Overview
Toyota’s 4th-generation 4Runner was made through 2003-2009 model years. They came in three trim levels – SR5, Limited, and Sport Edition – and with V6/V8 and 2WD/4WD configurations.
Some notable changes through the model years: 05 got an engine update for the V8 2UZ-FE with VVTI and a bit of horsepower gain, 06 got a facelift with nice projector headlights (low beams)/LED tails/bunch of cosmetics, 08 got a traction control/VSC disable switch (crucial safety upgrade in slippery places, IMO), and 09 got a rare special Trail Edition trim with OEM rear locker for the first time.
Those are just brief highlights of some things that are notable to me. You can find a more extensive overview at wikipedia.
Maintenance Notes
Timing belt replacement is scheduled for every 90k miles on the V8 models. The V6 has a timing chain, so there’s no maintenance schedule on that.
A driveshaft clunk is a known common issue on 4WD models where the slip yokes on the driveshafts can get clunky – commonly occurs after you come to a stop, and then when you let off the brake you can feel and hear a substantial clunk. Common opinion is that it doesn’t damage anything, it’s just annoying. To eliminate it, you just need to grease the driveshafts (there are 6 grease points on the driveshafts, including the u-joints, but the 2 for slip yokes are responsible for the clunk – more details here: https://www.toyota-4runner.org/maintenance-detailing/220638-greasing-driveshaft-4th-gen.html). Grease regularly to avoid the clunk, and you might need to add a lot of grease the first time if it hasn’t been done in a while. Toyota had a TSB for this, recommending replacing the driveshafts with the Lexus versions, which are sealed and don’t have this problem – so that’s another solution.
The AC drain hose drips onto the top of the passenger-side frame rail, which can cause rust inside and down below on the frame. Lots of owners have done a simple relocation mod to mitigate this – one example with instructions and pics here (https://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/276798-extended-ac-drain-mod.html). You can simply extend or replace the tube with a longer one to route the water to drip somewhere not on top of the frame rail.
If you need to replace your rotors/calipers at some point, you can pretty much direct swap upgrade to 5th gen brakes for about the same cost in parts. Here’s my collected info page on the 4Runner 4th to 5th gen brake swap: https://www.nickworksmn.com/post/4th-to-5th-gen-4runner-brake-swap.
Frames on these 4th gens are rust-prone – the Tacoma with the same frame got a recall, but the 4Runners did not. My 08 SR5 V8 4Runner is what got me looking into undercoating to protect and keep it for the long haul. I highly recommend wet film lanolin undercoating for any 4th Gen 4Runner, and really for any vehicle of any age here in the salt belt. I’ve written about rust and undercoating here on my site:
- General about wet film lanolin recommendation: https://nickworksmn.com/does-vehicle-undercoating-help-to-stop-rust/
- Why I don’t recommend any paint, rubberized, por15, converter, encapsulator, etc generally: https://nickworksmn.com/is-rubberized-or-paint-vehicle-undercoating-a-good-option/
- How to DIY spray wet film lanolin: https://nickworksmn.com/guidelines-for-applying-lanolin-wet-film-undercoating-on-your-vehicle/
- And about undercoating service I offer in St Paul MN: https://nickworksmn.com/vehicle-undercoating-rust-protection-service/
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