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Leadgolem's Build

Discussion in '1st Gen. Builds (1995-2004)' started by Leadgolem, May 19, 2010.

  1. Oct 12, 2010 at 8:13 AM
    #21
    Leadgolem

    Leadgolem [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
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    Greg
    Littleton, CO
    Vehicle:
    98 Tacoma SR5 2.7L 4x4 stick
    Herculiner bed liner, White LED instrument lights, Custom painted hood, Homemade leather steering wheel wrap, Avic u310bt gps stereo, 1.5" bushwacker fender flares, 1.25" bilstein lift front, 1" shackle lift rear, rear bilstein 5100 shocks, ridiculous helper spring lift rear, wet okole seat covers, mutilated exhaust, boom mat under hood
    Ok, I got the helper springs installed yesterday.
    Axle dropped and center bolt out.
    [​IMG]
    Backside of the bolt and little plate it's in. Notice it's completely round.
    [​IMG]
    Front of the center bolt. Notice the cut down the middle. Since the back was round I had to cut this out.
    [​IMG]
    Dropped a bolt down through the top of the leaves to keep the hole lined up, and clamped the leaf pack together.
    [​IMG]
    The bolt end stuck up to high to let the bump stop sit properly.
    [​IMG]
    So I used a half inch drill bit to deepen the socket for the bolt end.
    [​IMG]
    The bump stop sits correctly now.
    [​IMG]
    U-bolts on but not tightened. At this point I put on the additional u-bolts that came with the kit too, and removed the clamps.
    [​IMG]
    Here it is installed and torqued up. Haven't reinstalled the shocks yet here.
    [​IMG]
    How it sits when it's all done.
    [​IMG]
    The bottle of deicer is directly below my bumper.
    [​IMG]

    This ended up lifting and stiffening the rear end quite a bit. I hope this helper spring settles a lot. I like the stiffness on the back though. Nice to feel the power hit the street so fast, virtually no delay as the springs wind up.

    I used a 10mm socket headed bolt to replace the old center one. The regular bolts head is to big to fit in the hole in the axle mount. The socket headed bolt's head is round and just barely fits. It's got a socket in the middle to accept an allen wrench
     
  2. Oct 12, 2010 at 8:46 AM
    #22
    ilove_taco_ma

    ilove_taco_ma Well-Known Member

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    fresno, california
    Vehicle:
    95 tacoma 4wd LX
    nothing, all stock expect got a OE replacement air filter K&N.
    wow....thats amaze! i give you props for changing your interiors. very nice well done.
     
  3. Oct 12, 2010 at 8:27 PM
    #23
    Leadgolem

    Leadgolem [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
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    997
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    Male
    First Name:
    Greg
    Littleton, CO
    Vehicle:
    98 Tacoma SR5 2.7L 4x4 stick
    Herculiner bed liner, White LED instrument lights, Custom painted hood, Homemade leather steering wheel wrap, Avic u310bt gps stereo, 1.5" bushwacker fender flares, 1.25" bilstein lift front, 1" shackle lift rear, rear bilstein 5100 shocks, ridiculous helper spring lift rear, wet okole seat covers, mutilated exhaust, boom mat under hood
    Thanks, I've got the drivers side door door panel inside right now so I can get it prepped for covering tomorrow. :) It'll look even better once I get my black on black wet okels installed. May be a while with all the group buy orders though.

    I have the driver side door inside right now so I can finish taking it apart and prep it for leather tomorrow.

    I just took some measurements, might be slightly off since I did this at night. I measured from the ground up through the center of the hub stopping at the top of the wheel well. Driver and passenger side front 35 1/2". Driver side rear 38 1/2". Passenger side rear 39 1/2". :eek: I have got to do something about that. 4" of rake just isn't happening.

    EDIT: That's 2 7/8" of lift.... bangs head on wall...

    I'm going to try loosening the additional U-bolts that came with the helper spring and hope that helps. I did torque them down pretty well...
     
  4. Oct 12, 2010 at 9:11 PM
    #24
    Leadgolem

    Leadgolem [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
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    997
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    First Name:
    Greg
    Littleton, CO
    Vehicle:
    98 Tacoma SR5 2.7L 4x4 stick
    Herculiner bed liner, White LED instrument lights, Custom painted hood, Homemade leather steering wheel wrap, Avic u310bt gps stereo, 1.5" bushwacker fender flares, 1.25" bilstein lift front, 1" shackle lift rear, rear bilstein 5100 shocks, ridiculous helper spring lift rear, wet okole seat covers, mutilated exhaust, boom mat under hood
    What I did today was remove my bar and paint it with hurculiner.

    Back side of the bar, lots of big scratches and rust.
    [​IMG]
    Front side, lots more scratches and rust. Also bent brackets for lights and an annoying sticker.
    [​IMG]
    Up on the hanger so I can strip the paint.
    http://www.tacomaworld.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/110634/cat/500/ppuser/35238
    Covered in citris strip. This did not remove the paint, but it did soften it enough I could get all the rust off that was under some of the painted areas.
    [​IMG]
    All stripped of rust and painted with rusty metal primer. Sorry, no pic of it before primer. I also broke one of the hangers so I said "screw it" and just laid the bar on the 2x4 I was hanging it from.
    [​IMG]
    Bar coated in hurculiner.
    [​IMG]
    Second view, bar coated in hurculiner.
    [​IMG]
     
  5. Oct 13, 2010 at 1:17 PM
    #25
    Leadgolem

    Leadgolem [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 13, 2010
    Member:
    #35238
    Messages:
    997
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Greg
    Littleton, CO
    Vehicle:
    98 Tacoma SR5 2.7L 4x4 stick
    Herculiner bed liner, White LED instrument lights, Custom painted hood, Homemade leather steering wheel wrap, Avic u310bt gps stereo, 1.5" bushwacker fender flares, 1.25" bilstein lift front, 1" shackle lift rear, rear bilstein 5100 shocks, ridiculous helper spring lift rear, wet okole seat covers, mutilated exhaust, boom mat under hood
    Ok, remeasured in daylight.

    Front passenger: 36"
    Front driver: 36 1/8"
    Rear passenger 39 1/2"
    Rear driver: 39 5/8"

    So, I loosened the additional u-bolts and bounced on the rear end. I lost 1/8 on the rear. Ok, so that wasn't going to work. So, I stuck a whole crap load of weight in the back.

    Each one of those boxes of slate tiles weights about 50 pounds. Comes out around 550lbs
    [​IMG]
    How it sat with all that weight in the back. Sorry, no measurements taken during this step.
    [​IMG]
    Since I had the u-bolts all loose I cut them down about 1 1/4 inches on both sides. They were right at the limit for my deep well socket before.
    [​IMG]
    U-bolts reinstalled and torqued as tight as I could get them with my breaker bar. Weight in the rear removed.
    [​IMG]

    Results:
    Rear passenger side: 38"
    Rear drivers side: 38 1/8"

    I'm still hoping the rear end sags some more. 2" of rake is acceptable, but still more then I would like. I'm going to wait a while and see how the new spring settles. If it doesn't drop to where I want it I'll either jack the billies up front to 2.5 or maybe get new front springs.

    I also finished bedlining the back of the bar today. Next up is the sway bar quick disconnect install.
     
  6. Oct 14, 2010 at 1:00 AM
    #26
    derekabraham

    derekabraham Living vicariously through everybody

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    TW'S Hippy Liberal
    Portland, OR
    Vehicle:
    2002 4x4 4Runner
    Stick on hood scoop from Autozone.
    I love your unique mods!!
     
  7. Oct 14, 2010 at 6:53 PM
    #27
    Leadgolem

    Leadgolem [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 13, 2010
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    Messages:
    997
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    Male
    First Name:
    Greg
    Littleton, CO
    Vehicle:
    98 Tacoma SR5 2.7L 4x4 stick
    Herculiner bed liner, White LED instrument lights, Custom painted hood, Homemade leather steering wheel wrap, Avic u310bt gps stereo, 1.5" bushwacker fender flares, 1.25" bilstein lift front, 1" shackle lift rear, rear bilstein 5100 shocks, ridiculous helper spring lift rear, wet okole seat covers, mutilated exhaust, boom mat under hood
    Thank you. :)

    Minor update. I got the sway bar quick-disconnects installed today. I was a little worried that I was going to have a clearance problem with these and need to cut down the bolt. This doesn't seem to be the case. If I understand how the sway bar will move properly, under no circumstance will the bolt end end up either hitting the top of the wheel well or tilting far enough to jam in the spring.

    I also pulled the bull bar mounts off today and flattened them back out with a sledge hammer. They were bent, probably in the same accident that smashed one of the lights and bent the bracket for it. I'm going to strip them down and hurculine them too, since they are rusty where paint was damaged.

    EDIT: The ride quality with the back end clamped down this way is terrible. The rear axle mounts might as well be welded to the frame. I think I'm just going to take the extra U-bolts off and let the back end rise. It's annoying to have that much of a rake, but I don't think it will cause any actual problems.
     
  8. Oct 16, 2010 at 2:29 PM
    #28
    Leadgolem

    Leadgolem [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
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    Messages:
    997
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    First Name:
    Greg
    Littleton, CO
    Vehicle:
    98 Tacoma SR5 2.7L 4x4 stick
    Herculiner bed liner, White LED instrument lights, Custom painted hood, Homemade leather steering wheel wrap, Avic u310bt gps stereo, 1.5" bushwacker fender flares, 1.25" bilstein lift front, 1" shackle lift rear, rear bilstein 5100 shocks, ridiculous helper spring lift rear, wet okole seat covers, mutilated exhaust, boom mat under hood
    I got my brackets for the bar cleaned up and painted. I'm waiting for them to dry so I can install the bar. I got the drivers side panel covered, but not cut out. I can do that without daylight. Finished touching up my bed. I had some spots where the primer was showing. Cleaned up and painted the frame rails on the front. I missed these when I was doing my under carriage painting.
     
  9. Oct 16, 2010 at 4:45 PM
    #29
    Leadgolem

    Leadgolem [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
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    First Name:
    Greg
    Littleton, CO
    Vehicle:
    98 Tacoma SR5 2.7L 4x4 stick
    Herculiner bed liner, White LED instrument lights, Custom painted hood, Homemade leather steering wheel wrap, Avic u310bt gps stereo, 1.5" bushwacker fender flares, 1.25" bilstein lift front, 1" shackle lift rear, rear bilstein 5100 shocks, ridiculous helper spring lift rear, wet okole seat covers, mutilated exhaust, boom mat under hood
    Loosened my additional U-bolts for the rear. Ride quality is good again. The back end did pop up again. I haven't taken any measurements yet, but I don't think it's as high now. I'm hoping the helper spring will sag a great deal more though.
     
  10. Oct 16, 2010 at 5:17 PM
    #30
    Leadgolem

    Leadgolem [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
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    Messages:
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    First Name:
    Greg
    Littleton, CO
    Vehicle:
    98 Tacoma SR5 2.7L 4x4 stick
    Herculiner bed liner, White LED instrument lights, Custom painted hood, Homemade leather steering wheel wrap, Avic u310bt gps stereo, 1.5" bushwacker fender flares, 1.25" bilstein lift front, 1" shackle lift rear, rear bilstein 5100 shocks, ridiculous helper spring lift rear, wet okole seat covers, mutilated exhaust, boom mat under hood
    I thought you guys might appreciate seeing the sway bar disconnect from wabfab vs the stock linkage.
    [​IMG]

    The wabfab disconnect is a lot beefier, in addition to being adjustable and a lot longer. If you want to save some time when your doing the install, I'd pull both the bushings off and widen the hole in them slightly. They fit on the adjustment rod, but are so tight you have to twist them to get them to moved down into position.

    Here's some pictures of the bar after I remounted it.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]3.
    Here it is with the new lights mounted. I haven't wired these yet, just bolted them on.
    [​IMG]

    The before picture.
    [​IMG]
    The after picture.
    [​IMG]
     
  11. Oct 17, 2010 at 7:28 AM
    #31
    waskillywabbit

    waskillywabbit New Member

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    Wabbit
    Tuscaloosa, AL
    You can adjust your sway bar where you need it as there is extra height to accomodate lift. If there is extra up top, cut it off and coat with some paint so it doesn't rust where you cut it.

    :D
     
  12. Oct 17, 2010 at 7:16 PM
    #32
    Leadgolem

    Leadgolem [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
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    Messages:
    997
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Greg
    Littleton, CO
    Vehicle:
    98 Tacoma SR5 2.7L 4x4 stick
    Herculiner bed liner, White LED instrument lights, Custom painted hood, Homemade leather steering wheel wrap, Avic u310bt gps stereo, 1.5" bushwacker fender flares, 1.25" bilstein lift front, 1" shackle lift rear, rear bilstein 5100 shocks, ridiculous helper spring lift rear, wet okole seat covers, mutilated exhaust, boom mat under hood
    Sure, I could cut it off. I checked though and even at full upward travel there isn't a clearance problem. Same thing with downward travel. So, that's not really necessary. I'm also thinking of going higher with my front lift and would like to preserve the adjustability. :)


    Changed oil to mobil1 0w-30. I think this is the first time it's run a fully synthetic oil, so I'll have to see how it goes. I changed the filter at the same time. Right after changing the oil I noticed the idle went from 500 rpm to 750 after the engine was warmed up. I also noticed that there seemed to be more power available. IE: I was able to shift up farther and run a lower rpm while still being able to accelerate like normal. I jack rabbit start all the time, so this was a nice change. Old oil was dirty but didn't have any viscosity problems when I drained it.


    After I drove a bit with the new oil I also changed the rear differential oil. There are a couple of differences from the second gens here:
    1. Both the fill and drain plugs took a 24mm socket. (I had to run out and buy one.)
    2. The magnet to collect debris is on the drain plug instead of the fill plug.

    When I was taking the fill plug off it was stuck badly enough I couldn't get it to move with my breaker bar. With the rear wheels on I couldn't get a longer pipe to fit over the bar under the truck. Not at a decent angle so the socket would stay on the fill plug. I ended up using my brothers impact wrench to remove the fill plug. I was able to use my breaker bar to loosen the drain plug. I could then unscrew the drain plug by hand.

    The magnet on the drain plug sits in a little hollow in the plug. So, if your cleaning this make sure you have a nice clean groove around the magnet. For a second I though it was flush because of the metal debris stuck to the sides of the magnet.

    I had planned to change the front differential and transfer case as well, but just didn't have the energy today.

    Also, old gear oil is stinky.


    Other things I did today:
    Installed fisheye mirrors. The little 2" stick on ones. I may be paranoid, but I like to have the best view behind me possible.

    Sprayed bed liner on some spots I missed on the front of the frame, including a couple spots on the bull bar brackets I missed.

    Installed deer whistles. I braced these under the grill and drove a bit, to make sure they didn't make a whistle I could hear, before installing.

    Applied some 303 protectant to the the plastic portion of my bumper, front and rear. Made it much closer to black. I'll try and remember to get pics tomorrow.


    I think with the current high rear end I should add some axle shims. It will probably be a while before I can stomach taking the axle off the rear springs though. I worked on my truck to much lately.


    I still plan on installing the recovered drivers side door panel, once I feel a little better. I think I got dehydrated working in the sun so much this last week or so. (I've had 1 1/2 quarts of water since I stopped working a couple hours ago, and I'm still thirsty.)
     
  13. Oct 17, 2010 at 11:11 PM
    #33
    Leadgolem

    Leadgolem [OP] Well-Known Member

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    997
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    First Name:
    Greg
    Littleton, CO
    Vehicle:
    98 Tacoma SR5 2.7L 4x4 stick
    Herculiner bed liner, White LED instrument lights, Custom painted hood, Homemade leather steering wheel wrap, Avic u310bt gps stereo, 1.5" bushwacker fender flares, 1.25" bilstein lift front, 1" shackle lift rear, rear bilstein 5100 shocks, ridiculous helper spring lift rear, wet okole seat covers, mutilated exhaust, boom mat under hood
    Finally got the driver side door panel reinstalled.
     
  14. Oct 18, 2010 at 8:59 PM
    #34
    Leadgolem

    Leadgolem [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
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    997
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    First Name:
    Greg
    Littleton, CO
    Vehicle:
    98 Tacoma SR5 2.7L 4x4 stick
    Herculiner bed liner, White LED instrument lights, Custom painted hood, Homemade leather steering wheel wrap, Avic u310bt gps stereo, 1.5" bushwacker fender flares, 1.25" bilstein lift front, 1" shackle lift rear, rear bilstein 5100 shocks, ridiculous helper spring lift rear, wet okole seat covers, mutilated exhaust, boom mat under hood
    Seafoamed my engine today. Sucked in about 1/3 of a can through the vacuum assist line. Here's a pic. The arrow is pointing to the point where you disconnect the line so you can feed it into the can. You can see the darker area where it's still wet. :)
    [​IMG]
    This produced a fair amount of smoke, but not as much as I expected. It also subsided faster then I expected. My suspicion is that it had been done before.

    I also got a pic of what the bumper looks like with the 303 protectant. It's overcast, so the light isn't great. Looks a lot better though. :)
    [​IMG]

    Finally, I wired and pointed my new lights. I need to repoint them though. I set them at to wide an angle. Enough so they aren't particularly useful atm.
     
  15. Oct 23, 2010 at 10:07 PM
    #35
    Leadgolem

    Leadgolem [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
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    Messages:
    997
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Greg
    Littleton, CO
    Vehicle:
    98 Tacoma SR5 2.7L 4x4 stick
    Herculiner bed liner, White LED instrument lights, Custom painted hood, Homemade leather steering wheel wrap, Avic u310bt gps stereo, 1.5" bushwacker fender flares, 1.25" bilstein lift front, 1" shackle lift rear, rear bilstein 5100 shocks, ridiculous helper spring lift rear, wet okole seat covers, mutilated exhaust, boom mat under hood
    Got my wet okole seat covers today. Hopefully I'll have time to install them tomorrow. Here's some pics of the inside of the cigarette lighter plug for the heaters.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    This switch is small and I couldn't get my camera to focus any closer. There are actually 4 connections on this switch in total. The one on the far right goes to your power via the fuse in the lighter plug. The middle one goes into the hot leading to the heater. There is a small resistor between the top left connector and the middle connector. The bottom left connector has the ground from the heater cable going to it, then from there to the ground on the lighter plug.

    I think I will use the switches that came with, but wire the heaters into the cigarette lighter circuit. I'm thinking I want to mount the switches on the front of the shifter cover. I'll need to cut a couple holes in the cover, but I think it'll be worth it. :)
     
  16. Oct 25, 2010 at 3:06 PM
    #36
    Leadgolem

    Leadgolem [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
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    Messages:
    997
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Greg
    Littleton, CO
    Vehicle:
    98 Tacoma SR5 2.7L 4x4 stick
    Herculiner bed liner, White LED instrument lights, Custom painted hood, Homemade leather steering wheel wrap, Avic u310bt gps stereo, 1.5" bushwacker fender flares, 1.25" bilstein lift front, 1" shackle lift rear, rear bilstein 5100 shocks, ridiculous helper spring lift rear, wet okole seat covers, mutilated exhaust, boom mat under hood
    I got my wet okoles installed last night. Took me about 1 1/2 hours in the dark, without removing the seats.
    [​IMG]
    I have not connected or wired in the heaters yet.
     
  17. Oct 25, 2010 at 3:24 PM
    #37
    trd7

    trd7 4wd tacoma

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    Tyler
    Columbia, SC
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    95.5 Tacoma 4x4 4cyl auto
    AEM air intake
    Those look good! Where did you get them?
     
  18. Oct 25, 2010 at 3:50 PM
    #38
    Leadgolem

    Leadgolem [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
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    997
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    First Name:
    Greg
    Littleton, CO
    Vehicle:
    98 Tacoma SR5 2.7L 4x4 stick
    Herculiner bed liner, White LED instrument lights, Custom painted hood, Homemade leather steering wheel wrap, Avic u310bt gps stereo, 1.5" bushwacker fender flares, 1.25" bilstein lift front, 1" shackle lift rear, rear bilstein 5100 shocks, ridiculous helper spring lift rear, wet okole seat covers, mutilated exhaust, boom mat under hood
  19. Oct 25, 2010 at 8:48 PM
    #39
    Leadgolem

    Leadgolem [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
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    997
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    Greg
    Littleton, CO
    Vehicle:
    98 Tacoma SR5 2.7L 4x4 stick
    Herculiner bed liner, White LED instrument lights, Custom painted hood, Homemade leather steering wheel wrap, Avic u310bt gps stereo, 1.5" bushwacker fender flares, 1.25" bilstein lift front, 1" shackle lift rear, rear bilstein 5100 shocks, ridiculous helper spring lift rear, wet okole seat covers, mutilated exhaust, boom mat under hood
  20. Oct 27, 2010 at 1:27 AM
    #40
    Leadgolem

    Leadgolem [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 13, 2010
    Member:
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    Messages:
    997
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Greg
    Littleton, CO
    Vehicle:
    98 Tacoma SR5 2.7L 4x4 stick
    Herculiner bed liner, White LED instrument lights, Custom painted hood, Homemade leather steering wheel wrap, Avic u310bt gps stereo, 1.5" bushwacker fender flares, 1.25" bilstein lift front, 1" shackle lift rear, rear bilstein 5100 shocks, ridiculous helper spring lift rear, wet okole seat covers, mutilated exhaust, boom mat under hood

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