A Weekend of Wrenching (plus I HATE rust)

[Double0-12]

So I finally gathered the parts for my lift and brake swap and got to work this past Saturday with the help of a friend. I went with Tundra Bilstein 5100's for a Tundra on all 4, Eibach coils from Toytech for the front and OME 890's from someone on here, and Tundra 199's, rotors, new pads and braided lines. I also installed a diff drop. I live in the midwest and my '97 has a fair amount of rust so I started spraying the nuts and bolts with an ATF/acetone mixture about a week prior.

I had someone assemble the struts and coils and they went in without issue. The encounter with rusted parts came from the front brake lines and I wasn't able to put the braided lines on. When trying to remove the skid plates a screwdriver went through the radiator, so I put a new Denso in and in removing the old one a lower support bolt was rusted on, so out came the Dremel. When we went to bleed the brakes the rear nipples would NOT break free and the driver's side line twisted and broke, so I bent a new one and put that in, but had to bleed using the hard lines and I could tell their was still air in the lines.

The rear sway bar end links were also rusted and no about of penetrant, breaker bar, or heat could get them off so I rented a swazall and cut them off and replaced with front end links. The rear shocks were just as bad, so between the sawzall and Dremel I eventually got them off, but it was a PITA! Also, I wouldn't even attempt installing the rear shocks without a 17mm flex head ratcheting wrench, so I bought one and it went great. The rear coils fell out nicely and I used a spring compressor to get the 890's in.

Now it's at the shop getting an alignment and new rear bleed nipples. Here's a before and after:

 

[Lamer]

well it seems like you have a great outlook towards rust....not afraid to fight it!

nice job on the work. that sounds exhausting. keep it up!

 

[Double0-12]

well it seems like you have a great outlook towards rust....not afraid to fight it!

nice job on the work. that sounds exhausting. keep it up!

Thanks! Between fighting the rust and running to the store multiple times it took a full two days. Ugh.

 

[mtbtim]

Some people like to point the finger at Toyota for not properly rust-proofing their frames. But, like I mentioned in this discussion in another thread, what about all the other parts that get rusted to shit due to cities, counties and states using road salt to de-ice the roadways?

OP, sorry your wrenching experience wasn't as enjoyable as it could be. If I lived in one of the rust belts of the country, I would have never started a YouTube channel with [MENTION=102606]infamousRNR[/MENTION] working on these rigs. It would be too frustrating fighting frozen fasteners that break or strip while you're trying to get a simple operation accomplished.

People marvel all the time how non-rusty our California Bay Area rigs are. No Road Salts = A Non-Rusty 4runner, unless you live near the coast and then the salt air can start to do a number on your rig.

 

[LittleCaesar]

To help protect against rust in the future, try covering stuff with some Fluid Film. The smell isn't the best but it works.

Rust is rust, and can be a real bear to tackle anywhere. My brother's coworker had a Dana 80 axle go out on him last month on his Dodge 3500. He found another whole axle but the drums were on there tight. Nothing worked so he had to torch them off. It happens.

https://www.fluid-film.com/automotive-applications/

 

[thegipper]

It definitely sucks living in the rust belt in that regard. I hate how every time I touch my 4R with a wrench it rains rust chunks. It makes working on it much more difficult but over the years you learn some tricks to make it a little easier.

Our newer cars (2011 Camry/Highlander) have been getting bathed in LPS 3 for the last couple years. Thankfully they have both been insanely reliable and I haven't really had to touch either of them. I know that if I do though, I won't have to deal with the crap that 21 years of Wisconsin winters have done to my 4R.

 

[Double0-12]

Update: The shop called and said they wanted $680 ****ing dollars to replace the rear brake cylinder, shoes, hardware and fluid flush. GTFO!

 

[Horsethief]

Some people like to point the finger at Toyota for not properly rust-proofing their frames. But, like I mentioned in this discussion in another thread, what about all the other parts that get rusted to shit due to cities, counties and states using road salt to de-ice the roadways?

OP, sorry your wrenching experience wasn't as enjoyable as it could be. If I lived in one of the rust belts of the country, I would have never started a YouTube channel with [MENTION=102606]infamousRNR[/MENTION] working on these rigs. It would be too frustrating fighting frozen fasteners that break or strip while you're trying to get a simple operation accomplished.

People marvel all the time how non-rusty our California Bay Area rigs are. No Road Salts = A Non-Rusty 4runner, unless you live near the coast and then the salt air can start to do a number on your rig.

I've been out there a few times, and I'm always amazed at the sheer number of older cars running around. Not restored classics, just old cars that people still daily. Here in New England, it's not that common to see even late 80's/early90's cars on the road, never mind all the 60's cars you guys have running around out there.

And I'm gonna go ahead and crown Volvo the king of rustproofing. My '07 XC70 has seen 11 New England winters so far, and is remarkably clean underneath. Whenever I have to work under it, there's no fighting with frozen bolts, or rust in my eye. Heck, if the thing wasn't past the mileage, it would still be under Volvo's corrosion warranty: 12 year/144k miles. That's a sick warranty! And on that note, Volvo's are one of the few cars where one can still see lots of 80's and 90's examples running around here in great shape. Those Swedes build a damn good car.

EDIT: And oh, what's your YT channel? I'll check it out. And I'm guessing you ride too?

 

[2ndhandyotaman]

.. If I lived in one of the rust belts of the country, I would have never started a YouTube channel with [MENTION=102606]infamousRNR[/MENTION] working on these rigs. It would be too frustrating fighting frozen fasteners that break or strip while you're trying to get a simple operation accomplished.

If you want good videos of how F-n miserable rusty cars are to work on, check out South Main Auto on YT. The guy ( Eric) laughs at how much $$ rusty turds make for his shop. That, and the 'money light'. ( CEL) :biggrin1:

 

[dogtail]

It definitely sucks living in the rust belt in that regard. I hate how every time I touch my 4R with a wrench it rains rust chunks. It makes working on it much more difficult but over the years you learn some tricks to make it a little easier.

Our newer cars (2011 Camry/Highlander) have been getting bathed in LPS 3 for the last couple years. Thankfully they have both been insanely reliable and I haven't really had to touch either of them. I know that if I do though, I won't have to deal with the crap that 21 years of Wisconsin winters have done to my 4R.

Its pretty much an all to common necessity for me to grab a torch and heat up any bolts that wont budge, works like a charm and no breaking bolts.

 

[dogtail]

I've been out there a few times, and I'm always amazed at the sheer number of older cars running around. Not restored classics, just old cars that people still daily. Here in New England, it's not that common to see even late 80's/early90's cars on the road, never mind all the 60's cars you guys have running around out there.

And I'm gonna go ahead and crown Volvo the king of rustproofing. My '07 XC70 has seen 11 New England winters so far, and is remarkably clean underneath. Whenever I have to work under it, there's no fighting with frozen bolts, or rust in my eye. Heck, if the thing wasn't past the mileage, it would still be under Volvo's corrosion warranty: 12 year/144k miles. That's a sick warranty! And on that note, Volvo's are one of the few cars where one can still see lots of 80's and 90's examples running around here in great shape. Those Swedes build a damn good car.

EDIT: And oh, what's your YT channel? I'll check it out. And I'm guessing you ride too?

You can vouch for your personal view of my 20 yr old 300K+mile salt belt 3rd gen under carriage. Its surprising simple to keep it in decent shape, but most will not do what they need to do.

 

[mtbtim]

I've been out there a few times, and I'm always amazed at the sheer number of older cars running around. Not restored classics, just old cars that people still daily. Here in New England, it's not that common to see even late 80's/early90's cars on the road, never mind all the 60's cars you guys have running around out there.

And I'm gonna go ahead and crown Volvo the king of rustproofing. My '07 XC70 has seen 11 New England winters so far, and is remarkably clean underneath. Whenever I have to work under it, there's no fighting with frozen bolts, or rust in my eye. Heck, if the thing wasn't past the mileage, it would still be under Volvo's corrosion warranty: 12 year/144k miles. That's a sick warranty! And on that note, Volvo's are one of the few cars where one can still see lots of 80's and 90's examples running around here in great shape. Those Swedes build a damn good car.

EDIT: And oh, what's your YT channel? I'll check it out. And I'm guessing you ride too?

Here's the channel [MENTION=102606]infamousRNR[/MENTION] and I started 2 1/2 years ago:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9EMiD9KPy61kJ6hdXcbjxA

And Yes, I ride. I've been mountain biking since 1985. I raced a ton, managed teams, the whole nine yards. It was my life for a long time. Now it feels like I wrench on trucks more than I ride. Sort of weird but cool at the same time.

 

[Horsethief]

You can vouch for your personal view of my 20 yr old 300K+mile salt belt 3rd gen under carriage. Its surprising simple to keep it in decent shape, but most will not do what they need to do.

Can do! No word of a lie, Dogtail's 4R looks AMAZING underneath.
It definitely goes to show what a little time and effort can do.

If I didn't know better, I'd have thought that was a Southern or desert vehicle.

 

[Horsethief]

Here's the channel [MENTION=102606]infamousRNR[/MENTION] and I started 2 1/2 years ago:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9EMiD9KPy61kJ6hdXcbjxA

And Yes, I ride. I've been mountain biking since 1985. I raced a ton, managed teams, the whole nine yards. It was my life for a long time. Now it feels like I wrench on trucks more than I ride. Sort of weird but cool at the same time.

Cool man, I'll check it out. I ride, though I haven't been at it as long as you. I'm no racer, I just like to ride for fun. My username is riding related actually; I ride a Salsa Horsethief.

I actually rather ride than wrench, though I don't mind a little wrenching once in a while.

 

[Scramble]

Make sure you put everything back together with anti-seize. It even works as a torque lube so important bolts like on your calipers wont come loose.

Finesse works better than brute force other wise you'll be snapping bolts. Put away the impact & break out the penatrant & 1/2" breaker bar. I've found that tapping on the breaker bar with a rubber mallet works much better than brute force.

That price is crazy for the rear brakes, I understand you were frustrated but you have to walk away for a bit & come back later. You can do both sides yourself for around $200.

I busted a wheel stud the other day on my Limited, I was pissed. I didn't want to deal with it & was gonna drop it off at a mech the next morning. I figured it would be around $200 for him to drill it out & put in a new one. I slept on it & the next day I said f#ck that! I bought a new DeWalt 20V 1/2" cordless, titanium drill bits & some washers. I drilled it out & put in the new stud in around 2hrs. I saved $100 & have a nice new bad ass drill.
(my 3 old corded drills dont have the torque for hardened steel & would have made the job a nightmare)

 

[Double0-12]

I did skip the impact, and used a breaker bar instead, but I like the idea of going it with a male instead of cranking in it. I'm going to do the rear myself tomorrow and save $600. Lol.

 

[mtbtim]

Cool man, I'll check it out. I ride, though I haven't been at it as long as you. I'm no racer, I just like to ride for fun. My username is riding related actually; I ride a Salsa Horsethief.

I actually rather ride than wrench, though I don't mind a little wrenching once in a while.

Salsa sponsored my mountain bike team all 4 years I ran it. Salsa originally was a West Coast company located in Petaluma. The owner was Ross Shafer. They were handmade steel bikes all made right there in Petaluma. Ross sold the company at some point the and the operation went out East. I also managed and raced on a Salsa Cyclocross Team in 1996. I still have that cross bike. I use to drive to Petaluma from my house in San Jose and go visit them and pick up swag for my teammates. Ross and the gang there were cool people.

I've done one thing for so long I guess I was ready for a change. Bicycling will always be a huge part of my life but I really like making the videos and helping people out. Riding bicycles is awesome but I'm not accomplishing anything really while riding my bike. Running the YouTube channel gives my life a little more purpose I guess. My job as a firefighter can be rewarding but I think I'm helping out more people posting videos on our YouTube channel.

 

[tvpierce]

And I'm gonna go ahead and crown Volvo the king of rustproofing. My '07 XC70 has seen 11 New England winters so far, and is remarkably clean underneath. Whenever I have to work under it, there's no fighting with frozen bolts, or rust in my eye. Heck, if the thing wasn't past the mileage, it would still be under Volvo's corrosion warranty: 12 year/144k miles. That's a sick warranty! And on that note, Volvo's are one of the few cars where one can still see lots of 80's and 90's examples running around here in great shape. Those Swedes build a damn good car.

Volvo's been gavanizing body parts since the late 80s.

 

[m0ist]

Make sure you put everything back together with anti-seize. It even works as a torque lube so important bolts like on your calipers wont come loose.

Finesse works better than brute force other wise you'll be snapping bolts. Put away the impact & break out the penatrant & 1/2" breaker bar. I've found that tapping on the breaker bar with a rubber mallet works much better than brute force.

That price is crazy for the rear brakes, I understand you were frustrated but you have to walk away for a bit & come back later. You can do both sides yourself for around $200.

I busted a wheel stud the other day on my Limited, I was pissed. I didn't want to deal with it & was gonna drop it off at a mech the next morning. I figured it would be around $200 for him to drill it out & put in a new one. I slept on it & the next day I said f#ck that! I bought a new DeWalt 20V 1/2" cordless, titanium drill bits & some washers. I drilled it out & put in the new stud in around 2hrs. I saved $100 & have a nice new bad ass drill.
(my 3 old corded drills dont have the torque for hardened steel & would have made the job a nightmare)

DUDE, why did you drill it out? You could have just hammered it out with a cold chisel lol they will fall right out with one or two whacks. You make a great point on justifying tool purchases though. I try to explain that to my girlfriend every time I buy a new tool! She doesn't get it.

 

[afg10000]

I did shop the impact, and used a breaker bar instead, but I like the idea of going it with a male instead of cranking in it. I'm going to do the rear myself tomorrow and save $600. Lol.

Hey, man - Hello from sunny Omaha! Not too many of us round here. Pretty difficult to find trucks around here without much rust. I've gotten lucky a few times. If you do need to use a shop, I highly recommend calling Ryan over at Toyotechs. Him and his buddy only do Toyota/Lexus. They're awesome. They're on 102nd and L Street. I can usually handle most stuff on my 4Runners but sometimes it's easier to just have someone else do it.