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

No drill and no silicone. Sherpa only comes in full length. Bolt on affair. I'll post pics when it's done

 

Quarantine boredom project continues... Arms arrived, so at least able to get most things together and buttoned back up, while still waiting for coil overs (I’ll blame those on covid too, lol).

One small snag I ran into was with the dirt king spindle gussets. They were a really good fit with minimal gap, so I’m fairly certain they were installed as intended... but... found that I couldn’t get a socket or a wrench on the ball joint nut as they were. I could just barely get the ends of an open wrench on, but then not enough room to get a meaningful turn in (kind of like a partial turn, but then you’d undo the turn just trying the get the wrench back off). I ended up cutting a deeper notch into the gusset so I could get something on it to get it tightened. Had to do the same on both driver and passenger.

I’m sure this was user error still; but like I said, the gusset had a seemingly natural tight fit to the spindle; if I’d spaced it out a bit, there would have been a fair amount of manipulation to close gaps. Oh well, it should still serve its purpose.

One small regret I have now, is not having also done shock tower gussets.... another thing that I don’t really need to do; but would have been nice to of knocked out while everything was out of the way and I had time to kill.

Extremely unlikely that coilovers arrive before the weekend though

 

The sulphur smell is a result of rich combustion when accelerating, and the lower pressure inside your cabin pulls it in through the open rear window.

Octane rating has nothing to do with this. All given gasoline grades are functionally and chemically identical, except that more octane is added to higher grades. Higher octane gasoline resists pre-detonation better, allowing the engine to advance ignition timing slightly. This raises cylinder pressure, which bumps the power up slightly (and slightly increases MPG at low load).

If you want to avoid the sulphur smell, roll your rear window up.

 

Good to know. I usually roll the rear window down an inch or two in combination with the sunroof open. I suppose it's just a coincidence, but the smell has reduced significantly since using 89

 

Silicone as far as giving an extra water tight seal? Do they have anything on it when installing to ensure of that?

 

Took it to dealer to start file to replace steering wheel. not much time left since it's at 34k under warranty

 

No issues at all! Ride is smooth as heck even at 80MPH on highway. Had Toyota dealership install for me

 

Sherpa is one of the few (or only) fabricators that offer a quality sealing system comparable to OEM. If I was to get an aftermarket roof rack again, I would hands down go with Sherpa just for the proper sealing method.

All of the other racks just tell you to slather silicone sealant all over the roof. This is a terrible idea for lots of reasons.

One, most hardware store variety silicones cure permanently. If you decide to change your rack or rebuild it, good luck scraping all that hardened gunk out of your channels and threaded holes. You'll need to if you want to get it to seal again with the new rack.

Two, most commonly available silicones are not UV stable, or even meant to be used outside in the elements at all. Sealants like this can harden and retract from joints over time due to UV exposure, which eventually allows moisture to creep into your cabin. Soggy headliners, rusted rockers, corroded electronics, are all symptoms that you won't notice until a few years later. The installation video for the Victory 4x4 rack tells you to use black RTV, which is an engine gasket sealant.

Do not use silicone sealant on your roof, no matter what rack fabricators tell you. They'll already have your money for a few years before these problems come up, so they don't particularly care.

 

Well - I think you just sold me on Sherpa.. what is their sealing system consist of?

 

I'd be interested in this as well. I really like the Sherpa system, but as I have a silver 4Runner, I do have a little concern about the bleeding of the oxide coating on the hardware. I read that Sherpa has said that they have addressed that, so I'm hoping that is the case. If anyone has any opinions concerning anything from Sherpa recently, I would be most interested to hear it.

 

Its mounted similar to how the factory rack is mounted using butyl rubber. Silicone tend to dry out through time making it brittle with a chance of causing water to leak through.

 

They use sleeved rubber blocks and bonded washers. Additionally, the mounts are fixed in one place while the rack attachments are adjustable (some other racks make the mounts adjustable, ruining their ability to seal consistently). This image is of the front spacer block and not the factory mount, but you get the idea.



See the install instructions with more detail about the mounting here:

https://sherpaequipmentco.com/s/Crestone_Instructions-v5.pdf

As far as oxide bleed, I can't speak to that. Plain stainless hardware will work I suppose. I like the black hardware look too- when I prepped my rack for powdercoat I had my flanged bolts coated at the same time.

 

Nice ! yeah Id prefer all black bolts as well..

 

Too many words - not enough pics... back on track. “Rock climbing” lol

 

Another option is a side exit exhaust. The 2020 Pro came with this from the factory. You can have your stock exhaust modified to exit out the side behind the rear tire rather than out the back. At first I really didn't like this look at all but it's grown on me over time.

 

Better departure angle if you're into off roading, too.

 

True however I would rather scrape a tail pipe and have a warning before I scrape the bumper!

 

new shoes. Laces out

 

That looks yummy! Very nice!

 

Looks good BlackRunner!!

 

Finally had the bumper covers painted......no more silver - had them done flat black to match the heritage grill.

 

Dobinsons
C-59 314 F
IMS 574 F
C59-725 R
IMS 701 R
UCA's
Tires Next

 

Interested in pics too. Also where’s the lfd going

 

The Sherpa is installed fit and finish is superb! Chose the silver crossbars instead of the black ones for less heat retention and it blends with the Toyota silver. No silicone needed for the mounts! 22 in-lbs is all you need to torque the mounts to. No need to crank it down like some trucks I've seen.

 

My buddy got dibs on the LFD haha

 

You're like, smart. Must be a rocket surgeon or sumthin

 

Finally got around to getting the new wheels and tires installed. I decided to go with the Toyo AT3s.

 

I added a few things to the 4R just prior to my trip to the New Mexico Discovery Route. Midland MXT275 GMRS radio, ARB Drawer system and wired my Baja Designs lights to my roof rack.

 

Road trip. The colors are in full swing. First 1000km achieved.

 

Beautiful, Im sold. What is the additional wiring running down the windshield? For a future lightbar?