Out with the old, in with the new(er) - BlackAck's 4Runner thread
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Joined: Jan 2005
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From: ShitsBurgh
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 92,732
Likes: 4,670
From: ShitsBurgh
So back in the early spring, some time in March I believe, I was cutoff by a white pathfinder on wet roads, and I couldn't stop in time and clipped his rear bumper. My lightbar took the brunt of the hit, but also gave way and pushed back into the bumper causing a fair amount of damage to my 6 month old fresh painted oem bumper... I finally broke down and bought a new painted bumper and a new LED light bar to replace the damaged ones. Here's some pics of the damage, it was mostly cosmetic
The paint was creased all the way across the bumper
It was also flaking off in large chunks
The LED bar bolt broke out of the mount and I pushed it back into the bracket, it was good there for about 6 months.
The led bar was also cracked, but still works, even with moisture all over the inside
My retrofitted headlights also took a hit, well the passenger side, all but the long top bracket were completely snapped
The headlight housing itself is also cracked, so I'm going to have to order a new set of housings before winter....
I even found a dead moth in this one lol
So first thing I did after teardown was mock up the new light bar in my set of custom steel brackets. I upgraded and bought a CREE C2 Series Flood/Spot with more lumens to replace my C1 series less bright LED bar. Unfortunately this one is about an inch wider than the first one, so I had to bend the steel brackets out to make it fit.
But after some prying and bending I got it to fit nice and snug
Upon discovering that I would need to buy new headlight housings, and that the spare set that I had also had broken mounts on the passenger light. I decided to throw my old lights back on for now and just mount the new bumper. My gf helped me get everything lined up since it's easier with 2 sets of hands..
Here you can see a better pic of the spot/flood combo. This bar is significantly brighter than the last one that I had, which I didn't even think was possible.
And here she is all back together. with the new bumper. My damaged bumper had boners drawn all over the inside of it (Thanks Maker) so I wasn't comfortable taking it to a body shop, so I bought a prepainted one on eBay.
As part of the damage, the bumper brackets that the ends clip into were also damaged, so I have to order a new set of those, but it's on for now and it looks much better than before!
I'll be ordering the headlights and brackets soon and will have another update hopefully in a couple weeks.
The paint was creased all the way across the bumper
It was also flaking off in large chunks
The LED bar bolt broke out of the mount and I pushed it back into the bracket, it was good there for about 6 months.
The led bar was also cracked, but still works, even with moisture all over the inside
My retrofitted headlights also took a hit, well the passenger side, all but the long top bracket were completely snapped
The headlight housing itself is also cracked, so I'm going to have to order a new set of housings before winter....
I even found a dead moth in this one lol
So first thing I did after teardown was mock up the new light bar in my set of custom steel brackets. I upgraded and bought a CREE C2 Series Flood/Spot with more lumens to replace my C1 series less bright LED bar. Unfortunately this one is about an inch wider than the first one, so I had to bend the steel brackets out to make it fit.
But after some prying and bending I got it to fit nice and snug
Upon discovering that I would need to buy new headlight housings, and that the spare set that I had also had broken mounts on the passenger light. I decided to throw my old lights back on for now and just mount the new bumper. My gf helped me get everything lined up since it's easier with 2 sets of hands..
Here you can see a better pic of the spot/flood combo. This bar is significantly brighter than the last one that I had, which I didn't even think was possible.
And here she is all back together. with the new bumper. My damaged bumper had boners drawn all over the inside of it (Thanks Maker) so I wasn't comfortable taking it to a body shop, so I bought a prepainted one on eBay.
As part of the damage, the bumper brackets that the ends clip into were also damaged, so I have to order a new set of those, but it's on for now and it looks much better than before!
I'll be ordering the headlights and brackets soon and will have another update hopefully in a couple weeks.
Last edited by 97BlackAckCL; Oct 18, 2016 at 01:14 PM. Reason: missing comma
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Regional Coordinator (Southeast)
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From: Mooresville, NC
Look good now. Still love the light bar in that spot. Fills it so perfect.
about the boners and not feeling comfortable to take it any place to be painted
about the boners and not feeling comfortable to take it any place to be painted
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 92,732
Likes: 4,670
From: ShitsBurgh
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 92,732
Likes: 4,670
From: ShitsBurgh
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2005
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From: ShitsBurgh
How did you make the mounts? I wouldn't mind doing that to my 4Runner.
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2005
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From: ShitsBurgh
They were custom made, a member on the 4Runner forum made them for me
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2005
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From: ShitsBurgh
Busy weekend "winterizing" the AckRunner as I had spare time. First I changed the oil to Mobil-1 and another Fram Synthetic filter
Cleaned the windshield and replaced the Icons with a new set
Also rewired the rocker switch for the LED bar with a an OEM style switch, had the original switch shoved in the fuse box cover
Soldered up the wires so they'll stay together
And all wired up, lights up when the bar is on and also with the dimmer and other switches, WAY brighter than the LED's I swapped in the stock switches
Mostly housekeeping, but I enjoyed checking a few things off the list. I also recovered the bluetooth mic from inside the dash and replaced it on the steering column where I can use it.
Cleaned the windshield and replaced the Icons with a new set
Also rewired the rocker switch for the LED bar with a an OEM style switch, had the original switch shoved in the fuse box cover
Soldered up the wires so they'll stay together
And all wired up, lights up when the bar is on and also with the dimmer and other switches, WAY brighter than the LED's I swapped in the stock switches
Mostly housekeeping, but I enjoyed checking a few things off the list. I also recovered the bluetooth mic from inside the dash and replaced it on the steering column where I can use it.
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 92,732
Likes: 4,670
From: ShitsBurgh
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 92,732
Likes: 4,670
From: ShitsBurgh
So I'm getting ready to trade the old girl in in a couple weeks, been looking at 2017's and have my pick narrowed down to 2. For the last couple months my GF has been moving in with me and I've been using the 4Runner as a work horse to move stuff between houses, and storage, etc. Was going to trade in over labor day but my sister decided to move in with her BF so I waited in order to use my truck to help her move as well. She gave her bed to my mom so I had to cart it 2 hours home on the highway, this was the end result lol
with the TRDPro wheels.
I vote blue, I love how much my '06 holds. I'm planning on keeping the 06 and getting an M2 early next year.
If it's not asking too much how much are you getting on the trade in?
If it's not asking too much how much are you getting on the trade in?
