Box Rocket 1995 FZJ80 Build

I have a floor jack and a couple sets of jack stands. You can get a decent floor jack at Harbor Freight for not much money.

 

Suppose I was asking if you needed a jack that would be able to lift quite high for your extreme droop...

 

Nope, because your lifting the axles not the body. Jack up the axle and put a jackstand under each side.

 

Use blocks of wood as a spacer on top of the jack

 

Ahhh duh, you're solid front axle too. I was thinking that was obvious for the rear but the front being independent would have made it a bit more difficult...but you're not independent front.

 

With my Tacoma I did pretty much the same thing but it's not too terrible with the IFS since it doesn't droop that far.

 

I just got my truck (+2 long travel) off the ground over the weekend with a 3-ton harbor freight floor jack and 6-ton stands

 

Forgot to share a few recent mods here. First was upgrading the stock rear swaybar to the HD 11mm Blackhawk swaybar. This is the recommended swaybar for the Slinky Long Travel suspension. Doesn't limit rear suspension flex but really stabilizes the rear of the truck and improves corner turn in, especially in the dirt. This reduces understeer and makes driving fast in the dirt a much better experience as the truck will actually turn where you point it much better than with the stock rear swaybar.
IMG_3841 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

IMG_3851 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

IMG_3849 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

IMG_3848 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr


The other recent mod is happening in a couple stages. I'm working on reducing underhood temps. My coolant temps are fine for the most part but with the extra warm weather we've been having I'm seeing the coolant temps creep up just a bit. The ambient temps inside the engine bay are really warm and I'm sure it affects the coolant temps but also the intake temps, even with the snorkel. So in an effort to reduce the ambient engine bay temps the first stage was to add a hood scoop to bring more fresh air into the engine bay. The second stage (that I'm working on now) is to add two hood vents to the outside parts of the hood to let the heat out. The thinking is that the scoop will increase air pressure under the hood and the vents give it a place to escape and increase airflow in the engine bay and hopefully reduce the temps dramatically.

I've completed the scoop portion using a modified late model mustang scoop. I looked at different Toyota scoops but the Tacoma/4Runner scoops just didn't have the right proportions for the Cruiser IMO. This scoop was the closest size for what I envisioned. There's a small rubber seal lip around the hood openings that will stop any water from just running across the hood and down the holes. So far the scoop on it's own is helping to lower temps so I think the addition of the vents will help even more.

IMG_3961 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

IMG_3957 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

IMG_3975 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

IMG_3974 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

IMG_3960 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

IMG_3969 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

IMG_3971 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

IMG_3973 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

IMG_4020 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

IMG_4001 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

IMG_3999 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

 

Is that a protective cover on your light bar?

 

yes

 

How I’d the scoop secured to the hood? What material is it made out of? Steel, fiberglass?

 

The scoop is a thick polymer. Very rigid and strong. It is attached using 3M trim tape. I could pick up the hood by the scoop when I had the hood off.

 

I like that! I had considered before how I might cover my bar when not needed (98% of the time). I had considered just loosening the hardware and tucking it behind the wind defector when not needed and then move/tighten it into place if needed.

 

What kind of temperature reduction did you get? Doesn't seem like much air would actually get into the scoop. Looks nice though.

 

I was seeing temps between 199-210* during the hottest part of the day when climbing up Parley's Canyon. Hottest it's been since the scoop is 195* and 99% of the time its 190* or below.

That's coolant temps. I haven't put a temp gun on the ambient temps yet.

 

Thanks. I really like that idea

 

Do you have any close up pics of how the scoop is sitting on the hood?

 

Not sure what you mean.
IMG_4020 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

 

That's a decent drop! I'm running between 190 - 195 (up Parleys). It been pretty hot in SLC lately!

 

Grand Cherokee guys steal the hood vents from the 5.9 ZJ's.

The airflow over the hood creates a low pressure area, which sucks the heat out from under the hood. Combined with the engine fan, and air from under the rig, it works very well for keeping under hood temps down. From what i understand, you will see a larger jump in cooling effect from these types of vents once you do them, than you did from the hood scoop.