Builds Living The Mini Van Life - Slow & Mild Build (2 Viewers)

[Miker27]

Right. I ran the 3rd gen runner with a ~2.3 inch front lift and stock UCAs, it's wasn't ideal but with poly steering rack bushings I never felt that the steering was too vague or darty. My lowered volvo runs a decent amount of camber and even it feels better on the highway than the gx (in a purely steering input way). Currently my caster is 2.8 & 3.5 or something near there so I don't think we're too far off base. The cooper HTPs that came on the car are at about 6/13ths tread so I don't want to give up on them if they have some useable life, but they do seem to have a very square profile and difficulty balancing perfectly. I'm inclined to blame the tires for the darting sensation, but I also have a habit of convincing myself that parts are broken so I can justify newer, more fun parts. I did air the tires up to 37 from 32 and that has helped some

 

[Miker27]

Nothing new here, but this weekend has lit a bit of a fire under me to get my suspension together. Found the skids a handful of time and heard the rear shocks (or bags, not sure) topping out all too often. I think it will look like this

265/70/17 sl rated Falken Wildpeaks (snowflake rating is key)
Ironman FCP
SPC UCA
There's still a strong temptation to run a TRDP take off suspension but I'm worried that it will be valved incorrectly for the weight of the v8 and wallow some on the road. Trying to do this right the first time, even if throwing 1/3 of the value of the car at it feels misguided

 

[Tak555]

any updates on things?? nice work!

 

[Miker27]

Yes! I'll do a write up soon but sliders happened and I have some icon products sitting in a box. I also pretended to know how to do carpentry (I do not).

 

[runningdrew]

-I've noticed an occasionally humm or buzz behind the dash after relatively long drives, this happens even with everything off. IS there a fan for the radio or something that runs in the background?

Found anything else about this noise?
I think I have the same thing. It seems to happen more when the car is on and seems to be related to the "outside air/recirculating air" HVAC button. on one setting is makes the noise on the other it does not...for me....it's minor, but still annoying.

 

[GXO]

The servo for the mixer is pretty notorious for causing noises like this.

 

[runningdrew]

The servo for the mixer is pretty notorious for causing noises like this.

Thanks. Than mixer seems to function fine, should I be concerned?

 

[Miker27]

Finally getting around to writing some updates. I had planned to do a more detailed overview of the drawers I built but I don't think I will be able to add much value over the build I followed. GXWagon created a great thread over at Expedition portal that I mostly followed - you can see it here Drifta Drawer Style Build (Toyota Prado 120/ Lexus GX470)
Instead of trying to re-create this guide I'll ad some feedback from my experience that I hope others will find helpful

• I used 1/2 plywood birch as it seemed a more consistent core than some of the other plywoods. I don't know anything about plywood, this could have been a waste of money as virtually all wood ends up carpeted so there's no cosmetic advantage.
• My homedepot was not inclined to make cuts for me. I called around and eventually was able to convince a newer employee to help me out. The cuts were not brilliant. I ran into a custom cabinet maker at a climbing area not long after finishing and he suggested that he would have made the cuts for a fellow climber but didn't seem that amenable to stranger walking into his shop asking for a bunch of precision cuts. Buying the proper saw might have been the best way to do this in retrospect
• I used a pocket jig and wood glue to join the carcass and drawers - this might be a stronger form of construction than standard screws. Again, because everything is carpeted there is no cosmetic benefit and I probably wouldn't bother buying the jig if you don't already own one. However, the jig screw and stop were useful for recessing the screw holes for HPDE sliders.
• Routing out mounting points is a giant pain in the dick.
• I explored non-handle drawer closer systems to keep it simple and cheap. Buying proper handles and door checks ended up being well worth the cost and effort.
• Glueing and stapling carpet is also a pain, but pretty cost effective. I used indoor/outdoor carpet from homedepot that is already showing stains. I would strongly consider rhino liner or a similar product for the exterior of the box if I did it again. Although I went pretty heavy on a laquer/varnish before carpeting I worry some that the box will get wet enough to rot. Lots of snowy skis are in and out of this trunk.
• A strip of 1/2 aluminium corner worked well to clean up the front of the box and add some durability vs carpet.
• Climbing hangers and turnbuckles work well to attach the drawers to the factory 3rd row mounting points. This allows for easy removal and should keep the box from turning into a projectile in the result of going upside down

Hopefully that's helpful for anyone starting on this project. I have no idea what I'm doing and ended up with an ugly but functional drawer system. I chose not to add wings as I enjoy access to the little space on the side of the drawers. I'd like to think if I attempted this again from scratch I would have a pretty excellent drawer system - getting exact cuts at the start would be key.
Photos from the fun:

 

[Samuraj]

This will likely be a very slow, very boring thread but I'd like to document what I'm doing this round and hopefully help some folks out along the way. Here's the background. I had been driving a 260k 3rd gen 4Runner that was great - except that it was really remarkably slow. Living in Denver we're pretty choked for air, add some meaty tires, a lift, and a RTT to an already lethargic car and you'll run into some difficulty keeping up with traffic on mountain passes. I thought if I could get what I had into the 4Runner back I'd swap to a GX or v8 Runner. When I stopped by the local 4x4 shop to ask if the swap was a terrible idea they laughed and remarked that I was "ready for the mini van life."

In any case, the trusty 4runner went to a high schooler for $5950 after a mechanics inspection. I think it will treat him well and I was happy with the CO 4runner tax for once

With that out of the way I searched for about a month before finding the new rig. I was initially hoping for an 05+ with around 150k and a dark interior. Instead I found this twice crashed-into 183k 04. I'm going to need to learn some things about body work but the maintenance history check a lot of boxes and less than a week into it I feel good about my $6500 purchase

First on my list is replacing the cv axles (torn boots) and exchanging driveline fluids. I told myself I wasn't going to lift this one since I don't really wheel for the sake of it anymore. Sometimes I find myself on rough trailheads and the extra clearance helps compensate for my mediocre driving. A lot of the time this will be the roadtrip/ski/climb mobile.
Priority should instead shift to this garbage

From the Lexus history, it sounds like this was hit by a "snow removal vehicle" and pushed 2-3 feet. The frame and all checked out fine but it must have done some real damage to the drivers side. Both front and rear drivers side doors are showing rust like this. The front door cladding is missing a door catch and the cladding is half held on by tape. I'm hoping to order new clips/tape and re-attach the front cladding but I'm not sure what I'll find under there. I'm not excited to grind down and repaint the rust but it might be worth a go. I'll see what the body shop near me has to say first. Seems like new junkyard doors would be the best. The second crash was more recent and resulted in the rear drivers side quarter being repaired and repainted so another slightly different shade of silver shouldn't hurt....

That was a lot, thanks for reading!

this rust spot ... its normal , my 08 have it , spray some PB blaster