Not gonna lie, always wanted a T4R but never had a “reason” to own one. My love from Toyota dates back from over 20 years ago when I drove a Land Cruiser to college for a year.

Coming from the German car world...now I needed something reliable that I could use to go buy parts for the german cars or that I could tow said cars with

After looking for a couple of months I Finally found a decent-looking well-priced T4R in my city...a 2005 V8 Sport 4x4



Paint is not the best (that’s why I’m calling her “Shiny”) but engine and interior are in great condition! It has 157k miles on the V8 and I already took her on her first road trip: I clocked - albeit carefully babying the throttle - 21mpg in a 35 mile stretch under 65mph...also hit 90mph without major issues.

This is a record - a rap sheet if you will - of the crap I fix and replace.

She’s gonna be my utility vehicle: commute, run to Home Depot, parts store, airport runs to pick up that family member that lives traveling with 5 ****ing suitcases, and weekend adventure-mobile..yeah I know. High expectations.


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First order today business: remove the front wind deflector...2 screws and it’s out. Too easy!
Here’s a before pic



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Shiny had a nasty pull to the left under braking...so after reading here about the frozen calipers I went ahead and got her in the air:



And checked the calipers out


Clearly the inside of the passenger side caliper is seized...also, wtf is up with all the rust in these things? Have never seen calipers so rusted!



I could have likely found a cheaper option if I had ordered online but I decided to get “Wearever” calipers, rotors and premium pads from Advance Auto Parts. Shiny!!!



To slow down the rust, I went ahead and applied a couple of coats of clear coat and baked the calipers to 400F for 30mins. Here they are after the clear. Pardon the crappy paint booth



Then I went in to install the new parts. Finished product:



Now Shiny brakes like a dream!


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Oil change at 158k just in case


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Good choice, what is that fine Bavarian Machine poking its nose out in the background, F80 M3? My 4th gen augments my E36 M3 commuter, which has been surprisingly robust.

Welcome to the T4R world!

Thx!! Correct, an F80 love that thing!


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21mpg? wow! Mine seems to suck gas around 16-17mpg

Mine does too if I just drive it...I got 21 mpg while extremely carefully trying to maximize mpg



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Replaced the cabin air filter...nasty, it probably hadn’t been changed in years. Old v. new pic




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hows the condition of the suspension components?
More then likely the calipers were that rusted because they actually were not original OEM. Aftermarket rebuilds tend to corrode up like that, although all the 4th gen calipers tend to seize.
what you did should prolong the life of the new ones a bit but the better alternative would be to do the 5th caliper/brake upgrade. same price, better parts. Now you know for the next time.
Your off to a good start, slow down, do some reading and do it right the first time. Im at just about 140k on my 05 V8.

Thanks Billy. I’m on the same boat...unfortunately the caliper fix needed to happen fast as it was affecting drivability / safety and this thing is to be driven everyday. With critical stuff out of the way, I can sit back and start looking at things more calmly as you suggest.

Suspension actually looks decent. It does feel a little soft to me but I don’t have a good comparison point plus I come from harsher ride sportier vehicles.

I may get a 2-3” lift for looks and clearance so I’ll take a closer look then


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I hear ya, mine has been my daily driver/ weekend warrior/offroad toy and work truck for going on 6 years. Ive commuted, towed, offroaded, road tripped and used for running around without complaint. Its a great reliable platform. That said, my first word of advice for a v8 owner would be to contact @slyfox75 on here and buy his "secondary air emissions pump override kit" .. this will save you a future headache, its cheap and takes about 10 minutes to install.
(this is not a sales pitch, this is a v8 must do)

Secondary Air Injection Pump Failure on V8's! Important!

Out of curiosity, is that a Quick Jack lift you are using?

Billy bath: I’ll look into it!


Correct




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