My “Forever” 4Runner, 02 Stellar Blue Sport

Taylor20 said:
Hi-Lift installed using Sonoran Steel's mounts


One of the main interior changes that I made was returning the dash trim to silver as per original. The previous owner painted them black. Being a Sport Edition, I like having that special feature/appearance package.
I sanded down the panel, and found a decent silver to paint them. It's not perfect, but I'm happy

Also changed all the blue LED's to Cool White. Much cleaner look to me.



Mounted a Uniden PRO520XL in place of the ashtray and a Paranoid Fabrications 6 switch panel below the radio in anticipation of some switches later on.


A 5ft Firestik antenna is mounted out back using a SRQ/True North Fab Mount. Honestly, I probably will change this, as the mount is "flimsy" and flexes into the edge of the hatch door.
]
Click to expand...

Looks like you've been making some nice upgrades. I have the same CB mount on the passenger side and I don't like it. It didn't fit right, made an awful vibration noise, and does seem kinda flimsy. I was happier with my other mount, but I had to get rid of it because of the interference from my bumper handle.
 
Unner said:
Looks like you've been making some nice upgrades. I have the same CB mount on the passenger side and I don't like it. It didn't fit right, made an awful vibration noise, and does seem kinda flimsy. I was happier with my other mount, but I had to get rid of it because of the interference from my bumper handle.
Click to expand...

I will probably weld a small mount onto the rear bumper after I get a swingout.....or move the antenna to the front bumper.
Either way, this mount won't stay.
 
Sonoran Steel Poly Rear Body Mounts

More upgrades....

Factory rear body mounts and rounded bolt heads are not any fun.




Finally after a fewhours, a couple drill bits and new hardware, I finally had the Sonoran Steel polyurethane rear body mounts installed.

 
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Custom (temporary) Spare Tire Carrier

Before the next upgrade was done, I needed a way to haul my full size spare until I order a swingout....so thanks to a [MENTION=56109]cj80cruiser[/MENTION] for the idea. I fabbed up my own mount using 1.5" square tubing from metalsdepot.com, a couple of tabs and a gusset from LRO. I needed it to bolt to the same location as the Hi-Lift mount and a factory anchor point so no new holes were needed. I will also be adding another vertical bar to mount a fire extinguisher to. Not bad for a couple hours of work.



 
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4xInnovations Rear Bumper

And the most recent completed mod.....

4XInnovations rear bumper. I can not say enough great things about this bumper and the company. I decided on this one based on 2 reasons:
#1 The receiver is tied into the frame mount and rated a class 3 and 5,000lb trailer weight. I havent' seen any others mention this feature.
#2 The bumper fits the body very well. It doesn't stick out to far on the sides, overall have a bulky look, and the sides don't appear to hang down further than the body.
Another surprise was the bumper arriving about a week and a half after ordering. STUPID FAST!!
The fit.....PERFECT! Again absolutely surprised at how perfectly it fit.

Now to save up for their swingout to add to it.








Now to make time for some electrical work, and get this e-locker wiring done.
 
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Taylor20 said:
And the most recent completed mod.....

4XInnovations rear bumper. I can not say enough great things about this bumper and the company. I decided on this one based on 2 reasons:
#1 The receiver is tied into the frame mount and rated a class 3 and 5,000lb trailer weight. I havent' seen any others mention this feature.
#2 The bumper fits the body very well. It doesn't stick out to far on the sides, overall have a bulky look, and the sides don't appear to hang down further than the body.
Another surprise was the bumper arriving about a week and a half after ordering. STUPID FAST!!
The fit.....PERFECT! Again absolutely surprised at how perfectly it fit.

Now to save up for their swingout to add to it.

Now to make time for some electrical work, and get this e-locker wiring done.
Click to expand...

That is absolutely killer. How much weight did it add ? Beautiful job and nice choice.
 
HighDesert4Banger said:
That is absolutely killer. How much weight did it add ? Beautiful job and nice choice.
Click to expand...

Not much at all really. I believe 4Xi's site says 66lbs, and the OE bumper weighed more than I expected, so maybe a gain of 30ish pounds over stock, even less if you calculate in the OEM hitch.
 
Taylor20 said:
Not much at all really. I believe 4Xi's site says 66lbs, and the OE bumper weighed more than I expected, so maybe a gain of 30ish pounds over stock, even less if you calculate in the OEM hitch.
Click to expand...

Holy crap, that's amazing. Just added to my (uberlong) wishlist. I couldn't find the weight on the site, will look again. What'd you coat/paint it with? Many thanks!
 
LCA bushings

More maintenance / upgrades happened after work yesterday. Oh the perks of working at a Toyota dealer.

I bought some used front LCA's from a member, and installed a set of Whiteline bushings. Out of the 4 cams, I only had 1 seized. However I had a SPC cam kit on hand so they all were replaced. I used the factory bottle jack method with a torch, and it made removing the old bushings a breeze. As a note, apply very little pressure until you have heated up the barrels a little. They don't need to be red hot, but once pretty warm you can apply a little more pressure and they should pop out. If not, heat a little more until they move.






I also replace the steering rack bushings with a poly urethane kit from Wheeler's Offroad.
What a HUGE improvement in handling and feel.
 
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Taylor20 said:
And the most recent completed mod.....

4XInnovations rear bumper. I can not say enough great things about this bumper and the company. I decided on this one based on 2 reasons:
#1 The receiver is tied into the frame mount and rated a class 3 and 5,000lb trailer weight. I havent' seen any others mention this feature.
#2 The bumper fits the body very well. It doesn't stick out to far on the sides, overall have a bulky look, and the sides don't appear to hang down further than the body.
Another surprise was the bumper arriving about a week and a half after ordering. STUPID FAST!!
The fit.....PERFECT! Again absolutely surprised at how perfectly it fit.

Now to save up for their swingout to add to it.








Now to make time for some electrical work, and get this e-locker wiring done.
Click to expand...

Cool tire carrier man :thumb:

I've got the DIY parts for the 4xinnovations swingout that Im about to put in the classified if you're interested. Also a dual jerry can holder from C4 fab.
 
EIMKeith PCK

And another upgrade done. This go round was installing the [MENTION=28464]eimkeith[/MENTION] PCK or Panhard Correction Kit. I am very please with how perfectly this fit. Total install time was probably 45 minutes. Definitely made the panhard bar parallel with my lift and brought the rear axle back to center and more aligned with the front.





 
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Skids are back on now. When I picked up this rig, the skids were not installed. So finally after getting a majority of my underside upgraded, the skids went back on.






Long term I want to change out the front bumper and pick up a set of Savage skids. For now, these are far better than nothing.
 
AVS Ventvisors and RAM Mount

I added a couple of small items today. I have been wanting to add some vent visors for the common reasons. Keeping rain out will be a huge necessity when sleeping inside during some upcoming trips. I ordered a set of the AVS brand in-channels from Amazon. Fit was ok, not horrible, but not perfect either. Just like the reviews state, one rear visor did need to be trimmed some. Overall they will work for my needs.







I have also been researching phone mounts, and decided on a RAM mount kit from Amazon. It consisted of the X-grip, 3" pivot arm, and a 2-hole ball mount. I chose to mount it above the left center vent as I feel that will offer easy viewing, and out of the way.



 
E-locker retrofit is complete! I'll try my best to do a decent write soon. I retrofitted the dash indicator with the factory ecu & switch. It's easier than you think.
 
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