I wanted to start a build thread for my new to me 2006 Sport Edition 4X4. I have wanted a 4Runner for a number of years now. I knew it would be a vehicle that I would like to own. I've never been one to by a brand new car for myself and a good used 4Runner would suit me just fine. I really liked 3rd Gens a lot and was considering getting one. But it's real hard to find a nice one. They are all pretty thrashed and beat up. If they are nice they aren't for sale. 5th gens are a lot of money and I'm on a tight budget. That left 4th gens which I thought were still out of budget for me. I decide to sell my project Camaro to come up with funds to buy a 4Runner that I wanted. After about a year of research (it took that long to sell the Camaro) I decided that I wanted a 2006 to 2009 4th Gen. It had to be a Sport Edition and I wanted 4 wheel drive. I did not want a limited (I hate leather seats) and I did not want a SR5 (I like power seats). I found it baffling how everyone I talked to about it told me not get a 4X4. “You will never use it”. “It's a maintenance nightmare”. “It cost too much to insure”, and on and on. I would reply "So what, I want it". I was torn between a V8 and V6 but decided to see what I could find. I was leaning on the V6 because no timing belt and slightly better gas millage and other (starter, headers) maintenance issues. I looked on line and I could find 100’s of RWD but very few if any 4X4. I live in Southern California and the ones I could find were in the $15,000 and up range. I only got $6,000 for the Camaro so I was kind scratching my head on how I was going to do this. I test drove a bad 2007 Limited that a used car dealer wanted 15k for. I saw a couple of white SE down by San Diego for 15k and 17k. Then the week I sold my Camaro I saw a 2006 4X4 for sale on Craig’s List for $8,750. It was only 15 miles away so I went to look at it. It was very dirty and smelled like pot. I checked it all out and everything worked and it only had 119,000 miles on it. Underneath it looked like it had never been off road. I went home told my wife about it and she said I should get it. I told her no I want to go down to San Diego and look at the other two. She said “You’re crazy to pass this up”. “You can clean it up”. I thought all right I’ll get it. If I don’t like it, it will still be worth eight grand. So I bought it for $8,000 and brought it home. And here she is. I'll share what I've done so far in future posts.
Dbl Zeta build thread 2006 Sport Edition 4X4
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MrSeth
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Nice! I was kind of in the same boat as you about 5 years ago. I ended up selling my project 1968 Mustang and picked up my 04 SE v8 for 11,500 in Kansas. I look forward to watching your build progress!
A few common service items to go ahead and knock out in your spare time that are not too expensive to do.
1. Downstream o2 sensors- they will throw the P0420 code.
2. Lower control arms and alignment cam bolts- our alignment cam bolts like to seize, and our lower ball joints are usually shot for the second owner
3. Grease the drive shafts- common issue if you encounter a thud or clunk while stopping/starting at a light
4. Inner tie rods- replacing these cheap parts will tighten up the steering feel, I'd recommend doing these AFTER or at the same time as your LCA's as you'll need an alignment.
Welcome to the family!
arty:
A few common service items to go ahead and knock out in your spare time that are not too expensive to do.
1. Downstream o2 sensors- they will throw the P0420 code.
2. Lower control arms and alignment cam bolts- our alignment cam bolts like to seize, and our lower ball joints are usually shot for the second owner
3. Grease the drive shafts- common issue if you encounter a thud or clunk while stopping/starting at a light
4. Inner tie rods- replacing these cheap parts will tighten up the steering feel, I'd recommend doing these AFTER or at the same time as your LCA's as you'll need an alignment.
Welcome to the family!
arty:Thanks guys it’s a great family to be in. Letting my Camaro go was tough but now I have a car I can actually drive. I have started with all the basic service items first. It did a have a drive line clunk. When I went to lube the drive line, I jacked up the rear axle and saw the spare tire moving around. I'm sure the spare was banging around. I secured that and lubed the slip joints and U joints and no more clunk. I changed the oil and noticed that the old oil was real yellowish and saw some deposits in the oil fill tube. There was a sticker from a Wal-Mart oil change and I think they use Pennzoil. I don’t like Pennzoil, I used Mobil One. I’ll post pics of the whole clean up it took three weekends to do.
First things first.
In the state of California the DMV gives you ten days to transfer title of vehicle you bought. Do to the COVID-19 pandemic my local DMV was closed and the next closest one was only taking appointments. I got an appointment nine days from when I bought it. So while I waited I thought I would super clean the interior. I rented a Rug-Doctor upholstery cleaner and started cleaning. The more I cleaned the more I was taking the car apart. Out came the seats. I took the dash a part. The center console had to come out. There was so much marijuana I could have rolled three big fat joints from it. I determined that at least three Starbucks Mega Latte coffees were spilt. Two in the back seat one in the passenger seat. The grossest thing was some kind of purple juice under the rear seats with these dried up prune things that looked like turds. Ugh! On a positive note I got about $2.50 in change out of it.
In the state of California the DMV gives you ten days to transfer title of vehicle you bought. Do to the COVID-19 pandemic my local DMV was closed and the next closest one was only taking appointments. I got an appointment nine days from when I bought it. So while I waited I thought I would super clean the interior. I rented a Rug-Doctor upholstery cleaner and started cleaning. The more I cleaned the more I was taking the car apart. Out came the seats. I took the dash a part. The center console had to come out. There was so much marijuana I could have rolled three big fat joints from it. I determined that at least three Starbucks Mega Latte coffees were spilt. Two in the back seat one in the passenger seat. The grossest thing was some kind of purple juice under the rear seats with these dried up prune things that looked like turds. Ugh! On a positive note I got about $2.50 in change out of it.
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The first week I owned my 4Runner I bought PT546 1C182 radio off of Ebay for $70. The original radio was still in the car, but I know that they had installed some kind of aftermarket stereo because I found extra cables and speaker wires under the seats. I put the PT546 in the dash after I finished cleaning everything and it worked and looked great. The whole interior cleaned up nice. I bought some floor mats and the rear cargo carpet from Olathe Toyota. I found all the cargo nets stuffed in the side cubby by the spare tire tools. They looked brand new. I even found the first aid kit in one of the cubbies! The best thing I did was change the drivers side seat cushion.All in all I think the interior went from a 5 to a 8.5 with just some time and elbow grease. Oh and $350, not counting the stereo.
