I started tinkering with anything else.

It's already had the timing belt replaced within the last 10k, so I'm good there. It was 1k overdue for an oil change so I knocked that out of the way. I've been getting a CEL 0442 that comes on every couple days after resetting it. Already replaced the gas cap. Not positive, but it looked like maybe it's the charcoal canister.

The other thing that it was in dire need of was tires. I can't stand the wheels on the SE, so I figured I'd do that in one fell swoop. Managed to get them on this afternoon. I went with Level 8 Mk6 +0 offset with General at2 265/75/16's. They did scrub a lot turning around in the driveway. After trimming the liner a little bit and hammering out the pinch welds, normal scrubbing disappeared. It still does when turning and hitting a big bump,dip, etc.

Here's how it sits as of 8/14/2016

Powertrain
Bone Stock 3.4L V6
Auto Trans
B&M Trans Cooler
4.10 Gears
Multimode Transfer Case
Toytec Diff Drop


Lighting
Morimoto D2s Projector Retrofit w/ Mormoto xb35 ballasts, 5.5k bulbs & Switchback Halos
Eyourlife 20" light bar


Handling
Front:Icon 2.5VS Coilovers 700lb coils
Rear: LC 7.5/7.75 Wrap Coils & Tokico Green Shocks
Level 8 Mk6 16x8 +0 Offset (4.5" Backspacing) Gunmetal Wheels
285/75r16 Goodyear Duratrac E Load Tires
Tundra Brake Upgrade (OEM pads, Rotors, & rebuild kit) w/ G2 Caliper paint
Wheelers Offroad extended rear brake lines
Toytec diff drop
Sonoran Steel adjustable panhard bar
<strike>17" Sequoia/Tundra Split 5 Spokes
265/75r16 General Grabbers E Load Tires
255/75r17 BFGoodrich KM(1) C Load Tires</strike>

Armor & Recovery
Addicted Offroad Plate Bumper
Harbor Freight 12k Winch
Stubbs Welding SKO Sliders (not yet installed)


Electronics
Optima yellow top
FH-P8000BT Receiver
Scangauge II
Waiting to install:
National Luna Dual battery system
2nd Battery Optima Blue Top
Elemental Designs e9.65i components & sub,
Massive Audio Nx5 amp

Mods
Extended Rear Diff Breather
VSC on/off switch

 

[jpeaslee]

I swapped out the dash lights to LEDs, there was some definite hot spots and one of them didn't work all together. A year later and I still haven't fixed this. At the same time I also I knocked out a bit of maintenance. Since the day after I got it, the runner had been throwing a CEL 0442 code (but none of the other 044X codes). I replaced the gas cap, but it has eventually gone from throwing a code every 1.5-2 days to every .5-1 day. I took a chance and just ordered a OEM charcoal canister off ebay for $330. Got it swapped out saturday and haven't thrown a code since *knocks on wood*. Hopefully that has it fixed. I also went ahead and swapped out the air filter, PCV valve, PCV grommet, spark plugs, and spark plug wires in addition to adding a ScanGauge II as Autozone was running a 35% off all purchases on their app.

 

[jpeaslee]

In October I did a bit of "refreshing" on the front end of what had begun getting called the "Tree Runner" after a trip into the swamp. Since my previous post I had done:
-Billy Tundra 5100s w/ TRD front coils and Rear OME 906s for a 2 inch lift
-Painted fender flares with bedliner and painted the rockers with the same
-Installed a midland CB w/ Firestik and OL antenna mount
-And today, Installed my Addicted Offroad front bumper which became necessary after the "Tree Runner Incident"

I still had o paint the bumper and crossmember. As soon as I get my stubbs sliders I'll have them run a stitch weld on the cross member (per Scott @ AO's recommendation). A Harbor Freight/Badland 12k winch was waiting to get mounted to the AO bumper.

 

[jpeaslee]

In December of 2015 I also moved about 8 hours up to north Alabama (between Florence/Muscle Shoals and Huntsville), so that's occupied a bit of time. With the new job, I'm driving a company car, so the runner is now seeing just a little bit of miles on the weekend.

I painted the AOR bumper with rattle can bedliner to match the fenders. For anyone considering spray on bedliner, I think if I did it all over again I'd just go with a satin black (or dark grey). The bedliner tends to get bugs stuck on it that don't really wanna come off. I did rattle can so when I scratch some off (which I WILL do), I can just touch it up.

I also added a 20 Eyourlife 20" lightbar on the bumper. I picked this one mostly as it would bolt right up to the bumper without brackets, was cheap (if it sucked I was only out $50), and I could move it was small enough I could move somewhere else if I wanted (killer reverse lights anyone?) Flood performance is great for the money. I was a little disappointed in the spot performance. My factory highs threw more light than the bar, but that's probably having unreasonable expectations out of a Chinese bar. I was planning on adding a 40&#8221; bar across the windshield, but after seeing [MENTION=116387]Unner[/MENTION] results, I think I'm going to go with some VisionX or MRT Luxmasters if they are in stock at TotalAutomotivePerformance when I pull the trigger.

I did a satoshish grill. Tip to anyone doing this, just mount the bastard with zip ties, don't fool with the stupid factory plastic clips.

 

[jpeaslee]

In January, I finally got around to starting my retrofit that I got over black friday from The Retrofit Source.

Output looks a little weak though?

Oh, wait, this is a HID retrofit, not a Duracell retrofit...

Just waiting for the paint to cure to seal everything back up. Still have to wire up the ballasts, but I just need a little bit of daylight to finish that up. Still have to order and paint some new corners too.

 

[jpeaslee]

Here's what's inside the lights:
TYC Headlights & Housing (JB Welded the adjustment screw to the nut)
Morimoto Mini D2s 3.0 Projetors
Morimoto XSB Swtichback Halos
Morimoto 5k D2S Bulbs
Morimoto XBThirtyFive Ballasts & Ignitors
Apollo 3 Shrouds
DupliColor High Performance Wheel Coating - Satin Black

 

[jpeaslee]

I thought I'd take advantage of getting off work a little early today and give the runner a quick bath and ended up snagging a few pics as well.

Since my last post, I changed out the fluid in both diffs and the transfer case. Rear diff looked like it probably was changed not too long ago. The transfer case looked like it was ready to be changed. The front diff looked like damn chocolate milk. Everything is running nice and smooth though. I swear I'm getting 1-2 mpg better, but I doubt that's the real reason. I don't know if there's a big difference in "Winter" and summer fuel here or not. On a side note, gear oil smells like cat piss.

I also did the Tundra Brake Upgrade, along with some decals courtesy of Speedy on T4R.org

HUGE improvement. Granted, I was ready for some rotors and pads anyway, and the truck was pretty close to ready for some when I bought it. But it's a huge upgrade.

I've been exploring some of the local WMAs and random roads around here. Being on the Tennessee river, there are quite a few places with a great view.

I went up to Jackson, TN to snag a set of 5 255/75/17 BFG Mud Terrain KM(1) with less than 300 miles. $425 for the set. I was really wanting to run 255/80s, but being able to snag these for this price, and having the ability to snag a few as a spare and a set for my m416 that I'm working on building just made sense. Painted some sequoia wheels to mount the BFG rubber on.

Heading down to Stoney Lonesome sunday with my cousin, so we'll see how they compare to the Grabber AT2s.

 

[jpeaslee]

I went down to Stoney Lonesome down in Cullman Co., AL in May for a day trip with my cousin. For the morning half, he rode his Honda CRF250 and scouted ahead of me a little bit. At that point we were sticking to the main trail and those marked &#8220;easiest&#8221;. Some of them were impassible just due to being completely rutted out. Apparently they don't do much to repair trails as they get ridden, turn into ruts that suddenly drop 5 feet without a way around. It would have been extremely frustrating if I didn't have him on that leg of the trip. After lunch, he joined me IN the 4runner and helped marshal on the more technical &#8220;Advanced&#8221; trails we took in the afternoon. A few times, we found ourselves accidentally in the &#8220;Extreme&#8221; trails. I am absolutely blown away with the capability of my rig, which really isn't all that far from stock. I was also pretty amazed at how well the Grabbers did. The only time where I felt like I missed some traction was in a straight up mud pit/pond. Everything else I had all the traction I needed

I did wind up a little over my head (almost literally) on one of the trails. It was a STEEP downhill (I couldn't really capture it in the pics) with some big rock ledges that I had to cross at a bit of an angle. The rocks had some of that real fine moon sand (as I call it at least) that was extremely slippery/unpredictable. My cousin and I actually used a trick that we learned at expo, wrapping a tow strap around the B pillar, and then using a couple trees as an anchor, to keep it from rolling over.

We traced our trails, and I'm happy to share the GPX file if anyone is interested in it. It'll be very useful for future ventures there.

NOTE: I got Rocky Mountain Spotted fever from a damn tick on this trip. Didn't get symptoms or diagnosed until 3 months later. Somehow I'm one of the few that got such a late diagnosis and treatment that seems to have come out without being any worse for wear. Check yourself for ticks ANYTIME you've been out in the woods or outdoors. Stuff is scary. I felt like I was dying.

Here's a few pics from the day:

 

[jpeaslee]

As I mentioned previously, I mounted up some 255/75r17 BFG KMs (true 32") on some Sequoia 17" split 5s. They rode remarkably quiet (quieter than my Grabber AT2s even), but ended up selling them and my Grabbers on Level 8s to a guy on craigslist who turned out just lived a mile down the road (weird since we live an hour outside of Huntsville where the ad was posted). On my ride, I just didn't love the stance. For a DD the Grabbers were a little grippier on pavement and in the rain. I think they look a lot better on a rig with a stock bumper.

I ended up going back with the exact same Level 8 Mk6 16x8 0 Offset wrapped with 285/75r16 Goodyear Duratracs (33.1"). No doubt I took a hit on my performance (4.10 gears) and about a 2mpg hit on the highway. With my TRD/5100 lift on the front (1st perch) I was getting a lot of rubbing if I turn and brake or turn and reverse.

All this leads to what will probably be my final suspension setup until it gets turned into a designated trail rig and maybe SAS'ed
1. Icon 2.5 Coilovers w/ 700lb springs
2. LBJs
3. OTREs
4. Toytec Diff Drop Kit
5. LC 7.5/7.75 Wraps
6. Tokico Black shocks
7. Sonoran Steel Adjustable Panhard
8. Rack bushings (if I have time)

I also finally got my M416 towed up here (it's completely disassembled). I need to get the tub cleaned up and painted. I'm picking up a compressor tomorrow so I can start working on the derustification in the evenings after work. I'm pretty excited as 33s, a full 3-4" lift, and sliders are something that I've been wanting since I got my rig (though it's only been a little over a year that I've had it...)

 

[jpeaslee]

So I got my 7.5/7.75 wraps & Tokico Greens installed, followed by bumping the perch on my bilsteins/TRD to the third perch as well as a SS adjustable panhard, wheelers Offroad extended rear brake lines, and Toytec Diff Drop. My Icon Coilovers w/ 700lb springs ended up coming earlier than expected (though there was a huge mixup with FedEx... FedEx SUCKS, [MENTION=120150]TotalAutomotiveLV[/MENTION] & Icon Vehicle Dynamics are both awesome).

I got the Icons installed and then after letting everything settle, I cranked down the coilovers going from having 1/2" of thread showing above the adjustment ring to having 1.25" (max of 1.5" according to Icon). The results are pretty fantastic.

I found out that there are some nice little power line trails behind my aunt and uncles house, so a couple of my cousins and I went for a little test run to test out the icons and see where the limitations were on one of my cousin's Durango (AWD, V6, 3" spacer lift, Duck Commander 265/32" ATs). I'm in the middle of fixing my halos on my projectors, so my grill isn't on, nothing more significant.


I think I'm finally at a point where I'm very happy with how it is functionally.

Mostly small things from here forward.
-Need to get my sliders welded on
-New skids. I'm not sure that I'm going to worry with a gas tank skid for what I'm doing
-Finish my stereo/2nd battery install
-Roof rack

-Finish my trailer build

All of this just got put on a bit of a hold though, as I just had to sink 3 grand into my house back in GA in order to get it rented out. Gotta spend money to make money, but it hurts having it all come out at once unexpectedly.

 

[jpeaslee]

So at this point I've had the Icons and LC rear setup for a couple months. I'm very happy with the setup. With the front swaybar removed, it's definitely not as planted as it was before but still very driveable. If I had to DD it, I'd probably put it back on, but I'd be on the fence a little about it.

Went up to Offroad Jamboree outside of Chattanooga last weekend. It was definitely a bit different than Expo East last year, but I expected it to be a different crowd. My 4runner felt tiny, haha. It was also a Heep festival. There was a small group there from a Tacoma Club, a lone 4th gen 4runner, and a 80 series Cruiser. Pretty much everything else was a Jeep or Buggy/bouncer. There are some great trails at Adventure Offroad, I'll look forward to going back. Hawk Pride is next on the list. Most of the rides I went on were group rides, so not too much time for pic taking, but here are a few from the weekend: