Early mid-life crisis averted!

"BJ" (benjamin-bignell) 01/22/2015 at 21:45 • Filed to: Toyota 4Runner, mini mid-life crisis, In a Jeremy Clarkson voice: V8 POWER!

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I have dodged a bullet. Instead of putting my marriage in peril with the luxurious catastrophe that is a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , I went in a different direction and purchased a nice, reliable and safe appliance with a V8.

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So here it is, my 2005 Toyota 4Runner SR5, 4.7L V8, and 191000 kms in very good condition. No sunroof, cloth seats, basic stereo. An excellent platform for building an !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and perfect overkill for towing a tent trailer or for taking the kids camping.

Now the sickness sets in... I'm going to need all-terrain tires, so those are #1 on the list (I'll need your help with this - expect a follow-up post). And I suspect sliders are a good idea to protect my investment, followed by beefier armour underneath. And what about a lift? Do I get the heavier springs in front just in case I want to get a new bumper and winch, or do I get something more reasonable? Do I lift first or wait and see? Do I need a proper roof rack and/or basket? The answer is "no" but I don't care - I want a roof rack and/or basket.

This picture from !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! gives you an idea of what I'm thinking about. That bumper and grille bar do a good job of replacing the rather unfortunate chin on these otherwise handsome trucks.

One last dark picture of the dirty truck. I'll get her washed up and try to take some more pictures in the daylight over the weekend.

Spaceball-Two > BJ 01/22/2015 at 21:46

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YES! You'll love it. They are such good rigs!

CB > BJ 01/22/2015 at 21:48

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Most important question: does it have party mode?

But seriously, sweet ride. Those mods would look pretty swell, too. Did you get the insurance thing sorted out?

E92M3 > BJ 01/22/2015 at 21:50

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That bumper certainly helps the front end appearance. Just make sure you get your tires and suspension first. Never looks right when people get brush guards or bumpers before tires.

commander warsstar is smitten with subaru legacy outbacks (and redheads) > BJ 01/22/2015 at 21:52

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I really need to check this place more often. I had no idea you got married.

And the 4Runner is awesome. We have a 1999 with leather, sunroof, V6 and 4WD. It's a good car. I don't like it on snow and ice, it feels way too loose compared to the Subies, but on everything else it's great. The only problems we had was that the electronic climate control started acting up, but I found a repaired one on eBay for like $100, and the rear liftgate latch didn't work, but I found one at a junkyard for $15. Everything else has just been routine maintenance.

Birddog > BJ 01/22/2015 at 21:53

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Keep the BF Goodrich All Terrains in mind for tires.

HammerheadFistpunch > BJ 01/22/2015 at 21:53

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Excellent choice good sir, be sure to call on me If you have any questions getting going. True story , your truck and mine share at least one part (differential yoke)

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > CB 01/22/2015 at 21:55

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That one button is probably the most popular part Toyota sells. Everybody wants Party Mode in their car.

Gabriel > BJ 01/22/2015 at 22:01

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Congratulations on the new truck!

These truck are pretty good offroad in stock form. So depending on your budget (in my personal order):

Tires

sliders

underarmor

Go offroad, see what's you can improve

I also want a new roof rack/basket, but they are expensive for the usage I will do with it. Having a heavier duty suspension without adding enough weight to the front or back will stiffen the ride.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > BJ 01/22/2015 at 22:06

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Nice choice fellow white SR5 owner! General Grabber AT2's and Goodyear Duratrac's are great choices for all terrain tires, even though you were going to follow up with that. Both of them are severe snow rated.

BJ > CB 01/22/2015 at 22:08

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I did get it sorted out, and managed to get a good discount on some home and revenue property insurance at the same time.

BJ > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms 01/22/2015 at 22:09

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My car doesn't have that button... :(

BJ > commander warsstar is smitten with subaru legacy outbacks (and redheads) 01/22/2015 at 22:12

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I've been married for longer than I've been an Opponaut!

This truck is in great shape, the previous owner is a neat freak and was very particular about things. The hood and rear hatch were repainted because they were showing some rust, in the winter he puts in different carpets AND rubber floor mats. All the maintenance is up-to-date and the pre-purchase inspection found nothing of interest besides a dry accessory belt under the hood. I get the feeling they were really trying hard to find something to put on the report...

So far, the only comment I have is that the steering is really light at highway speed. I'm accustomed to the adaptive steering on the Passat, so this will take some getting used to.

Gabriel > E92M3 01/22/2015 at 22:12

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Agreed, I went from ~28" to 31":

Gabriel > Birddog 01/22/2015 at 22:13

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Yes. I've owned a set and they were great. I guess that the new version are even better.

Gabriel > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms 01/22/2015 at 22:14

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Mine is always on! Business in the front, party in the back!!!!

BJ > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 01/22/2015 at 22:16

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Thanks for the suggestions. I don't really need snow-rated tires because it came with a separate set of snow+ice tires on the steel wheels in the picture. The summer tires on the aluminum wheels are Michelin LTX M/S2 - really great tires if you're only on the highway.

This will probably be the hardest upgrade to pick.

BJ > E92M3 01/22/2015 at 22:16

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Tires are item #1 on the list!

Birddog > Gabriel 01/22/2015 at 22:17

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Moderately priced, long wearing and they take abuse. What's not to like.

BJ > Gabriel 01/22/2015 at 22:17

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Thanks for the tips. If I lift I'll probably get the OME "medium" springs up front, and then swap out to heavy springs if I get a bumper later. We'll see how much time I spend off-road first!

Gabriel > BJ 01/22/2015 at 22:18

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I have Shrockworks sliders on my 5th Gen, they are good but started to rust a little. Mine are certainly not a step and the lady have to climb on the truck. If I ever lift mine, I will change them for one that can act as a step.

I found the Shrockworks bumper to look a bit bulky, but that a personnal preferences

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > BJ 01/22/2015 at 22:18

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Either way, they are both great all terrains. The Nitto Terra Grappler is pretty good as well.

Gabriel > Birddog 01/22/2015 at 22:18

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On ice... I hate them on ice, they are mostly hockey pucks.

commander warsstar is smitten with subaru legacy outbacks (and redheads) > BJ 01/22/2015 at 22:19

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Maybe I have you mixed up with someone else.....

Nice! Yeah, steering is a bit light on our's as well, anything over 75 feels iffy.

Gabriel > BJ 01/22/2015 at 22:24

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I'm offroading my trucks in stock form,rarely got stuck and never turned around. Now go make some friend at http://www.toyotaoffroadqc.com , they are a great bunch, family oriented and you'll even be able to find some help installing any mods.

BJ > Gabriel 01/22/2015 at 22:24

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I got a nice surprise this evening: I was looking on the SAAQ site and discovered that large displacement motors, starting at 4L, pay an extra registration fee to "help combat greenhouse gas emissions". So that's an extra $109 per year. The cost of this project is getting out of hand!

BJ > Gabriel 01/22/2015 at 22:26

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Powdercoated, or painted? I was thinking about getting bare steel and painting them bright red.

BJ > Gabriel 01/22/2015 at 22:27

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I've already got a profile there, I'll do an intro post with proper pictures bientôt.

Gabriel > BJ 01/22/2015 at 22:28

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Wait until you go offroad, you won't stop spending! My old Land Cruiser was just under 4L so I did not got that fee.

Oh, did you fill it yet? At around 1$/L, it not bad, wait until it goes up again, you'll see that 109$ will be small!!!

Birddog > Gabriel 01/22/2015 at 22:28

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Ice tends to make most tires look like a twerking jerk.

Gabriel > BJ 01/22/2015 at 22:31

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Mine were powdercoated from Shrockworks (PO bought them). Offroading and salty road are not a good fit with sliders. Painting them will allow you to respray them easily. you'll be able to respray them when you'll see these red sliders on a white truck ;)

Gabriel > BJ 01/22/2015 at 22:31

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Yep, we got more and more 4Runner on the forum.

BJ > Gabriel 01/22/2015 at 22:37

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I topped off the tank on my way home tonight - 95.4c/L! It was so cheap, especially since I'm used to paying for premium in the Passat.

BJ > HammerheadFistpunch 01/22/2015 at 22:41

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You know what else our trucks share? Reliability!

http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/what-is-qualit…

According to their data, my truck has a reliability rating of 95.5 / 100. Yours has a rating of 100/100! I spotted this data while riding the bus on the way to pick up the truck. I feel like I made a good choice.

Makoyouidiot > BJ 01/22/2015 at 22:46

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For shame, sir. :p

BJ > Makoyouidiot 01/22/2015 at 22:48

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The LR3 was really amazing but it would have been a nightmare to get serviced and repaired. The presale inspection alone would have cost triple what it cost for the Toyota.

Maybe in 5-10 years I can pick up a nice used LR4 for when I'm actually old enough to have a mid-life crisis!

HammerheadFistpunch > BJ 01/22/2015 at 22:48

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did you catch my note in there for you? about how the discovery was #4 on the list of top 10 worst used car buys

HammerheadFistpunch > BJ 01/22/2015 at 22:50

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im not sure how you get 100/100, but im pretty stoked about it.

BJ > HammerheadFistpunch 01/22/2015 at 22:51

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It's ok, I'm over the Disco now. The fever is gone...

...

sort of.

Makoyouidiot > BJ 01/22/2015 at 23:01

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Is it bad that even my wife wants me to get another LR? Even though the last one did its best to bankrupt me?

BJ > Makoyouidiot 01/22/2015 at 23:14

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What the wife wants, the wife will get! :)