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

Looks like I'll be rebuilding the front CVs sometime in the near future.

 

And they are fun to work on

 

The CV diarrhea, bummer. Never torn into one and really never want to.
I have oem cores and some DK Axles I'll need to build one day. Not looking forward to it.

On a side note, thinking about driving out to Maricopa this month to see my parents. Maybe we can go for lunch one day.

 

I rebuilt and reboot both inners on these axles, so it's really not that big of a deal or difficult to do. Just messy.

Let me know when you're heading out. I'm in Tucson so you'd literally be driving by me.

 

I’ve done several reboots on mine. Get the 5th gen boot kit, thicker rubber and an extra fin. Costs the same pretty much.

Use a cardboard box with a trash bag liner to contain the grease and it’s not hard at all. Biggest pain is that one clamp sucks to get right.

 

Subbed

 

Well, my windshield washer pump crapped out. I was also tired of the flimsy, sometimes leaky plastic reservoir that I had initially made and decided that along with a new pump, it was time to upgrade the washer bottle.

This is the bottle I originally used. Plastic coolant reservoir with holes drilled into it to mount the front and rear washer pumps. Worked good but after time and heat got a little deformed, enough that the cap was fitting loose no matter what and the holes for the pumps weren't sealing tight enough sometimes and would leak.



To replace it, I bought this aluminum reservoir tank that actually holds more fluid. It comes with an aluminum cap too, so no worries of a plastic cap warping from heat and not fitting eventually.

$50 YIUIY Universal Coolant Overflow Tank 2l Aluminum Coolant Radiator Overflow Reservoir Expansion Tank Black

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09FJQSP6B

I also bought an OEM front washer pump, part # 85330-60190 and reused the original rubber seal for it since it was still in good condition. Decided to leave the rear pump out since I never use it anyhow.

Drilled a hole for the pump, it needs to be 35mm or less diameter, filed the edges down some and popped the pump in. Perfect fit, nice and tight.



Mounted in the same location, just needed a couple new rivnuts to secure it.



Rock solid, even with just 2 bolts holding it. Pump works fantastic and the washer fluid should last longer since I almost doubled the capacity of the old reservoir. And it clears the hood just fine.

 

Nice on that aluminum tank!
So, when ya making your way this way? When you do, I still have your mini laptop with techstream. I need to get one and set it up myself to have Techstream also..

 

Not sure when I'm going to head that way or go through Flag for some trip but I'll let you know. Haven't really needed Techstream for anything so haven't been bothered by not having that laptop. It's a cheapy anyhow so wasn't worried about it.

 

@xtremewlr thought this was interesting. 4th gen V6 FJ 6spd manual swap

 

Month later, I see your post... Sorry!

I saw that and the guy did an outstanding job. Very well documented and executed. Looks almost factory. Be interesting to do that on our V8s.

I finally got around to replacing that outer CV boot on the driver's side today.



You have to remove the inner CV boot and slide the outer over the whole axle. The outer CV can't be removed, at least not that I was able to figure out. So make sure you have enough grease for both the inner and outer CVs, double if you are doing both. I bought the outer boot from the same place I got the inners, offroadsolutions.com. They are their standard replacement boots but from a different material than OEM.

Guess I need to replace the front wheel hubs at some point too. This is the inside of the drivers and it's looking pretty haggard after 347k miles on it.



Annnnndddd, the AC has acted up a couple times lately, with the dash light blinking at me on starting the truck. Turn it off and back on again and it seems to work fine after that. So, I might need to look at replacing the compressor at some point. Hopefully it makes it through this summer. It's already been sitting over 100 degrees for the last few weeks here in Tucson. Hit 110 while I was doing the CV boot in the garage today. Sweatfest. Yuck.

 

My AC Relay in the fuse box under the hood took a crap when I was in Parker AZ last February.
Not a big town, but the local Autozone had one in stock.
From what I understand they can start to cycle when they go bad.

 

Might try changing that out then. Good call, thanks.

 

Replaced the relay, OReilly's had one in stock. Hopefully that's all the AC issue was.

 

Side note on this specific relay. Toyota had a TSB for it (https://www.tsbsearch.com/Toyota/EL011-05) and the part number was replaced with 9098702028. I guess the relay is known to be faulty sometimes, although mine lasted 347K. 5 other relays in the fuse box are identical as well.

 

Finally getting around to replacing the beat up driver side fender from when I lost a wheel at 25mph on a graded road a couple years ago.









Just did a test fit tonight. Amazon special for $114 but it fits pretty dang good.

$115 Evan Fischer Front Fender Compatible With 2003-2005 Toyota 4Runner Primed Steel With body cladding holes Driver Side

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009DJWVUQ

Going to Raptor line it before fully mounting. Got some of thier Basalt Grey, see how far off of a match it is from the OEM Galactic Grey.

 

So the Raptor Basalt Grey looks very similar to Toyota's Cement I think. Fender fitment is pretty decent. Going to see how the liner color grows on me over the next week. Might decide to change it up some, not sure yet.

 

Looks good!
How are you liking those tires?

 

Love these tires. Been a Toyo fan for many years now, this is the 2nd set on the 4Runner. Just over 15k miles on them and they have performed great, on and off road.

 

Like the color. It's different. Are you planning on raptor lining tho whole T4R