Brett's average build thread

Action shot.

 

Co-pilot




Frozen Poudre

 

Finally got around to ordering the Quick Fist knuckle busters, lol.
Pretty cool little hold downs.





I also ordered the big ones for strapping down scuba tanks.

 

subbed
truck is looking good bro.

 

Scuba tanks.....

 

Thanks Guys!

Resonator delete. In did this awhile back and ended up putting it back on.
After seeing some pics of another's ingenuity, I decided to give it another shot.
A trip to ACE netted me these pieces of hardware.
The PVC cap is 1 5/8" OD.\
The nipples are 5/16 and 3/16 with 1/8 tapered pipe threads.


Measured in 1/2" to make sure they fit on the backside.
drilled holes are 19/64". Pipe tap uses 5/16" hole but I wanted just a bit deeper thread. When using a pipe tap, you must run the tap all the way to the base of the threads or it won't work.



One hole threaded and ready.


Threaded and test fit.


they ended up just past the inside edge so fully threaded and tight, not worried about air leaks, no need for ptfe tape or any kind of sealant.


1/8 pipe tap. You can see it is tapered. My tap and die kit had one in it but ACE carries these too.

 

Some paint to make it less noticeable. I would not paint the part that goes in the intake.


And complete. You can see I have another vacuum line and a different setup altogether for the bigger line. They both ultimately run to the "T" on the upper right of the pic on the intake manifold. The smaller line runs to the power steering pump and back to the new cap in the intake. The bigger one runs through something that has wires and must be telling something what it needs than back to the new cap on the intake.


Right after this pic I removed and cleaned the PCV valve and also replaced the vacuum line on it. Now to clean all that crud off since I can see it.


Runs just fine and I really can't hear any more noise but I'm also old


Really the only reason's to do this mod is
A-out of boredom,
B-it does give you a bit more room and makes it easier to keep things clean.
Otherwise the original stuff works just fine.

I didn't bother with the bottom "J" shaped unit as it really isn't in my way. But, the same size cap will fit in there if somebody really needs to get rid of it.

 

Nice clean install.

 

SOB I had scrapers take that part. So i'll figure something out before i come over.

 

Replaced two u-joints tonight.
There was a little play at the axle end, so i replaced it and the transfer case end too.
GMB is supposed to be the oem distributor for Toyota, not sure if that's accurate or not, but they looked the same.



I've got the caps reversed here but you can see one trunnion is brown, as well as the cap having dirty grease in it compared to the other side, tells me it might be plugged.
These are original at 230,xxx miles.


This is how I "pressed" them out.


Here you can see that a couple ends were simply not getting any fresh grease.
But the bearing itself was still serviceable, just not for much longer.


New joint installed, freshly greased. Notice the small glob of tan grease, that's what they come with, not a whole lot.
I wiped it down of course before I put the shaft back in.


The joint from the tranny end. It was actually still good, (until I dropped the cap getting it out) did not need replaced, but I had a new one and it was on the bench so I replaced it. You can see the difference in the bearing caps with the fresh grease.


I greased all the joints on Friday of last week and that's when I noticed the play in the one and the lack of grease coming from all the caps.

I left the double cardan joint alone, it was still tight, had fresh grease coming from all the caps and the little bitch bearing in the middle looked good too.

 

I needed more storage, mainly for tarps, ponchos, rope, bungies. Stuff that is light, not used all the time but necessary to get to when you need it.
A trip to Jax surplus netted me a net. Just happens to be camo on one side.
Also picked up some tiny D rings and some string thingies that I ended up not using but they are cool to have anyway.


D-rings screwed into wooden area used for racks and stuff. 3 per side.



I started by weaving some parachute cord through the net.
After dicking around with this method for an hour or so, I got more realistic.

I rolled up the edges to shrink it down a bit and pre-stretch it to lose some of the sag. Then broke out the zip ties.

Worked like a charm.

Loaded with 6 tarps, various sizes, two ponchos, 500' of rope, several rolls of parachute cord. The bungies not only have a place to hang out, they get to serve a purpose too.

 

Pretty clever way to gain some storage. Nice work!

 

Thanks!
It worked out pretty well. Hopefully the tarps don't melt being that close to the top when it's hot.

 

I'd have a hard time believing they would, I've used tarps in 120* direct sunlight with no sign of melting, they only get brittle from drying out. don't think the "oven" effect of the top would raise it high enough to melt them... but I was wrong once before

 

My concern is long term, and the brittle effect from drying out like you mentioned. I'll be checking them for a bit to see if it's too hot. Having a cracked brittle poncho in the rain would suck. I was cracked and brittle after spending a few hours in there yesterday in the heat.

 

Changed out the soft rubber milk toast rack bushings today.


On the stands, driver wheel removed


Pulled the passenger U shaped bushing first, no pics pretty straightforward, remove one nut and one bolt, remove the bracket, throw the rubber pos in the yard for the dog to chew on.
Next, the main bolt on the driver side. Almost thought the diff drop was gonna screw me as the bolt does not clear the diff.



But with a little pulling and prying, it will clear and hang just below that protruding bolt.

Next I "pressed" out the center bushing, prolly could have poked it out with a hammer and screwdriver, it was not tight.


There's friggen dirt in there




Both bushings out. I used a fat punch and hammer and the big one popped right out. Didn't even cuss.


Prepped for install


They went right in, no trimming, no fuss, much tighter but not so much that it was difficult. Long bolt and a couple washers made it easy.


Large bushing installed, don't forget to install the large supplied washer FIRST before you put the rack back on


The kit came with 3 different sleeves, one is obviously different, the other two have a slightly different inside dia.. Mine was the center one. Just take the original bolt and see what it fits.


Went together the same as the big one.


Boom. Done. Can't move the rack by hand anymore.


Nice little kit, it did come with instructions, very simple install.

 

Made quick work of that ...
Good job!!!

 

I had Archer to help.

 

Big Brett. I know I need to do it too.

 

It made a HUGE difference in the way the steering felt. I feel connected to the road again.