*RickRunner* - Rickashay's 05 T4R

rickashay

Explorer
CURRENT PHOTO - October 2017


20170925-_08I4857 by Tamarack Media Co., on Flickr


20170923-_08I4542 by Tamarack Media Co., on Flickr





With #Doug now officially gone, I figured it was time to bring this over here.

Well, here I go again...

It's safe to say that I might have a problem. At least that's what my wife and friends sometimes tell me. I've gone through six vehicles in the last 12 months, they weren't all built Toyota 4x4's but I have a rap sheet of those as well...

I'll spare the history though, if you're interested in my other builds just check out the "Dirt Duster", "Tom Cruiser", or "Doug"."

Back to the point. I am recently married and my wife and I have been having discussions about having children. I also have 2 dogs and love everything outside. It doesn''t hurt that I always liked the 4th Gens and after owning a pretty clean example ("Phil the 4th Gen") earlier this year (which I sold LOL), I kinda started to like the platform. Phil was the best color, and a Sport Edition, but did not have the 2UZ so I knew it wouldn't last. In light of our recent discussions my wife and I realized the 4th Gen was the perfect platform for our upcoming needs and if we were going to look for one, it would have to be a clean (BC truck preferably) with low mileage, and have the V8. After being screwed out of a very clean 07' Limited V8 (seller sold it out from under me before taking delivery), I knew the hunt was on. A few weeks of hard daily classified scavenging, and I found "Rick". Rick has an interesting back story to say the least. Something that I will elaborate on a little later. However, here are the things you need to know:

- 05' Limited V8
- West coast BC vehicle it's whole life
- It has 43,000kms on it. No, that is not a typo.

Fast forward to last weekend and I was on a plane with my wife, headed for Vancouver. We made a quick weekend getaway out of it and landed Saturday morning at 8:30am in Van, BC.

IMG_8084.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr

Coming into YVR

IMG_8087.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr

The current owner picked us up at the airport and we quickly finalized the deal. My wife and I spent the rest of the day and part of Sunday meandering around and enjoying the awesomeness that is Vancouver.

IMG_8091.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr


IMG_8094.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr

We headed back to Calgary on Sunday where we gave the 4Runner a much needed stretch on the highway to work out any buildups in the engine. It's been driven but at 43,000kms it sure hasn't been driven a lot. My fuel economy has been improving with each tank which I think may be related to this.

Since being back in Calgary, I felt urged to remove the ugly running boards as my first official "mod".

IMG_8113.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr

And a couple detail shots of the rig to start the documentation process off in the right direction. The plan for this build is to document everything. You may even see a lot of video style VLOG's as well. Something that I think would be a pretty cool concept for a truck build. I'm stoked to dive in.
IMG_8103.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr


IMG_8104.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr

Paint is like new:

IMG_8110.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr

Original glass:

IMG_8109.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr

So fresh, so clean!
IMG_8111.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr


IMG_8112.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr


IMG_8114.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr

That's all for now. Stay tuned!
 
Last edited:

rickashay

Explorer
Before I dive too deep into this thing, I am going to take the initial build slow and take care of a lot of the smaller details I always seem to miss when parts start showing up.

I do a lot of 'Adventure Touring' in my 4x4's. They need to be very flexible as the terrain I wheel on varies so much. I literally want a truck than can drive to the Rubicon (from Canada) and drive back home. Something that is comfortable on medium-hard difficulty trails, but just at home on the highway going 75 MPH. And seemingly, the older I get, the more I seem to be getting into the whole camp-and-relax thing.

Basically #RickRunner will be my basecamp for adventure.

On the to-do list for the short term:
- Pull seats and detail interior
- Synthetic oil change
- Redline synthetic ATF
- Diff breathers
- 115V always on mod
- HCF mod
- Replace hood struts (they almost killed me today)
- New HU w/Bluetooth
- Weathertech mats
- Fluid film frame and touch up all surface rust

Long Term goals are something that will evolve with the truck, but as it stands:
- 34's or 35's
- SCS kicks (still deciding which wheel I want to go with, maybe the new 17x9 F5's)
- 4.56 gears and ARB lockers F/R
- PrinSu Roof Rack
- Headlight retrofit (keeping this under wraps until it's done)
- Suspension.... debating on a simple coilover setup with UCA's, +2" LT, or no-compromise +3.5" LT
- Camping mods...


HCF Delete (11/2/16)


I had 30 mins to spare tonight, so I popped off the airbox cover and checked the air filter. Used a box cutter and hacked off the plastic rivets holding in the HCF. They say "instantly improved throttle response", and I think I'm ready for it. haha


IMG_8116.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr


IMG_8120.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr
 

rickashay

Explorer
UPDATE

Got together with my bro and a couple buddies last night. Brought out my Porter Cable random orbital polisher (such a nice piece of hardware) and went to town on 3 trucks. RickRunner didn't really need a wax per-se but with winter on the horizon I didnt think it was a bad idea to get an extra coat of protection on the paint.

The fruits of my labor:

IMG_8166.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr


IMG_8168.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr
 

rickashay

Explorer
UPDATE - Nov 20, 2016

Delivered the Tundra to Montana today to its new owner. Was a super fast and seemless sale. The new owner is an awesome guys and I am very pleased to see the truck go to another offroad and automobile enthusiast.

What does this mean for the 4Runner? Well its time to start brainstorming the build and getting more serious. haha Lots of plans in the works and realistically I won't be tackling anything major until after February. The weather here is too cold and my garage isn't heated, so I'll be in "parts acquisition" mode until then.

I did manage a couple quick mods tonight though. Here's a look at the coming weeks of tinkering:

Thanks [MENTION=122890]Churchill[/MENTION] for the grille - I've got some interesting plans for it.

IMG_8263.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr

First things first - Hood struts. I won't be wrenching on this thing much longer if the hood takes off my head.

IMG_8266.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr

WeatherTech Mats in:

IMG_8259.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr

And finally the AFE Pro Dry Filter:

IMG_8268.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr

Not that anyone other than myself will be servicing this but...

IMG_8273.jpg by Addison Rickaby, on Flickr
 

theBullfrog125

Adventurer
Glad to see you back in the game. Or it seems you were never out of it... haha. I'm super happy you got 4th Gen because now I don't have to look at all for a detailed build-up of one, got one right here! This will be useful when I buy one next year. Haha
 

AaronK

Explorer
Excited to see where this goes...i doubt your build will be slow for long 😉

Sent from my OnePlus One using Tapatalk.
 

MCObray

Explorer
Patiently waiting for the, "4Runner is up for sale, wife and I are expecting triplets. Now hunting for a Sequoia!"

All kidding aside, can't wait to see what you do with this one. Nice find :).
 

brodiee2

New member
Nice meeting you the other night man "Was with my buddy David who bought your factory55 Fairlead". One thing I would add to your list is the secondary air injection pump block plate. Only downside to these vvti equipped 4.7 is that stupid pump. Had one start to go in my first 4th gen but caught it in time to avoid the truck going into limp mode. I guess if they do get stuck it's over $3000 in parts to get it running again. Block plate is cheap way to ease your mind! https://hewitt-tech.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=7
 

AaronK

Explorer
Patiently waiting for the, "4Runner is up for sale, wife and I are expecting triplets. Now hunting for a Sequoia!"

All kidding aside, can't wait to see what you do with this one. Nice find :).
He can name that one the Rick Roller haha

Sent from my OnePlus One using Tapatalk.
 

rickashay

Explorer
Can't wait till next wheeling season dude, 2017 is going to be awesome

Yup. Need to head south!

https://www.harrop.com.au/shop/4x4-performance/elocker/elocker-toyota-front-391-up

Stumbled across this yesterday. Elocker for Prado 120 and 4th Gen 4Runner.
Harrop is a Aussie manufacturer for Eaton. It's expensive but cool to have another option for selectable locker for a IFS front diff.

Definitely a cool option. Thanks for the link!

Excited to see where this goes...i doubt your build will be slow for long 

Sent from my OnePlus One using Tapatalk.

Lol... well Black Friday is tomorrow. Couldn't have picked a better time to have a bit of cash to buy parts with!

Patiently waiting for the, "4Runner is up for sale, wife and I are expecting triplets. Now hunting for a Sequoia!"

All kidding aside, can't wait to see what you do with this one. Nice find :).

Take it easy on a guy... it's only page 2! haha Thanks Mason. FYI - If I need more space, it'll be a 200 Series!

Excellent choice for a great all-round rig. Beauty.

Also, proud to own (and sell) Harrops and also to do business with Ken Francisco (aka "Zuk").

Love to do a delivery to your location.

Ward

Thanks for reaching out Ward. I am intrigued by the E-locker fronts and Ken F. is a legend, even up here in the Great White North.

The runner looks immaculate, great find!

Thanks!

Nice meeting you the other night man "Was with my buddy David who bought your factory55 Fairlead". One thing I would add to your list is the secondary air injection pump block plate. Only downside to these vvti equipped 4.7 is that stupid pump. Had one start to go in my first 4th gen but caught it in time to avoid the truck going into limp mode. I guess if they do get stuck it's over $3000 in parts to get it running again. Block plate is cheap way to ease your mind! https://hewitt-tech.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=7

Hey Brodie, good to meet you too. Oh don't worry... already have a similar module/block off plates on order ;)

He can name that one the Rick Roller haha

Sent from my OnePlus One using Tapatalk.

RickaStroller maybe? lol
 

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