ouch. you guys need snorkels. or atleast stock air intakes... those open air filters are definitely sucking water/mud in :/

 

yeah. i want a safari, but they only make them for the driver's side. i'm gonna look into getting one for the diesel hilux, which i think is on the passenger's side.

my filter is in a decent spot. it's tucked well away. jimmy's was a lot worse than mine. there wasn't too much mud/water this time. the "mud pit" was supposed to be ~4 feet deep

 

Yeah definitely. The cold air intake was an early mod before I did any real wheeling and when I lived in the desert and didn't have to worry about mud/water...Now it is doing more harm than good. Fortunately my sister has a 3rd gen so I am hoping that she will swap with me so I can have the factory airbox back, which I will need for a Safari. Ugh so many mods, so little money.

Yeah mine was pretty bad...Thankfully I just washed an re-oiled the filter so I don't think that any water got in, but it is still not something that I want to worry about everytime I want to get out and have some fun on the trils. I would have been completely screwed if the mud pit was as deep as it usually is.

Yeah that is one negative about the battery/intake swap, you will probably have to retrofit any snorkel you find but I'm sure it can be done.

 

Dude why is just your hood black? It looks like you got a black hood scoop hood then just never painted it. Your ride would look sick with that hood painted...aside from that your runner is a beast...wish I had the money to do some of that stuff. Did you ever do the timing belt? My 02 sr5 has 136,000mi so I'm due for a new one. Do you know if you HAVE to change water pump and the idlers or can you leave em alone if they look fine once you're in there?

 

My hood and rocker panels are coated with Durabak, a bed liner product. In the future I may look into getting it removed and painted, but there are a lot of other mods I wanted to do first...

Thanks for the compliment, I really appreciate it!

I have not done the timing belt yet, but I am trying to get it done this month. I just need to find the time to do it. You don't absolutely have to change the water pump, but it is highly recommended that you do while you're in there because they tend to break down and leak and if it does, you have to go back in to replace it. The idlers are a bit of a different story, since this is your first timing belt change, they are probably okay but you should definitely check them before putting everything back together. Your best bet is to find a OEM timing belt kit and just do everything at once, that way you don't have to worry about it.

 

So I have had a couple of people PM me asking about the Sure Seal connector that I used so I though that I would post up the part numbers of everything that I used. Here is their website: http://www.suresealconnections.com/ but you can't order parts from them directly, so I orgered all of the Sure Seal pieces from here: http://www.peigenesis.com/.

Here are the part numbers for everything that I used:
- 8 circuit flanged plug: 120-8552-305 (I had to get an 8 circuit plug because I have a total of 5 circuits (4 power + 1 ground) and the 8 circuit plug is the smallest one that will fit everything.
- 8 circuit receptacle: 120-1866-000 (I ended up ordering 2 and filled one with blanks to keep the connection waterproof when I don't have the Yakima rack on)
- Boot: 317-8657-002 (boot for the receptacle)
- Mounting plate: 066-8516-002 (top plate to secure the flange)
- Nut plate: M85528/2-18A (bottom plate to secure the flange)
- 6X Mounting plate screws: R440-1/2 (You only need 4, but I ordered 2 extras, and they definitely came in handy because I stripped one during install)
- 20X Wire hole fillers: 225-0093-000 (used to fill in the blank circuits that are not used to ensure that the plug remains weatherproof, again I ordered extras)
- 10X loose pins: 030-2196-001 (I ordered extras)
- 10X loose sockets: 031-1267-001 (Again, I ordere extras)

All together it ended up costing about $50 with shipping included. A little pricey, but the plug is awesome and has been completely waterproof!

NOTE: In order to assemble the plug you will need a pair of open barrel crimping pliars. I didn't have any luck finding them at a local hardware/specialty tool store, so I ended up ordering some off the internet.

 

Thursday of last week I ordered some Contura II switches to replace my factory switches. I had some time this weekend so I decided to at least run the extra wires for the bottom lights of the switches. Also, a while back I ordered some LEDs for that I was going to use as "feet lights", but I just never got them installed, so I decided to wire those up as well. I was just about to call it quits for the day when the USPS guy showed up with my switches! So I was able to get everything installed and wired up. I love the Contura II switches! They look great and they fit perfectly in the factory cut outs.
The switches:



Here are the LED feet lights. I went back and forth about how to wire them up, but ended up wiring them on an independent switch so I can turn them on an off as I please. The lights are controlled by the "Nav Lights" Contura switch.

 

I love how the blue LEDs look. I need to order a few more to finish my tach and my climate control

 

Yeah I really like the look of the blue LEDs too. Some people say it is "ricey" but I just think it looks cool

 

Could you do a write up on that grill modification?

 

Here is the writeup that I followed when I was doing mine: http://www.4runners.org/writeups/satoshi/index.html. I followed it step by step until it came to cutting and mounting the mesh grille material to the actual grille frame. I chose to simply wrap the mesh material around the back of the grille frame. I then drilled a couple holes through the mesh material and the grille frame and secured the mesh to the frame it with some screws, nuts and bolts.

Here is a pic from the top of the grille that shows how the mesh material is wrapped around the frame and secured with a washer and bolt:


I hope this helps. Feel free to let me know if you have any other questions.

 

did you mess with the fiberglassing? it seems like it could be much more simple...

 

Yeah, I end up using the fiberglass...It was my first time using the stuff and it actually wasn't too bad, it just stinks to high heaven. I'm sure that there are other ways to fill in the gaps left by cutting out the grille, but the fiberglass can be topped with bondo and sanded down so that is what I went with.

 

On the last couple wheeling trips I went on, I felt like I was the only guy without a CB radio and I didn't have a way to talk to the other guys...This gets really frustrating if you need help picking out a line, get stuck, etc. So I decided I had enough and ordered a CB radio. I did some research and settled on the Cobra 19DXIV because it will suit my needs and is small enough to be mounted where the ash tray currently sits allowing for a clean install. Here is a list of everything that I ordered, I was able to find everything except the antenna mount on Amazon:
1) Cobra 19DXIV - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ls_o04_s00_i00
2) FireStik 4' Tunable Tip Antenna - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ls_o03_s00_i00
3) FireStik K-8A 18' Single Antenna Coax Cable - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ls_o00_s00_i01
4) FireStik SS-34AH Combination "SS" Heavy Duty Spring & Stud Mount - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ls_o00_s00_i01
5) FireStik K-1A Push-n-Twist Quick Disconnect - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ls_o00_s00_i00
6) 2 - Roadpro 90 Degree L Connector-PL-259 To SO-239 Right Angle Male-Female - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ls_o02_s00_i00
7) Outdoor Logic Driver Side Antenna Mount - http://www.outdoorlogic.net/home.php?cat=829179

 

when you get that mounted and set up mind putting up some pictures?

 

Yeah absolutely. The install should be pretty straight forward so I will post plenty of pics along the way.

 

Yesterday I went over to the George Washington National Forest and did the Peters Mill Run trail with a couple of guys from Toyota-4Runner.org. It wasn't a very difficult trail, but it was still a lot of fun and it was the perfect trail for a day-trip. We all forgot our cameras but I did take a couple cell phone pics, so excuse the poor quality.



In other news, I have been on the lookout for some new rear coils and my search finally paid off. A guy on T4R.org was selling some LX450 9 wrap coils, so I picked them up for $80. In the near future I will be ordering some Tokico GE4095 to go along with them. They should help lift the rear and help me clear 35's when the time comes. Now I just need to find some coil overs for the front and I will be ready to take on anything, or almost anything

 

Since I'm not really going anywhere for Memorial day weekend, I had some time to get my CB installed today. It went pretty smoothly and I was able to get everything done in about 2 hours. Here are some pics of the install.

All the parts


Cut off the back of the ash tray mount


Mounted the CB with some zip ties



Front view


In the truck



Where I mounted my handset


Here is where I ran the coax cable out the back



The Outdoor Logic mount, this thing is great!



All mounted up!

 

Last week I received my LX450 coils and I did some research on what shocks are good to run with them. The general consensus is that most guys are running Tokico GE4095's with good reviews and it definitely helps that they are relatively inexpensive, so I think I am going to go with those.

However, in my research, I came across some more info and now I have some questions about installing the LX450's that I am hoping you guys can help with:
1) Extended brake lines - Do I need them or will I be okay without them?
2) Extended bump stops - Do I need them or will I rub like crazy without them?
3) Trac/PanHard Bar/PanHard Drop Bracket - Do I need either one or both?
Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

Great looking rig!
I would definitely go with the extended brake lines. Even installation of taller springs will be difficult without a little more slack in the line, let alone trail flex. It is an easy and cheap addition.
I also did the bump stomps, though all of it was part of Steve's kit at Sonoran Steel.
I believe the adjustable panhard bar is better than a drop bracket. There is lots of debate and opinions on this. I would recommend it. It helps recenter the rear axle. I actually noticed a slight improvement in mpg via my scangaugeII after adding the adjustable panhard. I also did my lift in stages, as I feel like I have been through every possible configuration.
I would also do the sway bar adjustment brackets (also Sonoran Steel). Keeps your sway bar off your elocker. I just noticed where Stockwell45 had an issue with this.
Steve will let you ala cart the items you need. He was very helpful for me.
Good luck.