Death Valley Off-Road Adventures

Seems about every other trip the washboard experience in DV will cause this to happen to my front driver side blinker bulb and connection. Vibrations cause just enough gap to form between the contacts on the bulb and the contacts on the connector for an arc/spark to happen resulting in a short resulting in non working front blinker.

Remedy has always been to clean/remove any debris, and to install a new bulb with some dialectic grease on the bulb contacts..




On a sidenote...Here's a quick look at some other washboard caused carnage..

 

Random question... did you install poly radiator support bushings? I’ve got multiple cracks in my core support and someone suggested to me that the stiffer poly bushings may be a big part of the problem.

 

I'll see your cracked cross member and raise you a driver rear shock tower that broke 6" of factory welds and ripped off the crossbar. It also cut my rear ABS wire loom in half. I was wondering why my ABS light came on and the speedo kept dropping out. lol

 

I do have the Poly bushings, but they were installed at the time when I started to notice the cracks/separation in the numerous spots. I doubt the more rigid poly bushings played any role in worsening or prevented what's going on in there.

 

Good work!!

But you haven't seen my previously cracked and separating LCA's ..

 

I have the core support bushings but I don't blame them for my cracked core support. There are too many other owners who also suffer from poor material failure. You'd think Toyota would strengthen the areas that have a poor track record.

 

------------ goes out and checks LCA's -------------------

 

I’m not blaming them. I just wonder if they add to the strain of a flimsy design on rough roads

 

It wasn't until after my mechanic installed them when he agreed they were much better than stock. I remember my ride improving after the installation too.

 

Hey Proof, do you have your dual battery under the hood in the stock location? I skimmed the first two pages of your build page but didn't see it. I am beginning to think the radiator core supports crack with the extra weight of the batteries. I am getting ready to build my dual battery set up and am leaning more and more on the side of putting the Aux battery in the bed.

Cheers
73
-KJ7OWD-9

 

I do, and the weight of my old 31M absolutly affected the integrity of my core support. I relocated my power steering reservoir to make room for the Aux battery. I have added gussets to rebuild and to reinforce the entire core support. I have also seen failure with just a stock battery as well so the problem is just not related to a heavier aftermarket battery.

Edit: I would consider placing the Aux. Battery in the bed, or if you had the space near the back of the engine bay on the passenger side.Some of us do and some of us don't depending on where the ABS module is located.

 

I had my 2nd battery in my engine bay on the passenger side near the firewall. The mount broke from off-roading. I now have the 2nd battery (agm) mounted to the floor behind the passenger seat.

The stock battery has contributed to the core support failure.

 

dont those need to vent outside?

 

Oh and I spotted this one in Death Valley last week.

 

Not AGM.

 

I only have one battery, group 27f AGM. But have cracks on both sides of the support, plus several inside the engine bay. Apparently it’s pretty common with these trucks that get lots of off road use. There’s a number of threads on TW about it

Seems like the culprits may be:

proper off road use (lots of washboard, whoops, desert racing, or aggressive rock crawling).

Heavier than stock or dual batteries

Heavy front bumper/winch that that can put more force on the core support

Several people have suggested to me that the stiffer poly bushings mean that the jarring force of off roading coupled with heavier batteries and front bumper weight can put more stress on the core support.

 

The otherside to the bushing argument is the softer OEM bushings allow more flex to happen in those key areas , more flex increases metal fatigue....

 

drove thru little cowhorn. went thru eureka. went thru fish lake. into chalafant. now camped in mono with wind and chill down.
#overlanding#overpavementing#glamping#tailgatecamping#carcamping#eating/drinking/pooping#airupped40lb#darknow

 

We stayed in Dyer a few weeks ago before heading into DV... realllly cold night.

 

@MonkeyProof @deekyn

Sorry to derail the thread a bit. All good info. I have a group27F in the stock location and bumper/winch. I will definitely keep an eye out. On the passenger side (I also have the Off-road model) I put my ARB compressor on the CBI bracket. I thought about Fabbing something but my neighbor got it for me for my birthday. Its actually super convenient.

Back to your regularly scheduled broadcast.

I think DV season is wrapping up, bummer because I wanted to hit the Playa this spring. I just have been tied up with work and family obligations. There is always this Fall. I like the winter night skies better anyways.

-M