The Jeep is Dead, Long Live the Jeep

We've become a two 4Runner Family. My son traded his '05 Wrangler Unlimited for a '04 4Runner LE. I've mentioned several times in this forum that is am an indirect owner of a Jeep Wrangle, and all that entails. He has finally seen the light and joined the 4Runner family. As far a Jeeps go, it wasn't bad, a highly modified LJ; 4" lift, Dana 44's front and rear, bumpers, winch, sliders, fully Rhino Lined interior and many other mods, but every time he drove it something fell off or broke. Typical Jeep. A very capable off-road vehicle, but not too good as a daily driver.

The new (to us) 4Runner is a great vehicle. Very clean, V8, only 75K miles and it was less than the trade-in on the Jeep (resale value of Jeeps is outrageous). I now know why prior 4th Gen owners miss the V8. It really goes and doesn't suffer the shift logic of the 5th Gen transmission.

To make this 5th Gen relevant I've included a photo of the mine and his nose to nose. It will be ready for our annual Ouray trek with lift, 33" tires and sliders, maybe more.

Those are both very nice rigs, congratulations on your new addition!

Your son will find tons of helpful information and members in the 4th gen section if he's gearing to mod out his new 4th gen.

BlackWorksInc said:

Those are both very nice rigs, congratulations on your new addition!

Your son will find tons of helpful information and members in the 4th gen section if he's gearing to mod out his new 4th gen.

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We're thinking first full week of August again. When were you guys thinking?

thebwlife said:

We're thinking first full week of August again. When were you guys thinking?

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We'll be there the last full week of July, the week after the FJ Summit.

BigredTEX said:

We've become a two 4Runner Family. My son traded his '05 Wrangler Unlimited for a '04 4Runner LE. I've mentioned several times in this forum that is am an indirect owner of a Jeep Wrangle, and all that entails. He has finally seen the light and joined the 4Runner family. As far a Jeeps go, it wasn't bad, a highly modified LJ; 4" lift, Dana 44's front and rear, bumpers, winch, sliders, fully Rhino Lined interior and many other mods, but every time he drove it something fell off or broke. Typical Jeep. A very capable off-road vehicle, but not too good as a daily driver.

The new (to us) 4Runner is a great vehicle. Very clean, V8, only 75K miles and it was less than the trade-in on the Jeep (resale value of Jeeps is outrageous). I now know why prior 4th Gen owners miss the V8. It really goes and doesn't suffer the shift logic of the 5th Gen transmission.

To make this 5th Gen relevant I've included a photo of the mine and his nose to nose. It will be ready for our annual Ouray trek with lift, 33" tires and sliders, maybe more.

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Which XD wheel are you running? What is the spec? 0 offset? Look great...from a distance!

Mozel Tov. Thats exactly what Im going to get for my daughter. V8 gen 4.

As an owner of both - 2014 TEP and a modified wrangler, I can attest to the difference in quality. While I absolutely love both vehicles I laugh at myself with the way I react to different issues. In the 4R if I so much as hear a faint squeak, rattle, what have you, I freak. In the jeep, if I don't hear any I get concerned. I fully expect to be continually fixing things on the jeep (sadly we just accept this in the Jeep community), but I have a completely different expectation for my 4R. If I could only have one of them it'd be the 4R hands down (although it sure is fun rolling down the beach with the top down and doors off on the jeep)

Diesel said:

Which XD wheel are you running? What is the spec? 0 offset? Look great...from a distance!

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They are the XD Misfits. I don't know what the offset is which, I guess, makes me a bad forum member since I don't know all the specs. I can say that they are not the best off-road option because they have too many nooks and crannies that collect mud, making the the drive home a tire balance nightmare, not to mention cleaning.

Since this thread has been resurrected I'll post a current photo.



My 5th Gen hasn't changed much other than I dumped the KM2's and replaced them with a set of Cooper S/T maxx. I couldn't take the noise and vibration any longer. The Coopers have proven to be a great compromise of street manners and off-road performance.

The 4th Gen, on the other hand, has gone through quite the transformation. Toytec Boss with 1" spacer up front (poor man's long travel), Metal Tech long travel in the rear with adjustable lower links, FJC wheels W/ 33" Cooper S/T maxx, Shrockworks sliders and RCI skids. It really pisses me off when I am bouncing and spinning to get up a hill, with the locker engaged, and he just calmly walks right up with no fuss. I'll take the credit and say I taught him well.

BigredTEX said:

They are the XD Misfits. I don't know what the offset is which, I guess, makes me a bad forum member since I don't know all the specs. I can say that they are not the best off-road option because they have too many nooks and crannies that collect mud, making the the drive home a tire balance nightmare, not to mention cleaning.

Since this thread has been resurrected I'll post a current photo.

View attachment 168553

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Thanks! Definitely appear they will retain a bit of dirt/mud. Any clearance problems on the inside? I would assume you had to push the liner forward and trim a bit of the front bumper? Or....did you need more cutting with the 9" width?

Diesel said:

Thanks! Definitely appear they will retain a bit of dirt/mud. Any clearance problems on the inside? I would assume you had to push the liner forward and trim a bit of the front bumper? Or....did you need more cutting with the 9" width?

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I only had to trim the fender liners at the front. However, if you look closely you will notice that the lower portion of the front mud flap is missing. On full stuff with the wheel turned to full lock the tire will grab the lower portion and ultimately rip it off. I lost the right side flap three years ago and the left side two months ago. The left side didn't come off as easily and damaged the bottom of the fender flare, breaking a couple of the clips that hold it to the fender which will have to be replaced at some point.

Like the black on red look of the 2010-2013 Trail.

Some good lookin 4Runners!