Build Zuninja's 2005 GX470 "Build"

[OG Zuninja]

So I've been lurking for a few months and sort of documenting my progress in the "What did you do to your 120 today" thread in that time. Since that's not the "proper" way to document builds, I figured now is as good a time as any to start a thread with some okay pictures and ramblings of mediocre work.

Late December of 24, I acquired this ol' girl from a dealer in Wake Forest, NC. A 2005 GX470 Sport non-nav with 204k on the odo:

Before getting her home, I had ordered a Kenwood Excelon DMX809s. I ordered it Christmas day like a psycho. A couple of days after ordering the HU, I find out during the four hour drive home the speakers in the front door were blown. Here's that Kenwood installed a week later due to slow holiday shipping along with a rearview camera and locating the USB input to the old cig lighter location. Yes, the PS vent trim blew up into a bunch of pieces when I took it out and yes I super glued it back together.

Yeah, that floppy rubber condom where the cables pass from body to barn door sucks and I fought with it when passing the camera cable through. Y'all know what I'm talking about. I took advantage and swapped in some LED replacements for the reverse lights. Little did I know I would be popping that panel off several times later but that was a future me problem.

I then installed some "wall boxes" following a couple threads here in Mud and some pictures in the GXOR Facebook group.

A couple weeks go by and I had a set of 265/70/17 Firestone Destination X/T tires installed. This was the least mangled wheel of the five for the sake of snapping a picture.

Table of contents:
Initial purchase, new tires, audio upgrade (this post)
Wheels, air suspension component delete, fog retro, VSC disable switch
Rear diff breather, low pro hitch, exhaust resonator delete
Barn door first aid kit mount, OE roof rack update
Steering wheel button mod, auxiliary fuse box mount round 1
2" lift install, Apex Overland front recovery, ARK splash guards
Auxiliary fuse box mount round 2, auxiliary lighting and aux power panel upgrades
Auxiliary controls, 4Runner TRD steps
Onboard air install, tubular UCA, cheap ceiling cargo net
AGM battery upgrade, GM diode hackery, front trail camera
Cheap onboard air manifold
Timing belt, ARB skid plates
Water pump woes. RockAuto can eat a bag of *****!
Hayden 698 transmission cooler with Goliath Offroad mount

 

[OG Zuninja]

It was then time to replace those s*** ass OEM wheels. In comes a set of DX4 Beast in 17 x 8.5 0 offset. Picked these up on sale from Discount Tire. I also came up on a set of 5th gen 4Runner running boards because my short wife complained about having trouble climbing in to the passenger seat. These were short lived.

A few smaller projects happened to include finishing the rear coil conversion the PO started by removing all of the non-functioning air suspension stuff that was taking up space. I also installed the VSC disable switch from SBE Precision in a Blue Dog Design switch panel.

I then thought it was a great idea to bake open my fog lights to retrofit a set of Nilight fogs from Amazon. I polished up the DS fog the best I could because it was real cloudy.

And the finished product.

I also replaced all interior and exterior bulbs with LED. No pictures of this.

 

[OG Zuninja]

Moving on, I installed a 5th gen 4Runner style hitch, cut off the rear exhaust resonator and relocated the rear diff breather up to the fuel fill area. Around this time I sourced a pair of silver OEM running boards and sold the 4Runner running boards off. No pictures of that since you know what that looks like.

A few days later, the wife and I took a weekend to head up the George Washington National Forest area in northern Virginia. It was good disconnect from the day to day and we had a good time. This was our AirBnB for the weekend. Its a civil war era cottage that was only mildly brought into modern times with plumbing and electricity. The wife wasn't ready for full blown tent camping so this was a way of getting her toes wet.

Ventured into the forest via Braley Pond Road. Its a service road with some great greenery and eventually leads up to Reddish Knob.

To close out the day, we crossed Briery Branch Gap to Flagpole Knob and out by Switzer Lake. No pictures of that.

 

[OG Zuninja]

I kept a first aid kit in the DS wall box for a while but wasn't a fan of that. After someone else had posted their idea in the GXOR FB group, I went with a Milwaukee Packout setup on the barn door for a dedicated first aid kit. I also installed a fire extinguisher by the OEM jack compartment. You'll notice the cover above the hitch receiver is missing. It interfered with inserting the hitch pin so I removed it but didn't like the exposed mounting tabs of that cover and trimmed them off with a utility knife.

Remember those sun beaten OEM rack rails? I got tired of looking at them and painted them with rattle can bedliner and also added two more cross bars.

It also seemd like a good time to update the vanity plate.

More to come.

 

[autobon7]

Nice looking rig

 

[OG Zuninja]

Last weekend, I carted the oldest out to Blacksburg along with an entire college kid's apartment worth of furniture. It amazes me how much actually fits in this rig. The rear squatted just a bit but that was expected.

I made a small modification to my steering wheel controls this past weekend that make a big difference in the daily drive.

Lastly, I started on this little project. In the immortal words of Forrest Gump, "I'm not a smart man...". I know there's more to that quote but that's the only part that applies. I could always go with a much simpler Auxbeam or Switch Pros setup but I'll just refer you to that quote.

More to follow. Eventually.

 

[Beej]

sub'd
Off to a heck of a start.

Way to hold out for non-nav

 

[OG Zuninja]

So Gloria received a few bits and bobs this past weekend to get her just a bit taller and ready to conquer the strip mall parking lots.

Up front, she got a set of Dobinsons C59-302 to pick the nose up by about two inches. These are on previously installed Bilstein 5100's on the lowest perch that I installed months ago. I also took this opportunity to install a pair of Perry Parts front bumps.

The rear received a pair of Icon 52700 springs also for about a two inch lift while sitting on Perry Parts spring perches. These were also matched up with Bilstein 5100's. I also threw on a Dr. KDSS BOTCK for good measure.

While I was underneath, I installed a set of Apex front recovery points that I picked up during their Labor Day sale.

And to round things out, I installed ARK splash guards to replace the dinky Amazon splash guards that couldn't stay on if their life depended on it.

Overall a decent round of upgrades for this past weekend.

 

[stupidchicken03]

I made a small modification to my steering wheel controls this past weekend that make a big difference in the daily drive.
View attachment 3977915

Was this a kit you purchased for the answer/hang up buttons to the right? How was install? Functions ok with the aftermarket stereo?

 

[Rednexus]

Lastly, I started on this little project. In the immortal words of Forrest Gump, "I'm not a smart man...". I know there's more to that quote but that's the only part that applies. I could always go with a much simpler Auxbeam or Switch Pros setup but I'll just refer you to that quote.
View attachment 3977918
More to follow. Eventually.

I took the hard way as well. Between working up the DIY wiring diagram....buying foot after foot of 22 ga wire....crimping tools....and hand-terminating all of the wire/connectors, I bet it cost more than a SwitchPros and took literally 2+ days of my time. But, I am still super-happy with this setup after nearly 2 years. Oh, I also have ditch lights that are triggered by the high beams (that was a PITA to figure out and required and extra relay...).

 

[OG Zuninja]

Was this a kit you purchased for the answer/hang up buttons to the right? How was install? Functions ok with the aftermarket stereo?

It honestly was a gamble. Found a set of new buttons on eBay (Chinese knockoffs) that cost $30. There was a write up I found for a first gen Tundra that was pretty spot on with the disassembly. It was actually really easy. The steering wheel button interface recognized everything once I reconnected the battery and they've been flawless. The only thing that was a real minor issue was the airbag would catch the buttons on the left ever so slightly and I had to finesse stuff to get everything to play nice.

I took the hard way as well. Between working up the DIY wiring diagram....buying foot after foot of 22 ga wire....crimping tools....and hand-terminating all of the wire/connectors, I bet it cost more than a SwitchPros and took literally 2+ days of my time. But, I am still super-happy with this setup after nearly 2 years. Oh, I also have ditch lights that are triggered by the high beams (that was a PITA to figure out and required and extra relay...).
View attachment 3992316
View attachment 3992317
View attachment 3992318
View attachment 3992319

It's actually your install that inspired me. Like you, I'm a fan of OE+. I'm not going down the locker rabbit hole though. Not yet at least.

 

[Rednexus]

It's actually your install that inspired me. Like you, I'm a fan of OE+. I'm not going down the locker rabbit hole though. Not yet at least.

Glad my build thread is inspiring others . I pre-wired for my lockers a solid 18 months before installing them, so the electrical side of the locker install was the easiest part this summer. You could always keep a few switch blanks for the future and pre-fish the wires from the switch blanks into the engine bay (for hooking them up to future relays if you do add them). There is a large rubber electrical connector under the driver's and passenger dash, and both have a small nipple on the engine bay side that you can cut off and then fish wires though. I have my GMRS antenna and locker wiring going through the PS connector and everything else going through the DS connector.

 

[OG Zuninja]

So its been a bit since I've updated this thread but there hasn't been much to add until now. You know that "little project" I started with the aluminum panel? I ditched the idea of making my own and opted for the Apex Overland mount. See previous Forrest Gump quote. I don't have many pictures but here's what I did take:

The keen eyed among you would have seen the Deutsch connectors. There's a bunch of those not pictured but they were incorporated in the following pictures throughout the rig for future serviceability. That bundled up blue wire is going to run to a front mounted trail camera. I'll get to that eventually. Also, that second circuit breaker will lead to an under hood mounted air compressor. I still need to fab that mount up.
Moving on, I installed some Auxbeam XP Ultra 3" aux lights up front mounted in Solid Shift Concepts fog light mounts and on Ronin Metalworks mirror mounted ditch light brackets.

Out back, I added some more auxiliary lighting in the form of knockoff Baja Designs lights on JW Offroad chase light mounts and flush mounted another set of knockoff lights in the bumper.

In the cargo area, I mounted up this 12VDC panel. The ports originally came in a horizontal orientation but after a little creative Dremel work, they are now in a vertical orientation.

Since I've hit the five picture limit for one post, to be continued...

 

[OG Zuninja]

...in this post.
Controlling all those is these custom dual switched mounted in a Blue Dog Design switch panel. The way these switches are wired, nothing is energized unless the key is at least in the second position or the engine is running. No worries on draining the battery. While installing the panel, I relocated the CDL to the t-case shifter trim and stashed the DAC underneath. If I really need the DAC, I can simply remove the cup holder and fish it out as the cupholder is friction fit.

Lastly, I scored a set of 4Runner TRD running boards for cheap off FB marketplace and immediately ditched the soccer mom vibe by cutting off the stock running boards. The TRD running boards provide a bit over an inch of clearance as compared to the OE ones and over four inches by the wheel wells. There was a method to the madness when I picked the stock running boards up earlier this year. Now, attached to those TRD running boards are some Nilight rock lights with the stock courtesy light harness clipped in to holes I drilled to mimic the stock setup. Those lights were connected with the previously mentioned Deutsch connectors for that serviceability. Hey, they're cheapo Amazon lights. Might as well make replacement easy.

Lastly, there's the obligatory photo in the GX's natural habitat:

That's all for now.

 

[Rednexus]

Looks quite familiar . I do like how you hid many of the connectors and wiring under the tray. In hindsight, I would have done the same. FWIW, I did put a M6 bolt through the metal bracket on the brake module/pump, and the tray slides over that, making it a bit less bouncy.

 

[OG Zuninja]

Looks quite familiar . I do like how you hid many of the connectors and wiring under the tray. In hindsight, I would have done the same. FWIW, I did put a M6 bolt through the metal bracket on the brake module/pump, and the tray slides over that, making it a bit less bouncy.

I actually threaded in an M6 Phillips head screw into that bracket. Tightening that up to snug down the bracket was tedious but doable.

 

[OG Zuninja]

First of all, Survive a New Year!

Now that formalities have been taken care of, I had a couple weeks off for the holidays so I took care of a few things on Gloria in between hanging out with family (oldest son was home from school) and dodging the cold rain. I fabbed up this mount with some aluminum plate and a couple of steel brackets that tie to the firewall and the PS inner fender:

And on that mount I installed this modded Smittybilt 2781:

Those mods include a shortened output tube and shroud by ~1.5", a new steel bracket on the output (hence the aluminum paint), pressure switch, upgraded power wiring to 8 AWG, removal of the twist nut and some extra insulation on the wiring going into the compressor body. IYKYK
I had also noticed that my fairly new OEM replacement UCA ball joint boots had torn. Seems a 2" lift really is at the upper limits and the boots gave me the middle finger for my troubles. So I installed these UCA with greaseable ball joints that also added about 2* of caster and got her aligned:

I think I might have to dial the caster back a touch but for right now, she drives purdy good without contacting the splash guard or the body mount.
I also tossed in this inexpensive ceiling cargo net for future use to hold quick access odds and ends for whenever the rig is loaded up:

Hit my limit for pictures. More to follow.

 

[OG Zuninja]

I also took the opportunity to upgrade to an H7 AGM. To go with that AGM, I hacked up this add a circuit to keep the Alt-S circuit fused but to also incorporate the GM diode to bump the charging voltage up:

Here's a crude doodle of what the hacking entailed:

And I was finally able to get to the front camera. Coming up with a way to mount it was a bit of a challenge:

And here's what my cramped garage looks like:

I took the opportunity to replace the trim panels I blew up with a set I found on Amazon. Its a close match to the original trim but not quite right. For Amazon pieces, they'll be fine. The keen eyed among you might be able to spot the winch bits in the back corner. That's going to wait for warmer weather and another block of time off.

That's it for now.

 

[GrizzlyClint]

That front camera is awesome. I like that it's hidden in the L. I need to redneck science one in my 460.

 

[OG Zuninja]

That front camera is awesome. I like that it's hidden in the L. I need to redneck science one in my 460.

Mine is mounted with some Cuban engineering.

I was pretty stoked that it didn't sit proud of the L after it was mounted in there.