New to the forum and to the 4runner world.

Good morning everyone!

as title states i'm new to the 4runner world and just starting to get my feet wet in learning offroading, overlanding, etc.

I currently have an 03 4runner v8 ltd. She's not in immaculate shape, but not overly shy getting my hands dirty a bit.

Here's what i've gathered so far

Previous owner raised the front w/ Rancho kit. Rear seems to be stock height.
XREAS seems to have been disabled (possibly removed or cut or have some sort of emulator if that's a thing)
LCA balljoints will need to be replaced eventually
Exhaust is still intact, but the resonator was either removed or rusted off (fixed and put in a new exhaust and resonator)
Transfer case leaking oil
Valve cover oil leak

Future plan:

Add clam shell rooftop tent
either bull bar, grill guard or arb bumper + winch
better lighting
lift kit either 2.5 or 3"
Brake upgrade
Change all suspension bushings

Now my question are and where i'm looking for advice or direction on on the site:

Lift Kits - OME, Rough country, or bilstein. I've seen some kits that has the LCA's on them as well, just not sure which one it was or if that's a normal thing.

replacing LCA's - would it be ideal to replace just the balljoints and bushings or just the LCA's completely?

Wheels - suggestions on what kind of wheels. leaning on k02's but not completely yet.

Headers - i've heard that one of the main things that can or will go on 4th gen runners are the headers ... currently seem to be ok. Should i be proactive and replace it to save the headache of it breaking down on me while driving or just wait it out?

Sorry for all the questions and i appreciate all the guidance you all can offer!

 

Welcome from northern NY

 

Welcome from MD

To answer:

1. Lift kits are a dime a dozen, comes down to what your budget is and what capability you want, then we can narrow down good choices. If its already just between OME, RC, or Bilstein, in my very biased opinion OME, Bilstein, RC in that order though I'm positive someone will come countering with some heat on that eventually.
2. Replacing LCAs definitely replace the bushings if only due to age. Poly, rubber, urethane, take your pick on material. As for ball joints, if you happen to find a distributor of OEM Toyota ones TELL EVERY PERSON ON THIS FORUM cause right now they don't exist as a stand alone item. You have to replace the whole arm at about $650 per individual. Otherwise its the 3rd party game and they're almost all at about $18-2200 per pair.
3. Wheels (metal part) aren't the same as tires (rubber part). If you like KO2s as tires by all means its what looks good to you. Wheels are in the same vein.. Long as you find the size and capability you want
4. Headers will fail, whether tomorrow or another 5yrs, eventually they will. Personally on my V8 4th gen I went proactive and got Doug Thorley LT headers.

Cheers and let us know where you're headed!

 

Welcome from Wisconsin!

 

Welcome from Southwest Ohio

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

1. I've been more drawn to OME for some reason. could be cuz it's yellow, not sure. But reviews i've been seeing and from people that i know that has them leads me to believe they're pretty solid and reliable. My plan is basically be able to go overlanding with the family. w/ that said i'll need to have a rooftop tent and a pretty solid bumper, skid plate and rock sliders. But priority is the suspension and brakes
2. Other than branding, what's the downside of going aftermarket for LCA's w/ balljoints attached to them. I could be wrong, but MOOG brand, from what I've read is a pretty decent quality LCA's. Is OEM LCA's or balljoints much superior than aftermarket?
3. i haven't really delved into wheels and tires completely yet. Still debating if i'm going to go bigger wheels or not.
4. That's what i'm thinking too. Doug Thorley seems to be the go to brand for headers. may as well just go proactive and get it over with

would you know a place to read up on do's and don'ts for suspension? Like if i'm going for 3" Liftkit HD, would i need to replace my upper control arms and LCA's to something else that could accommodate? from what i've been told and read, 3" lift is borderline and OEM control arms can still do the job, but anything higher than that need something else.

PS: Thank you for the feedback!

 

Thanks for the welcome! i feel like i'll be getting alot of knowledge from all of you

 

1. Maybe the most compelling argument for OME is that they're designed and tested for rural AF Australian outback, like V far out there lol, miles and miles away from any shop mechanic. And while they arent rebuildable like your Fox/King/Elka/etc shocks, they dont command that uber high entrance fee. You can be damn sure they'll perform for the 40-50k miles they're built for (pending how hard you wheel), and then they're cheap enough to replace again, if you so desire. Bear in mind this is to the tune of fire roads, 'overlanding', and relatively light crawling. You usually aren't seeing Trophy trucks with OME. Take that as you will.
2. No real downside to aftermarket LCAs with balljoints. Moog is a popular non-OEM non-Camburg/Total Chaos/Dirt King LCA, but beware their price reflects their quality, not every review is a success story. Most people will swear by OEM if they're going to replace without a serious upgrade, as Toyota did indeed build a damn good LCA + balljoint. If you are inclined to upgrade, Camburg/TC both use uniballs to replace the lower ball joint, DK uses "better than OEM" balljoints, take that for what you will. Pick your poison on what you think is best for capability vs price.
3. Wheels and tires are a great way to spend an inordinate amount of time debating on what looks most badass to you and what not. Objectively, go with whatever wheel size you want as long as the internal diameter isn't too small so you hit your brake calipers, and go with whatever tire size you want bearing in mind that anything above stock will likely require trimming/moving fenders/fender liner; not all, but most.
4. Doug Thorley is, for the most part, the name in the game for headers. OEM is fine of course but you're also just replacing the thing that failed with the same thing that'll eventually fail. The only other V8 headers I've heard of are JBA, for which you can get either from URDUSA.com if they're in stock.

 

welcome to the forum..greetings from Memphis

 

Welcome to a great forum!

 

Welcome from Arizona!

 

1. You're right, OME is definitely cost quite a bit more than say Bilstein's. From what i'm going to use it for and how often i think we'll be going offroad, i'm leaning more towards OME equivalent but a bit on the inexpensive side. completely get the you get what you pay for though. But Bilstein is pretty tried and true quality.
2. I'm going to check if my LCA's are completely done or i can just change the bushings and BJ. If it's done, i might as well get the Moog FR susp kit that includes the tie rods and UCA. Since i'm only going 3" lift i think it'll do the trick unless i'll be told otherwise
3. I have seen some nice wheels that just accents the vehicle so nicely. but if i can get decent tires on 17's at the moment, i may go that way first. But priorities first
4. Majority of the dealers of Dough Thorley's are in the states. I'm up north to you guys hahaha!! and you all know our cost up here in comparison to down south is stupid But that'll be my next upgrade for sure

Thank you so much for all the info. your input is not going to waste

 

Give us some pictures of your rig and the trails you have up there - makes us envious!

 

Good afternoon!

LCA's has been replaced! so next up will be a liftkit. right now my rears are lower than my fronts. I'm hoping to have that one changed first to 2.5" w/ full load, but i'm not completely understanding what to look for in terms of what product number for OME or Bilstein as they got different parameters. not even sure if v6 and v8 parts would be different between the two in terms of suspension parts.

This is me being a complete n00b about this and i apologize to all the vets out there that could possibly shaking their heads thinking "WTF is this guy serious?" LOL!!

 

Apologies definitely not needed - that’s what this forum is all about. In time you will be lending advice to new “nubies” - big circle of life…