3rd Gen Maintenance, Mods, and Accessory Recommendations

Hey y’all,

Glad to be able to join the forum! I know this is a long post but I have a lot of questions as a first-time owner. As crazy as it sounds, lucky me was just gifted a pre-lifted 2002 4Runner Limited 4WD with 269k miles. I’ve included a few pics for reference (I know they aren’t the best but I haven’t had time to do an official photoshoot lol). I definitely have a lot of questions and I’ll organize them below, but my main one is whether this has too high of mileage to dump a bunch of money into or not? As far as I can tell the frame seems to be in really solid shape, I am able to see inside the frame in a few different spots and everywhere I look seems to have the original paint coating mostly intact (looking to deep clean and fluid-film it soon as well). Engine still runs smooth as butter and has had most high-mileage maintenance done already at 255k miles (timing/serpentine/drive belts, thermostat).

Current modifications (done by previous owner):

• Custom 17” wheels with 255/70R17 BFGoodrich All Terrain T/A K02’s.
• Custom lift (details to the best of my knowledge):
  • Bilstein 5100’s in the front and yellow shocks in the rear (not sure what they are).
  • Tundra rear/front springs (can’t remember which) in the front and Land Cruiser front springs in the rear.
  • Total = 4.5” level lift compared to measuring my buddy’s stock 3rd Gen.
• Aftermarket Kenwood stereo with JL Audio 12” sub.

Questions moving forward:

• Immediate high-mileage maintenance items I should take care of (radiator replace to prevent strawberry slushy)?
• Should I be wary of the aggressive lift and possibly look at toning it down a little? If so, what springs should I get?
• Do you guys recommend against wheel spacers? I dislike how much the wheels tuck into the fenders and I’m looking at anywhere from 0.5-1”
• Considering how I think the silver trim is ugly, does anybody know of good aftermarket fender/rocker panel trim, preferably black?
• Although I don’t plan on doing much crazy off-roading, any recommendations for a decent not too expensive steel front bumper (thinking about how nice it would be for flexibility in adding lights and such).
• On that note, if I decide to keep the stock bumper, any recommendations for ways to mount up some extra fog/driving pods to the stock bumper? Light recommendations?
• For you guys who have installed the Andy Mod 2.0, does this cause any problems with the traction control on high mileage models? The previous owner has mentioned that a check engine light related to the TRAC/VSC will come on occasionally, his guess is that the system is just getting old.
• Any other miscellaneous thoughts or mod recommendations?

Hoping to make this thing look as sick as possible without utterly breaking the bank and with the mindset of mostly on-road driving (in the mountains of Colorado though). Looking forward to y’alls suggestions…

 

Too much lift, lower it significantly to 2" or best, 1.5" to maintain some great droop if you actually go off-road.

Ditch the tires, if you actually go off-road.

Aside from that, just maintenance as needed and some preventatives such as lower ball joints (OEM).

If you've ever owned a used car, then just your normal check-list as there'd be too much to list and so little you've shared about what's been done really.

 

I figured most people would have that opinion on the lift, it’s definitely overly aggressive…
Why do you say that about the tires? Is it the tire model itself or just the sizing, wheels, etc.? Part of my concern with lowering it would be if the tire wheel combo that’s on there now will bump/rub.