Fiffa's "Get Lost" Build

[Fiffa]

Got rid of the nearing-uselessness 12V cigarette lighter ports!

Amazon.com: Cllena Dual USB Charger Socket Power Outlet 2.1A & 2.1A for Car Boat Marine Mobile (4.2A-Green)

Note to potential modders:

You will need to file/grind out the existing holes. if you go with the most common USB replacements on Amazon. Additionally, you will need to snip the OEM 90-degree connectors off and replace them with standard ones.

 

[Fiffa]

The design of the Flexpod is awesome. The application... not so much, lol.

The FlexPod Gauge Mount for Toyota 4Runner (1995-2002)

Tried to do what should've been a pretty quick install, but I guess some of the 3rd gen years had to be a little extra about their steering column design! I'm still waiting to hear back from them regarding their thoughts on if I even got the right one because the provided screws were too short and the raised area that was supposed to go into the column's screw recesses was too big. I already took a stab at modifying it and failed miserably, hence my email to them.

In essence, the column is split into two halves: upper and lower. The lower is the one that the Flexpod mounts to with the two recessed screws that are on the front (facing the wheel). In typical "hulk smash" fashion, instead of emailing the manufacturer right then I opted to just drill out the plastic to get it to fit...

Problem solved, right??? NOPE! The upper half of the column angles back towards the dash ever-so-slightly. Considering the Flexpod is straight up and down, the wheel was now grinding against it. Womp womp!

No worries, though! We'll just bend the Flexpod to conform to the column angle...

(the angle on the top column wasn't nearly that pronounced, but I wanted to make sure I had enough and bend back as needed)

Alright! I fixed it! Oh wait, what's this? The pod bolts are now gouging the top of the column?!?!?!

For how clean this product looks in pictures, I'm not too pleased with the work it apparently takes to get it to work with 3rd gens. The only other person I know who has one said it took some work to get it to not rub... and it still does. I want to like this so bad!!! :crybaby:

 

[Fiffa]

In case anyone is curious, here are some extra pics showing the angle on the front of column

Luckily, Cravenspeed is staying true to their word of being a non-corporate nightmare and have actually offered to look into custom designing something to work! Worst case, they said they'd be willing to take the original back, so I cannot complain one bit. They have a bunch of products for a plethora of other vehicles, so seriously, check them out and throw some dollars their way!

 

[Fiffa]

Got rid of the rotted out stock exhaust for something shiny!

The install didn't come without its hiccups, but it was much more intuitive than a lot of other things I've done lately! If you're thinking of doing this Overland Series from Magnaflow, or something else that utilizes one of the hitch frame mounts to mount the rear hanger, be mindful of the design of the bolts and nuts back there. The two closest to the front of the vehicle have the nuts bonded together with some kind of strapping inside the frame, so you have to potentially finagle the second assembly to get the first one to line back up as you hold the new bracket in place. That situation accounted for about half of the time it took to do this job!

I opted to cut out the old exhaust because the rear flange bolts were corroded beyond use. You only need to bolt the front on for the new setup; everything else is clamped. Luckily, the O2 sensor was recently replaced, so that was a piece of cake to get off and back on. The new system lined up very nicely throughout the back and the new cat flange gasket was a nice addition. They say to torque the clamps to 40-45 ft. lb., but didn't say anything about the O2 sensor or cat flange, so I just evenly gorilla torqued those. It's also a good idea to bend out the outwards facing heat shield because I was getting slight contact when shaking everything around. No CEL yet and I've put about 30 miles on it already!

Badass tone through all of the RPM ranges and stainless for longevity. Being mindful of the insulation and carpeting I removed last year to get the Sherpa Equipment cargo base in, the cabin noise is noticeable compared to stock, but not annoying at all. The growl it gives off is muy bueno! I've only had it on the highway for a few miles, but I'm not hearing any drone whatsoever with the whole assembly in place. You have the option to remove the heimholtz tube and cap the elbow, or take it completely off and cap it at the muffler to give you an increasingly more "aggressive" tone. With the entire setup installed, it's aggressive enough for me, lol.

Magnaflow hit it out of the park on this one for our rigs!

... I'll try to get more pics later; I was way too tired to care last night and I had a steak waiting for me at home!

 

[Trophy_Rock]

Nice find! do you ever have issues with you pioneer unit? Mine seems to like to shut itself off all the time

 

[Fiffa]

Nice find! do you ever have issues with you pioneer unit? Mine seems to like to shut itself off all the time

I haven't had any issues yet! I was worried, though, because the one I put into a work truck a few years back would randomly cut the bluetooth off and I'd have to power cycle the entire truck to get it to work again.

 

[Fiffa]

4.88's are in!

It does feel nice to have an actual V6 feel in this thing now. Due to some errands, I have pretty much already finished the "burn-in" period, but there is an axle seal leak in the front that needs to be fixed. From what I can tell, the tech just put the new one in a little too far, which is not hard to do at all.

Paden Drivetrain in Portland is the shop to go to if you want Nitro (or Yukon) gears, prompt and friendly service, and stupid-cheap prices. F/R with e-locker cost me $1,850 out-the-door (he tacked on another $100 for the needle bearing bushing swap that I got from ECGS). This included the master service kit, so labor ended up being almost nothing compared to some quotes I got elsewhere. He's a long-time authorized dealer for Nitro, which means he gets the parts really cheap from them and passes on the savings to us.

The word is already out about Mike (Paden) and his crew thanks to some other forums, so don't expect to get in super quick. I originally called in December and he was backed up until the end of January, but he said there's always a holiday rush for some reason. When I called a few weeks ago, I had to wait about a week due to backorders from Nitro, but once he had the 4Runner then it took no more than a day to do everything.

It felt good to switch off ECT and still have pep! Once he fixes the seal then I'll do some highway tests to see how the higher RPMs are. I hear 4.88's can have the 5VZ's screaming over 70, so we'll see! I still have a slight tapping on the floorboard, which is most likely the u-joints in the front shaft that still need to be changed out, but overall the entire road feel is much more "stout" than before. I'm sure most of that is the ECGS bushing, but it's good to know that I don't have to worry about anything in the differentials now either. The clapping/clacking during heavy cornering has been subdued, as well, but I still feel some play in the CV's, so I think it's just something that I'll need to live with.

 

[Fiffa]

... turns out the leak was the passenger side CV not being fully in. Guess that ECGS bushing really does tighten things up! It's all good now!

 

[tyler.lewis]

How do you like your new 4.88s on the highway?


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[Fiffa]

How do you like your new 4.88s on the highway?


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NGL, I think 4.88's are perfect for 33's in every realistic speed range! Not sure why I'd need a supercharger at this point because I have plenty of power with these gears now.

 

[rickashay]

Great build - well thought out and executed. Really like those RX8 seats too. Curious, how tall are you? Do you notice any reduction in headroom vs. the factory seats?

Thanks