[SlimJim16v]



 

[Coff33]

Interesting concept. Thanks for that SlimJim!
I suppose i could do that and weld up the original hole. What kind of camber settings are adjustable now, ie. what is the range of adjustment. Obviously I'd prefer negative 0.5 as to avoid tyre wear at -1 do you experience issues with tyre wear?

 

[Coff33]

Last week on Friday I finally received my remaining parts from the ebay seller.

New KYB front ball joints.

New front and rear rotors and pads.

New ball joints went in easy they look really bent due to the vehicle being on the trolley jack at full droop, with the vehicle on the ground they flatten out a bit.
Above is the old one for comparison .... ewww.

New brake rotors and pads. Cleaned them up with brake cleaner and put them on , easy as. It now feels like I have way more braking power, before it was kind of poor pedal feel and stopping distance was crappy. Kinda like my pads were made of wood ! haha .

 

[Coff33]

On Saturday

The Rav performed beautifully again over the weekend. A couple of my friends and I decided to tackle the Avon Valley again for some trails and camping here in Western Australia.
We managed to get to the other side of the railway tracks where we tried to get to last time and failed. This time the drive was full of steep rocky inclines, a good amound of muddy clay areas and lots of nice forest routes.
The difference in my old 225/70R17 Toyo A/T II and the new 225/75R16 Yokohama G015 at 20 psi was amazing.
That extra sidewall + flex made the ride much nicer. Very happy with changing back to 16" tyres.
Im sure the new KYB struts and new larger rear shocks with extra loading helped too

The other two vehicles with me was a 2006 Mitsubishi Pajero and a 1997 Jeep TJ Wrangler
We managed to climb up to some mountain peaks and have a great view over the valley.

There was plenty clay packed climbs and descents around the place .

We found a wicked spot near the river, situated near a railway service area where there was a river crossing.

It didnt look very deep, so we decided to have a go at crossing it

Too easy!!!

We went for a heap more drives around through the forest then setup camp and enjoyed the scenery !

 

[Coff33]

Heres a video of the RAV4 crossing the river

Heres a video of the RAV4 climbing up some sandy/clay hills. Following behind my friend in the Jeep Wrangler

 

[Coff33]

All in all , another successful trip out!
I think I'll purchase some King Springs and gain an extra 1" lift. I seem to clear most objects if i position my wheels right. I understand the limits of ground clearance to overcome most difficult trail areas. But i do often heavily scrape the bashplate under the car on heaps of rocks.

Cant wait for the next one, in an Aussie Summer (42degrees C / 108degrees F) to see how my radiator holds up. Maybe i should replace my water pump for peace of mine before summer....We'll see.

 

[scotty68]

Very nice videos! The trail looked like it got a bit interesting starting at the 1:45 mark. Pulled through pretty nicely tho! We’re in autumn here and it’s getting really nice out. This summer with my RAV in 116F did just fine. No cooling issues whatsoever.
I enjoy following your thread. It’s really cool to see what others do! Keep up the good work man! 👍🏻

 

[Coff33]

Today inspired by RAV4explore and Commando , I moved my CB Radio antenna to the rear. I may install a longer whip antenna in the future, but this 4.5dbi would be a good all-rounder for driving in Hills with slopes and also long flat straights.
I took off the rear corner plastic and found the vent duct which I just removed a piece of the dust flap enough for the antenna to fit through, however still function somewhat..

I ran the cable behind the rear quarter plastics on the interior along the sill plates and to my Glovebox. Then onto my GME TX3100. Simple install took around 30mins.
Its nice being on the rear now and not in my vision when driving.

I also completed an oil change after 5000kms. Short yes.... however the previous owner did not do many as the vehicle was only used to drive up and down the highway once every few weeks.
I used Castrol 5w-40. I considered 10w-40 Which is common in Australia, as we never really start our vehicles in Western Australia on mornings with a lower temp than 10deg, our weather all year round is mostly hot. However I stuck with the 5w-40 Toyota recommends.

 

[Commando]

One ''problem'' I have since I installed a Firestik antenna, is that it is glass fiber made. When it hit the tree branches I'm always afraid to dammage it (I never worried about this when I had a full metallic antenna). For next year, I project to change the mounting spring with a less stiff one. When tree branches could be a problem, I will tie down the antenna with a cord like we were doing with military vehicles.

Yours is full metal, so it should not be a concern... but I would still add a spring at the mounting point.

 

[Coff33]

This weekend I travelled north of Perth - Western Australia to a place called Leeman. My father lives up there, I hadnt seen him in some time so decided I'd enjoy cruise control and head up the highway to see him.
Leeman is a Crayfish (Lobster) fishing town on the coast of W.A.
First time testing the Rav4 in soft sand/on the beach. Wow I was super amazed at how easy the Rav4 does on the sand compared to my wifes Jeep Wrangler.
The Rav4 just floats over the sand no problems at all.

My father had a spare 1.2 metre 6dbi antenna, Fibreglass and steel centered. The flex on it was enough that I wasnt worried about trees etc as Commando mentioned above.
I deflated my tyres to 20 psi, which gave a nice footprint with the 225/75R16 Yokohamas
The drive was very easy and most of the terrain / sand was just 2nd and 3rd gear driving down at the beach.

Very proud of the little Rav4 making it all around the tracks. My brother-in-law was also up at Leeman with me. He was laughing the whole time in amazement that the Rav4 could handle the sand so easy.

Some pics:

 

[gladerunner4WD]

View attachment 188422

Found a set (5) of these wheels this week. Was debating swapping out my steelies. They look great on your Rav!

 

[Coff33]

Funny you say that @gladerunner4WD ,
Just ordered 16x7 +20 Steel wheels arriving in a couple weeks.

 

[gladerunner4WD]

Funny you say that @gladerunner4WD ,
Just ordered 16x7 +20 Steel wheels arriving in a couple weeks.

View attachment 189503

oooo, i like those!

 

[scotty68]

Yeah those are sharp! Are you keeping them black?

 

[scotty68]

Do you have a link for them by chance?

 

[Coff33]

Steel wheels in Australia are super common. There's many many styles you can buy from here relatively cheap! This set (5) was only $600 posted to my home from Eastern Australia.

If you look up brands :

Dynamic
King
CSA
ROH


They are brands here that all make different styles of steel wheels in 5x114.3.
No doubt you could probably get them shipped to USA/Canada too!

 

[Coff33]

This weekend I received my new cam cover gasket. So I thought I'd get to work pulling apart the top side of the engine and replace it.

Off comes the top. Simple, just a few 10mm bolts and nuts to remove all the air intake parts and PCV valve breather to the throttle body.

Cam cover was slightly varnished, keeping in mind this engine has now seen 250,000kms (155k miles) I cleaned it out iwth some brake cleaner.
Removed the rock hard gasket which wasnt leaking , but felt like it was made from hard plastic. Zero flex.

Cleaned out my MAF

Painted the cam cover and exhaust heat shield and put her all back together.

 

[Coff33]

Received my Lift springs this week.
Spent the last two days installing and doing a self-alignment (few hours each day until my back and shoulder gave in, how I wish I was 25 again!)

Simple install as expected.

A Guide for beginners :

Jack up the rav , rear or front first, which ever you like.
Place axel stands / jack stands under the corners of the vehicle for your own safety.

REAR:
Remove shock by unbolting the 14mm mounting bolt at the base. Adding your jack under the lower mount and adding some pressure upward assists in removing the shock as the spring will be trying to push downward.

Once the shock is pushed off its lower mount, just leave it hanging, no need to remove the 14mm nut / mount above inside the rear wagon.

Once you let down your jack, the spring will fully extend out, Place on your spring compressors. Positioning is the key here, You need one outer and one inner compressor. Tightening them up evenly for your own safety. If you understand compressed energy and the hazards behind it, then using a wrench or a rattlegun is your own choice. Be careful. Pressure + the wrong tool + Rushing the job could be the difference between injury and success.

After a lot of swearing and sore muscles and fingers / hands / back, you'll manage to yank the bastard out.
Carefully undo your spring compressors, bit by bit each side evenly. Do not undo only one side then the other. They must be un-wound evenly for your own safety.

Here is a pic of the Aussie "KING SPRINGS" Rear Model: KTRR-43
As you can tell, the height is slightly longer and the spring coils are 14mm thick instead of the OEM 11mm (Australia OEM)
Lets also remember one spring is from 2004 and one is from 2020.

Place your spring compressors on the new spring, if you were smart, you would have sat and looked at the RAV rear mount and figured out WHERE to place the compressors so that when you put the spring back in, you are able to reach the winders to undo them some trial and error (and swearing) happens here for around 15 mins. Then you get it.

Once the spring is in place, unwind the compressors and jack up the lower control arm and re-fit the shock. Repeat on the other side.

FRONT:

First , undo the soft brakeline mount 12mm. Undo the swaybar linkage 14mm + size 5 Allen key. Then undo both bolts holding the hub to the shock (19mm)

 

[Coff33]

Once you have those 3 items unbolted , simply undo the 3x 17mm nuts from the engine bay and drop the shock out.

attach you spring compressors, again , one either side where appropriate for you to be able to wind them to tighten. Apply enough pressure to clearly see the spring lifting from the base. The idea here is to simply remove pressure so you can undo the top mount hat.

Once your sure you have compressed the spring enough. a 19mm socket on a rattle gun or Ratchet.
If your using a ratchet, try holding the shaft of the shock to easier undo the top nut.

Everything should slide apart at this point. If you didnt tighten the spring enough the top hat may have either made you goto hospital or launched at the side of your car and you have a new dent in your door. (Hope not!) haha. Remove your spring compressors from the spring and place the spring aside.

Heres a pic of the front KING SPRINGS front spring vs OEM Model KTFR-43
Strange that it isnt exactly longer right ???
however if you look closer, it has an extra coil, and is 2mm thicker steel than the OEM coil.
Its also manufactured in 2020, not 2004

At this point you just complete the reverse.
Spring compressors on the new King spring, tighten it down evenly, again if you were smart, you would have noted where you put them on previously and figured out WHERE to place the compressors on this spring when you put the spring back in, you are able to reach the winders to undo them !

NOTE : The top "hat" has the word OUT-V written above this tab, this tab MUST FACE the lower mount 2 bolt section as per my pic below. You miss this step and youre going to be super mad at yourself in about 15-20 mins time

Once compressed enough, you will be able to place back on the top hat mount

Remove the spring compressors and re-install into the Rav

Note:
Toyota RAV4 models 4.1 and 4.2 DO NOT have camber adjustment in the front. When lifting the RAV4 you will have POSITIVE camber by default. Your TOE will also be off.
You will NEED to purchase a set of these from your local parts store, or tyre shop (Or Ebay) }
They are 15mm CAMBER BOLTS.

You NEED to install one on each TOP mount hole on the strut either side so that when you get your alignment done, the mechanic can remove the camber and fix your toe CORRECTLY.
These are cheap and you should NOT install your lift springs or any spacers before buying some of these first.

 

[Coff33]

Very happy with the ride quality and the lift.
All in all, for $400 AUD off Ebay, these king springs have done exactly what i needed.
In combination with my rear 25mm spacer and front 30mm spacer the Rav4 sits pretty high now. My axels look acceptable still when it comes to angle. Once my 40mm spacers arrive for front and rear Ill re-asses the situation, however Commando seems to not have an issue , so im not too worried.