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I do have a set of the quick release brackets for a roof top tent that came with the rack, that I want to sell to fund the purchase of the above linked kit. No plans for a RTT for me (yet) https://www.frontrunneroutfitters.co...nt-runner.html
Post #438:
Transfer case fault - P2213 - The signal from the component Direction sensor is implausible
Learning of the transfer case has aborted - Distance of shift motor too long
Oil Change
Cabin Air Filter Change
Engine Air Filters Change
Windshield Wiper Shaft Parts with P/Ns - water leaking into cabin
Air Compressor Upgrade - Smittybilt 2781 to SAMOUT Dual Head Compressor.
Post #445:
New Odyssey AGM Battery
Intermittent P2003 and P0410 codes - Malfunction Secondary Air Injection - 40A MaxiFuse blew again for unknown reason
Picked up Diode Dynamics Elite Series F2 Style and SS3 Pro Fog lights for future retrofit projects.
Arm rest organization redo and removing the tele-aid buttons/cables.
Replacing the exhust/muffler clamps with 2.75" V-band clamps. Perfect fit!
Post#446:
Permanently fixing the exhaust - replacing rusted away flanges with 2.75" stainless steel V-band clamps. new Exhaust Gasket with sealant.
Some open header revs of course!
Mounting the new air compressor inside the cargo drawer unit.
Starting to design fog light mounts for the Diode Dynamics Elite Series F2 fog lights to retrofit into the W463 rectangular fog light bumper.
Post #451:
Finished design for retrofitting Diode Dynamics Elite Series fog lights into the W463 OE location. Design process, Installation, Results.
Post #454:
Spring Cleaning - Stripping Plastidip from light guards. Selling spare 2/3 rear seat.
Replacing door stripped hardware
Sprint wash!
Quick polishing test to recondition the paint (eventually)
Cluster LCD Screen replacement/repair.
Future center console planning for a more functional cup holder
Phone charger moved to dash with custom mount.
More USB power outlets added behind the dash.
New infotainment setup is highly functional, but minimally busy (as much as it can be)
Redoing the rear camera wire routing and mounting. Adding sound deadening to the cargo door.
Post #457
Installing Wolfbox G840S Mirror Dash Cam/Backup Cam.
Purchased a used set of G63 shocks
Ordered updated electronic pedal.
Post #464:
Removing the 4 year old Fox 2.0 shocks and installing used G63 shocks.
Taking care of some surface rust
Inspecting front CV boots - both are torn badly.
Post #466:
Generic Car Cover - Fail.
Replacing the broken Rhino Horn antenna with a sealed grommet.
New Phone! Pixel 9 XL Pro - New magsafe charger on the G Dash
Dropping the G off at Wolfgang's (Tenafly, NJ) for a complete front axle rebuild and draining of my bank account.
Post #471:
Growing oil leak around the oil filter/oil cooler area.
3D Scanning a 2008+ Oval Fog Light front bumper for future projects
Replacing flush lock pins with OE for safety
My buddy traded in that China Blue G55 from BaT and picked up this 4in Eurowise lifted G63 on 35's and a ton of extra goodies.
Winter skiing trip and the G was excellent.
Frontrunner Roof Rack Install - purchased from my friend with a 40" Baja Designs OnX6 light bar, Rhino Rack Sunseeker Awning, and ORC ladder.
Post #475:
Lots of maintenance!
Replacing Power Steering Reservoir
Replacing Heater Core Aux Coolant Pump
Replacing Oil Filler Neck/Oil Cooler Seals
Replacing Sticky Thermostat
Oil Change
Coolant top-off/flush
Driving up to FCPEuro to meet up with Mike Serpe to pick up/purchase a known good/used Transfer Case. 2004 with ~36k miles on it.
Updated Fog light Brackets for use with any F2 (Ford style) fog lights (Morimoto XB Evo+ or Diode Dynamics Elite Series F2 with level adjustment.
Crazy setup of Dual Diode Dynamics SS3 Pro's coming together. Set of Fog Lights and set of Combo Driving Lights mounted into the oval fog light bumper.
Picked up aftermarket set of face-lift side mirrors - disassembling to figure out the wiring.
Taking the G offroad with a local group in the sand dunes of Southern NJ with my buddy and his monster G63. Tons of fun.
Hi @shiann amazing work and detailed information provided here! You should definetly create a youtube channel with all this tips!
I was wondering if you know where this spring fits on the glove box handle:
I tried several ways to place the sping but havent found how yet.
Mine broke so i ordered a new one from aliexpress, great quality:
I was wondering if you could share the STL's from the parts you have printed, namely the shims you designed for the front doors pockets.
Best regards,
Rodrigo Catarino
Last edited by rodrigocatarino; Dec 23, 2025 at 08:45 AM.
@rodrigocatarino , what are those hooks above the tailgate on both sides? where did you get them and how do they install? drilling? how do you use them?
@bejoy When i bought the G, it was already installed.
I've never used them, but the previous owner used them to secure a awning. Drilling was necessary to install it, on the inside they have a large plate to better support them.
@bejoy When i bought the G, it was already installed.
I've never used them, but the previous owner used them to secure a awning. Drilling was necessary to install it, on the inside they have a large plate to better support them.
thank you, @rodrigocatarino! I want something just like that. if not too much trouble, please share photos of the plates on the inside.
The second half of 2025 flew by. I have been crazy busy with work, life, projects, etc.
At the end of 2024 when the G was at Woflgang's, he said the thermostat was stuck open and needed to be replaced. Technically it was "fine" as coolant was able to flow through the engine to cool it down, but not being able to close would slow down the engine from reaching operating temperature. I also started getting CEL's for this and the aux coolant pump not working correctly.
So time to dig in. I've been collecting parts for the front of the enigne for a while now, so while you're in there...
Power Steering Reservoir with Internal Filter
2 Power Steering pump/reservoir hoses + o-ring
Power Steering Fluid
Thermostat
Coolant
Aux Coolant Pump
Oil Filter/Cooler Seals
Oil Change + Additives
There are plenty of videos out on YT for replacing all of these seals and gaskets around the oil filter housing/oil cooler. These all eventually leak and leave a really big mess. Replacing the wasn't that difficult, just messy.
My Aux Coolant Pump was throwing codes caused issues with the engine warming up, also made it difficult for the heater unit to keep temperature consistent. Easy to change out overall.
Old vs New Thermostat.
My original power steering reservoir/filter combo was definitely leaking a good amount. Lots of gunk on the outlet. Also, I'm hearing a lot less steering whine at the limit, so hopefully that helped.
Majority of the oil seals installed after a thorough cleaning.
After a few weeks, all of the bird pooping on the mirrors suddently stopped, which gave me enough comfort to install the new mirrors. Much more modern looking. The side markers are a lot more dim (these being aftermarket), and the mirrors being curved take a little bit of time to get used to, but I'm much happier with these overall.
Annoyingly, when I removed my driver's side mirror, you can clearly see that at least this door has been painted in the past, and very poorly at that. They didnt' even remove the mirror when painting. You can see the bad paint run right above, and the whole side is just a mess. Very frustrating since none of this shows up on the Carfax.
I added some gasketing/seals on the Frontrunner rack wind deflector to quiet the wind noise down. Definitley helped a lot to not have air whistling under the rack. Added sound now isn't bad.
The paint on the hood has started to get pretty oxidized. I haven't had the time to really polish the paint and ceramic coat, but I finally carved out an hour to do the hood. About 30 minutes of quick passes really cleaned up a lot of the oxidation.
It's not perfect, but significantlly better than before. Also much easier to keep clean and was able to throw on some hybrid ceramic spray to protect it for now.
November rolled around and one of the pulleys on the front of the engine started to make a pretty bad squeel/chirping sound. Definitely rotational, and definitely a bearing failing. Unfortunately it wasn't just a bearing, it was the Water Pump.
Pully wobble was bad.
I ordered a water pump from FCP and tore everything down. Sucks because earlier in the summer when I did the thermostat, I had everything taken apart and open to easliy replace the water pump. Life and learn, just do all the stuff "while you're in there".
I had a ton of debris inside my pulley that I had to clean out.
New vs Old water pump assemblies.
There are a few videos online about this, but you have to TAP YOUR OWN THREADS into the highlighted holes. 2 Red highlighted holes are M8x1.25 to mount the supercharger tensioner, and the Yellow highlighted hole is M10x1.5 for an idler pulley.
Make sure to have these taps on hand before starting any waterpump job on a M113/M113k and probably other engines in the M11x series. I, thankfully, had a set of these I purchased at a garage sale 20 years ago for $5 and never used, until today!
I dug around and found my machinist tap handle also, which I've been saving in my tool box for the past 25 years. Parting gift from a machine shop foreman from several jobs ago.
You can see how bad the bearing was. The wobble caused the pump vanes to dig into the casing. metal fragments are definitely in my cooling channels, but hopefully none of them are too large and will eventually settle.
I had a few completely exposed wires, so had to tape them all up as they go up against the engine block. Tesa tape is rated to 150C/302F max so hopefully it'll be good in there.
And my accelerator pedal broke again. I can't be the only one this happens to constantly. This is my 4th pedal to break in the same exact way. I have all the components to upgrade to the electronic pedal, just need to make the time to do it.
And lastly, we got snow! Several small and medium snow storms the month of December. After this one, I started using the Amazon car cover on the G to make it easier to clean off. Has worked great, especially for ice and freezing rain.
Just can't get over how at home the G looks in the snow. Just perfection.
Happy 2026 everyone! Lots more projects for me to complete, lots more projects to come.
Current Mileage: 161,400
Total Miles Driven in 2025: 8,852
Total Spent on Parts: $5,750 - $293.48 (FCPEuro Lifetime Warranty Parts) - $3,374 (Optional Parts I purchased) = $2082.52
Total Spent on Gas: $2,768.51
Total Gallons of Gas: 779.82
Average MPG: 10.96
Total Cost/Mile Driven: $0.548
Not that great, not that bad.
Optional parts I purchased:
2008 Black Front Bumper with Oval Lights and Black Bull Bar + All Hardware and Spare set of Black Endcaps
Frontrunner Roof Rack, ORC Rear Ladder, Baja Designs OnX6 40" Light Bar + Harness and Rhino Rack Sunseeker Awning
Known good Transfer Case from a 2004 with 34k Miles
I'll need to take care of a bunch of things in 2026 - In no particular Order
- Replace Throttle Assembly with newer style (All Components Purchased Already)
- Address Oil Leaks
- Reseal the Lower Oil Pan
- Replace Oil Level Sender/Gasket
- Replace Dip Stick Tube Gasket
- Rear Main Seal is probably Leaking
- Reseal Upper Oil Pan
- Replace Motor Mounts (while you're in there)
- Maybe Replace Headers to Long Tubes (while you're in there)
- Rebuild Fox 2.0 Shocks and revalve to MB G-Wagon Specs (All components already purchased)
- Install G500/550 or JWO +2" Lift Springs (Already purchased)
- Address Body Rust
- Replace Windshield
- Replace Saggy Headliner (finally)
- Sound Deadening Material All over the inside of the cabin/roof/cargo area
- Install Lower Backup Camera (finally)
- Rebuild Rear Cargo Area Drawer System - Lower Profile to be flat with the wheel wells, and Add a lower table/pull-out loading tray
- Replace Rear Fog/Reverse Lights with Diode Dynamics C2R + Wiring Harness Modification
- Repalce Front Bumper with 2008 bumper + brush guard
- Install New Fog Light Setup - 2 Pairs of Diode Dynamics SS3 Pro's - Amber Fog and Amber Combo/Driving Lights
- Flush Rear Differential
- Flush/Rebuild Front/Rear Lockers
- Finally fix the Transfer Case - Inspect the TCM and Harness
- Transmission Flush/Filter Change/Inspect Solenoids
- Check Supercharger Oil Level/Condition
- Change Spark Plugs/Wires (75k miles)
- Rebuild Front Calipers - They are sticking and inside pad isn't engaging correctly. or Replace front calipers with G63 Brembo's.
- Repaint the Fender Flares and Sunroof Cap
- PPF the Roof
- Black out all Emblems
- Rhino Liner the Chrome Side Steps
- Maybe FINALLY start the House Addition to build a new tall garage that the G can fit in
Current Mileage: 161,400
Total Miles Driven in 2025: 8,852
Total Spent on Parts: $5,750 - $293.48 (FCPEuro Lifetime Warranty Parts) - $3,374 (Optional Parts I purchased) = $2082.52
Total Spent on Gas: $2,768.51
Total Gallons of Gas: 779.82
Average MPG: 10.96
Total Cost/Mile Driven: $0.548
Not that great, not that bad.
Optional parts I purchased:
2008 Black Front Bumper with Oval Lights and Black Bull Bar + All Hardware and Spare set of Black Endcaps
Frontrunner Roof Rack, ORC Rear Ladder, Baja Designs OnX6 40" Light Bar + Harness and Rhino Rack Sunseeker Awning
Known good Transfer Case from a 2004 with 34k Miles
I'll need to take care of a bunch of things in 2026 - In no particular Order
- Replace Throttle Assembly with newer style (All Components Purchased Already)
- Address Oil Leaks
- Reseal the Lower Oil Pan
- Replace Oil Level Sender/Gasket
- Replace Dip Stick Tube Gasket
- Rear Main Seal is probably Leaking
- Reseal Upper Oil Pan
- Replace Motor Mounts (while you're in there)
- Maybe Replace Headers to Long Tubes (while you're in there)
- Rebuild Fox 2.0 Shocks and revalve to MB G-Wagon Specs (All components already purchased)
- Install G500/550 or JWO +2" Lift Springs (Already purchased)
- Address Body Rust
- Replace Windshield
- Replace Saggy Headliner (finally)
- Sound Deadening Material All over the inside of the cabin/roof/cargo area
- Install Lower Backup Camera (finally)
- Rebuild Rear Cargo Area Drawer System - Lower Profile to be flat with the wheel wells, and Add a lower table/pull-out loading tray
- Replace Rear Fog/Reverse Lights with Diode Dynamics C2R + Wiring Harness Modification
- Repalce Front Bumper with 2008 bumper + brush guard
- Install New Fog Light Setup - 2 Pairs of Diode Dynamics SS3 Pro's - Amber Fog and Amber Combo/Driving Lights
- Flush Rear Differential
- Flush/Rebuild Front/Rear Lockers
- Finally fix the Transfer Case - Inspect the TCM and Harness
- Transmission Flush/Filter Change/Inspect Solenoids
- Check Supercharger Oil Level/Condition
- Change Spark Plugs/Wires (75k miles)
- Rebuild Front Calipers - They are sticking and inside pad isn't engaging correctly. or Replace front calipers with G63 Brembo's.
- Repaint the Fender Flares and Sunroof Cap
- PPF the Roof
- Black out all Emblems
- Rhino Liner the Chrome Side Steps
- Maybe FINALLY start the House Addition to build a new tall garage that the G can fit in
Yup. 2026 is going to be a fun one.
Cheers!
Busy year ahead! I am surprised your wife isn't making you put the house renovation up top on the list haha.
