Leaderboard

Yup, recovery straps and shackles are a good start but I’d also look into getting a HiLift jack so that you can recover when solo. Some people say they’re useless for our trucks because we have no frame or sturdy stock bumpers to lift from, but the real reason I got one is for the manual winching capability. I do most of my wheeling solo on the way to campsites or hiking spots so it’s something I know I’ll appreciate having at some point. Between that and a nice set of traction boards, you would have to try REAL hard to get stuck. A little bit of brainpower can usually keep you out of these extra special situations.

With the typical western Washington weather, you expect any container that is not sealed and exposed to the sun to eventually fill up with water, so it is with head lights that have been hit by pebbles where that tiny hole inhales and exhales during a solar cycle and condensate turns your headlight into a half full fish bowl. With water in both headlights, I decided to order the bottom feeder head light assemblies off eBay, they looked useful, so I installed them and then noticed the adjusters were frozen! I removed them and noticed the quality of plastic was nowhere near the OEM effort, and the threaded screws were seized in the threaded holes, and one adjuster screw was short when it should have been long for that corner. The retaining clips on the head light itself were junk, but the main assembly looked useful, so I used a small screwdriver to push the detent over and remove the OEM adjusters and transfer them over. I did the same with the OEM clips, and I think I might be OK. I'm so happy that I discount my own labor because I would have otherwise paid double? The box said Eagle Eyes brand and made in Taiwan, but I'm not sure you can believe anything anymore, as these may be counterifts of an honest effort from Taiwan?

I’ve had good luck with my smittybilt Kenentic strap. I used it last winter to pull a Suburban out of a snowy ditch, and less impressively to flip a RAZR back onto its wheels. Slightly lower weight rating than the ARB, but not too bad Link: https://www.amazon.com/Smittybilt-CC120-Snatch-Strap-Rating/dp/B003EP2XIU/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=smittybilt+kinetic+rope&qid=1603379060&sr=8-5

They come up very infrequently. I’ve been trolling for a couple years since I let that one go & most have just been too far away. I also just missed the demo one at ExpoWest in 2018. Yeah, the RIGd is definitely better but the price is obscene. Bumpers for 4Runners/GXs go for $2,500 - $4,500 so they figure that’s what they’re competing against. One bonus is that you can move it to another vehicle in the future & you can unload it at 80%+ with ease. Personally, I’d get the HiLift & Rotopax mount - though those prices piss me off too. You can get much cheaper plate relocators & lighting.

You definitely need a full size spare. The roof’s a bitch. While they’re nice on back, you’re probably fine with it in it’s OEM location - I’ve done that for 18yrs. I tried the roof a bit but it was just too much of a PITA. I have a swingate but haven’t bothered to mount it yet - I really want it most for the Trasheroo. Honestly, while I find the price offensive, the Wilco Hitchgate (or more atrociously priced RIGd) work very well if they fit. The best part is that you can take it off when you’re not wheeling making hatch access easier for regular use & it’s way lighter than a bumper. If buying new, I’d get the high clearance but if used, the normal clearance would be fine. I had one with the HiLift & Rotopax mount plus a new HiLift Jack for $500 but was stupid enough to let it go since it didn’t fit in my Pathy OEM receiver (boxed end too short). I will buy that or a RIGd used for my 2018 4Runner. (BTW, there’s also the DeTours (https://detoursofmaine.com/ https://trail4runner.com/2019/05/04/detours-knucklebone-tire-carrier-review/ ) & non-mobile Curtis 31006 $70 You will have to relocate & light the plate with any of these options. Here’s way too much info: RIGd https://www.rigdsupply.com/products/ultraswing-hitch-carrier https://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/267339-rigd-supply-ultraswing-tire-carrier.html https://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/273089-rigid-ultraswing-5th-gen-4runner-anyone-using.html Wilco https://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/263097-wilco-tire-hitch-mount.html https://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/259162-wilco-hitchgate.html https://trail4runner.com/2020/07/14/wilco-hitchgate-solo-hi-clearance-5th-gen-4runner/

Sigh... Very true. I was looking for a more quick fix kind of solution that was still clean which was why I was considering the Hitchgate. I can turn a wrench but I don’t have the fab skills or space to tackle a project like that (you’re looking at my lovely street parking in the pics) so I would need to find a fabricator to outsource the project. I’m hoping to have the spare out of my trunk ASAP. OEM mount is definitely an option I considered but drilling into the car makes me nervous ? And that’s if there are good ones left in the Portland area yards... Also - Just wanted to thank you Tyler for all the help getting me this far!

Wheels painted, and tires mounted. I’m pretty happy with the results! Went with General Grabber ATX’s in 31x10.5. They are quieter than I expected for as aggressive as they are but they do rub quite a bit more than I was expecting in reverse so I need to figure that out... Next is figuring out what to do with the spare. Wilco seems to think a Hitchgate high clearance will work with the Curt Hitch, I just need to decide if I want to spend $700 on that, or mount it in a roof basket...

Get yourself some inexpensive recovery boards like the X-Bulks (~$50), a decent recovery strap & a shackle receiver for your hitch. Those basics are a good place to start.

I think Sam unbolted it from the firewall and out a pad between it and the firewall or wrapped it in a rag to help isolate to see if it was the source of the noise.

Trailsearcher, is your truck a manual trans? If so, it might be the clutch damper that is mounted between the clutch master cyl and the slave on the firewall. A few years ago when I was working at a Nissan dealership, one of my coworkers was going insane trying to track down a similar rattle in an Xterra. It took weeks for him to find it and he was going through everything until he somehow found it to be the damper.

Thank you so much for the reply Kiwi. It was really reassuring. I will have a look at the radiator setup and make those alterations you suggested. I have also got it booked in to get fluids changed. It also has upgraded suspension already so I'm good in that area. Your R51 is one good looking vehicle I'll pay the picture tax once I've set up my imgur account

I have a buzz in my '99 that happens between 1,200ish to 1,800ish. I haven't looked and just ignore it when I can't WOT and then just idle... (Yes, I an certain it is from the exhaust) B

Quite possible you have cats that are rattling. If one or both of the upstream cats are starting to rattle, they are not going to last much longer and will start throwing P0420 and P0430 codes.

Roll under the truck with the exhaust cold and inspect the clamps, whack various parts of it with your fist, see if anything rattles. That's how I found a loose exhaust clamp on mine that was only rattling under load. I assume the engine was rocking on its mounts just enough to unload that clamp. It's also how I found a bad cat on my friend's Blazer. The matrix inside had broken free of the walls and beat itself undersized, and it was rattling around. That was a much more expensive fix than mine. Big tires don't help acceleration. If you've got a manual trans, you have a 4.3 final drive, which you could upgrade to 4.6 with parts from an automatic to offset the tire size increase. The 33 also has less aggressive cams than the 30. You can download the service manual here.

If it's a no longer functioning knock sensor many times you won't get a code. Premium gas should substantially reduce the pinging but may not eliminate it. If it helps, I would test the knock sensor or just replace if it is cheap. If premium doesn't do anything then I'd probably look elsewhere. Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

I would check to see if you are getting the knock sensor code or if the previous owner installed a resistor in lieu of a knock sensor (you would not get any codes but then the ignition would not be retarded either) to get it to pass the smog test.