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Mcqueen posted:Following this thread closely after buying a GX470 on a whim and for a song from an Aussie who had to leave within the week back to his motherland. Loving every second of it but thanking god every day that someone else is paying for my gas. Bought a lift, winch, bumper, sliders, etc. Finishing a house remodel, then I'll throw begin work on it. Loving this thread, thanks for making it.  picsWait, so this is how this thing is supposed to drive? I mean it was bound to happen. It is a twenty year old machine and things will start acting a little weird. I had already gotten used to the primitive automatic climate control. A red "BRAKE" light began to flicker on the instrument cluster from time to time. The same light that comes on when you have the hand brake pulled. Percussive maintenance on the dash didn't fix it. The cable was definitely releasing on the hand brake. I could pull the handle up and down really fast and no change. I could slam on the brakes and not notice any difference. Flooring it would sometimes make it go away but that red warning light wasn't around that often. A cursory  search had me opening the hood to inspect the brake fluid reservoir. It looked full, but perhaps just barely a little low. I read that as the pads wear and the pistons are pushed out more you can occasionally need to top it off. On the reservoir there is explicit instructions on how to add fluid. Ignition off, press the brake pedal at least 40 times (seriously), then add to the "max" level. Turn ignition to "on" (don't start the car) then inspect the reservoir level. Right at the 40th press it went to the floor. WEIRD but cool. Added some fluid. Started the truck, no more light! Drove around the block, wooo! I fixed it! Pulled back to my driveway and notice a puddle where the right front tire was.  Get out and find that there is a healthy dose of brake fluid all on the inside of my wheel and dripped down the inner sidewall. Panic sets in. Is this a caliper failure? Brake line failure? Something huge that could have gone wrong and left me to die? All these things are killing me as we eat dinner and get the kids to bed. FINALLY I am able to pull it into the garage and get the tire off. I find the source of the leak  The banjo fitting was a little loose. Like barely at all. I pressed the brake pedal and could see a few drops seep out. I get my wrench on there and give it a good tightening. Try again and no more leak. End up bleeding the brake system because hygroscopic fluid and all. Not a drop has since left the system. Admiring my craftiness and generally inspecting all the driveline and suspension things something weird catches my eye, which is where the  comes into play. Immediately A LOT of things start to make sense. Like how on the ~80 MPH freeway to Moab when the wind was blowing the truck felt a little washy, and how going around turns I felt like I had to slow down quite a bit to take it at what felt more comfortable. The truck would kind of need to settle into a turn before feeling planted. Why the highly reputable shop dealing with LCs in Salt Lake didn't notice this when they did a 4 wheel alignment just a couple weeks prior is the real mystery! A call to the Lexus dealership was made the following day and a pair of links (to replace both sides), pillows, retaining washers and lock nut were all sourced. Total cost; about $100. Time to replace per side ~20 minutes. I found the torque specs online and installed:   The improvement was immediate and I felt a little foolish in just assuming this was how trucks drove. I should have bought sway bar bushings at the same time but didn't think about it at the time. The left side was looking nasty.    The threads gave up completely as I was loosening it with about 4 turns left. They couldn't even hold the tension anymore and I had to search the floor to find where the nut was flung  Old and busted vs new and sexy. I will continue this post tomorrow where I can show off my rack 
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Jul 24, 2019 22:53
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I have found my local Toyota dealer to be -incredibly- helpful with ordering parts, and sometimes competitive on price.
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Jul 24, 2019 22:58
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angryrobots posted:I have found my local Toyota dealer to be -incredibly- helpful with ordering parts, and sometimes competitive on price. Interesting was the first call was to the Toyota dealer who told me they didn’t have the parts and would be a week out on getting them. He told me the nearest Toyota dealership that had them was in Colorado or something. When I asked if he could check on the Lexus dealers inventory (same auto group) they had them in stock, at the place 10 miles down the road. On something like this for about $100 that I’ll probably never have to change again I wasn’t going to think that hard about price.
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Jul 24, 2019 23:17
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Gotta say, all that crusty junk and congealed grease would be driving me nuts. I'm a bit surprised that those end links perished from rust. Salted roads? Salted Lake?
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Jul 25, 2019 00:08
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Be glad it is just end links. Inspect your passenger frame mount of the sway bar. Mine is loving GONE. The AC drips onto the mount and it rots off. PO threw the sway bar out and did the 3 inch OME tbars and rear springs along with koni raids. I've had to panic avoid poo poo on the highway at 80 and had no complaints thanks to the uprated stuff. The brake stuff is... interesting. I have replaced all my lines and my electric booster seems okay, but I cannot wait until the rear end blasting that is replacing that happens. I'll order a rewound pump and I already have the master cyl rebuild kit in the glovebox. Oh while we're talking about stupid poo poo on these trucks look up the ignition rod failure. "my key spins freely and the truck wont shut off". I have a replacement one of those in the glovebox too. Just finished putting the interior back in after patching the cab corners. Turns out toyota drains the sunroof INTO the rocker, which in new england when the PO washes the car every week in the winter, just barfs everything into the rockers and rots it out. I'm step drilling through my 16 gauge and extending my sunroof drains straight out. My local dealer has been great about ordering poo poo when I give them my vin and point at diagrams. They arent the cheapest but they'll get poo poo that my go to wont ship big dumb items like brake lines. https://www.mcgeorgetoyota.com/ got me for my tithe for OEM CVs, fuel system stuff, lots of other little bits. I'm hoping to have mine sorted in a few weeks so I can go adventure this fall. It'll come offline this winter for a bunch of utterly loving stupid poo poo this winter though.
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Jul 25, 2019 05:15
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No swaybar in the front makes em a beast off-road. But unless you’ve got upgraded suspension it turns it into boaty mccruiserface... Upgrade your brake lines to braided, change out the rotors with slotted DBA’s and fit aggressive pads and it makes 100 series actually STOP
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Jul 25, 2019 05:36
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Ferremit posted:No swaybar in the front makes em a beast off-road. But unless you’ve got upgraded suspension it turns it into boaty mccruiserface... I threw Nitro Gear upper arms on and dear lord my floorjack is doin' a struggle to get the drat thing off the ground. Excited to really get it offroad with them. I went with the Slee braided lines as I put upgraded lines on all my trash. Rotors I'm letting them burn up then I'll do upgraded stuff. I wasn't concerned with them as is and they can wear a bit while I gently caress around this fall.
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Jul 25, 2019 06:11
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Darchangel posted:Gotta say, all that crusty junk and congealed grease would be driving me nuts. It will be addressed one day. It is nasty stuff. I might just get new lower arms because they don't seem terribly expensive. We don't have nearly the same kind of salt that eats other cars of the midwest/east but we do get salted. More than anything it straight up looks like wear. Ignition rod failure is a new kind of failure that I am not ready (or excited) about! The ABS thing also makes me leery but hey - I drive a BMW with rod bearings that could weld themselves to the crankshaft so I know how to live dangerously! Ferremit posted:Upgrade your brake lines to braided, change out the rotors with slotted DBA’s and fit aggressive pads and it makes 100 series actually STOP All in the eventual. This thing has brand new rotors and pads. Feels a shame to immediately toss them out when I have other stuff that needs doing.
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Aug 9, 2019 22:31
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Today's title (in GIF format!) With wanting to do some sweet overlanding adventures and have ultimate street cred I needed a real roof rack to support the roof tent. My wife was wanting to pump the brakes on the spending of this old beater but my boss was enabling me bigtime and did this surprisingly on one of my paychecks:   so I definitely needed to get the tent and rack done. After overthinking nearly everything I narrowed down the rack choices to the Frontrunner brand rack, the Rhino rack, and then found the Eezi-Awn K9. I ended up with the K9 because of a number of glowing reviews and better yet was that the US distributor is local in Salt Lake and offered installation for free as they didn't have to ship it. They even gave me a loaner to drive back to work; the shops 1st gen Toyota Tundra that was supercharged and awesome. I got the 2M length (they were out of the 2.2M and I didn't want to wait a couple of months). The rack is really cool with a modular layout that makes for a lot of great accessories that can be added and tons of ways to mount stuff. It also had a huge load rating which made me feel much more confident in the highway speeds I would be traveling with a ~175 pound brick tent strapped to the top.Shout out to Equipt Expedition outfitters:  (bonus shot of said Tundra in the background) The next variable was roof top tents. There are tons of options ranging from wildly expensive to trendy and popular moderately expensive. After tons of YouTube videos and realizing that I was still in the dating phase of this whole camping idea (would my kids/wife even like this stuff?) I settled on the ARB Simpson III tent which is perfect for me. It includes an annex that is basically a drop down and room for changing etc etc. It was also the most reasonably priced one. A friend has an account through 4Wheel Parts and I was able to pick it up for about $1200. It comfortably will fit three of us. The older two sleeping in the back of the truck with the seats folded up.    airing out the smell of China and latex I had a neighbor help lift it onto the rack and I used these slick low profile tent mounts from Eezi-Awn that were only about $25 that also are quick release. I will eventually post more of a review but for now I think this is enough wall of words. Suffice it to say I bought the right tent for my intended purposes. Running total of new parts added Front sway bar links/bushings/hardware ~$140 Rack: $1375+$106 in sales tax, $1481 Tent with annex and mounting bars: $1200 + $25 $15,121 Next installment working title (Road) Trippin' Balls: more maintenance and adventures await!
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Aug 9, 2019 22:38
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I live nowhere where one of these would be at all practical (thanks, Appalachia!) but this is awesome and I want to live vicariously through you.
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Aug 10, 2019 13:32
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That is a pretty solid update. I hope you guys have fun camping.
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Aug 10, 2019 14:22
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Ive had our Simpson III tent in some absolutely ATTROCIOUS conditions (Think 70kph constant winds in an outback dust storm with no dust ingress, 70mm of rain in an 8hr period with no leaks) and its never let me down over the probably 30k kms of pure hardcore outback adventures its been on. Few things we've found over the years tho: 1) Change the mattress out. We found the stock foam mattress, apart from being made of DU its so god drat heavy, isn't a very comfy option. We changed ours out for a 10cm thick self inflator and its so much nicer to sleep on. Only downside is if your planning to sleep three up there you do loose a bit of length. Thats a positive for us because it gives us somewhere to toss shoes and clothes when the weather is being terrible. Maybe wait till the kids get their own swags? 2) Lay out your bedding. When you close it up with the bedding in it, make sure its all laid out as a flat layer, otherwise its a prick of a thing to try and close properly which leads me to.. 3) Make SURE its closed properly before trying to put the cover on and zip it. If you dont get it compressed enough you'll struggle to get the cover on and tear it at the seams, and you can also tear teeth off the zipper if its under too much tension. I found that the stock velcro close straps we're pretty useless for that, cos they couldnt compress the self inflator and bedding down properly (we camp with double pillows and a king doona because why the hell not!) so I replaced the closure straps with [url=http://fasty.com.au/]Fasty Straps[/url. Got no idea whether theyre sold in the US or theres something like it, but thats what I use. I also climb up on the thing and sit on it when im doing the straps up to help compress it, but thats also a LOT easier with the twin wheel carrier cos the spare tyre acts as a step!
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Aug 10, 2019 15:26
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I've just started getting into overlanding and one of my buddies and main resource for 'how to overland' runs a Lexus of the same model as you right now. He's been at it for longer (and is some crazy resale wizard) so his is super kitted out. Don't have a pic offhand but he's got a Tepui Rooftop tent, Rhino Rack batwing awning, and all sorts of work that it's very capable doing technical offroad stuff, even with all the weight. Looks like you're doing more tame trail riding to go camping so the set up you have should work excellent for you. He's looking to (either on this vehicle or the next) move to a trailer set up so he can base cape and not have to spend 30 mins pulling in the tent and awning to go wheeling. For now though he just spends a lot of time post ride checking his covers for tears or damage.
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Aug 12, 2019 13:42
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I’m lucky that my parents own a Kimberly Kamper so I can steal that when needed. The roof top tents are great for doing full blown overlanding- travelling each day and spending the night in a new location but they suck for base camping. So if I’m doing a base camp I’ll pilfer the kamper and use that but if I’m doing touring I’ll use the tent cos it’s a lot easier off-road than dragging a trailer through the desert.
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Aug 12, 2019 14:10
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I like Lexus. This is a good thread. Thank you. (We might need a Lexus thread)
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Aug 12, 2019 20:28
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Following this. I live in the natural habitat of these the suburbs and would love to pick one up one of these days, even though I know deep down inside I should get another wagon.
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Aug 12, 2019 22:47
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Crunchy Black posted:I live nowhere where one of these would be at all practical (thanks, Appalachia!) but this is awesome and I want to live vicariously through you. Atticus_1354 posted:That is a pretty solid update. I hope you guys have fun camping. MrOnBicycle posted:I like Lexus. This is a good thread. Thank you. Thanks for following along! Residency Evil posted:Following this. I live in the natural habitat of these the suburbs and would love to pick one up one of these days, even though I know deep down inside I should get another wagon.  follow your heart and do the needfulBremma posted:I've just started getting into overlanding and one of my buddies and main resource for 'how to overland' runs a Lexus of the same model as you right now. pics and your adventures. Join in the fun! I may have started this thread, but others should chime in and post photos. Batwing awnings are sweet but wtf, why so much money!Ferremit posted:snip on the tent For sure! Good stuff. I found that the setup and takedown does require a little bit of patience. Having done it a few times now the process is getting much smoother. I like the mattress so far and it has been perfectly waterproof and is quite comfortable to sleep in. An adventure trailer seems really cool and fun. I am still in the "dating" phase of camping, so depending on how serious things go I could end up  but for now it is good.
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Aug 12, 2019 22:58
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I forgot to post a photo on the previous post. In prep for the roof rack I decided to do full paint correction of the roof with a clay bar and wax etc etc so it would be protected while I had limited access to the roof with the new rack on. The entire truck needs it because water doesn't even attempt to bead up on the paint. This old paint really cleans up nicely and there is a deep metal flake that shines nicely in full sun. Moving on... Shmoo is the best way I can describe it The namesake of the thread comes from the guy I bought it from. He owned the truck for a good 15+ years and maintained it (rather well) himself. He was a nearing retirement aged guy and had loved the truck for ~150K miles. He also used a gross Febreeze or something clip on vent air freshener and wore old-guy cologne that still lingers when the truck has been sitting in the sun all day. A free Saturday finally appeared before our anticipated road trip for our anniversary and I spent the entire day detailing the interior. All plastics were wiped down clean with a mild detergent and a rag. Some small stains on the ceiling liner and carpets were cleaned. The leather got a quick detail, but was apparent that it would require a full day of reconditioning so I decided to let that go. Some "aged" trail mix that was on its way into becoming a permanent part of the carpet wedged between the seat and center console was cleaned. With some Mother's brand interior protectant I went to work and everything was now clean and had a nice matte sheen.  Getting rid of that many years of someone else's shmoo takes a lot of effort but it was worth it.  The smallest Heroic agreed. My wife and I decided for our 10th wedding anniversary that we would go and check out Jackson, WY, Yellowstone etc. We left the kid hauler to my niece who watch our kids and drove the LX. In a few days time we put some ~800 miles on it. It was time to change the oil which was a honey color at the time of buying it but also ~3000 miles ago and an unknown number of total miles. Access to the filter was slick. It hides behind an access panel on the front skid plate.  It sits at an angle that gives pretty good flow. There is also this trick little bottom lip where the filter mounts that tries to catch any stray drips.  Draining the sump is pretty straightforward. Pictured are the raise white letters I should have faced outward A new Mobil1 fancy oil filter was used and about 7 qts of full synthetic Mobil1 were added. There was a  bonus discovered! The source of the (small) drips were a leaking steering rack! It definitely looked like a problem for Future Me so I pushed forward. General feelings appear to range from there are those that have leaking steering racks to those who WILL have leaking steering racks. They will get by for quite a while just adding fluid but eventually rip it out and replace with a new OEM (like $600 and a couple weekends of wrenching). The road trip The trip outlined was going to be about 300 miles to get to Jackson, a place I had not been since I was really small. The drive proved to be breathtaking. We drove through parts of Utah that I hadn't for a very long time. Small towns out of nowhere and with record setting rainfall in this spring meant rolling hills and mountain ranges that were the most green I can remember. As often as I could get away with I would pull over to take photos of the truck in cool/unusual places  Randolph, UT near the first of my many fuel stops for this trip While it would have been Cool and GoodTM to camp this trip we instead decided to try a Tiny  The Bridger-Teton national forest and Yellowstone National Park is a must-see place for anyone. It makes for an AI as hell road trip. I could probably spend a few weeks driving every forest road in any kind of car and not get bored of things to look at. We crossed the Continental Divide  We saw Old Faithful  and some hot springs, my photos which do not do the color justice. It was uncharacteristically cold so the steam made for less exciting pics   With nearly 800 miles and many fuel stops we picked our kids up on the way home from our trip. At a stoplight I grabbed this photo of my wife driving the Lexus  How can something so old with so many miles bring me such joy? Land Cruisers are freaking special, and they are meant for making memories. Next chapters working title: Living in a place this beautiful and not enjoying it should be criminal
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Aug 12, 2019 23:03
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Somewhat Heroic posted:
Well if you insist!  As I noted, I just started offroading/overlanding. In March I made the fortuitous purchase of a 2008 FJ Cruiser with 200k miles on it for a few grand below general market value from a shop in NC. I'd ridden along on trails with friends a year prior and wanted in on my own fun. This last weekend I attended Mid Atlantic Overlanding Festival in Central Pennsylvania and it was a blast. Me and a group of 6 vehicles (2 4runners, a Tacoma, a Lexus and my FJ) went trail riding Friday. The first half was uneventful as we tried to seek out new trails but a lot were closed, on private property or had been covered in gravel for logging operations. Our main fun run was on a trail called Negro Hollow in Bald Eagle state park. Not a lot of pics from the run (since I was driving solo) but got to go up and down some rougher rockly slopes and a lot of running through puddles.  Here's the after pic (and after figuring out that my power steering gave out while parking for a photo cauee I somehow knocked the power steering cap loose, probably from not tightening it the week before). I had a blast on my first run, but due to the aforementioned power steering issue (something was/is clogging the low pressure pump for the steering) I sidelined the FJ for other driving until going home. I did ride with a few friends and learned some strategies for better controlling the vehicle like downshifting on hills and how to 'bump' the gas for certain obstacles. As for , there's a lot I want to do eventually (better sliders and skid plates, metal bumpers winch, etc) for now my goal is to get better tires (the ones I have are good but the prior owner scalloped them and the treads are kinda low) and better camping gear since the next trip will be in November in PA again so I need to be able to handle that. The 50 degree nights this trip were a bit rough for me, but I was hardly in danger of freezing to death. A group shot of my core crew (semi-excluding the Explorer who isn't trail ready yet but can do some woodsy driving), which includes a front shot of my buddy's Lexus. Was a great time, and I recommend MAOF to anyone who wants to hang out with other over landers for a weekend and see some cool setups.
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Aug 13, 2019 01:39
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When you do replace that steering rack, your not limited to the pre 02 racks. You can fit the 02-07 racks too, you’ll just need ONE of the long bolts that the 02 update racks use. Also when do fit a new rack, cut into the return line and install a small auto trans cooler- if you can get the temp out of the fluid the racks and pumps will last a HELL of a long time- mines the factory rack with 370k kms on it, and at least 50k of that is off-road and high speed gravel roads. The last of the LX470’s came with variable gear ratio steering but I have no idea what kinda wiring shenanigans that would involve
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Aug 13, 2019 11:09
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Love the Wyoming pics. We stayed in that exact cabin in 2016 when my wife and I visited. Do they still offer the Wranglers for rental? We took one out for a day and had a great time. Of course we had to hit the Land Cruiser Museum in SLC before catching our flight home. We had a 2 hour private tour of all the vehicles but I believe it is open to the public now.    
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Aug 13, 2019 13:31
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Bremma posted:Well if you insist! Those are awesome and your FJ is awesome. Having a crew all go out sounds like a really fun time! There are literally hundreds of miles of off highway roads that are public access in Utah and I intend on exploring many of them. If you go out again come back and post more pics Ferremit posted:Also when do fit a new rack, cut into the return line and install a small auto trans cooler- if you can get the temp out of the fluid the racks and pumps will last a HELL of a long time- mines the factory rack with 370k kms on it, and at least 50k of that is off-road and high speed gravel roads. JeffT417 posted:Love the Wyoming pics. We stayed in that exact cabin in 2016 when my wife and I visited. Do they still offer the Wranglers for rental? We took one out for a day and had a great time.
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Aug 13, 2019 17:20
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 4x4 labs DIY bumper kit welded up and in a primer coat. Swing out coming soon. Some cab rust repair and fuel system refresh is on the list next. After that I hang my sliders and rear bumper, send it out for alignment, inspection, and general once over. Once legal I plan to bankrupt myself on fuel every weekend until December. Not sure if I should piggy back here or the 4x4 thread but man these trucks are something else. I'm driving a sorted GX470 for the week and despite it being the better "value" my 100 brings me more joy.
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Aug 14, 2019 04:05
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Ah man that’s sick. Really wanted a coastal off-road front but I’m a dumb dumb idiot and can’t weld. Looks rad, nice work.
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Aug 14, 2019 05:01
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Slow is Fast posted:Not sure if I should piggy back here or the 4x4 thread but man these trucks are something else. I'm driving a sorted GX470 for the week and despite it being the better "value" my 100 brings me more joy. The bumper is looking sweet! Participation is welcome and encouraged! I am every bit a student at this stuff and seeing authentic reviews on things is nice as well as different ideas on how to do stuff.
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Aug 14, 2019 05:44
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There’s something bout a Landcruiser... doesn’t matter if it’s a rough as guts 70 series bashing it’s way up a rough as guts track, a 100 series belting its way up an outback gravel highway or a LX cruising the highway, they are just so well built and so well designed that they’re a brilliant place to be. My 100 is possibly the worst choice of daily driver... the tyres are $400 each and I get 50-60k kms out of em cos of the roads I drive, it’s not that economical and it’s expensive to run because of things like 10K oil change intervals, 11.5L dumps and $160/20L oil... but I can fall into it at the end of the day, relax back into a really comfy seat and just cruise home with the stereo up and it’s just NICE. I can also drive the thing for 8hrs off-road, get out and still be able to walk and move enough to climb sand dunes and mountains for photos during the golden hour. They’re just good cars.
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Aug 14, 2019 12:31
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4x4 labs bumper installed. Added aux lights and some other mods. Took a break from rust repair on the cab and installed my "attic". 13 dollars worth of closet rack, 98 cents worth of gloss black, and some hose clamps I had at the shop and I have storage for soft poo poo in the third row head area. I don't have the third row seats and that space is wasted otherwise. 
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Aug 18, 2019 01:59
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I like the bumper! Cooler that you fabbed it yourself. I’ve never done welding in my life but it’s something I want to try my hand at eventually. I go back and forth on armoring up my truck. I definitely want a front bumper but that will mean I need to install a lift. The extra weight will most definitely overwhelm the AHC suspension.
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Aug 18, 2019 18:05
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Somewhat Heroic posted:Interesting! I will see about researching on MUD to get more info. In my minor research so far I haven't heard about anyone doing that. Im sure someone else has thought bout doing that before, but It almost appears like I've kinda come up with the idea myself... On the later 100's toyota added one of those useless steel pipe loop coolers into the return line on the power steering circuit and had it stuck in front of the radiator (its on my 2005 HDJ100, but not my mates 2001 HDJ100) I was wandering the self service wreckers looking for parts for a friends turd and saw a subaru with an aftermarket trans cooler hanging out the front of it and it just happened to coincide with me flushing the black power steering fluid out of my system about a week earlier. It used to be that I would get around 20K kms of driving before the ATF in the power steering went brown from heat turning the 285/75R16 mud terrains but after I fitted the cooler it meant that when i drained the fluid 200K kms later to pull the engine it was still cherry red! I also figure that the power steering rack uses the same kind of seals and that as an auto trans, and if hot dead fluid kills auto trans, it cant be doing good things to your pump and rack! I've also fitted them to friends cars too and even with the old school system on the 80's with the recirculating ball steering boxes theyre running way cooler and extending the fluid life a heap.
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Aug 18, 2019 23:38
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Somewhat Heroic posted:I like the bumper! Cooler that you fabbed it yourself. I’ve never done welding in my life but it’s something I want to try my hand at eventually. I go back and forth on armoring up my truck. I definitely want a front bumper but that will mean I need to install a lift. The extra weight will most definitely overwhelm the AHC suspension. just to be clear, the bumper was a precut kit from 4x4 labs. While I could have welded it myself, I plan to tow with it so I brought in a friend who welds cages and used the welding shop guys huge rear end welder to make sure this was soup to nuts done right. The reason I went with this bumper is that my rear crossmember was rotted out. New England 100s have the rear crossmember fill up with salty snow and rot from the inside out. This kit has you chop it out for a plated frame and a huge bit of box tube. So it kinda solved that issue for me. Otherwise I wouldn't have bothered. Added bonus I have more fuel storage options either on the swing out or under the truck. The only reason for front armor for me would be animal strikes. Which for now I just run light bars on every car I own and keep an eye out. Maybe a dissent alu option in the future or stay stock and do a front if/when I go 200.
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Aug 18, 2019 23:38
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I was told there would be camping in this thread. WHERE IS THE CAMPING YOU PROMISED As I generally go through the truck trying to find ways to make it better with maintenance I decided to give everyone's favorite thing a try SEAFOAM. I have seafoamed my cars with varying levels of results from "wow" to "meh". The LX 470 however left me with the results of "Holy crap I hope I am not recognized because this is embarrassing" levels of smoke. After finally figuring out where the vacuum line was to feed the juice and running the can through it I let the truck sit for 30 minutes. When I started it the amount of smoke was blinding. I never had a car smoke like this. The video is after a few minutes of running. It went on like this for over 30 minutes of driving. Net result: mileage remains unchanged and the V8 idles buttery smooth...exactly like it did before. https://i.imgur.com/Mx4SEN3.mp4 (link for smokey goodness) Moving on to the adventure portion of this post there is camping. I said there would be camping because that was the whole purpose of building an off road machine! Enter the Uinta National Forest which is a portion of the greater Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest. Where I went is accessed through Spanish Fork Canyon via a public access dirt road through private property that takes ~30 minutes to get to the peak where a friend and I decided to camp out. Total travel time from house to this place being about 1.5 hours. With BLM land and no established campsite the terms used are "Boondocking" or "Primitive" camping. I just knew I was ready for any adventure. Two dads, bringing two kids each - it was going to be a great time! I finally got to try out the tent. I had set it up twice beforehand so I could remember all the steps to get it done. It went pretty smoothly, and I was able to get it done just when the lighting was getting perfect for some photos:  So dramatic  Ignore the rain fly corner not being tucked down. Almost the perfect photo.  Seriously beautiful. It was this great open flat area surrounded by trees offering nice shade coverage with little wildflowers all over. We went on a little walkabout to take in the scenery. The mountain views were truly breathtaking and made you feel a little small.  Utah may just be the prettiest state in the nation.  Fight me.We spent some time around the camp fire, roasting marshmallows and then climbed up the ladder for our first nights sleep. I don't want to oversell this but - roof tenting is the best. The kids and I slept awesome. The next morning we did a little more hiking around and drove my RC truck   I admired my truck some more and again was very please with my choice of tire after putting some dirt miles on them  We packed up after a breakfast of bacon and pancakes and decided to follow the trails around the forest some more and see what other vistas and future camping spots could be found.  Then we hit the dirt road home. There is literally no shortage of things to look at. A winding stream next to the road leads you most of the way out.  I have some timelapse video from my GoPro that I haven't had time to edit yet, so expect it in a future post!  It was a hell of an adventure and I now look forward to the next one!
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Aug 21, 2019 23:03
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RE: Seafoam smoke, you should have seen the cloud I made the first time I got a rotary that had been sitting with ATF in the chambers started (ATF is frequently used in roaties to prelube and increase compression, particularly if it has been flooded - I had the ATF in there to keep the engine from seizing while sitting for a lengthy time.) That cloud was thick enough to chew. It also filled up the garage - the car was on the driveway, but the exhaust was facing the open garage door. It was amazing.
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Aug 21, 2019 23:20
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Should be a YouTube channel of running Seafoam through junk vehicles
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Aug 21, 2019 23:25
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I should remember to take a photo of the underside of my 14yr old, 370k km old 100 series just to make you guys in the salt marshes cry. Also, I forgot those tents were that colour! Mines distinctly less bright in colour and looks a lot more bush stained now. Also, yours must be old stock? Does it have twist lock poles inside or ones with big thumb screws to hold the poles extended. I only ask cos the current version have a pair of shoe pockets that slide into the sail track and hang either side of the ladder
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Aug 23, 2019 14:16
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Ferremit posted:I should remember to take a photo of the underside of my 14yr old, 370k km old 100 series just to make you guys in the salt marshes cry.  Its really cool how the shock almost hides the hole in the CV boot in that photo. And a photo doesnt show the 1/4 turn of slop in the inner joint because its so worn out. I'll replace it someday soon.... the slight greasyness around the steering rack isnt power steering fluid. I had an oil leak when i rebuilt the engine that dribbled onto the harmonic balancer... so it went EVERYWHERE and i still havent managed to degrease everything...  Theres not a lick of paint on any suspension components any more courtesy of high speed gravel highways in the outback, but no rust. That red on the exhaust is baked on outback red mud.  Upgrading the bashplates underneath is a seriously good idea- I replaced the plastic under body plate after it broke with a set of TJM plates- They're 3mm thick steel. So now with the ARB bullbar and its little bash plate, the factory steel sump plate and those I've got continuous steel plates from the bottom of the winch fairlead to the transfer case crossmember. The TJM plates werent really expensive either- bout $300 for the set?  I'd grab an awning for your setup too- They're so handy. I run an older ARB one (its the 2.5 long by 2.0 wide) one, but they now make 2.5x2.5 ones too. Or cos your tent is over the side, you could get one of the 270 degree ones that go around the side and over the back too.
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Aug 24, 2019 02:59
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I am so angry at the lack of rust. Mines been putting miles on jack stands because of it. Also awnings are sick and we used one on a buddys sequoia at a rally. It would have been REALLY handy when I was doing boat trailer wheel bearings in 95 degree heat. My friend gave me a smittybuilt awning. He had his bend a pole and called them, they just shipped him a whole new one. I'm going to call and ask if I can buy just a pole otherwise I'll just make a new one or hammer out the slightly kinked one and go with it.
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Aug 24, 2019 14:58
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I’ve actually got the 2.5x2.5 ARB awning on the way! I think it should get to the shop this coming week. A batwing sounds rad but they are bloody expensive. Not sure how I’ll have it mounted to the rack just yet. I’ve got no idea what brackets and all are needed but I will find out!
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Aug 24, 2019 15:15
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Did I say there would occasionally be M3 and RC car content? I have more  about my Lexus but today you will get M3 and RC Car stuff.During my long weekend and lack of camping that meant I wanted to be driving my M3. Utah has no shortage of great places to see. I decided that for the holiday weekend I wanted to drive through some mountain roads and go for a hike. Small girl Heroic said she wasn't interested so Mrs. Heroic stayed home and I went full Dad and took my 5 and 2 year old boys. We drove the M3 because we only needed two car seats and the road to the trailhead was paved the whole way so WHY NOTE. I drove to the very scenic Mirror Lake Highway to get to the Crystal Springs trailhead, a distance of about 85 miles. The boys were entertained by watching Wreck it Ralph on the infotainment screen of the M3 which I have coded so it can play DVD's while driving. The trail system we went to has TONS of mountain lakes to check out. We made it as far as Cliff Lake which as far as I could tell was about a two mile one-way trip up making for about a four mile total hike. The drive was lovely canyon roads and trees everywhere. Having recently finished my son's RC car we took our scale trucks and hit the trails. Baby was strapped to my back in the hiking carrier. He was content the whole way. There was a bridge!   My little dude is getting really good at driving! https://i.imgur.com/3OxNfuP.mp4 Cliff lake is ridiculously beautiful and the air was sooo clean. I wanted to stay there all day. Utah is still the best. https://i.imgur.com/lrRq5dF.mp4 I even had a spot where I could open it up for a brief minute (excuse the wind whistle noise and noise of small kids) https://i.imgur.com/7XJu8Ob.mp4
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Sep 5, 2019 23:01
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Mcqueen posted:Following this thread closely after buying a GX470 on a whim and for a song from an Aussie who had to leave within the week back to his motherland. Loving every second of it but thanking god every day that someone else is paying for my gas. Bought a lift, winch, bumper, sliders, etc. Finishing a house remodel, then I'll throw begin work on it. Loving this thread, thanks for making it. The shittiness of the gas mileage in these things is truly spectacular.
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Sep 9, 2019 03:09
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At least the rain fly works With a tepid Google search I have learned there are a total of more than sixty seven thousand lights on LX 470. Lexus has a VIN lookup tool where you can see past service done on trucks and every one I checked had a billion bulbs replaced in its life. Changing is pretty easy, after removing a couple of screws and gently pulling on the light straight out the light housings popped out. I replaced a brake light and front parking light.   The next adventure was something that was going to set a precedence, All five of us, including the two year old were going to attempt camping. This meant Mrs Heroic and smallest and myself would be in the tent with the 7 and 5 year old sleeping in the back of the truck on their inflatable mattress pads they were excited to try out. Some friends of ours have a cabin property in Fairview Canyon, not far from where my wife grew up. A distance of about 90 miles from home. The property is located in a "resort" setting and they bought the land with some family members and are slowly improving it to eventually build a cabin. We thought it would be great with our kids being able to play with their kids and we could just hang out.Unfortunately that was not how it went. The ground of the property was positively covered in tall wild grass about knee height on an adult. There were tons of tree roots all over and while It wasn't tough to walk around, the two year old had a tricky time and couldn't seem to take more than five steps without falling over. Then it started to rain. It was bouncing between constant drizzle and heavy rain. After hanging around the fire for a while we called it a night and went to bed. The tent stayed bone dry inside and had no problems. In the morning I cooked a breakfast of bacon and pancakes under the overhang of the tent. I really wished I had an awning at this point, it would have made things much easier. The weather didn't look like it was going to let up at all so we just ate, packed up and headed out. Between constantly needing to carry the baby and just wanting to kind of get out of there I didn't get that many photos in. The rain did make for a very beautiful and dramatic setting. As usual the alpine setting of the national forests of Utah (this time the Manti-La Sal) had perfectly crisp air that has a smell so fresh you never forget.  (Our friends had a manual weed cutter and after hacking down a lot of the grass and kids stepping all over it there was improvement) Overall I think I prefer boondocking over this. Being surround by cabins and normal improved roads the whole way made it less...adventurous.
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Sep 26, 2019 22:13
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