Slow Panda 2.0

Well we just got back from our two week adventure across Utah, Arizona, and Colorado. I didn't take too many pictures but I know that @TheSpeediTurtle did and a video by @TwinPineMedia should be up shortly.

The trip started for me around 5am California time to first fix a radiator leak and then head to Reno from the Bay Area to meet with Lucas and Brett. Then the three of us headed to Salt Lake City to pick up Zach.

Heres a driver's seat shot of Brett (Lexus LX450) leading the way.


We got into Ogden, Utah around 9:45pm Utah time.
The next day we headed into the Uinta mountain range to do some fly fishing and hiking.
(That morning before we set out, I locked my keys in the truck (first time ever) and had to leave the truck full of gear and bed loaded with Cameron's dirtbike with the keys sitting in plain sight on the passenger seat.)

The next day we made our way to Zion but couldn't justify the $30 entry fee for only being there for a few hours. We camped just outside of the park ate ice cream at "Fort Zion" and hung out by the Virgin River.


Heres our view from that night of camping.


Hanging out looking over the Virgin River

And an overlook we found while exploring around Hurricane.

After hanging out in Zion for the night, we made our way to Flagstaff, Arizona to pick up our friend Cameron who flew in due to work scheduling.

We headed down to Sedona after camping for a night in Flagstaff and wheeled the Broken Arrow trail. I don't have many pictures but it was a lot of fun seeing Cameron sliding around on the red rock on his XR

After Sedona we headed to the main attraction of the trip: MOAB.


Our first night we camped near Mineral bottom with intentions to run White Rim into Canyonlands, but due to heavy rains during the night and that fact that we didn't have permits and you can't ride dirt bikes on the trail we decided there will always be a next time to run the trail.

Here is the view from the top of the switchbacks.

So instead of running White rim we headed to Area BFE to play around and explore. As the day was coming to an end we were being bombarded by thunderstorms and very heavy rain.

In this picture you can see the storm rolling in as we were trying to fix the shifter on the dirt bike after it being laid down. This was taken minutes before it dumped hard rain on us.

We ran Strike Ravine in BFE the next day and explored the mine shafts around the area.

After some good food in town and a much needed shower and hotel stay, we made our way into the Sand Flats Recreation Area to hit Fins n' Things. Again I only have a few, pretty bad pictures...

To my surprise my little "mostly stock" truck tackled anything and everything I pointed it towards. Only dragging the hitch a few times and no body damage. Even though it is a relatively easy trail we all had a blast running it.

The next day we decided to take a break from all the driving since we'd been sitting in the trucks for so long, so we all piled into the "trail Bus" (Brett's Lexus) and we did some hiking in Arches National Park. The views here were incredible.
The day after Arches we ran Top of the World Trail on our way to Grand Junction. Again I was very impressed with how the Trail Panda performed. It crawled up all of the hard stuff I pointed it at. No bypasses taken and the only body damage that occurred was a torn mudflap from backing away from the ledge at the top. The Panda even out crawled the lexus in a few spots, those videos and pictures should appear soon.


After Top of the World trail we headed to Grand Junction, Colorado and got into town around 10pm. We ate some breakfast food at the Denny's down the street and took much needed showers in the hotel room. We then parted ways with Cameron as he flew back to Sacramento from Grand junction. From there brett, lucas, Zach and I drove to Salt Lake City to pick up a motorcycle hitch receiver so Lucas could bring Camerons dirt bike back to Reno for him.

We transfered the dirt bike from my truck to Lucas's ate one more Wendy's dinner and we parted ways. Brett and zach in the Lexus and Lucas in his Tacoma set off to Reno, Nevada, as I set off to my parents' new house in Missoula, Montana. The 8 hour drive from Salt Lake City to Missoula was a quiet and dark one but I was greeted by the sunrise as I pulled into the new "hometown."


All in all it was a great trip with great friends. Drove through seven states and roughly 2500 miles. The Trail Panda is in desperate need of an oil change and some maintenance before I make the trip back to Corvallis, Oregon to start work in the OSU College of Forestry's Research Forests.

 

As my road trip is coming to an end my dad and I have had some fun exploring around Montana. We drove the forest roads around blue mountain which is less than five minutes away from the new house. We also did part of the Wild Bill trail up near flathead lake (I think). Wild Bill was fun but were looking for something more challenging. Coming from Northern California and only being about an hour away from the rubicon, we're craving some hard rock crawling trails, if anyone knows of any in the area please let me know, were not opposed to traveling, the jeep will get put on its trailer if need be.

Here are some pics of WildBill



Also in case anyone is interested in the specs on the Jeep

2006 TJ Unlimited Rubicon (LJ)
Rubicon express 5.5 long arm kit
Dana 44 front with Chromoly RCV axles
Currie RockJock60 rear
ARB 5.13s front and rear
35X12.5X15 KM2s

Soon to be
40x13.5x17 Trail Grapplers
MetalCloak high clearance flat fenders

 

The trails here in Montana have really taken a beating on the taco, I dented the top of the extra cab trying to squeeze under a fallen tree, also it has been running pretty poor, its having a hard time starting and idling, one of the pulley bearings is making an awful whining noise, but I had all the belts and pulleys changed when I had the timing belt replaced in December. Also there is a little stutter in power, almost like its hiccuping, cruising at around 2500 rpms and then there will be a sudden deceleration as if I let off the gas but I haven't then it will kick back in. The sudden deceleration is not even a second long but its enough to notice it while driving. Not sure what it could be but I think something might have gotten wet while splashing through the mud puddles along the trails.

 

Over the weekend I purchased a tube bumper off of craigslist. It was built on and for a 97 4Runner but it bolted up okay, using the bolts on the bottom of the stock frame and the bolt holes for the stock bumper. Picked it up for $150, I wish the hoop followed the line on the grill but whatever it was cheap.

Im happy with it. I would like to buy some LEDs to use as turn signals in the filler plate underneath the headlights. But for now zip-tied stockers will do.

 

No new mods to report but I do have a trip report.

Over Labor Day weekend, my dad and I made a trip down to California for Cantina for the 'Con. Its a yearly tradition that we make time for every year, usually by labor day we would've been through the Con five or six times, but this was our first time (and probably only time) through this year. The drive to get there was longer than the 45 minutes we were used to. It took us 18 hours to tow the Jeep along with camping gear from Missoula, Montana to South Lake Tahoe, where our family has a cabin in the Keys. All in all a great trip with some old friends and even made some new ones along the way. Had a nice two day stay at the "Dirty Dozen" campsite at the springs.
Also today, My parents and I took to Deer Lodge and explored the old Montana State Prison. Pretty cool, that place would be awesome to go into overnight, the old gallows are still intact and sitting in the old theater, I bet that place is haunted for sure. To go along with our day of haunting adventures we also explored the Granite ghost town above Phillipsberg. It used to be a big silver mining town. Pretty cool stuff out there found some nice little trails to take my dad's (soon to be mine) 2015 TRD OR on. It was a great day of exploring and hanging out with the parents. I guess we have a thing for white Toyota pickups

 

Well when the day comes that you inherit your dad's 2nd Gen Taco, I'll take that topper off of your hands.

 

@Braydman_10 okay we'll see. Hopefully by the time I get the second gen, the first gen will be a full blown trail rig and I might not even need the soft top anymore.

 

Woo! Can't wait!

 

Well schoolwork and "adulting" have taken over my life so I haven't made any progress on the truck.

However, I took a few friends on a mini camping trip over the weekend on our way back I got pulled over by Oregon Highway Patrol saying that I needed mudflaps on my truck.... No ticket just a warning probably because my truck and license are registered in California, but really I'm on a worn out add a leaf on 265/75s basically a stock truck that really doesn't even warrant mudflaps. Nothing Im not used to though unfortunately I got pulled over several times in my old truck which was on 37s though. That truck warranted mudflaps because over half of the tire stuck out of the fender wells and there were no mudflaps to the back.

End Rant.

Also I get paid on Monday so next weekend will hopefully mean sliders welded on and other misc parts for the axle swap.

 

No truck updates to report. I was going to buy some sliders over the weekend but on Thursday of last week I tore my meniscus in my left knee during a rock climbing accident, so I have to pay for some medical bills first. Also this means I can't drive my truck (can't extend my leg to push the clutch in or put weight on it) so it will just be sitting for a while....

 

Ah bummer man..

 

Trip Report

This weekend I managed to go camping with my torn meniscus and my friend Austin. This was Austin's fist time wheeling ever and his first trip in his new (to him) first gen 4runner. We left the Willamette valley in search of adventure around Bend, Oregon. Let me start by saying after being in the city of Bend for only a few hours, I am set on moving over there after college. Gorgeous country out that way.

Anyway we headed out to Edison Butte to make our way through the loop of OHV trails out towards Kwolh Butte and the Sheridan snow shelter.

I don't have a lot of pictures, seeing as I can't walk right now I only got out of my truck when Austin needed help or when the picture opportunity was just too good to pass up.

On Friday we left Corvallis mid morning and got to the Edison Butte trail head around 3pm.


After making a few wrong turns we ended up in a tunnel leading underneath the highway


Finally making our way back to the right trail, getting very dark at this point, we came across a third gen 4runner who says they had to ditch another third gen 4runner who blew a balljoint. They said there was room around it so we made our way to the broken rig and weighed our options. This is what we found...Right in the middle of the narrow trail.


We decided that since it was getting dark and we were unsure of how much snow would be up ahead, we would camp there for the night.


The next morning we decided to turn around knowing that we wouldn't be able to get around the runner in the middle of the trail. So we turned around and headed back the other way around the loop of OHV trails. Planning for this trip I had heard that these trails were tight but I had no idea that they would be this tight. The trail maps say a max of 80 inch width, I sure as hell wouldnt want to take anything wider or longer than a first gen extra cab through that part of the trail as many of the tight corners required several repositionings to ensure that I wouldnt take my mirrors off or swipe the back of the bed on a tree.
Again I don't have any picture of the Panda making its way through the tight trails as I didn't want to walk on my knee a whole lot but here are some pics of a spot where Austins 4runner had a little trouble


We finally made our way to the Sheridan mountain shelter where we were greeted with great views of nothing but clouds.

We had lunch and chatted with a group of guys who had come up the trail in a side by side and were amazed that we took our trucks through the same trail. After lunch Austin had enough of his first time wheeling and we headed for home (I think the narrow corners and loose climbs intimidated him a little bit). We found some snow along the way and a nice view of a lake which I can't seem to remember the name of.


With daylight escaping us faster than ever we made our way back to Bend and eventually back to Corvallis...

Thats all for now

 

Little update today.

I bought some barely used OME 882 springs a few months ago for $50 and just got a chance to put them in. I put them in on the bottom setting of my 5100s and they gave me about 2.5 inches of unsettled lift over the stock springs on the highest setting. The Front sits about an inch higher than the rear but Im sure it will settle to be about even.
Also I changed out my spark plugs and that seemed to have gotten rid of my engine stutter.. The old spark plugs were terribly worn out. I wouldnt be surprised if they were the plugs from the factory. (truck has 173,000 on it now)

Ive also added a $40 light bar from Amazon since the last time I posted.. Pretty impressed with it. Super bright and I haven't seen any condensation in the lens at all. Pretty good considering all the rain it sees in Oregon.

Onto the crappy cell phone pics.


OME 882 (left) stock springs (right)

before Driver side

Before Passenger

After driver

After passenger

Passenger side sits about a half inch higher now.

 

Love the truck, dislike the school... sco ducks!

 

@xJRich5 Thanks! And thats fair about the schools, lol.

 

A little update...

I got to working on the rear FZJ80 axle yesterday, I don't have any pics of the tear down but the the housing is emptied, took off the brakes, hubs, bearings, axles shafts are out and the third member is out. I am currently cleaning up and grinding off all the stock link brackets and waiting for my springs perches and plates to show up from RuffStuff. I will say that the ring and pinion look brand new. The ring gear still has the marking on it from when the previous owner had them setup.
I am hoping by the time I head back to school in Oregon I will be running a full floating disc brake rear... Thats the plan anyway.


P.S.
Damn this thing is heavy, having torn both meniscuses and ACL in my knee its really hard to move this thing around...

 

Picked up these five spoke 4runner wheels for $100 off of craigslist. Thinking about painting them and can't decide between bronze or gunmetal... HELP

 

Gunmetal. You can't spell bronze without "bro" Haha. Also, I got a Bestop Supertop!! Check it out!

 

nice truck

in the last pic is your grille chrome again?

what did you paint the flares with
and did you do them on the truck

 

@lotuscupcar I used a Rustoleum flat black paint. I think it was specific paint for redoing bumpers and fenders and such, I found it at AutoZone I believe. And no I took them off the truck to repaint them.
That very last pic is of @Braydman_10 truck. Looks like my twin



p.s. @Braydman_10 looks awesome! Now I don't have to sell mine