Mod For The Day

[scout man]

Well, since the first post(s) of this thread got deleted, leaving my post as the first, this post no longer made sense. So this thread is about what you did to your rig today!!

[Brody]

Well, since I managed to delete the main part of this thread and the posts are now somewhere in the ether, I guess I will post up my "mod", such as it was.

After replacing all the rubber under the hoods of two FJ60s and an old F250, all the hoses, all the vacuum lines, all the belts, cleaning out the fuel systems, carbs, IACs, TBIs, PCVs, replacing all the spark plugs, distributor caps and rotors, doing engine flushes, replacing the fuel filters, oil changes, and fuel system flushes, not to mention doing a complete "tighten everything", for three separate customers, I decided that I would finally get around to doing all this for myself as I was a bit overdue.

Most of the belts had been replaced within the last 4 months as well as all the hoses, so this was essentially done and only required a double check. The vacuum lines all got replaced, I cleaned out the TBI and IAC, replaced my fuel filter, PCV, cleaned the MAF, replaced the plugs, cleaned out the O2 sensors, etc. Now it is running nice and smooth again. There were also a few spots where stuff was rubbing that I thought that I had anchored or added an additional piece of hose to and I fixed these this time around. That prompted me to double check for any other rubbing issues that might leave me stranded, but there were only two places that I found.

I also took the time to blow out the diff vent lines to make sure that they were clear and to tighten up everything under the hood and the rest of the truck.

One of the things that I do when I replace hoses and belts is I mark the date on them with a silver marker. This gives a very quick reference anytime you look under the hood as to when all the rubber got replaced and when you should start thinking about replacing it again. It also gives you a heads up if a belt fails prematurely, so that you can look for anything that may have caused this. In addition to this, another thing I do where I can is to double up on the hose clamps. That gives you an extra set hoses clamps in the right size range and is an easy place to 'carry' them.

No pictures as it still looks the same under the hood as it always has....

[Brody]

I actually found the reason for the missing posts on this thread. There was a glitch in the moderator tools that was supposed to select all the posts in a thread allowing you to move the whole thread with everything in it. Turns out that when you hit 'select all' it only selected the topmost post of the thread, and when you moved the thread/post, everything else vanished into the ether. This had puzzled both Chris and me awhile back when the same thing happened to something else that was moved and we couldn't find the missing stuff anywhere. It also explains why Steve's(Scout Man's) post was the only one showing up even though I knew it wasn't at the start of the thread...

So, mystery solved and will hopefully be fixed by Aaron shortly especially since I am reorganizing the whole "Tech" part of the forum to make it more useful. When I get this done, Jock will organize a useful list to make things even easier to use.

So please continue to use this thread that ColoDisco started and re post stuff that you have done to your rig if you feel like it. It was looking to be a fun thread before I lost some of the posts....

[KnuckleHead]

Some of you may have seen this on Bill's Burb, which would be correct. Bill is redoing his set up and offered to sell me his old rear bumper. I recently had put on a rear bumper that was way to heavy and hung to low, so I picked this one up...... well a surprise to me it turns out that someone already paid for it for me as a Christmas gift..... Thank you again Keith.... :D

[Rob]

Score! Looks good, Happy. :thumb:

[Mporter]

Sexxxxxxxxy

[AccordRanger]

http://i1017.photobucket.com/albums/af294/AccordRanger/Explorer%20mods/001.jpg

Working on the box this week. Hope to have it all done and installed by Friday.

Thanks to Pete for the Amp!

[Mporter]

Noice. One day, ill put a sub in mine.

[AccordRanger]

Took me about 3 years to start working on getting it in. Got it when I had my Honda and never had the money for an amp.

[Brody]

One day, ill put a sub in mine.

Matt-I have two subs, one a big one in a big box and the other an 8" in a small box. Give me a shout. I have no room for either.....

Thanks to Pete for the Amp!

Let me know if you have any problems with it!

[scout man]

Here is my mod for today. Its not done, obviously, but this was my test for what I intend to do for a paint job. I am pretty happy with how it turned out, so I will continue this on the rest of the rig sometime soon.

Also, I tore apart my new tcase today with the intention of removing the rods that prevent 2 wheel drive high in the front. Assuming I can finish tearing it down, and get it back together tomorrow I will re-mount it to the transmission, and hopefully put the new transmission in as well.

[Chris]

Looks good Steve, glad you're keeping the colors!

[scout man]

thanks!! Yea, i think its the way to go. THe white is a pain in the ass to keep, but I think whens its all done I will be happy that I did!

[Fordguy77]

Looking Good steve!!!!!

[Hypoid]

DUDE!!! Somebody stole the rust from your fender!!!

:D

[scout man]

DUDE!!! Somebody stole the rust from your fender!!!

:D

Sure did, I just wish the a-holes would have finished the job and stolen it from the rest of the rig too!!

[Haku]

That looks really really good. Can't wait to see the whole truck done up in it. Care to share the details on what you did i.e. prep and what paint and such? May not be ready to do the Pebble Beach concourse event, but its damn good for driveway painting from an amateur. Might have to join you and do mine here soon too.

[scout man]

First off... dont be fooled, it doesnt look as nice from up close! But I am still happy with it.

Step 1: I took the wire brush to all the white parts, as it was extremely rusted out under the paint. Stripped it down to bare metal. I dont expect to go this far with most of the rest of the rig, as this was the worst, but I felt this section really needed it. I did not take the wire brush to any of the red paint.

Step 2: I lightly took a palm sander to the whole pannel. Not sure if it actually did anything, but it made me feel good. Then I wiped the pannel down with wax/dirt remover (basically acetone).

Step 3: I primed the whole pannel.

Step 4: I painted the enitre pannel red. This is backwords of how you are supposed to paint (should have started with the white), but I had good reasons to do it thise way, and it made my life way easier in the end. I had also tested to make sure the white would in fact cover the red, and it did no problem

Step 5: Next was to tape off the original design. Since I took the white down to bare metal, but not the red, I could still see the textural difference where the design used to be. I taped off the red stripe with electrical tape. I chose this for 2 reasons... 1 - it was the right thickness for the red line, and my painters tape was too wide, and 2 - it bends and stretches better for making curved designs. This part is tedious to make the curves look just right. I didnt do so well if you look up close, but I think the others will get better. I then also made the outside boarder in e-tape, then covered the rest of the pannel with wide painters tape (note, the HF tape is crap - it takes way too much effort to get the tape off the roll without ripping it).

Step 6: Spray the white paint. Did a couple good thick coats here to make sure it covered the red alright, although it wasnt that difficult. Then peel the tape!!!!

The Paint I used was Rustoleum professional grade spray paint. It is supposed to be tougher, and more weather resistant than their regular spray paint. Also came in a high-flow, any angle can which makes life a lot easier also. Its $5.00+/- a can at home depot. I really liked the way it came out and the way it covered. I did this whole pannel in maybe a quarter of a can of each. It is also quick drying.

Things I did wrong, but will fix for the rest of the rig: I really didnt wait long enough for the paint to dry before doing the next layer, and before taping. I managed to pull a little bit of the red off when I pulled of the tape, but I was rushing.

[scout man]

here was my other project today. I had to strip out my new tcase so I could make a true twin stick out of it. Took me a long time to figure out how to get it apart, but I managed. Getting it back together may prove to be a little bit of a challenge, but I'll manage.

1. I pulled all this
2. out of this
3. Just so I could remove these, then put it all back together again.

[Brody]

Looks good Steve!

[Mporter]

Pete, what are you doing up at this hour!?!

[Brody]

I was about to ask you the same thing...I am about to go down the street and start doing some work for the builder ....I have to get some junk done there for an inspection. Then I am back to working on a big custom roof rack for an FJ62...

What are you doing, studying??

[Mporter]

Kinda.....more so just pulling an all nighter because I have copious amounts of Red Bull.

[KnuckleHead]

Did this about a week ago but have yet had the time to post the pix. I picked this bumper up earlier this summer and was waiting for time to install it. Next on the list, sometime next year, the winch to put in it.....

[Brody]

Looking good,Happy!

[Robert B]

i have 2 questions happy ..did the tinsel come with the bumper and is the pepsi a permanent mod or just temporary :) and nice bumper

[Cr33p3r]

Its coming along good there Steve, so what do those to pins actually do?

[Haku]

Its coming along good there Steve, so what do those to pins actually do?

Steve's visiting his brother in AZ till after Christmas. If you are talking about the two little pills, they are the parts that lock the high and low range selection to 2wd and 4wd parts inside the transfercase. Take them out, and you can shift high and low range seperately from which wheels get drive. I'm jealous, since he can choose to have just the front wheel drive, rear wheel drive, or 4 wheel drive. Toyota cases only let you choose between rear wheel drive and 4 wheel drive, so its not as useful of a modification for me. I would love to be able to front digs sometimes.

[Cr33p3r]

Thanks Josh, wish I could do the same on the ranger, but I have yet to even open the case up.

Happy the bumper looks good!

[Haku]

Thanks Josh, wish I could do the same on the ranger, but I have yet to even open the case up.

Happy the bumper looks good!

Nice....what is in your Ranger for a t-case? I imagine its an NPsomething or other, but not sure. I'll have a look around for ya to see if its an easy thing to do on yours.

[Brody]

I think it is a Borg Warner 1354 which was the standard electric shift transfer case that came stock on the 2002 Ford Rangers with an automatic. I know absolutely nothing more about them or what kind of modifications can be done. That information is probably posted all over the Ranger and Ford forums that Sean is also on.

[Cr33p3r]

Yeah it is the Borg case, one of the few mods I am seeing done is like what I want to do and convert it over to manual shift, Most of the things I see done is guy pull them out and go w/ the 203 & 205 doubled.

[Brody]

Which is nice to some degree as there are a lot of manual trannies out there, a lot of 203 and 205s, plus both a lot of 203/205 doubler kits and write ups on DIY doublers. One of the things that you will have to consider before going this route it to decide beforehand what engine/tranny combo you will eventually want to put in it and base everything else around that. No need to spend all the $$ and time adapting the 203/205 to the 4 banger if you are going to stick in a V6 or V8 and finding out that the adaptor you just spent so much money on doesn't fit the new bellhousing.

[Cr33p3r]

Yep that mod is way down my list, most likely when ever I get the mulas for a newer 5.0 and Adrian has the time to do all the wiring conversation, that is unless he talks me and my wallet into something bigger! So for now the 4.0 is gonna have to do w/ the 5 spd.

[GaryG]

In preparation for the new Duratracs, I thought I'd black out the wheels. VHT Epoxy paint - Satin Black

[Mporter]

That looks really good Gary. I've been meaning to do that to mine.

[scout man]

Its coming along good there Steve, so what do those to pins actually do?

They go between the shift rails to stop you from shifting into a bad combo of gears with the stock, single shifter. WHen I switch to a twin stick, those end up preventing me from accessing front wheel drive high... so they went away while i had it out anyways.

edit: I see now that Josh beat me to the punch, but yea, thats what they do

[Haku]

Which is nice to some degree as there are a lot of manual trannies out there, a lot of 203 and 205s, plus both a lot of 203/205 doubler kits and write ups on DIY doublers. One of the things that you will have to consider before going this route it to decide beforehand what engine/tranny combo you will eventually want to put in it and base everything else around that. No need to spend all the $$ and time adapting the 203/205 to the 4 banger if you are going to stick in a V6 or V8 and finding out that the adaptor you just spent so much money on doesn't fit the new bellhousing.

Seems logical to me. All I know is the 203/205 setup is one heavy friggin setup. By far the heaviest option you can go with for a commonly done transfer case setup. Not sure if that means its beefy, but it ought to be. Lots to think about on these darn projects aye?

[KnuckleHead]

i have 2 questions happy ..did the tinsel come with the bumper and is the pepsi a permanent mod or just temporary and nice bumper
My truck asked for a mustache, so I gave it one, LOL. No really I put that on there when we did the Toy's for Tots run this year. Was trying to be a little festive.

The Pepsi can is my water catcher, gotta make sure the rig gets enough to grow. :D

[4finger]

First I would like to say that i got the idea for this mod from a thread i found on Marlin's forum. http://board.marlincrawler.com/index.php?topic=57802.0. so this is in no way my idea, but i did borrow it. The my idea part is that i decided to add the color and to make it look a little more like my truck (white, bob'd)

My original idea was to add a real picture of my rig but i eventually figured that the extra weight of the picture paper would maybe one day wear the spring out a little earlier than normal. now i know the double sided tape and the paper does add some weight but i figured its not as much as pictur paper. plus there is not alot of space between the face of the indicatior dial and the backside of the face plate so the thicker picture paper might interfere with the smooth motion causing it to "stick" and not be fully accurate. the paper i added does drag a little on the faceplate but it does go back to "center" position when i manually test the dial in the truck.

Since i had all the stuff at home (as im sure is common in almost every home) the mod was FREE :thumb:, and it makes the truck a little more mine- instead of looking like the cookie cutter toyota 4runner rockcrawler. :smokin:

so lets get to some pics, OK?!
sorry for the last pic in this post, i just cant seem to figure out how to KEEP it from rotating (i know its me,;) just having some issues)

[4finger]

here are the rest of the pics.

[Brody]

That's pretty cool!

[Mporter]

Hah I wish I had one of those factory yota inclinometers, last time I checked, YotaJim had em for like $75 :eek:

[4finger]

I consider myself lucky to have one, let alone have one that works. (honestly- i dont use it much, i use my body's own "OH SH$% meter").

a little side note- last night i forgot which dial went on what side (side incl and front to back incl) so i looked it up online through yahoo search and the first page to come up was Patrolman's for sale thread on here of the one from his 87 4runner earlier this year.

[Haku]

Yeah....not sure how Chris did it, but he did a seriously good job with Google Analytics. Our little Front Range forum pops up almost as much as Pirate 4x4 does if there are similar topics. Its funny how many times I'm searching google for something about Toyota's or something and my own rig pops up in a picture or thread.

Cool mod though. Being a Photoshop guy and not a great drawer, I would probably do it on my comp. I don't have one of those in mine though, and like someone else said, I'm not about to spring for a used one for how much they ask for them. Wish I did though sometimes, as I hate off camber stuff and seeing a gauge like that makes ones mind register that you can go further then you think without tipping. I used an Angle Finder for a few trips, and only once did I get to 30 degrees and it was still relatively stable. That will only get better with my planned modifications coming up (dropping my rig at least 2" and going with coilovers and links in the front).

Josh

[4finger]

i think the guy in the Marlin threa used like MS paint. black background and white truck lines. i decided to go my own route with it and just drew it. mostly because i didnt have a printer. but i wanted it to look alittle more like my truck, white-bob'd(it looks like it is bob'd doesnt it???) and a little rough looking.

Im with you on paying that much for one. If and when my inclinometer goes out i will just install one of these on my dash somewhere if i feel the need to know what degrees im at.
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/precision-rv-levels-set-of-2/47543

and if you notice you could buy about 10 of these for the average price of one the original toyota inclinometer.

[wyota]

here are my mods for the last two day's. i got the console from a buddy of mine, it was designed for ford explorer police vehicle, but with a few tweeks it fits like a glove. i still need to fab up some sheet meatal to finish the front but its a good start. the rock lights are 3 pairs of $18 walmart specials. on the down side they pull 27 amps but it gave me an excuse to buy a Boyle Future Tech Alternator. it will be here Monday. it should put out 90 amps at idle:D
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff230/ddotdrawdoow/IMG_0054.jpg
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff230/ddotdrawdoow/IMG_0053.jpg
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff230/ddotdrawdoow/IMG_0048.jpg

[Brody]

Well, aren't you just the new king of the Texas Disco trails with the rock lights and all....

Looks really sweet Todd, and nice job on the console score! Have a really good Christmas down there!

Hey...throw some silicon or caulk of some kind around the lenses in the lights so that water doesn't get up in there and short out the bulb. Also stick a dab where the wires go into the back of the lights... I only have one of four under fender rocks lights working because I didn't do this....

[4finger]

Thats a good looking truck- and those lights add the right kind of bling.:smokin:

[Rob]

Looks great, Todd.

You sure those aren't armadillo lights? :)

[Haku]

Geez....everyone knows you are supposed to put strobes and neon under cars, not this bright light stuff thats actually usable. Very cool setup and a definite nice upgrade. Something I gotta think about doing here soon too.

[scout man]

I really like those consoles. I looked real hard at getting one for my scout, but finally decided I could right now because my dog walks on the console all the time to get in the back seat. I dont think having switches under the dogs feet is probably a very good idea. I do really like it though and might have to put more thought into it again.

[Hypoid]

decided I could right now because my dog walks on the console all the time to get in the back seat.
LMAO! My Blue Heeler used to honk the horn. I don't know how it came to be, but one time I came out to see a muddy paw prints on the ceiling of my F-100.

[Hypoid]

In preparation for the new Duratracs, I thought I'd black out the wheels. VHT Epoxy paint - Satin Black
You'll have to do a followup for the paint's durability.

I have used Duplicolor brand wheel paint on my tank skid and trailer hitch with good result. My only complaint is that the black is pricey because the only place I've found it is Pep Boys. They are very proud of that color wheel paint.

[Mporter]

Console looks great Todd.

I think I may just get a inclinometer from 4WP (made by smittybilt I think) and it's like $15-20

[AccordRanger]

Took this out....

http://i1017.photobucket.com/albums/af294/AccordRanger/Explorer%20mods/042.jpg

So I could run some wires under the carpet.

Then found this mess under it.

http://i1017.photobucket.com/albums/af294/AccordRanger/Explorer%20mods/043.jpg

Vacuumed it then used some carpet cleaner, and got it looking a little better.

http://i1017.photobucket.com/albums/af294/AccordRanger/Explorer%20mods/044.jpg

CB coax

http://i1017.photobucket.com/albums/af294/AccordRanger/Explorer%20mods/045.jpg

RCA cables

http://i1017.photobucket.com/albums/af294/AccordRanger/Explorer%20mods/046.jpg

[Mporter]

Oooh twizzlers! :D

[Brody]

I think I may just get a inclinometer from 4WP (made by smittybilt I think) and it's like $15-20

LaDawn is my inclinometer, but obviously needs some fine tuning....:D

[GaryG]

woo hoo

[scout man]

pulled my rear axle shafts today, thinking the were bent, and the cause of some major vibrations I am having. Turns out they werent bent. Then I was spinning my rear driveshaft and noticed a pretty bad wobble (i had ignored the haft because it is really new, so I figured that wasnt the cause. Took a closer look, and it turns out it isnt actually the shaft itself as I had suspected, but when it got put back on after my tranny install, apparently it got put on without the ujoint seated all the way into the yoke. Fixed this simple little thing and it was a ton better. Also changed out my spark plugs today. The old ones actually werent in horrible shape, which made me happy, but they had not been gapped properly when installed, so I think it runs a bit smoother now.

I have also had a really really annoying knocking sound inside the front passenger side of the cab that I have not been able to locate. I thought I had finally found it and fixed it today, but I was wrong. Still searching for that annoyance.


here is a picture of my straight axle shafts for you picture whores. yes there are three... figure that one out!!



ok, obviously one is a spare, just for comparison.

[Brody]

woo hoo

Nice looking Jeep, but what are we supposed to be looking at for the Mod For The Day? Tires, paint, bumpers, fog lights??

[4finger]

but what are we supposed to be looking at for the Mod For The Day? Tires

i think its because he put some paint on the rims Brody. i cant remember where the first indicator to this post was. (on an earlier page or on a different thread).


good job
they look real good. it gives the Jeep a better look.

[cfr]

Finally finished my new front bumper and winch,

http://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/showthread.php?11630-New-winch-mount-bumper-(and-stuffing)&p=127511#post127511

[Mporter]

New exhaust courtesy of Scott and the guys at AA Performance

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh27/shotgun12321/70de8f3d.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh27/shotgun12321/a94710ee.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh27/shotgun12321/e33b5616.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh27/shotgun12321/096d9a4b.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh27/shotgun12321/51f6a859.jpg

Nothing under the frame rail (except like .25" at the exhaust tip) and it sounds much better. Plus I gained a little more top end power.

[Chris]

Very nice Matt, Scotty does great work!

[Fatboris]

The wheels look great, Gary. I plan o do the same this winter. After our run Saturday I plan to throw the stock steels back on and paint the Rubi wheels, as an added bonus, no MT's in the snow so I should be able to survive for some spring wheelin.

[Brody]

Both the wheels and the exhaust look great, guys!

I have always wondered, every time I look under an older LC, just what the Yota folks were thinking when the got around to the exhaust. It always looked to me like a "Oh crap! We forgot the exhaust stuff!" kinda thing...

[Chris]

My mod for the day arrived: 75 WX ST Compact/Remote Mount CB Radio with SoundTracker® and NOAA Weather (https://cobra.com/images_products/75WXST_H-lg.jpg)

https://cobra.com/detail/75-wx-st-compact-remote-mount-cb-radio-with-soundtracker-and-noaa-weather.cfm

[scout man]

Mod for the day... this is a big one.... ready??




I replaced a bolt that fell out of my exhaust connection at the manifold.




The rest of my time was tracking down a weird knocking sound in the cab... finally found it.. and have no idea how I am going to fix it. Turns out it is a piece of the floor board popping in and out as the rig moves slightly. i think the big hammer might come out tomorrow.

[Brody]

If the floorboard is dimpled or has the raised portions on it, you maybe able to do something as simple as riveting some flat stock between the raised sections to stiffen it up. Good job ion finding the noise. Sometimes those aren't easy to find as sound transmits all over the damn place.

[scout man]

yea, unfortunately its is right on top of (and probably because of) my homemade body mount underneither. The floor is popping agains a piece of 1/4" bar stock. I was thinking I would smack it with the hammer and see if that just pops the dent out permanently.. and if not, then at least get the metal close enough to the bar underneith to just weld it together . The bar is on top of the shock part of the body mount and is already welded to the floorboard in places, just not that place.

[Brody]

You could always cheap a bit there and shoot some of that triple expanding foam into the gap....Stuff is evil, works, lasts forever (I filled my fenders where they are closest to the doors on my heap with it 6 years ago), and costs too much. Hilti has a reusable kind that I have used at Lowe's, but it doesn't quite live up to it's reusable advertising.

[4finger]

Here is another mod i just did. this mod was more about finally finishing a previous job and cleaning up the cab a little. i took the ash tray out when i first installed the ARB's, swithces, and compresor. the only place i could find to put the compressor switch was in the ash tray. i didnt really wanna cut the dash any more around the locker swithces and still wanted to keep the compressor switch close. its nice to finally have this switch mounted, instead of dangling around just hanging there like it has been for about a year and a half. :tisktisk::rolleyes:

all i did was take a leftover piece of 16ga. and measure out and drill the screw holes. then drew out the switch hole from template i had made for the locker switches in the dash.

oh.... and OWNAGE for my 100th post:smokin:

[94ToyBear]

did not like all the useless parts to keep my rig quiet ! how dose it go " loud intakes save lifes" ?? look good, sounds good, and did not cost me a penny. reused parts and added new hoses and lots left over. its cleaner looking, and 100 less places to have an vacum leak.

:wrench:

[94ToyBear]

did this about 3 weeks ago. out ith the old and in with the older ! the stock grill did not fit very well after this truck was filpped and rolled off the high way. so i put a grill i got about 4 years ago when i when vintage toyota parts crazy. its from a 70's toyota carolla. the round head lights and head light buckets came from a VW bug unknown year (60's-70's). allso cut the extra sheet metal on the lower front corners. and wraped the front of the frenders for a more round look. i think the grill cost me 20 $ (pull n save) the head lights each were 4$ ( u pull n pay) and the head light buckest were 5 $ each. not bad for 38 bucks i must say !

better then the zip ties i had holding my last grill. and head lights ! HAHAHA :wrench::thumb::D

[scout man]

You could always cheap a bit there and shoot some of that triple expanding foam into the gap....Stuff is evil, works, lasts forever (I filled my fenders where they are closest to the doors on my heap with it 6 years ago), and costs too much. Hilti has a reusable kind that I have used at Lowe's, but it doesn't quite live up to it's reusable advertising.

I thought about this. I had rulled it out because I heard it creates a rust problem... then I woke up this morning, thought about rust problems, thought about my scout, and decided it was the right way to go! I'll have to pick some up later today or tomorrow, then try to fix it, but not in the snow. I had squirted some silicone up there yesterday hoping it would do something, but it didnt. I knew it wouldnt.

Also, now that you mention the inner fender, that might be a really good idea. I have some rather large openings in the fenders right behind the tires that like to collect mud. Maybe i shoudl fill them!

[Chris]

Meh! I used that stuff to fill my fender wells after trimming. Yeah, it may hasten rust but we have so little moisture that I doubt it'll cause much trouble for you. Now the guy that bought my truck and moved it to Iowa may find a different result! :erm:

[scout man]

spray foam it is. Hopefully I can get it in there though, Its a really small crack to get stuff in.

[Chris]

Drill a hole the size of the nozzle/tube. ;)

[94ToyBear]

all of this happend about 3 weeks ago. ( had no time to post).... the last pic is what it looked like 6 weeks ago. it was on bald 31's, wood flat bed, busted window. now its on new 33's bgf's, with a truck bed, glass, and a 2 inch home made body lift. got the tires by tradeing, glass was 20$, bed was 180$ and body lift cost about 40 bucks to make. big washers tubing and grade 8 bolts nuts and washers.. once more not bad for 240 Bucks $$ :wrench::thumb::D
body lift was not to bad. i luckly had a fork lift to help with the bed. and glass was the hard part..... <<< i kidd i kid !
looks waaaaaaaay better and works better too..

[Brad]

Matt, that exhaust looks amazing!! I am going to have to go see Scott when I do the rear bumper. Want to route my exhaust through the bumper and get rid of the bloated rear muffler.

Adam, Truck looks good. I love cheap mods!! :thumb:

[scout man]

todays mod was converting from an auto choke (which never worked since i owned it) to a manual choke. The actual install went easy and fast, but getting it to function properly did not. The lever attachment to the choke is really tight clearances against the air cleaner, and took a lot of fine tuning to stop it from hanging up. Also the idle increase actuator is supposed to release itself with gravity when allowed, and it was a touch to sticky to do that. A well placed spring seems to have fixed that problem.

[Chris]

My mod for the day arrived: 75 WX ST Compact/Remote Mount CB Radio with SoundTracker® and NOAA Weather (https://cobra.com/images_products/75WXST_H-lg.jpg)

https://cobra.com/detail/75-wx-st-compact-remote-mount-cb-radio-with-soundtracker-and-noaa-weather.cfm

Installed and ready for the Jan 1st run. "Rob, I need you to winch me out, do you copy?" :D

[Brody]

Nice, Chris!

[Fordguy77]

all of this happend about 3 weeks ago. ( had no time to post).... the last pic is what it looked like 6 weeks ago. it was on bald 31's, wood flat bed, busted window. now its on new 33's bgf's, with a truck bed, glass, and a 2 inch home made body lift. got the tires by tradeing, glass was 20$, bed was 180$ and body lift cost about 40 bucks to make. big washers tubing and grade 8 bolts nuts and washers.. once more not bad for 240 Bucks $$ :wrench::thumb::D
body lift was not to bad. i luckly had a fork lift to help with the bed. and glass was the hard part..... <<< i kidd i kid !
looks waaaaaaaay better and works better too..

looking pretty good. My friend busted out that window on his Ranger ext cab, so i made him one of 16 guage(it what we had lying around) and it did a great job for stopping the weather, but the visibility sucked.

[Brody]

Looking good Adam! I won't spoil your fun and tell the 'secret ingredients' you used to make the labor intensive body lift:D

Those truck beds suck to move. I have done at least 3 by myself and luckily they were all on mini trucks. The last one was on a Chevy dualie that Todd (WYota) and I put a dump bed conversion on...and we were both glad there was another person there....I was able to tip the beds over onto a blanket, get underneath them and balance them around to move them off, then did the opposite, minus the inversion, to get them back on. Nothing like an awkward piece of junk to be heaving around....

[Rob]

"Rob, I need you to winch me out, do you copy?"

:lmao: So you don't lose your voice Saturday, how about we give that phrase a code? Give me a "Code 4" and I'll start pulling cable. :D

(I'm operating under the assumption here that my diffs will even be able to clear the snow on this run.) :rolleyes:

[94ToyBear]

umm i admit ! i did cheat just a bit. i work at a high school im in the auto program and sometimes the welding. i had a student cut the tubing on the band saw and weld/tack the washers on. then when the bed whent on i had a automotive student help out witht that too.

its fun to let them work on it ! they always look at it and say WOW i did that and you (me) love it. its somthing they cant mess up and they learn from it.
guess its time for credits
thank you Ty, Karel, and who ever eles help !

[94ToyBear]

haha when i got this truck i didnt have much money (truck was given to me by dad,thanks). so i got about 10 feet of sticky velcro and clear thick plastic and made my own door window and side window ! it worked great for about a week untill i got to hot crack that front window and the high way took it from me ! fun times. by the way is that your tractor ? i was thinking about getting one. my grandpa past away over 2 years ago and i think my fam is going to sell the tractor. i want it to restore it. i think its a 47 ford kinda look like yours !

[Brody]

(I'm operating under the assumption here that my diffs will even be able to clear the snow on this run.)

Worry about your frame rails. That is what stops you on snow runs. You can push your diffs through the snow, but it is kinda hard to keep moving forward when your tires are all off the ground because your frame is riding so high on the snow pack.

[Brad]

Code 4.. got it! :D

[Chris]

:lmao: So you don't lose your voice Saturday, how about we give that phrase a code? Give me a "Code 4" and I'll start pulling cable. :D

It's a deal Rob, with the advance notice you can be ready to yank me out w/o me having to get my toes cold! :D


Code 4.. got it! :D

We can both test our new CB's Brad and give Rob some exercise! :lmao:

[Rob]

We can both test our new CB's Brad and give Rob some exercise!

You guys realize I've now jinxed myself. It'll be you guys pulling me up the hill tomorrow. :erm:

[Mporter]

Yesterday I installed my Trail-Gear sliders. and today I painted em.

Yeah I know they dont match :cool:. The spray paint I bought from Ace turned out to be a dud (both cans!) so I had to make due with what I had.


Edit: Sorry if the pics dont upload right now...my internet is running really slow.

[Mporter]

Was cold, not very good paint job, but it'll do

You can see the effects of some of the paint cans on my hands....YAY

[Brad]

Looks good Matt! :thumb:

[Mporter]

Thanks man. The red one is a 10 footer paint job at best, the black is probably a 5 footer, but its all good, itll get scraped off eventually

[Brody]

Looks good Matt!

A trick you may want to try in the future when it is cold and you need to paint, get a bucket of very hot water and set the cans in it for awhile. Works pretty well and you then just have to deal with very slow drying times.

[Mporter]

Thanks for the tip Pete. I'm really not sure why the Ace cans didnt work. Because the cans I had as backup had been sitting in the garage for a few months, whereas the new cans had been in the house since I got back from the store.

[scout man]

My mod for the day was a new u-joint. Unfortunately it was an unexpected mod and happened on the side of 270. Fortunately I had a spare u-joint with me as well as the tools to change it out. I think I got some weird looks, but I love being prepared!!

[Haku]

You shoulda called. I owe you at least 2 roadside rescues now, after coolant explosion problems.

[scout man]

it wasnt worth it. I had the stuff I needed to fix it, and I needed to get somewhere. I had it fixed before you would have been able to get to me.

[wyota]

A few more mod's yesterday and today, I took a trip down to a Land rover shop in San Antonio with my buddy to get some parts for his rig, And they where having a sale on all in stock parts. There where two that where too good to pass up, and luckily I still had some xmas $ burning a hole in my pocket! First a set of Lightforce 170 strikers for under $200, and the second was an Amsteel blue 3/8'' X100' with hook for $200:eek: I got those on last night and my new alternator from Boyle future tech ( If you ever need a HO alternator call this guy he was super helpful ) showed up today so i also got that put on, Now i can run all this stuff at idle with out my alternator screaming at me. It isn't quite as powerful as i had hoped but is still a huge improvement over stock. 80 Amps at idle and 150 max @ 14.29V just to give an idea what that means my lights pull 750 watts or 54 amps when all of them are on. Most alternators put out 13.8V at idle with only the engine running give or take, this new one still puts out 13.8V while under 54+ amps of load:smokin: The Lightforce where i little tricky to get on because of the way they mount, But two sets of holes later we got'em on. Had to brake out the new digital camo duct tape to cover the ooop's holes till i get back to my welder. some loom over the wires and i'll be done.
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff230/ddotdrawdoow/98%20tacoma/IMG_0200.jpg
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff230/ddotdrawdoow/98%20tacoma/IMG_0207.jpg
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff230/ddotdrawdoow/98%20tacoma/IMG_0209.jpg
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff230/ddotdrawdoow/98%20tacoma/IMG_0211.jpg
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff230/ddotdrawdoow/98%20tacoma/IMG_0210.jpg
If nothing eles, it looks like it will go fast!
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff230/ddotdrawdoow/98%20tacoma/photo4.jpg

[Brody]

Damn son, that is looking good! Good prices, too! Gee....you got $$ for Christmas....I got socks and stuff ....

Happy New Year!

[Chris]

Looking great Todd, don't get so much done that we don't recognize you!

[wyota]

Thanks Guy's ! I've got a few more tricks up my sleeve that may make it on to the truck before i get back:p. I got a bite on a job at Vestas in windsor, so cross your fingers for me! Chris have you got a chance to use that new radio yet? i'd like to know how it worked. Pete thanks for the info you sent me, Im still having issues with the front end:mad:

[Chris]

Chris have you got a chance to use that new radio yet?

Good luck on the job! New radio? I'm confused or forgetful. :redface:

[Chris]

Doh! Senility would be right. The the new CB works great, the crappy Cobra antenna has been replaced with a Wilson 500 that shouldn't fall off all the time. :thumb:

[Mporter]

You're like a rolling sun. Very nice mods.

[Rob]

Anyone know a good ophthalmologist for retinal damage?

Looks great, Todd. :thumb:

[cfr]

The skid plate for my new front bumper was just delivered,

http://www.lodoffroad.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16191&cat=23&page=1

Going on tomorrow morning before work.

[Mporter]

Got my new console installed (only 2/5 of the bolts in but it's solid for now). Thanks to Christopher for the deal on it. I'll get pics probably tomorrow.

[scout man]

been working on my front bumper for a few days. WIll hopefully be done in a couple more days... but it will remain secret until done!!

[Rob]

but it will remain secret until done!!

Tease!

[scout man]

yup. More so, I have an complex design in my head, and I dont want to listen to other opinions or have to explain/defend it!! :D As a teaser, it is a plate bumper (mostly) with a very stout removable center section for a receiver mounted 8274 that can be moved to the rear in an emergency. The center section is finished, and the remainder of the bumper will hopefully be done in a day or two.

[KnuckleHead]

After the snow run yesterday, I think it is a wise idea to have a winch in the rear. We had to use Monsterburbs to keep him on the trail and move him about 10 feet.

[scout man]

yea, thats why I am taking this approach. I dont have enough room in the rear to mount a winch without some serious serious effort, so I am making the front one removeable. Although it wont be moved to the rear often, as it is an 8274, which isnt light, and its sitting on about 50lbs of receiver components. But if I ever needed to, i could do it.

[jonnyd49]

Today I fixed the wiring for my new mechanical front axle actuator. I also redid all the wiring for my off road lights. My multimeter felt well loved today!

[transplant87]

today i went out and bought 2 deep cycle batteries and plan on doing a dual alternators(with bills help)and put in my winch.

[KnuckleHead]

Not really a mod, yet at least, but got the transmission out today and separated the T-case from it. Going to go through the T-case and reseal it seeing as it had to come out anyway.....

[KnuckleHead]

Started Friday night with the help of Bill. We went through my T-case to fix my lose of 4hi. ( Not sure of the name ) We replaced the plastic pieces that are on the shifting forks as they were worn down, also replaced seal and gaskets..... Saturday I got the case all cleaned up. Now just to get the transmission done and get the rig back on the road.....

[Mporter]

Not really a mod. But I somewhat flexed my suspension in the CU Campus parking lots last night.

Crap picture, but front end was probably 4 feet off the asphalt.
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh27/shotgun12321/fbabc184.jpg

[Fordguy77]

As some of you know, the previous owner of the FJ did a pretty crappy job at blackening out my grill and wheels. So I decided to re black the grill and headlight covers tonight. This is a pretty basic before and after shot. I am trying out that PlastiDip Spray on the grill and head lights to see if its really as good as they say.

[RockGrinder]

Did you use just the rattle cans to do that? I think that looks really great!!!!
:thumb::p:thumb:

[Fordguy77]

Did you use just the rattle cans to do that? I think that looks really great!!!!
:thumb::p:thumb:

Yeah i just tried the Plasti Dip Spray(aka rattle cans) and it came out pretty nice, I did hardly any prep work on it, and it actually covered most the imperfections in a nice coat. And it only took about 3 coats total to cover everything.

[RockGrinder]

holy crap batman!!!! the forum just glitched out on me and changed the post I was responding to onto this thread!:what:

[RockGrinder]

That is awsome chris, but I was actually responding to steve's thread and it jumped me to yours instead

[RockGrinder]

One of my class blocks lately was all about aircraft painting and I can do a pretty dang good job with some shop air, a spray gun, and some paint mixed with a little paint thinner. lol

[scout man]

That is awsome chris, but I was actually responding to steve's thread and it jumped me to yours instead

yea, the forum can do that sometimes. Afterall, I am not actually the one that started this thread!!!! :D

[Fordguy77]

Grill All Finished For Now. Still have to finish the yota Emblem so only the letters are black, but i ran out of time.

[Mporter]

Nice. I take it you've been looking at that Mud thread recently?

[Fordguy77]

Nice. I take it you've been looking at that Mud thread recently?

haha ironically i hadnt been. I had been planning on redoing it since it looked like sh*t from the last owner, and i googled it the night after i started and there it all was hahah.

[RockGrinder]

I like the dark under tone your front end has now that you did that though chris, nice job!!!

[Chris]

Still have to finish the yota Emblem so only the letters are black.

Reversed that right Chris? The letter should be white IMHO.

[Fordguy77]

Reversed that right Chris? The letter should be white IMHO.

Yup thats what i meant chris! Good Catch.

[Fordguy77]

I do have to say out of all the vehicles i have ever owned. This grill came out easy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just 5 simple easy clips and 1 Screw! It was pretty awesome

[Mporter]

Good to hear. It's one of my summer projects as well. Gonna work on blacking out all the chrome pieces.

[94ToyBear]

Let there be light !!! got the over head deal from a 96 blazer. !

[Brody]

Nice! You will appreciate that a lot. The Yota overhead lights, at least until they wised up after 2k, were what could only be called pathetic. I got pretty much the same thing in mine heap, but it was from a Chevy mini van and a little smaller. Something about Chevys, I guess...Just had to tweak the wiring a bit to get it to talk to the Yota electrical...

[Fordguy77]

Looks awesome! I have been thinking about doing something similar for the 60.

[Mporter]

Looks awesome! I have been thinking about doing something similar for the 60.

Same here.

[94ToyBear]

yeh i sure i will ! i was wondering if you had dose this! i was pretty sure you did ! i needed somthing for my INS and other papers ! i put my new cb in my glove box but made it so i can take it out easly so no one can steal it !.

i had to do the same with the wiring made a new harness but have not pluged it all in yet.

[Brody]

i had to do the same with the wiring made a new harness but have not plugged it all in yet.

Watch the grounding wire, especially in the Chevy part. I wired mine from the Chevy mini into the Yota connections and kept popping the fuse. If I remember correctly, I had to disconnect the ground wire/strap from the Chevy box to keep it from popping fuses. I never could get it to work in conjunction with the doors opening and closing, but I prefer to not have the light come on when I open the doors anyway (too good of a target...)and was hooking this up for both added storage and map lights.

Anyway, the crossover from Chevy to Yota wasn't completely trouble free, but it was an easy fix. You are forewarned....and probably better at car electrical than I am, too....

[94ToyBear]

to get it to work in conjunction with the doors am going to use the original switch and wire the new lights to the original switch. The original switch is going to be mounted in space where the other light was ( white cover in the pic's). It fits in there ! I think with the wiring this way it will be ok. I also want to the front to lights to turn on and off with the doors. So ill just have to run a jumper wire the door side of the switch. I personally like the lights to be on when I open the doors ( I hate when I leave them cracked open though) ! any other mods I can do Pete ? This one cost me nothing by the way! Are shop had a wrecked s10 blazer donated to us so I got this part for free. ! NICE

[Brody]

You can do a hand throttle for about $12, maybe even less if you have some old bike stuff lying around. The cable housing is the most expensive part, then you need a shift handle, some long brake (bike again) cable, a throttle control cable stop (Lowe's, Ace, Home Depo). Really a nice addition to a wheeler.

http://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/showthread.php?2001-Hand-Throttles-%28Universal%29&highlight=hand+throttle

Next time you are in the neighborhood take a look at mine. Took about 45 minutes to do. Toyota made one for the FJ55/60/62 so maybe you can find one out of one of those and do a Yota installation, but they may be hard to find. I use mine a lot and find it really nice as it means one less thing to think about when I am wheeling.

[94ToyBear]

i was thinking about it last night. i think i may know why you were blowing fuses !! the original switch has a plug in with two wires.... one pos one neg. there is one you may have passed up. then body gound. i belive the ground wire going to the plug is for the the doors. the (ON) Position dose not have a ground wire it uses the body ground. this is why you may have been blowing your fuse. ???? not 100% sure.

[94ToyBear]

great idea ! this is one of the first things i thought about doing after i seen your rig 3-4 years ago ! im gona get on it soon ! thanks once more you great a great help ! BTW did you get or ecm or pcm back yet ?

[Brody]

On the ECM, it should finally be back here today, but it went a very roundabout way to get here and ended up in Kelso, WA. It was actually here last Friday in Commerce City for a few hours before UPS sent it to Washington state.

[Haku]

I haven't posted in here yet, but I have been modding quite a bit lately. My mods for last week were adding some 220v wiring to my house and cleaning out my garage so I can actually put my rig inside. This week has been all about tubing since my bender is going to another temporary home for a little while. I actually have the main structure of my exo bent up, so I can start mocking it up and tacking it together. The rest of the pieces I can't do until I have something to measure off of. Here is a picture of most of the pieces I have bent up so far....

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_5CiJVnaNp0A/TWG_vsaVjHI/AAAAAAAAAvQ/MK9oZhKEc3c/s576/2011-02-20%2018.20.19.jpg

[KnuckleHead]

Picked up and installed a windshield from CL, no more cracked out windshield for me :woot:. Also picked up a 4 core radiator and driver side battery tray to start my duel battery install...... hope to get them installed next weekend...

[4finger]

so- unfortunately i was doing this under a time crunch so the only pictures i have is after the fact.
i was getting tired of ripping valve stems off or crushing them on the trail, i went out and bought a 29/64ths (i think) size drill bit and drilled a hole about midway up the rim. then welded a small square of 16gauge steel to the pre-existing hole, to kinda help fill in the hole while welding. then took the tires down to a tire place to remount the rims. im at about 5 days and the rims are still holding the same amount of air they had in them when Discount Tires remounted them.
now i just need to get my truck back together so i can go out and test this mod

[Brody]

Nice little fix!

[4finger]

thanx. six ripped valve stems and 4 crushed ones later i decided i needed to fix it. i was tired of always fixing this.

[KnuckleHead]

Well got a lot done today, got the 4 core radiator in, 2 trans coolers ( 1 with a fan ), battery tray on the drivers side, re wired the headlights, and the front drive shaft is back in.

[Brody]

six ripped valve stems and 4 crushed ones later i decided i needed to fix it. i was tired of always fixing this.

You aren't supposed to drive on your side over scrub oak for that long....

Looking good, Happy. Going to make the tranny happier!

[4finger]

You aren't supposed to drive on your side over scrub oak for that long....
hahaha. it might be just me-- but i have found with this big 'ole heavy clunker that no matter what i do i always drag a rim on a rock, and it seems easier to perminently fix this issue than to learn to drive correctly.:lmao::lmao: but knowing my luck i will probably never drag again.

[Chris]

Well got a lot done today, got the 4 core radiator in, 2 trans coolers ( 1 with a fan ), battery tray on the drivers side, re wired the headlights, and the front drive shaft is back in.

Nice Happy, you're going to be in fine shape for the season!

[Metalhed]

put on 2 new steering stops, on the sons truck.
easy stuff, 5-6 hits with a rubber mallet-- done

The steering stops on mid 90s toyotas tend to get old and britte.
Truck will make a ton of noise with out them
$25 bucks on EBAY

[KnuckleHead]

Nice Happy, you're going to be in fine shape for the season!
I'm hoping for a better season than last year for sure, even cut the fenders so I will stop rubbing and get better flex....

[Aaron]

My little mod for the day... Representin'

[RockyMtnHigh]

That's a good spot for it Aaron, got mine on too:

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj234/RockyMtnHigh_2008/FJ%20and%20Stuff/IMGP0931.jpg

[Chris]

Nice to show the love, now I'll know you guys when I see you on the pavement.

[scout man]

I do like those new stickers. Maybe Ill have to pick up some of the new style when I figure out where to mount these.

[scout man]

Here is my Mod for yesterday :thumb:

[Rmart74]

Aaron... Funny man, how we both worked on the same MODs this weekend! I pretty much did the same.

[RockyMtnHigh]

now I'll know you guys when I see you on the pavement.

So does this mean I can change my avatar back to the trout? :lmao:

[Chris]

After I see your sepia toned FJC on the pavement. :rolleyes:

[RockyMtnHigh]

After I see your sepia toned FJC on the pavement. :rolleyes:

Sepia with a touch of saturation added! :thumb:

Aaron said it had to be a pic of our rig, he didn't say we couldn't be a little creative! :D

[Roostercruiser]

mounted cb antenna and mount
http://i881.photobucket.com/albums/ac11/cowboyjarman/IMG_20110324_123604.jpg
http://i881.photobucket.com/albums/ac11/cowboyjarman/IMG_20110324_123546.jpg

[Roostercruiser]

relocated Hi LIft to outside of rack for easier accsess
http://i881.photobucket.com/albums/ac11/cowboyjarman/IMG_20110324_131357.jpg
http://i881.photobucket.com/albums/ac11/cowboyjarman/IMG_20110324_132345-1.jpg
http://i881.photobucket.com/albums/ac11/cowboyjarman/IMG_20110324_132351.jpg
finished producted
http://i881.photobucket.com/albums/ac11/cowboyjarman/IMG_20110324_130901.jpg

[Roostercruiser]

relocated license plate

before it was mounted on grill guard
http://i881.photobucket.com/albums/ac11/cowboyjarman/IMG_20110319_152353.jpg

after mounted to fairlead
http://i881.photobucket.com/albums/ac11/cowboyjarman/IMG_20110324_104105.jpg

[Roostercruiser]

redoing lights and remounting lihght bracket and moving lights around
before

http://i881.photobucket.com/albums/ac11/cowboyjarman/IMG_20110319_152353.jpg

during
http://i881.photobucket.com/albums/ac11/cowboyjarman/IMG_20110324_114023.jpg

after
http://i881.photobucket.com/albums/ac11/cowboyjarman/IMG_20110324_124454.jpg

[Roostercruiser]

top lights
before
lights were upside down and bracket was on top of rack. now bracket is at bottom of rack and lihgts right side up
http://i881.photobucket.com/albums/ac11/cowboyjarman/IMG_20110115_113225.jpg
http://i881.photobucket.com/albums/ac11/cowboyjarman/IMG_20110324_124442.jpg

[Roostercruiser]

Rob and I got sidetracked today. Ment to bleed brakes today and started alot of small projects cleaning up the Burb.

[Brad]

Consider me rebranded!

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c112/flipswitch/c00b149e.jpg
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c112/flipswitch/d7a14c16.jpg

[Roostercruiser]

loogs good brad

[AccordRanger]

Got the interior back in yesterday. Sub install is now 100% complete.

http://i1017.photobucket.com/albums/af294/AccordRanger/Explorer%20mods/002.jpg

http://i1017.photobucket.com/albums/af294/AccordRanger/Explorer%20mods/003.jpg

http://i1017.photobucket.com/albums/af294/AccordRanger/Explorer%20mods/005.jpg

http://i1017.photobucket.com/albums/af294/AccordRanger/Explorer%20mods/008.jpg

[Mporter]

That's sweet. I may have to steal that idea for when i finally spring for more bass.

[AccordRanger]

Its perfect for what I want doesn't kill a lot of cargo space, and still has good bass.

[Mporter]

Did you seal the rest of the quarter panel? Or just deal with it?

[AccordRanger]

Just gonna deal with it. May add some color matched carpet later on

[mushmouth]

awesome stuff!

[Roostercruiser]

cb installed. to access coax you need to go thru taillight

http://i881.photobucket.com/albums/ac11/cowboyjarman/IMG_20110329_122716.jpg
http://i881.photobucket.com/albums/ac11/cowboyjarman/IMG_20110329_122722.jpg
http://i881.photobucket.com/albums/ac11/cowboyjarman/IMG_20110329_144838.jpg

[Roostercruiser]

http://i881.photobucket.com/albums/ac11/cowboyjarman/IMG_20110329_144843.jpg

http://i881.photobucket.com/albums/ac11/cowboyjarman/IMG_20110329_144847.jpg

[Brody]

Hey...bit by bit Roland..It is coming along!

[Roostercruiser]

Thanks Pete

[Roostercruiser]

made a new shovel mount using clamps. stays nice and tight and easy access
http://i881.photobucket.com/albums/ac11/cowboyjarman/IMG_20110331_162749.jpg

[KnuckleHead]

Well last week I went and saw Rob (monsterburb) and picked up his old armor he had...... This weekend I installed it....

[Brody]

That is some 'classic' armor! I remember when they first came out with that style, then they stopped making it years ago. Don't ever sell it as it will be a collector's item in a few years!

It will certainly work for you!

[Metalhed]

Cleand the MAF/or whatever it is called on the Tacoma, cleaned and oiled the air filters on my truck and my sons truck
Toyota- Why did you put the screws to the MAF is such a terrible location and WHY WHY WHY did you make them so soft.
If you blink wrong the screw head strips. Saw that I still have a mud everywhere under the truck. That is next-- cleaning mud

[Brody]

Yeah...I think you are talking about the Idle Air Intake screws. Those are about the softest POS screws on earth and there is absolutely no reason for it. When I have down these, I have actually 'set' the Phillips driver into the screw head with a light hammer tap just for that reason. Of course, it took stripping the screws once to find this sad fact out.

Take a lawn sprinkler and let it run under the rig for a bit before you try to hose all the mud off. It makes a huge difference...

[Mporter]

Started working on my rear locker tonight. So far (no pics, sorry guys) but I got the side/spider gears out and the diff cleaned up a little. Tomorrow heading to ACE to pick up some RTV and a torque wrench and then hopefully all the tolerances will be good and it'll be smooth sailing.

[Brody]

Shouldn't have to mess with the gear tolerances doing a plain jane locker install. Haven't had a problem with gear lash or noise? Then look for odd wear or chips missing, button it back up, fill with fluid and go...

[Mporter]

Yeah Aussie has specific tolerances they require between the pinion shaft and spacers, and the cam gears. But after 3 trips to CarQuest to pick up gear oil (thing just wouldn't fill up) we finally finished and it's hardly noticeable.

FWIW I believe we used 80oz of 85w140 gear oil to fill up that diff......way more than I thought it'd use.

[Chris]

You'll love it Matt, congrats! IIRC it takes 2.1 quarts (67.2 oz) but I could be wrong. As long as it's filled the numbers don't matter.

[Aaron]

Well, over the last week I've managed to find a camper shell for the truck, switch tops on the Jeep and stole someone's ingenius idea for how to store it in the garage, off the floor for about 15 bucks... Details..

I found the camper shell on CL for $85. It's a heavy mother. Fiberglass with metal reinforcements. The F250 is in need of a new tailgate. The one on it is bowed in the middle enough that I cannot get the topper to latch.

As for the Jeep. Changing out the top was pretty uneventful. But I'm pretty excited about not losing garage floor to the hard top this year. That probably just single-handedly clinched me keeping the M416 :)

Credit: http://www.jeepfan.com/projects/JKTopHanger-RRJK.php

[Mporter]

You'll love it Matt, congrats! IIRC it takes 2.1 quarts (67.2 oz) but I could be wrong. As long as it's filled the numbers don't matter.

Yeah it was roughly 2.5 bottles of Lucas Oil (which comes in 32oz) bottles. So definitely more than 67

[Mporter]

And another mod for the day. Bought 2 more TAPCO mags for my AK-47, only $22 out the door.

P.S. 5280 Armory in Arvada (right down the street from Pete, and literally across the street from Christopher) is a great gun store.

[Rob]

Changed the oil in the FJC, then decided to finally try to straighten out the front winch bumper. When Pete yanked me out of that mud hole on Bill Moore a couple of years ago, it put a huge amount of stress on the bumper, which apparently moved slightly out of whack. It's been bugging me ever since. So I loosened the main bolts on the driver's side, banged on it with a rubber mallet and tightened the bolts. Much straighter now.

Also took out the small body panel under the driver's headlamp that has been loose for a while (broken clips) and put the new piece in. A couple of folks in Moab noticed it and thought it was new damage. So I figured it was time to take care of it. :)

And, gosh, I was on such a roll that I put a keeper wire on my front license plate, which is clamped to the fairlead with headlight clamps (thanks to Pete for that suggestion).

Since it's such a nice day, I might throw some more Bondo on the FJ40. It still has a couple of spots that need work.

Here's what the winching out of the mudhole hole looked like for those who weren't there.

[Chris]

Nice work guys, I started cleaning the Moab dirt out of my interior, does that count? :lmao:

[scout man]

Nice work guys, I started cleaning the Moab dirt out of my interior, does that count? :lmao:

:erm: So far I have taken my bag of clothes and my cooler out of my rig from moab... thats the only time a door has even been open on it.

[Rob]

Nice work guys, I started cleaning the Moab dirt out of my interior, does that count?

I'd call you a slacker, but you had a good excuse to put off cleaning your rig. (No pass for you, Steve.:lmao:) I cleaned mine top to bottom, inside and out the day after I got back. Of course, it still had mud and dust on and in it from the anniversary run. :rolleyes:

[scout man]

(No pass for you, Steve.)

Not that I would normally clean it, but why clean it when its all busted?

Actually, I kind of want to dig in there and see the carnage in the tcase, but I have been working like mad since we got back. On day 5 of 12 in a row, pretty much around the clock. Maybe the week after next I will crack it open!

[Rob]

but I have been working like mad since we got back

OK, you get a pass. Work is good.

Need any help with the repair work?

[Brody]

So far I have taken my bag of clothes and my cooler out of my rig from moab... thats the only time a door has even been open on it.

So, Steve, you going for the Brody Driveway Ornament look? LaDawn may have some pointers as she has made some suggestions to me that she thinks border on humor....

[Geno]

I have a mod for the day. New custom Brody rock sliders on my Taco. He worked all day on my truck, I got there at 10:30 am and did not leave until 7:30 p,m or so . He busted his *** on finishing the fabing of the frame mounts and welding them all up at one time because this is my D/D. We did have a difficult side ( as he called it) I say pain in the *** side ,which required cutting one support off and redueing it after the slider was tack welded and set. His professionalism came through when dealing with the issue my truck put onto him. Thanks, that he at least let me go and buy him lunch.:) I am making sure I am taking great care and time to paint them so when he see's my truck again, I put the same effort into painting them, as he did onto makeing them, and I am proud to say Pete Brody made these for me.

[Brody]

Thanks Gene! It was fun hanging out with you and Robert although you guys must have been bored to tears half the time...

I can't believe that you stayed up to paint this after a long day then a long drive!

[Mporter]

Looks good as always Pete.

[Geno]

I was like a kid at christmas with a new toy , I had them cleaned and painted( 1st coat ) by around 11:30pm ,and I just got done a hour ago putting on the 2nd coat. I am using Rust-o-luem hammered black paint, I like its looks, and kinda hides scratches and small dings easly, and touch-ups are easy also.

[Chris]

Good choice on the paint Geno, I got to test the sliders Pete made for my 4Runner in Moab. They did a great job but sure do need a touch-up now!

[DHYDR8D]

Vertical and horizonal welding on a frame? That could end up like the broken frame Incident in Moab. Not A good Idea even if the frame is boxed from the factory. The grain of the steel has been destroyed. With no extra crosmembers the frame will still flex and that flex will now be focused on the weakened point of the frame. Yeah it will support the weight of the vehicle but... Always weld on a frame as close as you can to a 45* angle, and peen it to realign the crystals back to a more natural position. I learned this from a YJ frame that was extended and I had to fix.

[Geno]

I checked, many companys are selling the purchase and weld on sliders on line are using the "L" type brackets, I like spreading the twist /load over a greater space on the frame to lower the actual lbs per inch on the welds. I have never heard on a frame failure from weld on sliders. (but I am sure there is one somewhere) On my last Bronco and my current Toyotas, the factory stationary cross members are welded in vertically and horizonally. If the welding is done correctly and does not distort the integrity of the frame rail, I think there should not be a problem. Plus Pete lined up 2 of the mounting "L" plates with factory crossmenbers on the inside of the frame. I will go with experence on my rig 1st everytime.

[Brody]

Pretty SOP for a lot of companies for a lot of rock rails/sliders for Yotas and damn near anything else. Strong design and it works. A little research will show that this very basic design has been used for many, many, many years....and I have used this on sliders/rock rails starting back in 1982 or so....

Of course I could have fired a slew of 5/16" bolts through the pinch weld and mounted it with cute little tabs on top of the main rail, thus avoiding contacting the frame at any point. Many Jeep after market parts suppliers (and some of the older FJ55/60/62 Toyota slider companies) seem to find this Mattel Toy mount adequate. Personally I think that style mounting sucks wind...:D

The point on the frame that Gene has to worry about isn't anywhere near the sliders, but is more toward the back where Toyota, in a brain fart moment of inspired wisdom, decided to go from a boxed frame abruptly into a "C" channel frame, thus creating a factory designed weak point....

[Mporter]

decided to go from a boxed frame abruptly into a "C" channel frame, thus creating a factory designed weak point....

Yep I was thinking the same thing when I put my sliders on.

[Fordguy77]

Do Wyoming License Plates Count?

[scout man]

Need any help with the repair work?

I could probably use some hands when the time comes. Wont be until at least next week though...


So, Steve, you going for the Brody Driveway Ornament look? LaDawn may have some pointers as she has made some suggestions to me that she thinks border on humor....

Yea, it makes a great ornament right now. And with all the dirt still sitting on it, I imagine it will start growing some stuff on its own at any point here.

[Rob]

Do Wyoming License Plates Count?

:confused: Is that your rig with Wyo plates?

[Roostercruiser]

Did u register it up there for emmisions Chris? I thought u just work there during turbine season.

[wyota]

Do Wyoming License Plates Count?

Casper WY, of all paces, well there is no shortage of wind there! I know im from 2, Hints the name wyota!

[Rob]

Hints the name wyota!

And I always thought it was short for "Why did I buy a Toyota?" :lmao:

[Fordguy77]

Yup that's my rig with wyo plates. I have it registered in both states currently. By paying the 65 bucks for plates it saves me the 50 a month for a temporary worker perment. I've been up here long enough now to be considered a resident if I want. Nice todd. I wish I was in casper or glen rock. I'm about sick of wheatland.

Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide using Tapatalk

[Rmart74]

Awesome JOB Pete!!!

[Brody]

Thanks, Ricardo!

[Rob]

Put new gauge lights in the FJ40, guaranteed to be brighter than the stock lights. Now I can actually read my gauges at night and know how fast I'm going.

[Chris]

Replaced my huge outside mirrors with 4" rounds, no more forward obstructed view.

[Brody]

What.....did both of you guys forget the camera thingie? You know, like for pictures and stuff?

[Chris]

No pics until you make me a couple small plates to cover the existing holes! :D

[Rob]

did both of you guys forget the camera thingie?

:lmao: Hard to take a pic in the dark.

But here's what the gauge cluster looks like. The new bulbs are behind it. :D It's not this bright at night, but it's readable, except for the odometer.

[Chris]

I don't know Rob, the numbers look blurrier to me but I guess they clear up at night. :erm:

[Rob]

I don't know Rob, the numbers look blurrier to me

Put your glasses on, and it'll sharpen right up. :)

[Chris]

:lmao: Have you ever seen me w/o my glasses? If I took them off I wouldn't be able to find the computer to look!

But hey, if it looks clear to you I understand a lot more now! :D

[Brody]

I even have some nice stainless should you want a little bling for the plates..

Yeah, can do on the plates....

[Mporter]

Started work on my half doors today. Started on the rear doors in case I messed up, that way I could still have the front doors good to go.

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh27/shotgun12321/IMAG0058.jpg

Still gotta pick up some spare hinges/locks before I can test fit em.

[Chris]

It's about time Matt! :thumb:

[Roostercruiser]

Nice Matt

[Mporter]

It's about time Matt! :thumb:

Yeah I know. I just finally have free time to do em. Hopefully they'll turn out sweet

[Brody]

Looking good, Matt!

Man, you gotta be REALLY good to stand on your skateboard and work on the half door stuff! I mean, like Olympic quality good....

[Mporter]

Looking good, Matt!

Man, you gotta be REALLY good to stand on your skateboard and work on the half door stuff! I mean, like Olympic quality good....

Thanks Pete, it's more like a division of the Special Olympics: balancing on a skateboard with a Makita 4.5" grinder in my hand going full tilt.

[Stephen]

You people doing mods are lucky. It seems like every damn part I want is on "back order". Pick a wheel, "back ordered", pick a different one, "back ordered". Pick a tire, "back ordered" with a side of "there's no sign that tire is every getting made". At least the Jeep corner of the economy is doing fine I guess. :D

[Robert B]

heres my mod....my dad found these off his 72 i believe (full top off year) blazer and we decided to see if they fit mine.......and they do so yay !! since very few people make fender flares for old blazers and the ones that do want a fortune for them. :)

[Rob]

It seems like every damn part I want is on "back order".

But you got the cash to at least "back order" stuff. :)

Maybe it's just-in-time manufacturing taken to the extreme. You order it, we'll get around to building it someday.

[4finger]

Thanks Pete, it's more like a division of the Special Olympics: balancing on a skateboard with a Makita 4.5" grinder in my hand going full tilt
so when you work on the other door do you have to stand switch-stance????:lmao:

[RockyMtnHigh]

You order it, we'll get around to building it someday.

Sounds like a certain bumper manufacturer. :lmao:

[Rob]

Sounds like a certain bumper manufacturer. :lmao:

:lmao: It does indeed.

[RockyMtnHigh]

:lmao: It does indeed.

Of course with them it was order it, pay for it and then a year later when you want a refund (because you haven't received it) they charged you a 25% restocking fee for something that hadn't been built yet, but close enough.

[Brody]

Well, don't be hesitant to say who the ****nut bumper manufacture is. You want other people to buy from that company? I sure wouldn't.

[RockyMtnHigh]

Road Armor http://www.roadarmor.com/ (http://www.roadarmor.com/)which is who made Rob's bumper on his FJC.

[Chris]

Okay, here are a couple pics of Pete's work on my truck. Added an L bracket to mount the CO2 tank and made plates to cover the holes that were left after switching to a small mirror. My God the stock mirrors are huge! It's nice to see again!

[4Runninfun]

Got a little bit of work done on my rear bumper yesterday.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b367/4runninfun/Rear%20bumper%20project/P9090039.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b367/4runninfun/Rear%20bumper%20project/P9090034.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b367/4runninfun/Rear%20bumper%20project/P9090045.jpg

[Mporter]

Mounted my CB mic to the mount for my rear view mirror. Repainted my passenger side slider (driver side tomorrow).

I'll get pics up....eventually.