fish0281's mod and maintenance thread.

[fish0281]

Well, I figured it is time to honor my 4Runner with a thread of her own! This is my second 4Runner, the first ('98 Limited) met its demise on an icy Superior, Montana bridge in 2008... my buddy was driving and I was asleep in the passenger seat, he lost control and we hit the bridge guard-wall. Somehow, we didn't die:
1) Didn't roll even though we were going back-and-forth at about 40mph
2) the front tire went nearly to the top of the guard-wall, but we didn't go over
3) Had we gone over, we would've landed roof down after falling about 20', only to have a train come through about 5 minutes later.
Here's what was left (sorry, my hands were shaking pretty badly when I took the cellphone-pic):

I was so happy with that truck before, during (it kept us alive!), and after the wreck, that I HAD to get another. I bought a 2001 SR5 with 130k and looking like this:

Fast forward to today!

Mod List (8/22/12)

Interior:

Pioneer FH-X700BT head unit
Kiwi Bluetooth OBDII reader + Torque for Android​

Exterior:

Outdoor Logic Front Bumper
Sport Hood
Yakima Roof Rack
Front Window Tint (25%?)
1" Body Lift
Vision X Halogen Driving Lights​

Suspension/Steering/Wheels:

Front: OME 880 + OME Comforts
Rear: OME 906 + OME 60028
Stealth Custom Series F-5 - Matte Gunmetal
285/75r16 Goodyear Duratracs
Energy Steering Rack Bushings​

Other:

Day time running lights disabled
Cargo Area Bike Rack
COMING SOON: Bagel Mod (VSC & Trac disable)​

Maintenance

193k Miles

Spark plugs (NGK)
New tires, Front Dif Fluid, Oil​

183k Miles

Lower Ball Joints (Toyota), Inner/Outter Tie Rod (Napa Premium)​

180k Miles

Energy steering rack bushings​

175k

Rear Diff, Transfer Case fluids​

210k

New Radiator (leak at top tank corners)​

...more pics/info/updates to come as I have the time to update!

 

[fish0281]

The adventure from Oregon to Colorado, a 3-week road trip! Started in Corvallis...

...onto the Redwoods...

...then San Fransisco, Lancaster, Joshua Tree (and 120F heat), Las Vegas, Zion, Goblin Valley State Park, Arches National Park, then onto Fort Collins, and ultimately ended in Denver!

 

[hrt4me]

looks good with the Outdoor Logic front bumper

gonna add a winch?

 

[fish0281]

Thanks!

At some point, I am going to add a winch. I think sliders are next in line though - I don't get into anything too crazy, but I would HATE to bash in a rocker panel.

 

[JWaldz]

Man than bumper looks great with the matching paint!

 

[fish0281]

Thanks man! It's funny how passerby's tend to look at my runner a little differently now that there's a steel Buck F****r bumper on there!

 

[JadatheRottweiler]

i spy a berner!

 

[fish0281]

Yessir, that's Mackenzie! She's an awesome buddy, she loves goin up to the mountains and hanging out while I work on the truck...

Oddly enough, a few people have confused her for a Rottweiler. ()

 

[fish0281]

Back in July, I hit a deer (a 6-point big-boy buck no less) near Bailey (CO):

It doesn't look so bad, but both headlights broke, the hood and bumpers were effed, and the passenger fender was bent out (was able to bend it back by hand though). Had a check from insurance within 12 hours, so I got to work!

Did all the work on the side of my 1-way street here in Denver (the city proper), so that was exciting. A BFH and some convincing got everything back in place relatively easily... Oh, I also did the LBJ's and Inner/Outer Tie Rod Ends while it was in disrepair!

Painting and mounting the bumper, solo, without the proper space - made life a little more tough, but got it done anyway!

Had the hood painted by Maaco (which, so far it looks like they did a helluva job, especially for the $180 price!)
B-)

 

[fluffeh]

Looks really nice! I like the added hood scoop.

 

[fish0281]

Bike Rack!

For all the biking I do and the fact that summer is on it's way out (HURRY UP WINTER!), I *finally* got around to building a cheap bike rack for inside my rig. I haven't seen many racks that seem worth their weight (they either don't mount full suspension bikes, rattle like crazy, are heavy/ugly, or are just ridiculously expensive) so I went the route that seemed the most logical to me: cheap, simple, and inside the truck.

Here is what I came up with:

- Truck Bed Fork Mount ($10; pricepoint.com)
- 15mm fork adapter ($45; local bike shop)
- Scrap 2x4 ($1; Home Depot)
- Screws and general framing connector plates (Home Depot)

I should be able to fit 3 bikes and passengers with this arrangement. I still need to get some carpet to cover the wood so it's more purty, ratchet straps for the rear wheels, and I'd like to get some sort of sliding mechanism to slide the assembly in/out of the back for loading/unloading...

 

[hrt4me]

nice! I will eventually replace my hood and add that same bumper to mine too

 

[fish0281]

Ok, the previous bike rack attempt was an instant failure and, frankly, kinda stupid. I re-did it much simpler this time... and it works awesome.

1 1x6 (scrap at HD)
2 Truck-bed fork mounts

 

[fish0281]

Drove her up to a little over 11k, near Kingston Peak. I love my 4Runner, handled it all like boss!

 

[SoCal]

Great 4Runner, I like the clean look it has. The bumper without hoops flows well and goes with the new hood.

cool dog too!

 

[fish0281]

Great 4Runner, I like the clean look it has. The bumper without hoops flows well and goes with the new hood.

cool dog too!

Thanks! I'm happy with how it's coming together - these ODL bumpers get a lot of attention

Dog says thanks ;-)

 

[fish0281]

Ufda, had a busy weekend, but the 4Runner got some new goodies!

Friday after work, I dashed home to install my new Vision-X driving lights in my bumper... only for it to rain (for about the 3rd time this year, it is CO!). So, I waited until it let up a bit, then got to it at about 9pm with my camping headlamp. I was electrocuted once before (knocked off a ladder from a commercial high-voltage line), so puddles+electricity kept me on my toes - no pun intended. Got them in and after a lot of fussing with the mount, trying to get them centered in the opening and properly aligned was no easy task, but well worth the effort. They really finish off the ODL bumper nicely.

Saturday morning, I brought it in to get professionally detailed (groupon!!) while I went mountain biking. She's never looked so clean!

That evening, I installed a 1" body lift. It's a pretty easy job, except for the bolts in the back of the rig, which were a TOTAL PIA. Lots of cursing and one fractured pointer finger later, I got 'er done.

Then, after watching the Vikings whoop up on the Lions Sunday morning, I finished up my weekend's projects by installing some new OME (60028) rear shocks. That actually wasn't as hard as I've heard many others saying, but it's still a stupid design. The shocks are MUCH stiffer than the factory ones I had on there (w/906's), but it's definitely better planted and I don't get that crazy hop. I'm interested to see how I like it driving up I70 to the resorts this winter.

Hoping to get some prettier pictures when I'm in Moab next weekend for 24 Hours of Moab (MTB race) :-D
Next, i'm ready for spacers, sliders, then bigger tires (285s)...

 

[fish0281]

I thought I'd also share how I wired my lights... Basically, I used the DRL line to trigger the relay with a dash-mounted switch in line. That way, there's no way I'd forget to turn them off and kill my battery AND I can turn them on/off whenever the truck is on (no need to have the headlights/brights/parking lights on).


EDIT: I forgot to include the fuse that is between the battery and the relay.

 

[Luke the Dog]

Nice rig man! I actually saw you around the Denver area once or twice when we lived up there (down in Pueblo now...). That lift setup is exactly what I'm looking to do with mine. Did you install it yourself?

 

[fish0281]

Nice rig man! I actually saw you around the Denver area once or twice when we lived up there (down in Pueblo now...). That lift setup is exactly what I'm looking to do with mine. Did you install it yourself?

Thanks!!

Ha, really? That's pretty funny. Ironically enough, my name is Luke as well. :guitar3: I have not been to Pueblo specifically, but gotta love this state! Well, particularly the western half, the eastern half (and all the way to the Mississippi) is pretty boring.

I love the lift, it's just enough to notice but not so much that I *need* bigger tires. I did install the lift myself, in my parking lot... not ideal, but gotta do what you gotta do. It's actually not too difficult - the upper mount of the rear shocks is annoying though. I've definitely done more difficult work (also in the parking lot ), so as long as you have a lift, jack-stands, metric wrenches/sockets, breaker bar, beer, and a hammer, it's totally doable. There's also a thread on here somewhere about using the truck itself to disassemble/assemble the front coilovers making the job even easier.