Papabeach's Mod Thread

papabeach said:

I have had a slow leak with the MT for some time…was about ½ quart low. Will have to better investigate the source of the leak another day but I do have some hairline cracks in the case (see pics) …wondering if I can seal them from the outside….I am not really interested in replacing my MT…at least not right now. Anyone else have this problem? I had to replace from my front diff actuator d/t a leaking hairline crack.



I will be checking more frequently from now on…shifting was sooo much better after topping it off.

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My M/T has the same exact casting marks..... and leak. What I found that fixed it wasnt the most ideal solution but it was far better than dropping the tranny. I removed those 4 bottom bolts that show in your picture after I had drained the transmission fully and let it drain untill it stopped dripping. I then covered the bolts in RTV and reinstalled them and then I ran RTV along where the aluminum case meets the cast iron / steel middle because thats where the fluid was coming from. I havent had any issues since.

edit: after closer examination it looks like you would need to do it on the right side bolts cause thats where your leak looks like its coming from. I didnt notice that was on the side where the drain plug was at first.

Not the most riveting of updates but super practical. I added the front runner fairing to the front of my rack…much much better wknd noise reduction then the under rack deflectors that it came with!

TB/WP, Steering Rack/OTREs

TB/WP service #2, added a shiny red URD crankshaft pulley and replaced original rack with new OEM rack, OTREs and an alignment…things are tight tight tight! Love it….

Slider top plates

Had my buddy Anthony [MENTION=98374]awthorn[/MENTION] at TaterFab make some custom top plates for my sliders. Had him cut out my kids initials on their respective sides as well for extra dad points. Couldn’t be happier!

How are those strongarm 6815 hatch struts holding up 3 years later with the ladder on the back?

I've got the regular strength versions that I've replaced once under lifetime warranty. Without the ladder they're fine, but with the ladder they aren't able to keep up for very long.

Nice rig too by the way. One of the cleanest builds on the forum!

Unner said:

How are those strongarm 6815 hatch struts holding up 3 years later with the ladder on the back?

I've got the regular strength versions that I've replaced once under lifetime warranty. Without the ladder they're fine, but with the ladder they aren't able to keep up for very long.

Nice rig too by the way. One of the cleanest builds on the forum!

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I replaced them last November...started sagging again. At the time I couldn't find the 6815's and went with 4286's...disappointing. Your message is a reminder I should just order the 6815's...so thank you! Honestly...I would benefit from something a bit stronger...the Line-X on the ladder and the license plate trim as well as the rear wind deflector add additional weight...the extra wiring in the rear hatch and manual release add a little weight but I doubt are that significant.

Appreciate the compliment...I try to keep this clean and functional!

papabeach said:

I replaced them last November...started sagging again. At the time I couldn't find the 6815's and went with 4286's...disappointing. Your message is a reminder I should just order the 6815's...so thank you! Honestly...I would benefit from something a bit stronger...the Line-X on the ladder and the license plate trim as well as the rear wind deflector add additional weight...the extra wiring in the rear hatch and manual release add a little weight but I doubt are that significant.

Appreciate the compliment...I try to keep this clean and functional!

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Well that's disappointing... I've got the same ladder, but minus the Line-x. Makes me wonder if I should get the cold spec OEM ones. They're available for about $45 a side apparently.

You should at least be able to get the 6815s replaced under the lifetime warranty I think. The 4286s I have I had replaced through advanced auto a few years back when they started sagging. But I bought them from advanced auto.

Unner said:

Well that's disappointing... I've got the same ladder, but minus the Line-x. Makes me wonder if I should get the cold spec OEM ones. They're available for about $45 a side apparently.

You should at least be able to get the 6815s replaced under the lifetime warranty I think. The 4286s I have I had replaced through advanced auto a few years back when they started sagging. But I bought them from advanced auto.

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6815s in, 4286s out! Appreciate the nudge!!! Completely not related but redid a bunch of my “extra” wiring…I’ve learned a thing or two over the years and when I see what I did in the beginning yikes…gotta get rid of the kindling.

papabeach said:

6815s in, 4286s out! Appreciate the nudge!!! Completely not related but redid a bunch of my “extra” wiring…I’ve learned a thing or two over the years and when I see what I did in the beginning yikes…gotta get rid of the kindling *.

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I just put 6815s in mine last week too. The hatch doesn't fly open, but it opens all the way with the ladder which is nice. Hopefully that is true when it's not 90+ outside in a few months too.

Live and learn on the wiring, and how you build the truck in general. Same thing with buy once cry once, hence the Baja Designs lights I've got sitting on my counter ready to go in. :hungry:

The Un-good...

After 1 year of abuse....the un-good! Inchworm clockable adapter is loose...Anyone else had an inchworm clockable adapter failure? I'm going to pull it all apart and see what I'm looking at but my guess is the bolts that hold the clockable adapter in place are loose/broken. After the initial install I had some leaks where the adapter meets the crawl box and called Marlin...they assured me they used RTV on the mating surfaces and the clockable adapter was secured/locktite, etc. Now I am not so sure. Anyone else see this type of failure?

This could get exciting very quickly....see video in link.

Imgur: The magic of the Internet

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Oooh that looks freaky. Hope you can sort it out before it becomes a catastrophe.

It would be interesting to see what grade bolts are used in there and if upgrades are possible.

papabeach said:

After 1 year of abuse....the un-good! Inchworm clockable adapter is loose...Anyone else had an inchworm clockable adapter failure? I'm going to pull it all apart and see what I'm looking at but my guess is the bolts that hold the clockable adapter in place are loose/broken. After the initial install I had some leaks where the adapter meets the crawl box and called Marlin...they assured me they used RTV on the mating surfaces and the clockable adapter was secured/locktite, etc. Now I am not so sure. Anyone else see this type of failure?

This could get exciting very quickly....see video in link.

Imgur: The magic of the Internet

<blockquote class="imgur-embed-pub" lang="en" data-id="a/N6mPtqn"><a href="//imgur.com/N6mPtqn"></a></blockquote><script async src="//s.imgur.com/min/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

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Wow.. That sucks man, definitely curious to see what you get when you drop the tcase…

Dual cases dropped and torn down. Turns out the clockable rear adapter was shipped with 30mm bolts and they were bottoming out and not actually getting tight. A quick internet search showed Inchworm originally shipped with 25mm bolts. I talked to Marlin Crawler and they said they test fit 30mm bolts in a set of adapters and had plenty of clearance. Maybe I got an old set or the holes were not drilled deep enough. I really don’t know. Maybe I am completely wrong…

Problem solved…ordered 25mm bolts. Marlin did ship a new install kit but it included 30mm bolts &#55358;&#56614;&#55356;&#57339; so not helpful. They did send all the missing set screws I needed to block the unused bolt holes for clocking. This is nice because last time I had to fill all the hoes with RTV… I also replaced my transmission output shaft seal as the old one was shot and I ran the tranny pretty dry (more on that in a min). No idea if the seal failure has anything to do with the loose clockable adapter issue but I can imagine any extra torque at that seal might be a problem but I really dunno.

Everything is now reassembled and installed and after 30 mi or so everything seems ok with the exception of my tranny singing a little in 1st, 2nd and 5th. It shifts fine and stays in gear fine. I am not sure if anyone else would notice the sound except for me but it is definitely there. I am running Redline MT-90 and will change it out a couple times in the coming month and hope it helps but I am pretty sure I cooked some stuff.

Anyone have a lead on a rebuild kit for a r150f? Or a used transmission in good shape? Would be nice to rebuild a spare while running this one.

Overall this has been an experience…I am a little frustrated with MC but anyone that gets into modifications like this does so at their own risk and I beat this thing up when I can so I suppose this comes with the territory. Glad I can do most of this work myself but think a new daily driver is on the horizon…maybe a new Tundra….we will see. Would love to do more stuff to this thing but feel limited right now.

Pic 1: clockable adapter with RTV ready for reinstall
Pic 2: clockable adapter installed w/25mm bolts
Pic 3: ready for reinstall…this was the easy part!
Pic 4: pic showing all the missing set screws to block off unused mounting holes…these all are now blocked

350 mi road trip this past weekend…no leaks, everything remains tight. Received an apology package from Marlin Crawler. Nice gesture on their part! I have some other maitenance coming up this week…hopefully no surprises.

Spark plug time…really should have been done awhile ago…last done Oct 2017 and the plugs on the drivers side looked pretty worn. Denso IK22 plugs, wires and decided to see if new coil packs would make a difference. I have read these rarely go bad so I will see what happens and save my old ones for backup. Also…a buddy is an Amsoil dealer and let me order at his cost so we will see how magical their stuff really is…doing engine, diffs, transmission a dual cases. Probably next week…

Rear Power Panel

Not super exciting but I wanted to be able to measure voltage when using the rear aux plug while camping to make sure I don’t drain the battery. Found this nice 3D printed rear power panel that came pre-wired…too easy to say now. I simply wife’s to the existing factory wiring…not expecting any high current draw here. Too easy!

My buddy is an Amsoil dealer and let purchase at his cost! I changed out all the fluids in my engine, transmission, crawlbox, transfer case and f/r differentials as well as oil/air filters. I am curious if I see a difference dropping from Lucas 85W140 to Amsoil Severe Gear 75W90. We shall see. 4Runner is mostly ready for camping season to start here in Florida in the next month or so.

papabeach said:

My buddy is an Amsoil dealer and let purchase at his cost! I changed out all the fluids in my engine, transmission, crawlbox, transfer case and f/r differentials as well as oil/air filters. I am curious if I see a difference dropping from Lucas 85W140 to Amsoil Severe Gear 75W90. We shall see. 4Runner is mostly ready for camping season to start here in Florida in the next month or so.

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Did you get the Amsoil MTG for the manual transmission?

JZiggy said:

Did you get the Amsoil MTG for the manual transmission?

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I called Amsoil before placing the order and they said running the Severe Gear 75W90 (GL5) instead of the MT 75W90 (GL4) should be fine in this transmission. I have heard the GL4 vs GL5 debate but I figure the people at Amsoil are smarter about this than me. What are your thoughts?

papabeach said:

I called Amsoil before placing the order and they said running the Severe Gear 75W90 (GL5) instead of the MT 75W90 (GL4) should be fine in this transmission. I have heard the GL4 vs GL5 debate but I figure the people at Amsoil are smarter about this than me. What are your thoughts?

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GL4 for the win! Shifts way better. The Amsoil product is great and so is redline MT90.

GL5 won’t hurt it but it will make it shift worse. Only hypoid gears need GL5. Helical gears in trans and tcase can use it or GL4 happily.