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And here I am excited that my molle window panels finally arrive tomorrow. Not quite as interesting an upgrade as Slow is Fast.
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Apr 12, 2020 18:34
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Great work Slow is Fast. Your progress and upgrades are a lot heavier than I am ready but it is cool to see someone throw lots of dollars and hours at the truck. I have been a little quiet because work has been unusually busy. Turns out when you sell and ship things online and people are stuck at home with nothing but internet access and a wallet they can buy RC car stuff.  make hay while the sun shines I guess.So the other day when I had the front of the LX in the air for whatever reason of the day I grabbed a hold of my tires to give them a good shake and make sure things were tight. I noticed a slight bit of play on the right front wheel. Paranoid it was my wheel spacer I went through the process of removing the tire/spacer, then mounting the spacer and seeing I still had the play so I assumed wheel bearing. The 100 series has a totally serviceable wheel bearing so I went onto the Mud forums and found a whole lot of into about wheel bearings! I ordered the bits for the wheel bearing rebuild outside of the actual bearings which would have cost me another 100 or 200 bucks. I bought my parts from Cruiser Outfitters. The main things being the flange hub gasket, the little thrust washer, locking key washer, and the inside hub seal and the snap rings in varying thicknesses to get the CV axle and hub flange to the correct gap. I ended up not using the inside seals because that was more than I wanted to get into and it seems fine, I was probably over doing what needed done at this point. I also bought the trick Slee spindle grease tool to make the job much more precise. Worth the money for this thing for sure. Removing the flange I was happy to see my CV axle splines and flanges in really good shape, but  grease and stuff  These splines get sloppy and worn over time so to see them this fresh and at 195K miles means these are probably pretty fresh. I cleaned the flange off of the nasty crud and installed a new gasket. I removed the outer bearing and cleaned it up too.  I was happy to see the bearing in good shape so I put it in a ziplock bag with a ton of bearing grease and worked it all around and through best I could. I then installed it on the axle and did a loose tightening of the axle nut so I could pump it full of grease with the Slee tool. Once I felt like I had done enough, then a little more for good measure because I never have done a wheel bearing job before I went through the laborious process of seating the wheel bearing and then setting the bearing pre-load. What a stupid process. It involves a fish scale weight, trial, error, a few more errors and then kind of going "Okay I guess this works?". Then install the locking washer, the jam nut, and then folding the lock washer bits over the nuts to keep them from moving. Install the snap rings, check with a feeler gauge to get the right size and then reinstall the hub flange. Torque down to the correct tension and take it for a ride. It seems I did it right - I have a couple hundred miles on it and all systems are go. Decide that my key fob is crap and breaking and go with an aftermarket one. YotaMD sells this slick $70 piece with a titanium back bone. That is not what I need. Find this from AJT and get it to my door in three days for $35 shipped.    It looks like a luchador in a mask. I like it. Somewhere along the quarantine I teach my kid to fly a kit after sitting down to untangle the mess my oldest made a few years before.  then I realize I have been way too sissy about cranking the torsion bars to get the ride height up. I crank them up some and take the family off roading. We listen to Harry Potter on an audio book and cruise around. I climbed a hill that made my wife very uncomfortable on the way up and down so you know we are getting somewhere good. Pics on top of the hill: DSLR photos:   iPhone photos. This thing can take a pretty decent picture.   I am slowly building up my confidence in the truck before we go on more long distant/arduous adventures. I loved my grey LX so much and would drive it to/through/over anything with total confidence. This one has not won me over to that point just yet. It is getting there though. then my neighbor has a fledgling barn owl show up in his yard. As an aspiring bird nerd this was just   I love this bird. I hope to see him around more. He could only fly short distances since he hasn't blown out his downy chick feathers yet. I really hope he survives! Then it was Easter so I celebrated by smoking ribs    This weekend I have carved out some time to get out in the M3. Roads are dead, warmer weather is showing up and I am itching to get out and take some nice pics of it. I haven't given it a proper photo shoot for some time and this seems like the perfect time to do it.
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Apr 14, 2020 04:17
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Owls are kind of freaky in real life, I had one that used to come and hang out in the tree outside my window and just stare in at me, was a bit surprising at first. They are cool looking though. Got some window panels installed in my quest for more storage / organization in my GX. It will give the third row a nice "taking the bus to prison" feel if anyone sits back there, but I can't imagine anyone bigger than a 10 year old fitting back there, it's tiny. I just leave it down all the time for my dogs anyway.   I'm still waiting on my Sherpa roof rack, which won't be manufactured until people can go back to work in Colorado, so who knows how long that will take.
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Apr 17, 2020 20:31
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So is this a general offroad truck thread now or is it still Somewhat Heroic's thread? I want to buy a 12v pump that is capable of pumping up the 36" tyres on my truck to 60psi and which is going to stay stored in the truck. Should i even consider the ones that run off a cigarette lighter socket or should I be looking at something heavier duty? Has anybody got any good suggestions? (I'm in the UK so you might need to keep it more general than any USA only suppliers or makes).
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Apr 17, 2020 21:38
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I'm guessing Viair pumps could probably do it, but I'd give serious consideration to finding an air suspension pump - I've got one in my Jeep and my 33s air up a lot faster than other people seem to. I don't have a specific brand recommendation, as I bought mine second-hand at a flea market, but they shouldn't be hard to find. edit: Oh, and definitely hardwire whatever you use. Running anything to fill those tires through a cigarette lighter isn't going to go well. There's also a general offroad thread here: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2755109 Krakkles fucked around with this message at 21:58 on Apr 17, 2020 |
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Apr 17, 2020 21:56
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Krakkles posted:edit: Oh, and definitely hardwire whatever you use. Running anything to fill those tires through a cigarette lighter isn't going to go well. Seconded. If an air pump has a cigarette lighter adapter, it's almost certainly not going to handle airing up four offroad tires. Pumps that plug into a lighter are meant to get one passenger car tire from partly inflated to mostly inflated, and then cool back off - not four big offroad tires from near-single digit to road pressures one after the other. My Viair 88p is enough for my 33s, but only just.
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Apr 17, 2020 22:34
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Tomarse posted:So is this a general offroad truck thread now or is it still Somewhat Heroic's thread? Viair has a really informative compressor chart here: https://www.viaircorp.com/tech/compressor-comparisons And here are ARB's compressor specs: https://www.arb.com.au/assets/air-lockers/6-07.pdf For tires that size and pressure you're looking at an ARB twin or a Viair 450. PS your Land Rover is awesome. 
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Apr 17, 2020 22:35
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For 36" tyres, definitely the ARB twin, those things are absolutely stonking. The ARB single will do the job, but it wont be quick. Biggest thing with the 12v compressors when your working them hard is making sure they have enough airflow- I had mine bolted down to the inner guard against the firewall for years and it would thermal cut out if I was doing all 4 tyres from beach pressures or doing the car + camper together, but once I lifted it up into the airflow from the engine fan, it can do my car, the camper, my mates car and his camper all one after each other without hitting thermal cutout.
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Apr 17, 2020 23:08
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Ferremit posted:Biggest thing with the 12v compressors when your working them hard is making sure they have enough airflow- I had mine bolted down to the inner guard against the firewall for years and it would thermal cut out if I was doing all 4 tyres from beach pressures or doing the car + camper together, but once I lifted it up into the airflow from the engine fan, it can do my car, the camper, my mates car and his camper all one after each other without hitting thermal cutout. I've got the ARB single and really need it just to actuate the locker. I have air fittings attached so I can air up. Not really in a rush with 50% duty, but I was going to mount it tucked low against the firewall and your cooling thoughts have me rethinking it. I need to fit a relay control box, the ARB, winch solenoid, and I'd like to have a second battery. It's an early truck so all the evap poo poo is in the engine bay too. I may end up coming up with a controller solution and smaller battery in the back of the truck. Still a lot up in the air. Locker guy is onboard for delivery this week though.
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Apr 19, 2020 01:29
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Slow is Fast posted:I've got the ARB single and really need it just to actuate the locker. I have air fittings attached so I can air up. Not really in a rush with 50% duty, but I was going to mount it tucked low against the firewall and your cooling thoughts have me rethinking it. I need to fit a relay control box, the ARB, winch solenoid, and I'd like to have a second battery. It's an early truck so all the evap poo poo is in the engine bay too. I may end up coming up with a controller solution and smaller battery in the back of the truck. Still a lot up in the air. Locker guy is onboard for delivery this week though. I built a little platform for mine to sit on to get it up to the top of the engine bay for airflow. It used to live tucked down below it where the firewall and inner guard meets, but developed issues with heat.   Same platform mounts the relay for the compressor and receiver unit for the wireless winch controller too, because the solid state relay is out on the bullbar for the winch in the ARB supplied location. Must be the season for steering racks... Mines developed a solid clunk in it and a definite feeling of vaugeness, tho it is 390K old. Funny that it turned up after i did the lower ball joints tho!
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Apr 19, 2020 03:19
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Krakkles posted:There's also a general offroad thread here: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2755109 This thread seems to have more action. Sorry Mr Heroic! Thanks for the suggestions and info everybody. Looks like the Viair and ARB's are what I need and I can easily hardwire it Arishtat posted:For tires that size and pressure you're looking at an ARB twin or a Viair 450. I'm not worried about it taking a while. I am assuming that if i get a single or the ones on the lower end of the spec lists I could just leave it to slowly get a tyre pumped up without damaging the compressor and it would be clever enough to safely cut itself out when it needed too? Ferremit posted:For 36" tyres, definitely the ARB twin, those things are absolutely stonking. The ARB single will do the job, but it wont be quick. I can mount it in the tunnel infront of my radiator. The fan pulls through the radiator from the back so there should be some airflow and there is a nice fat power cable handy nearby to connect too. I am assuming they are fairly hardy and well sealed against the environment? it wont get rained on there but will probably see some water when moving.
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Apr 19, 2020 13:20
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Ive submerged mine before and its been perfectly fine afterwards. The motors themselves are fully enclosed but like all compressors you can get water in through the air inlet. The inlet is remote mountable however on the ARB's!
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Apr 19, 2020 22:08
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Tomarse posted:I'm not worried about it taking a while. I am assuming that if i get a single or the ones on the lower end of the spec lists I could just leave it to slowly get a tyre pumped up without damaging the compressor and it would be clever enough to safely cut itself out when it needed too? None of the off-road oriented compressors I've seen have any pressure shutoffs. In theory my Viair would keep on pushing until it melted down. It's theoretically capable of 100psi though I suspect the length of time it would need to achieve that in a tire (as opposed to a hose or small tank) would be gargantuan. I'm going to get a storage rack that mounts to my existing spare tire carrier one of these days, and I'm vaguely tempted to slap a small air tank on there. Pressurize it before I leave home using my garage compressor, turn on the onboard compressor once the trail starts winding down towards the air-up point, hopefully spend about half the time airing up.
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Apr 19, 2020 23:03
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The only compressor I’ve seen with a configurable pressure cut off are the ARB’s when combined with their linx system. Allows you to program what pressure you want the compressor to cut off at and it uses a pressure sensor to work that out. Their normal compressors come with a pressure cut out switch- factory is 100, you can spec a 150psi one though, which is what I have. Linx is a great system if your starting a vehicle from scratch, but if you’ve already got it wired up with traditional switches it’s going to be a total rewire job to incorporate it
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Apr 20, 2020 03:19
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Tomarse posted:So is this a general offroad truck thread now or is it still Somewhat Heroic's thread? I am totally down with this being a gathering thread. I still have projects that I am working on for my Lexus and its seemingly endless list of things to replace/maintain. Today however I am not posting about that. My weekend adventure was simply driving for the thrill of driving. Roads are dead around here, and spring is starting to show up in spurts. I decided a blitz through a canyon to the sleepy little town of Heber was due. I texted my buddy with his newly acquired 87 Targa and he in turn texted another buddy and his kid and we got a little squad together. Rules were simple - have fun, maintain distance. We took a circuitous route and went through a drive thru for a  place and I got a breakfast bagel sandwich that was better than it had any right to be. We ate in the parking lot away from each other and chatted enjoying the warm spring morning. Across the street was a cool old bowling alley that was empty so we took a couple photos over there: An interesting venn diagram could be drawn of "One of these things is not like the other one"  We wanted to get some more photos and the historic Heber Valley Railroad was nearby and I thought maybe we could get some cool shots against the back drop of the trains. I was correct. Everything was closed and we could park right next to some old decrepit/vintage train cars and park hard       It was hard to keep all the rules  Rather than do a loop drive we went back the way we came. Down the canyon we had a bit of fun in some twisty sections and I revisited the tunnel I previously went through on a previous camping adventure with my sun (this one HERE) I was behind the Porsche which has a nice raspy loud exhaust of some sort. Caning the corners just before and to hit that tunnel wide open throttle with the Porsche gnashing its way through the revs and the S65 howling to a shriek at redline I admit I laughed out of pure joy. That singular moment life was perfect. There was't any care in the world. It was just a rush of adrenaline, the forces of corners and speed mixed with the sounds and a sight few people ever get to experience was sublime.
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Apr 20, 2020 22:59
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Racks and Rockets So I have been working through the Great 'Rona pandemic of 2020 and while I have a million things I would have loved to take the last four weeks off to tackle all kinds of home projects and car projects. I instead have been experiencing a load volume not only bigger than we have had this calendar year, but as a year over year projection obliterating 2019. This means I have zero energy at the end of the day, but spring is happening and my motivation to get Lucy up to snuff and ready for the first camping trip is high.That meant the rack needed installing. Now Equipt offered free installation since I am a local and they didn't have to ship. I happily obliged but this time I was all in it for myself. My body shop buddy removed the rack off my old LX when I wasn't there so I didn't see which hardware when where. It didn't appear too difficult to figure out though. What I had going for me is that Lucy was the same model year so it was pretty easy. First step is removing the rack cleat cover.  Finding the seam was a little more tricky than expected. Once I got my Harbor Freight trim tool in there I was able to remove them with ease to be met with some Torx bit shoulder bolts.  They came out easy enough and the rack wasn't too heavy. I then washed the whole roof off with some Dawn dish soap, rinsed and dried thoroughly. I then clay barred the whole roof to remove any and all remaining polish or contaminants. Having prepped myself beforehand with some classes at the University of YouTube I applied some chinese ceramic coating following the example of our humble meatpimp. The process took me a while and since I started this at like 10 on a Friday night I knew I was in for a long evening. I only wanted to do the roof for now as the rack gives me no space to work otherwise.I don't have any before/during/after progress shots because I was wanting to Be Done. I was able to get the rack rails installed but did not attach the platform since that was going to need the strength of myself and (1) small wife. All of the feet were in position so lifting the platform on was going to be pretty easy. I will make two notes: having some ball end allen wrenches from my large scale RCs made tightening the bolts easy and second I HATE cheap stainless hardware. It sucks and strips out easily.My street cred now shows that I go hard when I am parked by others at the local Costco.  So the whole quarantine thing has me feeling really bad for my kids. Adults can escape on their devices, or social platforms. Meanwhile our kids have lost their teachers, all contact with friends. We are telling them to turn off the TV/Switch etc. They deserve to experience something cool so I went ahead and ordered a model rocket set and some model rockets. It would mean they are expending some creativity and we would have a reason to get outside of the four walls of our home prison to make a new memory. We built them Saturday morning and painted them up. I let them pick their paints and had them give me a hand with the spray work. I let them do the decals on their own unless they asked for my help. This meant a drive out into the desert, traveling about 40 miles to the south west to a place I usually drive my large scale RC cars we found a spot in the middle of nowhere to set up. Cloud coverage meant I didn't even need to deploy the awning (but if we did I had it!). Using the SWAG method I aimed the launch pad and rod slightly into the wind and sent my rocket up first. If we were going to lose one I would rather it be mine. It landed only a couple hundred feet behind us! We took turn with the kids setting theirs off and it was a huge success.  My youngest pushing the zoom button  My oldest launching hers. Fire extinguisher on hand as I would NOT be the rear end in a top hat setting my state on fire.  Still taken from a 240FPS/720P video off of the GoPro. We got some cool slowmo vids! (Middle Heroics rocket)  It was genuinely in the middle of nowhere. The kids had a great time. We did 12 launches. I bought like 40 engines so we still have a ton to set off. It was good to get out in the dirt and I will be pushing the Lexus a little bit more here and there before I can fully feel like I trust it.
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Apr 30, 2020 22:56
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Quality parenting right there.
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May 1, 2020 15:16
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nice, Utah is perfect for that. Whenever we shot off model rockets they disappeared in the woods.
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May 7, 2020 21:37
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I'm in SLC and finally went down to explore the 5 Mile Pass area last weekend to do some offroading and shoot guns. Extremely cool place!
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May 8, 2020 14:53
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heated game moment posted:I'm in SLC and finally went down to explore the 5 Mile Pass area last weekend to do some offroading and shoot guns. Extremely cool place! There is SO much space! The west desert rules. If you go a little further south then you can hit Little Moab/Elberta which I thought I had posted about previously but apparently I did not! There was a whole adventure that took place last fall prior to the crashening of Laney. Little Moab is a popular piece of rock on the west side of Utah Lake. It is VERY close to the slant road tunnel I have pictured here. People take side by sides, rock buggies, jeeps, and RC cars out to test their rigs on the lines of the granite.  My oldest picking a sick line, Laney in the back ground.  If only she could concentrate this hard in other aspects of life  A small video sampling of how cool this place is: IMGUR LINK and an incredible sunset view over Utah Lake on our drive home  I cannot believe I never posted about this. I have some GoPro video somewhere too.
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May 8, 2020 19:45
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The one and only time I tried home made rocketry all i managed to accomplish was the creation of a very impressive pipe bomb...
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May 9, 2020 04:48
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This weekend had it all! Mrs. Heroic said that she wanted trees for Mother's Day so we went to a nursery on Saturday and picked a couple out. I then went on to make the joke about giving my wife a deep rooted hardwood for Mother's Day all weekend. Here is the Lexus doing work  With the third row removed and the middle seats flipped up this thing has a huge area. Tons of people will make sleeping platforms or really elaborate drawer systems back there. That doesn't work since I have kids and all but still nice to have something like this I can haul things around in. We have been planning our first camping trip for this coming weekend which meant it was time for the tent to go back on. With the help of a neighbor the installation went super easy and was done in 10 minutes. Here is a dreamy night shot  On Sunday my wife asked if I would take the littlest for a drive so he could take a nap. He is in that weird stage where he is transitioning out of taking naps daily but sometimes needs them. He enjoys going for drives and it puts him to sleep. I loaded up all three kids and we went out for a drive. I figured I would start driving towards some dirt because why not? I went to the same place as before; Israel Canyon because they had opened the gate that reaches up to the mountain peak and I wanted to check it out. Probably about half way up the mountain the truck really seemed to be struggling. I put the truck in 4 low and at the point where I couldn't seem to gain any kind of speed I knew something was definitely up. On a bit of an incline there was a fork that continued up different path. I decided I would try to flip around. While attempting a three point turn, reverse just...didn't happen. I was putting my foot on the throttle and the engine was just lugging, couldn't rev out. It was like I was trying to drive with the emergency brake on. I tried doing everything from neutral/hi/low etc etc I couldn't get this thing to move backwards. Driving forward was not really very good either. It would either not move, or move with difficulty/banging. After maybe ten minutes or something another group heading up stopped and pushed me backwards enough so I could finish my turn and head down. I limped it down the hill, keeping it in low range so I wouldn't be totally relying on the brakes to slow me down. As I got to the bottom I tried fiddling around a little more. Conclusion: first gear has escaped entirely with reverse. Second gear is on life support. Third and fourth? Totally fine. I was able to get it home without incident. In summation: Somewhat Heroic posted:I loved my grey LX so much and would drive it to/through/over anything with total confidence. This one has not won me over to that point just yet. It is getting there though. I am shopping recycled transmissions from Car-Part today and will get one coming this week. I will be dropping it off at my friend shop once the transmission is delivered.
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May 11, 2020 17:07
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I'm surprised you're having the issues with the LX, just bad luck? How many miles do you have on it? I was just looking at videos of White Rim Road and it looks very interesting, although quite the trip if you do the whole thing. Crazy how many nice off roading trails you have in Utah.
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May 14, 2020 17:57
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I finally scraped together the cash to fix my front diff. Cruiser Outfitters has grossed another 2200$, and I have an ARB, complete diff internals setup, all new diff bushings, and new drive flange studs/washers/etc coming in, as well as new Toyota Ujoints for the front drive shaft which has been chilling in my backyard for two years. And a CKMA12 compressor. I also put in a Northstar 27F AGM battery, which was ridiculous overkill and would have paid for an ARB twin but that's a small price to pay for 930 CCA and 200 minutes of reserve power. I'm glad y'all are enjoying your land cruisers even though you seem to have even worse luck than the average bears. aioli is just mayo fucked around with this message at 00:29 on May 20, 2020 |
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May 19, 2020 23:38
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Added an Orange Boxx Fabrication fold out table to my rear barn door:  Because everything is corona-closed I've been doing a lot of meeting up to grab take out and eat in the car with one of my friends who's also been very good at social distancing, but this will make it even easier to tailgate. I wanted it pre-corona anyway, just for my trips to the forest. One of my friends just bought a Wrangler, and my other friend has had a Cherokee for a few years they've never taken off road, so in the near future we're going head out to the Hungry Valley SVRA and test out the vehicles. I'm not sure if Pronghorn Trail is doable or not for us, but there are plenty of trails there along with an 4x4 practice area with obstacles you can try. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2rVZ0x9sw0
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May 27, 2020 23:08
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That table looks like it will be well used. I love the tailgate of the LX. That trail looks pretty mild, nothing too crazy and a fun excuse to play in the dirt. It’s been over a week since I have dropped off the Lexus. No progress has been made on it which frankly I’m a little surprised about. Seems most shops I’ve had any other kind of work done knocks it out in a day or two. The plan was for camping this weekend but it’s doubtful that will happen plus I want to get some miles after the replacement so I can feel it’s up to snuff. Maybe it’s the corona crazy but a 200 series sounds awfully fun (and stupid and expensive).
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May 27, 2020 23:46
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Jun 8, 2020 05:00
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I am loving the progress you have been making on your Land Cruiser. The amount of work you have put into it is more than admirable. I finally have an update! I got a call last Tuesday that Lucy was finally put back together. There were a few unforeseen things that added a couple of BS hours worth of labor. The transmission was left out on the ground in the elements for however long. The harnesses were all corroded and gross beyond use so everything needed transplanting from the old transmission. The pan was destroyed on the "new" one. They ship transmissions with the transfer case as well which I found kind of weird. There was something else that was a tricky thing to get sorted and had to be used from the old one. Add in misc shop supplies (new transmission filter, fluids, gasket, etc) the total bill totaled up to about $1230. The transmission was about the same cost, so $2500 for a new transmission. Initial impressions seem like it is doing exactly what it should be doing. Shifts smooth, the transfer case slips into low perfectly. Kick down is great, upshifts are nice. The only way to really test the transmission and to feel trusting of it would be to beat on it a bit. So I went to the place that killed off the last transmission in an alpha move. I took the kids with me and we listed to some Harry Potter on audiobook. We found a nice spot on the top of the mountains and had some Creamies that I packed. It was a little chilly already because it had been raining.  It was pretty awesome to stop and check the wild flowers out that are in bloom. There were another four or five different ones that I didn't stop to take pictures of but know that I wanted to.     We went ahead and just explored all the forest roads. I mean look at this.  Here are some IMGUR video links Video 1 Video climbing up a steep hill Videos never do the angle justice. Top of the mountain Checking out the undercarriage The rain clouds made for a nice dramatic look  
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Jun 9, 2020 06:50
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I've never really been an outdoorsy type person but a new ladyfriend got me out hiking last weekend and I suppose I liked it. This is obviously a good reason to buy a luxury SUV and throw some bits on it right? (Seriously, to everyone in here, great thread, glad everyone is liking their Toyota V8 SUVs  )
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Jun 9, 2020 07:53
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MomJeans420 posted:One of my friends just bought a Wrangler, and my other friend has had a Cherokee for a few years they've never taken off road, so in the near future we're going head out to the Hungry Valley SVRA and test out the vehicles. I'm not sure if Pronghorn Trail is doable or not for us, but there are plenty of trails there along with an 4x4 practice area with obstacles you can try. Years ago when I was first building up my Cherokee I went to Hungry Valley with a friend to try out my new 31"s on a 3.5" lift. We drove all over that place for a whole day and it was pretty chill. I recognize that last downhill obstacle in the video and it's one of those things that looks freaky from the top but is stupid easy. I was a noob offroader at the time; I'm sure you guys will be able to complete whatever you want to try there. There was only one trail that was a bit difficult because of really steep, downhill hairpins where I had to do 4 point turns on the corners. When I got home and actually looked at the little map they gave us when we entered, I realized that was some black diamond dirtbike/quad/sxs only trail where jeeps where prohibited. Oops. The practice area has a rock garden, gnarly hillclimb and various other tough obstacles if you want to get weird. We went early on a Friday and it was still pretty busy so I'd suggest going midweek if you can all swing it. Crunchy Black posted:I've never really been an outdoorsy type person but a new ladyfriend got me out hiking last weekend and I suppose I liked it. This is obviously a good reason to buy a luxury SUV and throw some bits on it right? Sounds like you need a 2020 4Runner TRD Pro with a high-lift, three or four rotopax and an REI membership  The Royal Nonesuch fucked around with this message at 05:28 on Jun 10, 2020 |
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Jun 10, 2020 05:25
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Isn't the current 4Runner TRD lipstick on a pig and way too expensive for what it is?
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Jun 10, 2020 10:13
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Yes. It does have a different suspension, but it’s not really that great of one currently. The current thing is to get an off-road premium, Todd on an aftermarket suspension, plastidip the bumper guards, and replace the grille (which is basically taped on). Costs less than the TRD Pro and performs better. There’s some argument to get the Pro if you care about resale and have no intention of modding anything, but that violates the spirit of this thread. Oh, and Somewhat Heroic, I live about a half hour north of you. If my finances stabilize enough to finally pick up a 4Runner/GX470, I’ll be hitting you up for details on the local trails you’ve been hitting.
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Jun 10, 2020 14:24
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You can get a heck of a lot of Land Cruiser/LX for the amount you'd spend on a new 4Runner. Not worth it under many circumstances imho.
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Jun 10, 2020 14:27
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The Royal Nonesuch posted:Years ago when I was first building up my Cherokee I went to Hungry Valley with a friend to try out my new 31"s on a 3.5" lift. We drove all over that place for a whole day and it was pretty chill. I recognize that last downhill obstacle in the video and it's one of those things that looks freaky from the top but is stupid easy. I was a noob offroader at the time; I'm sure you guys will be able to complete whatever you want to try there. There was only one trail that was a bit difficult because of really steep, downhill hairpins where I had to do 4 point turns on the corners. When I got home and actually looked at the little map they gave us when we entered, I realized that was some black diamond dirtbike/quad/sxs only trail where jeeps where prohibited. Oops. I was wondering how crowded it gets, unfortunately one of my friends is pretty much only available on the weekends. Maybe it won't be so bad when it's incredibly hot mid-summer?
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Jun 10, 2020 18:32
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Is there anything that can be done to wake up the 4.6 V8 in the GX460? I can't find anything for the smaller Toyota V8. I am thinking about adding a GX to my garage, but it's hard to get over the fact that a GX is a Pentium 4 on wheels in terms of power and efficiency. The kicker is that premium gas is required for the GX. I'm asking here since this is the de facto Toyota truck thread.
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Jun 11, 2020 02:26
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There's an aftermarket solution which just modifies the signal the gas pedal sends so it doesn't feel quite as anemic, but I haven't tried it. I have a 2017 GX and part of the issue is the car feels faster if you manually shift, I think it's programmed to do what they can to increase the EPA gas mileage rating, but that's just my guess. I really wouldn't mind the extra 85HP from the LX570s, and as far as I know there's no COTS supercharging solution yet. I would absolutely drop $5k on a CARB legal supercharger if they came out, it's still way cheaper than buying the equivalent LX570. Coming from a LS460 it didn't feel too bad, but then I get back in the LS460 and it feels like a sports car, which is most certainly is not. I'm probably more irritated by slowness than your average driver, and there are times where the low power of the GX feels annoying (trying to maintain a steady speed on the freeway if there are hills, for example), but FWIW I bought it thinking it'd be my second car I didn't drive that much and now I pretty much exclusively drive it over the LS. I also have a bike that is 8% of the weight of the GX but 41% of the horsepower, so that always helps when I want speed. The gas mileage is insanely bad though, I tend to average in the 12s, but I'll get up to 16 to 18 if it's all freeway and I'm not trying to do 85mph.
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Jun 11, 2020 02:38
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good lord the M5 gets better gas mileage by far
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Jun 11, 2020 03:22
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Crunchy Black posted:Isn't the current 4Runner TRD lipstick on a pig and way too expensive for what it is? I think so, but it is the best alternative to a Jeep Rubicon and the TRD Pros come in exclusive colors and have sexy wheels and those are the kinds of things I am a sucker for. I don't just want the cool thing. I am the kind of buyer that wants the best version of the cool thing. See my Mazdaspeed6 because the 6 wasn't good enough, a competition pack M3 because the M3 wasn't cool enough, etc. TheMadMilkman posted:Yes. It does have a different suspension, but it’s not really that great of one currently. KakerMix posted:You can get a heck of a lot of Land Cruiser/LX for the amount you'd spend on a new 4Runner. Not worth it under many circumstances imho. This a million times over. I think the only reason I would spend 5th gen 4runner money is if you are really scared about mileage - which you should not be. Early 200 series Land Cruisers can absolutely be had for 4runner money and all it takes is one drive for you to easily see the T4R has nothing on the LC. If you are open to a 200 series LX 570 then they are even cheaper than the TLC. Godzilla07 posted:Is there anything that can be done to wake up the 4.6 V8 in the GX460? I can't find anything for the smaller Toyota V8. I am thinking about adding a GX to my garage, but it's hard to get over the fact that a GX is a Pentium 4 on wheels in terms of power and efficiency. The kicker is that premium gas is required for the GX. I'm asking here since this is the de facto Toyota truck thread. Once you have driven cars that require premium long enough you become numb to the regular v premium. Over the course of a fillup you are what - $5 more? In 2020 dollars that is nothing. That is the difference between using 4 squares of TP to wipe and 5 squares. I think there is something called the Pedal Commander or something that the T4R and Tacoma guys talk about. It basically changes the throttle by wire modulation to be more proportional instead of the 70% numb feeling where it can't decide if you are trying to idle the car forward or do a full drag race. I am really loving having my LX back. I am falling in love with this big lumbering idiot again. Ready to find an upholstery shop and get a price on what they will charge me to install my front seat leathers. That will be the next thing completed on it. The seat covers have been sitting in a box for almost three months now waiting to get installed. More driving updates: This week I went to The Grid. It is a one of a kind indoor karting track about 15 miles from my house. The place is PLUSH and TL;DR is this place is incredible. They have had a few videos and photos go viral so you might have seen it pop up on your social media feed ads (or you will now  ). I can't think of the last time something lived up to the hype of its own advertisements. The karts are electric, the track goes up three levels, and the racing surface is actually grippy. They paint the floor with a sand grit and the rubber that has been laid down is ridiculous. They claim the karts can reach speeds up to 40mph. There are two tracks, and they occasionally have the tracks combined into the Super Track. It was the super track when I went. Everything was just so nice. At face value a lot of people look and say that is really expensive. I bought a three session pack that was $75 and honestly the price never even came to thought after my first session. It was just "When can I come back?" Two sessions were plenty of driving. I left a Google review the next day and I read through other reviews and had to laugh at how many commented they puked after the sessions. It was very much a full racing experience at a fraction of the cost of the real thing. It is a rare thing to drive 10/10ths and can feel it. When you get off the track and touch the tires they are hot and gummy and they throw off slag. There is room to pass, and you have a "boost" button that gives you 2-3 seconds of overboost 1 time per lap so it makes for easy passing of slower drivers. They have a league (when the 'Rona isn't raging on) with points and whatnot and in order to qualify for league you have to meet or beat 1:03.00 on the super track which they consider "very good and better than most". My first session I got a 1:04.9 and second session I got a 1:03.5. My friend I went with (his second time there) got a 1:02.9. We had an employee go out with us on our second session and he pulled a 1:01.0. He also holds the track record so I felt really good about my times.    Judge my driving for a couple laps I uploaded on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8EUXTls2U0 I can see with a little more seat time and reviewing these corners I can definitely find another second or two. As someone who has never had a HPDE I felt really good about myself. My years of racing RC sort of translated over to karting.
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Jun 11, 2020 17:51
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Somewhat Heroic posted:I think so, but it is the best alternative to a Jeep Rubicon and the TRD Pros come in exclusive colors and have sexy wheels and those are the kinds of things I am a sucker for. I don't just want the cool thing. I am the kind of buyer that wants the best version of the cool thing. See my Mazdaspeed6 because the 6 wasn't good enough, a competition pack M3 because the M3 wasn't cool enough, etc. If I continue this stint of living out in the sticks I'll probably look into getting a truck of some sort and these tickle an itch. I will be watching and wanting.
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Jun 11, 2020 18:10
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| # ? Jun 7, 2024 05:09 |
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Somewhat Heroic posted:I think so, but it is the best alternative to a Jeep Rubicon and the TRD Pros come in exclusive colors and have sexy wheels and those are the kinds of things I am a sucker for. I don't just want the cool thing. I am the kind of buyer that wants the best version of the cool thing. See my Mazdaspeed6 because the 6 wasn't good enough, a competition pack M3 because the M3 wasn't cool enough, etc. The Pro is a nonstarter for me because it only comes with a moonroof and I am literally too tall to fit. Jeeps are even worse. Any purchase decision is far enough out that I’m still open to any possibilities. But it is hard to look out at the mountains and wonder why I’m not up exploring them. At this point the only criteria for potential purchases are "do I fit" and "does it have 4wd," with a side helping of "will it last forever." TheMadMilkman fucked around with this message at 20:41 on Jun 11, 2020 |
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Jun 11, 2020 19:42
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