Raleigh North Carolina and surrounding areas

would like to thank @BravesTaco for the deal on the the camper shell, been looking for one for awhile.

Any color would pretty much pair with Superwhite (in my case white grunge ain’t been washed in months, with green alge rocker trim) MGM actually makes it pop a little better ( and draw to the fact my pile needs to be washed )


My truck had more miles put on it yesterday than it has in the last 3 months combined, it mostly sits as i have a company ride as a daily.

Anyway, one thing noticed while we (@Sandman614 and I) we’re cruising the hiways, folks would suck up to the rear or hang out in blind spots for really extended times. We decided it was because of all the stickers on the back glass. apparently it’s a distraction for some....

while this isn’t super crowded wall of decals, the fact that other drivers tend to gravitate just to observe. i noticed a few had a time holding line at 70+mph. Not the time to sight see....

Move along, nothing to see here....



I drive a lot of miles in a boring commercially wrapped work van, never have folks hang in the blind spots like i have last night, nor before i had the shell with all the vinyl on it in my own POS.

We’ll see how or if this changes things.....

i’m ok with a boring old mans truck, that’s kinda me anyway....

and with the shell on, it reminds me of putting the top back on my old 1st gen 4Runner at the end of the summer, driving a cave..... let the personalization and mods begin.....

 

Looks like a brand new shell! Glad I could pass along a good deal to the next person! Good meeting you and @Sandman614 yesterday.

And I also appreciate y’all running that skid and locker to @FadedComa too!

 

I have had more issues with mounting this 50" lightbar above my windshield then I've had in a while. Every set of brackets or spacers I order dont seem to work and I know its 51.5" end to end.

 

Again thanks for the tw Express, now the bad news, there are people that would have paid good money for that randyfab decal.....lol

 

Only ones I was ever to get to work were the relentless ones but they don't make them anymore

 

Im about to just toss the idea and do ditch lights instead

 

Told him to keep it because it was a rare sticker.

 

It was a sticker, it could be made again if needed, authorizes is another thing...

 

Yep, but how to get it off after it had been sun baked ?
I’m not real sentemental about stuff like that.

Was advised of the CarRamrod decal as well, watched a few of the videos, Meh,maybe I’m too old ?

 

Car Ramrod was the best sticker on there.

 

Backyard forge test

 

Damnit dude don’t show me any backyard success with forging.. I’ve fought off the urge to start forging. I can’t afford another expensive hobby lol

 

Haha ... it’s really not that expensive. I bought a “tempering” oven from Aldi for $36 .... the “forge” cost like $10 . It’s a paint can filled with plaster of Paris and sand mixture zzz Bernzomatic torch provides the flame. I cut the knife blank out with my angle grinder and filed the bevel by hand with a file....you can at least tinker on a budget

Edit: it’s WAY cheaper than golf ... loo

 

Finished the heat treating .... now gotta clean and polish ... put a sharp edge on it and scales. Might be done this week

 

These kids get too worked up over stickers and good lord the shit some of them pay for a patch..

 

check the ujoints on both front and rear drive shafts, grease them while you’re there, it’s a “multi mode” 4wd so everything is likely spinning all the time as it’s basically AWD but with a locking center diff and the ability to turn it on and off

https://www.top4runners.com/runhist/runhist32002.html

i’ve seen shops overlook the front driveshaft joints, they don’t get greased and it shakes the hell out of the truck.

raising the front wheels and giving them a shake to check the hub bearings is a good idea as well. they wear and will give a shake at random speeds, mine I couldn’t go over 50 when one went bad and not shake your fillings out.

 

Thanks, Kevin. We figured out it was the universal joints in the double cardan that were shot.

 

https://www.wholesaleimportparts.com/Toyota_4Runner_Driveshaft_2002.php

This is nwhere I got my replacement after multiple failed attempts at rebuilds ( could never get the CV straight)

It’s been in over 3 years now and doing well, uses common spicer joints so it is rebuildable

 

Thank you sir. We were able to find some Spicer joints that fit with a little bit of machining to the ends of the caps.