Before I begin, a huge thanks to Derek from @SD_Offroad for the collaboration, as well as the extreme patience in waiting for me to get this admittedly basic write up finished, but hey, my time isn’t always my own and I may be somewhat selfish with the little free time I do get.
So lets begin. Now, this write up is admittedly for the niche market mentioned in the subject line consisting of those who have/want a supercharger and also want a Switch Pro/Mount Tray combo.
Back around May I was going all-in on making the 4R the way I always wanted, which included several lighting additions. The switch pro was the best option out there, and a huge thanks to Max Sheehan for the writeup on trail4runner.com.
here.
I had a problem that I didn’t even think about before purchasing the Mount Tray though. My Secondary reservoir for the supercharger, which mounts in front of the brake fluid reservoir, blocked the mounting location. At first I considered sending it back, but then gave it another look, there was some potential to save this.
It turns out the bracket magnuson supplies for the reservoir kit is made of bendable metal, and i thought if i could find a way to fit to the end of the mount tray that I might have a solution.
So i gave it a shot. And it worked.
Here’s the problem though, it looked like a hack job, and I wanted it to look right, so I reached out to Derek. We exchanged ideas, and after about 8 weeks (due to us both being wrapped up in things) we settled on a design.
Now, before I talk about actually installing it, let me be perfectly clear. DISCONNECT YOUR BATTERY AND REMOVE IT FROM THE VEHICLE!!! Even if you think this is a very basic install (which it is) you’re working right next to the fuse box, which has a hot wire running into it. Said wire has an exposed metal bit, and if you touch that with… say… a socket wrench, you’ll be greeted not only by a huge spark, but also a blown 120amp primary fuse and a few others. This is what happened.
I seriously thought I did major damage, to ECUs or something. Fortunately it was about $30 in fuses, and combined $260 to flatbed the vehicle to Toyota and replace the fuse because I didn’t want to tear the fuse box apart to do it.
Tools: (those with more mechanical experience will probably find a better way)
1x Brain
1x 10mm ratchet-style wrench (the kind with the adjustable necks)
1x 10mm Socket Wrench, with angle adapter, and also extension.
- Heavy duty scissors
- Drop-light/Flashlight
1. The mount tray has three mounting points. Two that go to the fender, and a support arm that goes from the end of the mount tray to the top of the wheel well. The latter is the side you’re connecting it to. If you’re installing this for the first time and don’t have a bunch of wires run already, this should be pretty simple.
2. First, do a test fit for the adaptor on the end of the tray to make sure that it mounts with enough clearance.
3. The screws for the adaptor must be secured before you mount the tray back in the vehicle, the support arm will have to be a little loose to make sure you can align it with the mount location in the wheel arch.
4. Re-install tray into the vehicle, the fender part is easy, but aligning the support arm to the wheel well arch can be a challenge. Take your time, try not to swear too much, and you’ll get it. Once you do, secure it, just understand you’ll have very little clearance to reach behind the mount tray to the top of the bolt, and you’ll also be reaching thru from under the wheel well at the same time. Having two people will make this much easier.
5. Once the wheel well mount is snug, tighten the bolt on the mount tray itself, do this by using your Socket wrench angle adaptor, and reaching thru the hole in the mount tray, and then tighten with a standard wrench from the outside. At least thats how I got it to work, you small-handed types may have it easier.
6. Mount the coolant reservoir to your shiny new adaptor.
7. Before attaching the coolant hose, you’ll need to cut the 90 degree bend out of the hose that connects to it. (the hose on the far side in the image where I'm holding the reservoir).
8. Make sure you replace any coolant that may have been lost.
9. Replace battery.
10. Admire your work.
I know this only applies to just a few of you, but its a simple fix a self-induced problem. Cheers everyone.