Build Thread: Mothra, the (blown) budget camping rig

[Renegade_Medic]

Winch Pt 1

Alright, with a trip coming up next week to Colorado, I figured it would be a good time to get a winch. I Hadn't really planned on getting one yet, but I don't want to get stuck in an unfamiliar area without one. I opted to get a Smittybilt XRC 9500. I had one on my Jeep and used it twice, one to remove a tree and once to help out someone who needed just a little tug to get traction. I had no issues with it, but really didn't use it much. I plan on getting about the same amount of use out of this one as well...

I went ahead and clocked the gear box so that it's easier to operate inside the bumper. I don't have money for a legitimate bumper, so this one will be going inside the Fat-Lip. I noticed when I had it apart to clock that it says TMAX HT. I know TMax is another winch, perhaps it's a shared part?

Then I dug into the frame rails. I always see oh just use an angle grinder or butterknife or whatever to cut the horns off. That was not my experience. I used a sawzall, grinder, pry bar and sledge to remove them.

I plan on making some inserts that go into the frame and are bolted through the frame in multiple places. I've read that with the ARB bumper you have to remove a couple inches of the frame rails? Is that for 96-98? I don't think there's much to remove on these...

Welds are starting to get better... And Ran out of good wire, of course, so using Bird SH** wire...

So next I started working on the bumper. I opted to just remove the whole "grid area". I also thought it would be a good time to paint the lower valence black while its apart.

Tomorrow I will mount the channel and hopefully put it all together. Pretty Excited. Also I ordered a Borla ProXS muffler (19"), the magnaflow is just too loud for me. I'll be throwing that on and doing some small maintenance stuff before we leave.

 

[austinmarti]

What does it mean to clock a winch? Having trouble finding an explanation anywhere.

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[Renegade_Medic]

What does it mean to clock a winch? Having trouble finding am explanation anywhere.

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Finally, I get to impart some knowledge.

Clocking a winch is when you rotate one, or both, ends in relation to the mounts. Some people clock the motor (not sure why), I rotated the gear box, so I can get to the clutch engagement lever easier since it will be under the bumper. You can also clock some alternators to have the plugs in certain positions, where I first learned this.

Generally how they look:

How mine looks with the handle clocked:

Have a great weekend and watch out for the SXSW'ers.

 

[Renegade_Medic]

Winch pt 2

Mounting the winch under the bumper is no small feat. It was a complete pain. It's just a hair too tall for the bumper to sit perfectly. But, it's on. The mount is welded to the little rails, which are both welded and bolted to the frame rails. The solenoid box is off to the side, so it can be accessed without having to open the hood or anything else.

Bumper all cleaned up:

Hopefully I never have to use this, but it's there if I do. Also the Heavy toytec springs ride better with the extra weight up front (go figure).

 

[austinmarti]

Looks good! Haven't seen many stock bumpers with winches.

Also, thanks for explaining the winch clocking.

 

[Andywear]

yeah that's beautiful using stock bumper.

 

[Renegade_Medic]

Thanks, It's definitely a huge pain and I need to cut a little bit more of it out. It is hanging on the fairlead and causing the sides to be angled down. Not a huge deal, but it is bugging me because the rest of the looks is super clean.

 

[theesotericone]

Then I dug into the frame rails. I always see oh just use an angle grinder or butterknife or whatever to cut the horns off. That was not my experience. I used a sawzall, grinder, pry bar and sledge to remove them.

Lol. A butter knife worked fine for mine man.

Seriously though a sawzall with a long metal blade is what I used. Took about 10 minutes per side. The hard part was cutting right next to that AC line. It takes a steady hand for sure.

That's a pretty sweet look with the stock bumper and tray you have going. I noticed you did the welding. Are you planning on doing your own plate in the future or buying from some one?

 

[austinmarti]

Are you planning on doing your own plate in the future or buying from some one?

Plate?

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[theesotericone]

Plate?

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bumper.

As in plate bumper. He mentions upthread he didn't have the money for one so went with the winch tray/stock bumper combo.

 

[Renegade_Medic]

Thanks, my plan was originally to buy a bumper, then looked into a kit, then this. I may not ever get a bumper. I had no issues with clearance with this bumper and the winch is down nice and low. I am not the best welder, but good enough for me to be happy with my results. Except exhaust pipe. I always tend to burn through unless its "Double wall" (.125"). I like the look of the bumpers, if I find one on sale or locally for a good deal I'll probably get one. I'm more focused on the rear bumper now, I added some more trail damage to it and it's pulled out away from the body pretty good.

 

[stever1000]

I replaced all the interior lights with LEDs and I'm amazed at how many bulbs were burned out. Now I'll need to go get a new dash bezel from the junkyard, mine shattered as I took it off.


<img src="http://imgur.com/kcXlgCg.jpg" width="540" height="960">
<img src="http://imgur.com/IvN6Bzi.jpg" width="960" height="540">

Wow, this picture made me realize how many bulbs I have that are burnt out. Which LED bulbs did you use?

Thanks!

 

[Renegade_Medic]

couple videos of my trip

Here are a couple videos from the drive across the river and up Longwater Gulch.

The water was actually fairly deep toward the far edge of the river crossing, roughly 2.5 feet deep, maybe a little more.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/n3UcrnYD-VA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

It is kind of disappointing how flat everything looks in the videos and pictures.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/l8fJmMTOuLw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The locker was a godsend on this trail. It wasn't necessary, but it's there, why not use it?

 

[Renegade_Medic]

Wow, this picture made me realize how many bulbs I have that are burnt out. Which LED bulbs did you use?

Thanks!

Yeah I didn't realize how many I had burned out until I did them. I used Super Bright LEDS. Here is my order. Be aware that the NEO bulbs are polarity sensitive, the others can switch I believe. I put all mine in wrong and had to take the dash back apart to reverse them

[/IMG]

 

[stever1000]

Excellent, thanks!

 

[the walrus]

Nice build. The exhaust sounds good on the videos too.

From the invoice for the bulbs, which bulbs were for the ECT and defroster buttons? Those are two that I need to replace. Thanks.

 

[Renegade_Medic]

Nice build. The exhaust sounds good on the videos too.

From the invoice for the bulbs, which bulbs were for the ECT and defroster buttons? Those are two that I need to replace. Thanks.

Thanks, I need to do an exhaust video of it. It is louder than the videos on YouTube make them seem. To me, it's perfect. It's definitely there with the windows down and up above 2500 rpm. Otherwise it's quiet on the highway, just the slightest hum. It's exactly what I want, but I'm not happy with my tip. It's resonated though so I don't know how that will effect the sound inside by taking it off. It did help mellow down the magnaflow a little.

Those would be the Neo 3 bulbs.

 

[Beach Bum]

It still vibrated, but much less violently now. So I bought new wheels, it was a good excuse. Still some vibration. I had to have them balance the tires by putting the weights on the outside (dynamic balance). It looks bad, but honestly it's the only way to balance truck tires. It is now 98% vibration free.

Not sure if you ever got this solved. If not, have you tried getting your wheels balanced with a Haweka Flange Plate Adaptor? I had three different wheel shops balance my FJ wheels, including Discount Tire, but never could get rid of the vibration. I finally took it to a Toyota dealership and they knew exactly what I was talking about. An hour later and the vibration was finally gone.

Also, nice rig!

 

[Renegade_Medic]

Not sure if you ever got this solved. If not, have you tried getting your wheels balanced with a Haweka Flange Plate Adaptor? I had three different wheel shops balance my FJ wheels, including Discount Tire, but never could get rid of the vibration. I finally took it to a Toyota dealership and they knew exactly what I was talking about. An hour later and the vibration was finally gone.

Also, nice rig!

Thanks. Yeah I've had the old wheels balanced with the adapter and it made a little difference, but not much. I had to take it to 3 different dealers to find one that would do it. The first 2 refused to do and said I had some other problem. Bad u joint which i had ready done, driveshaft out of balance (not really applicable on our vehicles, they don't spin fast enough to notice a significant weight change), or some other problem which would incur an expensive fee to diagnose. Third one said they would and when I got the vehicle back it vibrated even worse. I went back and asked the manager if they used it and the tech came out and said it isn't necessary. I told him I specifically requested that it be done and after arguing for a couple minutes about it, I told them I wanted a refund because they didn't perform the work that I asked and paid for. The manager saw I wasn't joking around and asked the tech to use the adapter. He said no. I told him just do one wheel and if it's off with the adapter, he needs to do all of them with it, if it's balanced then I'll leave. I watched from the door and he did the first one, cussed, and starting Rebalancing all of them. Then I bought new wheels and have had the nice $1000 alloys balanced with outside weights which look horrible but they work. May be an option for places that won't or don't use the adapter. Discount Tire here claims not to have the plate, which I know is BS. I set up their equipment and personally dropped off the adapter about 2 years ago. Dynamic balance is the only true way to balance wheels, especially truck wheels. Static is ok only for small cars.

 

[Renegade_Medic]

Cargo drawer

It's been a while since I have posted anything, but I've definitely been busy. I have redone a rear wheel seal and done the valve cover gaskets. I have also put on the Airaid MIT intake.

I have been wanting to make a drawer system for the 4Runner. I do a lot of wood working on my days off, so I have been keeping "scrap" wood. I built this box for the cost of the hardware only (roughly $20). t took me roughly 6 hours to design and build this box. I still have to do some sanding and either stain/seal or go carpet. I'll post up lots of pictures, so if anyone wants a good idea on how to do it, they can pretty easily. It isn't hard (I guess).

I initially tried out a 9" tall inside (10.5" outer height), it was too tall for what I wanted.

Went with 7" inner height (8.5" outer)

Making the drawer "slides" and fitting the trays

Cont...