TRAC/VSC, FJ springs, and egg smell questions!

[03v8raleigh]

1) My newly acquired 03 v8 4x4 has the VSC and TRAC lights on. I bought it like this because I figured I would have wired in a switch to turn them off anyways. I've read the threads about why they come on and theoretically (hopefully..) I could fix it by following the steps. My question though is should I bother trying? I've just been driving it as is since my ABS light is not on and I can play in the mud/snow if I ever get the urge. Do most people who wire in the switch just leave these features turned off? Or is it really not a good idea to leave these systems inoperable?

2) Lift question: My truck currently has a 3/2 Readylift spacer kit on stock springs, paired with entry-level Billstein shocks on each corner. They are the basic blue/yellow shocks, not high end 5100's but I'm not sure what they are exactly. No idea how long this setup has been on the truck since it was the owner 2 owners ago that installed the lift/tires/wheels. The previous owner also included a full set of FJ trail team coils, uninstalled. Can I replace my current factory springs with these FJ's without much fuss, using existing shocks? And can I keep the spacers with that setup or would I have to only use the springs as the lift because they are slightly taller than the OEM? I don't have money for a real Toytech lift kit (and no particular need for it other than aesthetics) so I'm trying to make it look the best (tallest) that I can with low funds. It already has trouble getting aligned correctly as is, since it has stock UCA's.

3) This truck smells absolutely terrible when you get on the gas and have any windows open. Smells like pure sulfur/rotten eggs. I've read plenty of threads about it and I know it's a perfectly normal thing for many Toyotas so I'm not stressing about it. My question though is why would this happen with this 03 and not with my 05 sport edition v8 awd that I had for 3 months before this truck? It was identical and had same miles, but made no smell. Is this something I can complain to the dealer about, or just continue to live with?

I know this is a long post so I appreciate any insight!!

 

[Morphyne]

1. No idea. maybe someone else can chime in.

2. The blue and yellow bilsteins are actually almost identical to the silver 5100s. the rears have identical performance and valving and the fronts are only valved different because they need to handle the adjustment of the spring perch. To answer your question about the springs, not at all easy to do. It is doable, but not easy and really not worth it IMO. From my eye, your rig looks fantastic. sits perfect. dont fix what isn't broken. However, if you insist on replacing or want to try to get the alignment a little better, then you could ditch the front spacer and try a bilstein 5100/fj spring combo. there is a ton of archived info on here. you are just going to have to find it. I run fj springs all around with bilstein 5100s set to .85 in the front with no spacer in the rear. search "painkiller" for my build and you will see hwat that looks like on 265/70/16s. not as impressive as yours and that wont clear what you are running, i dont think.

3. the rotten egg smell is your exhaust blowing in the back window. you fix it by cutting on the "football" on the end of your exhaust and install a side pointing exhaust tip.

 

[03v8raleigh]

1. No idea. maybe someone else can chime in.

2. The blue and yellow bilsteins are actually almost identical to the silver 5100s. the rears have identical performance and valving and the fronts are only valved different because they need to handle the adjustment of the spring perch. To answer your question about the springs, not at all easy to do. It is doable, but not easy and really not worth it IMO. From my eye, your rig looks fantastic. sits perfect. dont fix what isn't broken. However, if you insist on replacing or want to try to get the alignment a little better, then you could ditch the front spacer and try a bilstein 5100/fj spring combo. there is a ton of archived info on here. you are just going to have to find it. I run fj springs all around with bilstein 5100s set to .85 in the front with no spacer in the rear. search "painkiller" for my build and you will see hwat that looks like on 265/70/16s. not as impressive as yours and that wont clear what you are running, i dont think.

3. the rotten egg smell is your exhaust blowing in the back window. you fix it by cutting on the "football" on the end of your exhaust and install a side pointing exhaust tip.

Thanks! So sounds like I won't bother tackling the FJ spring installation then. I just figured it may be a good idea trying to use them since after 13 years and 150,000 miles the stock springs are likely pretty worn and tired, and I already have the springs sitting in my garage. But I'll probably just sell the set of FJ springs in the classifieds then.

Regarding the exhaust, I actually do already have a flowmaster exhaust added which got rid of the "football" and has a 90 degree side pointing exhaust tip. Where as my 05 V8 was fully stock with no side tip. The 05 had no smell even with back windows down. My 03 has lots of smell even with just the side windows open if I accelerate quickly. Just wondering if the 03's had a bigger problem with this for some reason.

 

[jfry008]

1) My newly acquired 03 v8 4x4 has the VSC and TRAC lights on. I bought it like this because I figured I would have wired in a switch to turn them off anyways. I've read the threads about why they come on and theoretically (hopefully..) I could fix it by following the steps. My question though is should I bother trying? I've just been driving it as is since my ABS light is not on and I can play in the mud/snow if I ever get the urge. Do most people who wire in the switch just leave these features turned off? Or is it really not a good idea to leave these systems inoperable?

2) Lift question: My truck currently has a 2.5/1.5 Readylift spacer kit on stock springs, paired with entry-level Billstein shocks on each corner. They are the basic blue/yellow shocks, not high end 5100's but I'm not sure what they are exactly. No idea how long this setup has been on the truck since it was the owner 2 owners ago that installed the lift/tires/wheels. The previous owner also included a full set of FJ trail team coils, uninstalled. Can I replace my current factory springs with these FJ's without much fuss, using existing shocks? And can I keep the spacers with that setup or would I have to only use the springs as the lift because they are slightly taller than the OEM? I don't have money for a real Toytech lift kit (and no particular need for it other than aesthetics) so I'm trying to make it look the best (tallest) that I can with low funds. It already has trouble getting aligned correctly as is, since it has stock UCA's.

3) This truck smells absolutely terrible when you get on the gas and have any windows open. Smells like pure sulfur/rotten eggs. I've read plenty of threads about it and I know it's a perfectly normal thing for many Toyotas so I'm not stressing about it. My question though is why would this happen with this 03 and not with my 05 sport edition v8 awd that I had for 3 months before this truck? It was identical and had same miles, but made no smell. Is this something I can complain to the dealer about, or just continue to live with?

I know this is a long post so I appreciate any insight!!

1. http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/151487-check-engine-trac-vsc-read-me.html
Check out this thread.
I'd do a ZPC (zero point calibration), since it is easy to do. If that doesn't fix the lights then I'd get the codes read.

 

[03v8raleigh]

1. http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/151487-check-engine-trac-vsc-read-me.html
Check out this thread.
I'd do a ZPC (zero point calibration), since it is easy to do. If that doesn't fix the lights then I'd get the codes read.

Yeah I read that thread too. I will probably preform the ZPC soon just to see if it has an effect so I know there's not some other worse problem.

2. The blue and yellow bilsteins are actually almost identical to the silver 5100s. the rears have identical performance and valving and the fronts are only valved different because they need to handle the adjustment of the spring perch. To answer your question about the springs, not at all easy to do. It is doable, but not easy and really not worth it IMO. From my eye, your rig looks fantastic. sits perfect. dont fix what isn't broken. However, if you insist on replacing or want to try to get the alignment a little better, then you could ditch the front spacer and try a bilstein 5100/fj spring combo. there is a ton of archived info on here. you are just going to have to find it. I run fj springs all around with bilstein 5100s set to .85 in the front with no spacer in the rear. search "painkiller" for my build and you will see hwat that looks like on 265/70/16s. not as impressive as yours and that wont clear what you are running, i dont think.

Is there a post somewhere listing the hub to fender or ground to fender measurements for stock and lifted 4th gens? Specifically the 2003 V8? I would like to find some height measurements to compare mine to. I'm fairly certain the spacer lift on it is a 3"/2" kit, but I doubt it has a true 3" lift at this point due to spring fatigue. I couldn't find much from searching.

 

[RonJR]

If just the VSC and Trac lights are on, it could well be needing a ZPC. On the '04's and earlier, just reading the OBDII port with the wrong reader can mess up the ZPC (something to do with hitting the port with the wrong protocol), so that's certainly a possibility.

If the CEL is on as well, then you need to find out what the CEL code is all about. Most CEL codes will also set the VSC and TRAC lights. Toyota figures that if the engine is in some kind of "limp" mode due to a diagnostic code, the algorithms for the VSC and TRAC systems likely won't work right, so they just shut those functions down until you fix the underlying problem.