Bike Rack Modification

Just barely had about an inch of clearance from the garage door so I'm quite happy that it still fits in the garage. Now I have to see how easy it will be to mount and dismount the bike from up there.

Added the Yakima full bike rack. I had to take off the rear bar and put it on top to match the front since the rack would hit the back end if it was in the lower position. I bought the mighty mounts from REI which allowed the bike rack to mount directly to the FJ rack. It took a while to figure out all the options that the mighty mounts came with but now I can use them for almost anything from baskets to cargo carriers to snow mounts using the factory rack. I was also able to use the locks on the mighty mounts.

Tinted front windows

Second modification - Tinted front windows to 50%.

Rear hitch installation.

Right side of bumper

Took off the rear bumper. 13 screws and two fasteners later it came off. You have to pull really hard off the sides to get the clips to come off the top part of the bumper



Left side of bumper and bumper cover off.

Single side fastener






















Four fasteners on the top that were hard to take off.






















Make sure to unplug your rear sensor wiring before pulling the whole bumper off. It's located on a fastener that hooks onto the metal hook on the right.









Hitch finally installed after cleaning out the threads and liberally greasing the bolts. Torqued to 80 ft lbs



Took off original cover on bumper and used blue clips on new cover that conforms around the hitch.

Final installation. There was also a clip that goes on the left side of the hitch. I think this is for the electrical harness which I didn't order.

My new FJ

Wow, it barely fit in the garage with the roof rack. It has about an inch or two before it hits the door. I had to clean out a lot of stuff on the sides and do some re-arranging to make room for both cars. The wife has a nice fully loaded XC90 (used) which we paid off by selling the RSX.

Got one after Larry took me offroad with his blue one. This is the stock photo.