Road Bull's 2002 SR-5 timeline.

Joined
Oct 23, 2018
Messages
68
Age
49
I have been meaning to join you all and start up a build thread over here... So, here I am.

Some of this will be a transplant from my T4R.org build page, https://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/196568-road-bulls-2002-sr-5-timeline.html , and some will not.

I purchased a 2002 SR5 with ~179K on the clock March 01, 2015 for $7K. Overall, it was pretty clean, not perfect, but frame was solid and not rusted, no noticeable leaks and drove well. I had been driving a 1994 Toyota extended cab V6 4WD manual DX since 2002. So this felt like a huge upgrade for me in terms of power, luxury, and ride smoothness. I had caught T4R fever from surfing this forum too much. I already had designs for what I wanted to do when I bought it.

It took me a while to find something that I liked that was in good shape. Everything out here on market in the PNW is usually either beat to hell, or very expensive. I really wanted something that I could safely transport my drums with. I could have bought a canopy for my pickup, but I also liked the idea of having more seats for when family comes to visit. A canopy would not fix that issue.

Guess what pic was on the original purchase date: 03-01-15

2002 Toyota 4Runner SR5 4WD

Engine / Transmission:
-Stock 5VZ-FE 3.4L V6
-B&M 70264 Transmission Super-cooler.
-4.88 Gears (added 09-10-18)
-Rear ARB Air Locker (added 09-10-18)

Wheels / Tires:
-ProComp 7069 Series, 16x8, 4" BS removed
-SCS F5 16x8" 3.5 BS in Matte Gunmetal
-Cooper STT Pros 315/75/16 E-rated

Suspension Front:
-King 2.5 Coilovers w/ 600# springs (about 23" H to F)
-MStudt's Sway bar extension links (standard type)
-Sonoran Steel Front Differential Drop Spacers
-SPC Light Racing Upper Control Arms (on G) setting

Suspension Rear:
-Sonoran Steel 1.2 Rear Lift
(2)-Toyota 80 Series Land Cruiser Coils (7 wraps) >>Removed<<
(2) ARB / OME 861 Coils w/original isolation cones >>Added<< (~25")
(2)-Genuine Toyota Tokico Black Rear Shocks & Supporting Hardware
(1)-Sonoran Steel Adjustable Trac/PanHard Bar
(2)-Sonoran Steel Extended Bump Stop Adapters with
(2)-Daystar "Competition Style" Bump Stops
(2)-Sonoran Steel. Rear Sway Bar Adjustment Brackets
(1)-Sonoran Steel Braided Stainless Steel Extended Brake Line
(1)-Sonoran Steel Parking/Emergency Brake Bracket
(2)-Sonoran Steel Rear 4Runner Polyurethane Body Mounts (for stabilizing the rear bumper)

Armor:
-Addicted Offroad front plate bumper
-Stubbs Welding HD-SKO rock sliders
-Savage Off-Road full skids
-4X Innovations Rear bumper with tire carrier (added 07-31-17)
-Lotus Rear Trailing Arm Mount Skids

Recovery Gear / Offroad Upgrades:
-Warn M8000 with Master Pull 5/16th Superline
-Factor 55 1.5" Hawse Fairlead
-Factor 55 Flatlink Expert shackle
-ARB Twin Air Compressor

Lighting :
PIAA 510 Crystal Plasma Ion Yellow 4" (waiting to be installed)

Brakes:
-13WL 231mm Tundra Brake Upgrade
-Toyota OEM Tundra Rotors
-Toyota OEM Tundra Pads & Shim Kit
-NAPA Remanufactured Calipers
(Front)
-Wheeler's Off-Road braided performance brake lines for TBU upgrade (SKU: TF BLINE-06X)
(Rear)
-Sonoran Steel Braided Stainless Steel Extended Brake Line
-Sonoran Steel Parking/Emergency Brake Bracket

Interior Upgrades:
-Weather Tech digital floor mats front & rear passenger (black)

Exterior Upgrades:
-Tint front only @ 15%
-Tacoma whip antenna mod (power mast delete)
-Car Alarm
-Hella Supertons horns

Maintenance / Replacements:
-OEM LBJs
-OEM ITRs
-OEM OTRs
-NAPA Max Drive CV axles
-Lower O2 sensor

Fluids:
-Mobil 1 Full Synthetic 5W-30MyRig - Copy.jpgIMG_20181112_165250.jpgIMG_20181112_165408.jpg00n0n_5CUKwSIB5iu_600x450.jpg
 
Joined
Oct 23, 2018
Messages
68
Age
49
So I came from a 1994 Toyota Extended Cab. I miss that truck. This is the cleanest the engine bay will ever be. lol. One of my first mods, was... you guessed it, replacing the rear cargo window that mysteriously breaks on the interstate driving to work. IF you don't know... it is probably the most expensive and difficult windows to replace, due to the OEM gasket that aftermarket gaskets haven't quite got nailed down. At any rate... Did other mundane things like tint front windows 15% and add a car alarm.CIMG4093 - Copy.jpgIMG_20150302_171532_698.jpgIMG_20150310_120014_258.jpgIMG_20150313_092716_275.jpg
 
Joined
Oct 23, 2018
Messages
68
Age
49
Been waiting for you to come over here with a build thread! I’ve always loved how your rig looked. It’s not over the top which I love.

Woohoo!! Thanks man! I always feel like my rig is just one more goofy financially poor decision away from being one toke over the line sweet Jesus. LOL. I dig all the adventures that you and a few others over on T4R get into. It makes me feel like I am playing the safe game.

With the ups and downs of t4r it's good to have some more experienced people here. We're not going down anytime soon and I do backups 3x a week. Haha.

Thanks man! T4R has had a lot of hiccups as of late. It is nice to have another solid place to share builds, story ideas, and experiences. Thanks for keeping a solid forum for everyone. This build page will be an interesting retrospective for me. Haha...
 
Joined
Oct 23, 2018
Messages
68
Age
49
I needed new tires and went with 265/75/16 KO2s. Then I promptly got rear-ended by someone needing to text something important on the interstate. I wish I new more about builds when this happened. I would have just gotten my rear offroad bumper THEN. What I did.. was just replace it with a dumb OEM bumper. Glad I had the rear hitch on this rig.20150530_101523.jpg20150530_175525.jpg20150616_162958.jpg20150616_162951.jpg20150616_182617.jpg
 

theesotericone

Build It Beat It Break It. Repeat
Fredo Baggins
Joined
Oct 3, 2018
Messages
3,494
Location
Bishop, CA
I dig all the adventures that you and a few others over on T4R get into. It makes me feel like I am playing the safe game.

Playing safe is one way to play. Stick around here for a bit and you'll quickly push that "safe" zone out further and further. More then a few of us here push that safe zone to the very edge of what our rigs can do. We all realize it, we all have fun doing it and we are all willing to pay the piper when our turn comes.

So, when are you throwing the dual cases in? lol
 
Joined
Oct 23, 2018
Messages
68
Age
49
I started to read too many build threads at this point. I stumbled on to a group buy for Shrockworks and I really liked the look of that thing. In retrospect. I jumped on this big purchase too early. Cosmetically, it was attractive. I really needed a road map for where I wanted to end up, but being new... I didn't have a clue and jumped before I looked... I ultimately didn't really care for this bumper at all, and ditched it after I had it on for a bit. Okay.. one... it was dumb to buy a bumper before considering any number of other more useful items.

This was a ridiculously tight fit. It didn't seem to sit where I wanted it. But the hoop design was the worst. The headlight and center hoops are too close to the body of the vehicle. So close, that you can't use a hood wind deflector and open your hood. You physically CAN'T get your fingers in there. And the outer headlight hoops are less than a finger lengths distance from the body. I wanted to slap myself for my buyers remorse on that one. Hahaha. Total pain in the dick. Hard lessons learned.20150714_190831.jpg20150714_210039.jpg20160210_230504.jpg20160215_141606.jpg20160215_141616.jpg20160215_141644.jpg
 
Joined
Oct 23, 2018
Messages
68
Age
49
Playing safe is one way to play. Stick around here for a bit and you'll quickly push that "safe" zone out further and further. More then a few of us here push that safe zone to the very edge of what our rigs can do. We all realize it, we all have fun doing it and we are all willing to pay the piper when our turn comes.

So, when are you throwing the dual cases in? lol

Haha.. Safe mostly due to having all my eggs in one basket. I need another vehicle to drive to cover my ass when I break my 4Runner. This last year was expensive as far as upgrades go. Locker, gears, larger tires.. I getting to where I want to be though, maybe a bit faster than I originally thought. I would love to pick up some Tacoma or something like my old 1994 extended cab. That would be ideal. Then I would feel more free to tap into my less sane ideas.

How is the rig treating you? Any other changes since the new shoes?
 
Joined
Oct 23, 2018
Messages
68
Age
49
I then shifted my attention to good maintenance items. Tacoma whip antenna, TBU, LBJ, ITR, OTR, and new Napa CVs. I also started to get thins together for my lift. I decided to to do a hybrid King extended coilovers up front, with Sonoran Steel 1.2 rear only lift in the back. So I was getting those parts together.IMG_20160918_145916.jpgIMG_20161019_200810.jpgIMG_20161019_200906.jpgIMG_20161019_201014.jpgIMG_20161019_201347.jpg
 
Joined
Oct 23, 2018
Messages
68
Age
49
I picked up some Pro Comp 7069s. I wanted to have 5 matching wheels for 5 tire rotations.IMG_20161105_151129.jpgIMG_20161105_150314.jpgIMG_20161105_150354.jpg
 
Joined
Oct 23, 2018
Messages
68
Age
49
Oh yeah.. I got an Addicted Off Road front bumper. It took forever to get to me, but I gotta say, a waaaay better fitting experience vs. the Shrockworks front bumper. I like the fit, the two piece design, the open winch mount design, and that it wasn't a back breaker to move by myself and install was a lot more straightforward. I picked up some fancy smancy Weathertec floor mats to combat our PNW weather. And added a B&M 70264 Transmission Super-cooler.

Sold the Shrockworks front bumper. I like their Pre Runner version of this bumper, and I like the way that they look on other people's rigs.IMG_20160531_123728.jpgIMG_20160703_211949.jpgIMG_20160710_203746.jpgIMG_20160710_203349.jpgIMG_20160512_232752.jpgIMG_20160710_203256.jpg
 
Last edited:
Joined
Oct 23, 2018
Messages
68
Age
49
This should have been one of my first mods. I picked up some Stubbs Welding HD-SKO rock sliders. Love these things and an awesome guy to work with. My friend gave me a hand welding them on.IMG_20161209_001808.jpgIMG_20161209_001713.jpgIMG_20161208_221716.jpgIMG_20161212_221827.jpgIMG_20161218_153321.jpgIMG_20161218_153304.jpg
 
Joined
Oct 23, 2018
Messages
68
Age
49
Jumping around a bit, but I got the lift on. So, Kings on the front matched with SPC LR UCAs, and All the Sonoran Steel 1.2 rear only lift for the rear. I had a chance to just enjoy if for a little bit, okay... a few days before I started messing with something else that required sorting out ten more things... But we all know, we can't leave well enough, alone.

Got a full set of Savage skids. I forgot to take off the small OEM transfer case skid. This caused a lot of concerning vibration. At the time I removed the OEM transfer case skid and added some washers to the rear skid to gain some clearance. This worked till I added a solid piece of plastic bar stock to take the place of the stupid washers.IMG_20161130_094858 (1).jpgIMG_20161130_104721.jpgIMG_20161216_115956.jpgIMG_20161221_224930.jpgIMG_20161221_224902.jpgIMG_20161228_204021.jpgIMG_20170108_130627.jpgIMG_20170109_002521.jpgIMG_20170109_020652.jpg
 
Last edited:
Joined
Oct 23, 2018
Messages
68
Age
49
Maintenance outside, during winter, sucks. I had a misfire CEL. I had all the spark plugs and wires already sitting around. But.. It was like 34 degrees out and the first time trying to change spark plugs. The hardest thing was getting all those dumb plastic fasteners off. I picked the only day it wasn't raining or snowing, but besides the 34 degrees, the wind was blowing a good 12-20 mph, the, whole, time... Lame.IMG_20170201_225152.jpgIMG_20170201_225454.jpgIMG_20170201_225630.jpgIMG_20170206_110244.jpgIMG_20170206_110301.jpgIMG_20170206_110350.jpgIMG_20170208_231042.jpg
 
Joined
Oct 23, 2018
Messages
68
Age
49
Started piling up parts again. Gotta keep that economy going one paycheck at a time.

I went up a size in tires. I went with 285/75/16 KO2s. Yeah... real original.

Decided I needed a rear swing out bumper. I decided that I really liked the 4 X Innovations rear bumper. I was damn close to getting a Savage rear bumper. I do really like what I have though.



IMG_20161203_165903.jpgIMG_20170320_163843.jpgIMG_20170320_163938.jpgIMG_20170320_165559.jpgIMG_20170715_191436.jpgIMG_20170715_191458.jpgIMG_20170715_191604.jpgIMG_20170715_191630.jpgIMG_20170715_191701.jpgIMG_20170715_191842.jpg
 
Joined
Oct 23, 2018
Messages
68
Age
49
This was also the time I swapped out the 7.5 LC wraps for the heavier duty ARB (2)861s to accommodate the new rear swing out. I also installed the Sonoran Steel Solid body spacers to help firm up any rear bumper to body flex. I had the rear bumper powder coated by some 30 watt bulb. I asked if I need to take all the hardware apart to expose everything. Nah.. they said. Don't worry about that, we'll strip it all down and put it all in a box for you. Oh, okay I say... It didn't go down like that. After them missing the appointment for me picking it up a couple times, they rushed it, and didn't take anything apart. So it was a pain in the ass. Anyway...

Also Unner from T4R let me know about this harness that makes it easy to wire the rear license plate lights.

Also.. replaced the OEM horn with some Hella Supertones. They paid for themselves the first day! Some dipshit in a brand new Tundra was slowly turn into my lane. It scared him so badly that not only did he give up turning my direction, he went the other way and pulled off the road for a moment to contemplate his day.IMG_20170715_191944.jpgIMG_20170715_191913.jpgIMG_20170715_192159.jpgIMG_20170731_230155.jpgIMG_20170731_230606.jpgIMG_20170801_191006.jpgIMG_20170731_230254.jpgIMG_20170805_152823.jpgIMG_20170815_201659.jpg
 
Last edited:
Joined
Oct 23, 2018
Messages
68
Age
49
Okay.. At this point, The war on my bank account continues. I have opted for a Warn M8000 winch with steel cable. I managed a pretty good deal, so I sprung for a little bit more winch than I thought that I could get.

I also noticed my friggin airbox had a gaping hole in the back by the the wheel well anchor point. These are, well, expensive to replace. I had a friend that I had been talking to on T4R, Chim, that had one that he sold to me, so I swapped them out. I looked at mine the other day and noticed a small crack in the familiar spot. This time I think I will just JB weld that son of a bitch. Someone should figure out how to 3D print that thing.

I also did the extension to the rear diff breather. That wasn't too bad. Again, most of the part number leg work had previously be done by others.IMG_20170214_211731.jpgIMG_20170304_182558.jpgIMG_20170304_182528.jpgIMG_20170304_182336.jpgIMG_20170715_192042.jpgIMG_20170715_192121.jpgIMG_20170821_001454.jpgIMG_20170821_001420.jpgIMG_20170821_001536.jpgIMG_20170820_173728.jpgIMG_20170821_002020.jpg
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20170821_001737.jpg
    IMG_20170821_001737.jpg
    63.2 KB · Views: 1
  • IMG_20170821_001653.jpg
    IMG_20170821_001653.jpg
    70.3 KB · Views: 1
  • IMG_20170821_001635.jpg
    IMG_20170821_001635.jpg
    72.5 KB · Views: 0
  • IMG_20170821_001613.jpg
    IMG_20170821_001613.jpg
    94 KB · Views: 0
Top Bottom