Sequoia slow mild build

sseaman

Adventurer
I have taken over driving the Sequoia from my wife as she loves the new to us IS250. It has brought back my interest in getting out on the trails and woods some. I have a 91 80 series and have thought about selling the Sequoia and getting another Land Cruiser, but the Sequoia is payed for, I have keep up the maintenance, and it is in great shape. I have found a few others that have built them up and parts are very interchangable with Tundras. I started by replacing the worn Firestone Destination LE's, they served us well for running around town and long road trips, but I wanted something slightly larger and more aggresive. I decided on Toyo Open Country ATs, in 265/70/17 so about 1" taller than stock. We just got back from a 2400 mile road trip and the tires were great.

The timing belt was replaced at 110k miles, and at 120k miles I swapped the plugs again, and all fluids.

My plans are to either fab a front bumper or adapt a Tundra ARB, sliders, and small lift. I am thinking Bilstein 5100's in the front and try stock 100 series springs in the rear.

Here are some pics before and after the new tires.
 

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sseaman

Adventurer
Setup 2 was addition by subtraction, the running boards were removed and I think it looks much better. I am leaning towards adding Trail Gear sliders.
 

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FLYFISHEXPERT

LivingOverland.com
Looks good! Removing the running boards was one of the first things I did to my 4Runner.

I have always thought the Sequoia would be a good platform, even if the aftermarket parts are hard to get.
 

Verde Rat

Weekend Warrior
Looking good,
I went with the Bilsteins adjusted to +3/4 and was very happy with the result. I was also kicking around the idea of going with the OME 862 springs in the rear but just ended up going with the FJ100 shocks and airbags. If I had been going for more of an expedition style set up I would have done the springs instead of the airbags. I like the adjustability of the airbags, but it's just one more thing I would worry about breaking out on the trail.
 
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sseaman

Adventurer
I have thought about airbags, especially just finishing a road trip with 4 adults, 2 children and all the crap we brought with us. My thoughts on changing the springs is that the originals are probably getting old and due for a change at some point.

So you kept the factory springs, and just changed the shocks? Did you notice any difference in how it drove?
 

ol' scott

Adventurer
I'm looking forward to how this thread plays out. I told me wife the other day that if I hadn't bought my Tundra a Sequoia was next on the list. Just taking those running boards off made a huge difference in the appearance.
 

sseaman

Adventurer
Hopefully I can get my wife to buy into this some, she is wanting to save every penny so we can move to a larger house next year.
 

sseaman

Adventurer
So I am making a little progress, I picked up a new set of Bilstein 5100's for the front off of Ebay so as soon as they arrive I will be throwing them on. I also found a good used set of 285/70/17 BFG ATs I am thinking of picking up to see if I like the larger tires size as well.
 

sseaman

Adventurer
The 5100's arrived yesterday but it looks like they will have to wait until I get back from the Boundary Waters to install them. I did get the Grom Ipod adapter installed to make it much easier to listen to tunes on the trip.

The larger tires were sold before I could get to the guys house to pick them up, so I still have my eye out for some more.
 

sseaman

Adventurer
After 40+ hrs of driving the last week, the Grom adapter more than paid for itself. With the JBL head unit it connects to an unused connector and can be controlled with the factory controls as a disc changer and for less than $100 shipped.
 

sseaman

Adventurer
The lift went on this weekend. I set the 5100's at the next to top ring which gave 2 1/4" of lift, and installed factory 100 series LC springs in the rear. The rear after a short drive is sitting 2" higher as well, I hope that is settles a little lower. I am also interested to see if it handles hauling gear better.

Measurements with 265/70/17 Toyo OC ATs

Front- 36 1/4" both sides
Rear- DS 38 1/4", PS 38"

Here are some pics, the first if before, then after the 5100's in the front, and then after both front and back were completed.
I also put the running boards back on for now so the kids can get in and out, until I get sliders fabbed.
 

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sseaman

Adventurer
After driving to and from work today, the ride is much improved. The rear felt much firmer going over bumps, and I carried 300lbs of gear between our offices and there seemed to be little to no squat.
 

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