Bruce988jl's first and last build thread

Been a minute since there was any activity in here haha

I developed a clunk this past weekend after hitting some logging roads. Cranked on the cam bolts and the front two were a bit loose. Im hoping it was as simple as that

 

Yea I'm going to wash off the mud this week and check those bolts. I tightened the crap out of them three months ago and haven't gone wheeling so I figured it wouldn't be that...

 

Been a while since I posted in here....

New house (as of Oct 2020) - new to me barn - truck fits in barn with the RTT on top too.

 

Awesome!

 

Been a while...
All settled into the new house, currently fighting the decision of keeping window AC's or going mini split for ac and supplemental heating.

As for the truck I did a bunch of general maintenance. Pro-forged lca ball joints are shot on both sides (wicked bad on the passenger side) so it's in pieces and hopefully pressing in a new Moog ball joint tomorrow at work.

Swapped out the Cali-raised ditch and windshield lights for some nice Diode Dynamics SS3 Pro pods. Those fuckers are bright!

Next up is figuring out how to install the batwing style awning, the in bed compressor and swapping out the alternator with a higher output one from dc power.

 

Damn Jason, are those Kings that rusty or are they just covered with Fluid Film and dirt?

 

hahah I was about to say, better hit those Kings with some FF!

 

Unfortunately kings do not survive the winters well it seems. If I ever rehaul the suspension And go new I will clear coat them.. fluid film doesn't last when my front end is all open...

 

Pro tip - can't find a flat surface on the lca to press out the ball joint? Just machine it down so that you have a flat surface.

Also a 60 ton hydraulic press...
New Moog ball joint in on the passenger side. Will do the driverside in a few weeks, just need to clean the alignment hardware, re-neverseize it all and reinstall.

 

Pro tip - have a milling machine to begin with

 

Well it's been a few months since I updated this...
So far I have done both the other LCA ball joint with the newer designed MOOG "internal boot" setup. I noticed some wear and a bad bushing on the King Rear shocks so I went ahead and sent them in for a rehaul. Just got those back yesterday and have begun the tedious process of stripping the corrosion/buildup on them off and repolishing them. After that I'll Steelit the line connectors and clearcoat the shock body with hopes of prolonging the cosmetic appearance of them.

Also installed my ARB twin compressor in the expedition essentials bedside mount w/ dust shield. Currently waiting on my order of fender liner material to come in so I can custom make a fender liner on that side of the bumper to keep debris/dust down. Also need to run a dedicated line for the compressor as the #4 wire isn't enough juice for both the compressor and misc items I have running in the bed.

 

Phase one done - removing build-up and majority of the rust...

 

Finally got the material in to do a custom fender liner in the driverside rear now that the bedside compressor mount is in. Before and after photos... Excuse my rusty undercarriage....

 

Rear King shocks polished, clearcoated and reinstalled with new boots from Kings. I know the boots look horrible but they'll protect the shafts from pitting which was a failure point for me. Currently the shiniest thing on my truck....

 

Did some driving for my buddy who does fill production. He was doing a commercial for Toyo Tires and my truck made it into their commercial!

https://youtu.be/4rG2jMqn2ro

 

Well it's been a while - been doing a ton of Rust remediation on the truck and then I discovered some rot on the driverside

It has literally been exactly a year (and a few days) since the passenger side front part of the frame rotted out near the cab mount, now it's did so on the driverside. After cutting it open, patching it and then painting the inside of the frame with internal frame coating I started painting the rest of the frame with Chassis Saver. Chassis Saver can be painted right on after wire brushing the frame and then degreasing it. I used a wire brush and some marine clean to degrease it then painted two coats on whatever I could reach without pulling the cab or bed off. Later this year I'll pull the bed off and do the rears. I just realized now that they offer a non-gloss version.... But gloss works.

I also did a front diff flush and finally removed the stuck/stripped drain plug by tacking on a spare socket, replaced it with the Lexus equivalent part which has a nut head (see photos).

I got all the skid/sliders mounted again so she should be ready for some wheeling adventures this year. I still need to do more frame painting on the passenger rear but for now she's road worthy.

 

Damn road salt..

 

It has been a while and primarily the truck is just parked as I don't drive it to work (100 miles a day commute). Took it to the range and the rear gas tank strap snapped from rot but the skid plate held it up enough for me to limp home. Bought new straps/hardware from Toyota at way too expensive but I needed it asap but here's the part numbers:

Note: These straps are for the TRD Off Road with the plastic skid plate so the straps have two studs sticking out of them to bolt the skid to. All prices are MSRP
Front Gas Tank Strap - 77601-04020 $94.89
Rear Gas Tank Strap - 77602-04020 $106.93
Pins - 77653-35040 $18.28
Bolts - 90119-A0249 $3.51
Clips - 90468-14032 $3.48
Nuts (for skid plate) - 90179-08241 $2.50

Something to think about - the bolt is a M10x1.25 threaded bolt with almost 2-2.5" of thread depth which is overkill for this application so if you're going to redo them swap in a shorter one and never seize it.

Install:
Rear strap was easy, just tedious slowly backing out the super long bolt. I did this by hand to make sure I could feel for binding. I soaked both threaded portions of the bolt with a mix of ATF/Acetone 1:1 and then used PB Blaster while removing it. Everything else went mint on the rear strap.

Front strap sucked. The head did not exist on the bolt so I ground the top off and drilled out the bolt. Currently waiting for a M10x1.25 tap to come in so I can chase the threads before reinstalling the new strap.

Also noticed my rear diff is seeping from the seal so I'll have to address that...