Mild 5th Gen 4Runner Build

Adventure Jeep

Adventurer
I had planned on installing a set of Bilstein’s and setting the front at .85” lift but due to budget constraints I installed a 1”spacer on the front. The front is now only ¼ lower than the rear which is a little disappointing because with a load the front will sit a bit high. 4Runner aligned perfectly and I did need to adjust the headlights down a bit. Long term I will probably put a small lift on the 4Runner… In the mean time I will watch other builds to determine what I want.

Putting the spacer on is not hard but it is a bit more involved than many other “bolt on” jobs. If you’re not comfortable taking the front suspension apart and using a cut off wheel I’d have them installed. When you’re done you’ll need an alignment anyway so you could just have the shop install the spacers and do the alignment. Some of what you'll need to remove are the upper ball joint, sway bar, brake lines, wheel speed sensors etc.... And don't pull on the brake and abs lines very hard.... No need to make extra repairs.

Just before the strut was removed.
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The stock upper strut bolts need to be cut to length.
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Almost there…
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Brake pad time and again Toyota makes it so easy.
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The FJ steel wheels and BFG MT 255/75’s fit great, don’t rub and it appears we’ve lost less than 1 MPG (without roof rack). Thanks to my wonderful wife for painting the Toyota logo on the wheels. :)
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After looking at how close the skid plate was to the exhaust crossover I decided to make a spacer and drop the plate down a bit… I was tight on time so I used scrap aluminum. When we get home from our trip I will make spacers out of a solid block.

Watch out for those chips! They will cut you.
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Sorry about the bad spacer pic....
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Almost finished!
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Last edited:

surfobx2009

New member
Looks like the reason you're having an issue with the clearance on the exhaust crossover is because you removed the cat protector bars. The BudBuilt T-case skid is designed to retain those bars and they space the skid down.
 

Adventure Jeep

Adventurer
Looks like the reason you're having an issue with the clearance on the exhaust crossover is because you removed the cat protector bars. The BudBuilt T-case skid is designed to retain those bars and they space the skid down.

We didn't remove anything... If you have some pic's that would be great. But I will call them and discuss. Either way I am very happy.
 

Adventure Jeep

Adventurer
We got the 1st round of the 4Runner build done, loaded her up and are in the San Juan's.

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Many of the trails are still closed due to snow but it's performing great. I will post more pic's on my San Juan thread.
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