2003 4Runner Limited 4wd V8 FJ tcased overlanding rockcrawling do-it-all build

Yeah, that's the plan. The OEM paint has been clear coat failing on the roof and hood for a while, hence the black liner on the hood (but also to eliminate glare). I used the replacement fender as a test for the color.

 

I have the same tires, same size. Do you find that the rubber compound is "too hard"? When making a turn over crosswalk paint, stop lines etc, the tires screech like crazy. Makes me think that the tires aren't getting good traction and they are getting pushed. Thought that maybe it's just the full time 4wd but I never had this problem with other tires. Have played with PSI and it never seems to affect it. I also have 30k miles on them and they are like new (tread depth). Also wish they came in a C-load.

Like you though, they've been great outside of what I listed above.

 

Almost all tires I've had, regardless of vehicle, will do that over a large enough painted area. I don't really even notice it in the 4Runner but then I'm not AWD any longer either.

 

Hmm, weird. Of the 3 sets of tires that I've had, these are the only ones that screech.

 

Awesome truck!

Looking back on this. Do you think that if the hole was cut to the size it is now, after you filled some spots in, the shifter you made would clear the bottom of the tunnel?
I ask because I'm looking at doing this and want to leave as much of the tunnel in place as I can. I just can't tell if the part that sits right on top the tcase wold have hit the tunnel bottom.

thanks

 

It would clear the tunnel more than likely but anytime you needed to remove the shifter from the tcase, like to re-weld it, you would have to drop the tcase. You need the hole to at least be large enough to expose where the shifter goes into the tcase. You do not have to cut the hole further back, as I did, for the shifter movement.

 

I was thinking that we could weld flat bar, similar to this picture, but tap the end (or weld a nut with a hole).

So we would install the t-case with the flat piece already on, then screw in whatever we come up with for the shifter.
So the shifter could be unscrewed. That way I could revise the shifter just by spinning it off.

Terrible idea or ... ?

 

So I unplug those 2 wires and route them to the FJ t-case switches ... but (forgive my ignorance) where does the other end go? Ground? Hot?