[cwilliams563]

Might as well start my build thread. Primarily for documentation and consolidation purposes. Hopefully it can help a few people with the basics. I should have started it months ago and did it as I went. Now I’m going to have to play catch up and see what all specifics I can remember. I need to start an Excel sheet with all the specifics to keep track for total $ into it and insurance purposes.

I’m far from a vehicle mechanic with just basic tools and without the know how. Learning as I go. This is the first lift I have put on any vehicle. Actually many firsts for me so far. Starting out I was horrible at taking pictures and documenting, just wanted to get it done! Still find myself just wanting to get it done. (“Ain’t nobody got time for that!”). It certainly didn’t take me long to start heading down the rabbit hole very quickly!

I bought it in Feb 12th 2020 with 154,000 Mi. on it in Tucson, Az and was virtually stock. It spent approx. the first 10 years in PA & NJ and has quite a bit of rust. Nuts and bolts have been a nightmare getting them off between being seized, stripping, and breaking. Installed lift Feb. 29th 2020 and wheels/tires installed March 2nd 2020, I’m not very patient haha.

Most of my pictures should be imbeded images, so if you click on them it should take you to Imgur to where they can be opened up for more resolution compared to just using the uploader here

Stock pics in February 2020




How it looks now




Suspension

Front
-Bilstein 5100’s set at 0 with Eibach springs, 1/2” ToyTec spacer on driver and 1/4” on passenger, new KYB top hats. Rev Tek Differential drop kit and ToyTec front sway bar relocate kit. Red energy sway bar bushings.

Rear
-Bilstein 5100’s set at 0 With ToyTec Supeflex springs. 2nd Gen. rear sway bar links with red Energy Poly bushings. Red energy Poly rear sway bar bushings.


Wheels & Tires
-Level 8 MK6 in Gunmetal Grey 17”X8” 0mm offset W/TRD caps.
-Falken Wildpeak A/T3W 275/70/17
-TRD silver valve stem caps

Lighting

Interior
-Full Led light swap
-Footwell light addition

Exterior
-LED headlight swap; highs and lows
-Parking lights
-DRL’s, front and rear turn signal LED swap coming soon, (hopefully).
-Reverse lights LED extra bright upgrade
-LED strips for steps/courtesy lighting; Luyed 2,200 lumens
-Custom orange backlit push switches from CH4X4 for LED lights
-18” LED light bar from Amazon on Bull bar (El Cheapo)
-3”x3” LED’s from Amazon front of Bull bar tube (El Cheapo)
-Ditch lights; 3”x3” LED Pods from Amazon (El Cheapo) CBI mounts
-Pair of 4”x4” LED’s on rear of tow hitch for back up lights

Future lighting additions for components that I already own
-Rock lights, I have 12qty. but have been putting off due to the time for wiring I have to make.
-4”x4” qty. 4 roof rack side lights, Amazon LED’s (El Cheapo)
-Relay box with 6 relays and 12 fuses
-Power button (Armed button) to where switches can’t be accidentally turned on without power button pushed first


Electronics
-Pioneer AVH-2550NEX DVD head unit
-Pioneer back up camera ND-bc8 for both the rear and front
-XM antenna

Interior
-Clazzio leather seat covers
-Weathertech floor Mats in front, rear, and cargo area


Armor
-Lund HX Terrain tube steps
-Tyger Bull bar (pretty worthless other than a light holder and looks)

Mods and additions
-Auto dimming Gentex mirror with Homelink and Compass
-MAP light mod
-12V+ constant auxiliary power
-Blue tooth and phone buttons on RH side of steering wheel
-Window rain deflectors by Weathertech (front 2 have warped and broke)

Aesthetic mods and additions
-Satoshi Front Grille Mod W/Raptor lights and red/blk TRD emblem
-Rear color matched spoiler installed

Future additions and wish list
-Victory Blitz flush front bumper with tube and winch
-Heavier duty spring rate to support Victory bumper & may just upgrade to Bilstein 5160 or 6112 while I have it all off. Would be an easier swap
-Victory full length roof rack
-Adjustable UCA’s
-Whiteline bushing rebuild for my LCA’s
-Full sized matching tire and wheel spare
-Aftermarket skid plates
-Window tint all windows including UV tint for windshield
-Rear airbags for heavy loads and when I tow
-Extended bump stops for the front and rear
-5 Channel amp and under seat Subwoofer, maybe powered sub for the interim

Repairs, fixes, replacements
-Rear window exterior weatherstrip
-Rear OEM whole windshield wiper and blade replacement
-Front headlights with some inexpensive ones from Amazon

[cwilliams563]

In progress.......

My lift except I bought individual components and had to build the front coil overs with new KYB Top Hats.




Front
-Bilstein 5100’s set at 0 with Eibach springs, 1/2” ToyTec spacer on driver and 1/4” on passenger, new KYB top hats. ToyTec Differential drop kit. ToyTec sway bar relocate kit, and red energy sway bar bushings.

Rear
-Bilstein 5100’s set at 0 With ToyTec Supeflex springs. 2nd Gen. rear sway bar links with red Energy Poly bushings. Red energy Poly rear sway bar bushings.

I didn’t get any before measurements to determine just how much lift I gained, it seemed pretty substantial though. I took very few pics though the lift process unfortunately, nor document anything.

Before lift


After lift with stock wheels and 265/65/17


You can see the differential drop kit




We didn’t remove either the UCA nor the LCA, just the sway bar links and the ball joint tapered bolt nut for the UCA. Made it hard to compress getting it bolted back together so had to get a little creative lol. Had a floor jack underneath and got to the point where it just started lifting the whole vehicle so we had to “influence” it a bit.


A lot of rusted bolts and issues. Blew through a lot of PB Blaster! The front passenger rear sway bar weld nut inside the frame wound up breaking loose about halfway unthreaded. Wound up having to drill the frame out, get a wrench on it and replace the nut. I was going to have the nut welded and close the frame, but for now just painted it and left it open.


Here is the weld nut which was broken loose, horrible design lol


You can see a shot of the sway bar relocation kit and the red energy sway bar bushings.


Rear Moog (Japanese made) sway bar end link for a 2nd gen. They are 1” longer than the 4th gen links and virtually took all the preload out. Also put on red Energy Poly bushings and red energy rear sway bar poly bushings


Wheels & Tires
-Level 8 MK6 in Gunmetal Grey 17”X8” 0mm offset W/TRD Silver caps.
-Falken Wildpeak A/T3W 275/70/17
-TRD silver valve stem caps

Tires seem great so far, high mileage warranty rating (I think like 55,00mi) and very quiet on the road.

[cwilliams563]

reserved......

[cwilliams563]

In progress......

Lund Terrain HX tube side steps-I really wanted sliders but by the time you add the powder coat cost to them, shipping, and the cost of someone to weld them up was way out of my budget for now. I lucked out and found these on EBay from a dealer for $199.00 shipped! I’m happy with the way they turned out visually, especially with the led courtesy lights. They look sharp and get a lot of compliments.

I have one 12” strip on each step and one mounted to the tube underneath between the 2 steps.

I tied them into my interior lights so they go on/off with the doors. They work great for approach and puddle lights as well. When you unlock they turn on so there are no surprises walking up. When you open the door there are no surprises as to what you may step on or in at night. They are super bright!

12” led strips
Amazon.com: PryEU Daylight White 6000K LED Strip Lights 12V Waterproof for Auto Car Truck Boat Motorcycle Interior Lighting 12'' 30CM 2835 SMD UL Listed Pack of 4: Home Improvement

Click on picture below to view the GIF video for lighting

[cwilliams563]

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[cwilliams563]

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[cwilliams563]

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[cwilliams563]

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[cwilliams563]

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[cwilliams563]

Rear color matched spoiler from the spoiler company on EBay. Very nice with LED brake lights. I went with the Non-Hump backed version primarily because I didn’t want to spend that much and saw a video where a guy with the humped style had to swap for a NON humped due to it hitting his roof rack.

PRE-PAINTED REAR SPOILER FOR 2003-2009 TOYOTA 4RUNNER W/3RD LED BRAKE LIGHT!! | eBay

I took a chance on this spoiler, but basing on their name and warranty they offer it seemed like a standup outfit..... I hope lol. They also sell the Hump back version for around $260ish shipped. It came in pretty quick, packaged very well, and paint looks flawless. Seems to match my 12 year old paint perfectly. I like the look of the Hump backed version better but most of everything I’ve bought have been frugal purchases and this was $168 at the time. There are cheaper ones on there and may all be good quality but I just had to go with my gut and opted to pay more due to their 3 year warranty.








Here are the instructions it came with which are ok, there are videos on YouTube that give you an idea how to use the templates. The templates for this are on the bottom of the page and are perforated to tear off easily.


When I first taped on the template I messed up. I didn’t realize it until after it was taped on the vehicle. I followed the inside curve pretty tight when taping on. It is was too extreme of a curve for it and had to do it a 2nd time. The pictures taped inside spoiler are from the first tape job where the curves were way too extreme.

The 2nd time I taped them on pretty flat and fairly straight across and was pretty dang close to the proper curve. A neighbor and I held it up, measured it, and eyeballed the rest. One thing he brought up was about the potential of it hitting the roof when it was opened. So we held it on and opened the hatch to make sure we were clear.

We used a sharpie and traced around the outside of the spoiler onto the vehicle. Then taped the templates on the spoiler (a 2nd time lol) and laid on the traced sharpie lines. From there we proceeded to tape on the templates and gently remove the spoiler.



Spoiler removed and the templates left on



From there we proceeded to drill holes. I was pretty nervous for the first couple holes drilled, after that it wasn’t that big of a deal. The holes amazingly enough lined up perfectly centered behind the existing plugged holes for the top spoiler holes. On the passenger side there are 3 total layers of metal to have to drill through. I started on the outside with a 1/8” bit then progressed. For the inside and center holes I had to drill with a 5/8” bit to finish. It had to be that big to get the screw head through both layers.




We used a bunch of silicone on the head of the screw and inside to seal from water.


Fished the wires through on the drivers side and pulled out the wire loom hole area. I used T-tap connectors to tie into the existing brake light wiring and not to harm it. Very limited room and this worked perfect for me. Both the original 3rd brake light on the 4Runner work as well as the brake light on the spoiler.

The bottom screw hole is behind the wire loom and the top is behind the plastic grommet



I found some 5/8” rubber hole covers at O’Reily Auto to plug the passenger side hole I drilled on the inside of the hatch. The other 3 holes already had covers so that was super convenient. I also ordered a set of rubber hole covers and grommets of different sizes before I found them in stock.


And...... drumroll please.....
The final product! I am very happy with how it turned out. Very cost effective and looks great. I think these 4th Gen 4Runners just look funny without them, I always knew it but it didn’t really come together until it was on. I did gain an extra 9mph on the top end and 2.37mpg avg....... J/K lol

[cwilliams563]

Wow, this was a LOT of work. Hours alone just sanding. Of course as usual I do it the hard way lol. I wasn’t sure just what to do for the body filler as it’s nothing I’ve ever done before. I’ve never messed with fiberglass and my neighbor had told be that Bondo would probably crack filling these big of openings. I used what I had on hand and what I thought would be strong.

I used JB weld regular dry time as I had the big tubes that I’ve used to bed actions and worked well for that. It proved to be runny as was a huge PITA. It took forever to set and wanted to continue to run. I let it dry for an hour and a half to get tacky first but just made it messy and stringy getting on parts of the grille I didn’t want it to. I used JB Weld Kwik for the last 2 final top coats and dried fast. The Kwik dry may have worked well but not for sure since it was only for top thin coats but did dry very fast. I saw videos of the customcargrilles guys using the plio grip and gave me the idea, hoped it would have been similar but nope!

I used a mini hack saw to cut the center part out.


Used a Dremel tool with sanding drum to grind down the excess. This is where patience will really pay off. The less you gouge past flush the less you’ll have to fill in later. For the top and bottom I had to use virtually no filling due to taking my time. Once you get close, STOP. then sandpaper flush


I was trying to find a piece of aluminum expanded metal at Home Depot, this is the closest I could find


Cut to size with tin snips and placed accordingly


Used JB Weld to start filling the gaps with a popsicle stick


The back side of the sides has a funky curved shape to it that I wasn’t proactive on initially. I wound up building it up to make it pretty straight across so it would sit flat against the metal grille. I’d recommend cutting the metal to make a straight line across, that would have saved me time.



Filled again and sanded in between applications


As I initially stated, the JB Weld just wanted to run and wouldn’t stay put after shaping while drying. I’d have to put it on the face of the grille and would run down slowly, then put on the back and would hang down past flat. It turned out pretty rough and took a lot of building up, drying, and sanding sessions.


After a few fills and many hours of sanding it is taking shape. Used spot and glazing compound to fill small holes



Finished as much as I was going to do. It sanded smooth as glass. Far from perfect but my fingers were raw from all the sanding at this point

Painted frame in flat black using Rustoleum primer+paint X2 ultra cover. I now have my color match 1D4 paint in and will paint the face of it in Titanium at some point.
While it was drying I test fit everything, attached the lights to the metal grille portion and built the harness for it. I used a quick waterproof disconnect so I could remove it or unplug as or if needed



Used @Bluesky 07 method of attaching the grille by attaching zip tie bases



Finished up the grille on table and time to install


Wired it up by running the wires under the hood insulation and attached the wires to the hood using the zip tie bases I had. Ran in through the firewall.



Ran through the firewall and tied it into an ignition wire located in my driver side door sill. The wire is yellow with red stripe (NOT the red wire with yellow stripe as that’s the brake power I tied into my radio back up camera signal remote power) that I previously used for my power wire on my back up camera


I didn’t take a picture of it but I used a basic non lighted on/off 2-way switch on the ground wire to turn off as needed and have in my kick panel.

[Pattatted4]

looks like we are going to get a lot of pics...subscribed!!!

[rwheeler]

Great progress!

[ToonZilda08]

Good stuff! Will be checking back.

[cwilliams563]

Got my X-Tray large Rhino Rack Basket put on.


Had to put some foam rubber tape on the corners of the factory crossbars due to the basket frame rattling as I drive.



Made some mounts for my X-Bull 3rd Gen traction boards. I used a couple inexpensive Amazon light mounts to attach to the rack and went to the local Ace hardware for some parts to mount it.




Link for the Amazon light mounts. Pretty universal for a bunch of diameters. It’s a little squishy due to all the rubber. It’s pretty decent for such light items though.
Amazon.com: Nilight 4PCS Mounting Bracket Kit LED Off-Road Light Horizontal Bar Tube Clamp Roof Roll Cage Holder,2 Years Warranty: Automotive

Link for the X-Bull traction boards, seem good quality but haven’t used them yet.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/X-BULL-3-GE...72.m2749.l2649

I used the following materials for the mounts
1-14 Ga. strap metal cut to length (8 holes)
2-4” 5/16” all thread hex head bolts
2-5” 5/16” all thread hex head bolts
4-5/16” lock washers
4-5/16” nuts for the above
4-5/16” fender washer
4-Nylon spacers with caps
4-Nylon spacers (2 different lengths for the different length bolts above)
4-5/16” washers
4-5/16” wing nuts

I used JB Kwik weld to adhere the 2 pieces of nylon spacers together (albeit unnecessary) to help from losing pieces when they’re taken off. It looks kinda tacky but will grind down and paint black when I paint the rest of the mounts. I’m considering drilling a hole towards the end of the bolt and putting cotter pins through so the wing nuts can’t back out and fall off. They seem to snug up pretty good though.




To secure it from theft I used a Python cable lock to go through the handles and a couple holes in the back of the boards.









Also received my 2 in 1 key fob switchblade. It was easy to program for both the key chip transponder and the keyless remote. People were saying these were less bulky than the factory. I beg to differ, the factory key fob is very slim and small, but with the key it’s a bit wider but is lighter overall.






1.25oz


1.70 oz


Link to the 2 in 1 switchblade key fob I bought.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Upgraded-Fl...72.m2749.l2649




Here is a thread with the programming instructions for the transponder key.
How to make spare chipped keys

Here is a link to programming the key fob keyless entry itself. Post #6 is for an 03-05 and post 8 is for an 06-09. Mine is an 08 and the second sequence worked for mine.
https://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-g...ing-print.html

Ace Hardware cut my switchblade key, the lady said she’s not supposed to do it since I didn’t buy it there. I told her I wouldn’t hold her liable if it didn’t work. I told her I’d pay for it if it worked and if it didn’t no worries. I took it in with the key blank loose and not in the key fob.

She cut it and worked perfect. She didn’t even charge me, not that I had any problem paying for it though. The hardest thing about the switchblade key fob was getting the roll pin out and putting it back in. It was a bear and that was with a roll pin punch lol.

The key comes loose, do yourself and favor and do NOT install the roll pin to test out. Then you have to remove it. Again, it was a pain.