Gimli's Surprisingly Light Overlanding Build

rdruss said:

JB Weld seems to be pretty tough stuff! A couple of years ago I JB welded a front sway bar stud into crossmember and it is still holding.

Click to expand...

For compressive force, JBWeld can't be beat. Torsional forces also tend to be pretty good. The main thing it can have problems with is tension. Forces in tension can pull it apart.

That said, the level of adhesion it shows to metal is nothing short of miraculous.

gimlithepirate said:

For compressive force, JBWeld can't be beat. Torsional forces also tend to be pretty good. The main thing it can have problems with is tension. Forces in tension can pull it apart.

That said, the level of adhesion it shows to metal is nothing short of miraculous.

Click to expand...

The stud I mentioned has been in tension since install; nylok nut torqued to about 30lb-ft holding down one side of front sway bar bushing bracket.

rdruss said:

The stud I mentioned has been in tension since install; nylok nut torqued to about 30lb-ft holding down one side of front sway bar bushing bracket.

Click to expand...

Dang. That's amazing xD.

great build

Power Steering Pump and Alternator

Whelp, the other day my alternator light came on. Alternator was bad, and on further investigation, it's because the PS pump was soaking it in fluid -_- d'oh.

Ordered a low mileage OEM PS Pump, and a 200 Amp HO alternator. Decided while I was at it to replace all the low pressure lines in the PS system. I'll save the high pressure lines for the steering rack if it ever dies.

PS pump and alternator won't too difficult. I was able to get them in and out through the wheel well. The post on the alternator required going from the Toyota mm size ring terminal to a 3/8 from autozone, but that was easy.

Unfortunately, the pump lines were a mess. Next time, I'm getting the actual special lines. I used 3/8 fuel lines, but they were impossible to get on the hose barbs. I could just barely get them on enough for the hose clamp to work. Knock on wood, it seems to be holding. I probably spent as long on the 2 lengths of low pressure hose as the rest of the project. That said, the hoses had to get replaced. The old ones were so hard I had to cut them off.

At the moment, its running, and there are drips from all the excess fluid spills. We will see if the drips stop or if they continue to stay. Then hopefully I can get her off road again!

gimlithepirate said:

Whelp, the other day my alternator light came on. Alternator was bad, and on further investigation, it's because the PS pump was soaking it in fluid -_- d'oh.

Ordered a low mileage OEM PS Pump, and a 200 Amp HO alternator. Decided while I was at it to replace all the low pressure lines in the PS system. I'll save the high pressure lines for the steering rack if it ever dies.

PS pump and alternator won't too difficult. I was able to get them in and out through the wheel well. The post on the alternator required going from the Toyota mm size ring terminal to a 3/8 from autozone, but that was easy.

Unfortunately, the pump lines were a mess. Next time, I'm getting the actual special lines. I used 3/8 fuel lines, but they were impossible to get on the hose barbs. I could just barely get them on enough for the hose clamp to work. Knock on wood, it seems to be holding. I probably spent as long on the 2 lengths of low pressure hose as the rest of the project. That said, the hoses had to get replaced. The old ones were so hard I had to cut them off.

At the moment, its running, and there are drips from all the excess fluid spills. We will see if the drips stop or if they continue to stay. Then hopefully I can get her off road again!

Click to expand...

I had the same problem with my PS hoses. All the OEM soft lines were rock hard, including the big, main feed line from the reservoir to the pump. Had to cut them off to replace. I used 3/8 line and yes, they are a very tight fit. The only one that I had any real issue with was the return line on the reservoir. I found I was able to get it on far enough if I applied a very small amount of grease, I think I used dielectric or Super Lube. Just enough to allow the line to slide a little easier. With a clamp on there, it hasn't moved since install last year.

The issue with using factory soft return lines is that you can't get JUST the soft lines. They all include the hard lines and are ridiculously expensive. Not worth it to me when all my hard lines were in perfect shape.

Where did you get the HO alternator from?

Hmm dielectric grease is a good thought. If I have any leaking, I might do that.

Agree on the OEM hose situation, it's why I didn't go that route initially. That said, with how hard it is to get the hose on and off, I think it may be OK...

There is a BNR parts shop on eBay that sells US made ones for around 200$. They have both a 200 and 240 amp version. I went with a 200 Amp as it's really just excess capacity for me at this point. I probably need to do a big three upgrade to get the full benefit.

We will see how it holds up. Figured it was worth a shot.

Good read. I love the 4.7l because I tow and it has the tow package with trans cooler and ClassIV hitch. I've been using ToyTec Boss 2.0 - which are Eibach shocks but rebranded - similar to Eibach Pro. Good setup IMO with the Superflex rear coils.

I install a 600W PSW inverter under the driver seat to keep the laptop batteries charged, cellphones, rechargeable AA and AAA batteries, drill, fan. I think an SAIP bypass would be a good thing for you. Happy travels . . . . .

flipflopnfly said:

Good read. I love the 4.7l because I tow and it has the tow package with trans cooler and ClassIV hitch. I've been using ToyTec Boss 2.0 - which are Eibach shocks but rebranded - similar to Eibach Pro. Good setup IMO with the Superflex rear coils.

I install a 600W PSW inverter under the driver seat to keep the laptop batteries charged, cellphones, rechargeable AA and AAA batteries, drill, fan. I think an SAIP bypass would be a good thing for you. Happy travels . . . . .

Click to expand...

Thanks! I can neither confirm nor deny the presence of any emissions altering devices on my vehicle lol.

I'm very glad that mod exists, as I try to avoid tearing into my engine at all costs, but given the fact that NM likes to follow CAs lead on regulations lately, I also am not about to discuss something like that on an internet forum with pictures of my vehicle lol.

I will say, I really wish there was a Doug thorely setup that came with approved cats. That would be even better for the diy crowd.

I like the inverter idea. I've got enough alternator now, I might have to install one.

gimlithepirate said:

Thanks! I can neither confirm nor deny the presence of any emissions altering devices on my vehicle lol.

I'm very glad that mod exists, as I try to avoid tearing into my engine at all costs, but given the fact that NM likes to follow CAs lead on regulations lately, I also am not about to discuss something like that on an internet forum with pictures of my vehicle lol.

I will say, I really wish there was a Doug thorely setup that came with approved cats. That would be even better for the diy crowd.

I like the inverter idea. I've got enough alternator now, I might have to install one.

Click to expand...

Slyfox SAIP bypass has zero effect on emission tests, just do it. You don't want to be out in the boonies and the V8 goes into limp mode. Inverter is a must imo for overlanding. If you're like me we have laptops and cellphones in continual need of charging, also AA and AAA rechargeable batteries for headlamps and flashlights, rechargeable drill, rechargeable fan, rechargeable shaver, hairtrimmer, jump pack, air compressor. That requires wattage when moving and stationary.

flipflopnfly said:

Slyfox SAIP bypass has zero effect on emission tests, just do it. You don't want to be out in the boonies and the V8 goes into limp mode. Inverter is a must imo for overlanding. If you're like me we have laptops and cellphones in continual need of charging, also AA and AAA rechargeable batteries for headlamps and flashlights, rechargeable drill, rechargeable fan, rechargeable shaver, hairtrimmer, jump pack, air compressor. That requires wattage when moving and stationary.

Click to expand...

Slyfox doesn't effect most emissions tests, however it is technically illegal at the federal level to do anything that messes with your emissions system on a car, which SAIP is classified as. That's why I don't discuss my usage of such a system on the internet on a public forum. However, I would STRONGLY recommend that anyone else reading this follow flipflopnfly's advice, and at least have the kit sitting in their car in case they go into limp mode in the back country as a "salvage repair". When it goes, it is the only way you are getting up that big hill you just went down... It's the only weak point in an otherwise phenomenal engine.

I hadn't thought about an inverter for charging tools. That could be hella useful. Not entirely sure where I would put the inverter itself though. Ideally I'd want it to only run when the car is running. Definitely a good idea though Would give me more capacity than the little 100W(?) built in one.

New LCA....and UCA

Next big project is bumper, winch, LCA and gas tank lean spacer. Bumper from Truenorth fabrications is on order, due next month (whoop!)

Got a smittybilt XRC for 300$ from 4WP the other day for my winch. I wanted to do synthetic line, but couldn't find a cost effective option. Save that for another day.

LCAs I ordered from 1AAuto. Helped a friend install them the other day, and they looked literally identical to the OEM ones. Thankfully, my alignment bolts are also in good shape (yay southern cars).

Since I'm putting the bumper and winch on, I'll be raising my eibach struts one notch. The extra weight makes that a needed thing. As long as I'm at it, I've got a gas tank lean spacer I'm putting in.

Unfortunately, I was checking on my power steering pump install today, and realized my Upper Ball Joint boot is trashed... Guess I need UCAs. Decided to just go ahead and order the Mevotech adjustable UCAs that are basically SPC uppers. I kind of want to get away with just a new balljoint, but it will save me an alignment in the future. Still don't have a local alignment shop I like.

So the end of winter is going to be an instalapalooza. At the end of it though, stage one of the build will be done for now. Hopefully, as restriction lift I can get this beast out in the wild!

Valve Cover Gasket

Replaced the passenger side valve cover gasket and spark plug gaskets last night. I followed these guides:

How to - 4.7 V8 Valve Cover Gasket Replacement w/ Pictures
DIY Write-Up: Spark Plug Tube Seal Replacement | Toyota Tundra Forums

Valve cam shafts looked pretty good for 186k miles:


The valve cover gasket was surprisingly easy. Removing the old spark plug tube gaskets were a *****. I finally had to use a flat punch to wedge under the gasket and pop it out.

All the old gaskets were hard as rocks, so clearly this needed to happen. Additionally, the valve cover bolts near the front where I've been having leaks were so loose I could remove them by hand with no tools :faint: Apparently this is caused by the old gasket drying up and shrinking. Hopefully this is the source of the oil weeping on the front of the engine over there.

I'll tackle the driver side later this week. Looking over there there is less stuff in the way, but what is in the way is less movable, so who knows.

Replaced both my LCAs and UCAs, as well as lifting the eibachs 1 notch and adding a gas tank lean spacer this weekend.

For LCAs, I bought the ones from 1AAuto. They were essentially indistinguishable from the OEM ones that came off, except OEM were marked "L2" and "R2" and the 1AAuto ones were marked "L" and "R". Time will tell if they wear as well or not.

For UCAs, I bought Mevotech Adjustable, aka SPC UCAs in a different box. Paid 450$ from CarID. The first place I ordered from shipped me an old style SPC UCA and a new style SPC UCA. Thankfully, I was able to get a return processed and get the right UCAs.

Install of everything was straightforward except removing the old ball joints from the spindle. I had to rent a pitman arm puller from Autozone for the lower joints, and use a ball joint separator on the upper ones. I'd also recommend separating the ball joints before disconnecting the UCA from the frame.

Since I am less than confident in most alignment shops around here and their ability to deal with SPC UCAs, I decided to do a DIY alignment following instructions on the Tacoma forums. I was aiming for 2.5-3 degrees of caster, as I really wanted to maximize the distance off the body mount. Stock I was at ~2 degrees. Ended up with 2.5 and 2.7 for Driver and Passenger respectively. I like how it drives there, as any more caster is going to feel too heavy on the steering with my tires.

That said, I'm not linking these guides on doing a DIY alignment here as I wouldn't recommend it. Camber and Caster are totally doable, and if you have a crappy alignment shop and SPC uppers, probably worth the effort. Toe however is horrible to DIY. I'm still going to have to have a shop do the alignment just so toe is somewhat sane.

Unfortunately, in the process I seem to have damaged one of my ABS wires. A new one is on order. For those doing this in the future, it take 10 minutes to completely disconnect the ABS sensor wire from the spindle. Do it before you start working on the suspension and save yourself $60.

Been a while since I updated because the 4runner has been a royal pain in the neck.

The good news is, my true north fab bumper got here and is awesome. Super happy about that.

The bad news is, since replacing the ABS wire, I've also had to replace the intermediate steering shaft and steering rack. And as if that wasn't bad enough, one of my year old shocks is now leaking oil and will need to be replaced.

Long story short, I'm looking for a goat to do a sacrifice to the gods of maintenance so I can stop having to work on this guy. Its been a long 2 months of no ffroading at this point and I am over it.

Ooof, I feel ya. I worked part time in undergrad, and full time in grad school. Its a lot.

That said, I cringe whenever I see students buying these rigs. They aren't cheap. Most critically, toyota parts are not cheap parts.

If your looking to offroad, there are cheaper rigs that might be a better option.

gimlithepirate said:

Ooof, I feel ya. I worked part time in undergrad, and full time in grad school. Its a lot.



That said, I cringe whenever I see students buying these rigs. They aren't cheap. Most critically, toyota parts are not cheap parts.



If your looking to offroad, there are cheaper rigs that might be a better option.

Click to expand...

I'm currently a college student so I'm a bit bias, and I do agree that it can be a dangerous stretch spending so much on a car while in college, particularly with the crazy prices on 4th gens and just on Toyota/Lexus off-roaders in general right now; But, with that in mind, I do think there's something to be said about these rigs being a relatively safe investment because of how well they hold value, atleast compared to other vehicles on the market.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

Curious as to how your aluminum skids are holding up. I plan on buy some rci skids soon and am not sure on what material to get. But leaning toward aluminum.

Great. My one complaint is I do have an exhaust rattle lol. Haven't been able to track it down.

They do gouge, so if you are dragging your belly over rocks every weekend, they are a bad idea. However, they do protect everything above them. There is a guy here who dropped a tundra on his rci aluminum skids on a rock, high centering himselve, and they didn't crack or anything.

Only reason not to do aluminum is cost and gouging.

Yeah I don’t really do “rock crawling” mostly just hitting the occasional forest road around Colorado. This is my daily after all. But have been known to occasionally come down on my stock skids and they’re all messed up now. So figured what better time to get new ones.