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

OK, that makes sense! I thought you were whipping this up on the fly lol.

 

Lol, no, not for this one. Fortunately, there are already really good designs out there for the front. The back, there are good designs but nothing that covers what I want, which is why I'm following your footsteps and building that one from scratch.

 

Needs rear bumper

 

It kinda has one right now.

 

Been sick with a stomach bug for the last week. Finally feeling better. but work has me on quarantine as a precaution until the 21st. So, that will give me some time to hopefully finish up the front bumper and do some other things.

I ordered up CF18 Smart Tap LED flasher from Diode Dynamics (non-DRL only) to cure the fast blink since I have front LED turn signals now for the new bumper.

https://www.diodedynamics.com/smarttap-led-flasher-for-2003-2009-toyota-4runner-non-dtrl.html



Unfortunately, because my Limited did have DRL to start, which I manually turned off with Techstream, the flasher relay is different from a truck that didn't come with DRL from the factory. Mine has a 12 pin relay where the non-DRL version is an 8 pin relay.

The fix is a small, $24 shipped, wiring harness from Toyota for the non-DRL 4Runners. Part # 82241-35010. This plugs into the 12 pin harness on one side and the 8 pin relay on the other. Pic of a pic from the interwebs.



Difference in physical size of the relays and the pin counts.





And for those that don't know, the relay is on the back of the cabin fuse box. So you have to pull things apart a bit to get to it.



So now I'm just waiting for the new harness to come is so I can eliminate the rapid flash turn signals I have now.

Also got some new LED bulbs for the HVAC controls. I think I like the white display over the orange that regular bulbs produce in the LCD panel. Trying out the softer, light blue color in the controls for a while to see how I like it. It's not hard on the eyes like most blues are and softer than the white that I had in there before, which is still in the center control because I mis-counted in my head and didn't order enough bulbs.



These also came in yesterday.





Sorely needed since mine are the originals with over 298k miles on them and they have torn UBJ boots. Replacing them today and will have more pics up later on.

 

Get better

 

Doing better already, thanks!

 

SPC UCAs installed. They were sorely needed too. The UBJ boots were both torn and had been since I got the truck. All the UCA bushings were also shot.

Only thing remaining for now is getting the alignment done. I'll replace the LCAs at a later point.

Install was very straight forward and took less than 45 minutes per side. The majority of the pictures are from the driver side but both sides are virtually identical.

Yuck. Both sides were like this.



UCA bushings on both arms were totally done.



Comparison of the stock and SPC arms.



Yes, I had the ball joint on the SPC arm backwards. It was not installed like that.



I highly recommend this front end service kit from OTC. The ball joint separator made short work of popping the UBJs free.

$131 OTC 6295 Front End Service Set for Pitman Arms, Ball Joints, and Tie Rods

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002SRH7O/









Pivot bolt on both sides was able to be snaked out without having to bend sheet metal or do anything crazy. Super easy. Swapped UCAs and started bolting everything back together.











Torque specs:

Pivot bolt for UCA - 85 ftlbs
UBJ castle nut - 45 ftlbs and tighten as needed to line up cotter pin holes
SPC UBJ adjuster nut - 150 ftlbs

 

Alignment schedule for Monday at 10am

 

Alignment done this morning. Good enough! Rear axle is crabbed a little but the truck tracks straight so I'm not going to worry about it for now.



Pulled the bumper off to finish welding all the inside seams and start on the finish grinding/cleanup. Threw it on my scale before that to see how much weight I've added. 127 lbs. Not too bad I think.



Impromptu welding and grinding bench. Need to build a real one after this.





Got all the welding done today and started the clean up grinding. Finish that up tomorrow and them give it a good bath to prep for paint.

 

Did all the finish grinding today and got the bumper primed and painted. Letting it dry over night and will reinstall tomorrow morning.

 

Very nice

 

Bumper installed this morning. Thinking about possibly installing these cheap Chinese LED light I have at some point. Have to cut about a 3" hole for them. till undecided. I don't really wheel at night. Harness for the flasher relay is supposed to be delivered Monday so I can fix the fast flash.

 

Why not a bracket style that sits below the hoop?

This way it's adjustable.

Otherwise that setup looks badass

 

Because I have these already and can make them adjustable-ish with spacers. Also would have to weld tabs to the hoop which I kinda don't want to, at least not right now. And then buy more lights.

 

Ah ok.

Before you finish your rear, will you incorporate some sort of chase light?

I'll be adding one to the Sherpa rack I ordered.

 

Dunno, haven't gotten that far yet

 

A few times at Hollister Hills and other trails, there was a ton of dirt kicked up and I always told myself "fuck I hope they can see me back there"

And then when we went to Moab, I really wish I had a chase light back there so I plan on getting one installed at the rear of my roof rack.

 

Like a red fog light?

 

An amber spot light (not flood) aimed straight forward so the light aims above the vehicle behind you.

But being amber, it'll cut through dirt/snow/etc better than something more reflective like white light.

Also being a spot light, you don't blind the person behind you.