Cincinnati Area Thread (Tri-State, Ohio/Kentucky/Indiana)

I think my truck came with those on it. They were nice on the road but not at the Gorge.

It definitely looked like the techs used a 24"-36" socket extension and a mini sledge the way the solid metal around the rust was bent out. It may take some hits to figure out where the rusty spot is. The weird thing about mine is that there was about a quarter size hole.....1/4" away from the rusty hole was SOLID metal. So it took some searching to find where any weak part was.

 

@JohnnyRed how do you like your new (to you) Fox’s... I’m considering going that route

 

Similar interest. The Toytec boss 2.5s I have just aren’t that special. Feel every seam in the asphalt

 

It’s probably a terrible thought to entertain but I’ve even considered the new Rough Country Vertix coilovers. They have adjustable damping and aren’t badly priced...

 

likely a terrible thought but if you buy, I’ll help wrench and if you like, I’ll get a set myself.

 

I’ve done some reading on them and talked to a couple people that have them... everything I have read and heard from real owners had been good so far. And a 3 year warranty adds a little piece of mind. In 3 years my truck will likely have over 100k on it.

 

I also don’t mind being different and trying new products. Like when I bought the tires that I have, I couldn’t find anyone else that had them. 20k miles later and I have loved them.

 

I’m just gonna say that I LOVE my Elka setup. So much softer and less harsh than the Bilstein 5100s they replaced. And the all aluminum shock bodies are holding up great. They’re dirty but still look brand new, even after their first winter. Definitely can’t say that about the Bilsteins...

 

So... you’re saying I don’t need to do my own inspection and beat on it ahead of time? I was under the assumption the techs would half ass the inspection and tell me my frame was fine. But, then again, I don’t really trust dealerships.

 

I'm soooooo much happier with them than my bilstein (but there's an obvious price difference). On the road they're definitely a little more on the firm side. I'm glad I got the DSCs, I've been driving around with the High Speed dampening on the softest setting. I haven't played with the Low Speed much yet, but I think I should to try to get rid of some of the body roll around corners. If I was driving them just on the road I'd maybe have a little buyers remorse for spending so much on them...but offroad, that's a different story. The first week I had them I bombed through an old cow pasture and thought "I feel like this should be bumpier than this" It wasn't until I got out and almost rolled my ankle before I realized how well they worked. At the last trip to the gorge I was leading the group and getting yelled at by the guys with 5100s for going too fast.

What dealership are you going to? I can only speak to the frames that I saw at Kerry Toyota in Florence. Maybe drive around back and look for frames sitting in a pile. At Kerry it looked like someone shot the frame with a pistol. I wouldn't be surprised if the frame tech is using an air chisel for the inspections. He's had at least 3 frames there that were replaced, so he's probably getting pretty good at it. From my understanding the way that most mechanics are paid is by the job. If it calls for 40 hours of work, and he does it in 20 hours. He's still getting paid 40 hours. So, I would think that he would intentionally create as many high-hour jobs as he could.

 

There’s also a 3rd option I’m considering that’s much more affordable if it works like I hope... I have a set of 14” 600lb king coils... for 2.5” king coilovers... from what little research I have done it seems like I could buy bilstein 6112s and use these King coil springs. I’m hoping someone in here might have a solid answer. I know 6112s come with springs... but these ones are blue

 

Gorgeous Day!!!

 

Great day for hay

 

better day for avoiding hay

 

I’ve got an appointment at Kings Toyota next Friday at 1 pm. It’s the closest dealer to my house. I have no idea how many frame replacements they’ve done but they didn’t question me when I took the truck there a few years back and got brand new headlights from a warranty extension on melting plastic lenses.

So I’m hoping they’ll do a thorough inspection of the frame. I know the black paint I put on it last spring already has rust showing through just from the salt this winter. I can see it on the tow hitch and one of the rear hubs... And judging by how bad the tow hitch and frame rails looked before I painted them, if they do actually hit the frame from the inside with some force, it will really surprise me if they don’t find at least one weak spot. I purposely didn’t paint the frame up near the cats or inside the rails so they’d be able to see the full amount of rust while they’re up in there.

 

I found out that cleaning my MAF was a great idea. I don’t have to keep it in 4th until 55mph and am up to almost 18 mpg.

 

Kings Toyota called me this morning. They want to bump my appointment up in the week to allow more processing time for the replacement request to be submitted to Toyota Corporate. Sounds like they are almost assuming my frame will be shot and don’t want to risk missing the 22nd cut off.

 

Well, my frame passed the inspection. Don’t know if I should be happy about that or not. The service advisor said they didn’t find any perforation (or signs of it) and it made the sound they expected (he said it resonated and didn’t make a “thud”) after the tech tapped it with a ball peen hammer in all the usual bad spots.

I still have until the 22nd but now Toyota has me in their system as “inspected” so I think I’m stuck with my frame.

 

Aero Exhaust - TurbineXL AT2525XL Performance Muffler 2.5" I had one of these put on this morning and it sounds pretty damn good!

 

It added 200 horsepower to the wheels and I was able to put 44’s on it without cutting anything.