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Old 11-05-2022, 09:43 PM #1
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T4r.Chris Build Thread

Hello all! I’m Chris and I own a 2005 4Runner SR5 4WD. I wanted to share this build thread as this forum has been a great way for me to learn about my truck, and I’m hoping I can help some people out too. It was long overdue but I’m finally able to make a post.

I purchased my 4Runner in 2019 from my Dad, who was the second owner of the vehicle. At the time it was his daily driver that I’d be converting to mine. The vehicle was already lifted with Bilstein 5100’s, which are still on the vehicle today, along with 32ish” tires on Level 8 wheels. I was always fascinated with Toyota’s and wanted to get into off-roading, I figured this would be the best start.



The picture above is where it began the day I got her. Immediately I began turning it into my own. While the picture above doesn’t show it the headlights were cloudy, those were quickly swapped out. I completed the Map light mod in the A-Pillar using one of the methods on this forum. I swapped all of the interior lights with LED’s and installed some stick on window visors. New K&N filters were installed for intake and cabin air.

Next was some LED tail lights. For some odd reason these were a total pain in the butt and took a lot of finessing electronically to work. I found the LED conversion harness had a few non-secure points causing intermittent contact. After the adjusting the contacts all went well.



After some fresh Plastidip on the grille along with yellow tint on the fog lights it really began coming together, she sat like this for a minute while I planned the build. I did install an OwlCam DashCam for security, simply plugs in the OBD port and you tuck the wire up to the dash. I also am fond of detailing cars, after a full paint correction it really shined.



Next came a reverse camera. At this time I really wanted to have a “modernized” old 4Runner. And so I began adding the little things to make this thing easier to daily drive! Adding a camera to these is a severe pain in the butt, take your time, work carefully and eventually you will be okay. The camera works well with my Pioneer Radio. I installed a Broadway Mirror (Panoramic) and a 5th Gen 4Runner TRD Shift Knob. I also installed a dual USB port which fit perfectly in a blank switch spot.



Next came some lighting. Through research I found Cali Raised LED/Off-road. Not only were the prices great but there were a lot of people swearing by their products in the reviews. Install was very easy and I also used Cali Raised OEM style switches which fit perfectly in the spots in the dash.



Next came my first camping trip with the 4Runner in Summer of 2020. I installed a CB radio along with a magnetic cobra antenna the morning of, and it worked really well, even hearing construction workers from miles away. But this was my first test with the vehicle to find it’s weaknesses and what can be improved. My girlfriend and I share 4 dogs, 2 German Shepard’s, a Pitbull, and a small mixed poodle. (Quite the diversity haha) Between loading the dogs comfortably and packing our gear we found the Large 4Runner to not be so large anymore. Many changes would come in the future after learning from this trip.



The first thing learned was obvious, I need more space. I always enjoyed the look of roof baskets and found for my needs it would work better then a flat rack. I purchased a Rola Roof Rack off of Amazon, along with the extension. I live in New Mexico and thankfully rust is not an issue. However based off of reviews people advised this rack can rust. I took some precautionary steps, like coating the inside of the rack with a silicon lubricant prior to sealing it all together with RTV. I also upgraded the hardware to all Stainless Steel. 2 years later and it’s still in great shape. Somehow it still fit in my garage but I didn’t like how it fit on the roof. Thankfully 4xInnovations creates a low-profile mounting bracket for the rack which fits in the stock roof rails. At its lowest setting it looked great! But touched the roof… After some careful bending of the cross bars it fit great and could hold a lot of weight before touching the roof.





Some Cali Raised ditch lights were installed, these things are fantastic at night! Also a few stickers later everything began coming together… I had 33” BFG KO2’s installed as the Nitto’s on the vehicle weren’t working so well any longer. I also installed a tow hitch receiver that allows me to have a shackle in the rear.



I was getting bored of the front of the 4Runner’s PlastiDipped grille so a change was necessary. At the time there wasn’t much for grille options and I knew I wanted the TOYOTA spelt out in the front. Thankfully I found this grille through an Etsy seller, after a week it was installed and I liked the look of it.



But I grew out of that grille quickly when I found SRQ released the TRD Pro styled grille for the early 4th Gens. After a quick install I was loving the way the front looked. But I found the rear of the vehicle to be lacking in the style department.



I decided I really like the look of the spoiler from the later years of the 4th Gen, known as the “hump spoiler”. I had ordered one and with help from my dad we got it painted and installed. This 4Runner didn’t come from the factory with a spoiler so it took some careful measurements to get it right. Shortly after I came to the conclusion that with the roof rack it may be difficult to reach items on the rear of the roof rack. After some research I settled on the Victory 4x4 Hatch Ladder. The install was fairly easy and allowed me to help my problem of NEEDING MORE SPACE. A shovel mount and RotoPax mount would come later.



Next were some goodies to free some space. As mentioned above I invested in a Krazy Beaver Shovel with locking Rhino Rack mount and a RotoPax with locking mount. With how it’s designed taking off the RotoPax to use the ladder takes no effort at all. I also got an IronMax4x4 awning, with a GZilla fabrication bar mount. The awning and mount were really well made. I did want the light for the awning to be hardwired and temporarily ran it down the side of the windshield. I eventually plan to run power to the roof just don’t wanna drill the roof of it haha.

The girlfriend and I decided to take the 4Runner to one of the National Forests in our state for lunch to test all the equipment. All of the new equipment stayed solid, and that awning proved to be a game changer. The Rhino Rack shovel mount isn’t meant to be vertically holding it, but has not slipped or failed me once.



Wiring was my next dilemma. I didn’t mind the OEM style switches for a couple of things, however between the light bar, ditch lights, awning light, rock lights, and CB radio I needed to clean the wiring up. I ordered an AuxBeam 8 switch panel off of Amazon after hearing great reviews for the price. Wiring was extremely easy and it has worked very well. The switch panel was mounted above the map light using Velcro tape, it has proved very secure. I also ordered a PowerTray setup, but have yet to install it. That is coming soon once I get around to it!

It wasn’t mentioned but a lot of off-roading trips were done while I had this truck. Definitely the most fun vehicle I’ve ever owned that gets me anywhere!



Again on a mission to save some space I ordered the Victory4x4 rear window molle panel. along with molle pouches on Amazon. My thoughts were to move all my necessary recovery supplies in molle pouches, along with placing my tow strap elsewhere to free up space on the “ground” of the 4Runner. The install was a breeze and works great at saving space!



Of course I had to do some performance mods to the vehicle, nothing crazy but enough to ensure she runs the best she can. I received a “Speed Pedal” for Christmas a couple of years ago, in a sense a Pedal Commander. It made a substantially better difference in driving this thing, made me realize how much of a regear it needs. I also installed a JLC Oil Catch Can on the vehicle, definitely has pulled quite a bit of oil since I’ve had it on the vehicle. I also installed an ARB Differential Breather for the rear differential. The kit made it easy, but the plastic hose it comes with sucks, I ended up getting some vacuum line from a local parts store that was much easier to use. It mounted very easily under the hood with double sided tape, definitely nice to not drill into the vehicle more.

Another camping trip was done in the great mountains in Taos, New Mexico. The morning of, I decided to swap my hatch struts with upgraded ones recommended by Victory 4x4 for the ladder and gear. I now have a hatch that will hold itself up even with all the weight! I got around to putting in my Weathertec Mats for all four seats and the rear, definitely kept the carpet clean even after having everything mud covered. The roof rack proved to be great, I loaded up a majority of the light items on the roof along with fire wood. I used ratchet straps and a net to secure the items and it all stayed put even after 7+ hours of driving. This drive was also made better by some Desert Does It SeatJackers for the front seat, I felt much more supported by our terrible seats plus they look cool haha!



Suspension was next. The vehicle was noticeably bouncier with the added weight in the vehicle when camping, and often “wandered” on the freeway. Astonishingly I found a set of Total Chaos Fabrication UCA’s for our vehicles on Craigslist. After ensuring they were straight and in good shape I purchased them for $450. Thankfully it was from another lifted Yota guy who swore by them. Shortly after buying them I replaced the UniBalls, stickers, and Poly bushings, they were looking great. While I was at it I also ordered some Moog grease-able lower ball joints, Energy suspension sway bar poly bushings, Overland Custom Designs Sway Bar links, and SuperSpring’s SumoSpring Rear Bump Stop. What a huge install day!!! Installing them took some time, pain, and a lot of effort. The lower ball joint proved to be the hardest. Looking through all of the service records I couldn’t find anything pointing to them ever being replaced. With the lift it was just extra security of replacing them and knowing it was a quality product. I never replaced ball joints but my Dad and I were able to get them on in a weekend. I got it aligned, and after some back and forth will the alignment shop please please please be sure they ADD caster to the front suspension when doing UCA’s. The vehicle with these tires will be inoperable without ADDING caster. After a couple attempts the vehicle’s specs were all great and it rode perfectly. But let me tell you it rides plush now! I still have the same Bilstein’s on the vehicle, which are now over 5 years old. But they are still great. Eventually I’ll do a coilover setup on the vehicle, I think it was Old Man Emu who released a new coilover system that looks great.



This is where the truck sits for now. If anyone has some comments or questions please ask! Again I’m making this forum to show others what can be done, along with providing some help on things I’ve done. More will be coming soon and I’m glad I can share with you all!


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2005 4Runner SR5 - Build Thread- https://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-g...ld-thread.html

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Old 11-06-2022, 12:44 PM #2
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Great looking 4Runner! Looking forward to the things to come!


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Old 11-06-2022, 01:37 PM #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Napalm View Post
Great looking 4Runner! Looking forward to the things to come!


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Thank you very much, it is greatly appreciated!


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Old 11-10-2022, 01:36 PM #4
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A couple days ago I got around to installing some CaliRaised Off-road/LED bolt on Trail Edition Rock Sliders (What a mouthful!). I got the rock sliders from their Black Friday deal which took 15% off. Surprisingly they were shipped and at my door like 4 days later.

When I received them they were in good shape, no damage other then a couple scuffs which could always be painted over if they bugged me. And the packaging was super simple but worked well at protecting the sliders and powdercoat. The hardware was 8.8 M8 bolts and it all felt really high quality, each slider weighed something like 40lbs after all was told.



I purchased the “Trail Edition” slider as I wanted something that would tuck more against the body. I thought it was going to be a lot more aggressively tucked but honestly I like the subtle-ness. I also got the option with the “Kick-Out” which is the wider part of the slider. With New Mexico trails literally changing with the weather it’s nice having this option as getting through the rocks here can be a tight squeeze in this thing. Its also a nice step if needing to access anything on the roof rack too.

Install was a breeze. Taking off the original steps was only six bolts which came off easily. I “prepped” the frame by wiping it down with a low diluted degreaser and water mix. It made me truly appreciate living in the Southwest USA, the frame looked almost brand new after wiping it down.



The way these sliders mounted were fairly straightforward, but the passenger side was a little more complex to put on. The drivers side mount actually fit in between the gas tank skid and frame (pictured above to the right). But the passenger side required a couple bolt and clamps to go onto the backside of the frame since there was no skid or holes to bolt into.

After all was said and done I am happy with the sliders!! They look sleek and fit like a glove. My girlfriend is happy cause they can still be used as a step even though it’s tucked more against the body.





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Old 12-27-2022, 07:38 PM #5
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After some new Christmas Gifts and tools I got around to installing the Power Tray!

My prior setup used a bracket that I think came with the AuxBeam 8 Switch Panel I have. It worked fine and I was even able to mount my rock light controller on it to. However I hated the look, and honestly seeing the wires underneath always bugged me.




I ordered this PowerTray in June, received it in October (manufacturer issues). I wasn’t in a rush so it didn’t bug me. I went with their “blank” option. They sell some with pre-made cutouts for S-Pod systems, ARB compressors and more. I liked my AuxBeam and paying $70 for a piece of aluminum I wanted it to be perfect for my application.

First thing first is unplug the AuxBeam from the battery and undo all of the wiring. I labeled all my pre-existing connections by name and polarity to ensure an easy re-install. I completely removed the AuxBeam panel from the vehicle and set it aside. I picked up a 60 Amp circuit breaker from Napa that I planned to use. Great safety measure just in case the already installed safety measures inside of the AuxBeam controller fail.



Next thing I did was mock up the PowerTray inside of the vehicle. I read somewhere the 4th Gen 4R PowerTray may have clearance issues with the hood strut, however it closed fine with no contact. The PowerTray bolts to pre-existing threaded holes along the driver’s side engine bay. It has a leg that you bolt to the main tray that goes to a hole on the fender/wheel well.





One thing I did notice when checking fitment is the hood strut does take up about an inch of space on the PowerTray when the hood is shut. Using a flathead I marked a line on the edge to ensure I don’t put something there later.

Next was figuring out where I wanted everything. I decided not to mount my rock light controller on the PowerTray as it really serves no function. I later mounted it underneath. I placed the circuit breaker and AuxBeam panel on the PowerTray, measured twice and drew some lines marking the controller itself and mounting holes. Using a center punch I prepared to screw into the panel.




I then began drilling with my new right angle drill I got for Christmas. I started with a small drill bit and worked up, spraying WD40 occasionally ensured a clean cut. When preparing for this project I reached out to PowerTrays on methods for cutting an oval “wire cutout”. This was my first time really doing anything like this and the folks over there were super helpful. They recommended a Uni-bit to make some holes and use a dremel/cutting wheel to connect the holes. I did just that and it truly worked like a dream. With WD40 it cut pretty quick for how thick it is.



With wiring and cut metal you want to ensure your edges are free of sharpness or anything that could snag the wire. I grabbed some sandpaper, and after a couple of minutes my cut edges were now very smooth.



Next thing next I mounted all the accessories to the tray and installed it on the car. Don’t really know of an easier way but it was a pain in the butt mounting the plate and getting the wires up to the AuxBeam panel. Overall though I got it on and working. For a circuit breaker simply take your pre-existing power cable, measure the distance between your panel and breaker, cut your cable and add connections. It’ll go battery to circuit breaker, circuit breaker to panel. Testing it out worked great, I turned on all my accessories and pushed the button on the breaker, it killed the power to the controller and panel.





Overall a fun install and a great way to learn about cutting metal and making it into your own. The panel did end up with some scratches from all the cutting, being more careful and constantly cleaning your work bench will alleviate that. I eventually plan to add a compressor to the vehicle and left plenty of space to do so.


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Old 01-15-2023, 12:09 PM #6
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Yesterday was a day of repairs… Driving home from work on Friday I found the 4Runner to be overheating! It was odd as the temperature gauge was fluctuating pretty severely, going hot fairly fast but cooling itself back down. I never really had a problem with high temps before with this truck so this was new.

On the way home I took it through a car wash hoping to see the temps drop, but it only heated up more. I had turned the truck off to let it cool down while I vacuumed it, which helped, but it only got hot again.



I found the blasting the heater trick didn’t quite work well and didn’t make much of a difference. Nevertheless got it home. I hooked up my scanner and no new codes (Only codes I have are from a “very small” EVAP leak coming from my oil catch can). But I was able to view live data and found my coolant temps in the 230-240’s… ouch. Quickly turned it off and began checking for the obvious. Coolant was still full, thankfully, serpentine belt appeared to be in okay condition, and only one very small apparent coolant leak coming from the back hose of the overflow tank. But no fresh coolant, it was just dried pink.

Next morning I went to Toyota and picked up a new thermostat/housing and radiator cap. Unfortunately they didn’t have the little piece of hose. The hose was actually in fine shape, just looked like where it met with the radiator underneath the cap wasn’t fitting the best. I resolved that with hose clamps for now.

I didn’t take much pictures but replacing the thermostat was actually the easiest thing I’ve done to this vehicle. Remove the clamp from the lower radiator hose, remove the hose, take off the 3 10mm bolts holding the thermostat on, wipe everything down, repeat for the installation. Thermostat didn’t appear in terrible shape but I’ll test it today with the boiling water trick, same with the radiator cap.





Got it all together and with the cap off was ready to start burping the system to see if any large bubbles could’ve been the culprit. Started the truck and heard the worst belt squeal I’ve heard in my life! After a quick inspection I found the belt was actually in bad shape and I didn’t check it well enough at first. Got a new belt from Autozone, threw it on, and it worked.



Nevertheless I bled the system again with one of those cool funnel systems from Autozone which made the whole task easy (see pic below), made sure it was filled up with fresh Toyota Pink 50/50 and took it for a test drive to the grocery store. All went well and live temps stayed around 180, much better than the 230-240 earlier. Plus my heater felt like it was working way earlier and much better.




Could it have just been a bad belt… maybe. Radiator cap… maybe. Thermostat… maybe. Regardless truck is in the 160,000 mile range and replacing those parts is just insurance at this point. I can’t complain though, this truck’s been good to me and the only thing I’ve ever replaced that was busted was an alternator.


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Old 01-18-2023, 08:02 PM #7
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Build It!

Nice choices. It is amazing that a 19 year old truck can still get accessories added and get out there.
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Old 03-21-2023, 09:40 PM #8
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Well haven’t updated the thread in a while, due to being busy with all of life! Definitely hasn’t slowed me down from doing 4Runner things!

Not pictured, I will post some soon. But I got some TRED Pro Traction Boards. They’re great and large! I got the optional mounting kit for them which allows for pretty much endless ways to mount it. Having the ROLA roof rack which has bars instead of like a flat rack I had to figure out something. Using some 1/8inx2in aluminum and some the smallest u-bolts I could find i was able to get everything very securely mounted, no rattles or vibrations so I’m happy. Plus with the ARB bracket I can have them off in no time. I tested them out in an area with notoriously soft sand by burying the rear tires (like a burnout in the sand) and they got me out in no time along with my shovel.

Another thing I’ve always wanted was Apple CarPlay, but wireless (cables are overrated). Normally these decks are $600+ and I couldn’t justify getting rid of my deck when it works just fine. But BestBuy had a pretty killer deal on a Pioneer that has all the features I could need. Install was fairly straight forward as I already had a Pioneer double din installed. Pioneer DMH-W2770NEX 6.8”.




I don’t recall where I got it (maybe EBay?) but I have a harness that clips into the Runner’s harness and plugs in to any Pioneer deck, no soldering/crimping/electrical tape. The only difference is this has a GPS antenna that needs to be mounted somewhere in order to use the Wireless CarPlay. I ran it similarly to my dash cam (under the steering wheel, up the driver’s side of the dash and tucked into the dash/windshield. It works great! GPS, texting, and even ordering pizza from my radio! A nice feature is I use OnXOffroad for a lot of my trails, it’s all accessible through the radio, meaning I can GPS an off-road trail from my radio. 10/10.




For months I’ve had heated seat panels sitting in my garage along with some hog rings and pliers. The thought of diving that deep in a project seemed displeasing. But with the fiancée needing some work done on her car we agreed to just make this weekend a car filled weekend.

There really isn’t a solid write up for putting these in because there are a multitude of factors that can play into it. My SR5 has the gray cloth seats. Months and months ago I found a 4Runner with heated seats at the local UPullIt, luckily the center console insert was in good shape and I took it! For the other non-heated seat guys you’ll see in my pics the inserts that have the heated seat switches. Unfortunately there isn’t a plug and play system that lets you utilize the stock switches (didn’t know that at the time of getting the console insert). But a kit I found on EBay included a harness and switches that were fairly close to OEM.

car seat heater,2 seats heated seat,rectangle rocker switch,fit all 12V cars 761710194648 | eBay

First thing first is remove the battery. Not sure if the wiring to the seats is tied into the airbags but I didn’t wanna get punched in the face! Next is to get the seats out. Four bolts at each corner, and unclip the harness and wiring connectors underneath. Weather has been crap where I am, so I took them into the nice warm inside! The plastic trim comes off fairly easy. A few clips and a couple screws. Then it’s simply removing the upholstery while cutting those stupid hog rings.





The heated seat panels fit great with a lil cutting adjusting for where the seat creases in the middle. The heaters still work when cut, just don’t cut it in half. Leave a couple inches of the carbon fiber heating element on each side. It included tape to seal off the cut ends.



Unfortunately seen above is the failure of the seat cushion. My driver’s seat has always had “truck seat syndrome” ever since I’ve had it, now I see the true extent having taken it apart. Not sure if they make a replacement but it doesn’t bother me too much. Wanting to make sure I did it right I took my time and only used hog rings putting it back together. For wiring I used another forum post I found here on activating the stock wiring for heated seats. The switches need the center console insert filed down a little to fit, but they fit snug now and look great! It’s either off/low/high.

non-OEM Seat Heater with Factory Fuse - How To

And voila… heated seats! They get hot, but work well with the cloth seats. I notice the backs “feel” hotter then the bottom of the seat but you definitely notice both. Coming from someone who’s never used hog rings or has done upholstery this job took about 5 hours to get both seats done.




Last but not least did a rear diff and t-case fluid change. Super easy with a breaker bar and 24mm socket! Didn’t get to the front diff due to not having the stupid 10mm hex…

One thing that bugged me was neither Toyota dealership in Central New Mexico were willing to sell OEM Toyota GL5… I was given the excuse of “we don’t sell it, only our techs have access to it”. So I settled on LucasOil’s 75-90w. It seemed to have the best specs. Best to call ahead when ordering 6 qts if you plan to do both diffs and t-case. They had to pull a couple from another store as they usually keep only 5 in stock per store apparently.

If anyone’s had this same issue with Toyota not selling GL5 let me know, I’d love to make a “suggestion” to corporate. More heads the better!



So moral of the story… busy couple days with this thing. More to come of course!


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Old 03-28-2023, 08:22 PM #9
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Got a few goodies in from Venture Thread this week which I got the opportunity to throw on. First being a sweet new air freshener and patch!

Don’t know if any of y’all have a sweet patch collection, but here’s mine!



Another thing I got is the ARK splash guards. I’ve already gone through an OEM set, and another couple Amazon knock-offs, yet they all fail. I give it up to rock heavy desert I’m in, going wheeling causes these things to get torn up. I do like the look of the ARK ones and they’re honestly 10x stronger feeeeeling than OEM. It covers a lot more area and utilizes a ton of the OEM bracket holes. But honestly what a frustrating PITA thing to install. The first few holes lined up
perfectly, but after that it’s like 50/50 if the clips will fit. Grab your drill and a screwdriver, a lot of new holes and finessing to get them to fit. But when you get them on they look great!!!




Lastly got some TOPO MT86 Windshield Wipers. The climate and Sun here kill wipers, rendering them fairly useless after 6 months. And that’s being parked in the garage and driven maybe a couple days a week. But these not only had a cool Topographic pattern (+5hp), but apparently easy to replace blade inserts too. They don’t make 4th Gen packages yet, but 22” and 20” for the windshield. I’ve never messed with the back so I’m not sure if something can work back there like this.



Gonna be messing around with my dashcam/radio gps antenna tonight too. Stay tuned!


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Old 03-29-2023, 03:32 PM #10
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This isn’t a 4R’ish topic, but it involves it and it may help some others! Ever since I got my new Pioneer radio I’ve only been having problems… It allows for wireless Apple CarPlay which is a feature I’ve always wanted and the reason I upgraded. But in order to use the wireless you have to connect to WiFi from the radio, Bluetooth, and install a GPS antenna to the vehicle.

The antenna itself is small and is only one wire, but of course it needs to be in an area exposed to the sky, and according to the instructions on a flat surface (assuming magnets and stuff come into play). Well I installed it on my dashboard in the center of the dash underneath my OwlCam. For those who don’t know the OwlCam is like a lot of other dash cams that allow for live monitoring as it’s connected to a 4G network like a phone.

Going back to the radio, the problem I was having happened as I’m driving and playing music (fairly loudly, two subs as well) it’ll disconnect from wireless and say the GPS antenna is disconnected, causing me to either hard reset the radio or just use Bluetooth. Since it’s not recognizing the antenna, I can no longer use wireless CarPlay. Well a couple of days ago I found if I unplug my OwlCam, no problems with the radio… All of a sudden my radio is getting perfect GPS signal and it does not disconnect.

If anyone knows about the OwlCam or how it mounts, the mount sux. It slides into your dash between the windshield and it, then suction cups to the window, then the camera sits on top via a magnet. (Not my pic)



So either the 4G or magnet mount from the OwlCam causes the GPS to freak out, causing it to “disconnect”. I’ve always wanted to either buy a new dash cam or find a better mount for it, and after some googling I found OwlCam offers a “steep windshield mount kit”.

Steep Windshield Mount - Owlcam

But yikes it’s hideous from the million arms attached to it. But I actually had this kit, because I attempted to move the dash cam a couple of years ago when I got it, but gave up due to how awful it looked with the millions of arms coming off of it. But last night I began looking at the parts, I liked the larger suction cup that actually looks reliable with the “steep” kit, and the piece that connects to the camera. Unfortunately a Ram ball mount or any ball mount wouldn’t work, on the “ball” of the camera is also where it plugs in with a Type C cable. But other then that it looks a lot like regular camera stuff, so I pulled out the ol’ GoPro stuff I had and found a piece that could work.



This single little piece fit into the larger suction cup’s first attachment point and into the camera mounting piece. Bingo! But it didn’t fit with the larger hardware/screw from the OwlCam mount. So I took a 1/4 drill bit into the center section of the lower mount and drilled through. It fit and works!!

This made the entire hideous OwlCam mount into a smaller package that in my opinion works and looks substantially better.



After playing around with where to put it I decided to tuck it behind the rear view mirror. A large plus side for me is the camera sits just below the rear view mirror so the inside camera can continue to work.



If you’ve never wired something to the roof panel it’s super easy. I followed the path from my “map light mod” I did years ago. On the driver’s side A-pillar pop of both clips from the handle, take out the two 10mm/Phillips screws. Remove the handle then pull the panel up and towards you, it’ll expose some wire guides this will easily tuck into. The OwlCam plugs in via OBD-II so tucking in the wiring/excess was easy. Take a trim tool and tuck that wire.

It’s nice having that open space in the center of the dash again, and the above picture shows what it’s like from my view, much more discreet. And the radio now shows full GPS signal even with the camera on. Success!


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Old 08-29-2023, 07:32 PM #11
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Been busy for the last 5 months and haven’t given this thing the love it deserves!

Was able to get a trip in the last few days and tried out a multitude of new things. Again space is key and I think I’m getting it figured out. Packing the roof rack was a little different this time now that I have the traction boards up top but actually didn’t even have to load half the rack this time.




Played around with the idea of an “attic” super last minute. Saw a post somewhere of people doing this and figured I’d give it a shot. A cheap truck bed net from Walmart (not bungee) and 5 minutes later netted something I’m fairly excited about. Loading up the light stuff worked out well, but the bungee cords it came with to attach the sides were just too stretchy. After wheeling everything just bounced to the center and weighed it down (see below). But with the eyelets and proper rope I think it’s an idea to play with. But the dogs still had plenty of headroom and not a thing fell out or broke so success!



We went out to Jemez, New Mexico which is a favorite. Only an hour away and 100’s of miles of trails. Using OnXOffroad for the first time paid off too, honestly can’t go without it ever again. It’s monsoon season here and almost everything was washed out, the dogs and I enjoyed the wheeling and water crossings… the fiancée not so much!



This trip gave me that “itch” to start throwing more money at it. So stay tuned! More photos below…






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Old 09-07-2023, 06:51 PM #12
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Thanks for posting up the build. Always nice to see modest builds and all the small improvements people make.
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Old 09-18-2023, 04:46 PM #13
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Got some well needed maintenance done today. Through my years of owning I never did plugs and coils, and figured now would be the time! I looked into spark plug replacement and found 1A Auto. Not only did it seem like quality parts, but the amount of install videos that they have for 4G 4Runners is phenomenal!

These videos have helped me along the way of working on this, and from that help I decided to give them a shot. And it couldn’t be easier. They have a plugs and coils pack you can buy for $160ish. Normally with plugs I’m buying are the most expensive just for assurance, but these are iridium and come pre-gapped to the recommended .043.

When the pack came in, everything was boxed nice. One of the plug boxes was clearly crushed a little bit, and sure enough the plug was at 0.05. With a gap tool it was easily moved back to 0.043. The other 5 measured perfectly.



Swapping plugs and coils is easy. The driver’s side was a PITA with the catch can, PowerTray, etc installed. But removing a lot of the EVAP stuffs out of the way made it easy.



The old plugs were shot!!! Always had decent MPG’s even with the lift, tires, rack, etc. But I’m excited to see the long term benefits. It seems to be running more smoothly. Overall a fairly easy job (1hr 20min taking my sweet time and being careful) and the parts seem high quality.


(Old plug)


Also bought a new gas cap from them, and it was Toyota OEM. Check engine light is gone too!


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Old 09-26-2023, 11:38 AM #14
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Got some little things done this week while I had the time. I had a TPMS sensor that was out or going out (flashing light on dash). It was going on for about 2-3 months but I wasn’t in a rush to get it done, other than the camping trip a couple months ago.

Took it to discount tires and found one was dead, 4 were low! They were shocked that these OEM sensors worked this long. Checked the service history after paying a whopping $250 for all 5 to be replaced. Turns out the TPMS sensors hadn’t been changed since 2008… 15 year old sensors!?! Kept them for a memento haha!

After scrolling through Amazon, found a company started making a LED light replacement for the markers on the rear bumper of the 03-05. For $60 I had to get ‘em! Stated they did turn signal, DRL, and Brake.

BINQIGOO Red housing LED Rear Bumper Reflector Lights Fog DRL Kit Assembly for 2003-2005 4Runner 2002-2009 Land Cruiser Prado 120 Function 3 in 1 Design (Red Style) https://a.co/d/6DeyheD

Once I got them in, they honestly felt of pretty good quality. They were super thin, but came wired and harnessed. Install was easy (didn’t take any pics). But remove the 10mm holding on the old marker. Remove it and install the new swapping over the bolt from the old marker. Remove taillights. Remove gasket plug on outer portions of body by taillights, drill it out to snugly fit the new harness into. Connect, test.



Overall I really like them! Turn them on or use the turn signal and they fade and dance, not just a solid bulb. Fitment was okay… my guess is this was more for the Prado bumper but “figured” it fit. Took about an hour to install, but would recommend it!


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Old 12-20-2023, 04:24 PM #15
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Well a few week project turned to a success! Mainly because holidays and learning a new skill, but I built a drawer system… kinda!

A few weeks back I was scrolling through Craigslist (which has been good to me with this truck) and stumbled across a sleeping platform. It was posted for $20!?! Looking further it was even built for the 4th gen platform. Had a nice folding feature so your back seat area was free. It even came with filler plates to fit over the wheel well storage areas.





Well a few messages and days later it was mine. He ended up offering it to me for free as he wanted it to go to a good home.

Got home and test fit it, but no good. I thought it was fold to let the backseats up but no, too long and the seats won’t latch. And the folding feature (while nice) also doesn’t let me keep my subwoofers.



For anyone that’s followed my build for a while, you’ll know I want SPACE. And after watching a few YouTube videos I came across an idea, build a drawer. I’ve never touched woodworking and after more and more research I realized I may be in over my head with building one. But I enjoy a good challenge so I set out.

One of the weird parts of the sleeping platform is the legs themselves fold inward. Presumably to be flat when stored.



And after some planning and measuring, I realized the two parts of the platform would need to be taken apart and shortened. I went to Harbor Freight and picked up a $30 circular saw (which was great) and began cutting.



About 5” had to be removed and remounted on the backseat half. This including shortening legs and remounting them to keep the folding function. But it was a success! It fit in the back perfectly now (check the latches).



And a test fit of the subwoofers showed well. With the platform having 8” of space underneath it is the right amount of shallow in my opinion. Even after finishing the subwoofers are not noticeable in the rear view mirror.



After some MORE careful measuring I began building the drawer. For someone who’s never built one, I watched HOURS of YouTube. Researching woodworking, drawer systems, and gathered the list of things I would want/need.

Settling on wood appears to be a debated topic. Most people use 1/2 for the sides and 3/4 for bottom. But since this drawer was to be just the backseat area I decided 1/2 would be plenty. For someone who knows nothing about wood, I settled on Maple Hardwood as it flexed the least and appeared quality.

For those who didn’t know, a full sheet of wood from Lowe’s cut in half fits perfect in the back area of the 4Runner.

Then began the drawer, I started with the sides knowing the bottom would be one flat sheet.



Once cut and taped together the errors began to show. Again I’ve never touched a circular saw or wood so I wasn’t expecting anything perfect. But it was square. (Errors were fixed later) A test fit showed well!



Through my research I’ve found people creatively come up with solutions to the slides, between ceramic pieces sliding on each other, cut wood slides, and your typical drawer slides. And I knew I wanted to build something to be proud of so I decided on drawer slides.

This is where the situation with the folding legs of the platform became apparent. Most people mount the slides low-middle on the drawer, but I didn’t have a solid piece to mount to except for the lower support on the legs. So it was decided to try them there, if it didn’t work I’d build something new (it worked). I settled on 100lb 22” drawer slides.

The longest part of this build was waiting. Between wood glue, primer, paint, and so on.



One guy I came across on YouTube showed multiple ways of physically getting your box together. I kinda combined everything, between pocket-hole screws, screws, and brackets. These things took practice, but from what I’ve learned is always pre-drill, measure 4x, and have patience.

Luckily I was smart enough to test everything on excess pieces of wood so I didn’t make “that many” mistakes on my drawer.

After everything dried and the drawer slides were mounted, it all worked! The legs being able to move helped with the human error. Now was the fun part.

I didn’t want a big open drawer, things slide and when things slide… things break. Now that I was more comfortable with the circular saw I was able to comfortable do more. The dividers I built were C-notched to fit together (along with more glue).



I measured the dividers to fit my larger camping things instead of quartering the drawer.

I also purchased slam latches to keep the drawer locked when not in use (or it punching me in the stomach when I open the rear hatch).

My wife was interested in the project at this point. And I left the painting up to her! We decided on high durability matte black cabinet paint. We also sealed it with a durable clear coat. I knew I wanted to carpet the front/rear, so we got a pack of carpet tiles in a darker color than the carpet/platform.




After all dried I finally placed it inside. It still fit and looked great! I decided to mount the platform using the factory tie-down points instead of drilling into the sheet metal. Using adjustable turnbuckles and screw hooks it was secure. I also used L-brackets for the subwoofer.






If you know me you know I like stickers and patches, so naturally it got some love.



Overall I love the way it turned out! I’ll eventually build legs for the rest of the sleeping platform to be able to use it for the upcoming camping season. Now just need to clean up the wiring and vacuum the saw dust of off everything!

Also had some other goodies show up. I noticed my HID’s were turning pink, so I needed a change. I found Lasfit Lights, who offered a switchback bulb! Simply switch on and off to go from White to Yellow. I also did some red turn signal bulbs to match the fancy LED’s.





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