svana's Build Thread

[svana]

Well...it's been a long time coming, not sure where to start. I originally acquired my '03 Limited in 2007 after my Ford Escape was clipped and flipped on the turnpike in Miami. Joke all you want about the SUV's, but the thing saved me and my friends life. As a result, the '03 fell into my lap for a steal ($10k, 106,000 miles).

I hated it.

After having a small SUV to zip around the city (especially in the University's notoriously small parking lots) the 4R felt like a boat. All 4 corners of the truck were clipped within the first couple weeks of owning it. Being a typical college student at the time I completely neglected it. Didn't change the oil regularly, didn't get any standard maintenance done, nothing. Still it kept on ticking.

Not only till I moved away from Florida (God, I can't wait to go back) in 2012 did I start realizing that I was actually riding in a spectacular truck. I started taking care of it more, and of course eventually got the itch. I'm currently chugging along at 256k with no signs of slowing down.

Here's as stock of a photo I can find of it:

And how she sits now:

Suspension/Steering:

• Icon 2.5" extended travel coilover w/ 650lb coils
• Icon 2" rear shocks
• Coil Spring Specialties progressive rate rear springs-240/300 lbs, 18" free height (Dawg4Runner model)
• eBay upper control arms
• eBay rear arms/links/panhard bar
• Sway bar delete

Wheels/Tires/Brakes:

• 255/75/17 BFGoodrich Mud Terrain T/A KM
• 17x8.5" Fuel Anza wheels
• Supreme Engineering 1.25" wheel spacers w/ extended lugs
• Sport upgrade NAPA polymer coated brake rotor
• NAPA Eclipse brake calipers w/ Akebono ceramic pads
• Gorilla - Spline Drive E/T Ultra Style Conical Lug Nuts w/ Gorilla wheel lock nuts

Armor/Exterior:

• Shrockworks front bumper and filler plate
• Engo PW10000 winch w/ synthetic line
• CBI rear bumper w/ swing-out carrier
• RCI steel engine/transmission/transfer case skid plates
• RCI LCA skids
• Custom rack based on WMW/'thatothercompany' elements
• 270° Batwing style awning
• Trasharoo

Electrical:

• 2006 headlight upgrade w/ HID lamps
• 42W LED fog lamps w/ independent fog light mod
• SuperbrightLED's LED blinker upgrade for bumper
• Big-3 upgrade
• Blue-Seas fuse auxiliary fuse panel
• Avital Remote Start
• LED interior swap
• White/blue LED cluster swap
• Midland 75-822 combo handheld and hardwired via XLR
• 4' Firestik w/ quick disconnect and spring on Diamond K400 for CB
• Diamond NR770HB on Diamond K400 for HAM
• Optima Red Top primary battery w/ mil-spec battery connectors
• Under-hood LED work lighting

Misc:

• Amerex ABC fire extinguisher
• Vehicular Oh S*** kit - flares, tire plug, zip ties etc.
• General Oh S*** kit - first aid, water, blanket, fire starter, non-perishable food, ammo, trash bags, etc.
• Weathertech front and cargo liners
• Sound deadening effort - Jute and duct insulation on roof underside
• Factor55 Aluminum shackle trailer hitch
• Hi-Lift All-Cast 60" jack and off-road base
• WARN recovery strap and tree saver
• WARN and Smittybilt shackles w/ Daystar washers and isolators

DIY Maintenance:

• Transfer case rebuild/replacement
• Timing belt swap
• Seized sunroof repair
• LCA OEM style replacement
• NAPA lifetime warranty CV axles
• Driveshaft replacement
• Radiator swap
• Standard bits/pieces and fluid maintenance
• Hood and tailgate strut replacement
• Dash replacement (not DIY)
• Drivers seat reupholstery (not DIY)

Stuff Sitting In The Garage Waiting To Be Installed:

• Viair 400P w/ 6gal tank OBA
• ICOM ID-5100A HAM Radio
• T-Max dual battery system
• Bussmann fuse/relay box
• 42" LED light bar spot/flood combo
• Satoshi Mod

 

[svana]

Trips So Far:

Pictures to come...

 

[svana]

Dome light install

Unfortunately I did this upgrade back in 2013 and can't find the original links, but plenty of other write-ups have documented the sources to purchase the materials. Aside from the lights, one element I included that I think came in handy was the use of thick double sided tape like THIS LINK. The reason being it's thickness and pliability almost allow a small sliver to be used like a putty to hold the LED panels in place. Aside from the dome/map lights, the door lights were just plug and play.

 

[svana]

Midland CB Install

Once I moved to VA and started exploring some of the trails one of the first pickups was a CB radio. I settled on the Midland because it could be both a handheld with a battery pack and 6" rubber antenna if I was out of the truck or be hardwired to larger antenna for farther range while driving. The one thing I didn't like about it was the fact that power was run through the cigarette lighter and it had a separate PL-259 connection. My goal was to figure out how to have a concealed OEM-look to plug into and remove when not in use while not leaving the antenna line dangling in the cab somewhere.

Starting from the antenna end, I connected the Diamond K400 to the lip of the rear hatch.

I was looking around for the closest opening to run the antenna through the door and found that the bump stop mount was the most readily available location. Problem being - there was a bump stop in the way. I removed the bump stop and drilled a hole through the center of the stop and cut out a small section of the stop in order to allow the cable to run through it without kinking or pinching.

I ran the line through the wire loom that runs from the door to the headliner and down to the center console.

Once the coax cable was run to the center console, I ran the power lines from my blue seas panel into the same location. In order to consolidate the cables into one plug, I wired them to a 5-pin XLR plug (4-pin will suffice but wasn't readily available) from both the radio side:

And did the same to a wall panel mount from the antenna/power side:

Since it's wired directly to the fuse panel I can operate the radio even when the truck is off, easily plug it in when needed and store whenever it's not without any cables hanging around.