Sequoia Gen 1: 2001-2004 vs 2005-2007 for Overlanding

[Carl7309]

Hi again. I had previously asked about the pros and cons of Gen 1 and Gen 2 Sequoias for overlanding. I'm now leaning toward the Gen 1; it seems to be a more popular choice for this use, and there are more of them on the market (and at about half the price). As for which Gen 1, I'd like your input on the earlier years (2001-2004) vs the 2005-2007 models. Wikipedia sums up the differences this way:

"For the 2005 model year, the Sequoia received a minor facelift. A new engine equipped with VVT-i was new for 2005, as well as a 5-speed automatic transmission, replacing the previous 4-speed. 4 wheel drive models got a Torsen center differential, replacing the previous open differential, that splits power in full-time mode 40% front and 60% rear under normal driving, and can send up to 53% to the front and 71% to the rear during slip."

So, VVT-i + 5-speed + Torsen, or standard 4.7L + 4-speed + open diff? Any real dealbreakers there? Again, I'll never be towing anything, and I won't be doing any hardcore off-road stuff like boulder climbing...I just drive a lot of narrow, rocky and sandy two-tracks getting to remote campsites on federal lands. Please let me know if you have any strong opinions on 2001-2004 vs 2005-2007, or if there are any specific mechanical issues that often pop up on the earlier models. I know frame rust is an issue on all of these, and I'll only buy something with a good frame. Thanks!

 

[smokeysevin]

If you have the a750 5 speed, you can swap to FJ cruiser transfer cases if you decide the stock one isn't to your liking.

The early, 00-02 models have smaller lower ball joints and spindles when compared to the later model ones.

The VVTi engine is probably worth it but you may have to deal with the secondary air injection system under the intake manifold. From what I have seen, the delete kit has been discontinued.

The non-VVTi motors don't have that but also are down ~40hp vs the later model ones.

Sean

 

[plainjaneFJC]

Were all years of gen1 a solid rear axle? I know on the LC’s the non vvt engine is more sought after for reliability but it could be had with the 5 speed doesn’t sound like the case here

 

[smokeysevin]

Were all years of gen1 a solid rear axle? I know on the LC’s the non vvt engine is more sought after for reliability but it could be had with the 5 speed doesn’t sound like the case here

All were solid axle. As far as I know, all the non-vvt motors are a340 4 speeds.

 

[TLar25]

All were solid axle. As far as I know, all the non-vvt motors are a340 4 speeds.

Other than the 4th Gen 4runner with the V8 and GX470. All years of those have the 5 speed, including the 03-04 non-vvti motors.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[K9LTW]

Get the '05+ and replace the ball joints with OEM as soon as practicable unless you're very, very sure they've been taken care of with quality parts. Also the timing belt if there aren't any records.

Everything that smokeysevin said is true, EXCEPT the bypass kits are still very much around.

Search By Vehicle: Product Results | Hewitt Technologies

Find compatible Secondary Air Injection Bypass Kits and Kit Addons for your Toyota or Lexus Truck and SUV.

hewitt-tech.com

I used their plug and play Gen 1 (mine was still functional) and never had to worry about it, again.

There's also the center diff lock differences. Don't quote me on this as it's been a few years and I had an '05 so didn't care. But the earliest models ('01 & '02 for sure) would only lock the center diff in 4Lo AND locked in Lo (1st gear). The later models you could lock it in 4Hi or Lo and all gears.

Also the '05+ had bigger brakes from the factory. They still suck, however. A lot of folks (including me) did the GX460 brake upgrade. That requires exact machining of the brake caliper mounting tabs, however, so you'll need to be sure to find someone in the community that does that. Scour the forums if that's something you want done. I can't remember for the life of me who did mine, or whether they still do it.

They're old, heavy, slow, and get terrible fuel economy. But, man, that was a great adventure vehicle!

 

[Carl7309]

If you have the a750 5 speed, you can swap to FJ cruiser transfer cases if you decide the stock one isn't to your liking.

The early, 00-02 models have smaller lower ball joints and spindles when compared to the later model ones.

The VVTi engine is probably worth it but you may have to deal with the secondary air injection system under the intake manifold. From what I have seen, the delete kit has been discontinued.

The non-VVTi motors don't have that but also are down ~40hp vs the later model ones.

Sean

Great to know. Thank you!

 

[Carl7309]

Get the '05+ and replace the ball joints with OEM as soon as practicable unless you're very, very sure they've been taken care of with quality parts. Also the timing belt if there aren't any records.

Everything that smokeysevin said is true, EXCEPT the bypass kits are still very much around.

Search By Vehicle: Product Results | Hewitt Technologies

Find compatible Secondary Air Injection Bypass Kits and Kit Addons for your Toyota or Lexus Truck and SUV.

hewitt-tech.com

I used their plug and play Gen 1 (mine was still functional) and never had to worry about it, again.

There's also the center diff lock differences. Don't quote me on this as it's been a few years and I had an '05 so didn't care. But the earliest models ('01 & '02 for sure) would only lock the center diff in 4Lo AND locked in Lo (1st gear). The later models you could lock it in 4Hi or Lo and all gears.

Also the '05+ had bigger brakes from the factory. They still suck, however. A lot of folks (including me) did the GX460 brake upgrade. That requires exact machining of the brake caliper mounting tabs, however, so you'll need to be sure to find someone in the community that does that. Scour the forums if that's something you want done. I can't remember for the life of me who did mine, or whether they still do it.

They're old, heavy, slow, and get terrible fuel economy. But, man, that was a great adventure vehicle!

View attachment 843236

Great view! And thank you for all the helpful info.

 

[zelseman]

All of the above info is great, this chassis is underrated in this space. There is so much space for activities!

 

[Carl7309]

All of the above info is great, this chassis is underrated in this space. There is so much space for activities!

Sweet. Thank you!

 

[SoCalMonty]

Sweet. Thank you!

Absolutely go for the later Gen1 (05-07) if you can find a good one. 2 of the reasons were covered above, but 1 of the best reasons wasn't mentioned!

1) 280hp vs 240hp. If you're ever in a situation where you have to put the hammer down, that extra 40hp is absolutely noticeable.
2) 5spd trans vs 4spd trans.
3) 05-07 have a Torsen limited slip center diff; earlier models are open center diff. This means that you will have better traction in slippery situations when in 4Hi with the 05-07, without having to lock the center diff (05-07 also has the button on the dash to lock the center).

As for the rest...you'll want to make sure you replace the timing belt and lower ball joints if you don't have a reliable record of them having been done recently. Many Toyota people *swear* by the OEM ball joints; I am not one of them, and I believe that as long as you aren't buying bargain-basement parts and you do your research, there are decent aftermarket ones available. The OE parts were updated, however, it was the OE ball joints that failed in the first place, due to a crappy design. I have the Mevotech TTX and they're fine. I consider them as strong as, if not stronger than, OE.

The biggest drawbacks to the Sequoias, IMHO:
1) The driveline isn't as robust as I'm used to. But, for overlanding and mild off-roading, it isn't an issue. If you plan to wheel hard, this isn't the best platform - unless you're replacing everything with aftermarket/custom parts anyway.
2) If you live in an area where they salt the roads in winter, make sure you check the frame. They are *very* prone to rust. You'll know it when it's bad; there will be significant scaling and there will likely be rust holes. Surface rust is not an issue so I wouldn't worry about that.
3) You will need a solid 3" of lift in order to reliably clear 33" tires and allow full suspension travel/steering travel. I went with one of the more affordable options, which cost me about $2400 (OME shocks, ARB front springs, Dobinsons rear springs, SPC upper control arms and adjustable UBJs). There are spacer lifts available, but the ride is somewhat compromised with them.

Other than that - these are reliable, fairly rugged trucks that are well-suited to overland style driving/camping. They offer a lot of interior space, which is one of the main reasons people get them. We have a full-sized 10" memory foam bed in the back, and still have about 17" at the end of the bed to put our fridge and other gear.

Good luck!

 

[Carl7309]

Absolutely go for the later Gen1 (05-07) if you can find a good one. 2 of the reasons were covered above, but 1 of the best reasons wasn't mentioned!

1) 280hp vs 240hp. If you're ever in a situation where you have to put the hammer down, that extra 40hp is absolutely noticeable.
2) 5spd trans vs 4spd trans.
3) 05-07 have a Torsen limited slip center diff; earlier models are open center diff. This means that you will have better traction in slippery situations when in 4Hi with the 05-07, without having to lock the center diff (05-07 also has the button on the dash to lock the center).

As for the rest...you'll want to make sure you replace the timing belt and lower ball joints if you don't have a reliable record of them having been done recently. Many Toyota people *swear* by the OEM ball joints; I am not one of them, and I believe that as long as you aren't buying bargain-basement parts and you do your research, there are decent aftermarket ones available. The OE parts were updated, however, it was the OE ball joints that failed in the first place, due to a crappy design. I have the Mevotech TTX and they're fine. I consider them as strong as, if not stronger than, OE.

The biggest drawbacks to the Sequoias, IMHO:
1) The driveline isn't as robust as I'm used to. But, for overlanding and mild off-roading, it isn't an issue. If you plan to wheel hard, this isn't the best platform - unless you're replacing everything with aftermarket/custom parts anyway.
2) If you live in an area where they salt the roads in winter, make sure you check the frame. They are *very* prone to rust. You'll know it when it's bad; there will be significant scaling and there will likely be rust holes. Surface rust is not an issue so I wouldn't worry about that.
3) You will need a solid 3" of lift in order to reliably clear 33" tires and allow full suspension travel/steering travel. I went with one of the more affordable options, which cost me about $2400 (OME shocks, ARB front springs, Dobinsons rear springs, SPC upper control arms and adjustable UBJs). There are spacer lifts available, but the ride is somewhat compromised with them.

Other than that - these are reliable, fairly rugged trucks that are well-suited to overland style driving/camping. They offer a lot of interior space, which is one of the main reasons people get them. We have a full-sized 10" memory foam bed in the back, and still have about 17" at the end of the bed to put our fridge and other gear.

Good luck!

That's a fantastic analysis. Thanks very much for all the information! I've actually been looking a vehicles for sale farther south, hoping to avoid the rust problem. We'll see what I can find that looks good.

 

[drabina]

Here is my 2 cents regarding the 1st gen. I owned 2003 with the 4.7 and 4 speed automatic. Looking at my fuel logs, I averaged 14.5 mpg of mixed driving. That was pretty much the biggest drawback of owning such a large car with a V8 engine. Asides from that, it was a beast. Started every time, drove nice on a highway and even better off-road. I had the suspension done (Bilsteins, springs) with AT tires. Never got stuck or needed to be pulled out though I wasn't rock crawling with the car neither. Space-wise, the inside couldn't be beat. I built a drawer system and could still fit tons of gear inside with my passengers retaining all the room they needed. Now I really need to plan how to pack my Outback. In the Sequoia I could just drop stuff in the back without me thinking.

Definitely look for rust. The frame on the one I bought was replaced but all the other parts had ton of rust (bolts, nuts, control arms, etc). Fighting with rust when replacing suspension is not fun. Ball-joints - yes, replace even if they were replaced under a recall. It was probably years ago. Timing belt - need to do that too if not done within last 50K miles or 6 years. Don't skip on parts for those. I got OEM.

Can't tell if there is much difference between mine and the later gen 1 (05-07) but I never felt like I needed any extra HP. Remember that this is huge and heavy car so any Hyundai with a turbo engine will be faster.

Parts are fairly inexpensive and easy to get. Starter is one of the trouble items as you need to take the upper intake off the engine to replace it. The 4WD system can be quirky if the solenoids are rusted and can't properly set certain modes. On mine I could switch to 4WD but switching back to 2WD took few tries or a couple of hours.

Overall, I would definitely recommend Sequoia if you can find a clean example with no rust. You can see plenty of them with almost 300K miles so getting one with like 180K miles wouldn't be a bad thing if maintained properly.

 

[Carl7309]

Here is my 2 cents regarding the 1st gen. I owned 2003 with the 4.7 and 4 speed automatic. Looking at my fuel logs, I averaged 14.5 mpg of mixed driving. That was pretty much the biggest drawback of owning such a large car with a V8 engine. Asides from that, it was a beast. Started every time, drove nice on a highway and even better off-road. I had the suspension done (Bilsteins, springs) with AT tires. Never got stuck or needed to be pulled out though I wasn't rock crawling with the car neither. Space-wise, the inside couldn't be beat. I built a drawer system and could still fit tons of gear inside with my passengers retaining all the room they needed. Now I really need to plan how to pack my Outback. In the Sequoia I could just drop stuff in the back without me thinking.

Definitely look for rust. The frame on the one I bought was replaced but all the other parts had ton of rust (bolts, nuts, control arms, etc). Fighting with rust when replacing suspension is not fun. Ball-joints - yes, replace even if they were replaced under a recall. It was probably years ago. Timing belt - need to do that too if not done within last 50K miles or 6 years. Don't skip on parts for those. I got OEM.

Can't tell if there is much difference between mine and the later gen 1 (05-07) but I never felt like I needed any extra HP. Remember that this is huge and heavy car so any Hyundai with a turbo engine will be faster.

Parts are fairly inexpensive and easy to get. Starter is one of the trouble items as you need to take the upper intake off the engine to replace it. The 4WD system can be quirky if the solenoids are rusted and can't properly set certain modes. On mine I could switch to 4WD but switching back to 2WD took few tries or a couple of hours.

Overall, I would definitely recommend Sequoia if you can find a clean example with no rust. You can see plenty of them with almost 300K miles so getting one with like 180K miles wouldn't be a bad thing if maintained properly.

Excellent info to have. Thanks for sharing this!