BrianSD_42 Photo Journal Build Maintenance Thread

[85straight]

Went up to Mt Palomar looking for snow today. The results were pretty unimpressive. Only about 1-2", mostly slush.

Next weekend Big Bear day run. Hopefully the snow is much better up there.

Mt. Palomar rarely gets a ton of snow like bear and idyllwild. After this storm there will be plenty to go around in bb. But hey at least you got out today

 

[BrianSD_42]

Mt. Palomar rarely gets a ton of snow like bear and idyllwild. After this storm there will be plenty to go around in bb. But hey at least you got out today

Yep. Although I did have one issue, same thing happened in Death Valley, while driving up to Palomar on Nate's grade going about 15 miles per hour in 2WD in D after around 15 minutes the AT Oil light came on. I parked let it cool for five and then drive but this time kept in first for the slow crawl (my buddy is a slow poke). No issues this time as I kept the engine above 2500 RPM. I checked the fluid, nice and red and normal levels.

The thing is a similar thing happened in DV last year in similar conditions. My truck could have had this for a long time. I hardly ever drive slow up a hill in D 2WD for 20+ mins. I don't have the actual temps since it's a 97 but I understand the light isn't good.

Not a pink M. I changed the rad a few years ago with OEM and no milkshake.

I'm going to get it checked out next week.

 

[Fishwerks]

Yep. Although I did have one issue, same thing happened in Death Valley, while driving up to Palomar on Nate's grade going about 15 miles per hour in 2WD in D after around 15 minutes the AT Oil light came on. I parked let it cool for five and then drive but this time kept in first for the slow crawl (my buddy is a slow poke). No issues this time as I kept the engine above 2500 RPM. I checked the fluid, nice and red and normal levels.

The thing is a similar thing happened in DV last year in similar conditions. My truck could have had this for a long time. I hardly ever drive slow up a hill in D 2WD for 20+ mins. I don't have the actual temps since it's a 97 but I understand the light isn't good.

Not a pink M. I changed the rad a few years ago with OEM and no milkshake.

I'm going to get it checked out next week.

I've had my AT Oil light come on twice too. Both times in 4wd High with O/D still on, under constant load for 10-15 minutes. First time was driving through 6-10" of snow on a flat dirt road. Second time was pulling a mountain pass, but slow going due to ice/snow pack and traffic. I have the Koyo radiator installed, it's been on for a few years now. Thinking I may need to add an external cooler for these situations, or go to an OEM radiator...

 

[LittleCaesar]

Can't remember Brian if you have an external cooler or not. Fan clutch original?

 

[maclean216]

I was in Big Bear last weekend snow wheeling and noticed my transmission temps sky rocket in 4WD High. I hit 230ish (scangauge) but my tranny temp light never came on.

When I switched to 4wd Low the temps returned to normal. I was going to make a post but saw this. I have bypassed the radiator and just use external plate cooler.

I guess the answer is to use 4L.

 

[Unner]

My truck's transmission runs much cooler in 4Lo vs 4Hi. I have an external cooler as well though, bypassed the radiator.

 

[BrianSD_42]

Well I've got the B&M trans cooler installed and it seems to be working. Not issues so far.

Upcoming trips ....
* Last weekend I went to Big Bear looking for snow trails to drive. That was pretty much a bust. More to follow.
* Next weekend I'll be going to AnzaBorrego for a camping trip with family and friends. It's going to be really great.


/*** Alaska Continued .... Part 2 ***/
* Here are the rest of my Alaska Pics part 2 & part 3. Nikon D7000 16MP.
* A lot of the pictures were done by pulling right of the side of the highway and snapping a few pics, several I even took while driving.
* The landscapes are mostly multiple shots merged with Photoshop.
* Photoshop-E for merging, cropping and editing. Lightroom for exporting and re-res.
* It works great to create a 25-40MP wide high res image.
* 4K images uploaded via links just above each pic.


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/*** End Part 2 ***/

 

[BrianSD_42]

/*** Alaska Continued .... Part 3 ***/


On our 2nd to last day in Alaska we took a flight tour of the Glaciers of Denali park. One of them was the Great Gorge of Ruth glacier and it was amazing. The flight was about $275 each and totally worth every penny. These are my pictures. The 4K ones (linked) are going to look a lot better obviously.

Great Gorge of Ruth Glacier

The Great Gorge of the Ruth Glacier | Amusing Planet

Great Gorge of the Ruth Glacier—the world’s deepest. The ice is 3700 feet deep, some of it more than a thousand years old. The surrounding walls soar 4000-5000 feet above.

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/*** End Part 3 ***/

 

[BrianSD_42]

/*** January 2017 - Big Bear & Mt Palomar Pics ***/



1. The end of the road ... also known as the beginning of 3N16

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/*** End Pics ***/

 

[Road Bull]

Fantastic pics Brian! Landscape like that has a way of making you feel pretty small overall. I think seeing something like that by air really helps to put the vastness of it all into perspective. I need to get out to Alaska someday soon.

 

[MattAK]

I just downloaded like all of your Alaska pics. I spent ~18 months total up there over four summers, that place is amazing and will always feel like my second home. Was that your first time there?

 

[BrianSD_42]

Fantastic pics Brian! Landscape like that has a way of making you feel pretty small overall. I think seeing something like that by air really helps to put the vastness of it all into perspective. I need to get out to Alaska someday soon.

I highly recommend the visit. Alaska is so big and there are many different ways of visiting. We flew into Anchorage and drive up to Denali area for several days and then came back. I regret not visiting Puget Sound area. I'll be going back there in the next few years for sure. Unfortunately the only time we were able to go was the last week of Sept. which is the last two weeks of the Season and the park was only 1/3 open. I knew this before heading up. Next time I'll probably in the first week of September while all the buses are still running. It all worked out though and we were very happy with it. Quite affordable trip since tickets were only ~ $350 person round trip from San Diego to Anchorage, rental was about $30/day and the bed and breakfast was only $140 / night.

I just downloaded like all of your Alaska pics. I spent ~18 months total up there over four summers, that place is amazing and will always feel like my second home. Was that your first time there?

Thanks! I hope you got the high res ones I linked. :banana:

 

[TejasRunner01]

Good advice on this thread!

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

 

[FROGrunner]

What part of San Diego are you in now Brian?

 

[BrianSD_42]

What part of San Diego are you in now Brian?

I'm a bit north of Old Town. How about you man?

 

[Jahmiroquai]

Hi Brian,

I noticed you used to run 265/75R16 tires, and now run 285/75R16.

I am looking to use my tax return on some new rubber. I am currently lifted 1.5" F&R and have some wimpy street tread 265/75R16.

My plan for my rig is more back country exploring & camping than rock crawling. I also do a handful of 300+ mile road trips a year.

My question: For the moderate trails & forest service roads around San Diego & big bear, have you noticed a big benefit to the 33's over the 32's, or will 32's and some armor get you pretty far? Thanks!

 

[BrianSD_42]

My question: For the moderate trails & forest service roads around San Diego & big bear, have you noticed a big benefit to the 33's over the 32's, or will 32's and some armor get you pretty far? Thanks!

Funny you mentioned that. 31s will get you near everywhere, even in Utah. I'm running 33s now but I would probably stick with 32s if I could do it again. The main reason is that the slightly bigger 33s add extra weight which costs some HP (where the tire meets the road) and some gas mileage. 32s are more than enough!

 

[Jahmiroquai]

Good stuff, thanks man.

 

[FROGrunner]

I'm a bit north of Old Town. How about you man?

Im in Carlsbad now. We need to get together soon! I'll need some help installing my total chaos and some maintenance on the front end so we can hit some trails up.:naughty:

 

[BrianSD_42]

Decided to pull the trigger on new front suspension, more on that below. Thank you tax return!

This weekend we went out to Anza-Borrego and camped then hiked to Goat Canyon Trestle. I had to do a bit of prep work before the trip, mainly disassembling the sway bar, cleaning everything and putting it back to together. It was making a horrible creaking noise, now everything is quiet again.


1. Bilstien over Tundra Coils ... 39.0"

2. King 2.5 Coil over shock kit installed

3. Kings!

4. Alignment

5. Ride height with King's at default install level yields 38.5"

:girl: