Pearl's mod/build LT rear/DK +3.5 LT/Custom Baja Bumper/Thorley Headers/Manual T-case

[4RunnerAquasport]

in a stock form its probably one of the more uglier rigs on the road lol. A little lift and some 37's go a long way with those. I don't think I would ever own one.. just because it's not really a jeep or a truck, therefore it must do both only somewhat OK.. you either get a jeep or you get a truck.. lol.

Glad to see Pearl off the stands and under its own power man! Definitely have made some good progress over the past few months.

It sure aint pretty. I think a retro of the late 80s Comanche would have looked cool, but the public interest shown in the Wrangler pickup, influenced the Gladiator. I actually never knew the Gladiator was produced in the 1940s - 60s.
All this aside, first impression after 5 days is that it drives pretty good on pavement for what it is. Wild peaks handle speed and turning as good as the Coopers I have on my 5th gen. I'm getting used to the 8 spd. The manual shift progression is opposite of the Toyotas and most auto shifters ever made. Dwn shifting is pushing it forward and up is pulling back. I drove one of the new Charger or Challengers w the same shifter sequence, so I guess Chrysler is just being different? Anyway, we'll see if the Gladiators reliability numbers hold up in the years to come.

Pearl still needs quite a bit done, but ran pretty good and handled better than I expected. I didnt try to adjust Caster, just set Camber at '0', and eyeballed the tow. It drives straight as an arrow lol.

Hit some mild whoops and the rubber is only half down on the bumps, so I have a lot tuning to do.
I mounted the strap clevis too low also, so we'll
see if it causes any interference at full bump.

The triples must have a good bit of slow speed compression spec'd for the DK kit, because w no front/rear asb, I had less body roll than I did w the dual TC kit and a rear asb. I got a couple miles on the Currie Anti-Rock just before I left, and its a much smoother transition in and out of turns now. I also loaded it down w expected weight in the cargo space.

The next project is to go back to the rear for a couple days and try to squeeze more up travel out of it. Then tweak the ride height up front, get some suspension video, and try my hand at tuning the triples up front. Hopefully the fenders can go on in about 3 - 4 weeks.

 

[aemravan]

Looking good man!!

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

Well a month off turned into 2 weeks. I have to go to Portland, Bentonville, and Jackson. I'll be in each place for a week starting Sunday, so the fenders will have to wait.

I've had vertigo for a couple days so laying under the truck is no fun right now. First time I ever experienced this without drinking a crap load of shots. I don't drink anymore so it's been a little concerning. Seems to be a little better today, but I won't be tackling any major chores for the rest of the week.

I think I have the ride height where I want it and I put some 2" spacers on the back so it matches up a little better. Not sure if I trust them though. Never had any trouble with 1.25" spacers on all four, so we'll see.

Also got the passenger side seat bracket finished and painted so I can have a co-dog now. Going to look into a harness bar in the back so I can properly mount the shoulder straps for the 5 points at the right angle.

Really need to figure out what to do with this ugly ass cladding.....

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

Did a quick shake down today.

DIRT KING LONG TRAVEL test #1 03' 4RUNNER - YouTube

 

[Inv4drZm]

I have seat envy

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

I have seat envy

lol they ain't perfect, but they were cheap.

 

[rdruss]

That was cool! I love watching suspension work! (Is that odd?) Were you in 4wd on the return trip?

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

That was cool! I love watching suspension work! (Is that odd?) Were you in 4wd on the return trip?

Thanks!
2wd w ARB engaged. I pulled it into 4 hi for a minute at the turn around in the sand.
It takes a little bit to get used to after 8 years of full time 4wd in both 4Runners.

My Son makes fun of me watching these type vids all the time. There is something hypnotic about it, like watching a camp fire lol. I love it. My YT channel 2UZ 120 has a good one of my Califab 4 link too. Watching a TT , 6100, or Robby's Stadium trucks is where its at though. This is just training wheels on a 4Runner lol.

I do have a lot of shock tuning to do though.
Blowing through to full bump way too easy. Still lots of little things to do also.

Anyone have ideas for that ugly cladding? I need to source the fasteners too.

 

[AuSeeker]

On the cladding, I would either paint it to match the OEM body color....OR even better and what I would do, since you go off road use bed liner on it, that way it will not get all scratched up.

 

[aemravan]

Yea with the rig color and intended purposes I would say you can pull off black cladding without a problem. I think it would go pretty good with the rest of the black on the rig.


With that said... loved the shake down video. Good to see this thing moving. Long time coming. sick..sick build. :lookout:

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

Advanced Fiberglass Concepts
Test fit. Not even close to putting them on, but I was curious.

Looks like the standard shave on the door jam will be needed, along with a couple other tweaks.
I bought some cheap headlamp housings I will need to fit the fenders to.

I have an idea to extend the bumper a little bit with out too much trouble.

I'll be apprehensive on the tight Florida trails.

Pines and Palms arent very friendly....

 

[rdruss]

Looks like you survived Ian well, been wondering about you, glad you posted!

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

Looks like you survived Ian well, been wondering about you, glad you posted!

Thanks man!
We dodged a bullet here. Gusts to hurricane force every once in awhile, and moderate rain fall totals.
Our water collection system we just rigged up, did net about 70 gallons in 36 hrs.

My heart is breaking for Florida though.
Hope everyone else up the seaboard fared ok.

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

Put the FJ fuel skid on there.

Its only hard composite, but I dont do much crawling.

The 4Runner straps need to be modified, because the skid bolts to the straps.

So I pulled them and tack welded some 3/8 carriage bolts w nylock nuts.

I still have a sending unit issue. Empty is just under a 1/2 tank.

So I'm gonna throw Pearl's OEM pump frame in there and if it fits, we'll see if that unit is still good and accurate.

 

[aemravan]

Definitely glad you faired ok through the storm because areas like Fort Myers are definitely heartbreaking and had to watch… I figured it would be a pretty big storm but nothing to this extent..

On the topic of the rig, getting super excited, looks like it should be getting close !

Is this a new sending unit you are having issues with ? Not sure how it looks like inside, but I just had an issue with the supra fuel system I redid catching the float half way down because I had it clocked just a touch to once side not allowing the float to cycle fully.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

Definitely glad you faired ok through the storm because areas like Fort Myers are definitely heartbreaking and had to watch… I figured it would be a pretty big storm but nothing to this extent..

On the topic of the rig, getting super excited, looks like it should be getting close !

Is this a new sending unit you are having issues with ? Not sure how it looks like inside, but I just had an issue with the supra fuel system I redid catching the float half way down because I had it clocked just a touch to once side not allowing the float to cycle fully.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It's an FJ pump, sending unit frame, so there is not telling why it's not accurate. Everything else seems to be working in it. So maybe I should just try a different orientation as you mentioned.

Gadget at URD said that the frames are a little different, so I don't know if the 4th gen frame will work in an FJ tank.

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

Installed a 48/49" universal harness bar where the back seat hinges are. A little persuasion with the vise, vise grips and a pipe, and I made it work. They're made for compacts and mid size, but the price was right.
The support bars were a brain tease also, but I've got it shored up pretty solid.
The shoulder harnesses aren't quite at the proper angle, but way better than being bolted to the floor.

 

[aemravan]

I like it! And yes, the angles may not be 100% perfect.. but certainly beats having the harnesses go straight down to the floor if you're actually looking to use them and have them protect you in case of a bad one instead of compressing your spine and making you 3 inches less tall

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

Factory skids work w the MC cam tab gussets, I'm happy to say. This was one area I thought for sure I'd have to modify.

 

[awhitney1]

Rc Fabrication can do heimed steering for the tundra rack for $1k. I paid Travis $1400 for the Tundra rack and will reach out to RC Fabrication for the heimed steering tie-rods. More BEEF! RC Fabrication on Instagram: "#solidpiecetierods for [MENTION=154705]Operator[/MENTION]8 in #colorado

Double shear plates will get welded to the steering knuckle, clevis’ to mount up to his #modifiedtundrarack from @basikbiker and chromoly rods tying everything together for pure beef
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I think he's charging more now for the T-rack mod, plus we would be paying for shipping coast to coast. Solo or JD, can't remember which one, gets $1600+ for theirs. This price point is what got me into this mess. McGeorge Toyota was $425 w free shipping on the 200 back in December. So without doing enough research I got bit lol.

Now my failure has me determined to figure this out one day,

Everything I've read about Travis' mod has him tapping the rack @ 14mm for the ITE, which I believe ours is 22mm from the factory. For 37 to 40" tires, 14 mm seems like a weak point to me. But, I don't have the knowledge to back that up.

Camburg has an option in a drop down tab for our 03' - 09' on the inner clevis, if that's the case, can a modded rack be tapped to that 22mm spec safely? And would it clear the outer housing at full lock? If it's the same outer diameter as a Taco inner clevis with just a larger bolt, then it might work.