chapolito's 97 manual Baja Surf Camper build

[chapolito]

I love the BMW seats I installed a couple years ago, but have always wanted to get the seat heaters working, so finally set out on that.

I had a sense of which wires coming out of the control module were for the seat heaters from some past research:

Here are each of those plugs, one for the back and one for the seat:

I ignored the grey wire, I assumed it sent a thermostat signal back to the module (original seats had 3 different settings), and just wired together the brown and greens (brown is typically ground in BMWs):

They heat up! warmest I clocked after sitting on the bench for 30min was 119°

I picked up some expensive OEM switches off ebay, but wanted them to fit in OEM slots. And, since I was only going to have one setting, I wanted switches to match (which isn't that common). All my center console switches are now filled...curious what extras when in these from the factory.

While I had things torn apart I took the opportunity to clean up and paint this rusty center console support:

and put 3-in-1 sound deadener on the floor:

Toasty bums!

 

[Surf13]

Link to the Tacoma build?

 

[chapolito]

Link to the Tacoma build?

I never got around to making one...some day.

 

[thezentree]

I never got around to making one...some day.

This thread still needs Baja pictures, 4Runner or not. There is like 10" of snow on the ground where I am and my family is leaving me and my pregnant wife for PR tomorrow morning to go surf.

 

[chapolito]

Story time. In one of my last posts I mentioned needing to adjust the clutch because the point at which the it was engaging had reached the floor and it wasn't going in gear. Well that problem got worse and I eventually ran out of adjustment in the clutch.

My research led me to believe that there was a likely chance either the clutch master cylinder or slave cylinder was leaking. Since they are relatively cheap and easy parts to replace, I decided to swap them both before dropping the transmission. I was thinking that worst case this is preventative. hah, if only.

I replaced them, no problem. And then fought for hours with a faulty bleeder screw on the slave cylinder that kept leaking and making me think there was air in the line. Finally replaced it with the original bleeder and my wife helped me bleed it. After I stopped seeing bubbles I asked her to turn it on and see if she could get it in gear.

She went into autopilot mode and followed the normal startup: put it in gear and then turned it on. Immediately the car started moving forward—slowly, but steadily. She started panicking and jamming on pedals to no avail until she ran into the garage.

Luckily, the hood was up, so the damage was limited to the bumper, headlight, body, and fender. Even the fender was only bowed out, no folds/creases.

At this point it should be clear this was not a clutch slave/master cylinder issue. Instead, the clutch bearing had blown up and the clutch was going. On top of that, I had been pressing so hard to try and get it in gear, the clutch fork was bent. When she turned it on the clutch was engaging just enough to overcome the brake and push the wheels forward, but not enough to stall.

This was all discovered by the mechanic I took it to, since at this point I was feeling pretty defeated. In addition to a new clutch and clutch fork, they replaced the rear main seal and serviced the starter. They did say I did a good job bleeding the cylinders.

Meanwhile I sourced parts for the front bumper, rebuilt the projector headlight, and paid a shop $1000 to pull everything straight. The entire saga lasted 4 months, but she's looking good again:

 

[chapolito]

Been slowly clearing out projects that I have parts for before starting anything new.

First up, the front diff which took 4 attempts over 3 years to finally get the drain plug unstuck. I tried penetrating oil, heating up, and after finally stripping, I sacrificed a hex bit socket to weld in.

I replaced with a hex head from a lexus (Drain plug PN 90341-24016 | Fill plug PN 90341-18060) Interestingly there are fewer threads on the Lexus part, maybe it will be less stuck next time.

I've been trying to reduce the weight of the Tacoma camper and had pulled this subwoofer, so decided to install in the 4Runner.

Installed stainless flex brake hose and hard lines. I went for extended, but wish I hadn't. They touch the frame...I'll have to monitor for any wear.

The rubber lines seemed OK, but considering their age I wanted to preventatively replace. However, the passenger hard line was mangled and had a worn flat spot that was making me nervous. The nuts were also different sizes, I suspect this was a custom made line.

And finally got around to installing eimkeith's Panhard Correction Kit. Before I could do that, I needed to install a 220v outlet:

And, I didn't quite feel confident to be welding suspension components, especially in vertical positions. So I spent a few weeks practicing until I did:

Finally was ready to weld in the PCK.

Not perfectly stacked dimes, but I got good penetration and so far they're holding fine. A lot of awkward torch positions.

Painted:

I opted only to do the passenger side because I could keep a bolt in as backup and monitor the welds.

Still not level (adding the spare back helped a bit), but already made a HUGE difference in ride quality. Always nice to be able to feel the suspension upgrades. I'm going to be replacing the springs and lowering the rear, so I'll wait to se where that sits before deciding to weld in the drivers side.

And while I haven't been surfing in Baja recently, scored some dreamy tropical waves a couple months ago: