Mantana’s Daily V8 Build

[MantanaB6]

Updated with build plans below! (running build updates in red)

So, after 13 years of misery in the world of VAG, I made a reasonable to decision and bought a nice, reliable Toyota 4Runner. My previous car was this:

Naturally, I had gotten used to all the glory that is the V8, so a V8 4th gen was my target. Living in New England, almost every vehicle I looked at was a certifiable rust bucket. Finally, this beauty popped up:

2008 V8 Limited, Nav, RAS, one owner, garage kept, maintenance records from the same dealership since new; pretty much the finest example in the area. The caveat: it had 167k on the clock; not exactly the low mileage if I was looking for. After some minor negotiate with the owner (and my wife), I decided to pull the trigger.

And so begins my 4Runner story. My father has owned a 1997 3rd gen since new, and as such I’ve always been impressed with their versatility and durability. The plan for mine is to keep up in the maintenance and do some minor upgrades as things wear out and to modernize a couple things. Hopefully I can keep good track of it all in this thread. Look forward to getting in with the 4Runner crowd!

Build Plans

This is my DD, and I have not plans to do serious wheeling, so I will be going for an OEM+ style build. Not really planning into the whole "stages" thing, but it's the easiest way to break down the prioritization of mods.

Stage 1:
- Winter Tires (Hakka R3 SUV or Blizzak DM-V2) - Cooper AT3 4S 265/65-18
- Front Level Kit (likely Daystar so I don't have to compress the springs) - scratched
- HID retrofit kit (TBD - likely from Retrofitsource)
- Yellow film fogs and upgrade halogen bulbs - film done

Stage 2:
- TRD Pro wheels (bronze or black - TBD) with 265/70/17 A/T tires
- Replace XREAS (probably 5100's) - done - 5100's front/4600's rear to keep RAS
- 1UP hitch mount bikerack - scratched - work Silverado as shuttle rig
- Awning (brand TBD)

Stage 3:
- Swap stock roof rails for a sturdier option - done - Yakima rails
- Brake upgrade - replaced calipers all around... not really an "upgrade"
- Hard-shell RTT
- Fix shit as it wears out/breaks
- CarPlay compatible headunit


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[0verland]

So, after 13 years of misery in the world of VAG

But oh so enjoyable... when they run right. Miss my B7 S4... :sad:


Welcome to the club! You'll love it.

 

[MantanaB6]

Looking through 10 years of service records, I couldn’t find any indication that the spark plugs had been changed. The vehicle wasn’t running rough/misfiring but figured it’s easy to do and then I’ll know it’s been done.

Decided to do the HCF delete while I was in there (even though the verdict is out whether or not this actually does anything)

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[MantanaB6]

But oh so enjoyable... when they run right. Miss my B7 S4... :sad:


Welcome to the club! You'll love it.

So true; it was hard letting go of my S4. The new owner has promised I have first dibs if he ever decides to sell though so I have that to look forward to haha


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[MantanaB6]

Not really a mod, but washed, clay barred, and waxed the rig this weekend.

Also got this, hopefully getting it cut at the dealership today.

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[Billynath1988]

Super clean, love the white.. 08 v8's in good condition like that are getting harder to find.

What are your plans? Suspension upgrade? wheeling it?

 

[MantanaB6]

Super clean, love the white.. 08 v8's in good condition like that are getting harder to find.



What are your plans? Suspension upgrade? wheeling it?

Well I have functional XREAS and RAS, so my short term plans are front leveling spacer and snow tires (hopefully the new Hakka R3 SUV) on the stock wheels to get me through ski season. In the spring I’ll probably reevaluate the shocks and maybe do 5100’s with FJ springs in the front (want to keep RAS for as long as it’s functional). Then thinking either TRD Pro or Off Road/Trail wheels for OEM+ look and slightly more “poke” offset (I’m anti wheel spacers) along with maybe a 265/70/17 A/T tire (TBD). Then a hard shell RTT and an awning for camping when we go on mtn bike trips, and just drive and enjoy!


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[Billynath1988]

Well I have functional XREAS and RAS, so my short term plans are front leveling spacer and snow tires (hopefully the new Hakka R3 SUV) on the stock wheels to get me through ski season. In the spring I’ll probably reevaluate the shocks and maybe do 5100’s with FJ springs in the front (want to keep RAS for as long as it’s functional). Then thinking either TRD Pro or Off Road/Trail wheels for OEM+ look and slightly more “poke” offset (I’m anti wheel spacers) along with maybe a 265/70/17 A/T tire (TBD). Then a hard shell RTT and an awning for camping when we go on mtn bike trips, and just drive and enjoy!


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A few recommendations:
A spacer/level kit will quickly kill the xreas.. but it should make it through the season.
being in the rust belt with me, id skip the 5100's maybe do the stage 1 icon kit which should hold up better to corrosion. Also I recommend looking at some Upper control arms.. Balljoint style to handle salt over anything uniball. JBA makes a high caster standard arm which I have and general consensus is a great product.
The 5th gen trail wheels look great.. You wont need a wheel spacer in that tire size range.
A good all terrain in that size will get you through any snow you want without having a dedicated set. Either the Nitto ridge Grapplers or Falken wildpeak at3

Also look up the secondary air injection pump fix and just do it before its a problem, it will be eventually. Cheap 5 minute fix forever for the v8.

 

[hinmo24t]

A few recommendations:
A spacer/level kit will quickly kill the xreas.. but it should make it through the season.
being in the rust belt with me, id skip the 5100's maybe do the stage 1 icon kit which should hold up better to corrosion. Also I recommend looking at some Upper control arms.. Balljoint style to handle salt over anything uniball. JBA makes a high caster standard arm which I have and general consensus is a great product.
The 5th gen trail wheels look great.. You wont need a wheel spacer in that tire size range.
A good all terrain in that size will get you through any snow you want without having a dedicated set. Either the Nitto ridge Grapplers or Falken wildpeak at3

Also look up the secondary air injection pump fix and just do it before its a problem, it will be eventually. Cheap 5 minute fix forever for the v8.

good points...one thing i might point out, in addition to BFG KO2 AT and maybe one other I cant think of right now, check out the Kumho AT51. its been rated 2 of 19 and 4 of 19 ATs since they came out a few years ago on tirerack ratings - they have the snowflake symbol that only the three I mentioned (forgot 3rd one with stamp) have. I am in MA too and just scored them in LT 6PLY 255/75/17, looking forward to running them and i got a sick deal on amazon...they might be priced up there with KO2s typical retail though. sick ride.

 

[MantanaB6]

A few recommendations:
A spacer/level kit will quickly kill the xreas.. but it should make it through the season.
being in the rust belt with me, id skip the 5100's maybe do the stage 1 icon kit which should hold up better to corrosion. Also I recommend looking at some Upper control arms.. Balljoint style to handle salt over anything uniball. JBA makes a high caster standard arm which I have and general consensus is a great product.
The 5th gen trail wheels look great.. You wont need a wheel spacer in that tire size range.
A good all terrain in that size will get you through any snow you want without having a dedicated set. Either the Nitto ridge Grapplers or Falken wildpeak at3

Also look up the secondary air injection pump fix and just do it before its a problem, it will be eventually. Cheap 5 minute fix forever for the v8.

Thanks for the info. Your build is definitely an inspiration, although I don't think mine will ever reach that level. I'm not quite sure how a spacer that mounts above the shock will kill it, but I'm not too concerned since I intend on replacing them in the relative near future anyways (at almost 170k miles, I'm sure they are due even if they aren't leaking). Once I get to it, I'll evaluate by budget and pick the best components I can justify; I'd love to do Icon and may just do it so I don't regret it. I'd also like to replace various suspension components while I'm in there.

I was originally 100% committed to 5th gen trail wheels, but now I think I'm leaning towards TRD Pro wheels. See what I can score a good deal on in the spring. I think the bronze Pro wheels will look nice with the white paint.

I'm from Montana originally, and have always rocked a dedicated winter tire. Comes in handy when storm chasing; icy highway surfaces are where a dedicated snow tire really shines vs an AT tire with a snowflake.

I am definitely planning on buying the SAI bypass kit before it gets cold out and the risk of failure goes up. Maybe I'll just PM slyfox now...

 

[usernameinuse]

Nice Truck! I love it in white! I am doing the same as you since I got my mine in November.. I have been slowly going through all the routine maintenance and upgrades also.. 2 things I would mention are timing belt and drive train fluid replacement. Timing belt is 90k interval but good peace of mind to KNOW it's done.

 

[thegame7]

Which key did you order? I need to do that ASAP.

 

[waypoint]

Very nice 4Runner! I'd drop the skid plates and stop any rust hiding under there before Winter hits. The radiator crossmember seems to take the biggest hit on these. Mine had 164K miles of NJ road salt but was washed frequently...the original owner ran 3 car washes. But that radiator crossmember was still gross with rust.

I hit it with the wire brush, then rust neutralizer, then POR-15 paint everywhere I could reach, then Amsoil HD Metal Protector wax-oil spray fogging it inside every drain hole until it was dripping out everywhere. Same approach I used on my previous Tundra and Tacoma. I've also started shooting WD-40 Gel Lubricant into the other frame and crossmember holes, the stuff stays gooey and doesn't wash away easily. Paint is good where you can coat the entire assembly, but spray oils are needed for the blind spots you can't reach with a brush or rattle can.

And use anti-seize on the skid plate bolts during reassembly. You'll be glad you did later.

 

[MantanaB6]

Nice Truck! I love it in white! I am doing the same as you since I got my mine in November.. I have been slowly going through all the routine maintenance and upgrades also.. 2 things I would mention are timing belt and drive train fluid replacement. Timing belt is 90k interval but good peace of mind to KNOW it's done.

Thanks! I actually didn't really want white (have had 2 previous white vehicles) but the condition of this one was too good to pass up. The timing belt/water pump was done at 102k (previous owner had vehicle serviced at same dealership since new so I have all the records); drivetrain fluids are definitely on my list. I've already greased the driveline joints, but I doubt the diff or trans fluid has ever been changed.

 

[MantanaB6]

Which key did you order? I need to do that ASAP.

I bought this one off ebay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/ALin1-SWIT...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

 

[MantanaB6]

Very nice 4Runner! I'd drop the skid plates and stop any rust hiding under there before Winter hits. The radiator crossmember seems to take the biggest hit on these. Mine had 164K miles of NJ road salt but was washed frequently...the original owner ran 3 car washes. But that radiator crossmember was still gross with rust.

I hit it with the wire brush, then rust neutralizer, then POR-15 paint everywhere I could reach, then Amsoil HD Metal Protector wax-oil spray fogging it inside every drain hole until it was dripping out everywhere. Same approach I used on my previous Tundra and Tacoma. I've also started shooting WD-40 Gel Lubricant into the other frame and crossmember holes, the stuff stays gooey and doesn't wash away easily. Paint is good where you can coat the entire assembly, but spray oils are needed for the blind spots you can't reach with a brush or rattle can.

And use anti-seize on the skid plate bolts during reassembly. You'll be glad you did later.

Thanks for the tips! I'm doing an oil change this weekend so I'll get a good idea of any hidden rust. I'm definitely planning hitting the undercarriage with rust inhibitor, wasn't sure if I was going to go all out with the wire brush etc. but I suppose I should adhere to the adage "do it once, do it right".

After having to drill out the license plate screws and license plate light screws, I'm going through and replacing a lot of hardware with SS and using anti-seize where applicable. Nothing worse than wasting time battling rusted and stripped bolts/screws.

 

[waypoint]

I soaked the skid plate bolts in Kroil penetrating oil before I even tried removing them, re-sprayed the threads and rotated them back & forth during removal to spread the oil...still ended up with 2 deformed threads. They cleaned up easily with a tap and cutting oil, and new Toyota bolts went in along w/ a coat of anti-seize paste. Front skid plate also had some rust growing in a few spots.

Thanks for the reminder about license plate bolts, I'll be hitting mine this weekend.

As for undercarriage rust, I brush+neutralize+POR15 where I can reach. The other spots like inside the frame rails and crossmembers just get smothered in wax-oil spray and a top coat thick oil spray to keep the rust from spreading.

Thanks for the tips! I'm doing an oil change this weekend so I'll get a good idea of any hidden rust. I'm definitely planning hitting the undercarriage with rust inhibitor, wasn't sure if I was going to go all out with the wire brush etc. but I suppose I should adhere to the adage "do it once, do it right".

After having to drill out the license plate screws and license plate light screws, I'm going through and replacing a lot of hardware with SS and using anti-seize where applicable. Nothing worse than wasting time battling rusted and stripped bolts/screws.

 

[Billynath1988]

Thanks for the info. Your build is definitely an inspiration, although I don't think mine will ever reach that level. I'm not quite sure how a spacer that mounts above the shock will kill it, but I'm not too concerned since I intend on replacing them in the relative near future anyways (at almost 170k miles, I'm sure they are due even if they aren't leaking). Once I get to it, I'll evaluate by budget and pick the best components I can justify; I'd love to do Icon and may just do it so I don't regret it. I'd also like to replace various suspension components while I'm in there.

I was originally 100% committed to 5th gen trail wheels, but now I think I'm leaning towards TRD Pro wheels. See what I can score a good deal on in the spring. I think the bronze Pro wheels will look nice with the white paint.

I'm from Montana originally, and have always rocked a dedicated winter tire. Comes in handy when storm chasing; icy highway surfaces are where a dedicated snow tire really shines vs an AT tire with a snowflake.

I am definitely planning on buying the SAI bypass kit before it gets cold out and the risk of failure goes up. Maybe I'll just PM slyfox now...

I appreciate that and when I first bought my truck I thought the same thing. Then I got infected with the mod bug, met a bunch of awesome people through here and various off roading groups in the area and couldn't stop. Some of the best advice I was given was to try and do everything right the first time. Unfortunately that usually involves spending more money. especially when compensating for salt belt conditions.

Spacers on xreas, they cause a preload condition that the shocks arent used to, so the spring rate is different and when they already have miles on them, they don't last long trying to control that. I had this when I started, street driving shouldn't be to terrible, but you will lose caster until you do upper control arms, which can cause a twitchy light steering feel.

Dedicated snow tires are definitely going to be better then an AT in snow. But you will be surprised how well these trucks handle bad weather when driven right with a good set of tires.

Get the SAI kit, asap its not even worth dealing with that headache for how easy it is to make it go away.

 

[MantanaB6]

I appreciate that and when I first bought my truck I thought the same thing. Then I got infected with the mod bug, met a bunch of awesome people through here and various off roading groups in the area and couldn't stop. Some of the best advice I was given was to try and do everything right the first time. Unfortunately that usually involves spending more money. especially when compensating for salt belt conditions.

Spacers on xreas, they cause a preload condition that the shocks arent used to, so the spring rate is different and when they already have miles on them, they don't last long trying to control that. I had this when I started, street driving shouldn't be to terrible, but you will lose caster until you do upper control arms, which can cause a twitchy light steering feel.

Dedicated snow tires are definitely going to be better then an AT in snow. But you will be surprised how well these trucks handle bad weather when driven right with a good set of tires.

Get the SAI kit, asap its not even worth dealing with that headache for how easy it is to make it go away.

Yea I've modding vehicles since I had my first car when I was 15 (Honda Civic #racecar), so I completely understand how the bug can sneak up on you. The probably is I have pretty big bike and ski problems that have the tendency to make my wallet lighter. Since I'm not really planning on serious off-roading, I have no need for armor or any major suspension lift. Just want to build a solid/reliable adventure rig to get me where I need to go, that also looks good doing it.

Now that we are talking about it, I may just hold off on suspension until the spring; skip the spacers and go straight to proper shock + adjustable upper control arms so I can have correct alignment.

I wouldn't mind having to only deal with one set of wheels/tires, it just goes against everything I have stood for in almost 20 years of serious winter driving. The confidence a good set of snow tires provide when the conditions turn to sh*t is worth the price of admission to me.

After you mentioned the SAI kit, I immediately sent out a PM; temps are dropping and that is that last thing I want to deal with!

 

[blackoutt]

So true; it was hard letting go of my S4. The new owner has promised I have first dibs if he ever decides to sell though so I have that to look forward to haha


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I also came from an S4 (b7 sedan) to the 4runner almost 4 years ago. Man that car sounded amazing but this has it's own positives that far outweigh. Welcome!