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Old 01-15-2020, 02:02 PM #1
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2007 SR5 2wd restoration build

So this is my newest/oldest project. My first vehicle was a 2007 Toyota 4Runner SR5 2wd in sand/gold with chrome trim. Its an awesome car but has always in my opinion been on the uglier side of 4runners.

As of today I have purchased and build my dream 4runner to spec in a 2015 4x4 and its amazing! My wife took the 07 when she was still in college and has been driving it for the past 4 years. It has 195k miles on it and so far the only mechanical issue is we replaced the alternator at 165k miles. The paint is starting to chip and fade, the black parts are fading in the Vegas sun and honestly it makes me sad to see my first truck in such bad shape.

I have decided that because the engine is in great shape and the frame has no rust, I will start a small restoration project! This will not include any "off-road" modification as its a street car and I will be attempting to do it as cost effectively as possible.

As of right now the truck is 100% stock minus the 1 inch poly spacer lift that flattened to almost nothing in the past 5 years and I put my stock 5th gen rims and tires on it back in 2015 which I think looks really nice!

So here is the plan/timeline on the project.

Phase 1 Suspension:
I will be going a different route, we want to preserve the stock driving characteristics as much as possible while slightly stiffening the ride and providing some lift without a spacer. I will be installing a full set of 2016 4runner Trail edition suspension all with less than 1000 miles on it.

Items used:
-2016 Front Coilovers
-2016 Front UCA's
-2016 Rear Shocks
-2016 Rear Springs
-Moog Sway bar bushings front and rear


Phase 2 Tires and Wheels:
For tires I am going with a set of Falken Wildpeak AT's in the stock size of P265/70/17. Even though I will not be off roading, this is a restoration project so for looks I like a mild AT tire on my 4runners.

Items used:
-(5) P265/70/17 Falken Wildpeak AT's


Phase 3 Interior:
The interior isn't in bad shape but it does look like a 13 year old car. The seats are worn and less cushion than original. I am thinking either getting a good set of seat covers or possibly swapping in a set of 5th gen seats. I will have more information on this after this weekend. I am also wanting to upgrade the head unit to something that supports apple car play and a back up camera. I am leaning to a Pioneer unit due to price and selection.

Items used:
-Either Carhart seat covers in tan, or retrofit 5th gen tan seats.
-Pioneer AVH-1550NEX


Phase 4 Exterior:
This is going to be one of the last things to happen to the truck, the paint and exterior are having a really hard time in the Vegas sun, so I am wanting to pick something that is affordable, super durable and looks good. The plan is to do Raptor Liner on the entire truck and have it sprayed with 0 texture. If you haven't seen this stuff look it up. Very durable, very very cost effective, I am looking at less than $500 to do the entire truck. I will be going with the Magnetic Grey that was introduced with the 5th gens, It is going to be a flat version of that color and then we will spray the raptor liner with clear coat. After paint, I will be restoring all of the Black trim parts and replacing the chrome parts with color matched parts.

Items used:
-6 quart U-pol Raptor Liner tinted to OEM Toyota Magnetic Gray w/Gloss coat.
Attached Images
2007 SR5 2wd restoration build-4runner-jpg 
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Old 01-16-2020, 02:54 AM #2
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Phase 1 part 1

So I decided to split the suspension install into 2 parts because I wanted to do it after work. Tonight I did rear suspension and I will say, 13 years and 195k miles of grime and rusted bolts kicked my ass!

Spent almost 3 hours on what would normally be an hour job.

So here we go.

Ride Height with stock 4th gen suspension:


Ride Height as it sits was around 21.5 inches to center of hub cap.



Stock set up of 4th gen:



4th gen to 5th gen shock comparison:


As you can tell the 5th gen shock is slightly larger.


Stock Rotar vs Slotted Power stop


I had a set of slotted power stops in the garage so while I was down there I decided to swap them over.


Final install with cleanup and undercarriage liner.


Very happy with how everything fit and was cleaned up by the undercarriage liner.


Final 4th gen rear ride height with 5th gen springs and shocks.


As you can tell I gained a touch more than .75 inches in the rear and after driving it, I can say that the shocks and springs are stiffer, but the biggest difference is how planted the rear is in comparison to the front with the new sway bar links!
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Old 01-16-2020, 01:36 PM #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vegas4runners View Post
So I decided to split the suspension install into 2 parts because I wanted to do it after work. Tonight I did rear suspension and I will say, 13 years and 195k miles of grime and rusted bolts kicked my ass!

Spent almost 3 hours on what would normally be an hour job.

So here we go.

Ride Height with stock 4th gen suspension:


Ride Height as it sits was around 21.5 inches to center of hub cap.



Stock set up of 4th gen:



4th gen to 5th gen shock comparison:


As you can tell the 5th gen shock is slightly larger.


Stock Rotar vs Slotted Power stop


I had a set of slotted power stops in the garage so while I was down there I decided to swap them over.


Final install with cleanup and undercarriage liner.


Very happy with how everything fit and was cleaned up by the undercarriage liner.


Final 4th gen rear ride height with 5th gen springs and shocks.


As you can tell I gained a touch more than .75 inches in the rear and after driving it, I can say that the shocks and springs are stiffer, but the biggest difference is how planted the rear is in comparison to the front with the new sway bar links!
FYI if that undercarriage spray you used is rubberized (what most people use for liner-type areas) spraying it on the frame is a bad idea. Rust will get behind it/under it and eat away at what you cant see. It's kind of known for doing just that
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Old 01-16-2020, 03:12 PM #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by That_Titanium_4RNR View Post
FYI if that undercarriage spray you used is rubberized (what most people use for liner-type areas) spraying it on the frame is a bad idea. Rust will get behind it/under it and eat away at what you cant see. It's kind of known for doing just that
Ya I was a little worried about that. I cleaned the frame first and removed any signs of rust, but thankfully there wasn't really any. I have owned it since day one back in 07 and it has exclusively been in Alabama and now Las Vegas. It rained a lot in Bama but almost never snowed and they don't know what salt is and then Vegas speaks for itself so I am not immediately worried about it, but I may scrape it off the frame in a few months. I did decide to just do regular high heat enamel paint on the front when I do it tonight.
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Old 01-17-2020, 09:32 AM #5
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I did a restoration of my 2005 4R. New suspension/tires/ HID retrofit last year...and new entire paint job this past December after I got rear ended. I'll post a thread later this month with pics. It looks brand new. I've also owned it since day 1.
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Old 01-22-2020, 05:26 PM #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ventil8 View Post
I did a restoration of my 2005 4R. New suspension/tires/ HID retrofit last year...and new entire paint job this past December after I got rear ended. I'll post a thread later this month with pics. It looks brand new. I've also owned it since day 1.


Ya I have had this one since day one as well. We recently decided to keep it instead of trading it in. So it was time for some serious TLC.


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Old 01-27-2020, 08:00 PM #7
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1/27/20 update!

Its been a few weeks since I updated the thread! Few things have gone down! Front suspension install, headlights, and tires! Outlining the process below!

Front suspension:
Suspension for the front was a little more difficult than expected. First the front struts are not 100% direct replace, so in order to make the bushing fit into the lower control arm you have to grind down the bushing on the bottom of the strut around 1.5mm per side and bend the mounts open a little. This process took me around 3 hours to complete.

One the strut is installed you will notice that the driver side sits about 1/2 inches lower than the right. From what I can tell this is due to the fact that the 4th gen is set up to accept a longer coil on the driver side than the passenger. The replacement 5th gen struts are the same length on both sides. To correct this you need a 1/4 inch aluminum shim to put on top of the strut assembly to give 1/2 inch of lift to the driver side (I know that doesn't make a ton of sense but its the truth). Due to the coils being significantly stiffer than the 4th gens, I have not noticed any droop when I sit in the driver seat. ( I weigh around 200 lbs.). All in all this netted around 1 and 1/4 inch lift in the front. So I now sit slightly higher and much firmer than the 1 inch spacers I had on before.



Front Head Lights:
After the suspension was sorted I then proceeded to correct 13 years of haze on the stock head lights. I ordered an after market head light unit that replicates OEM for $150+shipping off Carparts.com. They were great as they shipped and arrived in 1 day from LA. I proceeded to replace the OEM headlights which requires the removal of the front bumper. Result is excellent! Much brighter when driving at night! I also upgraded my fog lights to LED bulbs in the stock housings. They are not crazy bright but plenty brighter!


Tires and alignment:
Final step was to get rid of the terrible stock tires. I am running SR5, 5th gen wheels. I put on a set of Falken Wildpeak At's in 265/70/17 which is slightly larger than the stock 265/65/17's. I also got an alignment to make sure it drives strait and the tires hold up over time!

All in all its coming together well!
Attached Images
2007 SR5 2wd restoration build-4runner-jpg 
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