Project Mall Runner

[ScottyB]

I had a wind deflector on the hood of my Tacoma and it did wonders.

for rock strikes you mean? i don't doubt it. hate how they look though. these 5th gen 4runners have a major bull nose on them, so i'm not sure if a deflector would make much difference since the hood line is so far behind the grill:

that said, plenty of guys do run them so i'll see what their feedback is.

What's wrong with the factory oil fill? I've heard arguments both ways - factory oil has this that and the other for break in purposes. And, factory oil is cheap and should be changed pretty quickly.

some factory oils have a huge boost of molybdenum, which is an anti-friction additive.  toyota in particular does this for their dealer oil and mazda as well.  probably some others.  its great oil on its own.  but any engine is going to slough off the most metal particulate of its lifespan in the first 5k miles, generally, so to me there's no point dragging it out.  

added to that, i wanted to up the oil grade to a 30 weight anyway since my needs will fall under harder use (towing, off roading, long trips loaded up, extreme heat...it was friggin 101 degrees here on october 4th) that is best served by a slightly higher viscosity oil, so it seemed like an ideal point to change.

if this thing was destined to commute from one parking space to the next for the rest of its life i most likely would have left it alone or just refilled with 20 weight....which, frankly, is what most 4runners do.

[NTIman]

Toyota's oil is basically just slightly modified Mobil 1. As far as break in oil, modern stock engines are much easier to choose an oil for during the break in period. The stock valvespring rates aren't high enough to cause damage to the cam, where most break in failures occur anyway (literally I put Toyota valvepsrings in by hand). That's where extreme pressure additives make a significant difference, and also part of the reason why lower ZDDP levels in oil don't destroy engines.

I've only ever seen one Toyota engine have a failure from particulate matter in the oil, and that was a VVT gear on a RAV4. That happened in my 9th year with the company.

You're going to need head gaskets before you'll have a problem with any rotating component.

I've never used factory oil in my Toyota's or my Mazdyota. I don't think there is a truly bad option out there. L

[ScottyB]

happy new year you filthy animals.

clocked about 1400 miles over Christmas break so i got pretty familiar with it as a road tripper.  up the 95 corridor, westbound and down to roanoke, and back to GA again.  loaded down cruise set to between 72-75 it pulled a 19.5 MPG average including heavy 95/81 traffic.  laughable but factory numbers are 20 hwy so i think without the cargo box we could have beat that easily, so i've got that going for me.

longest leg was 11 straight hours, i stayed pretty comfy with 3 stops along the way.  i don't particularly enjoy SUV's but for what it is, not bad. once loaded down though, it hunts the 4th/5th/overdrive gaps a lot in the hills.  not unreasonable, but annoying...the cruise control is slow to react and tends to overspeed every hill trying to giddyup the engine aggressively.  

its got a haggard grey film all over it and needs a bath badly.  currently planning our next camper pull somewhere on the southern NC BRP over spring break, definitely gonna wheel it a bit while we're out there and will report back.

[JPolen01]

19.5 for that box on wheels doesn't seem bad at all to me. We just got a low profile roof box. Interested to see what it does to the CR-V mpg.

[NTIman]

Toyota's cruise control is garbage. I hate how inconsistent it is in regards to speed. We don't get all that many concerns with the transmission shifts in these, but definitely did in the Tacomas that had the old 5 speed auto. Usually just a weird downshift while coasting or decelerating.

[ScottyB]

Toyota's cruise control is garbage. I hate how inconsistent it is in regards to speed. We don't get all that many concerns with the transmission shifts in these, but definitely did in the Tacomas that had the old 5 speed auto. Usually just a weird downshift while coasting or decelerating.

yeah it's fine on the straight and level but i won't be using it again in the hills.  

ours uses the old 5'er.  its pretty smooth honestly.  but i'm not a fan of auto trans that really slur the shifts like crazy either, i'd prefer to actually feel it a bit.  ultimately i just care that it's reliable and from what i've heard, it should be.

[ScottyB]

poor Mall Runner's been living up to its name lately.  pretty much hasn't moved in a month, just sitting collecting dust now that Jen and i are both fully work from home thanks to the beerdisease.

knocked the pollen off with a good soak and wipedown of optimum no-rinse and vac'd the mulch out of the inside after hauling that + all the stones home for our landscaping project earlier this spring.


finally got around to building an extended rear diff breather.  the front diff breather is mounted quite high from the factory, but in the back its just a little button breather on the top of the pumpkin. we were just about over the axle line the first time we forded a creek during our camping trip last year and it'll happen a lot in the future.  there are various ways to do it, and a few kits out there (most popular is ARB) but i wanted rubber line instead of plastic for the best flexibility (and less chance of cracking from thermal cycling) and i wanted the breather to terminate in the engine bay for the best protection from the elements while ensuring any smells are well outside the cab.  so, the best option was to piece my own together. some guys run the filter to the gas cap bay or inside the cab in the space where the jack and toolkit are mounted but no thanks.  total cost was a bit less than the ARB kit and the filter height sits at around 40" high now, or roughly intake height.  frankly at that point if we're in water that deep it means i have a lot of reflecting to do on my life choices while a wrecker pulls us out of a lake.

there are 2 total lines off the axle to vent - the axle housing itself and the e-locker unit.  so, you have to tee those lines together to keep things tidy and that meant building a little junction out of some brass barbs and a 1/4" threaded tee fitting.

under the hood....cheap 12mm filter mounted to some scrap aluminum and re-used a bracket bolt to mount to.  1/4" fuel line all the way back.  12 ft of it (it came in 2 six foot packages) was exactly enough.  even though it used more line to do so, i chose to mount on the passenger side due to the ease of mounting and the fact i have no plans to mount anything else there (some off road guys add another battery there).  i tucked the line up on the frame rail and crossed over the drive shaft using a conduit for some other line and wires so it was protected.  then sent it over the fuel tank and back to the axle.


looking towards the rear, over the top of the axle pumpkin.  the open tube is where the e-locker breather used to go but now connects to the brass junction.  top line heads up to the filter, rear line connects to the axle breather.  i was able to mount the brass junction to the pedestal where the e-locker wires are mounted to take any strain off of the rubber lines having to support it.


from the back of the axle looking forward.  the axle breather was replaced with a toyota OEM part that has an extended barb to mount the line on.  plenty of slack in the fuel line going forward from the junction to allow articulation without yanking the line apart.

[ScottyB]

bit of a cross-post from the camper thread but we had some good times with it last week in Cherokee NC.  asked it to go just about everywhere - towed 450 miles from the piedmont up into the smokies, some decent miles on dirt doubletrack, some big long climbs up the parkway to about 5500 feet and back down again, and a couple miles on some very fun singletrack.





we did about 6 total water crossings.  the deepest was at the bottom of the doors.  i wasn't able to see far into the water on one of the deepest crossings and gave the front skidplate a couple good dings as well as some scratches on the control arm from a couple big rocks on the stream bottom.  thankfully the armor was up to the task and i hit the scratches with some black enamel when we got back.




i did encounter one situation on a trail where it abruptly ended basically in a bog.  had to do an austin powers 16 point turn and promptly sank up to the rims in mud.  locker + 4LOW + ATRAC saved my ass there and made it look easy even with our current highway tires. 

still love it for what it is but definitely want to find some decent rubber for it by next year and invest in a set of sliders.

[ScottyB]

preparing for future off pavement shenanigans.

Apex Overland front recovery points


recovery gear.  found an old Cabela's Deluxe™ Gear Bag that works great for holding this stuff.  it all packs in pretty easily.



not shown are MAXSA traction boards.  nothing here is baller, its just cheap Amazon stuff that will Get The Job Done the few times we'll need it.  down the line i'd ultimately like to also have a Hi-Lift, a winch, winch dampener, and a snatch block.

Left to right: Sunferno 35k pound recovery strap, Costco air compressor, various fuses, Gerber multitool, pair of 9.5k pound bow shackles with poly isolator washers for the front points, Rhino USA hitch shackle, Overland Vehicle Systems 13k pound soft shackles, TGL tree strap/bridle, Gerber folding shovel, old MTB gloves.  in the bag pockets are zip ties and electrical tape.

again...not perfect here.  would have liked a full size trench shovel, a kinetic rope, and a better air compressor.  this will get us down the road for the forest roads we plan to travel, or at least allow us to potentially help someone else in need without having to wonder if the old chain they try to give us ("pappy stole this off a navy base in '53 when his tour was over, ain't never had a problem yankin tractors with it!") might snap and turn my face into hamburger.