What have you done to your 5th Gen 4Runner today?

I just left my 4R at the dealer for its 6-month service. I’m a month late, oh well.

I’m at 3399 miles and they are doing an oil change. They did not want to and kept telling me it’s not until 10K miles. Then quoted me $189 for it.

Long story short, they are doing an oil change and not charging me.

I’m nervous and hope they don’t screw this up.

 

I bet it will be all good, best of luck.
Or alternatively, you fall victim to unthinkable toyota tech malfeasance lol

 

I might’ve looked like that when the service tech drove it off into the service garage.

 

Nothing new to see here
But just went with the good ol
TRD PRO rims and black overlays

 

took a couple days but completed upgrading ditch lights and grille light bar, really happy with the aesthetics. I’ll test in the darkness tonight

 

Bilstein 4600’s are now on the rear, making for a complete set.

Fairly straightforward, no instructions on how Bilstein wants the washers and stuff stacked so I did my best with what I could find online.

shock, washer, rubber with center extrusion, washer with center extrusion (larger one for fifth gen since it comes with two sizes), shock mount/frame, rubber, washer, nut.

How tight though was a very tough question, having read both “until the rubber is as wide as the washer” and “only until the rubber compresses visibly” and having no space for my torque wrench. I ended up splitting the difference but it was more me not being able to tighten much more with the small adjustable wrench I had so I’m going to keep an eye on that.

No anti-seize or locktite the lower bolt, but I did torque to spec - will also keep an eye on.



A lot of time was added to tackle a bit of rust on the shock mounts, but nothing really of note.

 

I picked up my 4R from the dealer and service advisor said the senior tech was the one that worked on it. He wanted to make sure it was done right since he knew I was skeptical of their work quality.

Officially got my first maintenance done, with synthetic oil change at the dealer. 3399 miles

I’ll get under the truck tomorrow to see if anything is cross-threaded or over torqued.

 

finally wired up my Blue Sea breaker and fusebox to the battery.
started with connecting the load for grille lights only, need more time to crimp and connect leads for ditch lights & rear bumper led pods.
tested lights in dark garage. dash switch works, and no dash error warnings.

stoked!

 

looks good @djwantke. not sure about the blueseas one, but my auxbeam has been really nice so far.

 

Installed a small lock box in the center console that still allows me to use the upper tray.

 

Nice timing! I’m looking for one of those. What’s that one made out of? Link to where you got it please.

 

Come over, I’ll do it for some beers!

F them, start learning how to do it yourself (cost you $40-50 tops) or hire your local shop to do it.

 

Took her out today to pick up 17 bags (2 ft.³/bag) of mulch that was on sale. Rides even smoother loaded up! Some were wet but luckily the rubber mat caught it.

 

It’s free and wanted to see how their work is before I judge them.

 

Originally it wasnt free and 4xs the amount than doing it yourself. nothing is free when it comes to Stealerships. Something always gets F’d up. I bet they didnt change the filter. Check your oil level as well.

 

Make way for the 4Runners.com Heavyweight (no fat jokes, please!) champion of Gas Discounts:




I also gave my big red-headed girlfriend a good wash/detailing. She's shiny again! Oh, when I got home I realized that some Easter Lilly's I bought and planted last year survived. They're about to bloom, so that's nice. Those things were expensive. I guess my green thumb is getting greener in my old age.

 

Did that yesterday with about 15 bags of top soil. Wife wants to plant some new peach and pear trees this year.
The rubber cargo mat helped because most bags were wet due to a random down power we had last week.
I still think a pickup truck would be better for me with all the random stuff we have started buying these days.

 

Tis the season. I did 30 bags of mulch last weekend and another 20 bags on Friday.

 

If you are using that much mulch why not just get a couple yards delivered?

 

For me it's actually less expensive & doesn't take up driveway space compared to where we stack the bags.

 

Or build/buy a small utility trailer, if you have the room to store it.
I built my trailer 35 years ago and currently has a load of glass to take to the recyclers.
I haven't had a P/U truck in over 8 years and don't miss one either. And our trailers have Exempt license plates.

 

We use 22 bags. I have a trailer but it's under the deck, not worth getting it out & putting back . I make 2 trips & the the Mrs will go when she needs the last 2.https://www.homedepot.com/b/Outdoor...n/a}:nf qu:{mulch}:qu ie:{0}:ie qr:{mulch}:qr

 

You also get real bark mulch from a landscape supplier vs the chopped up and dyed pallet wood that comes in the bagged stuff.

 

They throw pallets in their mulch too. The stuuf in bags we get @ HD is real mulch & it actually holds the color better then the mulch I used to buy up the road too.

 

Finally got some time to put sponge on paint. Car washing is ok, but they never get all the gunk.

 

thanks my man!
nice, AUXBEAM panels are amazing
I was too cheap to get one initially, but probably have spent that amount now with all my relays and switches lol
Blue Sea Systems is an industry leader as well.
I copied ideas from wiring pro bros on this forum, re: Blue Sea breakers and fuse circuit boxes under the hood.

 

After my rental experience with U-Haul, I do see the value in owning one. The big issue for me was the space. I research and found harbor freight has a foldable trailer that won’t take up too much space. I think we’re going to buy it once it goes on sale.

Being able to get by with keeping things out of the interior of the 4Runner and not having to bug friends/family for a truck seems worth it. If we find it isn’t practical with time, we will re-sell

 

My Sure Trac is 5'x 10'. The lift gate folds fwd into the bed, hence I keep it under the deck out of the weather too!

 

nice! Do you plan to keep them there full time?

 

The instructions totally stink, but you should be able to figure it out. It is made of steel and nicely machined, but the lock is so so. It will prevent someone from getting into it for a smash and grab.

$120 Linskip Console Safe Storage Compatible with 2010-2024 Toyota 4Runner Accessories, for 4Runner Security Console Insert, Console Gun Safe for 4Runner Accessories(Black)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D2YWQWGQ?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1