2003 V8 budget build and dreams of theladyviola and Gypsy

[theladyviola]

Finally got around to the transfer case and actuator.

Tranny extension housing seal replaced


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[theladyviola]

One of the culprits

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[theladyviola]

Actuator had no contaminants.

Spidertrax on and finally time for the wheels to go back on!

Hopefully get T-case back on tomorrow and head for an alignment.

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[theladyviola]

Happy tranny with new filter, gasket, fluid. Replaced all my pan bolts because too many were snapping. Ended up having to take the tap and die set to most of the exhaust studs and nuts because they were not happy about being loosed to get the tranny oil pan out. But all were salvageable so no new parts there.

I left the pan off for almost a week and it continually drained so when I refilled, it took about 6 quarts.

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[theladyviola]

And put a fork in that biotch! She's done! The 4Runner is too!


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[theladyviola]

Post alignment. I can live with that.


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[theladyviola]

Can you take some pics of the lift once you get it aligned for me?

She's a dirty girl and still has stock size tires but here it is...

Bilsteins 5100's all around
FJ rear springs
Moog 4Runner front springs
Daystar 1.5 Comfort Ride rear spacers
Spidertrax 1.25 wheels spacers

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[flipflopnfly]

Nice job on the cladding, frame. I buy 303 by the gallon and spray it heavily on every piece of rubber and plastic. Steering boots, CV boots, hoses, hood and door seals, window seals, tires, whatever. Great product.

Timing belt should be next up I guess. I wish you the best of luck finding a budget trailer, there's a lot of different brands/styles the 4Runner can handle with airbags or a WDH. What are your plans for a trailer?

I see you had a teardrop so you know how to rough it. R-pod, A-liner in your future? Hybrid?

 

[theladyviola]

Nice job on the cladding, frame. I buy 303 by the gallon and spray it heavily on every piece of rubber and plastic. Steering boots, CV boots, hoses, hood and door seals, window seals, tires, whatever. Great product.



Timing belt should be next up I guess. I wish you the best of luck finding a budget trailer, there's a lot of different brands/styles the 4Runner can handle with airbags or a WDH. What are your plans for a trailer?



I see you had a teardrop so you know how to rough it. R-pod, A-liner in your future? Hybrid?

Keeping the teardrop for now. I love that little thing and I rebuilt the suspension on it last year. It originally had a custom drop axle so it sat inches off the ground but that was just too low for my travels. I put a beefier straight axle on it and leaf springs. If I keep it for off-road adventures I'd like to add some shock absorbers. I've been looking at the R-pod 179 and 180 for the future. I really like the Lance also but it's a bit out of my budget. So many options, so limited funds!

As far as the timing belt, that one is going to have to wait. It's not something that needed immediate attention. I plan to change the valve cover gaskets at the same time. Time ran out on me.


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[flipflopnfly]

Keeping the teardrop for now. I love that little thing and I rebuilt the suspension on it last year. It originally had a custom drop axle so it sat inches off the ground but that was just too low for my travels. I put a beefier straight axle on it and leaf springs. If I keep it for off-road adventures I'd like to add some shock absorbers. I've been looking at the R-pod 179 and 180 for the future. I really like the Lance also but it's a bit out of my budget. So many options, so limited funds!

As far as the timing belt, that one is going to have to wait. It's not something that needed immediate attention. I plan to change the valve cover gaskets at the same time. Time ran out on me.


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I do understand limited funds. I'm a cheapskate also. It's a constant battle trying to find the balance between quality and cheap-as-you-can. I agree with doing the work yourself vs paying a shop.

Timing belt, that's a peace of mind thing. You're at 150k, but 14 years on it unless you have documentation that the timing belt was replaced. There should be a visible sticker on the engine cover if it was replaced. 14 years is too long for the original timing belt.

You love that teardrop, but if you're cross-country adventuring you'll love more a short trailer with a water tank, holding tanks, furnace. You spent money to upgrade the suspension, you have a V8 with tow package, 7-pin, brake controller pre-wired. You fixed up that nice little teardrop, there's a market for it to offset the upgrade.

 

[theladyviola]

Budget friendly addition today: OBDLink LX, Torque Pro App, Verizon Ellipses 7 tablet.

I don't like dummy gauges. I installed mechanical gauges in my Scion and it saved my a$$ more than once. By the time dummy lights start flashing, things are turning bad. Well, I'm tired and didn't want to install a bunch of mechanical gauges in the T4R, so I went a different route...

Asked my buddies on FB if anyone had an old Android tablet I could buy on the cheap. Within 5 minutes, a friend offered up her Verizon Ellipses 7, new in the box, for nothing. It was apparently a free gift when she upgraded phones. I'm a iPhone user, so I needed a device to run the Torque app and I preferred to have a dedicated device anyway. On to OBD2 Bluetooth dongles: I could have made this super budget and gotten a $7 Elm327 dongle but since I got the tablet for free, I felt like I could go a little better. I was looking at the BAFX for approx $20, but I really liked the feedback on the OBDLink products too. The eBay seller I got my Powerstop brakes from just happen to have the OBDLink LX for $36 shipped. Sucked it up and bought Torque Pro for $4.95. So all in all, $40.95 isn't bad at all!


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[AuSeeker]

Budget friendly addition today: OBDLink LX, Torque Pro App, Verizon Ellipses 7 tablet.

I don't like dummy gauges. I installed mechanical gauges in my Scion and it saved my a$$ more than once. By the time dummy lights start flashing, things are turning bad. Well, I'm tired and didn't want to install a bunch of mechanical gauges in the T4R, so I went a different route...

Asked my buddies on FB if anyone had an old Android tablet I could buy on the cheap. Within 5 minutes, a friend offered up her Verizon Ellipses 7, new in the box, for nothing. It was apparently a free gift when she upgraded phones. I'm a iPhone user, so I needed a device to run the Torque app and I preferred to have a dedicated device anyway. On to OBD2 Bluetooth dongles: I could have made this super budget and gotten a $7 Elm327 dongle but since I got the tablet for free, I felt like I could go a little better. I was looking at the BAFX for approx $20, but I really liked the feedback on the OBDLink products too. The eBay seller I got my Powerstop brakes from just happen to have the OBDLink LX for $36 shipped. Sucked it up and bought Torque Pro for $4.95. So all in all, $40.95 isn't bad at all!


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I had the same thoughts as you did, I love gauges for everything, but I like everything to look as stock possible as well, the 4 Runner doesn't really give you any good locations for additional gauges without doing away with something else, so I went with the BAFX dongle, which should be here any day now and I will also be going with the Torque Pro app.

 

[theladyviola]

I had the same thoughts as you did, I love gauges for everything, but I like everything to look as stock possible as well, the 4 Runner doesn't really give you any good locations for additional gauges without doing away with something else, so I went with the BAFX dongle, which should be here any day now and I will also be going with the Torque Pro app.

Haven't gotten to take it on the road yet or set up custom PID's, but it's working!

I have A pillar gauges in my Scion but I don't feel like wiring or spending extra money if I don't have to. And I agree with you, there's no wonderful locations in the 4Runner. Plus, we get soooo much more this way.


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[theladyviola]

Well, my VSC Trac and VSC Off lights started shining like the Griswold's house at Xmas shortly after fiddling with the OBDLink connection and apps. It required me to do the zero point calibration outlined in TSB BR005-03.

I referred to the following thread if this happens to anyone else.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/probl...ac-vsc-off-lights-zero-point-calibration.html


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[Zevamori]

This is an AWESOME build thread. I am new to this forum, and love everything you have done. I got my 2003 4Runner last year with 150k miles on it and have been slowly switching out parts as needed.

Best of luck on your adventures!

 

[theladyviola]

First trip for Gypsy with SilV


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[theladyviola]

Had the valve covers off changing the gaskets, so figured I'd add a little color with engine paint I already had in the garage.

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[Bluesky 07]

Do you think this paint would work well on the black piece/step
just under the rear hatch on top of the rear bumper, mine is faded out to almost a light gray?

[MENTION=149207]AuSeeker[/MENTION] - Yes, it definitely will, and sorry it took me 2 months to see your question. :-S

 

[jmarsh8923]

People often say things like "budget build" but they never really elaborate on how it's budget. Thought I'd throw that in there. I don't get bent out of shape when people ask what's the cheapest or use the word cheap. That word lends more to perception, so I'm not offended by someone asking what's cheapest. I'm thrifty... meaning I'm not a big impulsive buyer. I don't mind doing the free research to save a little money. I'm not about turning my $6K 4Runner into a $30K 4Runner with every cool mod on the forums. If I had that kind of money, I probably wouldn't have bought a 2003 with 150K miles. However, if I can build my Gypsy 4Runner on the cheap to do what I need her to do, I'm all about it. I plan to do a little offroading, but nothing ridiculous which requires every locker made or a lift so high I need a step ladder. I camp, I backpack, I explore. And this is what I've spent on my main maintenance/upgrades thus far:



FJ rear coils used $50

Moog 81088 front coils $23

Front Bilstein 5100's $160

Rear Bilstein 5100's $150

UCA's Spindle Source Camburg knockoffs $235

Moog upper ball joints $42

Moog lower ball joints $24

Moog LCA bushings $62

Moog tie rod ends $26

KYB strut mount kits $38

Prothane front sway bar greasable bushings $18

Prothane rear sway bar greasable bushings $15

Daystar 1.5" rear spacers $28

Powerstop front rotors/brake pads $75

Spidertrax 1.25" wheels spacers used $125

Go Rhino roof basket used $100

CV joint boot kits $45 I'll prob never do this again. I'll drive it til it clicks and buy remans



I'm posting all this to show people who are on a tight budget that parts can be acquired rather inexpensively with patience and motivation. There's a loud sect of the forum members who preach "you get what you pay for" and "save your money for higher quality", blah, blah. Some statements are true, but at the end of the day I still have money to go on vacation and no bills in the mail. I'm not entering car shows, competing or expecting to show off. Do your research, be patient, learn from others and HAVE FUN!



And to ultimately save money, learn to do the work yourself. It gives a sense of pride in the outcome, teaches you new skills, and gets you off the couch.



And if anyone has negative criticism to my budget build, I'll gladly accept sponsorship with free high dollar parts at your expense. Really, I'm down with Icon, Total Chaos, Toytec, etc. I'll send you my address.



GO WHEEL!

This is one of the better builds I have seen. Its awesome to see people being able to budget builds. It the reason I bought my 4runner as well something to learn these skills on. Where did you find all these good prices on parts? I can't find anything decent priced besides, sound dampening mats that were dirt cheap

 

[theladyviola]

This is one of the better builds I have seen. Its awesome to see people being able to budget builds. It the reason I bought my 4runner as well something to learn these skills on. Where did you find all these good prices on parts? I can't find anything decent priced besides, sound dampening mats that were dirt cheap

THANKS!!!

I kinda have researching down to an art. The FJ rear springs I found locally on Craigslist. Most of the Moog stuff came from Amazon Warehouse where you may find 1 or 2 of something at a ridiculous discount because the box has been torn up a bit. Front Bilsteins were bought from a member on here who decided he'd rather have the money than do the install. Rear Bilsteins from an eBay vendor. The UCA's are from the seller spindlesource on eBay. The Powerstop brake rotors/pads I found on eBay when I was searching using the specific part number and lucked up with the seller madcheetah; also got my obd link from that seller. Stumbled across the Spidertrax on Facebook Marketplace. I was fairly unrelenting in my daily searches. Patience and direction pays off. But the short and simple answer is: classifieds on this site, eBay, Amazon, Craigslist.


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