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

So my lift went wrong (kidding) I only had time to do one end so picked rear, didn't want the Cali lean.
What I did learn today with just rear Eibach and the boss shocks. 90+% of body roll around corners is gone
Do Eibachs settle? I was hoping for 1" and got 1.75
Fronts go in tomorrow

 

What brand are those? That is horrible quality control. Were they packed poorly?
That sucks.

 

I think the rear will go down a hair after the front is lifted.

 

I’m looking to wrap the top of my rig before I put on my new rack. I checked on one place and they have an xpel kit for the roof. About $1000. Is this normal?

 

Our local installer wanted $800 for full front clip (full bumper, grill bar, hood & a pillars)
I think $1k for roof is affordable.
If you put a rack on; why do you want protection up there?
The roof & tailgate are the only places we didn't wrap & our first plan is a Victory4x4 3/4 rack. @victoryrunner has some insanely impressive items.

 

ABSOLUTELY wrap the top before getting a rack! Wisdom only comes from experience! haha! I had a Tule bag on top of our Prinsu and it shifted during one of our trips and did an excellent job of grinding dust into the paint on the top of the car. Also, our RTT bolts did a number on the top when we were removing it once, I don't think that the wrap would have stopped that damage but it would have helped a little at least. I am considering removing our Prinsu and getting it wrapped or Rhino lining the top this winter/fall. If you have the means etc, I really suggest wrapping it. That's my 2 cents.

 

mine is in for the airbag recall right now.

 

Morimoto from the retrofit source, they weren't packed poorly it looks like it was damaged prior to shipping as both the outer and inner cartons were fine. They are suppose to have minor imperfections because they are closeout/open box and they do each have a small scuff but i'll be putting yellow Lamin-X covers on them so you will never notice it. The customer service guy kept telling me that minor imperfections included broken brackets and hardware...WTF. After almost 30 minutes on hold I finally got to someone who would actually listen. End result I will have a new bracket for it by Saturday and they should be installed by Saturday night. I really don't know if I will deal with the retrofit source after this, I think I'm sticking with XenonDepot, although I know some have had the opposite experience.

 

So I had a 2004 4R with a yakama rack with kayak saddles. I also had the OEM crossbars (came with the vehicle not an extra). So washing the top of the rig was difficult. In the end I guess it didn’t matter when I traded it in, but the dirt and green stuff would bug me every time I washed it.
BTW. I’m putting on a SSO full length rack. It’s coming Monday! After about 12-weeks wait.

Also looking at tinting all the windows (except the windshield) and to get some thermal protection and darken the rear windows. About $450? 160$ for just the front windows.

 

They bought XD.. same company now

 

well...shit

hopefully the replacement bracket shows up on time and I can turn this experience around

 

That's more than a minor imperfection.

 

I received a new headlight assembly for my 4runner yesterday, and it was damaged as well two different places, so now I’m waiting for my UPS call tag to be delivered to me.... funny part is the box was in perfect shape no damage so it had to have happened when they dropped it in the box?

 

for as pissed off as I was I will give them credit on shipping out 1-2 day at their expense a new bracket to me. It has gone a long way towards turning this into a good experience. If all goes well i'll still have them installed by Saturday evening

 

Yep you were right, took before and after measurement of having the fronts done. Rear dropped an 1/8"
My runner has something going on...Toytec is supposed to give 2.5" out of the box, I got 4". Now with the front perfectly level one strut has about an inch of thread showing on the adjuster, the other has 2"
I went out of my comfort zone for these damn Eibachs being to high, went 2.5 front and have 1" rake left.. all in all I think it turned out good, higher than I wanted but now the gf is bitching she can't get in, there goes another 1400 for amp stepsand I know me, 285s will be on the plate.

 

Looks awesome! An you already have steps, not sure the amp steps go lower than what you already have???

 

Lol, she's not coordinated enough to use the step. I had factory steps similar to amps on my last truck, they pop down about 6 to 8" and swing out further

 

Ahhh, makes sense. Was trying to save you a few bucks.

 

Are you intending on putting any protection on the ceiling this time?
I just thought I would take the rack of every couple of years & have it buffed & waxed.

Is the consensus that with a roof rack that you should vynil wrap or somehow protect the top?
I come from a full size pickup. No need for more storage space!
Thanks to all.

 

Installed the Rago Fabrication modular panels. Great quality.

 

Home depot sells this https://www.homedepot.com/p/Kidde-1...VCdtkCh3sVQ-vEAQYASABEgLQBvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Just kidding. I feel your pain. I replaced brakes on our scion TC that we used to have. The braking was not good at all. Performance brakes solved the problem. Wife complained they squeaked and she was embarrased.

I had to at that point replace the brakes with the inferior dealer brake pads. Yup i was highly irritated but what can you do.

 

Did you use the springs in the link below or something else?

 

I found out why the rear on your 4runner was high.

• Toytec Rear Superflex Coils: - Our BOSS kits comes standard with Toytec RCC2.0 rear springs- These springs offer 2" of lift with stock rear weight with the best overall ride quality and rear articulation.

Looks like you got close to the 2 inches of lift you were supposed to get.

 

I went with the Eibach rears due to advertised lift of 1" same as in the link. I confirmed with Eibach and they are hopeful it will settle. Said he's never really seen this
In a month or so eibach is releasing an adjustable rear coil. I might go that route as it will give me the lift I want and if I tow long distance I could adjust them up, kinda like a manual air bag
Thanks for looking into this, appreciate it!

 

My experience is that I never took my rack off. The older Yakima's were a pain to remove and reinstall (had to remeasure things etc.). However with the newer system you could. But again, will you spend the time to remove the cross bars and things just to wash and wax an area of the car you never see? Again, I had my 2004 for 15 years and never waxed it. It looked OK and I don't think the trade in value would have been much more. But the question does remain, if wrapping the top is worth it. I haven't decided. $1,000 is a lot of money for something you can't see.

 

Maybe plastidip it for some protection or see what a vinyl ceiling wrap close to color of truck would cost...?

@victoryrunner
Cam, how difficult is it to take your rack off once installed?
Can you just remove the corners and lift it off?
Thanks in advance.

 

There's not really any need to protect the top of the truck, but if you really want to, 3M (and other companies I'm sure) make a clear protection film.
Washing the roof with the rack on is not too bad, just spray off the dust/dirt underneath. You could remove the front and rear fairings to make it easier. If you want to take the rack completely off, you would just remove the mounting bolts and lift it off. You will, however, have to remove any leftover silicone and reapply it when you reinstall the rack.

If you just want the rack out of the way to wash the roof, you could unbolt the mounting brackets from the rack, leaving the brackets mounted to the roof and then lift it off. You will need to be extra careful when reinstalling it though, as you won't have the brackets to rest it on until the bolts are back in.

 

Appreciate the input!
Lots of options from a manufacturer. Perfect.