What did you do with your 4runner today?

[Bluesky 07]

Flushed the power steering and refilled with Valvoline Dex/Merc ATF. I did this service 80K miles ago and noted then how kind of brown and greasy the fluid was, which I assume was b/c someone topped it off with something that didn't belong in there. Steering performance was much better but I don't think I got it all out last time so today I removed and cleaned the reservoir (which was actually pretty clean) and did a very thorough flush. Fluid is clear and red, steering is excellent, so I'll just keep an eye on it to be sure it stays that way.

Side note: I've done this twice and made a mess twice, each time in different ways. :doh: Looking forward to 300K miles to see if the third time is the charm.

 

[co2co3]

Bought my first 4Runner! 2003 Limited V8. First time owner, long time admirer. Don’t know much but I’m looking forward to learning. This forum have been a great resource.

 

[PecosSlim23]

Harquahala Mountain Byway

Didn't do this today (more like Sunday the 10th) but finally got around to reviewing the pictures today. What a fun ride. Only disappointment was not seeing any bighorn sheep.

If you have any interest here's a link from the BLM website.

And one from AZ OffRoad.

 

[Bluesky 07]

Didn't do this today (more like Sunday the 10th) but finally got around to reviewing the pictures today. What a fun ride. Only disappointment was not seeing any bighorn sheep.

If you have any interest here's a link from the BLM website.

And one from AZ OffRoad.

Thanks for the links. I so want to go off-roading out west again but it's a long drive from north Georgia!

 

[apv97]

Passed emissions inspection! Tomorrow she gets registered. Then the upgrades start (new to me '04 V8 4x4)

 

[Romeo Foxtrot]

The fan clutch went out on my Gen4 4.0 V6. I picked up a Duralast one from Auto Zone. $90
Replacement wasn't that tough.
Drop the skid plate.

Drain the radiator.

Slide the clamp off on the upper radiator hose on the thermostat housing side.

Pull the hose from the thermostat housing and move it out of the way.

Using a 12mm wrench remove the 4 nuts securing the fan clutch to the pully.

Remove the fan/fan clutch assy.

It takes some fanageling and a few cuss words, but you can work it out past the fan shroud on the passenger's side.

Once you have it out, using a 10mm deep socket, remove the 4 nuts securing the fan to the fan clutch. Remove the old fan clutch.

Install the new fan clutch in the same orientation with the fan that the old clutch had. I used some blue loctite on the threads before I tightened the nuts.

Install in the reverse order.

I reused my coolant as it was pretty fresh.

All went well. My skid plate had some janky bolts holding it on. a couple of them were almost stripped out. I'm going to chase the threads with a tap and get new bolts and reinstall the skid plate this weekend.

Love my 4th Gen! Best vehicle I have ever owned!

 

[Vinyl303]

Well after months of putting it off, I’ve ordered a new pair of the bilstein 5100 adjustable height front dampers for the struts to replace the decade old ones on there right now. With the fj coils in front, I’ll have them set to the 3rd notch up from bottom. I think that will set it to 2.25-2.5” lift vs stock height without the fj coils. A month or so from now I’ll order rear shocks and new rear coils (going with the bilstein 5160s in rear, and +400 pound coils) so rear will be at +2.25” from stock. I’m really looking forward to this upgrade/maintenance because its getting really old having such floppy ride quality on my commute.

 

[Skiian]

Got a LFD Cross bar to try out for my kayak mount before I order a few more. Looks good and the fitment was on point for the stock rack.

 

[dldsm7]

Installed a tow hitch on my SR5 today! First weekend with it and already a project!

 

[Bluesky 07]

Had a great day at 5313 Off-Road Park in Calhoun, GA with the Georgia 4Runners FB group. My 4th Gen is in the back on the left.

I don’t know how well these inclinometer apps work but this was definitely the most interesting trail moment of the day!

 

[kcdehart]

Getting my old girl back from the shop today! The 4.0 headgasket went kaput right around 200k miles (though I suspect it's had a small leak for the last 40k or so that I've had it...).

They did a headgasket job, decked the heads, clearanced the valves, replaced the timing system, and replaced the oil pump as it had a ton of play. They also replaced my exhaust manifold studs - fixing an exhaust leak in the process. Used all OEM parts and are giving a 2 year parts/labor warranty on anything they touched. You don't wanna know what it cost me, but let's just say I won't be getting rid of this thing anytime soon. Gotta get my money's worth

 

[aemravan]

Finished mounting my custom carbon fiber snorkel (3 weeks of sanding and fabricating lol)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Bluesky 07]

Changed the oil but there's more to the story. Coincidentally, a ton of maintenance came due at ~220K miles. Since September, I've:

- installed new plugs
- refilled the radiator with fresh coolant
- done an ATF exchange with WS and added a transmission oil cooler
- cleaned the cabin & engine air filters
- flushed the power steering with fresh ATF
- changed the diff & transfer case oil
- lubricated the propeller shaft
- rotated and balanced the tires

Up next are installing an RCI transfer case skid and SS brake lines.

This is far and away the best vehicle I've ever owned. I've made some great memories with it and feel like the best is still to come.

 

[j4run]

Wow! That is one fine looking snorkel!

 

[GBagwell]

Decided to replace the upper control arms to gain a bit of caster. After adding the Dobinsons springs and shocks and gaining close to 3 inches in the front, it turned out to be a necessary addition. Happy with the way the install went, just a couple hours of work. Helps that I don’t have much in the way of rust issues after 18 years. :cheers:

 

[kcdehart]

My headlights were having some clear coat issues - they got noticeably worse after sitting at a shop for a month, as well as some specks that wouldn't come off. So I picked up a Meguiar's headlight restoration kit and was pleasantly surprised by the results. I did end up using a drill to polish the headlights with the pads that they provide. For giggles, I also did the fog lights which came out *very* clear and seem to be staying that way so far. They've been cloudy for years, so I'm glad to have em back. I liked the spray-on clearcoat. Applied nicely and dried quickly.

Didn't take any before pics, but here's the after The clear was completely peeled off of the top of that headlight with a jagged horizontal line across the middle showing the separation. The sanding took care of that and you can't tell at all now.

 

[phatcheeks]

Installed some retarded exhaust cam gears from [MENTION=612331]Mightytacoman[/MENTION] on the Tacoma forums, and a XTP plenum spacer. Idles smoother and can feel a torque increase. Engine is just overall smoother and I don't need to give as much gas to accelerate as I used to. My MPGs also increase by at least 1 if not more. Still need to drive it more for ECU to re learn.

Install is pretty straightforward but it just really time consuming as you have to remove a bunch of wiring. Definitely worth the upgrade for our poor little v6 engines. :zoom:

 

[Hi-desertT4R]

A few small ticket items. Greased drive shafts and upper control arms. Finally did the TPMS mod after watching that light blink for about a year. Also did the axle vent mod even though there are no water crossings anywhere near me there is a chance for flash floods.

 

[toyoman25]

I spent $$$

Two weeks worth of time but
Front and rear shocks
power steering flush
Front sway bar end links
New intake surge tank

 

[toyoman25]

Do tell more....