'03 Prerunner 4WU 3link up-date

^^ no worries, it's all good.

I hear you on the parts & vendor issues. In the past, you order something specific and receive something completely different. For example, when ordering parts, the site will say image not exact or some crap like that.

One would think the off road industry is extremely lucrative in that nobody returns calls or follows up on anything, like they make so much cash that yours doesn't matter to them. Very frustrating indeed.

No pics today... still fiddling around with the cross member for the trans. I'll bite the bullet and have M.I.T. in El Cajon fab one up to correct the driveline vibes. I did manage to get it closer than the previous weeks but I'm no driveline specialist.

Each weekend it gets closer. Hell, I'm not even to the 'tinker' stage which I enjoy.

I need to plumb the front ARB, rid of the ABS module, re-install the compressor, fix some brake lines, wire the locker switch and fix the leaking oil pan.

Thanks for checking the build.

 

I would say the off road industry has an abundance of people that do not seem to know anything about how to run a business.

It is worse if you stick with toyota parts only because the market is so small.

Industry is a bit better, I think, for American built drive train parts. That's actually part of the reason why I ended up going with 1 ton axles BTW. Aftermarket support is HUGE and shit is always in stock.

So, to clarify my earlier statement, most of my frustrations have been with chasing down toyota parts. I'm so over the staying only with "all toyota parts" fan boy thing at this point LOL

 

You guys hit the nail on the head regarding toyota parts. It sucks even more here in the midwest because any parts shortage is a minumum 4days waiting parts while they are shipped from somewhere in socal, unless you want to pay 50-100 bucks in overnight shipping charges. On top of that places like marlin that NEVER have anything in stock makes life suck even more.

 

^^ I hear you on the Marlin stuff.
It's as if they should list what they are back ordered on or out of stock of then, you can search for what's in stock.

They do have killer stuff though, when you can get it.

After fiddling around with the T-case more late yesterday afternoon, I pulled the entire driveshaft to check the phasing of the u-joints. Sure enough, they are 3 degrees out. Before I mess with the T-case mount any longer, I'll get this corrected 1st.

The bad thing is, it's been in for 2.5 years along with the OEM T-case cross member. I did have a slight vibe but thought that was from the 33's being tough to balance at the time (Nitto Terra Grapplers) and never thought to check the new driveline for this issue.

Oh well, it's off to the shop on Tuesday afternoon. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

 

Don't get me started on Marlin Crawler! Quite frankly, one wonders how is it that they are still in business...if you can call it that.

I used to live on the East coast. So I am very aware of how much it costs to have parts shipped all over across the country. It was insanely expensive.

Marlin Crawler might have killer stuff, but if it's never in stock then what's the point lol.

Glad to hear you are getting closer to figuring out your drive line issues. Hope you do not have to get a new custom drive shaft for the rear, as that would only add more $$$ to your project. Man, now I understand why so many people end up with a tow rig and trailer. It is certainly much easier to build a trail-only rig that never sees highway use!

 

The shaft just needs to be cut, phased correctly, re-welded and balanced. The u-joints are new.
I am bound & determined to get my truck where it once was... only better.

Yesterday, I picked up all of the fittings and hoses from Howe Performance steering... wow are those fittings expensive. Didn't make it to the drive shaft shop, hopefully Thursday.
I'll have the pump, reservoir and inline cooler installed this weekend.
Getting ready to check that off of the list.

Thanks for tuning in. More to follow.

 

I would recommend getting a duplicate set of hoses made. One of those parts that take time and are not on the shelf in the event of a replacement needed.

 

Or at least get some pressure couplers for quick repairs.

 

How did your driveshaft get out of phase to the point you need to cut and weld it if it was never touched?
Check out discounthydraulichose.com. They built me my new powersteering lines to adapt to my ford box, very cheap, quick turn around, and good customer service. Do some reading first because there are ALOT of options, they have good tech materials on the site to help you out.

 

Yea it sucks. Its funny they never would answer the phone when i was building my crawler back in 08, yet had tons of stuff in stock, now they answer the phone but don't have anything in stock LOL. I will say they built me a new trans QUICK last year when mine ate itself alive. A zero time rebuilt trans from them shipped from socal was cheaper then what the junkyards wanted for a 100,xxx+ miles unit here.

I'm sad that inchworm was gobbled up by lowrange; I talked to Jim and Josh at inchworm more than my wife for the month i was building my lefty, i think they recognized my phone number LOL!!

 

x2 snagging a hose on the trail would end the day pretty quick. Extra couple bucks for the field serviceable fittings would be a good piece of mind.

 

Here are some pics of the hoses & fittings.
Group hug of all parts going on minus pump:



Low pressure fittings:



High pressure fittings:



The low pressure lines are a press in type. The high pressure shroud type fitting is a left hand thread... twist on tubing till it bottoms then add power steering fluid to the right hand fitting and thread in. Use two wrenches to tighten. Totally a trail type fix if need be, just carry extra hose.

Should be killer when I get it installed.

Thanks for watching.

 

I'll be at the driveline shop tomorrow around 9:00.

They will inspect everything but they do not remove anything from the vehicle.
If determined that the u-joints are out of phase, which they are, I'll need to drop off the driveline to them next Friday as they are booked until then to have it repaired.

Once the shaft is corrected, I'll make an appointment with M.I.T in El Cajon to make the trans cross member. Hopefully, that will end this portion of the "3 link saga."

Thanks for tuning in and more to follow.

 

Went to the driveline shop yesterday. The owner Todd says the shaft is good but found there is an issue with the output shaft bearing in the rear of the T-case.
I then went to M.I.T. and had the owner Jeff test drive the truck. He too said the angles on the shaft are good but he will fab a new T-case cross member and replace the bearing(s) in the T-case... this will happen next Thursday.
Meanwhile, I rented, yet again, another car from Enterprise, those people love me. I might as well assist them with a NASCAR sponsorship!

More to follow.

 

Crown Performance in Vista can make you custom length hydro hoses while you wait. They also have any hydro fitting you can think of. Great prices too if you decide to get some trail spares.

Good luck getting this portion of the build done.

 

Thanks for the info.

Howe had all parts in stock and cheaper than Hose Pro's making a site visit to make everything up. $280.00 for all fittings & hoses.

Pics coming later Sunday. Getting my new tires installed tomorrow along with an alignment. Should steer a lot better after Sunday.

Thanks for the reply.

 

little by little, getting all the bugs out, that thing will be a beast when its all said and done!

 

... man I sure hope so.

Once all is functional, cleanly installed and ready to rock, I will definitely put it to work.

 

Good progress!

there's a write up somewhere on Pirate about how to do hydro assist on the cheap (did a quick search but couldn't find the right link). My buddy did his hydro assist setup recently following that write up and the whole setup, including the ram, cost him $250. If you can find the write up, at least you could do the hoses part to build your spares.

 

^ I have read that hydro is awesome but I want to keep it street legal.

Thanks for the reply.