BrianSD_42 Photo Journal Build Maintenance Thread

[BrianSD_42]

Death Valley Trip Report Pictures



Taken with my Nikon D5100 & 35mm F 1.8 lens


Link to the zip file (128+ pictures) ----> https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzWSba3crqAkMy1zcFg3TnZ3S2s/edit?usp=sharing




Summary Part I





















































































:bat:

 

[BrianSD_42]

Summary Part II :llama:













































































:girl:

 

[gs300tt]

OK now that is cool. It is going on my bucket list for sure.

 

[BrianSD_42]

Death Valley Part III















Update:

Just received my order of (1) 1" Body Lit from 4CrawlerOffroad.

Price was $83 the kit I ordered.

I also ordered a complete POLY Body Mount Bushings Set. Cost $160.

The POLY Body Mounts are supposed to help with the shuddering I'm having when on hard washes. Also my body mounts are soooo old and deteriorating that I knew it was time for an upgrade.



:bat:

 

[BrianSD_42]

My sliders have been removed (cut off) by the fab shop I go in San Diego (The Truck Shop).

I am having them extend out the sliders tubing about 1.5" inches so that they block any small rocks that get kicked up. I"ve been having a lot of rocks hit my rear fender flare. This was probably made worse by my wheel spacers with 33s but I want to do whatever I can to prevent paint damage.

Lastly they are going to cut custom plates for each slider hole and weld them in the recess.

I'll post pictures once its done. :hippie:

 

[BrianSD_42]

Here is a picture of the sliders, now chopped of the truck, with added plates to prevent thrown up rocks from hitting my flares.

Looking at the Bottom of the sliders.

They are about to go into Powder Coating.





:bat:

 

[BrianSD_42]

1" Body lift and all new Poly Body Mounts go on tomorrow!

Thanks [MENTION=83885]Dirtyfingers[/MENTION] for offering to help.

 

[LittleCaesar]

Have fun with it Brian! Take some pics.

I did replace some body mounts once on a 97 2Dr Tahoe (cuz's ride) and for all that work, little difference was achieved. I am curious to see how much difference there is.

 

[BrianSD_42]

Quick follow up on my death valley trip.



Damage report:
1. Bottomed out the front end when I hit some dirt mogals on my way out of DV. This resulted in a bent passenger fender because my 285s were sticking out toooo far. The front drivers and passenger flares completely popped off.



Bent Passenger Fender
















Rear Seals Blown (They were actually leaking before this trip)












Bump Stop Is Looking PRetty Weak After 5+ Years




:bat:

 

[Dirtyfingers]

Yeah man can't wait to help out!

 

[BrianSD_42]

[MENTION=69868]LittleCaesar[/MENTION]

I will definitely let you know. I spoke with Jerry from Wheelers Offroad and he claims that the really hard shuddering I'm experiencing when driving on desert washes will be minimized a bit by the poly mounts. His position is that the stock mounts are so old and loose that once the truck starts shuddering it reverberates through the body like a harmonic. Once I replace them the body and frame will be tighter and as crazy as it sounds the shuddering will be much less. We'll see!

 

[JBurt]

I'm really interested to see how much difference that makes. I know how unpleasant that is.

 

[1blink]

If it has a notable impact on washboard road shudder, I may follow suit. Let us know if it helps

 

[BrianSD_42]

Flares Removed & Repainted


Last week I pulled my FLARES off to get them repainted (again). Because of my death valley issues (see above) two of the front ones came completely off and were scrapped up really bad.

I was referred to a body shop owned by a friend of a coworker. I was told that I would be getting the friends and family rate which I believe to be about 25% off.

I like to disclose $$ costs because I feel it helps out the readers. He charged me:
$100 - Bend back fender panel (they did a pretty good job!)
$140 - Repaint only the front two (driver & passenger) flare pieces
$340 - Repaint all the remaining 6 flare pieces

(There goes my tax return)

I took him up on the offer to repaint all of them because I wanted it to match and also the rear door flare piece (1st pic below) had suffered some serious rock rash due to desert driving. I had done them in 2010 and I don't think those guys did a very good job. This new shop was better.


Also if you look closely you should see that my sliders are still off and the truck is sitting higher, 1" BL higher to be exact


Pictures !!!!










Newly Painted







:zoom:

 

[spongerx]

Hey Brian, what was your reasoning for doing a 1" BL instead of a bigger one? :ear:

 

[BrianSD_42]

This weekend's plans:

* Install front fender and front door flare pieces
* Have my newly PC'd sliders welded on this Saturday at The Truck Shop in SD
* Tighten Down Body Lift. It feels a small bit loose!


:fencing:


Next Weekend:
[MENTION=95206]10ac[/MENTION] offered to help me fix my rear axel seal at his house.
I've got all the parts (seals, retainers, brake shoes etc) for us to attempt the fix. We are going to try and replace everything except the sealed bearings. That much can be done at home relatively cheap. He did the same over 10k miles ago and has no leakage or bearing issues.


Parts Scammers
One final note: the Toyota dealers in San Diego are total ripoff artists when it comes to selling parts. They sell parts at up to 33% OVER MSRP.

For Example: The center console lid was $42 @ Camelback Toyota with a MSRP of about $60ish. Local dealership wanted $78. WTF!!!!

 

[BrianSD_42]

Hey Brian, what was your reasoning for doing a 1" BL instead of a bigger one? :ear:

I was told not to do a BL unless you need to. I needed to do one because of my 33s (plus 1" wheel spacers) bent my fender when I bottomed out.

I did the 1" BL because it required very very minimal alteration to the vehicle to get it to work. We only had to include the steering extension, loosen the transmission shifter lever. Also, I didn't want a huge bumper gap.

Lastly when you raise the truck up there are a few limitations .....
* It is now a lot more of a PIA to get in and out of my truck (and I'm 6-2)
* When braking more weight will PITCH FWD due to the increased height. This will likely wear out my brakes sooner and decrease my stopping times and maybe stability.
* It is also easier to roll your truck if you have a BL.

 

[spongerx]

I was told not to do a BL unless you need to. I needed to do one because of my 33s (plus 1" wheel spacers) bent my fender when I bottomed out.

I did the 1" BL because it required very very minimal alteration to the vehicle to get it to work. We only had to include the steering extension, loosen the transmission shifter lever. Also, I didn't want a huge bumper gap.

Lastly when you raise the truck up there are a few limitations .....
* It is now a lot more of a PIA to get in and out of my truck (and I'm 6-2)
* When braking more weight will PITCH FWD due to the increased height. This will likely wear out my brakes sooner and decrease my stopping times and maybe stability.
* It is also easier to roll your truck if you have a BL.

I see. Does the BL kit come with everything you need to do the steering extension etc? Do you think you will go to 35's at some point?

 

[BrianSD_42]

I will never, ever, go with 35s.

Props to those who want to go that way but in my opinion 35s push the drivetrain way too hard. The majority of broken CVs are from running 33s and 35s with much more due to running 35s.

Also a 4Runner on 35s is a pretty bad car to drive around town, to work, etc. 33s are a good compromise because you don't need to regear or get significantly more power.

With the BL, Flares and sliders back on the truck will look more than badass enough on 33s.

 

[fightman80]

Glad you got everything fixed up man! That truck looks prime!