My 2004 V8 Limited 4Runner

Parents are taking delivery of their 2023 Limited this week. Should have this 4Runner in my possession soon. I’ll take pics of it this weekend as we are taking it to Santa Barbara for the weekend.

 

Got the car this weekend. Took it up to Pismo beach from San Diego. Ran flawlessly. Will upload some pics tomorrow.

 

Seems like Carvana has been hemorrhaging money and it is on the verge of going out of business. They're probably not paying much anymore. Good thing you got the deal when you did.

 

Hmm.. Carvana Mismanagement or excessive staff overhead maybe.
Because they sold my truck about 5k more than I was paid.
I used the Carvana money to pay down my new T4R.

Toyota dealership offered me an insulting BS trade-in value.

 

The 4.7 is a wonderful engine. I have seen a CarFax of a vehicle with this engine going over 600,000 miles.

If you don't mind the poor gas economy I would buy it. Just keep an OBD II scan tool and a spare coil pack in the truck and you'll be fine.

Truly a great engine.

 

I've got over 330k miles on my 03 V8. The 2UZ V8 is Toyota's famous million mile motor. As long as you stay up on the maintenance, which the most important one is doing the timing belt every 90k-ish miles, the engine will last you a long, long time.

Timing belt with water pump and coolant change - every 90-100k miles. Use the Aisin TKT-021 kit as they are mostly OEM parts without the price:

$183 AISIN TKT-021 Engine Timing Belt Kit with Water Pump - Compatible with Select Lexus GS400, GS430, GX470, LS400, LS430, LX470, SC400, SC430 Toyota 4Runner, Land Cruiser, Sequoia, Tundra

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008EEYWKI

Use whatever oil you want, synthetic works just fine, even with the higher miles. I run 5w-30 Mobil1 Truck and SUV synthetic with the OEM Toyota 90915-YZZD3 oil filters and roughly 6k mile OCI.

For the transmission, I would recommend do a drain and refill, not a flush, using either the Toyota WS trans fluid or Valvoline MaxLife ATF. I run the Valvoline. The 04 4runner should have a dipstick on the trans still and the fluid is not lifetime in any of them. I've also dropped the trans pan and changed the internal trans filter. Check the trans mount while you are down there since they tend to wear out with higher mileage. I've replaced mine already.

Being that you have a Limited and you said the suspension is still stock, I imagine it has the XREAS system on it. Keep an eye on this system for leaks. You don't have to replace the system with XREAS again if the shocks are blown. XREAS is very expensive to replace and not worth the effort IMO. You can put regular shocks from a non-XREAS 4runner into it.

The stock exhaust manifolds with catalytic converter are known to leak after higher mileage. You will hear a ticking noise on cold startup and possibly all the time if it's really bad. Not cheap to replace, each manifold with cat is around $500 + labor to replace if you don't do it yourself. Be sure to have the motor mounts inspected at the time as well.

Your transfer case is full time AWD but you should still shift it into 4WD Lo at least once a month to make sure the shift solenoids aren't sticking in it. You don't need to drive it in 4LO, just shift it in and out of 4LO a couple times at least once a month. Otherwise, if the solenoids fail, you are potentially looking at having them replaced on the transfer case, which is not cheap. There are other options if you are wanting to modify the vehicle.

Check hoses under the hood, specifically for the power steering. They tend to harden with higher miles and will need to be replaced. Speaking of the power steering, it uses the same ATF as the transmission. Not actual power steering fluid. Many people make the mistake of filling them with power steering fluid instead of ATF and have issues.

Those are really the main things to be aware of with the V8 4Runners. You've got a great, reliable vehicle that will last you hundreds of thousands of miles with good maintenance.

 

Not so duh. There were 4th gen Limited 4Runners sold with 2wd:

https://www.autoblog.com/buy/2004-Toyota-4Runner-Limited_V8__4x2/equipment/

 

Great post, thanks for sharing. Lots of good info here.

I was thinking of just nixing the XREAS anyways as I kind of want to do a small lift (like 1-1.5") and heard you can't really lift with the XREAS.

I'll start making a list of what needs to be done maintenance wise. I mentioned above but my parents were always the kind who took it to their mechanic and just said do whatever needs to be done. I guess that could go either way, good or bad but the vehicle has never really given them problems.

 

Interesting, thought all 4runner Limited's (at least for this gen) were AWD. I get the I difference between AWD and 4WD but didn't know you could have a 2WD car thats AWD. Learn something new everyday. Either way, this one is AWD and 4WD capable.

 

The 2WD are rear drive only, not AWD.

 

Minus the sway bar, this is the XREAS system as I removed it from my 2003.


With all that out of the way, you can install any regular 4th gen 4Runner lift kit that you please. The only caveat is if yours has the rear air bag levelling system. If so, MetalTech4x4 makes a nice kit to eliminate the airbag system, allowing for a conventional kit to work in the back. https://metaltech4x4.com/metal-tech-gx470-rear-coil-conversion-kit-stage-1/

 

Nice, no airbag system here. Now that I think of it I don't think my parents ever mentioned replacing any suspension components. If that's the case then damn these would need to be replaced... but it still rides nice and smooth. Will double check.

 

Quick photo update... will get more detailed photos of exterior and interior later.

 

Mine rode pretty smooth too when I first got it. But the front XREAS shocks were completely collapsed and leaking fluid. They were barely functioning as normal shocks and the ride height showed this. And because the fronts have a common fluid exchange with the opposite side rear, this was affecting the overall ride and handling. Once I swapped to Tacoma front shocks and springs (they are a direct bolt in swap to the 4th gen 4Runner) and FJ Cruiser rear springs with normal 4Runner rear shocks, the ride height was restored along with driving MUCH better on the road. It was a huge difference.

Here is a visual of the drastic difference in ride height, mainly the front. First pic is with the collapsed XREAS still in place.


And this is the after with the Tacoma front Bilstein shocks and springs, FJ Cruiser rear coil springs and 4Runner replacement rear shocks.


I've since moved well past this setup but for a stock 4Runner that sees mainly street use and some light trail use, it is an excellent setup and keeps the overall costs down. Tacoma front shocks with coil springs and low mileage can be found pretty inexpensive on Craigslist/Offerup/FB Marketplace. FJ coils I bought new on RockAuto for $75 and the rear 4Runner shocks I got new at the local autoparts store.

 

Doesn't look like you have collapsing front shocks like mine did when I first got it. Nice rig!

 

Good looking rig. That stance is what i'm looking for. Level but with the slightest rake.

 

Updated the original post with more photos. These are pre-deep cleaning. You can see some of the scuff marks i mentioned like on the dash and on the center console. Some exterior cosmetics scuffs here and there as well.

 

Here are some photos of the undercarriage:

 

Started the deep cleaning process. Using quick detailer and some Chemical Guys degreaser on the interior plastics, topped all plastic/vinyl pieces off with some Aerospace 303, Chemical guys leather conditioner/cleaner on the leather, and finally some Chemical Guys carpet cleaner with a "Little Green" machine on all the carpets. It didn't look too dirty but man i've emptied like 4 containers of dark brown gross liquid. Just have the rear hatch carpet to do.

Looking forward to trying out this NoFuz pumice stone type pet hair removal tool but it started raining so that'll have to wait.

Overall she's cleaning up nicely though!

 

Unfortunate coincidence but the battery died today lol. Records showed it was last replaced in May of 2017. Put a new one in.

also, parents settled on $6k. Is that a decent price?

 

I would say so.

 

6k for a million mile engine with no rust and a great history? You did good,
I dont think anyone has mentioned it, but there are few Tundras with the 4.7 that have documented with a million miles.
https://www.motortrend.com/features/million-mile-tundra-the-tear-down/

 

Great to hear! She cleaned up nicely.
Interior is done, just need to buy a replacement rear passenger door card.

waiting on one more wire harness for the T10015 head unit install.

Will probably tint the front windows to match the rest.

may replace the rear lift gate struts as one squeaks pretty bad and I don’t know how to grease a strut, if possible at all.

bought a fumoto valve I’ll stick on during the next oil change. I have them on both our other cars and love them.

deciding on really doing anything else for the moment. Was thinking new wheels like the TRD pro semas but may just keep the exterior stock, just clean everything up real well.

 

Tundra/Sequoia wheels are a huge looks upgrade IMO. They also move the wheels a little further out in the wheel wells, better filling them, due to slightly more offset. And they can be found cheap for a full set. I have 2 sets and didn't pay over $250 for either set off Craigslist. They are also all over OfferUp, depending on where you are.

 

Nice and clean, no rust. A few years ago, I was looking for a v8 4th Gen with 3rd row. End up with a GX470 and I love/hate it.

 

Gave her a good wash today. Was planning on claybar’ing (sp?) but the paint actually felt really smooth already. So just a wash and hybrid ceramic spray, my usual process. One thing I did notice is a lot of very small rock chips on the front. I received my dr color chip kit so that will definitely used. Pic for clicks:

 

Anyone know if $203/each is a decent price for new OEM headlight assemblies? Thinking of refreshing the front with new headlights. Not interested in aftermarket.

 

Thanks for your 2cents. Got myself a V8 limited 4Runner too and about to hit 273k. It’s addicting to hit each mileage milestone Any advice what to look at for around 300k mark? I know this is broad

 

My 03 V8 is over 331k as of today. Nothing really changes from what I posted before. If you keep up on the maintenance and just follow the mileage intervals, then you should be good to go. You're at 273k, hopefully you know the service history for the big items like the timing belt. If that's the case, just change it/have it changed when the mileage says it's due.

 

Just keeping this thread updated with progress. As I said in the other thread a shop did a pre purchase inspection and found some issues so i've ordered the parts needed:

Parts are on order:

- OEM LCAs
- OEM CV Axle
- Aisin Timing belt kit
- OEM Radiator/Thermostat

$1,667 in parts alone. Ugh. Probably $2,000 in labor coming my way as well. Not exactly what you want to see on a vehicle you bought for $6,000. Hopefully she will be good to go for a while (minus the steering rack needing to be replaced eventually). Before anyone says it, unfortunately with both my wife and i working full time and having a 1 and a half year old, i just don't have the time to do any of this work myself.