It's been a while since I've posted here (been spending more time out on the trails instead of in front of the computer).

I'm finally thinking about adding a new ('07) 4runner to my collection (currently have an '89 and a '90). I'd like a little info on what's available. The salesman has been little to no help and I can't find a downloadable owners manual on the internet anywhere. He said that the difference between the V6 and the V8 is that the V6 has a front differential and the V8 doesn't. I'm assuming he meant locking differential, I don't know what was going on in his head.

From what I gather the V6 offers part-time 4wd, but with a Torsen center differential, so that you have better highway manners (or as I like to say, better wife acceptance factor). And the V8 is full time 4wd (or I guess awd).

In either the V6 or the V8 is the center diff lockable so that I can get real 4WD? Is it lockable in 4-HI, or just 4-LO like the Land Cruisers? Do they come from the factory with lockable front or rear diffs? Again the salesman said that it had a lockable front diff, but not a rear? That sounds completely backwards to me, so I know he's wrong.

I don't drive terribly long distances, so gas milage is not a concern to me. Nor does power (or lack thereof) matter much to me, my daily driver is a 22RE, so I know what it's like to not have power. So for engine choices, my concerns are what's going to be the most reliable and which the easiest to work on? I know it's generally not worth worrying about because they're both Toyota engines, but after living with my '89 and '90 for so long, I much prefer the bulletproofness of the 22RE over the 3VZE. So are there any concerns with either engine?

Also if any 4th gen owners want to just give me random advise, that's appreciated too. The truck will spend it's first year stock as a grocery getter and winter commuter for the wife. But after she begins to get used to driving a truck I'll start slowly lifting it and making it more off road worthy like my current 4Runners. I've just learned that I meet much less resistance if it grows slowly.

 

X2. Good post.

 

here you go.http://www.top4runners.com/ja/runhist42007.html

 

Thanks for the link, Paul.

 

you can lock the center/torsen diff in 4hi or 4lo. the v8 is always in 4hi (full-time 4wd similar to LandCruisers; 60/40 rear/front split)

i test-drove the FJ before i bought my 06, but (to me) it lacked the polish of the 4runner. with a lift and beefier tires/wheels, seems like the new 4runners can still be a rugged off-roader without entirely sacrificing road-manners.

all in all, i think my 06 is way more like a LandCruiser; the old 4runners were more akin to the Tacomas/trucks imo. the (bulbous) styling takes some getting used to (and there are still viewing angles that give me a shudder when i approach the rig) but the fit and finish of the new 4runners are pretty prime.

but it seems like the bulbous style is here to stay for Toyota... the 2008 LandCruiser looks like it swallowed something whole.

 

they are awesome. for lots of detail check out the forum at toyota120.com.

good luck!

 

Going from the 22re to the new v6 will wow you. I have an 04 V6 and it really has some getup and go with the 245 hp. I could definately feel the difference between that and my 03 3.4L Tacoma. No power worries for you.

 

Well I pulled the trigger. Got the '07 SR5 V6 (I would rather have a V8 because the rumble of a V8 is awesome, but I thought it was better to get the option of having 2WD rather than full time 4WD). It is a very nice truck. Not a fan of driving an automatic, but my wife was getting fed up rowing gears with all the other cars, so I finally gave in and now I own an auto. I did jump the gun and already put the 2" lift on it and Goodyear MT/Rs. Of course, my excuse was that I "needed" the MT/Rs to be safe in the winter and they wouldn't fit without a lift, so she's not mad about that. Plus with the running boards, it's still easy for her to get in.

Once I find my digital camera (we just moved), I'll post some pics.

 

lifted with MTRs ALREADY? damn, you don't waste any time. i've been hemming and hawing on the lift/tires for more than a year now...
post some pics!

 

Found my camera this morning, and got a chance to take some pics. I put them on picasaweb for my brother to see them, so rather than re-posting them here, I'll just give you the link

http://picasaweb.google.com/mikeanda...unnerAfterLift

The springs are still a little stiff, I can get it up on 3 wheels when pulling into my yard from the driveway. My old leaf spring 4Runner doesn't do that, so I'm assuming once these springs flex a little more, I'll be back onto 4 wheels.

 

looks excellent. curious: did you try 285s? or consider them?

 

also, maybe these rear end-links will help keep all four wheels on the ground... (obviously not when pulling into your yard day-by-day, but just in case you didn't know they were available out there.)

 

I didn't try 285's. I probably should have, but when I was buying it, I insisted that the dealership give me a credit for the original tires. When they agreed to it, they wanted me to tell what tires I wanted. So with some quick math in my head I knew 275s would fit with out too much trouble. Afterwards, I looked at Goodyear's spec sheet and the actual size is significantly smaller than the metric sizing would lead you to believe. Now that I see what it looks like, I think the 285's would probably fit just fine. What I do find weird is that the 275s (actual size) is about the same as the 32x11.50 on my other 4runner but the lugs on the 275s are actually smaller than the 32s. I guess they use a different mold.

Those rear end links look interesting. Although, I think the best place to put my effort right now would be on the front. Just looking at those pictures, the rear flexes much better than the front. But I'll worry about that later. We got 4 inches of snow last night, so there will be no pulling into the yard until the spring.