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I think the LC does look better than the LX with regard to grill/headlights but swapping all that over I believe is a more involved thing that one would think. I dropped the truck off last night, my buddy ripped into it for the claims adjuster to come and have a look at it. The prognosis is...not good        He will be calling me soon but he is thinking that the adjuster might just total it out. If that happens I will definitely buy it back and have it fixed. To be fair on the 12 mile drive to his shop I was amazed how there were no vibrations, steering tracked straight, not even wind noise or anything.
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Dec 6, 2019 19:01
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Tremek posted:Looks like Utah is a Total Loss Formula state where (Cost of Repairs) > (FMV of Car) appears to be the legal guideline for whether it gets totaled or not. I think when repairs reach about 70% or so of the value is when they get hesitant to repair because if another undiscovered repair pops up and puts the repair total beyond the value of the truck then insurance people or adjusters or something gets in trouble. KBB is not very optimistic. Even at the level just below "Pristine and show room condition" is this:  NADA doesn't even bother asking specifics like mileage and condition but gives this:  and from KBB you can click the "search what other people are selling these for" and I can see two somewhat nearby with similar miles. Mine as 195K for reference and full maintenance history, and before Tuesday had ZERO accidents.  The white one from 2000 looks pretty clean for the most part but shows accident history. I bet the timing belt service will need to be done too.
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Dec 6, 2019 21:52
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Inspector went to see the car yesterday. To no surprise it was declared a total loss. The inner fender getting tweaked and that front bulkhead where the radiator mounts getting banged up were really what ultimately killed it. Their first offer was pretty pitiful. Of course this is the inspector guy so he is probably just reading off of a notecard of what to say. "Minus your $500 deductible and based on sales the value of the payout will be $6,297" which I informed him I would be rejecting and need adjustments to be made for fair market value. He said that he would transfer my information to the "Total Loss Department" and they would be calling me some time today. The plan is to rebuild the truck. My friend told me that when I negotiate the buyback they would likely offer a sell back at 20% the payout value. He said to just reject it and tell them I would pay 10% of the payout amount, tell them I have done it before and that is the industry standard. He told me Co-Part is going to take it away for $750 so anything they get above that is totally fine by them. With the negotiation I think the biggest thing I have going for me is the mileage. The inspector was claiming things about "the overall condition is taken into consideration and there is a dent on the rear quarter panel and rust on the back" which - yes it does have that but so does literally every other 20 year old truck, and every LC has the exact same rust in the same spot. At only 195K most every comparable LX in my area and surrounding areas have 15-25K more miles than mine, and they are listed for sale at a higher price than mine. In March I paid $9500 for this, plus my maintenance stuff which I have documented (timing belt etc). Pre-accident I would say that would likely be the going rate at a minimum. I would expect that if I can get a buy back price of less than $1500 and a pay out total of ~$8000 after deductible then I will be happy with the outcome and get the rebuild done and keep moving forward.
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Dec 10, 2019 18:52
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Two week update since getting in my accident  Timeline of events to get everyone up to speed: Tuesday, smoosh car Thursday, drop car off at body shop, picked up rental Hyundai Friday, body shop tear down of car Monday, inspection of car, declared total loss. Inspector offered the princely sum of $6297 which I rejected and told him I would like fair market value, and plan on buying the truck back to fix for salvage/rebuilt status. I was given the number of the "Total Loss Dept" that handles that stuff. Tuesday evening, called Total Loss since I didn't hear from them. Left a voicemail. Wednesday, Insurance agents office calls me to see about removing the total loss car from my policy. I say NOOOO because the settlement was not completed yet, claim is STILL OPEN and still waiting for a call. They tell me they will reach out to Total Loss to contact me. Thursday *crickets chirping, tumbleweed blowing etc* Friday, left a second voicemail to total loss dept. Sent email to agent with "WTF dude we are pissing away money on a storage fee at the body shop and rental car every day this isn't handled" Monday, a repeat of Thursday. Sent a message through allstate.com so at least there is likely some internal ticket system showing they are slacking at their job. Tuesday (today) I call my agents office with a "WTF guys, I know not your department of crap do deal with but it has been over a week since I reached out to total loss and still have heard zero things and we are peeing away money at rental/storage fees" and I heard a surprised person on the other side who said he would be calling A at total loss and see what was going on. Then at 5:00 PM I get a call from Enterprise with a message of "Hey, so did your insurance company call you to tell you that your rental coverage was ending today?" which my reply was "no I definitely have NOT received anything from them indicating as much. Funny since my policy covers 30 days rental. I wish they would call me. I haven't heard from them in over a week." So I have the rental car still, because what the hell? Dudes. This is Not GoodTM
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Dec 18, 2019 01:58
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Captain McAllister posted:These delays could also be 'squeeze' tactics to pressure you into just taking their offer. IOwnCalculus posted:Potentially relevant? Not exactly close to you, but hey. I saw it yesterday. Looks like an alright build for the most part. Not my first pic for color because seafoam green is not my jam. In a cruel twist of fate this little model I back ordered about two months ago was delivered today  And the tow strap/D rings I bought myself as my only Christmas gift seem irrelevant. The chance of a buyback and doing a rebuilt/salvage title are now ZERO. The buyback value which the dude told me is 100% non-negotiable was over $2500. I told him that I really loved my truck, and the outcome I would have been most pleased with would have been my truck back and a payout of about seven grand which he said "Yeah that is never gonna happen, but I do agree that the fair market value analysis is not good enough for your vehicle so I am going to send it out to whatever the name of the place was for a check for more relevant like vehicles" Dudes this is going to suck balls. I at least have the rental car through the 26th. I will be stripping my good parts off the LX470 tonight/tomorrow. I found a set of wheels with tires that are round and hold air for $100 on the local classifieds to get mine off with the good tires.
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Dec 20, 2019 23:58
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Posthumous postings I have more adventures to tell even though I am on hiatus! The short story of the current events; All-State totaled the car. After waiting for over a week to negotiate the payout amount and to buy back the car I was basically told the car wasn’t worth that much so I wouldn’t get much out of the insurance. When I told them I wanted to buy it back however I was told the car was worth a lot, leaving me with very little and not enough to buy the car back and fix it, used/recycled parts and all. Payout value - $7,712.66. Minus $500 for the deductible leaves me with $7212. The buyback amount for the car I was told in no uncertain terms could not be negotiated and it would be something around $2600. The car search is on, but has been fruitless so far. American Fork Canyon nestled along the eastern bench of the southern portion of the Wasatch Mountain range it is home to places like the Timpanogos caves and the scenic Alpine Loop which is a stretch of paved ribbon with some unbelievable views. I decided one fall afternoon to hit up a friend with a new-to-him RZR to drive up one of the recreational dirt roads. We met up at Tibble Fork reservoir. A place recently beautified and popular for paddle boarding/kayaking in the summer. The blue green water with the alpine background is lovely. https://imgur.com/ZwwETC6 (link to Imgur video) The kids desperately wanted to dip their feet into the water so I told them we would stop on our way out and they could do so even though it was cold. The paved road near the reservoir gives way to a dirt road with ton of forks that you can choose to adventure through. We just stuck to the main path and went "up". The road is generally graded well but weather and traffic leaves these incredibly sharp rock gardens exposed. That is when we encountered The Caravan. Nothing can explain what we watched as we were stuck behind this dude for quite a while. We watched this already beat van bounce up and down over jagged rocks hammering away at what remained of his muffler.  This was the best photo I could grab while driving. We finally reached a pull out where he mercifully moved to the side but waived us down before continuing on only to ask "How far up does this go? I just wanted to see where it went and how far I could get." Dude was old, and just hanging out with his wife. Dude definitely living up to the Grand part of the Caravan name. We stopped to take in some scenery. A group of trail riding MXers rode by   We got to a point where we saw a sign for a Wasatch Jeep trail or something we thought we would check out. There was a small water crossing and then we were met with some srs off roading. More srs than we could handle so we turned around. By that time I decided it was time to start heading back down so we could check out the water and make it home for dinner.A timewarp video of the descent down:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAz66lRg0gE%A0%A0   https://imgur.com/MwYSSS4 (link to Imgur video) Water was cold, as my 2YO found out (sound on for  )an uncommon selfie  I have some neat video I just need to pull from my GoPro and will post in a follow up. After that the next adventure is titled "Life, uh, finds a way" fake edit: I miss this friggin truck
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Dec 28, 2019 00:08
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IOwnCalculus posted:Big F for that. Ether Frenzy posted:Sorry to catch up and see this happened, buddy. Darchangel posted:Buncha lying, cheating bastards, the whole industry. @Krakkles; the ball buster is that insurance is supposed to "make you whole" ie; you should be returned to pre-collision or pre-incident condition. They get to play by their own rules however, and they get to tell you how much that is worth. What I paid for it 9 months ago is irrelevant. They base your cars value on "market rates and for sale ads in your locale" which is bull, they dissect my vehicle with "there were dings and scratches and the interior is pretty worn out" and compared it to trucks with 25K to 80k miles more than mine, and take what the advertised price is and basically treat those advertised cars as though they are immaculate  It is all bull crap. You can fight and contest which I did, which netted me an extra ~$900 but that is still not pre-collision condition. They don't give a poo poo about you, no insurance company ever will.The buyback (owner retention cost) was considered a lot, as my friend who is in the collision repair industry has told me generally speaking insurance companies will tell you that the buyback price is ~20% of the value (IE; $7700x0.20, around $1500). The real thing is you can generally get them back for around 10% of the payout cost and can negotiate it. For whatever reason they were a bunch of dicks. I know it went to Copart in SLC. I am almost tempted to watch it go to auction and buy it for $500. This 2006 is currently in the lead for replacement truck. There is a leak at the PS pump, so either a supply hose (cheap) or the pump/gaskets need replacing ($600). It is in extremely good shape, all original body panels, no rust, decent interior. Good maintenance history as well. It was a local trade in from someone that bought a car from this dealership. They replaced the windshield, I saw it and it was broken and talked to them about it and they had scheduled replacement already. They said they would go down $600 (cost of replacing the PS pump) but nothing else. The tires are bald/cracked the wheels were once painted black and they tried to remove the paint and somehow made it all look worse. They then went on to tell me they have a $500 "Dealer Doc fee" which is  amounts. I am going to make a play for it Monday or Tuesday (last day of the month/year) and tell them I want it tax/title/license/doc fee for $9800 or less. Frankly that is a shitload for a now 14 year old SUV with 230K miles. No banks or CUs will take a loan on them so their buying pool is limited to cash buyers. Instant adventure. Just add Land Cruiser 
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Dec 28, 2019 02:00
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Tremek posted:Get a 200 if you can swing it, the 3UR-FE + 6 speed auto is night and day better at our mutual altitude. wilfredmerriweathr posted:Also in my limited dealer experience the $500 doc fee is normal and one of the reasons I will never ever buy from a dealer again. Ferremit posted:https://www.carsales.com.au/cars?q=(And.Service.Carsales._.(C.Make.Lexus._.(C.Model.LX._.(Or.Badge.LX470._.Badge.LX570.))))  MomJeans420 posted:This thread helped push me to replace my 2003 GS430 with a 2017 GX 460 Luxury with the driver support package (includes crawl control). I happened to buy it before it was even detailed so I don't get to pick it up until tomorrow, but picking it up happens to coincide with a vacation San Diego. I'm going to be visiting Anza Borrego and had been thinking of renting a 4x4 to visit the parts I want to see, but now I'll have my chance to do it in my own car. I can already tell that for road trips with the dogs I'll need more storage space, so I guess roof rack it is. Now for stuff running through my brain so try and follow my logic here. The family car is a Flex (with ecoboost). I like it quite a bit. My wife doesn't care much for it at all. She has always dreamed of an X5. Having a 100 around was great because we had a backup car that could easily fit all three kids (they were all young and for a time were all in car seats). My two older are now in boosters and the youngest is in a front facing car seat. It doesn't seem impossible to one day have something like an X5. The value of the Flex has gone in half since we bought it (only four years and 40k miles). It totally sucks. On one hand - keep it until it dies, on the other? Sell it and get something fun for my wife? Color me surprised when browsing local classifieds I found an F80 M3, clean title, clean car fax for $35K. These friggin things are dipping into the 30's now? Wild. I showed my wife and she was like I want it and honestly I would search for boosters/car seat to make that happen. If we had a 100 and she could daily around an F80 that would be dope as hell. The F80 is definitely more livable and less "precious" than my S65 powered E90. So that gives me something to think about. For what I could sell the Flex for I could probably jump into an F80 for like ~$25K. That is just nuts to me. An F80 probably has just as much seat room as an X5 anyways. I wanna be a 2 M3 family and I am just stupid enough that I will probably one day pull it off. For now wish me luck tomorrow/Tuesday as I go in and try to grab that 2006.
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Dec 30, 2019 05:39
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Tremek posted:You’re high if you think you can wedge two boosters and a front facing car seat into an M3 for any long-term setup. It is true, but it was fun to dream. Friggin car seats are the worst. So I drove the white 2006 yesterday. On my first pass at looking at it I just poked around, started it, tested every little thing and made sure it worked. I was in a time crunch so didn't drive it. Second time I went back with my wife they were in process of replacing the windshield that was cracked so I couldn't drive it then. Went yesterday and drove it. Initial impressions - the five speed and VVT engine are so much faster than my old one. It runs really well, but the steering is pretty vague. The rack is probably done for and/or tie rod ends. That would explain the worn inner front tires. It is a little stiff getting in and out of low range on the transfer case - probably because it has literally never been done on this thing. I am the only person who has looked at it. I know this because the first time I looked at it two weeks ago I left it in the "high" mode on the suspension and it was still that way yesterday. They agreed to let me have a shop do a PPI on it. Literally next door is a place called State Automotive that is the local authority for Land Cruisers - they did my alignment on my 99 so they will do the inspection today (maybe) but more likely Thursday. I told them everything I could see that was wrong with it but I am betting they will find more. It is $140, but it should net me far more than that on a discount from the seller. My plan is I will just approach them with the list of what needs to be done and basically tell them "nobody is looking at this thing but me. No bank is going to finance a car with 230K miles, and I am aware of every single thing that is wrong with it. You took it in on trade. I will buy it from you for (X) or you can just let it sit, or go to the wholesalers"
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Dec 31, 2019 20:12
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The 2006 LX 470 is a bust. That is why you get the PPI people. There appears to be a slight oil leak at the pan. To get to the pan you simply need to remove the engine and transmission book rates being about 20 hours labor. Rear shock is leaking slightly as well. Replace it and the pressure of the AHC will just find a way to fail in the next weakest spot (plus the rear shock is the absolute worst to remove on the LX). The radiator is packed in and needs replacing. They would need to give me the truck for $6K for me to even consider it at this point. The steering rack is leaking and the 2006 is a special bird that for ~reasons~ is $1302 for the new OEM unit  savesthedayrocks posted:Hey Somewhat Heroic, not sure your must haves but a 03 just popped on the Boise Craigslist for 10k. Looks pretty nice from the pictures (minus the wheels). Same color as your old one. I’d consider it if I were going to replace my 80. Doesn't look too bad. If I am being honest I want one with less miles or more features based on that many miles. Good start though. angryrobots posted:https://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/d/charlotte-white-lexus-gx470-4wd-v8/7040909269.html The GX is seemingly everywhere. I see them all the time, pricing is reasonable and usually better than their T4R counterparts. I just hate the swing out rear door, and I want the space of the LC/LX. They are a really nice size, especially the rear bench. I don't want to get too excited but I just found this on Autotrader and based on the quality of the photos and seemingly transparency I am super interested in this: https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for...LC&LNX=VDPCCEML The juicy part; factory rear diff lock. Only offered on the 98/99. The center diff lock was standard on everything. Nice upgrades, an appropriate size lift. I am feeling it. Messaged the seller, hope to hear back soon.
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Jan 3, 2020 06:27
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Tremek posted:Remember that there's no stability control or ATRAC on 1998-1999 trucks. Also no LATCH connectors for kids car seats. They're also gutless. ;/ My LX was a 99 so I am all familiar with the gutlessness and the absence of the LATCH system. Seriously catching a giant case of ‘The Effits’ as we call it in my house. Find a $20k 200 series like this one; http://atcm.co/S2PVDP/1f0e4cb9 I messaged that dude with a few specific questions and requests for some photos and he wrote back ‘I’m in mission Viejo’  no poo poo dude, it’s right there in the ad. So I replied back again asking for some specifics and he ghosted me. I don’t understand why there are so many half assed sellers. Really beginning to feel like I straight lucked out with my LX big time. They’re impossible to find in decent shape without being $15k+. I just don’t think a 100 series is worth that. Just as soon buy a 200 series for just a little bit more.
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Jan 4, 2020 23:29
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MomJeans420 posted:snip  Very nice score.That is pretty legit! Do you always have that much rake? I don't know if it is the back suspension pumped up or parking on the angled driveway, but that looks like a capable rig. It warms my cold dark heart to see these posts so I thought I would move on from the last adventure and  Hold on to your  sIn the middle of 2019 my parents did what any sensible retired couple would. Sell their house and move to where it is warmer because winter kind of sucks. They moved to the south end of St George Utah. In between their various trips around the world (because retired) we finally had a weekend line up that we could visit. The drive is about ~270 miles or so and pretty easy. When given the chance between the Flex and the Lexus my kids were immediately wanting the LX. I removed the tent because of the 80 MPH zones on the highway seemed like an unnecessary thing to put the truck through. One day we loaded up all 7 of us and headed to a spot to the south east of St George proper. I had a chance to finally try out my new ARB deflator and WOW that makes a massive difference! I picked it up before the trip as well as a little portable compressor. Not the fancy under hood unit but one that could reinflate my 33" tires without making a fuss. The drive off road meant some incredible vistas of sheer red rock cliffs and red sand. The road was graded, but had a few run off ditches for water diversion. The LX just blasted across the desert ground, AC cranking and keeping us cool as an ice chest in total comfort. We were looking for DINOSAUR (tracks). We found them.  A reconnoissance team was sent out to investigate    About this time the paleontologist that was with us noticed their water bottle shaking in the cup holder (convenient)  things were learned!  The kids all had an awesome time running around and looking at the dinosaur tracks. It was pretty frickin sweet.  Unfortunately Nedry didn't make it. Press F for respects  [click for H U G E panoramic with a smol truk] I haven't pulled any videos still from my AF canyon run, and I haven't pulled any videos from this little venture yet mostly because  but I am going to do it! I still miss this stupid truck and I am now 1+ month since the crash and I have not yet found the replacement. I do have some updates there but will do a second post to not clutter this one up too much.
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Jan 9, 2020 06:20
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Ways in which I ruin myself: By driving this 2013 Land Cruiser. In case the ad expires or whatever the details: 1 owner vehicle No accident history California car, 132K miles ~$33750 This car was clearly owned by childless boomers and the driver must have weighed 100 pounds because I don't understand how seats can look as good as they did after 132K miles. I have been reading up on 200's to see their downfalls and it seems the common things are the radiators cracking/blowing up and the water pumps dying every 100K miles. The other thing is the KDSS (dynamic suspension deally that works with the anti sway bars) valves can get seized up; a problem when it comes time to install a lift or if the vehicle suffers from leaning to one side. The system is under some crazy PSI load and requires a specially trained dealer tech to do the work and some machines that not everyone has. $$$ if you bork it up. Short story. I want it. I want it. Holy balls the thing was nice. As I started it up and looked under the hood before driving it I could see the radiator was cracked in the common spot so it would need immediate replacement. The road manners were lovely. The V8 sounded awesome. Heated seats, cooled seats, heated steering wheel. Not a scratch, the underside has clearly only ever seen pavement. You would have thought it was a lease trade in 3 years and 30K miles old. This is the zenith of moving a gaggle of people. What sucks is that four years ago this is nearly what the Flex cost to buy. It is Link to 2010 171K miles <$25K   Link to album
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Jan 9, 2020 23:56
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Great stuff getting posted; Kontour thanks for joining in! A diesel 100 would be awesome to have, especially a 105 with the solid front axle. As much as I seriously want to buy Tremek’s 200 there has been a good development! I found my replacement on Saturday and picked it up today. The short version is ‘lol for people using stock photos on their ads, pricing it cheap relative to what’s currently out there and wow it isn’t an actual heap’. Her name is Lucy the Cream Machine. She spent her first 20 years between two lovers in Las Vegas. It’s not about the age but the miles. There is a good amount of work to be done including some new things I never did with Laney. It begins tonight and I will of course post photos of my progress throughout.
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Jan 14, 2020 01:59
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sharkytm posted:Seriously, you can't post that without at least a teaser pic.  I will post the ad. This was it. Then the normal garbage of a copy+paste all of the "features and options". Some third string looking car dealership. They had a link to a free car fax with an accident listed from like 2011 to the front of the vehicle. Airbags did not deploy and the incident reported the vehicle inoperable. So that, combined with no real photos, this being the third time listed (about a month total) and being priced more than three grand cheaper than everything comparable locally was like "run, don't bother". I emailed with a whatever attitude on Friday asking for actual photos before I drive 30 miles to go look at it. The photos revealed it was actually not horrible. The front seats are trashed and it needs a deep clean but the body appeared really good! The maintenance history between Carfax and the Lexus Drivers site showed pretty good history and maintenance but zero mention of the timing belt or water pump being serviced. When I arrived on Saturday morning the place was packed. I was surprised how many people were at this rinky dink lot to buy cars. They had to bring it over from some overflow lot. I looked it over, it seemed too good to be true. I then started my inspection with my recently gained insight on all things 100 series. I looked for accident damage. It must have only been the bumper cover, grill, and maybe the actual bumper. The cross member holding the radiator was original. The fenders had the VIN tags and so did the hood! Everything had the original VIN tags. This frickin thing has the original Toyota windshield  It wasn't washed but I could see there was definitely some blending happening but so what? Inside the engine bay I found a pretty clean looking unit and a timing belt service sticker! It was from 2017 and 30K miles ago! SCORE. There is a slight valve cover gasket leak on both sides but not as bad as what I have seen and that is about $400 to have someone fix. The coolant was nice and pink like it should, oil was honey colored and where it should be. Trans fluid smelled and looked okay. In some ways this is way better than my old one, in other ways it needs some help. The things that need help are minor, all four windows are slow, the back need help getting up. Valve covers, the rear hatch struts needed replacing. The windshield wipers at one point had rubber. Door hinges need a good cleaning and correct grease applied. All of the hard touch surface areas are in nicer shape than mine by a lot. Carpets need a deep clean, so do the seats. I ordered complete new leather front seats and will be reupholstering those when they show up (hog rings and all, heaven help me).I am excited! and tired from working on it tonight. I will have pictures posted tomorrow showing its grime so that we can all be wowed with the transformation! Oh yeah, last thing since I am sure there are some questions; I got the thing out the door for $6900 (nice). I haggled them down $400 over the valve cover gaskets which covered their "doc fees". Taxes, title, tags, inspection - everything $6900 lmao just lmao.
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Jan 14, 2020 07:35
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Here is the update I have been so excited to share, so apologies for  and mucho photos.From this past Saturday when I said I was going to buy the truck from the dealership. I gave them a $500 non-refundable deposit and told them I would be there Monday with a cashiers check for the balance. Rushed photos because my wife was getting tired of waiting around and we had a previous engagement we were going to be late for   (note the little ouchy under the right tail light and a bumper that has clearly seen use)   Maintenance never ends. I knew the rear hatch struts were blown out so it will actively try to knock you out if you open it and try to put your head underneath. Amazon Prime and $22 later I had replacement struts before I got the truck. Replacing them took exactly two brain cells.  It now will try to knock you out with the force the rear hatch opens with. Whenever someone buys a UZJ100 and people ask "what should I do first???" the answer is always "Replace your heater T's". A reference to a T valve going into/out of the heater core. They are plastic, and turn to mush and have a tendency to fail at horrible times. They are $12 each. Should be easy to replace but the clips for the clamp are facing the wrong direction. I bought some clamp pliers from Harbor Freight for $12 which was money well spent. Turned what would have been an extremely frustrating job into a pretty easy one.   One of the T's had one side break off before I could even get the clamp off. I bought a $3 pick set from Harbor Freight as well and was able to get all pieces removed from the tube before getting them all put back together.   put back together!   Note that I discovered the one tube wasn't pushed all the way on the T and I fixed that, and repositioned one of the bottom clamps. A little coolant was lost. I bought a gallon of full concentrate red Toyota coolant. I topped up the reservoir, jacked up the front of the truck and removed the radiator cap. I started the truck and put the heat full blast to let to get up to temp and burp the system. Doesn't appear necessary but I felt good about it.  Got to work on cleaning off the Manheim auction stickers from the windows and put on fresh wiper blades front/rear. Washed the windows with Mother's glass wash. Then I went to the Pay&Spray wash to work over the engine bay mainly and spray down the truck. I had that thing running for 29 minutes. I prepped by spraying a bit of engine degreaser on the places where the valve cover had leaked oil down. I think it will be best to get rid of that stuff before driving it through the dirt and whatev. Here are car wash photos. Mind you it was about 30 degrees out and 11 at night.     The foam scrubber brush was used only on the wheels/tires and wheel wells Seeing the gold emblems makes me both  and but at least I get a second shot at painting them black properly!Here is an engine photo that needs more light, but it is so clean in there. Seriously just buy cars from the west/northwest. At 21 years old and nearing 200K miles it is outrageously clean. I am going to get some photos of the underside that will make east coasters weep openly.  EDIT: Post wash inspection I found both front upper ball joints on the upper suspension arms had torn boots. I will be ordering adjustable upper control arms from Slee today and will install ASAP. These will be good to have when I get around to installing the eventual suspension lift. First post will be edited to show the changes. Somewhat Heroic fucked around with this message at 18:45 on Jan 15, 2020 |
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Jan 15, 2020 18:42
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Mcqueen posted:fuckin wild as hell there's 7 pages on SA about lexus SUV's  hot cocoa on the couch posted:Can I post 4Runners in here? I just bought a 4Runner a little while back for towing a rally car and today we got a good snow fall to put it through its paces Welcomed and encouraged! I was seriously considering searching for a 4th gen Premium with the V8 if I wasn't able to find another 100. This weekend found more scrubbing of the interior. I am about 75% done. I have found best results so far by using simple green at a 1:1 ratio, a soft bristle brush and occasionally I am using a bathroom scrubbing bubbles cleaner on the hard surfaces which has had great results. I borrowed an old looking ozone machine which means that it works really good and ran this thing for a while.  Bonus pic of my next door neighbors AMG Merc that wakes the devil himself each morning. I also greased my zerk fittings on the driveline. This included the u-joints (spider joints) and slip joint shaft of the driveshaft. The service interval on these should be done every oil change. This is often overlooked and while I am not ready for an oil change I wanted to do this for peace of mind. The front u-joints are smaller than the rear and I wasn't able to fit the head of my grease gun in to get them so I need to find a smaller one that will fit and will get those two I missed later. I also had a nice clear day and so I thought I would grab some undercarriage pics. Remember that this truck is A: 21 years old and B: has traveled down the road over 192000 miles. East coasters/rust belters prepare to      We did have a little bit of snow last week so it is a little dirtier than it was. This also confirmed that the rear diff is in fact a limited slip unit by the little sticker you can see on the pumpkin. I had read the 98-99 LX models had limited slip rears as the 98-99 Land Cruiser had a manual locking rear from the factory.
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Jan 20, 2020 18:29
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STR posted:There's no way that's the original exhaust... is it? Even here in TX they get a light coating of surface rust. GF's <100k 15 year old Matrix has a very light brown coating on the exhaust, same with my ~144k 17 year old Subaru. It is indeed the stock factory exhaust. I believe they are stainless steel. The often parroted thing about LC's is that Toyota built them for a 25 year service life. I definitely believe it, but these are a little hungrier for maintenance than most appliances. Everything is heavy and overbuilt, and the LCs were like the last hand built Toyota model. No joke the LC is a thing of national pride in Japan. Slee upper control arms are getting delivered today! I need to research the tools needed for install. I was checking them out on Saturday while wrenching and I feel pretty okay about doing the install myself.
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Jan 20, 2020 20:15
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Ferremit posted:Holy hell thats nearly as clean as my Australian Landcruiser!  Thanks for the tips on removing the ball joint/knuckle. I am readind some posts on ih8mud and I am wondering if I attempt the steering rack replacement at the same time, or if that is something I attempt later when I do a lift (it will probably be later) Steve Jorbs posted:If it’s any consolation re: zerk fittings it’s a PITA on my 4th gen 4Runner for the same reason. You even have to remove a tiny heat shield/skid where the exhaust crosses over the transfer case and front driveshaft to get good access. I had to remove a plastic cover on the front which wasn't terrible. It is just the physical end fitting on my gun is too big to fit into the u-joint so probably just need to get a smaller hose/adapter for the grease gun is my guess.
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Jan 20, 2020 23:48
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At $200 those are really reasonable and turned out pretty good looking. Small updates to proceed a bigger one this weekend SPC arms got delivered on Monday   Replacement cabin filters showed up yesterday and replacement was dead nuts easy. Five screws, unclipping a fuse panel and remove the cover:    I actually banged the filters on the ground and a lot of stuff came out. Definitely not original but it should help remove some of the old lady perfume stink that occasionally comes out while driving.I have been reviewing a few videos on the install of the front upper arms. I am pretty sure it will be a fairly straight forward job. I will eyeball them into place and hopefully not botch the alignment too bad. Get it to the shop and have a proper alignment done and then I will get my spacers and 33" KO2's back on this thing. It has been 12 days since ordering my new leather front seats. They say expect a 4-8 week lead time for delivery because they are made in Colombia and then shipped up to the US.
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Jan 23, 2020 18:49
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That looks like an awesome way to spend a weekend! I got in the garage yesterday as well installing my upper arms. It’s one of my more ambitious things I’ve attempted but it was surprisingly easy. One thing I screwed up was the first side I forgot to mark the general area of the cam bolts that hold the upper arm to the frame. So I was totally blind on putting it back together, just kinda swagged it by looking at the opposite side and the service manual online. I also had a snafu with putting the height sensor bracket and ABS wire mount to the arm. It was my third to last bolt on the install. I somehow cross threaded it and buggered up the first few threads. A second trip to O’reilly and I picked up a tap and handle. Cleaned up the threads and got it installed just fine. Dropping it off tomorrow for a full front end alignment and get the AHC sensor put to the right place. Then I’ll finally get my BFGs back on there and drive this thing in the dirt finally!
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Jan 27, 2020 02:11
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hot cocoa on the couch posted:Also I decided to buy the taps and try it myself lol. I'll report back on the weekend with the results It is not bad! I did alright with the M6 tap I had to take care of on my arms. Speaking of, here is the promised photo;  It was not totally that difficult. Once I got brave with the pickle fork in breaking the bond from the steering knuckle it was pretty okay. The left side which I did first that took me entirely too long and I forgot to mark the cam bolts If you look at the top right of the arm you can see the ABS sensor wire and ride height bracket. That is where I borked the bolt that I was three things away from on finishing the job prompting my second trip to the store for a tool I didn't have (the first trip was for a 32mm socket for that bigass nut on top of the ball joint)  Banana'd with zero effort before I realized "Hey, that has a little bit of resistan-OH CRAP  I will be getting the Lexus picked up from alignment this afternoon and will be putting my spacers and BFGs on tonight! The dealership should have my valve cover gaskets/seals/bolts so I will pick those up before going home and probably tackle those this weekend.
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Jan 29, 2020 21:12
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I picked up my LX yesterday after leaving it there on Tuesday for an alignment from the local Land Cruiser heroes. I was very excited because this was the step I was waiting on so I could install by TRD/BFG setup. My boss dropped me off there and had already taken off. As soon as I started driving the car I notice a pretty significant pull to the right. To go straight the steering wheel had to be turned left between 5 and 10 degrees.  I figured it was a problem for Future Me and emailed the shop as soon as I got back to the office. They called me a couple hours later to tell me that they had this same conversation three times today so it appears their rack is out of calibration. They have made a call for the service to be done and have it recalibrated and should be ready for alignment jobs again this week. I was a bit annoyed as I was called and told they were just finishing it up and the tech would be driving it down the road to make sure things were good. I mean super obvious, not even at freeway speeds could this be felt (hello the steering wheel is pointing the wrong way).Annoyed enough I figured a 90% alignment was good enough for me to rid myself of these hideous wheels and tires. So last night I went out to the garage and spent an hour and a half getting the spacers on and my BFGs. I won't be driving more than ~100 miles before I take it back in for the alignment so no big deal. I can't believe how much it changes the look/age of the truck. The gold has got to go. I still need to play with the height sensor mounting position on the front to get it appropriately raked.  Picking up a parcel from the post office they didn't deliver to our office. More good stuff happening too; my seat leathers were delivered today as my wife texted me. I picked up the valve cover gaskets, some FIPG, spark plug tube seals, and all new bolts (they have a rubber seal/washer) and that will probably be this weekends job. I was originally going to have a shop do this but my BMW service manager buddy convinced me that we could DIY it together in a couple of hours. I will have to repay him with smoked ribs I think.
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Jan 30, 2020 23:50
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That’s actually factory window tint. It’s kind of mirrored tint for the back panels. I don’t mind the size of the old wheels. I’d prefer a 16 or 17” wheel to the 18” TRD. These ones were chrome of various shades, peeling, pitted. The center caps were all in poor shape too, and one was missing.
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Jan 31, 2020 00:11
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So much defense over the gold y’all are crazy. As soon as I put the new wheels and tires on I knew the gold had to go. Finished up the valve cover gasket job and totally forgot to take a single photo . Completed in just two hours, my buddy who runs the BMW service dept came over and helped me out. With two people for a couple spots made it so easy to get the job finished! I’ll repay him tomorrow by smoking a rack of ribs for him. On the outset I felt really intimidated at the job given the harnesses and wiring and vacuum hoses but it wasn’t bad at all. Everything came apart that was supposed to. One vacuum line showed a split so I’ll source a replacement and get that taken care of. The only socket required for the entire job? A 10mm. I bought new Toyota gaskets, spark plug tube seals (which were actually in excellent shape and probably didn’t need replacement) and all new valve cover bolts that have this little built in rubber crush gasket.
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Feb 1, 2020 21:35
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angryrobots posted:Hot sauce, yes or no? That’s not a Just ran to the store after getting the kids into bed to grab some wood pellets for the ribs I’m smoking tomorrow. Turned the key and was greeted with a warm red battery light. There was panic. Clearly the alternator shat the bed. I turned off everything and tepidly drove the ~9 miles home. Of course the forecast calls for snow all next week so that means more of the wife driving me to work. Keep on kicking me in the balls Lucy 
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Feb 2, 2020 06:43
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LobsterboyX posted:Anyway - sorry for the long winded story - I just have a real vendetta to avenge with these cars - over the past year I've gone to look at about 10-15 of these and all of them seem to have something wrong with them, or just dont feel right to me. I dont want to buy one from a dealer. Also, I can't find a deal to save my life! I can spend the money and get a nice one, but the nicer ones are all from shady dealers! I posted on ih8mud recently and found a swath of them, I just need to cook up the time and go see them. As one of AI's most storied and revered posters this is very high praise to have you stop by. Great story, and I hope that you can find your Hundy soon! It is an interesting thing to shop for specific older cars and cross shop them against their competitors of the time. As you stated a Yukon would be infinitely easier to source, but once you sit in each of one of these today you will find that the Toyota was so much better. I felt the same way about my E36 M3. The original window sticker pegged it about the same price as the Corvette of the day which had more impressive "numbers" but twenty years after the fact - which would you want to drive? That is a big factor at play into the reason I bought my E90 M3 three years ago over whatever flavor of Camaro/Mustang could beat it. In ten years time, which would I rather be driving? I am pretty sure that my alternator showed up today so I will be grabbing it. The dealer seems to have a broken phone line but they are on my way home from work so I will just stop and check. We got pummeled with snow yesterday. Here Lucy sits in the cold waiting on me:  
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Feb 5, 2020 00:14
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LobsterboyX posted:i just found a 05 with 87k miles for a steal, I put a deposit on it and me and the homeboy are going to cannonball it next week - taking the FJ to carmax tomorrow I am hoping and  ing for a trip report...MomJeans420 posted:Couple of random questions for this thread: Recovery gear is a good topic and maybe something to require an effortpost and hopefully collective knowledge will win out. I have not yet needed anything but that is mostly because I haven't tackled any wild/out there trails. I have a quick grab tool set consisting of ratches/sockets/gloves/zip ties/pliers and the like. Other things I have added:
It is real easy to get lost in all the fun/cool gadgets. I am trying to keep a level head on what my real use and purpose will be for this stuff so I think I have bought appropriately. For wheels - I am a weird purist in that I think the higher level trim factory wheels will always look the best assuming they are not some gaudy 20" bling thing. For example the TRD Rock Warrior, or even the TRD ones that I have look the best fit for my vehicle. There are so many cheap wheel brands out there like "FUEL" which must be a Discount Tire brand or something. I really like what I have seen from Icon for the more basic/classic styles. Most I see don't have fake wheel rings, or I must immediately ignore them because I think they don't look that good. Black Rhino has a lot I think. Those are an okay wheel, but not my style. Method has some okay ones and some bro-tastic ones that don't suit the vehicle at all. I like having a center wheel cap. If there is no center wheel cap that is quality I don't even bother. Garage height - not really a problem where I am. With my roof tent on, if I put my LX in L on the AHC I can fit in my garage. Once I put a static lift on then I will not fit. I have a 3 car garage and big driveway though, so in the summer that just means it will be parked on the big driveway. For winter time I am removing my tent so I can fit in my garage fine. I could see it being a big problem if I put something like 35's on the truck - which will never happen. Wrenching update Finished the removal/replacement of the alternator! For future reference - got out from the top! You will have an easier time accessing a couple fasteners from the bottom so removing the skid plate was beneficial. It also gave me a chance to take it to the wash and spray the degreaser and clean all the bottom where there was a lot of fresh oil from the VCG leak that has since been replaced. Seeing it all nice and clean was extremely satisfying. Spent a few extra days letting the project sit because one vacuum line that went from the power steering pump to the airbox silencer had cracked and split upon removal. Instead of using a universal hose/bubble gumming it back together I ordered the proper replacements. I got two additional hoses too. Only rebuilt DENSO alternators are now available. My alt was the original. I am keeping it and will have it rebuilt professionally to keep as a spare. This seems to be the best route to go for future needs. Costs Alternator: $380 Various hoses: $55 Thermostat/o-ring: $30 <---I originally though it would be easier to remove the thermostat to get the lower rad hose out of the way. Lost 1/2 gallon of coolant and figured not replacing the o-ring was half assed, and if I was just going to replace the o-ring that was also half assed so I whole-assed the unnecessary thing for $30 worth of peace. The real trick to getting it out of the top was to unbolt the power steering pump, three bolts, and then to remove the power steering reservoir from the cradle. You also need to remove the two bolts holding the radiator overflow tank. The supply/return lines for the PS hose are rubber but pretty stiff and not flexible at all. Once I remove the reservoir from the cradle I could very easily get the alternator out.   an immense amount of satisfaction. I was really pleased with this repair. It was great to have built up my tool set enough to have everything I needed. I didn't have any surprise set backs like broken/stubborn bolts or fasteners. The plug harness came undone from the alternator without shattering into a million pieces (I have PTSD from these with my wife's old Mazda6 4cyl). Outside of the hoses which were due for replacing that was it and easy!
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Feb 11, 2020 00:01
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LobsterboyX posted:goteem.... I'll post the story later here and in my thread.. how tho. It is commonly understood all Land Cruisers come off the assembly line with 200K on them. This is so awesome. I can't wait for detailed close ups!
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Feb 11, 2020 23:20
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Slow is Fast posted:The upper arms were a kick in the dick cost wise, but the 2nd gen tundra ball joint and easy service plus the insane down travel are awesome. I had to do balljoints anyway. That turned out great. The more I see hidden winch setups the more I like the idea of just keeping the stock bumper setup. It doesn't seem like I will benefit a ton from approach angles by aftermarket bumpers with what my intended use is about. Having the armor would be nice though should I hit a deer or something stupid like that. The extra weight seems to be better when you put a heavier lift on too. I will talk to Cruiser Outfitters for suggestions when I go get my lift kit from them. I am seriously throwing around the idea of selling our Flex and buying my wife a 200 series. If I am being honest when we have done longer hauls in the 100 instead of the Flex the extra space has been kind of nice. That 200 I test drove the other month was really nice and I think I would definitely prefer it. Mileage hit is pretty minimal - within a few MPGs. The extra lux of the 200 would be awesome.
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Feb 18, 2020 18:15
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Tremek posted:Sir just what exactly do you think a 200 is going to turn in re: MPGs Stop breaking the glass of my daydreams! I just did 500 miles this weekend driving to Southern Utah and turned nearly exactly 20MPG (based on the onboard calculation). I suspect a 200 would probably get like 16 or 17 for the same route and speeds.
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Feb 19, 2020 17:44
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Tremek posted:I drove our 200 for the first time in a while today and looked at the trip computer: Holy whoa. I thought you would at least get 2-3 MPG better than the 100. I get right about 12-13 with my 33" tires. It is terrible; but it is not the primary driver and between the M and the LX I only drive ~8K miles a year. The adventure this weekend was playing around in the rocks; but just with toy cars. Have this picture 
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Feb 20, 2020 23:13
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Mcqueen posted:gave the truck some more interior space. That looks GREAT! Updates on my LX; I still have not gone in to get the alignment fixed from the shop that dicked it up. Annoyed at the situation I did the most reasonable thing to ensure that my alignment would be even worse  I went to Cruiser Outfitters. They are only about 10 miles away from me. I went with the 1.5" lift, some progressive rate springs for the rear (I totally forget which stuff I got. I have the receipt). I went purely off of their suggestions after talking through what my plans are. I grabbed the SLEE diff drop kit as well so my CVs will be happier. I have read numerous threads and watched a few videos of people doing the AHC delete and installing the lift. I feel pretty confident I can DIY it so I will attempt it in the coming week. One thing I heard that was cheat mode also got delivered tonight:  A ratcheting flexible head wrench. This is for the tricky rear upper shock mount nut. I need to go to Harbor Freight this week and also pick up a set of offset box wrenches. I might need to also get a chain wrench/strap wrench. Those are apparently the tools needed to defeat the final boss in the back. I will be sure to do a good job recording it and posting here. To warm up to the suspension job I went ahead and did an oil change on the truck. I removed an unknown name of filter and installed a Mobil 1. Went with some full synthetic 5W-30 Mobil 1 to replace the rather dark syrup that came out of the sump. I was happy to see the threads on the sump looked good, and a newer crush washer had been used at the last change. I had an OEM new washer so naturally I used that in place. Plan of attack:
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Feb 23, 2020 05:37
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The embiggening; Part 1 For sake of documentation here is the build sheet that Cruiser Outfitters set me up with. The prices are shown in retail, the diff drop kit being $250.  I further have armed myself with the tools that I would potentially be needing. I found myself some industrial strength looking penetrating (:perv:) fluid but with the zero amounts of rust I am actually thinking I will not need it. A trip to Harbor Freight with Super Coupons in hand I managed to buy myself a halogen worklight, a chain strap wrench (I had seen these referenced on some install threads) and an offset wrench set. These will be used for the hydraulic fitting that lives on top of the already cramped shock top. I need to remove those before removing the 22mm shock nut. This is where most people just cut off the top of the shock. I am trying to avoid that because hydraulic fluid everywhere sounds miserable and I don't own an angle grinder. This brings me to step number one: hydraulic fluid. There is a ton of pressure built up in those shocks/accumulators and the fittings. As I understand it they should be supporting about 40% of the vehicle weight with the springs and torsion bars doing the rest of the work. If your accumulator globes are in good shape and you have your torsion bars set to balance correctly the hydraulic system is lovely. Once the globes wear down and/or springs and torsion bars get out of adjustment it becomes just a harsh crashy mess. Many people dump this suspension because you then are trying to replace expensive parts and will be constantly chasing the next thing that needs replacing. If you end up getting a heavy truck keeping those systems in check without overloading them becomes more problematic and still a potential failure point. I am doing a static suspension in favor of the hydraulic for reliability. So removing the pressure from the system is pretty easy. I suggest supporting the frame of your truck. Choose a side (left or right) and locate the accumulator/globe assembly. There is a small bleed valve for servicing/flushing the system. Get some 3/16" hose and feed it into a bottle to collect the fluid. With your body/head away from the underside of your truck and the chassis supported slowly/barely open that valve. Fluid will drain through the hose into whatever bottle you are collecting. The truck will immediately begin to drop. Depending on how much you cracked open that valve depends on how fast it will drop. I did passenger side rear first. I wanted as much fluid out of the system as I could get so I jacked up the right side rear axle all the way up pushing fluid out of the shock damper into the system/out the valve. I closed the valve, and moved to the front side and repeated the process. I did the driver side as well, but but this point the truck had really gotten low, like completely dropped with no more up-travel. My goal in doing both sides (which might be unnecessary) was to get as much fluid out of the system as I could. I laughed at the sight. Look at this dumped thing.   #tiretuck #stuffed #stanced This was as far as I got last night and decided to resume this evening. I will be removing the rear spare tire and jacking up the rear as much as possible then attacking it. The goal for tonight is to have at least the springs removed and one, if not both absorbers removed. Other update: my ceramic coating did arrive from the Middle Kingdom of China so that is good! No corona has spread yet. Somewhat Heroic fucked around with this message at 23:37 on Feb 25, 2020 |
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Feb 25, 2020 23:35
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Mcqueen posted:HPI RS2 Pro Bro's for life.    The Embiggening part 2: The Internet was RIGHT So everyone says "Just cut the top of the shock damper off because they are rusted and welded together and they are a really tight space anyways". Being a stubborn individual who was above the simple hack job I wanted to do this the professional way, the kind of way where you would spend $34 on a wrench you will probably use once. I was wrong and the internet was right. Here is a photo that illustrates what I am working with:  The circled part is the hydraulic fitting attached to the top of the shock. It is held in place with two 12mm bolts that I was easily able to remove with my flexible head ratchet, and a little bit of pressure from a blade screw driver popped it right off. The problem that keeps me from being able to use the gear wrench is the shock cushion holder thing with the arrow pointing at it. The shock nut rests too deep into that holder to keep me from getting any bite on it. I was able to use my offset box wrench to get a hold of it but the most I can do is get 1/8 of a turn before it slips off and I can't get it any further. I could easily get it with my 3/8 drive flex head ratchet but the lower profile socket I have can't fit over the top of the shock with that hydraulic nipple thing at the top. This sums up how I felt after some 45 minutes of trying to get those nuts to budge TWSS   So I evaluated my position and thought it best to get some sleep and let this be a problem for Tomorrow Me. Tomorrow Me's solution was a side quest to visit the Grand One who bestows weapons that are one-time use special pieces in exchange for rupees.   this should end well.
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Feb 26, 2020 23:08
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everdave posted:Hope you used the coupon and got that for $9.99 instead of the sickening $14.99 it has been at Of course. I am not an animal. Slow is Fast posted:A pass through socket set is what I'd be eying if you don't want to cut (probably cutting them right now). I should really start spraying mine and crack the nuts loose and retighten mine with antiseize because I am all about everything being field serviceable: Where was this!?!?! I would have certainly went ahead and bought some of these. How has HF not released a set yet?
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Feb 26, 2020 23:50
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A note for all: when buying a cutoff wheel make sure that it is big enough in diameter to cut through what you’re wanting to cut through 
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Feb 28, 2020 02:11
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Somewhat Heroic posted:A note for all: when buying a cutoff wheel make sure that it is big enough in diameter to cut through what you’re wanting to cut through Third stab at this: don’t bother dealing with an angle grinder when a sawzall gets the job done in five minutes. I have completed the rear suspension; and I am almost done with the front suspension. I just need to go back and make sense of the torsion bars again. I thought I had it right but the adjustment anchor thing on the left side seems way wrong; it’s hanging down too far so I think I screwed something up. I’m going to install the diff drop as well, so that will take up ??? amounts of time.
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Mar 1, 2020 02:18
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LobsterboyX posted:I have to say, I have never loved a vehicle produced after 1960 more than this truck. Wifenheimer and I went out to eat at a fancier restraunt with valet parking, they parked it in the front so everyone could see it, not bad for a 15 year old car.  I can say I never expected to love this dumb lumbering post piece of luxury but here I am, babby's first thread and building away. Pretty cool to see you enjoying the same.The Embiggening Part 3: Revenge of the Sawzall As previously mentioned the angle grinder was a dumb move and the sawzall took care of each corner in about five minutes time. I wasted two perfectly good evenings with that nonsense. My efforts were rewarded however and the Gear Wrench ratcheting box wrench made installation of the OME shocks a breeze. Happy to have the tool.  Link to ~15 second video if it does not show up in your browser here The rear was finally completed. A small clip of the video I plan to post on YouTube highlighting the removal of the AHC/installation of the new suspension. I felt like the rear would be the trickiest part because so many people make a big deal over those rear top nuts and they are right. That is a crappy job to deal with. Side bar: those 9 mil thick gloves from Harbor Freight are  making progress...   Front was again not much of an issue in removing the shocks. A quick zip of the sawzall made short work out of the stock shocks. I drained the fluid from them into my oil container. As I went to install the torsion bars I definitely frigged up the measuring and indexing. The general thing is use a piece of 1" angle iron. Dude I don't have that. So I used the next best thing I could find, my aluminum ladder. Well I somehow really messed up my readings. After taking two days to think about it (and binge watch Love is Blind with my wife on Netflix) I took the bars out again, measured them correctly and reinstalled to what appears to be much more correct. Somewhere in between this I went to pay money to the crown so I can drive the car that I paid taxes on when I purchased it so I can drive it on the roads that I pay taxes for so that I can drive on them and I saw this.  It was done too well to hate on. If your adjustable anchor arm hangs this low then you frigged up the install.   Pretty pleased with the progress. With the torsion bars and shocks out of the way I dove into the diff drop mount. To explain simply for those new to IFS and suspensions and whatnot: When lifting a vehicle with independent suspension the arms typically droop lower than originally intended. The CV axles take the most abuse of that increased downward travel. To mitigate this you can lower the differential to help bring the CV axle more in line and have less downward angle. The extra droop of the diff is taken up by the front center driveshaft. You perhaps give up a tiny bit of front clearance on behalf of saving your CV axles from increased wear. I will perhaps crudely MS paint something in the future. The adjustable upper arms I installed previously will be a big benefit for this as well since I can easily bring the truck back into correct alignment with caster angles and camber. There are mainly three bolts that hold the front differential in place. One is in the rear and has an accessible nut on the top. You will need a breaker bar and Odin Strength to free these bolts. And penetrating oil. This exact moment is why I will forever realize that rusty trucks are never worth it. This thing is clean enough to lick and it was an absolute bastard to get off. The undertaking of Slow is Fast is admirable at best. I digress. With the diff supported, remove the rear bolt located behind and up above the diff assembly on the upper side. On the driver side in front of the diff tube there is an arm with another bolt. It too has a nut that is accessible. Break the bolt loose. Then just in front of the pumpkin is the third bolt. This attaches to the subframe and which is a welded thread and part of the subframe. The front bolt goes through a rubber bushing that typically gets trashed and is the reason there is a "clunk" when going from reverse to forward, etc. My bushing was in surprisingly good shape. I did buy the replacement but  ing out the old one/pressing in the new one can be a PITA and I don't want to screw up what has otherwise been a straightforward wrench game. I might just skip it for now and return at a later date.The diff bracket mount is a cross member held in with four bolts that can now be removed. These will also need a breaker bar and an extension to easily reach plus a box wrench. Penetrating oil also suggested here. Once those are removed the bracket easily came off. The new one goes in place and the four bolts are finger tightened. I added some anti-seize should this ever need to come off again. There are two "puck" spacers made out of some really hard material. Not sure what. They go on that rear mount, and the mount right in front of the pumpkin. The arm mount bolts to the new bracket assembly. Carefully lower the diff down and get all three bolts started.
So this is where I am. My tap should be delivered tomorrow (TWO day prime instead of ONE? How inconvenient). Hopefully just a quick button up ones those threads are chased and off for an alignment on Saturday! I think the next big job after this will be getting the front seats upholstered. Somewhat Heroic fucked around with this message at 23:31 on Mar 5, 2020 |
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Mar 5, 2020 23:24
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or 
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| # ¿ Apr 28, 2024 23:21 |
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No idea if it was boomerjinks. It was just the Emissions testing place to register my car. I thought he was in Colorado? So maybe he moved or maybe there is another
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#
¿
Mar 6, 2020 21:19
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