Scott B.'s 2015 AC Build - Expo Style

Thanks! Are you going to Appalachian Rendezvous? I see you lurking on AR and Expo portal

 

I am! I was the 14th person to sign up!

Are you going?

 

YEP! #44 , im trying to get the new rear shocks purchased and mounted before then... can't beat the price of the 5165's

 

We are going to try camp closer to the campfire this year. The last 2 years we were off to the left - way left. Nice area, but it seemed so far away.

When are you getting there? We should be there lunchtime on Thursday.

 

I'll be leaving Virginia Beach area around 4pm on Thursday (5 hr drive) and making the run down... I'll contact the POC and see if I'll still be able to register that night when I arrive.

 

The shocks are model # 25-187748:

13.1" 5165 Reservoir

Travel: 13.1"
Col. Length: 17.9"
Ext. Length: 31.0"
Mounting Upper: EB1*
Mounting Lower: EB1*
Sleeves: 1/2"
Boot: No
Valving: 255/70
Shaft Dia: 14mm

 

Thanks man! Are you using the stock mounting locations?

 

Lower - yes.

Upper - I will be cutting the stock one off, fabricating a custom one, with the top of the shock higher than the stock position.

 

Headrest Mod

The headrests on the front seats have (had) a very forward lean. I assume it is a new government regulation "designed to keep us safe" in the event of an accident. (Not going to debate the merits of government regulations...)

The problem, however, is since I like to keep the seatback in a fairly vertical position (the upright seatback is much safer than a reclined seatback in an accident) the headrest pushed my head forward when driving - very uncomfortable. I have read others complaining about the same thing.

The solution was quite simple - bend them back a few degrees. OK, easier said than done. The headrest frame is quite strong. However, by clamping the vertical support in a vice, and carefully putting all my weight into it, I was able to bend each leg, and re-position the rests to a more upright position.

In this picture, the driver side seat has been re-positioned, the passenger side has not.

 

Transmission Cooling, Part 1

Heat and dirt kill automatic transmissions. Our trucks have small external coolers and minimal filtration. In an effort to extend the service life of my transmission, especially since I tow a trailer off-road, I made a couple of simple changes/improvements to Toyota's sealed transmission system.

Part 1 replaces the factory transmission oil cooler with a much larger one. The larger cooler has a greatly increased fluid cooling capacity, which will yield lower operating temperatures. Permanent internal damage to an automatic transmission can start to occur at a fluid temperature of 220 degrees, and does occur at a temperature of 240 degrees. Towing a trailer, slow going off-road, even sitting in traffic all load the transmission, which increases fluid temperature. Aside from decreasing the load on the transmission, the best way to lower the fluid temperature is to increase the size of the cooler.

Here you can see the factory cooler (under the horns)



I picked up a bigger cooler from Derale



To mount the new cooler, I fabricated mounting brackets from aluminum flat bar. I used one factory threaded hole, and drilled three new holes.



Testing the cooler fit



The finished product. I moved the horns to the passenger side.



Plumbing was simple - a direct replacement of the factory cooler plumbing. I just used the longer hose that came with the new cooler.

Unfortunately, I do not have my transmission temperature gauge plumbed and wired yet, so I don't know exactly how much cooler the fluid is.

 

That's awesome! I had a XJ and put a larger oil cooler in it from Napa auto parts looks a lot like that one you got.

Did you have to add more tranny fluid?

 

I haven't checked the level yet, as I am about to drain and fill. Looking at it, I'd guess that the new cooler holds an additional 1/2 quart or so of fluid.

 

Ah! You are still in the middle of installing it still. More fluid is good! keep up the good work man, I enjoy reading your updates

 

Very nice build @Scott B.

 

Very nice Scott!

 

quick question.... I came across your build and noticed you put on 6112s with the rears as well. I am looking into getting these just like you were.... My question is how is the ride on them? Right now I have a 6 in pro comp lift with factory shocks and well they suck... do your 6112s ride nice and smooth?

 

Scott, all your mods are so clean and elegant. You give me something to shoot for.

If you ever have to make further modifications to the head rests consider the way I went about it. Which is to slip a 1/2" box wrench into a bench vice, then put the head reset stanchion through the wrench. Slip a piece of pipe over the stanchion and you can bend it really easy.

Pics in this post: Front seat head rest modification, bend stanchions, July 2015

Look forward to your future posts.

 

Thanks! I am glad someone is reading these!

I would really like to put a deeper pan on - add maybe 2 quarts of fluid. But, I do not know of anyone making one. And my welding skills are not yet good enough to build my own.

 

The rear shocks are 5160s, not 6112s. The 5160s have a reservoir, the 6112s do not.

Yes, they ride really nice. To be fair, I have never had racing shocks (King, Icon, Fox) so I can't make a direct comparison. But, I have no reason to change/upgrade my Bilsteins - I am very happy with them.

 

Thank you.

Thank you.

I certainly enjoy building the truck, then going out and using my new mods.