Randy's Trailcrew 4x4's 500,000 mile build and maintenance ('08 V8 Sport Edition)

[randy88fj62]

This build thread will cover the history, maintenance, and upgrades of my 2008 4.7 liter V8 Sport Edition I was lucky enough to get from my uncle. My uncle bought the truck brand new and proceeded to drive it 483,000 miles as one does. He used the dealer exclusively for maintenance. In July of 2019 he was having a ton of issues with the truck and decided to let it go.

When I picked the truck up the passenger exhaust manifold was completely cracked and separated so it sounded quite loud and rough. The vibration was severe when driving and braking and the fuel was at empty with the light on. I knew I had my work cut out for me.

My experience with Toyotas started with my 88 4Runner in high school and a heavily modified 88 FJ62 Landcruiser at the end of college. Moving to IFS was a whole new beast to with a little bit of a learning curve.

I am currently at 513,000 miles after returning from Glacier National Park in MT to my hometown near Los Angeles. If you live in LA consider joinng L.A. County Trailcew 4x4’s as we love to wrench and wheel our trucks.

Here is the baseline list of all the items I have done since I got the truck in July of 2019 and I will continue to update the page as things change.


Solara Seat Heater elements installed into OEM cloth seats and switches installed in center
Limited Center Console (5 switch blanks instead of 3) solara seat heater switches fit
Carling USB charging ports
Total Chaos Spindle Gussets and new OEM spindle bearing seals
Total Chaos Cam Tab Gussets
JBA UCA's w/ new bushings and new Moog Ball Joints
limited turn signal switch with auto lights, harness, and sensor
window roll up mod with oemkey fob (double tap for up)
ARB front bumper w/ fog lights, turn signals, and marker lights
Rear swing out bumper for 33" spare and 10 gallons of fuel/water
Warn 8274 winch fully reconditioned and upgraded. Trimmed arb bumper to fit it.
OME 2896 heavy rear coils (no spring compressors needed for install)
swapped used low mileage power steering pump and new fluid and new soft hoses
PML high capacity aluminum transmission pan and new strainer/o-ring
Talon's Garage 1/4" aluminum transmission skid plate (protects CATS from thieves)
ARB small drawer with fridge slide out. (rear cargo power outlet always on mod)
ARB 63 quart fridge with bluetooth module to monitor temperature and insulating cover
Moog lower control arm ball joints, greasable
new OEM thermostat, new toyota red fluid, and new fan clutch
scan gauge II OBD2 code reader and ATF temp display / TPMS display
new inner and outer tie rod ends / boots
new aftermarket CV axles and inner diff seals
A/C inverter and plug from GX470 installed (never use it but it's there)
Kenwood Excelon DMX907S head unit with wireless apple car play
new OEM bluetooth steering wheel controls and integration into head unit
Kenwood CMOS 230 and 320 front and rear cameras, kenwood dash cam
welded passenger side cracked exhaust and new metal felpro gasket (still on OEM CATS)
new flowmaster muffler and OEM GX470 chrome exhaust tip after crushing original in rocks
swapped used passenger front door lock actuator (all have been replaced once now)
extended matrix wheel studs for wheel spacers and tacoma wheels
new aftermarket passenger mirror to replace trail damaged one
new front and rear sway bar links, new front and rear urethane sway bar mount bushings
all interior lights switched to LEDs including A/C climate controls
tow controller with connector for OEM plug in, no splicing of wires
moog u-joint for front driveshaft at tcase (OEM failed due to dealer failing to grease)
durobump front and rear bumpstops, hockey puck rear coil bump stop extension.
winch veritcal pins in fairlead replaced with bolts and castle nuts to get rid of noise over bumps
new Toyota front rotors and toyota semi-metallic pads, new pins and new anti rattle clips
new fluid in rear diff
used good condition rear upper trailing arms off a 2015 4Runner (originals were toast)
Kenwood TMD-71A ham radio and Diamond Antenna
body mount chop to fit 33's
8020 Aluminum roof rack using oem rails for solar panel and yakima box
new oem (not refurbed) steering rack, all new steering hoses, new power steering pump
belt tensioner assembly
8 cheapo rock lights, 2 in front, 2 in rear, 2 per side.
custom rear trailer wiring extension using oem extra connectors so no splicing to lengthen plug to fit in rear swing out bumper.
Front sway bar relocation brackets to move sway bar forward away from strut coils. The passenger side is closer than driver. Normal?

 

[wsgoat]

Half a million miles and counting.....love it! Sounds like the truck is in good hands and will be rolling for a long time. Post up a couple pics of that bad-boy.

 

[randy88fj62]

Last week I got a P0333 code which was an upset knock sensor. I borrowed a friend's borescope and checked the wiring under the intake. Both knock sensor wires and connectors looked good.

I cleared the code and it has not come back. But given this is my daily driver and the mileage I thought this would be a good time to replace all the fun stuff under the intake. I ordered everything except the starter and valve cover kit from partsouq since their priced are a fraction of the dealer prices for OEM items. The knock sensors for instance were $94 not $200 and the secondary air injection pump was $175.

Here is the list of items I will be replacing:

Part Description then Toyota P/N
intake gasket (qty 2) 1717150030
air pump assy 176100C010
passenger valve cover gasket 1121350031
driver's valve cover 1121450011
QTY 2! Knock sensor 8961520090
PCV Valve 1220450030
FEL-PRO VS 50592 R Valve Cover Gasket Set (includes spark plug seals and valve cover bolt seals)

After printing out all the factory service manual pages I noticed you need to pop off the #2 fuel line and the FPD so that is why you see two odd gaskets for the fuel pulsation dampener.

I hope just draining the two top coolant petcocks on the sides of the block will be enough and that I don't need to drain the entire coolant system, we shall see.

I'm surprised everyone on this forum complains about the secondary air injection pump. Mine has lasted this long but since "i am in there" I will be replacing it as well as the starter which has lasted this long too!

 

[randy88fj62]

Knuckle Gussets
Cam tab Gussets
Top end parts for under intake weekend maintenance

 

[Runnin on E]

I too have a 08 Sport. Can we see more pictures of your set up? I'd really like to see your 8274 install. I have a rebuilt 8274 but always thought it was too big for the T4R front end. Thanks and happy wheelings.

 

[randy88fj62]

Hi Runnin on E,
My 4Runner is sitting in my garage with the intake off at the moment. I knew the starter was going to be tough but man! It's a real challenge. I've swapped 1997 FZJ80 labdcruiser motors faster than this!

The starter requires the water coolant bypass cast u piece above it to be removed (which requires two gaskets) in additoon to a water pipe that requires an o-ring, and EGR valve in the back gets removed! PAIN!

So I had to stop my wrenching sunday and order more parts.

These has to be ordered in addition to the above list:

water bypass gasket (qty 2) 16341-50020
EGR pass side vacuum hose 17340-50030
secondary air pump injection hose 17341-50180
hose off air switching valve 17342-50180
EGR pipe gasket (qty 2 +1 extra) 1737750010
replacement 3.5mm vacuum hose 90999-92003
water outlet pipe o-ring 96761-24019
Ø3.5 mm vacuum hose to swap old hoses under intake 90999-92003 (Qty 4 lengths)

 

[randy88fj62]

I too have a 08 Sport. Can we see more pictures of your set up? I'd really like to see your 8274 install. I have a rebuilt 8274 but always thought it was too big for the T4R front end. Thanks and happy wheelings.

Post #46 and #47 here in this forum/thread will show you the setup. Love it and perfect for the 4Runner.

Randy88FJ62’s Warn 8274 rebuild thread | Page 3 | IH8MUD Forum

 

[randy88fj62]

Transmission temp hit 230°F twice when pushing the truck hard on grades offroading. Need to swap fluid soon just to be safe.

I want to add a secondary large transmission cooler with a fan and it's own thermostat so it only opens once the transmission reaches temperature.

Anyone done this recently?

 

[AuSeeker]

Transmission temp hit 230°F twice when pushing the truck hard on grades offroading. Need to swap fluid soon just to be safe.

I want to add a secondary large transmission cooler with a fan and it's own thermostat so it only opens once the transmission reaches temperature.

Anyone done this recently?

Read post number 4 by [MENTION=102822]JONBOY345[/MENTION] in the below linked topic.

https://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/300614-psa-hayden-698-transmission-oil-cooler-$43-shipped.html#post3678443

Edit: Can't seem to post a live link, you'll have to copy and paste it!

 

[YOKBB]

Solara Seat Heater elements installed into OEM cloth seats and switches installed in center

How do you like the seat heaters? I just got an aftermarket seat heater kit and they're pretty weak. It might be partly because I have leather seats, though. The bare heating elements get warm enough on their own, but when I cover them with the OEM leather it's not very noticeable.

 

[randy88fj62]

I love the heat that comes through the cloth sport seats. It's very hot and noticeable when it turns on. I imagine leather seats would prevent you from feeling the full effect of the seat heaters?

I actually used mine today on the way to work with the windows down at a brisk California 51°F this morning.

 

[YOKBB]

The leather is definitely making them weaker. I wonder if OEM seat heaters use stronger elements when they're paired with leather seats... Or maybe the leather seats that come with seat heaters aren't as well insulated as my seats.

I need to get something set up soon, my garage has been in the 50's when I leave in the morning, and it's cooling down fast.

 

[randy88fj62]

Finally got around to trimming my front grill to allow the hood to close with the Warn 8274 installed on the arb deluxe bumper.

Ran a soft air line from front of truck to rear. This allows me to run my air compressor with dual lines to the front tires then pop the hose and run dual air to rear tires.

The benefit of running air to two front / rears at the same time is that your tire pressure will be the same.

I will eventually install a regulator and pressure switch so I can walk away and have the air compressor shut off without me having to check pressures.

 

[randy88fj62]

Replaced my steering rack, all new PS hoses, and new PS pump. System is very responsive. Was able to shoe horn the rack in with the inner TREs on but had to remove oil filter to do it. Noticed front diff driver's side bushing is worn, need to replace those.

Next up will be pan hard correction bracket so the rear geometry will be corrected with the lift.

Truck now at 521,500 miles with original engine, trans, etc.

 

[importman]

I'll say this. You make me feel a lot better about the money I've spent, and plan to spend on my 05 with 321K on it. It's in near perfect condition but sometimes the miles still make me 2nd guess myself. About 6 months ago I did head gaskets, timing chain, all the front pulleys, water pump etc. At the time I said I'll reevaluate it at 400K. It's amazing how long these things last. I pretty much plan to keep mine past 500K as well.

 

[randy88fj62]

New O2 Sensors (X4) and CV axle seal install (was leaking on passenger side). Stripped the diff drain plug and had to weld a socket onto it to remove.

Also installed a new rear hatch actuator so it doesn't rattle loose on washboard roads like the old one.

 

[moshrider3]

Wow over 500,000 miles that’s incredible. I’m curious as to how you welded the manifold on the passenger side. Did you remove it and then weld it or with it on the vehicle?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[randy88fj62]

Hi moshrider,
I removed the exhaust manifold from the vehicle, TIG welded it, then reinstalled with a new gasket and new lock nuts.

 

[RBLACAUSA]

Replaced my steering rack, all new PS hoses, and new PS pump. System is very responsive. Was able to shoe horn the rack in with the inner TREs on but had to remove oil filter to do it. Noticed front diff driver's side bushing is worn, need to replace those.

Next up will be pan hard correction bracket so the rear geometry will be corrected with the lift.

Truck now at 521,500 miles with original engine, trans, etc.

Can you post up what parts #s you used? I just posted up a new thread looking for info on rack repalcement on an '04 V8. Will probably forego the pump tho.

500k+ miles...wow...I'm only at 119k and original owner. At this rate I'll hit half a million when I'm over 115 yrs old lol.

 

[Ralph Blake]

With my 08 4Runner having only 8938 miles as of today, guess it’s going to be a while till I face these rebuilding items.