What have you done to your 4th Gen 4Runner today?

Rolled over 100k yesterday...

 

I’m doing a cosmetic front end refresh. I’ll post about it with pics but if anyone is curious in the meantime… .

 

You and I have very different interpretations of front end refresh lol... lift is here, about to order UCA/LCA's & CV axles...

 

An excellent point. I’ve added the word “cosmetic” to my post above for clarity.

 

My wife drove our 4runner the other day and I noticed that the third brake light up on the spoiler wasn't turning on when she was braking, but the two normal taillights did work.

So, I've been reading up on it a little bit and I've been getting two different answers. Some say the bulbs are incandescent and you can just pop off the cover and replace the bulbs. Some are saying its completely LED and the whole light assembly needs to be replaced. Mine is an '04, so maybe it has the incandescent version before they switched to the LED taillights in 05 (i think?). I actually have 'upgraded' to the newer LED taillights but never have touched the 3rd brake light up on the spoiler.

I have never messed with any wiring up to the spoiler and my parents owned the vehicle before me and doubt they would either.

Edit: after more research it looks like the whole assembly needs to be replaced (can't just change bulbs). Spoiler will have to be removed to do this. I ordered an assembly from my local Toyota dealership who always has good pricing.

 

Picked up the new 3rd brake light, now just need to find the time to install it:

 

Plan on breaking the clips when removing the old...the amount I wasted trying to preserve the old was dumb! I made the decision to break it out and man, the new process saved me at least an hour!

 

You talking about those circular clips riveted to the hatch? I'm hoping i can just push up / down to get the spoiler off but won't spend too much time being careful. Its still bolted down.

Or are you talking about some other clips i need to be aware of in the process?

 

I'm talking about the clips on the light, itself...the spoiler comes off pretty easy once you remove the trim...

 

Ah, got it. Yes one video i watched the guy was careful and used a small flathead screw driver to unclip them, but we'll see how it goes when its my turn.

 

Well i had a little bit of free time at work so i swapped out the 3rd brake light in the parking lot. Took about 20 minutes or so, no broken tabs. Wasn't able to test if it works as i didn't have anyone available to press on the brake pedal to see if it lights up. But when i leave i'll reverse against the building windows to see if it lights up in my mirror. Either way, very easy to do. Only thing i wish i did if i were at home or something was to clean under where the spoiler meets the body when i had it off.

 

Badass, nice work!!

 

Confirmed it works!

 

Ooooh yeah!! Today was successful, than!!

 

Did a LOF, swapped x1 license plate incandescent bulb to an LED and threw the winter Haka R10s on... I'm ready for winter!!

 

The good people at Lost Trails Overland asked me to be an installation guinea pig for a prototype of their new 4th Gen grille insert. Finished it today and while I’m sad to say goodbye to my Satoshi grille, I love the look of the LT mesh. I added the Toyota logo from my old grille , which is my homage to the fantastic heritage of Toyota 4WD vehicles, and the tri-color decal, which I bought a while back, but couldn’t figure out exactly where to use it. I also applied Plasti-Dip Smoke over the chrome on my grille. Really liking the look.

Before:


After:


Zoom in on the new grille to see the openings for raptor lights. It’s not my thing so I didn’t buy any.

 

Man, that is a MUCH cleaner setup! Looks great!! Is it an extruded metal or an ABS plastic? Nice update!!

 

Thanks! It’s metal.

 

Looks great!

 

Did some preventative maintenance by replacing the upstream O2 sensors (Toyota calls them air/fuel ratio sensors). Old ones were cooked - literally.



I didn’t have any codes, but at 278K, I just decided to do it when I got that recent 50% discount on OEM parts.

Notes:
- The p/n for the upstream sensors changed in Sept 2007 so you need to know your date of manufacture. It’s on the sticker on the driver’s doorframe. Before that date, it’s 89467-71020. It’s the same part for both sides.

- Rent the oxygen sensor socket set from AutoZone. They have a slot in one side to fit over the cable.

- I found it easiest to remove the splash guards and go in through the wheel well. The space is very tight and you can only get one hand in there at a time.

- Hose them down with penetrant a couple of times before you have at them.

- On the driver’s side, I was able to get a short socket wrench on it then use a long extension with a deep socket on the end as a breaker bar from underneath. You’ll hear it when it breaks free; after, it turns by hand. There’s no way, that I could figure out at least, to get leverage from the top or bottom on the passenger side. I ended up rigging a long extension with a u-joint adapter up to the top where I could get a long socket wrench on it and turn it horizontally. I hadn’t done that before and you have to wrap the U-joint adapter with electrical tape in the middle so that it doesn’t just flop around. Worked really well though.

Reverse the process to tighten them down after installation. Torque spec is 33 ft lbs but I’d love to see the torque wrench that could get in there. I just cranked them down as tight as I could get them.

- The electrical plugs were a PITA. You can’t get more than one hand in there, but you have to hold down the tab to free it up while also pulling on it to get it out. On the driver’s side, I hadn’t removed the sensor itself yet because obviously it’s hard to do that with the plug still engaged because the cable twists around. I finally figured out to take one of those rubber tiedowns, which isn’t as stretchy as a bungee, hook it over the cable, and let it hang out the bottom. That way, I could reach in with one hand and press the tab and apply some gentle pressure by pulling on that thing with the other. That worked.

On the passenger side, I couldn’t get the plug out no matter what I tried. I finally decided to just unscrew the sensor, which again was not easy because of the cable, but if you can do that, you can then hold the locking tab with the one hand and pull on the sensor with the other to free it up.

Then comes the joy of trying to plug in the new ones sight unseen. You can’t see in there and have to do it by feel. I should’ve used my boroscope camera and zip tied it onto something to keep it steady, but I don’t know that it would’ve helped because you’re ducked down in the wheel well contorted to reach in there so it would be really tough to look at that phone at the same time.

Finally, don’t go directly to a gas station and fill up. It’s about 10 miles from my house and all was good, but after I filled up and left the station, CEL/VSC/TRAC lit up. Codes were for the sensor on one side - but the truck was running perfectly and they didn’t come on before I got to the gas station.

I cleared the codes and went on my way. Lights went off and all is good. Couldn’t really find anything definitive on why so I would love to hear theories on that if anyone has them. The only thing that occurred to me was that maybe the ECM hadn’t fully “relearned“ everything it needed to before I refueled. No idea if that makes any sense at all.

Pics from the boroscope:

 

That's a serious job, no matter what! Nice work on knocking them out! I think you need 20 miles to enable the ECM to relearn...you shouldn't have issue after the code clearing. I typically just cut the wire inbetween the sensor and the harness connections to gain time and efforts...enables easier access to wrenching it off, too...you should be good to go for another 200k miles, now!

 

Thanks, I appreciate it...but code P2238 is back with CEL. That's the passenger side and I think the plug isn't quite seated. I'm going to look at it in a while.

 

I was correct – the plug wasn’t seated. I can get it aligned and started, but it will not slide all the way in and lock. I’ll hear a click and think it’s locked but with just a gentle pull it comes right back out. Any suggestions welcome. It’s an OEM part. TIA.

 

Fancy ziptie work has always been my remedy...at least you now know the code-culprit!

 

SOLVED! It’s crazy to me that this was the issue, but look in the picture how the internal female plug is just a little askew (not quite centered in the outer plastic shell). I used the tip of my finger to push and center it up, got the plug in, prayed and pushed, and CLICK - fully seated.

 

Hell yeah!! Nice work!! VICTORY!!

 

The new Lost Trails grille insert is available now. It’s metal and has cut outs for raptor lights.

I brought my FJ-style Toyota logo over from my old grille and bought the tri-color stripe decal on Etsy. I also used PlastiDip Smoke on the chrome surround to match my badges. Jury is still out on that.



They have periodic sales and offer a military veteran discount if that’s an option for you.

Full disclosure: they comped mine as an installation test vehicle, but I have no affiliation with them or financial incentive. I just think they’re great people that make a great product.

 

Looks sharp and thanks for letting us know! It's a tasteful update!!

 

I did the same thing when i replaced my upstream O2's. I took off the splash shields and went through the fender wells. I did however, find laying on my back on going up through the bottom the easiest way to get to the connectors. I was able to get both hands in there that way so i could use a small electronics flathead screw driver to depress the clip, then the other hand to remove the connector.

It wasn't a fun job, but it also wasn't too bad. Taking off and replacing the splash shields was probably the most time consuming part.

I also just used a crescent wrench to get them off as i didn't have an O2 socket and didn't want to leave the house to rent one, but maybe that would have helped. I put the wrench on from the fender wells, but then loosened/tighted the sensors from the botton so i could get more leverage with one hand.

 

My parents borrowed my 4th gen because the rear cargo area is bigger than their 5th gen due to the back seats not folding forward like ours do, and they have the third row seats that take up height (they are moving a large table).

So they let me borrow their 2023 or 2024 Limited while they have mine for a few days. Honestly, i like the 4th gen better and i think the v8 is a big part of that. I mean this is obvious, but the v8 really does feel more powerful for city driving. Horsepower-wise the 4.0 has more than my v8 (non-vvti), but it feels lacking in torque. I'm sure if i drove the 5th gen more it would start to feel more 'normal', but just driving it to work today, up hills and on the freeway, my 4th gen just does everything 'easier' it seems.

I also started to get annoyed at the lane assist beeping at me. I'm sure thats something that can be turned off but i didn't want to mess with their settings. Oh and the v6 is louder than i thought it would be, especially in the Limited trim which i thought would have more sound deadening and a more overall quiet feel. I used to have a 2014 Tacoma with the 4.0 - maybe that was loud too and i've just forgotten about the sound that engine makes.

Its very nice though and everything feels solid though.