My 2003 V8 build - We'll call her the beast

[T4R_RA]

Here we go!
I'll start off with a little introduction,
First up I've been lurking around the forums for quite some time already, finally decided it's about time I keep track of everything I do to this truck, and what better way to do that than a build thread. I've been a motorhead all my life, used to focus on Subaru's but slowly shifted into Toyota's for a little more reliability. At the moment I'm a proud owner of a 1987 Corolla GTS, a 2012 IS350 and this 2003 4Runner, which is also my first full size SUV.

Onto the Truck
I'm from Edmonton, Alberta and had been looking for a 4Runner or Tacoma for a few weeks, wasn't picky on gen or anything, but price was the catch. Took a look at a few 3rd gens before this 4th gen popped up for sale in Calgary, about 3 hours away. The best part was that it was a V8, the worst was that it had clearly been in a few minor accidents and had 330,000 km on the clock. Had a friend check it out for me and before I knew it I was on my way down to pick it up. It needed a bit of work, but for the low price I couldn't complain.

Recent Picture:

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2003 Toyota 4Runner V8 Sport
Current Mileage: 369,000 km

Modifications to date:

Power/Drivetrain:
K&N oiled filter ditched for paper filter
Hydrocarbon Filter delete
Timing belt and water pump replaced @ 335,000 km
Resonator delete

In the corners:
OEM 17" sport wheels, powdercoated matte bronze
285/70/17 Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac's, w/ matching spare
Bilstein 5100's all around, set at 0 lift
OME 2885's Front
1/4" Strut top spacers
OME 2895's Rear
Daystar 1.5" spacer, driver side
OEM Toyota brake pads
'Sport' Calipers painted red
OEM Toyota CV's w/ new OEM boots @ 362,000 km
Swaybar delete

Exterior:
Facelift headlights w/ Phillips HID
Fender mounted ditch lights
DRL's disabled
Rocky Mountain RTT
Element fuse mounting panel
Element Full Aluminum skid package, including gas tank
Element Rock Sliders
Element Fender Brackets
Blue Sea Fuse panel

Interior:
All interior lights replaced with phillips LED
AOB factory position buttons (Camp lights, Lightbar, Ditch lights and Rock lights)
Blue Sea high amperage USB outlet
Koolatron P65 electric cooler
RAM suction mount
OEM Ashtray Kit - 74110-35011-B0
Front door speakers replaced with Boss BRS69


Waiting to be installed:

TRD Supercharger & ECU
NGK BKR5EP-11 one step colder plugs
Auto dimming rear view mirror w/ compass (amber)
LED Rock lights
LED Camp lights


Future plans:
Element Roof rack
Element Hatch ladder
Element Cargo cage
Drawer System
Bilstein 6112
Bilstein 5160
SPC UCA's
Driver & Passenger seat upgrade
Custom grille
High capacity battery or dual setup
Stay on top of rust.. potentially cheap re-spray

 

[T4R_RA]

First up on the repair list was front brakes, all of it, rotors pads and calipers all needed replacing. Added some red caliper paint just for fun haha While that was apart the front wheel bearing were also done since at least of of them was bad. Along with that, I replaced every fluid in the truck since I didn't have much for service history, also had the timing belt replaced.

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After everything maintenance related was attended to I could start making some visual and performance changes. Started out by attempted to get more light out of the Halogen reflector headlights by polishing the hazy lenses, and although they looked alot better I was still searching for more light..

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So ended up sourcing some facelift projector headlights. These were a massive improvement even with the halogen bulbs, but I ended up getting a HID kit with Phillips bulbs to make it that much better. Modified the "squirrel finders" as well to reduce glare.

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Since I knew I was going to be taking this offroad in the future, I started looking at ways to protect the body. Started off by making a set of rock sliders for myself (more on this later)

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Next up, winter was coming, so I had to prepare for that. Acquired a set of 16" and 17" Toyota Steelies for winter use. After trying to find a way to make the 16" wheels fit (they did fit, but caused noise at speed) I stuck with 17" over the huge sport package brake calipers.

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At this time I also went out for my first trail ride ever! Absolute blast and was amazed at the stock capabilities of the Runner.

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Over winter I took the stock wheels off and powdercoated them matte bronze and started getting together parts for the overland build

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Spring came around and it was time to install the lift. I ended up staying on the cheap with this for now. Went with 5100's all around and OME/ARB springs. They're okay.. the front coilovers have miles of travel but everything is a little to stiff for my liking. Also had to install a spacer on the driver side rear to level everything out.

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Also realized my swaybar had snapped haha

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Got me some used 32" "Duratrac replica's" and 1-1/2" wheel spacers to test fit, and went and tested!

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A buddy of mine was upgrading to a larger RTT so I was lucky enough to get his 2nd's haha

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After a few trips over the summer my CV boots were in desperate need of replacing, so ordered up the OEM parts and got to it

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Going back a few steps to where I mentioned building my own rock sliders, I've been working with metal my entire life and am the 3rd generation to be working at my family company which does just that. With the slowdown in the economy that happened these past few years I have been looking at new ways to get work in the door. I've been building skidplates and parts for cars for years but with the 4Runner me and a friend decided to get a little more serious with it. Enter RA Motorsports and Element. RA Motorsports was a name that I have branded my parts with since I started, but with the Truck taking a more outdoor approach, we needed a division, which we called Element. I won't get too much into it as I don't know what is allowed, but we've re-engineered my original rock slider design almost entirely and have a full set of skid plates now under the truck:

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Also made a fuse panel mount as well as fender mounted ditch light/antennae brackets:

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Working on a few more things yet, but I'll post on those when they're closer to completion.

With the extra fuses and relays I started wiring together yet more lights haha I'm still working on it, but the extra USB outlets are wired and working as well as the ditch lights mounted on the fenders. Also rewired the HID kit into the BlueSea panel. I have also purchased LEDs for rock lights and well as camp lights but have yet to get that far in wiring.

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Now for the best part of this build thus far.. this past summer I managed to get my hands on a complete TRD supercharger kit for the V8. I've only recently got everything that I need together to get started on the installation. I don't have a timeline for this to happen but it is starting to itch at me! Teaser:

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One last shot of me pulling my Corolla to Vancouver this past summer haha

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Anyways, that's me and the truck for now. I'll try to keep this as updated as possible as things progress but unless then thanks for reading and have a good one!

 

[Slowgoat]

Nice work!!

 

[T4R_RA]

Nice work!!

Thanks buddy!

I've had a bunch of items starting to pile up and finally got around to getting some of them installed

Speakers were blown in the front, so I bought some oem replacements off amazon. For $20 each these could not be beat, and there's nothing wrong with the sound they produce.

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I've had this ashtray/dual outlet OEM piece sitting around for quite some time. Initially this was to be my solution for needing more power sources at the front seats. Still gives me option now of the extra outlet to go along with my dual USB outlets int he console.

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Likely going to be putting together a quick DIY on installing the speakers and the ashtray.

Lastly with winter on our doorstep it was time to lose the Muteki tires. I had bought a set of Duratrac's about a month ago while Canadian Tire was having a sale (25% off) and with the first snow starting to stick I got them mounted. 285/70/17 is the size, and I decided to give the whitewalls a try. Quite like how it looks this way. Night and day difference between these and the Muteki's. Truck is so quiet on the highway now and of course traction is miles better. Also bought a 5th, so I'd have a correctly sized spare.

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I am seeing alot of rubbing on my front mudflaps now so I'll likely have to remove them and come up with a better solution, not like they were doing much at the lifted height but I do like having them to keep snow off the sliders. Haven't had a chance to flex out the rear to see if there's issues there.

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I've taken off the factory rails and cross bars on the roof and started work on building a rack myself. Also some might have noticed the cage in the back of the truck. Recently got myself a dog to adventure with and trying to figure out a way to keep him in the back and potentially add some storage solutions to the windows. More on that to come

 

[T4R_RA]

Cage is Finished!!

Put the finishing touched on the cage, and tested it out with the new Dogo!
These are built entirely out of Aluminum, and feature stainless hardware.

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If anyone's got any questions about these, or would like to order, shoot us an e-mail @ element(at)ramotorsports.ca
We're currently working on getting the website up and running as well, stay tuned to ramotorsports.ca

Ended up doing a little Black Friday / Cyber Monday shopping as well haha
Got myself a power inverter that I'm like to hide in the hatch area as well as a Viair hardmount compressor. Looking forward to getting these mounted up as well as the roof rack that is very close to completion! Will be the same idea as Prinsu/FrontRunner and others that are using the aluminum extrusions for crossbars.

Another project I got myself into was retrofitting a 06-09 grille and doing the Satoshi mod.. Too many things on the table! Stay Tuned!

 

[Inv4drZm]

Put the finishing touched on the cage, and tested it out with the new Dogo!
These are built entirely out of Aluminum, and feature stainless hardware.

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You caged him in; you monster! He looks so sad now!

About the supercharger, any reason you didn't go with the URD kit? That might be something to look into, or maybe they have a system that can help tune yours.

Tried to sneak that Supra sticker by us huh? Ah it's "Supercharger" nevermind...

 

[T4R_RA]

You caged him in; you monster! He looks so sad now!

About the supercharger, any reason you didn't go with the URD kit? That might be something to look into, or maybe they have a system that can help tune yours.

Tried to sneak that Supra sticker by us huh? Ah it's "Supercharger" nevermind...

Hahaha He was just tired!
He's usually up front for now anyways, untill he's bit bigger

For the supercharger, I stumbled upon a great deal on a unit that was barely used. Thing looks brand new, and it came complete with the TRD ecu and all. I have messaged URD about a tuning solution as I've heard the TRD piggyback has room for improvement, but I never got a response back from them.
Mostly got the TRD unit because I'm a sucker for "OEM" haha

You're not the first one to think that about that sticker haha
They weren't too creative there.. basically the exact same font

 

[LOSTR4]

Put the finishing touched on the cage, and tested it out with the new Dogo!
These are built entirely out of Aluminum, and feature stainless hardware.

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If anyone's got any questions about these, or would like to order, shoot us an e-mail @ element(at)ramotorsports.ca
We're currently working on getting the website up and running as well, stay tuned to ramotorsports.ca

Ended up doing a little Black Friday / Cyber Monday shopping as well haha
Got myself a power inverter that I'm like to hide in the hatch area as well as a Viair hardmount compressor. Looking forward to getting these mounted up as well as the roof rack that is very close to completion! Will be the same idea as Prinsu/FrontRunner and others that are using the aluminum extrusions for crossbars.

Another project I got myself into was retrofitting a 06-09 grille and doing the Satoshi mod.. Too many things on the table! Stay Tuned!

I like this rear cage setup! I'm sending out to you for more information and a purchase! Looks great!

 

[Bumbo]

I'm digging the rear cage... I almost want something like that for saftey.

Sometimes with a heavy off-road load-out I worry about getting into an accident (on or off-road) and having heavy items fly forward injuring myself or passengers...

While I tie as much stuff down, not everything is as secure as I would like.

 

[T4R_RA]

I'm digging the rear cage... I almost want something like that for saftey.

Sometimes with a heavy off-road load-out I worry about getting into an accident (on or off-road) and having heavy items fly forward injuring myself or passengers...

While I tie as much stuff down, not everything is as secure as I would like.

Thanks for all the kind words guys!
If anyone would like more info on the cage drop us a line @ [email protected]
OR
Sign up for updates on our soon to be released website: ramotorsports.ca

Thanks!

 

[T4R_RA]

Did A quick mod over the past weekend, and I gotta say this is one of my favorite things I've done so far.
I added a couple of the LEDs that I was planning on using for rock lights into the tailgate, so that when opened they illuminate a large area around the back of the truck:

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Could not be happier with how these turned out.
They are wired into the factory switch, so they turn own whenever the tailgate is opened, or can be switch on or off with the factory hatch light.
After seeing how bright these things are in real life, I'm super stoked to get started on the rock lights.

 

[T4R_RA]

Group 31 battery Install

Hope everyone had a good holiday break and a Happy New Year!
Hopefully you're all settling back into reality better than I haha

I had grand plans over my week off to get so many things done on both of my project vehicles, but between the regular buzz of the holidays and getting a spat of food poisoning, I was only able to complete 1 task.

Not sure if anyone had heard about our frigid Temps we've had recently, but with it getting down to -32 degrees Celsius I was worried about my smaller than oem battery in the truck. So I fixed that problem really good with a group 31 battery from AC Delco.

Baby, it's cold outside!
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Originally I was worried that I'd have to do a tonne of modification to get it to fit and to get the cables to reach the terminals but it ended up being loads easier than I thought. The battery was also super affordable compared to many I looked at and had specs that were nearly on par;
$$ - $170 CAD
CCA - 1185
RCM - 195

Here's what I had to do.

First up get everything together that you need for the install;

Group 31 battery
Battery Tray
Extra heavy gauge wire
Terminal ends
Heat shrink
Drill
Solder
Torch

A shot of the not so original, original setup;
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Obviously start by removing the old battery.
Once it's out put your new tray in to accept the larger battery and protect against acid spills. We sell these @ Element.
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Next up, drink some milk. You'll need it to lift this beast of a battery into place. Once it's in, the factory tie down does a fine job and fits the battery width perfectly. Personally I don't see a need to anything more with it, the M6 studs and nuts are using all of their threads, and they will hold down much for than a 60lb battery (I didn't weigh it).

With the battery tied down i moved onto connections. With this battery and stud location you'll find that both the (+) and (-) battery clamps will reach, but only when one of the wires on each is not attached. On the (+) side the cable going into the fuse box is not quite long enough.
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That was fixed by drilling another hole into the cable clamp a little further back from the battery post, and bolting the wire in place. Originally I wanted to pull this wire from the fuse box, but after fiddling around with it for an hour I figured it wasn't worth the price of a new box if I broke it. This worked just fine though
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Onto the (-) side. The Cable going to the engine has no problem reaching the new post location, but the dinky one going to the chassis ground is too short. It also wasn't in the best of shape anyway, I think this cable is just too short and didn't have room to flex. I cut this off and made a new cable that was plenty long enough so I could have room for flex.
The Terminal that went to the battery clamp, I had to modify slightly so it would fit snugly inside the formed edges.
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Popped the bolt through the opposite side and tightened her on. Here's how everything looked at the end of it. I also finally got around to installing a circuit breaker for the BlueSea fuse block.
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All Done!
Truck starts way easier now, and the new heavier cable going to the chassis ground has stopped my lights from dimming during low idle. Overall great mod that was fairly easy to accomplish.