92Shawman's 1992 3VZ-E SR5 Pickup

Thanks for writing that up, was very thorough. What was up with that firewood?! haha. Anyways- I'm always late, no idea how I beat traffic that easy- only took me like 45-50 minutes from Long Beach! Nice to get out so close to town.

None of the hikers looked very pleased with their commitment! That was funny, I forgot about that. Also, "GET THE NEEDLES" (Arnold Schwarzenegger voice) that was hilarious.

Cool pictures man, thanks for taking all of those man.

 

No problem!
Yeah that firewood was messed up. NEED MOAR NEEDLES
Yeah it took me around 50-55 min once I got on the road, so that was definitely nice.
Of course! You had a few that I didn't get so it was great to have our pics complement each other.

 

Rear ARB locker awaiting install
Gotta see about a shop around here that would be good to do it. I've used the SD Truck Shop but from other reviews that I've heard they're kinda hit-or-miss. I might ask my normal mechanic if they would be able to do it, but it might be too involved for them.
I saw a video online that made it seem suuuuper easy but I don't think it is actually that easy... the backlash business scares me
And I got my mom a CB set up for christmas and she got me the uniden 520 (better than the current 510) since I use it a lot more and I'll pass my 510 on to her for when we do trips together. Hopefully we'll get a trip in soon!

 

Yeah I'm stoked!

I saw that a while back and I think there might've been one for my diff, but I just checked again and there's an install of the same locker I have so I'm loading that write-up now. The locker does come with very good instructions, so I think I could do it if I had access to a shop, but still, it seems like something that's easy to screw up...

Yeah you had mentioned that you get great range between two 520s, so that's what sold me on it.

 

Just read through his install...still doesn't seem too bad, just the backlash and pressing that's bothering me since my dad doesn't have a press or a backlash measurer thingamabob. His shop is set up great for woodworking and banjo making, but not so much for automotive or metal working.
Here's the write up: http://www.gearinstalls.com/kevinh.htm He also replaces some pinion stuff that I wouldn't be doing.

 

Swapped in the

$65 pro520xl pro series 40-channel CB radio. compact design. ANL switch and PA/CB switch. 7 watts of audio output and instant emergency channel 9. - black

pro520xl cb radio a few days ago. Just gotta tune it before I use it!

 

Well my dad (and my reading) is convincing me that we can do the locker install...I'm still reading up on it and it seems like half the people on yotatech say do it, it's easy with the right tools and half the people say it's an art so leave it to the professionals. Le sigh...

I called around and was quoted $500 for just the locker part (no compressor) installed on the truck. Another place wanted to rebuild the diff while it was apart or else they wouldn't do it and they would charge $900.

It makes a lot of sense to rebuild the diff, so now I'm looking into what seals and bearings and everything I need...

 

Yeah exactly, I might as well do the preventative maintenance while I'm in there.

I agree with you about having the smarts to do it but I don't quite have the experience that the other gear install mechanics have. Mainly, though, I don't have some of the tools. The biggest one is the press, but I might be able to talk to one of my high school shop teachers. They have some pretty well equipped shops and I'm sure one of them (metal or auto) has a press. My dad thinks maybe one of the neighbors has one, too, so we'll have to ask.

The other tools we don't have are the special tools that ZUK uses in his writeup for pressing in the bearings. Again, though, we might be able to talk to the metal shop about welding together some scrap pieces since we don't have a welder.

Are you saying you'd come down here to help/check it out? I'm not sure how long it would take, but my guess is at least two days. We still have to order the replacement bearings, etc. for rebuilding the 3rd, too, so we're at least four days out on starting.

 

Helpful info: http://www.gearinstalls.com/gearinstalltools.htm

 

Tuned the antenna to the new radio today!
It started out at around 1.6 on channel 1 and 1.1 on channel 40, so I could've been using it, but better to be safe than sorry. I tuned it down to 1.25 on channel 1 and 1.1 on 40, so I'm happy.
I'll re-tune it the next time I'm in the desert or somewhere more open than my neighborhood cul-de-sac, though...

 

Make sure to take pics of the install!

 

We'll do our best! If Pliny ends up coming down for part of it we'll have him to do some of the picture taking, or at least we'll have someone to swap in and out for pictures

 

Did some of the finishing touches on my radio today. I finally secured the external speaker and I put velcro on the unit and in the compartment to keep it in place instead of jumping out whenever I bring the mic up to my face. I found that adhesive-backed velcro actually works really well in there instead of superglue, like I used last time. I tested the old, superglued velcro to see if it was still holding and it basically just peeled right off...
Now I just gotta wait 24 hours for the velcro adhesive to cure and then it's done!!

 

No definitely not this weekend, we don't have the parts yet. I emailed Dave'z offroad to see if they'd piece together a part package for rebuilding the rear diff and he said he'd check but hasn't gotten back to me since then. After looking at the Zuk page and the FSM I think I'm getting a better and better idea of what I need to order so I may just go through with ordering stuff myself. Of course, the biggest holdup is still the big press...
Thanks for offering to weld stuff! We very well may take you up on it.


Huh, well the stuff that was in my mom's sewing drawer seems to work really well so far. I had a couple of "oops" moments where it accidentally stuck where I didn't want it and it held much stronger than the superglue had. Maybe I just didn't have good enough pressure when I was fixing the super glued velcro, who knows. Time will tell how this plays out, too.

 

CB's in and lookin' good!
The sticky-backed velcro seems to be working excellently so far. I tried pulling the radio out after sticking it in and it took a bit of force to make it move, so I didn't bother taking it out all the way.

 

Just ordered parts for the diff rebuild!
Thanks, Pliny for referring me to Cruiser Outfitters. They were super helpful and prompt at getting back to me and their kit includes all the parts AND extra shims and the gear paint, so I'm happy!
Aaaaaand my neighbor has a press and potentially other equipment (pullers, splitters, etc) for doing the actual work!!
Life is good.

 

Got the package from cruiser outfitters today. Impressively fast shipping for anyone other than Amazon! Sorry for the crappy lit cell phone pic...

 

The real test will be on a hot day. I had stuff velcro'd in my truck but as soon as it got hot in there, it nullified the adhesive backing on the velcro and ended up just screwing it in

 

Yeah thanks again for the suggestion!

Well we shall see...the superglue that I had on the last one was definitely heat tested in the desert where the cab was at least 120*F.

 

Whelp, I was fiddling around trying to find the best mounting spot for the compressor for the locker today (turns out I think it's going to be under the back seat on the driver's side) and I decided to take a look at some burnt out bulbs in the cab.
The dome light has been out for years and that one was easy to pull out. I'm going to look into some of the LEDs on Amazon as a replacement bulb.
Then I tried looking at the map lights... I wasn't sure how the cover was held on so I figured, hey, I'll take the rear view mirror off to get some better angles. Oh look! A screw! Let's unscrew it, I bet it takes the mirror off. NOPE! Next thing I know there's a washer loose INSIDE the mirror and it's swiveling loosely on the ball. Turns out that screw is for the clamp on the ball, and if you loosen it it gets easier to adjust the mirror. BUT, if you unscrew it all the way, the nut on the back pops off!
So now I've got a busted rear view mirror that I'm trying to figure out how to open up to repair. So far no luck. Anyone know?
And to add insult to injury, the map light casing just pops off with a screw driver so I didn't even need to fiddle with the mirror at all. LAME!