[enginerd4ni]

Welcome to my build thread!

I have a black 2013 TE w/KDSS and Entune/Nav that I will try to slowly build over the years for an overlanding rig. I've owned two 4th gens previously (SR5-4WD and SE-4WD) but was tired of fixing previous owners' neglect and abuse so had my friend in the biz order one for me. This platform is truly exceptional.

My previous projects include nearly doubling the output of an MR2 by adding a Rotrex Supercharger (details) and hacking into the computer of my Z06 (details).

I'll update this thread as I get time to share with the community what I've learned and have been able to do to an already great vehicle. Forums are my inspiration and I appreciate all of the hard work that people do to share ideas and information. Thanks everybody on T4R!

Table of Contents:
Rigoshi Grille
Bud Built Beefy Bumpout Sliders
Bud Built Hidden Winch + Smittybilt X20 10K Comp
Bud Built Aluminum Skid Combo and Steel Diff Skid
ARB CKMA12 Compressor Install and Custom Bracket
Driver Accessible Fire Extinguisher Mounted to Husky Liner
Breather Manifold
Second Battery, Smog Pump Relocation, Air Compressor Relocation
ICON Stage 6 Suspension
Powder Coated Trail Wheels and Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx
Front Mounted Air Compressor Line
CTEK Charging System, Switch Breakout, and RTMR Fuse/Relay Setup
Custom Trail roof rack cross bars and ARB Simpson III Roof Top Tent
LED Strip Lighting for Underhood Illumination and Scoop Light
Overland Computer w/ Resistive Touch Screen
RENOGY Solar Suitcase 100W
Cobra 75 WX-ST + Firefly 4ft (coming soon)

Thanks for visiting!

Before:


Latest:

[enginerd4ni]

[dekeman]

Whoa! Nothing like starting slow. Looking forward to this!

[H&KRunner]

interesting grill + light choice. cant wait to see it

ETA who the hell is Rigoshi lol

[Ducmonsta]

Nice!

I'm going with a "rigged" satoshi grill, hence rigoshi?

[Gabex35]

Originally Posted by Ducmonsta

Nice!

I'm going with a "rigged" satoshi grill, hence rigoshi?

Haha

[enginerd4ni]

My inspiration for this is the classic Satoshi grille mixed with the Rigid Industries LED Grille which is pretty expensive and doesn't quite have the look I was desiring. I took off the bumper, made some measurements, and put it back on so I could still drive around while I then made a CAD design.

This won't be exactly a how-to but feel free to copy my design (literally, I'll tell you how to do it later) and try it. Warning- much dremel expertise is needed!

Here is the design in CAD:


It consists of a grille and two support brackets that fit Rigid D-Series Lights. The middle area supports the OEM badge.

I had it water jet cut at Big Blue Saw - Waterjet and Laser Cutting - Big Blue Saw using .08 thick 5052 Aluminum for about $200. You can use this CAD file if you want to order it yourself or you have access to a waterjet.

Before painting it, you need to drill the holes out to fit 4-40 fasteners and then bend the tabs so they are flush with the external perimeter. I bent them with a pair of channel-lock groove style pliers.

I then took it to my local Tech Shop and powder coated it with the same black powder that Bud Built uses (they sold me a 5 lb bag).



When it was time to take the bumper off again and commit to destroying the plastic grille, I was ready with a full weekend just in case.

The first thing I did was paint the A/C hi pressure line flat black with a high temp rattle can.





Now for getting to the grille:


Some major dremel surgery leaving the bottom rail and about 1/4 inch of diamond as a backing for my grille.


Now making some slots for the top tabs to fit through:

(I recommend a dremel saw bit)

Showing the tabs sliding through the top.


Once the top tabs (the ones that do not get bent) slide in, the side tabs and finally the bottom tabs (the ones that are bent) slide in to recesses in the bezel.



Then mark and drill through the plastic bezel for your mounting hardware. I used stainless steel screws and locknuts.



You might need to sand down the radii near the top left and right corners to get a snug fit. If you do this after painting, use black nail polish to seal it back up.

Put everything back together:


Install the light brackets carefully paying attention to which screws get installed first and when to tighten down the Rigid mounting brackets. My only gripe with this entire design is that the brackets don't let the lights rotate down as much as I would like. Nevertheless, they point pretty much straight forward and after testing at night, they look great.



Now put some double sided tape on the back of the emblem. I used extreme outdoor 3M stuff from Home Depot since I couldn't find my VHB.


And finally:

[1engineer]

Nice. Well thought out grille!

[Lost27]

@enginerd4ni tell me more about that Spyder I'm curious as to how you got it to pass emissions in ATX with the PowerFC. It's the one thing keeping me from boosting my 2zz swapped spyder as i have to swap out ECUs so that it'll pass the ODBII testing.

Pretty sweet build so far and good to see another TE in town. I think I've seen a handful floating around.

[enginerd4ni]

Originally Posted by Lost27

@enginerd4ni tell me more about that Spyder I'm curious as to how you got it to pass emissions in ATX with the PowerFC. It's the one thing keeping me from boosting my 2zz swapped spyder as i have to swap out ECUs so that it'll pass the ODBII testing.

Pretty sweet build so far and good to see another TE in town. I think I've seen a handful floating around.

Yeah, that was the painful part. I had to swap back the ECU, fuel injectors, belt, etc. every year and then swap it back. The only way to do it and keep the OEM ECU with OBD is to use a piggyback but those setups are very limited in how much you can modify the pulses. Can't actually change the MAP. I bet your 2ZZ swap is pretty sweet though. Any pictures/links? I miss the MRS (pun intended), lots of fun, especially in the corners.

Are there a bunch of T4R members in the Austin area?

[Lost27]

Originally Posted by enginerd4ni

Yeah, that was the painful part. I had to swap back the ECU, fuel injectors, belt, etc. every year and then swap it back. The only way to do it and keep the OEM ECU with OBD is to use a piggyback but those setups are very limited in how much you can modify the pulses. Can't actually change the MAP. I bet your 2ZZ swap is pretty sweet though. Any pictures/links? I miss the MRS (pun intended), lots of fun, especially in the corners.

Are there a bunch of T4R members in the Austin area?

Thats what I was afraid of.

My 2zz tuned is putting down 194 to the ground now and is still fun although I've been driving the TE much more lately.

I think there are a couple of T4R members in Austin but I haven't met any of them.

[fattire]

I'm in the ATX and guess from your username you're over at NI. I was there for almost 12 years :-).

[Marlexop]

Loving that grill! When I saw the rigid grill for fj and t4r I said to myself that fj grill would look sick on the 4runner with old skool toyota badge! Again looks awesome

[enginerd4ni]

Drilling out the holes before bending the tabs


Using pliers to bend the tabs instead of a proper press brake.


Make the outside surface of the tab flush with the curvature of the profile. Don't bend the tabs on the top edge though!


Test fitting the light brackets


I bent the light brackets on a press brake but you can use a vice, block, hammer, duct tape, etc. if you don't have access to one. ymmv. Just aim to make the distance between the inside bracket surfaces just big enough to clear the tabs from the grille. The bracket fits around, not inside, the tabs.


It is a tight fit with the D2 lights so choose your fasteners carefully. Flatheads are a good choice but if you do that, try to put the countersink in before you bend the tabs.

[Alex T4R]

Welcome, this is the cleanest grill I have seen so far.