Glockman's 07 Sport V8 "build"

[glockman]

Starting this thread to track the progress of my 2007 which replaced my beloved 97 SR5.

I picked it up June of 2018 with 130K miles on the clock.





Mods
1.5" Rough Country Wheel spacers
https://www.top4runners.com/ja/2007/12vpower.html
LED MAP,door panel and Dome lights
Aftermarket seat heaters in stock sport seats.
Carbon filter removed
DIY Rear drawer system
OCD console organizer https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018CX73AG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Maintenance
132,000 miles Replaced timing belt, water pump and tensioner pulleys and flushed coolant. Used AISIN kit TKT-021.
133,000 Replaced the rear hatch switch cover with this part https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071DVJ6ZD/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
135,000 miles Changed spark plugs

 

[glockman]

Timing Belt

One of the things that drew me to this rig was how clean it was and the full toyota service history. One thing missing was I could not find the timing belt service and with 130K miles on the clock, it was well overdue. Had the motor apart the first week I owned it to replace the timing belt and water pump.

I ordered AISIN TKT-021 kit which was great and had everything needed.
The complete replacement took about 6 hours start to finish. If you look closely you can see the water pump was starting to leak. Glad I caught it before it got to the belt.

 

[07V8]

Not surprising to see the original belt had lots of life left in it.

That’s what my truck looked like when I brought it home! ��

 

[glockman]

Drawer build

Initially I was pretty stoked to get a Sport with the double decker cargo platform. After a short time I realized it was not for me. The fact that it was only 1/2 the depth of the cargo area was a bummer and I ended up not using it. This lead me to start planning and build a lightweight drawer system.


This is my daily driver, it gets used to haul my Mountain bike several times a week but will also be camped out of in southern Utah several times a year and on desert explorations every other week or so. It also serves as my families main car and grocery getter so mods have to work for all those tasks.

This drawer system is built from 1/2 plywood with cutouts in the bottom to help it stick to the carpet below and reduce weight and because I wanted to try building it that way.

I didn't use slides because in my experience waxed wood on wood slides plenty smoothly for this purpose. I used pocket screws in some locations and just glued and screwed in the bottom since it won't be visible.

The drawers mostly hold my tools, tow strap, jumper cables, bike helmet, gloves and pump. On camping trips they will be useful for many small items also.

 

[glockman]

More to come

The Xreas is totally shot and I am bouncing off the bump stops quit often.
I put OME stuff on my 3rd gen and was never really happy with how stiff the shock valving was. I mostly explore washboard and rocky desert roads and it was always pretty harsh with no armor or bumpers.

I researched all the common 4th gen suspension mods and really contemplated the FJ coils and 5100's since I have a set of coils from my sisters FJ that I installed a lift on. In the end, I decided to give Dobinsons a try.

I emailed Mike last week and got the following on order.
Front springs
C59-314 - V8 - Stock front end load, 2.5" lift. 405/405mm, 17mm wire,586LB
Front Shocks
GS59-221
Rear Springs
C59-325 - Stock rear end load, 1.75" to 2" lift. 420/420mm, 17mm wire, 220LB
Rear Shocks
GS59-637 - Twin Tube, suits 0-2" lift.


Mike was really helpful. My parts should be here next week.


I also have torn CV boots on both sides. I stopped at Napa and picked up a pair of MAX CV shafts this week. I'll be installing them this weekend and removing the shocks, springs and XREAS so when my Dobinsons stuff arrives the install will be quick.

 

[glockman]

All the parts waiting to go in.

LCA Bushings were seized.
The front bolt came out on both sides but the sleeve was rusted to the bushing. The rear bolt was seized to the busing on both sides. Required cutting on both front and rear on both sides.

Front sleeve

Rear bolt about to be sawsalled off. I used a Diable blade used for ductile pipe. It cut both bolts/sleeves on both sides and was far from new when I started.

Bottle jack got the entire bushing out of the front side (smaller bushing) but just pushed the rubber out of the bushing sleeve on the larger bushing. It took some heat on each.

Not sure what it is about Toyota but these joints and bushing all fought hard. I have used this same press to replace lots of bearings and ball joints including diesel 1 ton truck bearings and ball
Joints. None were this tight. This LBJ required as much force as I could put on the jack handle, then LOTS of heat on the LCA.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[cbelisle]

Looks good! I have some dobinson rear springs and they are rad.

What bushings and BJ are you installing in your LCA's? Looking to do mine soon.

 

[glockman]

Looks good! I have some dobinson rear springs and they are rad.

What bushings and BJ are you installing in your LCA's? Looking to do mine soon.

Thanks.
I went with Moog bushings and ball joints but did oem bolts and sleeves.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[glockman]

Got the runner back from the alignment shop today. They were only able to get 1.5 degrees of caster on both sides of the front. Looks like I am looking at upper control arms.

I am currently considering the JBA's and the SPC's. The SPC's can be had for $400 on Amazon which is hard to pass up. I will most likely go that route.

I clay barred and waxed it last week before doing the LCA bushings. Man it is looking clean.

Here is a couple shots with the lift installed.

 

[meltdowner]

I am a fan of those tires.

 

[glockman]

I am a fan of those tires.

They are a great A/T tire.



Changed the oil yesterday and noticed I have a coolant leak at the Thermostat housing. Looks like I'll be tearing that apart to reseal it. Must not have got enough RTV on it when I did the timing belt.

Also had a strange issue. After changing the oil, I drove it to work. When I drove home I noticed I hadn't reset the Maint light. So I held the ODO Reset button, turned the key on, waited, then turned it off.
This morning first thing the CEL and VSC lights are all on. I'll pull codes tomorrow and see whats up. Strange that it correlated to resetting the maint light.