pavelvoivoda
Member
Hello all
I know how much we love our 4Runners so, when it comes to rig theft, owners are blessed with the freedom to fabricate their own system to slow down and/or deter thieves from stealing it, in which some of us have invested 30, 40...maybe even $50K of stuff!
I've have compiled a list of a few mods for the 3rd Gen 4Runners that one can make their rig harder to steal. :boxer: Most mods are easy to do on other vehicles too, but I have done them mainly on 3rd gens. Do them at your own risk.
The main reason I have gathered the list is that my car has the 3L 1KZ-T motor with the mechanical injector pump and no ECU of any kind which makes this car very easy to start. It does not require a starter, or a battery. Gasoline 3rd gen 4Runners have ECUs and can't function without them, so it is much easier to put an electrical mod on them. I have to make lots of mechanical ones on mine.
It is important to know thieves' methods of operation, which is they "think outside the box...to get inside it"!
I am simply sharing some concept ideas on how to disable the areas that are important to a thief to start and drive off a 3rd gen 4Runner.
Usually a car theft should be fast. They can take it somewhere and work on it later, but they have to do it fast on the spot.
For those who do not have any, first of all is to install some kind of a simple alarm with its own horn and battery that has at least a door lock function and sound/light indication. Nothing special.
So the list goes:
1 Protect front horn wires - the original TDS of the 4Runners use the horns to alert when the alarm goes off. They usually have a third horn somewhere out of reach. The wires that power the two front horns are usually cut by thieves before any work starts on the car. Protecting those wires can be helpful to prevent the horns from sounding.
2 Secondary set of door courtesy switches at least on the front doors - after theъ use a shoelace to raise the door lock latch, (which you can see on youtube) thieves usе bent shims to reach between doors to press the courtesy switch before opening the door. When they open the door, a small clamp can hold the switch to prevent it from sounding the alarm. From there its easy to imagine what happens next. So secondary door switches at a non-standard location can assure the alarm will sound at the right moment.
3 Relocation of the hood latch cable - when they have managed to open the door silently, it is time to open the hood to do whatever...cut power etc. Relocating the hood latch cable to a different location, can slow down or totally deter any further action since the hood wont open. The actual hood locking mechanism may be reached from the front grill, but access can easily be blocked from there. The original hood latch can be fitted with spring to fake the tension of the relocated cable to give the feeling that the latch is working fine...although it is not.
4 Bolt-on covers for fuse boxes and battery - engine bay and cab fuse boxes can be a nice spot to start disabling an alarm...so covering those with something that it would take time to reach will again slow down thieves. Cover on the battery should be insulated to prevent any shorting in case of...whatever.
5 Kill-switch to disable not the starter relay but Bendix/solenoid of the starter - there is no point to disable the starter relay, as it just takes a 2 inch wire that you plug in place of the starter relay and the starter...starts,(if you have access to the starter relay in the first place :becky
! You have to disable the wires leading to the starter solenoid that makes the Bendix move. Reaching starter wires for a thief is not easy and it is not fast either, so jumping a starter is inefficient.
6 Kill-switch to the solenoids/fuel pump/etc - when they have disabled the alarm, the next target is to start the engine. Fuel cut-off is standard disabling although it is easily bypassed. To start an engine with a fuel cutoff mod, they usually rip inflow and outflow hoses and put them in a bottle of gas. Half a gallon can go a long way you know. So even if that happens, a kill switch on the solenoids is also a good option to stop sparks, but has to be done correctly. Always disable the wire coming from the ECU. Otherwise a bridge wire can disable this mod too.
7 Throttle body lock - because the throttle body is the gateway for air to the engine, if the throttle is closed there is not air and even if the starter works, solenoids work, fuel is provided, engine simply chokes. So mod this to stop air from entering the engine. A hood latch cable concept is one way to conveniently work it from the cab.
8 OEM wheel lock - it is easy to disengage so don't trust it entirely.
9 E brake lock - if say thieves managed to start the engine, now it's the time to prevent them from actually driving the vehicle. Mod the e brake to lock into place or install a second cable again at a discrete location to keep the ebrake engaged. A well adjusted ebrake system is more than strong to stall the engine on a manual transmission...unless the driver puts it into low 4x4! :becky:
10 Pedal locks - this mod is a personal choice. Messing with the brakes is not good advice, so do it at your own risk.
Pedal locks are available. They lock the pedal pressed down...it's an ok method, but it can also be bypassed. Still the idea is to slow them down.
11 Shift lever locks - they are good deterrents but still can be broken into. One method for stealing a car is by putting it into neutral and having another car bumper-push you from behind to an 'out of sight out of mind location' where they can work on it. So fabricating a lock on the levers when they are in position with the transfer lever in to LOW, can make sure that the car is harder to push. On a manual transmission, putting the gear lever into reverse brings both levers close together to be somehow locked in place.
12 Rear drive shaft brake - this mod is a bit complex. Putting a brake disk and calliper between the transfer and the rear driveshaft is cool, but complex. A way to engage it is same as an E brake - with a cable at a hidden location. Makes the car also hard to tow by another.
13 Switches to disable controls of all lights on the car - headlights, fog lights, park lights, blinkers...I mean all lights from the dash controls. They can either go out and try to jumper the wires for the head lights...
14 One funny mod is to disable the driver seat's adjusting motor in the rear direction. Every time you leave your car, the seat moves all the way forward and stops. You can't bring it backwards to be comfortable to drive. Most motorized seats move forward pretty darn close to the dash. Maybe a kid will be able to fit in, but not an adult. BUt that mod is for like leaving the car somewhere for a long time. :becky:
15 Cameras installation - a night vision camera placed hidden so the person sitting in the driver's seat is visible, can show you who busted in and tried to take your rig. Also when camping, you can make a small battery powered motion sensor camera device placed away from the car like down the dirt road where you reached to the camp site to monitor who is coming before they put the hoodies on! :becky:
16 Install a lock on the driver's seat in the most front position. Some kind of a pin that make the seat not move backwards is sure to make someone give up.
17. If install a 4th horn inside the cab, it would work nice to make them go crazy. But I think at that point they'll just light your car on fire!
In case it's your lucky day and the master of thieves :spy: is actually in the neighborhood and has managed to bypass all your anti theft mods, if you are a licensed ham radio operator, you can fabricate a foxhunt radio in your car and use it to trace where you car is going. Make sure you follow all applicable laws and call the police
olice: when you are quietly squatting in the bushes with a grin, enjoying your "the hunted became the hunter" moment. :bat:
So, these mods here are things that will surely slow down a thief with the hope that the first few mods will make them leave your rig. Hopefully they wont get so mad at you for braking their method of work, that they just soak it with gas and light it up!
Let's hope.
I know how much we love our 4Runners so, when it comes to rig theft, owners are blessed with the freedom to fabricate their own system to slow down and/or deter thieves from stealing it, in which some of us have invested 30, 40...maybe even $50K of stuff!
I've have compiled a list of a few mods for the 3rd Gen 4Runners that one can make their rig harder to steal. :boxer: Most mods are easy to do on other vehicles too, but I have done them mainly on 3rd gens. Do them at your own risk.
The main reason I have gathered the list is that my car has the 3L 1KZ-T motor with the mechanical injector pump and no ECU of any kind which makes this car very easy to start. It does not require a starter, or a battery. Gasoline 3rd gen 4Runners have ECUs and can't function without them, so it is much easier to put an electrical mod on them. I have to make lots of mechanical ones on mine.
It is important to know thieves' methods of operation, which is they "think outside the box...to get inside it"!
I am simply sharing some concept ideas on how to disable the areas that are important to a thief to start and drive off a 3rd gen 4Runner.
Usually a car theft should be fast. They can take it somewhere and work on it later, but they have to do it fast on the spot.
For those who do not have any, first of all is to install some kind of a simple alarm with its own horn and battery that has at least a door lock function and sound/light indication. Nothing special.
So the list goes:
1 Protect front horn wires - the original TDS of the 4Runners use the horns to alert when the alarm goes off. They usually have a third horn somewhere out of reach. The wires that power the two front horns are usually cut by thieves before any work starts on the car. Protecting those wires can be helpful to prevent the horns from sounding.
2 Secondary set of door courtesy switches at least on the front doors - after theъ use a shoelace to raise the door lock latch, (which you can see on youtube) thieves usе bent shims to reach between doors to press the courtesy switch before opening the door. When they open the door, a small clamp can hold the switch to prevent it from sounding the alarm. From there its easy to imagine what happens next. So secondary door switches at a non-standard location can assure the alarm will sound at the right moment.
3 Relocation of the hood latch cable - when they have managed to open the door silently, it is time to open the hood to do whatever...cut power etc. Relocating the hood latch cable to a different location, can slow down or totally deter any further action since the hood wont open. The actual hood locking mechanism may be reached from the front grill, but access can easily be blocked from there. The original hood latch can be fitted with spring to fake the tension of the relocated cable to give the feeling that the latch is working fine...although it is not.
4 Bolt-on covers for fuse boxes and battery - engine bay and cab fuse boxes can be a nice spot to start disabling an alarm...so covering those with something that it would take time to reach will again slow down thieves. Cover on the battery should be insulated to prevent any shorting in case of...whatever.
5 Kill-switch to disable not the starter relay but Bendix/solenoid of the starter - there is no point to disable the starter relay, as it just takes a 2 inch wire that you plug in place of the starter relay and the starter...starts,(if you have access to the starter relay in the first place :becky
! You have to disable the wires leading to the starter solenoid that makes the Bendix move. Reaching starter wires for a thief is not easy and it is not fast either, so jumping a starter is inefficient. 6 Kill-switch to the solenoids/fuel pump/etc - when they have disabled the alarm, the next target is to start the engine. Fuel cut-off is standard disabling although it is easily bypassed. To start an engine with a fuel cutoff mod, they usually rip inflow and outflow hoses and put them in a bottle of gas. Half a gallon can go a long way you know. So even if that happens, a kill switch on the solenoids is also a good option to stop sparks, but has to be done correctly. Always disable the wire coming from the ECU. Otherwise a bridge wire can disable this mod too.
7 Throttle body lock - because the throttle body is the gateway for air to the engine, if the throttle is closed there is not air and even if the starter works, solenoids work, fuel is provided, engine simply chokes. So mod this to stop air from entering the engine. A hood latch cable concept is one way to conveniently work it from the cab.
8 OEM wheel lock - it is easy to disengage so don't trust it entirely.
9 E brake lock - if say thieves managed to start the engine, now it's the time to prevent them from actually driving the vehicle. Mod the e brake to lock into place or install a second cable again at a discrete location to keep the ebrake engaged. A well adjusted ebrake system is more than strong to stall the engine on a manual transmission...unless the driver puts it into low 4x4! :becky:
10 Pedal locks - this mod is a personal choice. Messing with the brakes is not good advice, so do it at your own risk.
Pedal locks are available. They lock the pedal pressed down...it's an ok method, but it can also be bypassed. Still the idea is to slow them down.
11 Shift lever locks - they are good deterrents but still can be broken into. One method for stealing a car is by putting it into neutral and having another car bumper-push you from behind to an 'out of sight out of mind location' where they can work on it. So fabricating a lock on the levers when they are in position with the transfer lever in to LOW, can make sure that the car is harder to push. On a manual transmission, putting the gear lever into reverse brings both levers close together to be somehow locked in place.
12 Rear drive shaft brake - this mod is a bit complex. Putting a brake disk and calliper between the transfer and the rear driveshaft is cool, but complex. A way to engage it is same as an E brake - with a cable at a hidden location. Makes the car also hard to tow by another.
13 Switches to disable controls of all lights on the car - headlights, fog lights, park lights, blinkers...I mean all lights from the dash controls. They can either go out and try to jumper the wires for the head lights...
14 One funny mod is to disable the driver seat's adjusting motor in the rear direction. Every time you leave your car, the seat moves all the way forward and stops. You can't bring it backwards to be comfortable to drive. Most motorized seats move forward pretty darn close to the dash. Maybe a kid will be able to fit in, but not an adult. BUt that mod is for like leaving the car somewhere for a long time. :becky:
15 Cameras installation - a night vision camera placed hidden so the person sitting in the driver's seat is visible, can show you who busted in and tried to take your rig. Also when camping, you can make a small battery powered motion sensor camera device placed away from the car like down the dirt road where you reached to the camp site to monitor who is coming before they put the hoodies on! :becky:
16 Install a lock on the driver's seat in the most front position. Some kind of a pin that make the seat not move backwards is sure to make someone give up.
17. If install a 4th horn inside the cab, it would work nice to make them go crazy. But I think at that point they'll just light your car on fire!
In case it's your lucky day and the master of thieves :spy: is actually in the neighborhood and has managed to bypass all your anti theft mods, if you are a licensed ham radio operator, you can fabricate a foxhunt radio in your car and use it to trace where you car is going. Make sure you follow all applicable laws and call the police
olice: when you are quietly squatting in the bushes with a grin, enjoying your "the hunted became the hunter" moment. :bat:So, these mods here are things that will surely slow down a thief with the hope that the first few mods will make them leave your rig. Hopefully they wont get so mad at you for braking their method of work, that they just soak it with gas and light it up!
Let's hope.
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