P_nlsn
Member
That's great! No problem, I'm happy to help!
Toto.Runner - Build Thread [Picture Heavy]
- Thread starter P_nlsn
- Start date
That's great! No problem, I'm happy to help!
P_nlsn
Member
3-Hoop Coastal Bumper
I'm super proud of how the bumper turned out. It was a ton of work, and it's definitely not perfect, but it sure does look good!
+=====================================+
The Build:
The bumper has a pretty straight forward assembly, and the instructions contain diagrams that really help. Since the website only offers up to a 2" body lift, I emailed Brandon and talked with him about making my kit with a 3" body lift correction. He was super helpful and said it would be no problem at all.
This is what I started with:
And this is what I finished with:
This was my first welding project ever, and it surprisingly wasn't terrible. I did a bit of practice with some scrap metal beforehand, and I had some help from my brother and dad who have welded before, but I also did a bunch of it on my own too.
In hindsight, I went too crazy on the grinder, and not crazy enough on the welder. There were a few spots I had to reweld because I took too much off with the flap disk and you could see the crack of the joint - not to mention the playdoh marks all over the thing too. Also, I got impatient and ground the outside welds before welding the inside - HUGE rookie mistake right there, it led to a lot of heat warping and joint cracks on the outside. Overall though, it still looks great. Once it was powder coated and I got it muddy, the thing looked b-e-a-utiful
However, as easy as the bumper was - we weren't prepared for the amount of work it would be to get the hoops on. We knew it would be difficult, but just underestimated how difficult. It took a few days of work, 1 extra tube, a tube notcher, more cuts than I can count, and even more grinding to get the tubes where they needed to be
The first tube we cut with a saw was too short, so we had to email Brandon again to order a new one. He was super helpful once again and had no problem at all shipping us one replacement tube (we also went ahead and bought their skid plate kit though to make the price of shipping the tube from Canada worth it). We also bought a tube notcher from good ol' Harbor Freight to help in the tube nothing proccess. Part of our struggle was being inexperienced - we had never actually notched tubing before - but there's also just so many angles that have to be taken into account so it fits right
The best way we found to cut the hoops with our gear and experience - was to cut them long and just grind the crap out of them. We notched it to be sorta close, but still a little long, then held it on the bumper to see what touched, ground that part back some, held it back up there and repeated. It was really tedious work, but it worked and resulted in some pretty nice fitting notches
If you're reading this for tips on doing your own bumper, I recommend LOTS of practice welding tubes if you want them to look good. I practiced a little before doing mine, but tube welds are hard to make look good. Mine are good enough to hold it together and be strong, but you just can't look too close cause they're kinda ugly
+=====================================+
Powdercoating:
I see a lot of people saying "don't powder coat your bumpers if you plan to actually use them" - but I disagree. A proper powder coat is highly durable. Unless you plan to rake the bumper on every rock you see while doing some extreme rock climbing, the powder coat should hold up just fine. From personal experience - my brother and I combined having three powdercoated bumpers - and each bumper getting put to use (just not as rock crawlers) - they are just fine and powdercoat holds up. If you somehow happen to get a chip, it can easily be fixed with black nail polish - yes, that's right, nail polish - works great, can be applied with high accuracy, and matches that gloss look of a flat black powder coat enough to be unnoticeable
+=====================================+
Blinkers/DRL's:
The blinkers can just be wired directly into the stock wiring:
The blinkers/DRL's required some modification to install though. I'm just using the ones recommended by Coastal for now. Because they are LED's, but the stock relay is for the current of an incandescent, they result in a hyperflash. Unfortunately, the best "official" fix for that is buying a new relay designed for LED's - but there isn't one designed specifically for my truck, so we had to go the DIY route. To fix the hyperflash, you can grind the resistor in the relay down to require less current - so that's what we did:
+=====================================+
Offroad Lights:
I went with 4 RoughCountry 2" flood pods that run at 18w per pod (so 72w total). Here's a link to those: 2-inch Square Cree LED Lights (Black Series) | Rough Country
I decided to wire those into the factory fog light circuit so I wouldn't have to run a bunch of wires through the firewall and stuff. This was easy enough, I just cut the end of the wiring harness off and spliced it into the fog light wiring. Since I'm running 4 lights, each fog light circuit is running 2 lights - I haven't run into any problems with fuses or anything so far, so this is fine:
+=====================================+
Winch:
I got a 10,000lb Gen2 X20 winch with steel cable from Smittybuilt. Here's a link to it: Smittybilt X2O 10K Waterproof 10000lb Wireless Winch Gen2 - 97510
Unfortunately, the holes precut in the bumper for the winch and fairlead were too small for the hardware provided with the winch, and we didn't find that out until after we got it back from the powdercoat shop, so we had to drill them out some more. After that though, everything bolted up just fine
+=====================================+
Shackles:
Because of the thickness of the bumper where the shackles mount, typical isolators aren't thick enough to actually isolate anything, so I purchased some isolators similar to these, and they are just the right thickness to hold the shackles steady: Amazon.com: Red Hound Auto D-Ring Shackle Isolator Compatible with Jeep Towing Off Road Kit 3/4 Inches Silencer Clevis 4pc Set: Automotive
I'm super proud of how the bumper turned out. It was a ton of work, and it's definitely not perfect, but it sure does look good!
+=====================================+
The Build:
The bumper has a pretty straight forward assembly, and the instructions contain diagrams that really help. Since the website only offers up to a 2" body lift, I emailed Brandon and talked with him about making my kit with a 3" body lift correction. He was super helpful and said it would be no problem at all.
This is what I started with:
And this is what I finished with:
This was my first welding project ever, and it surprisingly wasn't terrible. I did a bit of practice with some scrap metal beforehand, and I had some help from my brother and dad who have welded before, but I also did a bunch of it on my own too.
In hindsight, I went too crazy on the grinder, and not crazy enough on the welder. There were a few spots I had to reweld because I took too much off with the flap disk and you could see the crack of the joint - not to mention the playdoh marks all over the thing too. Also, I got impatient and ground the outside welds before welding the inside - HUGE rookie mistake right there, it led to a lot of heat warping and joint cracks on the outside. Overall though, it still looks great. Once it was powder coated and I got it muddy, the thing looked b-e-a-utiful
However, as easy as the bumper was - we weren't prepared for the amount of work it would be to get the hoops on. We knew it would be difficult, but just underestimated how difficult. It took a few days of work, 1 extra tube, a tube notcher, more cuts than I can count, and even more grinding to get the tubes where they needed to be
The first tube we cut with a saw was too short, so we had to email Brandon again to order a new one. He was super helpful once again and had no problem at all shipping us one replacement tube (we also went ahead and bought their skid plate kit though to make the price of shipping the tube from Canada worth it). We also bought a tube notcher from good ol' Harbor Freight to help in the tube nothing proccess. Part of our struggle was being inexperienced - we had never actually notched tubing before - but there's also just so many angles that have to be taken into account so it fits right
The best way we found to cut the hoops with our gear and experience - was to cut them long and just grind the crap out of them. We notched it to be sorta close, but still a little long, then held it on the bumper to see what touched, ground that part back some, held it back up there and repeated. It was really tedious work, but it worked and resulted in some pretty nice fitting notches
If you're reading this for tips on doing your own bumper, I recommend LOTS of practice welding tubes if you want them to look good. I practiced a little before doing mine, but tube welds are hard to make look good. Mine are good enough to hold it together and be strong, but you just can't look too close cause they're kinda ugly
+=====================================+
Powdercoating:
I see a lot of people saying "don't powder coat your bumpers if you plan to actually use them" - but I disagree. A proper powder coat is highly durable. Unless you plan to rake the bumper on every rock you see while doing some extreme rock climbing, the powder coat should hold up just fine. From personal experience - my brother and I combined having three powdercoated bumpers - and each bumper getting put to use (just not as rock crawlers) - they are just fine and powdercoat holds up. If you somehow happen to get a chip, it can easily be fixed with black nail polish - yes, that's right, nail polish - works great, can be applied with high accuracy, and matches that gloss look of a flat black powder coat enough to be unnoticeable
+=====================================+
Blinkers/DRL's:
The blinkers can just be wired directly into the stock wiring:
The blinkers/DRL's required some modification to install though. I'm just using the ones recommended by Coastal for now. Because they are LED's, but the stock relay is for the current of an incandescent, they result in a hyperflash. Unfortunately, the best "official" fix for that is buying a new relay designed for LED's - but there isn't one designed specifically for my truck, so we had to go the DIY route. To fix the hyperflash, you can grind the resistor in the relay down to require less current - so that's what we did:
+=====================================+
Offroad Lights:
I went with 4 RoughCountry 2" flood pods that run at 18w per pod (so 72w total). Here's a link to those: 2-inch Square Cree LED Lights (Black Series) | Rough Country
I decided to wire those into the factory fog light circuit so I wouldn't have to run a bunch of wires through the firewall and stuff. This was easy enough, I just cut the end of the wiring harness off and spliced it into the fog light wiring. Since I'm running 4 lights, each fog light circuit is running 2 lights - I haven't run into any problems with fuses or anything so far, so this is fine:
+=====================================+
Winch:
I got a 10,000lb Gen2 X20 winch with steel cable from Smittybuilt. Here's a link to it: Smittybilt X2O 10K Waterproof 10000lb Wireless Winch Gen2 - 97510
Unfortunately, the holes precut in the bumper for the winch and fairlead were too small for the hardware provided with the winch, and we didn't find that out until after we got it back from the powdercoat shop, so we had to drill them out some more. After that though, everything bolted up just fine
+=====================================+
Shackles:
Because of the thickness of the bumper where the shackles mount, typical isolators aren't thick enough to actually isolate anything, so I purchased some isolators similar to these, and they are just the right thickness to hold the shackles steady: Amazon.com: Red Hound Auto D-Ring Shackle Isolator Compatible with Jeep Towing Off Road Kit 3/4 Inches Silencer Clevis 4pc Set: Automotive
Last edited:
P_nlsn
Member
Radiator vs. Ice
Well this is embarrassing... I always say it won't be me who does something ridiculously stupid and breaks his truck - but here I am
+=====================+
So here's what happened:
My friend and I thought it would be good idea to go out camping and trail riding after a big snow storm (Here in Arkansas, we never get snow, and over 12" is a lot)
The first day actually went great. We saw a really neat sunset, and didn't have too much trouble on our way out there - though we did slip down into a ditch and got stuck 3 times, but hey, we made it out
The trouble started on the second day though. After going down some cool trails, I made the mistake of trying to go through a mud puddle that was frozen over. Now this really wouldn't have been too much of a problem, except using the stock bumper with my 3" body lift leaves the bottom portion of my radiator exposed - so I ended up sending a 2" sheet of ice straight into my radiator (even with a friend spotting me through it). To help express our stupidity - we thought there were slabs of rock surrounding this small pond, but they were actually large, brown chunks of what would soon be my radiator's killer
And yes, we were dumb enough to record it too - so enjoy this clip
<blockquote class="imgur-embed-pub" lang="en" data-id="FF4bW1n"><a href="https://imgur.com/FF4bW1n">View post on imgur.com</a></blockquote><script async src="//s.imgur.com/min/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
We tried to limp it home, or at least back to the highway, by stopping to add water every now and then, but the water would just pour out almost as fast as we could put it in. So we ended up having to leave it there overnight. Luckily, and I thank the Lord for this, there was a radiator in stock near where we live. So we ran by Advance Auto Parts the next morning, picked up a new radiator, and went back out there to swap it in. And thankfully, a radiator swap is fairly easy, so we were able to get it done quick and drove it home with no problems
Moral of the story is - know your vehicle and its weaknesses, and be smart. I knew my radiator was exposed, I just wasn't thinking about it being a problem at the time - and that was my biggest mistake
Well this is embarrassing... I always say it won't be me who does something ridiculously stupid and breaks his truck - but here I am
+=====================+
So here's what happened:
My friend and I thought it would be good idea to go out camping and trail riding after a big snow storm (Here in Arkansas, we never get snow, and over 12" is a lot)
The first day actually went great. We saw a really neat sunset, and didn't have too much trouble on our way out there - though we did slip down into a ditch and got stuck 3 times, but hey, we made it out
The trouble started on the second day though. After going down some cool trails, I made the mistake of trying to go through a mud puddle that was frozen over. Now this really wouldn't have been too much of a problem, except using the stock bumper with my 3" body lift leaves the bottom portion of my radiator exposed - so I ended up sending a 2" sheet of ice straight into my radiator (even with a friend spotting me through it). To help express our stupidity - we thought there were slabs of rock surrounding this small pond, but they were actually large, brown chunks of what would soon be my radiator's killer
And yes, we were dumb enough to record it too - so enjoy this clip
<blockquote class="imgur-embed-pub" lang="en" data-id="FF4bW1n"><a href="https://imgur.com/FF4bW1n">View post on imgur.com</a></blockquote><script async src="//s.imgur.com/min/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
We tried to limp it home, or at least back to the highway, by stopping to add water every now and then, but the water would just pour out almost as fast as we could put it in. So we ended up having to leave it there overnight. Luckily, and I thank the Lord for this, there was a radiator in stock near where we live. So we ran by Advance Auto Parts the next morning, picked up a new radiator, and went back out there to swap it in. And thankfully, a radiator swap is fairly easy, so we were able to get it done quick and drove it home with no problems
Moral of the story is - know your vehicle and its weaknesses, and be smart. I knew my radiator was exposed, I just wasn't thinking about it being a problem at the time - and that was my biggest mistake
montijo505
Senior Member
Toto the '03 Offroad Beast Build Thread [Picture Heavy]
Ah yes, you’re spirit animal is apparently [MENTION=429038]y=mx+b[/MENTION]
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Ah yes, you’re spirit animal is apparently [MENTION=429038]y=mx+b[/MENTION]
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
P_nlsn
Member
lol Funny you mention that :laugh: Seeing his write-up is actually what reminded me to post about this. Ice is apparently a more common killer than I thought
https://www.toyota-4runner.org/3642157-post14.html
y=mx+b
New member
Lol, looks like yours got caught pretty good. Mine didn't deform as much, but some of the ice did make it all the way through
montijo505
Senior Member
Twinsies!! I jest, but that would actually suck.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
P_nlsn
Member
Lol, looks like yours got caught pretty good. Mine didn't deform as much, but some of the ice did make it all the way through
Wow! Yeah, yours definitely took a stab. It's really interesting how the piece that stabbed yours managed to slip through all the right cracks and stay intact like it did
Looks like yours was unlucky, and mine was just stupidity :laugh::laugh:
P_nlsn
Member
OrangeBoxx Fab PSD Racks
Not much to "write-up" about for the Molle Panels (except the customer service part), but just wanted to showcase them here
+=====================================+
Customer Service:
I have to say, my experiece with OrangeBoxx's customer service was... interesting. It's like it was good and bad at the same time...
Our order got missed or something like that, so around two months after it was ordered, we got a very apologetic call explaining what happened and that we would be refunded everything except the base price (so were basically refunded the shipping price). Then the rear racks came, and it was another two-ish months until the console rack came. I was never given any updates on delays or expected shipping times unless I specifically asked about my order, although they were at least very quick to respond once I made an inquiry.
The design guy also basically told me he didn't want to design my idea because it was gonna be a lot of work - but was also super willing to work with me to make it work, and was really accepting to the idea of me making it myself and sending it to him.
+=====================================+
Console Panel Cutout:
For the center panel, I wasn't satisfied with the proofs I was sent of the cut-out, and basically got told by the design guy that he didn't want to do all the work it would take to create what I had in mind, so I hopped in Adobe Illustrator and made it myself using a vector file of the official 4runner logo as a reference/starting point. I just cut off the "4" and manipulated the other letters to create the "Toto". I'd say it came out pretty good having little to no design experience
+=====================================+
The Panels:
I don't currently have much stuff on the racks, but I plan to add more things as time goes on. While I may not have much weight on them yet, they feel pretty sturdy and don't have to much play to them. The only play I can see wobbling is the top corner toward the seats on the rear racks, but it doesn't make any noise, so who cares
Not much to "write-up" about for the Molle Panels (except the customer service part), but just wanted to showcase them here
+=====================================+
Customer Service:
I have to say, my experiece with OrangeBoxx's customer service was... interesting. It's like it was good and bad at the same time...
Our order got missed or something like that, so around two months after it was ordered, we got a very apologetic call explaining what happened and that we would be refunded everything except the base price (so were basically refunded the shipping price). Then the rear racks came, and it was another two-ish months until the console rack came. I was never given any updates on delays or expected shipping times unless I specifically asked about my order, although they were at least very quick to respond once I made an inquiry.
The design guy also basically told me he didn't want to design my idea because it was gonna be a lot of work - but was also super willing to work with me to make it work, and was really accepting to the idea of me making it myself and sending it to him.
+=====================================+
Console Panel Cutout:
For the center panel, I wasn't satisfied with the proofs I was sent of the cut-out, and basically got told by the design guy that he didn't want to do all the work it would take to create what I had in mind, so I hopped in Adobe Illustrator and made it myself using a vector file of the official 4runner logo as a reference/starting point. I just cut off the "4" and manipulated the other letters to create the "Toto". I'd say it came out pretty good having little to no design experience
+=====================================+
The Panels:
I don't currently have much stuff on the racks, but I plan to add more things as time goes on. While I may not have much weight on them yet, they feel pretty sturdy and don't have to much play to them. The only play I can see wobbling is the top corner toward the seats on the rear racks, but it doesn't make any noise, so who cares
ieatfish
Member
Looks good! Been wanting to make a molle panel for my driver's window. Started the CAD and checking around with some friends and family who have machining access. I was looking at the Rago fabrication ones but they come in pairs. These look interesting, wonder what their turnaround is with no customization...
P_nlsn
Member
Yeah, unlike the Rago, these can be bought individually - and they are fully customizable - every square inch of the panel can be designed to whatever you want
I believe my poor shipment times were the result of multiple things - the holidays, the pandemic, maybe even just the company itself, who knows. I placed my order in late November, and then I assume it got lost in the beginning surge of holiday orders. We were finally contacted around January about the order and began the process of designing my cut out for the console rack. The rear racks came 2 months after that, and the console rack came 2 more months after those, beacause of, if I remember correctly, a lack of inventory and a large amount of back orders at the company that laser cuts for them
I would assume now that everything has calmed down, the turn around would be a ton faster. The website says 1-2 weeks for absolutely no customization, 3 weeks for a custom color, and 6-8 weeks for custom cutouts and inlays
P_nlsn
Member
Senior Pics
As is typical with people of my age and my kind - I had some of (well, more like most of) my senior pics taken with my truck. I think they turned out pretty good, and since it's Toto, I figured this was an appropriate place to share them
Shout out to Mason Nelson (aka my brother and the dude with the dope trailblazer I always take pics with) for taking and editing these! Check him out, he's definitely a gifted photographer: Mason Nelson Photography's Website - Mason Nelson Photography on Instagram
As is typical with people of my age and my kind - I had some of (well, more like most of) my senior pics taken with my truck. I think they turned out pretty good, and since it's Toto, I figured this was an appropriate place to share them
Shout out to Mason Nelson (aka my brother and the dude with the dope trailblazer I always take pics with) for taking and editing these! Check him out, he's definitely a gifted photographer: Mason Nelson Photography's Website - Mason Nelson Photography on Instagram
Last edited:
P_nlsn
Member
These things turned out pretty great! After a week or two of multiple hours each day though, they were a bit more than the weekend project I was expecting
+=====================================+
Assembly Notes:
The assembly is pretty straight forward. Much like with the coastal bumper, the instructions are clear and have well detailed diagrams to assist in the assembly.
The only problem I ran into... was nothing fit right. I believe all of my problems were because of my diff drop though. We inquired about the diff drop before buying the kit and were assured the kit was compatible - but I believe we were told wrong. A decent bit of altercation/fabrication was required to make everything work
+=====================================+
Assembly:
Because of my diff drop, nothing lined up properly. The first thing I had to adjust were the slots of the middle bolt holes. I just filed them out with a file - a lot
Next I had to fill a gap between the front piece and middle piece. There was a solid 0.5"-ish gap left - even after filing the slots on both pieces about as much as I could - so I had to find something to fill it with. I found an 1/8" thick piece of flat bar in my garage, so I cut it to size and used that as my filler
Once I got that sorted out, it was time to get the rear piece to fit too. Because the middle piece was pushed so far back, I also had to file the slots on the end of the rear piece too. Once everything fit, it was time to weld it all up. I will be the first to say some of the welds aren't the prettiest - but in my defense, I had the mind set of "its a skid plate, who cares, no one will see it", and it was like 95 degrees outside with a humidity of 110 percent (stupid Arkansas summers), so I was just ready to get done with it. I did full welds on every outside joint, and stitch welds on every inside joint
Once welding and grinding was done, it was time to paint and finish them up. I used Rustoleum clean metal primer, then Rustoleum flat black protective enamel and Krylon Fusion Matte Red Pepper. I decided to rattle can them instead of powder coat cause they're skid plates - they're gonna get beat to crap, so I figured the powder coat was a waste of money and spray paint would be way easier to touch up and repaint when needed
Threw on the red stipe just for the heck of it to make them a little more unique
Last edited:
montijo505
Senior Member
These things turned out pretty great! After a week or two of multiple hours each day though, they were a bit more than the weekend project I was expecting
+=====================================+
Assembly Notes:
The assembly is pretty straight forward. Much like with the coastal bumper, the instructions are clear and have well detailed diagrams to assist in the assembly.
The only problem I ran into... was nothing fit right. I believe all of my problems were because of my diff drop though. We inquired about the diff drop before buying the kit and were assured the kit was compatible - but I believe we were told wrong. A decent bit of altercation/fabrication was required to make everything work
+=====================================+
Assembly:
Because of my diff drop, nothing lined up properly. The first thing I had to adjust were the slots of the middle bolt holes. I just filed them out with a file - a lot
Next I had to fill a gap between the front piece and middle piece. There was a solid 0.5"-ish gap left - even after filing the slots on both pieces about as much as I could - so I had to find something to fill it with. I found an 1/8" thick piece of flat bar in my garage, so I cut it to size and used that as my filler
Once I got that sorted out, it was time to get the rear piece to fit too. Because the middle piece was pushed so far back, I also had to file the slots on the end of the rear piece too. Once everything fit, it was time to weld it all up. I will be the first to say some of the welds aren't the prettiest - but in my defense, I had the mind set of "its a skid plate, who cares, no one will see it", and it was like 95 degrees outside with a humidity of 110 percent (stupid Arkansas summers), so I was just ready to get done with it. I did full welds on every outside joint, and stitch welds on every inside joint
Once welding and grinding was done, it was time to paint and finish them up. I used Rustoleum clean metal primer, then Rustoleum flat black protective enamel and Krylon Fusion Matte Red Pepper. I decided to rattle can them instead of powder coat cause they're skid plates - they're gonna get beat to crap, so I figured the powder coat was a waste of money and spray paint would be way easier to touch up and repaint when needed
Threw on the red stipe just for the heck of it to make them a little more unique
I had the same issues with the diff drop. However, I just spaced mine down with some nuts where it attaches to the radiator support and the spacers the stock skid used for the middle holes. The rear of the TC skid gave me the most problems as it was about two inches too long and the rear holes didn’t line up. I think they may have used a V8 initially for measurements as I bought pretty early on. They looked into it when I notified them. After cutting off the excess and slotting the plate for the bolts, I got it to work.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
P_nlsn
Member
Yeah, it probably would've been easiest to use the spacers that were on the stock skids, but it figured it would be a little stronger if I could get it to work without them (or maybe it wouldn't really make a difference, I don't know), so I wanted to try it. And because of the tube lengths and diff brackets, I still had to use a double spacer in the middle on the driver side, and a single spacer on the passenger side.
And I think you're right on the V8 thing, I remember reading somewhere that they initially used a V8 to design them, so the early batches of the v6 ones weren't quite a perfect fit
good plan and wish list! i have been driving my 2003 v8 limited since 2014, and have been driving on road only. currently i am stuck in 4lo, soon to be corrected. this is my first t4r and enjoy the drive, ride and power! i plan to build up for some off roading in future. enjoy and stay connected to us t4rs
P_nlsn
Member
Headlight Upgrade + Muffler
Not much has happened with Toto lately - College has kinda put a dampener on my mod list. So I Just wanted to hop on here and give a little update:
Most of the recent work has just been maintenance - stuff like new CV's, pinion seal, LCA's, etc
+=======================+
MagnaFlow Muffler:
Chopped the resonator off and had an 18" magnaflow muffler put in to give the v6 a little more rumble. I got tired of how whiny it was, and I'm pretty happy with how it sounds now. It's definitely got more low end on it, but it's still quiet enough that it's not uncomfortable to drive long distances
+=======================+
'06-'09 Headlight Upgrade:
I also recently swapped my horrendously faded and yellowed headlights with some fresh 06-09 housings
Before:
After:
I bought the housings off of RockAuto , and I got the color matched bumper fillers from my local Toyota dealer. For bulbs, I went with Philips XtremeVision in both low and high beams. I'm pretty pleased with the output of the headlights, and the look of the housings - Not sure if the bulbs are that good, or if I just lost that much light through the discoloration of the old housings :laugh:
Not much has happened with Toto lately - College has kinda put a dampener on my mod list. So I Just wanted to hop on here and give a little update:
Most of the recent work has just been maintenance - stuff like new CV's, pinion seal, LCA's, etc
+=======================+
MagnaFlow Muffler:
Chopped the resonator off and had an 18" magnaflow muffler put in to give the v6 a little more rumble. I got tired of how whiny it was, and I'm pretty happy with how it sounds now. It's definitely got more low end on it, but it's still quiet enough that it's not uncomfortable to drive long distances
+=======================+
'06-'09 Headlight Upgrade:
I also recently swapped my horrendously faded and yellowed headlights with some fresh 06-09 housings
Before:
After:
I bought the housings off of RockAuto , and I got the color matched bumper fillers from my local Toyota dealer. For bulbs, I went with Philips XtremeVision in both low and high beams. I'm pretty pleased with the output of the headlights, and the look of the housings - Not sure if the bulbs are that good, or if I just lost that much light through the discoloration of the old housings :laugh:
Last edited:
P_nlsn
Member
Ozark Camping
I haven't been very active, but I finally caught a free moment during college to get out and camp with my dad - It was much needed, and I unintentionally learned just how much mud my rig can handle
+=============================+
Snapped a few photos while I was out there, and probably took my favorite photo of my truck yet:
Had an absolute blast out there, and I will definitely be going back next chance I get!
I also may or may not have gotten stuck and crapped my pants while using my truck like a bulldozer :laugh: First time using my winch though, so I guess at least now I know it works
WinchingOut.mp4 - YouTube
Here's the aftermath. Pretty sure I still have a thick layer of mud sitting in my skid plates
I haven't been very active, but I finally caught a free moment during college to get out and camp with my dad - It was much needed, and I unintentionally learned just how much mud my rig can handle
+=============================+
Snapped a few photos while I was out there, and probably took my favorite photo of my truck yet:
Had an absolute blast out there, and I will definitely be going back next chance I get!
I also may or may not have gotten stuck and crapped my pants while using my truck like a bulldozer :laugh: First time using my winch though, so I guess at least now I know it works
WinchingOut.mp4 - YouTube
Here's the aftermath. Pretty sure I still have a thick layer of mud sitting in my skid plates
P_nlsn
Member
Just finished up Swapping in a 175k mile engine from an 07 into Toto! You can check out the thread here about the swap: 07 Engine Swap into an 03
It looks like I'm seeing about a +2-4mpg gain (depending on how heavy my foot feels lol) from the cam gears, LongTubes, and fixed headgaskets
While I was working on all this, I decided to go ahead and install the JBA LT headers (old ones had more cracks that a wicker basket). I also put a Hayden 679 cooler in because my transmission didn't like moving all the weight of my truck on hills
And here is a timelapse of everything
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5EbS4Zjmqg&feature=youtu.be
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