[JoeT4R]

Originally Posted by phattyduck

Still not too bad on the rust there, but definitely plan on some extra time to mitigate the rust in that area. Here's a non-rust-belt example (my 4Runner):







Probably drill out the drain hole bigger, clean the rust, encapsulate and paint the area to keep from loosing the upper shock mounts.



-Charlie

That's reassuring to hear. I see photos of some other rigs that look absolutely incredible, almost like a brand new vehicle despite being 20+ years old. So I'll do what it takes to keep what I've got going and to prohibit any further rust than what has already occurred.

My only concern is the top mount and the workspace that's available to me. If I could take the truck into a shop and get it in the air I think I would have a way better advantage at getting the nut off the top. But I don't gave access to that, so I've gotta make due with what I have available to me.

I'm really hoping for an easy swap in and out. Not sure how I plan to compress the shock to align it with the hole in the lower mount. Have a few ideas though. I also watched a guy on YouTube do it by hand. Hoping to have an extra set of hands available when I do the job so that would be extra helpful.

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[octanejunkie]

My 4WD has access holes above those shock buckets that are taped over with gummy white tape from the topside, under the carpet in the cargo area. I was able to access the shock nuts from the cargo area.

Mounting the bottom eye of the shock on the axle is easy, just press it up and slip it on by hand. Grease on the bushings and studs helps.

[JoeT4R]

Originally Posted by octanejunkie

My 4WD has access holes above those shock buckets that are taped over with gummy white tape from the topside, under the carpet in the cargo area. I was able to access the shock nuts from the cargo area.

Mounting the bottom eye of the shock on the axle is easy, just press it up and slip it on by hand. Grease on the bushings and studs helps.

Dude that would be perfect! Do you happen to have any photos from when you did it?

I can access the top shock mount by going underneath the truck itself and just reaching up in there, wiggling through a bunch of stuff, or by going in through the side between the body and frame since I have a 1" body lift. I'm planning to try both to see which one works better. But I'm interested in this access point from the cargo area.

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[octanejunkie]

Originally Posted by JoeT4R

Dude that would be perfect! Do you happen to have any photos from when you did it?

I can access the top shock mount by going underneath the truck itself and just reaching up in there, wiggling through a bunch of stuff, or by going in through the side between the body and frame since I have a 1" body lift. I'm planning to try both to see which one works better. But I'm interested in this access point from the cargo area.

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I didn't take pictures but my 2WD does not have the same hole.I noticed it from underneath to pushed up with a screwdriver and the hole flexed, so I pulled up the carpet from the inside.

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[brillo_76]

I could be wrong. Someone had to cut those holes in as none of mine has those holes for your rear shocks.

I would see it in the parts mobile... so I will check the next time I am near it.

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[octanejunkie]

Originally Posted by brillo_76

I could be wrong. Someone had to cut those holes in as none of mine has those holes for your rear shocks.

I would see it in the parts mobile... so I will check the next time I am near it.

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I'll pull the carpet up again when I install dual battery cabling and take some pics.

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[phattyduck]

Originally Posted by JoeT4R

My only concern is the top mount and the workspace that's available to me. If I could take the truck into a shop and get it in the air I think I would have a way better advantage at getting the nut off the top. But I don't gave access to that, so I've gotta make due with what I have available to me.

Drop the spare tire out of the way, lift the rear up and you can sit under the back while you work on it...

-Charlie

[JoeT4R]

Originally Posted by phattyduck

Drop the spare tire out of the way, lift the rear up and you can sit under the back while you work on it...



-Charlie

No spare tire beneath my rig, 285/75 won't fit. But yes I could definitely sit under there. Getting excited to do it. Really hoping for major improvements in the rear. And my kids will hopefully thank me since they're the ones who sit back there all the time.

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[JoeT4R]

Just a little rear end squat with a full load in the trunk.

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[JoeT4R]

A new Sheetz gas station opened near me today. So of course I decided to go by to see what all the hype was. They have your standard 87, 89, 93 octane fuels, plus diesel, E15 as well as E85.

Figured I would give the E15 a shot. It was significantly cheaper than the regular 87 octane. The E15 was 88 octane also. My expectation is that I'll see a decrease in fuel economy and performance, but I only had to fill up half a tank. I'll plan to run this exclusively for a bit to try and get more accurate results, numbers and to see if my engine pops any codes.

E15, 88 Octane (Regular) $2.86/gal
9.266 gallons
$26.58

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[JoeT4R]

After exclusively running E15 for the past couple of weeks, my experiment came to a halt. I ended up taking a trip out of town where E15 wasn't available so I went back to the regular 87 when I arrived at my destination. I will say that during my trip I was able to get 17.15 miles per gallon with mainly highway driving. So all things considered I think that's pretty good.

Now that I'm back home I finished off my tank of regular 87 and filled back up with E15. This time I made sure to check my odometer reading so I can keep track of how long I'll be doing this for. From here forward for the duration of this experiment I will annotate every fill up with miles traveled and miles per gallon, as well as price and mileage.

Date: 10/19/22
Beginning Mileage: 319,607
Gallons pumped: 15.402
Price per gallon: $2.76
Total fuel cost: $42.65

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[JoeT4R]

Fuel system cleaner.
Mileage: 319,636
Date: 10/20/22

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[Joshv4runner]

Originally Posted by JoeT4R

Fuel system cleaner.
Mileage: 319,636
Date: 10/20/22

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How often do you use the Fuel system cleaner? I'll run the Lucas stuff a couple times a year.

[JoeT4R]

Originally Posted by Joshv4runner

How often do you use the Fuel system cleaner? I'll run the Lucas stuff a couple times a year.

To be honest I've only ever used it a handful of times, like ever. Last time I ran this stuff was around 316K and it was the high mileage version of it. No noticeable difference in performance or mileage at all. So we'll see if this concentrate plus has a different effect or not. I've ran the Lucas stuff in the past as well as BG44K like once, that stuff is expensive.

[JoeT4R]

E15 fill up.

Date: 10/24/22
Mileage: 319,764
Miles driven: 157.3
MPG: 13.14
Gallons pumped: 11.968
Price per gallon: $2.72
Total fuel cost: $32.66

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