Boffroad's Build

Before owning this V8 4Runner I had a 2003 Limited V6 4WD 4Runner and loved it. I owned it for almost 2 years and put 20,000 miles on it, then sold it. I sold it because I wanted the V8. I don't really need it, but why not when I can. I love the sound and torque the 4.7L delivers and it is one of Toyotas most reliable engines. After months of searching the western states for a stock or built vehicle, this is what I ended up with.

Stock
2005 Galactic Gray Sport Edition 4X4 V8 4Runner




Now





Mods

Suspension
Icon Extended Travel Front Coilovers
Ebay uniball UCAs
Sway bar relocation block
Icon 2.0 Aluminum Series Rear Shock
Icon 2" Lift Rear Coil Springs
Homemade Diff Drop Kit

Performance
MagnaFlow 18" Muffler

Interior
Kicker CX300.1 Amplifier
Kicker Comp S 12" Subwoofer

$67 Uniden PRO520XL Pro Series 40-Channel CB Radio. Compact Design. ANL Switch and PA/CB Switch. 7 Watts of Audio Output and Instant Emergency Channel 9. - Black

Uniden CB Radio
Battery/Alternator Voltage Meter
20% Front Window Tint

$20 Check it Auto LED Light Kit for Toyota 4Runner Interior Reverse Package 14pc

LED Dome Lighting

Exterior
33" BFG Mud Terrain tires
17x9 MB 352 wheels
50 inch LED light bar
Diff Breather Mod
Sport Rack
Repainted Undercarriage

$42 K40 Model K-30 35" Magnet Mount Stainless Steel CB Antenna, 300 Watts , Black, 37 x 4.3 x 5.9"es

K30 CB Whip antenna

$13 END OF ROAD Original Quick Fist Clamp for mounting tools & equipment 1" - 2-1/4" diameter, 2 Count (Pack of 1) - 0010

Fist Grip Shovel Mount


Gear
Handheld HAM Radio (Thanks @SixthSnail)

Cobra HH 38 WX ST 4-Watt 40-Channel CB Radio

Handheld Cobra Weather CB Radio
20ft 15,000lb Recovery Strap
Hitch Recovery Hook
First Aid Kit
Rope
Gun would be on this list however, California

Tools
Metric and Standard Sockets, Wrenches, and Allen Wrenches
Many Screwdrivers
Many Pliers and Cutters
Electric Tester
Zip Ties
Spanner Wrench
To Much to list but there's still to much I don't carry

Future Plans
Limit Straps (Front)
LED Strip rear hatch
K&N air filter
Replace rear door speakers and rear tweeters
Rubber floor mats
120 Volt Power
Aftermarket Fuel Tank Skid Plate
Black Headlights
2006-2009 Tail Lights
Electronic Exhaust Cutout
Mounted Fire Extinguisher
Steel Front Bumper
Winch

 

Status
Ready for Install:
USB Ports


Trips
Upcoming Trips:
Possibly Gleghorn


Recent Trips
Hungry Valley



TW Anza Borrego meet. Had and awesome time and can't wait to go back in March or April.

 

Videos

YouTube

Anza Borrego:
V8 4Runner Fish Creek Anza Borrego
Fish Creek Wash - Anza Borrego 4Runner V8
Coyote Canyon - Anza Borrego 4Runner

Gorman:
4th Gen 4Runner Pronghorn trail - Gorman
Hungry Valley Stair Climb 4Runner




Photos

 

Huh?

Links don't work.

 

They aren't links. Just saved posts. See my build for example.

Stoked for the build Brad!

 

Build Thread


First thing I did with it was remove the Sport Edition 4WD emblem of the sides because I didn't like the fact that Toyota wrote a paragraph on the side of my car. It was to many letters.

 

I was hearing a whining sound coming from front drivers side of the vehicle. I jacked it up and felt play in that wheel, so I purchased a wheel hub kit from Amazon. Amazon.com: Dura International 29596012 Front Wheel Hub Kit: Automotive Then used my dads press to press the bearing into the hub. While everything was apart I replace the dust shield and a rubber gasket. After putting it all together the noise was gone.

 

I Installed a new Kicker CX 300 amplifier. Then got a 12" Kicker subwoofer from some sketchy guy off craigslist who met me at a train station. His name was Tribe, which I believe was his gang name but he was nice.

 

Forgot to add windshield replacement above. It had a good sized crack before I purchased the vehicle. I got a good deal on the replacement using Craigslist again.

 

Mag Lite mount

 

For my CB setup I have a Uniden Pro 520xl CB radio and K30 antenna. I kept all the wires hidden under the carpet and connected the CB to the amp for the subwoofer because the 12V+ and ground was right there. I also added a smokers kit because the door on the factory compartment was broken. I don't smoke but I can use the extra 12V socket.

 

My 72 month pro rated Tru start Toyota battery died when I was out in the desert in Lake Havasu, AZ. It showed no sign of going bad before that, it just decided to die when I parked to do some shooting. Luckily my dad was there in the Razor so we were able to jump it. I took it to the Toyota dealer and got a replacement for cheap because it had many months left on the warranty.

 

Paint

Before installing my lift kit I wanted to put some fresh black paint on everything. I removed the X-REAS and all of the hoses and spent a few days cleaning, sanding, and wire brushing. There was light rust but it wasn't bad at all. I sprayed everything with Rust-Oleum primer, then did about 3 coats of Rust-Oleum Premium black semi-gloss paint.

Before:




After:

 

ICON Vehicle Dynamics

Why I chose ICON:

Since owning my first 4Runner, a lift kit has always been on my list of things to do. I spent many hours on the forums deciding what route I should take for a lift kit. First thing I considered was the spacer kit but quickly ditched that plan because it's not ideal for off-road and is best for Mall crawlers. I then decided on one of Toytec's Bilstein kits. They're good for daily driving and off-road use, they have a good reputation, and it's not to expensive. Then I kept finding people on the forums who upgraded from the Bilsteins to 2.5 coilovers. I didn't want to have to upgrade my suspension twice causing me to spend a lot more money. I also want to be extremely confident in what I have and know that I'm not going to have problems on the trail such as breaking something. I like being prepared for the unexpected. I began looking into the different brands and saw nothing but good things said about Icon. They have exceptional customer service and are not far from where I live. One Icon owner told me that he was on a trail going a high rate of speed as he came upon a large rut, he didn't have time to slow down for it so he clinched the steering wheel and waited for impact and the ICON soaked it right up. He told me that's when he knew his money was well spent. This made me really want Icon. Then I saw that they usually have good Black Friday sales so I waited for November, 2015 and sure enough Total Automotive Performance announced their Icon sale. 20% off with FREE shipping and No Tax, plus a free spanner wrench. With all that, the total came out to only $200 more than the Toytec Bilstein kit. I was sold!


Picking up my packages from UPS.





After finishing the paint and waiting forever for the weekend, the install began.




Finished



As I was backing out of the driveway for the first time I heard a loud clunk. I checked everything and realized the right rear coil wasn't seated properly on top. So I removed and reinstalled the shock and coil. It took a few tries to keep the coil in position when jacking up the axle to compress the coil enough to install the shock but I eventually got it in place, other than that everything went on smoothly.

 

Looks good! I had an 04 4runner in the same color before the Taco. How are those UCAs treating you?

 

Diff Drop

I Put together my own diff drop kit using standard grade 8 hardware. Bought 1 inch blocks of aluminum from a place that recycles metal. Used a drill press to drill 1/2" holes through the blocks.

 

The UCAs are great. The inner sleeves are slightly shorter than they should be, which causes pressure on the bushing instead of the metal sleeve when tightening them down. I found some washers the same size as the sleeve which fixed the problem. I read a lot about them here: There weren't any reports of failures and they are made out of the same metal at Total Chaos. I've hit some rough stuff with them and they're still good.

 

Interesting... Keep up the good work!

 

Removed the stock Toyota plastic rock sliders.

 

When I bought Gunmetal it had a sport rack roof basket on up top. I took it off because I thought it looked ugly. Then when getting ready for the Tacoma World trip to Anza Borrego I wanted the extra room. To make the rack look better I painted the fairing matte black and mounted a shovel using fist grips, which I mounted to to steel plates to clamp on to the rack.