Recent content by aawolf

Yesterday between 2 and 2:30 in the afternoon Shadow went from being on 4 wheels to this: All 4 bolts that hold the lower ball joint to the knuckle sheared cleanly off. We assume it was a hit and run where the other car hit/bounced off the rubber of the tire and left very little other...

Thanks guys, just a note: I said 30 degrees, not 30%. So more like 1/12 or 8.3%. Still, from the sound of the discussion this makes it more likely to be alignment cams rather than less.

With your issue you noticed the "straight ahead" position on your steering suddenly changing and then changing back? My issue is not a dragging on one side of the vehicle. It's just temporary state where suddenly the meaning of the steering wheel position changes. It is as is the steering...

Hello T4R.org My wife and I are on a road trip through South America, currently in northern Colombia. I'm hoping I can get some 4runner specific advice from you guys about a potentially serious problem we're seeing. Symtoms: When driving at around 50-60 mph and then braking at MEDIUM strength...

I'm pretty sure I'm not getting your point wrong and I still disagree. People who take this trip talk about how many brake pads they burn through along the way and that's in vehicles with normal brake-to-stock-weight ratios. As we all know, 3rd gen stock brakes are underpowered from the get-go...

Hmm, actually it seems like the 906 is beefier if I'm reading this application guide's specifications correctly (page 136-137). 2891 free height A: 425mm B: 415mm, spring weight: 210 lbf/in or 37 N/mm, OE Spring Rate Lbs: 150 2906 free height A: 390mm B: 380mm, spring weight: 220 / 270 lbf/in...

If I did decide to go beefier, which springs would you guys recommend in that case? Would they end up giving the truck more lift? Because that would be very undesirable given how top heavy it already is.

I think people underestimate the importance of good gear for your day-to-day routine. For example, a standard 2 person tent and backpacking stove would save us ~150 lbs in weight, but add an enormous amount of cumulative hassle and stress to our trip when compared to our RTT and quality propane...

Eh, gotta disagree on this one. I've already performed the Tundra Brake Upgrade and it indeed was a noticeable difference. Then again, I do a lot of city driving in super-hilly San Francisco.

Ah, crap you're right. I wrote the wrong spring number down in my Service Log, and copied the error into this post. OME 880 OME 906 Struts Shocks, Bilstein 4600 Confusion == 100% my fault.

Great info, thank you. I get the feeling that the airbags are a bit of a band-aid. Or perhaps more of a "finishing touch" kind of thing. I may very well end up installing them, but I agree with your sentiment that if I can find the right springs for the job instead, I might be better off going...

Thanks for the input. I've put a lot of thought, research, and energy into choosing our equipment. We're going to be cooking full meals 2x a day, day-in, day-out. As a backpacker myself, I'm familiar with hiking stoves. They absolutely won't cut it. I've also spent an inordinate amount of time...

Seems like there's a bit of confusion. [Edit: oops, the confusion was entirely my fault I meant 880/906.] OME [EDIT removed: 890] 880/906 as in 880's in front and 906's in the rear. It sounds like some of your concerns might still apply though? I've indeed been on a test run for a couple of...

Those are precise weights from the manufacturer, actually. Mostly the only weights I'm un-sure on are the ones marked estimate. Ah interesting point. Indeed much of my weight will be tacked onto the absolute rear of the vehicle due to the rear bumper. Alas, many of your suggestions aren't...

Ah, great point. I'm running BFG All Terrain T/A KO, LT265/75R16 LRE RWL, MSPN 20679. We will buy a brand new set of 5 before departing this summer. It looks like these bad boys have a load index of 123 which equates to 3417lb per tire. 3417lb x 4 = 13,668lbs... more than twice the estimated...