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Abrogate Cement FJ TT 6MT - a Colorado Build

17K views 51 replies 15 participants last post by  Babyota_13_885/2500 
#1 · (Edited)
The search for a 2010+ FJ 6MT started in mid February 2019. I was looking for Iceberg (White), Quicksand (Tan) or Cement (Gray). Searching for used FJs is a chore, but trying to find a clean 2010+ 6MT with no rust is a real challenge.

The first one I test drove was a 2011 Iceberg 6MT w/ ~50k mi. I was in North Carolina in July on a family vacation and had watched it from afar (Colorado) for 6 weeks. We liked it a lot but ultimately the dealer wouldn’t budge from the $30k asking price PLUS $1700 D&H. The latter part left me disgusted so we kept searching.

Afterwards I made offers on three or four 2012+ 6MT FJs and the dealers weren’t budging. I briefly considered a 2010 in Montana with 120k on the odo, but photos provided showed substantial rust underneath.

Finally, after ~6m of searching, I found a 2013 on autotrader.com at a Hyundai dealer near Phoenix late on a Friday evening. With no pictures or details, I popped the VIN into the My Toyota site and was quickly excited after reviewing the build. 2013 Trail Teams Cement 6MT w/ Tow Package and TRD cat-back exhaust.

I reached out to the dealer for some pictures and they replied with several shoddy photos in low res. After missing several nice FJs due to dragging my feet, I decided to take a chance on this one. I bought a one-way plane ticket for $50 and flew down on the following Wednesday. Hopped in a Lyft, took a 30min drive into the desert, and there I found the cleanest, 100% stock, unmolested one-owner beauty pictured below. It had ~114k on the odo but looked and drove like new... except.

Before flying from Denver to Phoenix I reviewed the service history from Toyota. I found every oil change and routine service from day one. It appeared to be immaculately maintained except for the last two visits, one in February 2019 and the final one just a few weeks before trading it.

The owner reported a long-standing, regularly occurring 6th gear shift grind in addition to a new intermittent 2nd gear shift grind. The dealer noted they were able to reproduce the 6th gear issue and wrote the 2nd gear was “notchy”. They recommend the following in order: 1 synchro additive / performance transmission fluid, 2 remove transmission and inspect for wear / replace parts, 3 total trans replacement. Previous owner declined to service the transmission and traded it in on a new Hyundai SUV instead.

I used this knowledge during the test drive to reproduce the 6th gear issue for the salesman, but was unable to find any issue with the other gears. Based on the service report and my findings I negotiated $3300 off the already reduced price. Low $20s is what I ended up spending.

I immediately (within 2 hours) made this mine on 9/12/19 and drove it ~1100mi back home to Colorado. Ive had zero issues with the truck in the last 1500mi other than the 6th gear grind. If I focus on rev matching and not accelerating during the shift there are no problems getting it into 6th. I’ve done some research on this issue (~$4-5k for a reman trans installed, synchro repair, etc) but will start a new post on this.

My build thread starts here.
 

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#2 · (Edited)
Not a fan of the fake beadlock look and wanted to freshen up the wheels a bit. I prefer OE wheels so I picked up a set of 2018 4Runner TRD Offroad 17” wheels locally. These are new takeoffs with no miles. Pictured on my ATC 6x12 aluminum trailer. When I hooked up my trailer for the first time I inspected the FJ hitch and I could tell it had never been used, a good sign!
 

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#3 · (Edited)
Debated BFG AT vs Duratrac and settled on the Goodyears as Ive owned a few sets of these and they do well in the winter shoulder seasons.

Went to discount tire the following week after I purchased the truck and had a set of 285/70R17 Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac load range E installed, waiting on matching 5th wheel spare. Really dig the look and so far no rubbing on stock suspension!

Also ordered a set of Nokian Hakkapeliitta LT3 studded snow tires in the same size. I live in Colorado at ~8500ft and we have several months of hard packed snow and ice to deal with. Debating on which OE 17s for my winter set, probably another set of the same TRD wheels shown here, but maybe a black TRD Pro set.
 

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#4 · (Edited)
Removed the stock rack (for sale here) and installed a Rhino Rack Backbone with Yakima HD Bars. Decided to switch gears and try the Pioneer Platform, waiting for a 56x84” to be delivered. Planning to mount my James Baroud Evasion RTT plus ARB Aluminum awning up top. Perhaps that’ll wait as winter is right around the corner here. Ill use the platform for skis and snowboards for now.
 

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#5 ·
The search started for a 2010+ FJ 6MT in mid February 2019. I was looking for Iceberg (White), Quicksand (Tan) or Cement (Gray). Searching for used FJs is a chore, but trying to find a clean 2010+ 6MT with no rust is a real challenge.

The first one I test drove was a 2012 Iceberg 6MT w/ ~50k mi. I was in North Carolina in July on a family vacation and had watched it from afar (Colorado) for 6 weeks. We liked it a lot but ultimately the dealer wouldn’t budge from the $30k asking price PLUS $1700 D&H. The latter part left me disgusted so we left.

Afterwards I made offers on three or four 2012+ 6MT FJs and the dealers weren’t budging. I briefly considered a 2010 in Montana with 120k on the odo, but photos provided showed substantial rust underneath.

Finally, after ~6m of searching, I found a 2013 on autotrader.com at a Hyundai dealer near Phoenix late on a Friday evening. With no pictures or details, I popped the VIN into the My Toyota site and was quickly excited after reviewing the build. 2013 Trail Teams Cement 6MT w/ Tow Package and TRD cat-back exhaust.

Long story short (I’ll flesh this out further) I bought a one-way plane ticket and flew down on the following Wednesday. Hopped in a Lyft, took a 30min drive into the desert, and there I found the cleanest, 100% stock, unmolested one-owner beauty pictured below. It had ~114k on the odo but looked and drove like new.

I immediately made this mine and drove it ~1100mi back home to Colorado. Build thread starts here.
Great find and I will be following your build as I recently picked up a 13 TT AT in Canada after searching for over a year. They are quite rare up North as only 125 (110 AT & 15 MT) where shipped to Canada and due to the exchange rate going to the States was not in the picture.

Scott
 
#6 ·
Thanks Scott. The 6MT TT is relatively rare in the US as well, less than 10% of all imported FJs, perhaps as low as 5%? My understanding is there’s ~250 total here, but perhaps someone can provide more accurate numbers? Regardless, I’m quite excited about this build spec!
 
#12 ·
Good find and nice start on the Mods.

I didn’t buy a TT as (among a few things) I didn’t like the wheels either but my 14 came with the same wheels you fitted which I sold and put on the 12MY TT black wheels
 
#16 · (Edited)
Got the Rhino Rack Pioneer Platform a few days ago and here’s a test fit of the 84x56. While the extra width is nice for my 55” wide Baroud RTT, it looks huge naked, which will be half the year when i’m not using the tent. Anyone have advice or pros/cons on 49” vs 56” wide? Having second thoughts....

Also got my matching spare wheel and tire mounted and the TPMS reprogrammed. Debating on a cover for the spare mount camera to clean up the look a bit.
 

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#17 · (Edited)
I went back and forth on buying the larger or smaller rack for several weeks before I finally settled on the smaller 49" width. I wanted to still use my old LED light bar/mounts and it was cheaper and a little lighter with slightly more weight capacity.
Aloha, J.

BTW, nice looking rig. Too bad for me they didn't have the cement color back in 2008 as it would have been my 1st choice over the sandstorm.
 

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#23 ·
Just installed a Yakima LockNLoad Platform (84x49") using Rhino Rack Backbone as the base. Im very happy with this combo. The support slats run east/west instead of north/south, and this makes the Yak way better for attaching ski racks, roof tents, etc.

I had to modify the front and rear mounts by chopping ~3" off one end. I got the idea of this modification by reviewing the Yakima Australia technical install notes for the FJ.

Would love to see a 84x54" -- this may be a better size for the FJ roof, but the Rhino Pioneer 84x56" looked way too big from the rear.

Mounting a Yakima FatCat 6 Evo using the SmarT-Slot Kit was a breeze. Easily fits two snowboards and two pairs of skis, four snowboards, or six pairs of skis.

1118000
 
#27 ·
Just installed a Yakima LockNLoad Platform (84x49") using Rhino Rack Backbone as the base. Im very happy with this combo. The support slats run east/west instead of north/south, and this makes the Yak way better for attaching ski racks, roof tents, etc.

I had to modify the front and rear mounts by chopping ~3" off one end. I got the idea of this modification by reviewing the Yakima Australia technical install notes for the FJ.

Would love to see a 84x54" -- this may be a better size for the FJ roof, but the Rhino Pioneer 84x56" looked way too big from the rear.

Mounting a Yakima FatCat 6 Evo using the SmarT-Slot Kit was a breeze. Easily fits two snowboards and two pairs of skis, four snowboards, or six pairs of skis.

View attachment 1118000
Do you have a link to the install notes from Australia?
 
#24 ·
Hey! Fellow CO FJ here up in Fort Collins. Did you trade out your RhinoRack Pioneer for the Yakima Platform? Just curious about your choice in this. I have a Pioneer sitting in my gear room waiting to be installed and plan to use a RTT on it in summer time.

How long did it take you to install the backbone?

-Ryan
 
#25 ·
Did you trade out your RhinoRack Pioneer for the Yakima Platform?

How long did it take you to install the backbone?
Yes, see previous post here with the Yakima pictured.

Took me ~30min to remove factory rack and ~1hr to install Backbone, another ~2hrs to build the new platform, test fit, modify brackets, install. I like it a lot, doesnt make a bit of noise and is very solid.
 
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