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

That's what I'm thinking. I've been leaving towards the bronze since they came out.

 

Last couple tanks, I've been using 89 octane fuel as I heard it will mostly eliminate the sulfur smell when accelerating on the highway. I wasn't expecting to have increased MPGs.

The only time I've seen a 400+ range was during a 1300 mile highway trip.

 

interesting. hope that keeps up. i would make the switch if that is the case.

 

We'll see. I wonder if the 4Runner likes the 89 octane, or if the 87 has been crap when Corona started and gas prices dipped a lot for only 87 octane.

 

Use ethanol free gas. I picked up 2mpg that way.

 

The only stations somewhat around me with ethanol free gas only have 94 and higher octane.

 

[/QUOTE]
Punch it!

 

Depends where you buy has also. I always go to Costco as they are top tier gas and they are always cheeper. I've consistently got 19 and last time I was not close so I filled at BP. This tank im at 17.3. thats happened every time over the years I've not filled at Costco

 

I usually stick to Shell or Cumberland Farms (which uses/used Gulf gasoline)

 

For those who did same thing as me, is there any market for the upper grille insert with the TOyota logo- just wondering if it’s worth the hassle to post it for sale

 

Ha I was wondering the same. Mine is sitting and what not

 

I have 87 and 89 here in NC This is the first state I've lived in that had ethanol free gas at all so I was very happy.

 

We're starting to research WeBoosts. Would you mind sharing your thoughts on it and which model you went with?

Thanks!

 

Any issues with the wheel spacers? Looking to get some soon

 

I can give you my impressions - I ran the Drive X with the OTR antenna on my Taco; and plan to put one in my 4Runner.

It does a great job of taking a fringe signal, and turning it into a very useable signal. So where it shined most for me was going down the highway in rural areas, it would fill in the gaps between towers. Before the Weboost, my daughter would be watching netflix or something, and it would keep pausing/dropping... with the Weboost, it kept going. In some instances, I'd stop for gas, and as soon as I turned the truck off (and hence Weboost off), her video would stop. Shortly after turning the truck back on, she was up and going again.

For my long daily commute at the time, there was a couple of consistent dead spots before; and after, there was no more drops.

There was a couple times out camping that myself or someone needed to make a call and couldn't quite get out (kept dropping, or choppy quality); so I'd start my truck and have them sit in the passenger seat, and that would usually do the trick, lol.

You'll still hit dead spots though; especially out in the middle of nowhere and through mountains. If there's no signal before, there will still be no signal after.

 

Punch it![/QUOTE]

I DID!!!....in reverse...

 

Took the LFD offroad rack off...she looks naked without the rack lol



Sherpa rack replacing it

 

Im considering the sherpa full length. Do you have to do any additional drilling or modifications for install? Could you send a picture when its on?

 

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.