2007 4Runner Sport

[RawrImAMonster]

Last week I picked up another SUV.  Hopefully the ownership experience on this one goes better than the Xterra.

It's a 2007 Toyota 4Runner Sport Edition - V6 4WD with just over 160k miles.  Despite the age and mileage, it's extremely clean.  By far the cleanest one I saw for sale over 100k miles.  The underside is also very clean and barely had any rust.  Luckily I got pictures of that before the dealership had it sprayed with some sort of anti rust treatment.

I'm not sure how much of a project this is going to end up being but I've got a few things planned for it so far.

• Fix front wheel bearing, I knew it had a bad one when I first drove it but that's not too big of a deal
  
• Lamnix to keep the headlights fresh, some sort of ceramic coating to keep the paint fresh.  Avalon King Armor Shield is supposed to be easy to apply and lasts a few years.
  
• Replace factory struts/shocks with Bilstein 5100s.  This is the sport edition so it has the weird XREAS system that connects the opposite corner shocks with hydraulic lines and a pump.  There's pretty much no way this is working at 160k and supposedly the Bilstein 5100s feel about the same as the stock system without all the extra lines/pumps needed.
  
• Replace the head unit with something with carplay/android auto and add a subwoofer.  You can get the subwoofer box from the models with the JBL system and replace the subwoofer/amp with something nicer for a decent setup that is completely hidden behind the plastic panels in the trunk.
  
• Add seat heaters, there's a few good options that aren't too expensive for these.
  
• Maybe wheels at some point.  I don't hate the sequoia/tundra wheels that it has currently.
  

The plan is to keep this a long time so hopefully this one ends up being reliable.

[Senor_Taylor]

Such great vehicles. Glad you found one you liked! That's a good color. The only thing that'll ever do this vehicle in is rust, so you must FIGHT IT!!!!

GTI and 4Runner is a good combo

[RawrImAMonster]

The dealership did spray most of the frame with some sort of anti-rust coating.  I'm going to go through and touch up what they missed when I take the XREAS system off.

These aren't the best pictures in the world, but here's what it looked like before the rust treatment.  About as good as you can hope for on a 13 year old 4runner.

[Senor_Taylor]

Be sure to PACK the driveline with grease. They dry out and start to clunk. Put some heat and penetrating oil on all of the suspension stuff. Every bolt rounded immediately on the bottom of mine from the rust.

[JPolen01]

Looks pretty clean for its age. Can you get some center caps? The wheels don't look bad, just unfinished.

[RawrImAMonster]

Yeah I've already got those on the way. They were only like 40 bucks for a set off ebay.


After having a chance to get the front wheels off the ground, I'm pretty sure that grinding noise I have is the caliper sticking on the passenger side. I could barely move that wheel while the other one spun freely. So I'm going to start with replacing that and hopefully that takes care of the noise. It's one of the only really common problems on these.

[NTIman]

Stuck calipers are really common on this generation. They rarely cause a grinding noise though. Probably a bearing. The front ones go fairly often, but at least they're bolt in, unless you get the Toyota bearings, which are press together then bolt in.

Frame looks good, but the 4Runners didn't have a problem with rust holes like the North American built trucks did. They would rust all over and the e-coat would come off if they were from the northeast though. Just ask Taylor about his experience.

Bilstein 5100s are good. The xreas isn't bad until there is a leak and you have to replace the entire circuit which is good for me as a tech, but expensive for the owner. I wouldn't spend the money on anying but the Bilsteins.

Keep an eye out for the head gaskets blowing too. It's fairly rare but when they do go it's between 160k and 180k. They usually leak coolant into cylinders 4 or 6. I've definitely done more head gaskets on 1GRs than any other engine.

[RawrImAMonster]

Yeah I was right in my initial guess.  It does still have the grinding noise from a bad wheel bearing.  I've got one of those coming next week to take care of that.

On the other hand, the brakes feel about 100x better after replacing the stuck caliper and bleeding everything with new fluid. Also went ahead and put all new pads on it. Rotors look like they're good for a long time.

Still loving the quick jack.  I wasn't sure if it was going to fit right for the 4runner but it works really well.




Im sure the stock XREAS shocks are still good at 160k miles





In my downtime at work today I went ahead and did the full Leatherique + Lexol cleaner + Lexol conditioner per Dan's instructions.  The seats are now super soft and don't look like they have even half the miles they actually do.







I really love the paint color on this.  It looks almost black when it's cloudy out but it really pops in the sun.  Grays with a lot of metallic flake are one of my favorites.

[JPolen01]

Do you have Dan's leather care instructions saved? I was actually thinking about that the other day.

[RawrImAMonster]

Do you have Dan's leather care instructions saved? I was actually thinking about that the other day.

They’re still a sticky in the appearance section.  The photo bucket pictures even still work.

[Senor_Taylor]

Ooooh. Those seats look very supple. Nice job!

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

[V1GiLaNtE]

Another Shadow Mica 4runner brethren! That color is really something special in the sun when it's cleaned up.

[Tyler.M]

Great buy, man. Awesome truck. I've loved mine quite a bit and hope to keep it for awhile.

[RawrImAMonster]

As expected, this thing has been very reliable after fixing the wheel bearing mentioned above. I haven't had any other issues so far.

Over the weekend I got into a small project and added a subwoofer to the spot where one would be if you specced a 4runner with the optional JBL sound system. I was able to get the subwoofer enclosure off ebay then upgraded the speaker itself and added a dedicated amp.

Parts used:
Kicker CompRT 43CWRT81 8" shallow mount subwoofer
Sound Ordnance M350-1 amp

I'm extremely impressed with the amount of bass this little 8" subwoofer puts out, especially considering I used the factory subwoofer box. The box is well within the volume range for this subwoofer, but it is on the lower side. I wasn't looking to shake the cars next to me so this setup ended up being perfect for what I wanted.

Not pictured, but I also added a Pioneer head unit with car play a few months ago. This upgrade alone improved the sound quality a lot.

[Senor_Taylor]

I loved the subwoofer in mine. OEM + is my favorite type of mod.