Dirtco's Adventure Thread

[Dirtco]

I've been slow on updates but rest assured, I'm working on the 4Runner whenever possible! Here is a teaser shot of how the truck sets right now, I'll get into specifics as time allows!

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[Dirtco]

Here's a couple pictures from mocking up the spare tire carrier. The rear axle has been moved back 7" for an approximate wheelbase of 114".

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[jkeith.w]

Links look good! - we should compare spreadsheets.

 

[derpiful]

This is getting wild and I love it. Keep up the good work, super stoked to see it completed!!

 

[Dirtco]

Links look good! - we should compare spreadsheets.

Thanks, I'll see if I still have mine. As you know the 4 link calculator might as well be the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland... I spent hours moving stuff around and recalculating. I finally had to cut myself off and actually get to building the suspension. I had several sheets, and deleted them when I made my final decision.

This is getting wild and I love it. Keep up the good work, super stoked to see it completed!!

Thanks Hayden! I'm excited to get it out of the garage and back on the trail! I've pretty much spent the last two years rebuilding the 4Runner (SAS last year).

 

[Dirtco]

From day one the plan has always been to enclose the 4Runner. While it will be super capable on rock crawling trails, I also want a well rounded vehicle that I can still explore long distance hot dusty trails, take out snow wheeling, and hit the high mountain passes in the rain and cold while being comfortable.

I designed the cage to be safe, but I also made it so I could close off the back of the 4Runner from the elements. The Ultra 4 inspired light bar adds strength and safety to the 4Runner, but it also adds a recessed area for a window to sit and not have water pour directly on the seal. Like they say, the devil is in the details and this project has been no exception!

I bought some 3/8” thick dark tinted plexiglass acrylic sheet that I will use as the window material.

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Left window cut and getting fit

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There will also be a small side window to fill in the gap where the large back side window was.

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The license plate will be installed on the back window, the small black dots on the rear light bar are license plate lights.

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Speaking of lights, I installed some Rigid A-Series knock off light pods I got off Amazon above the rear seats. I wired them into the factory door switches so when you open the door the corresponding light turns on.

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[Dirtco]

So about a month ago I made a little trip back up to where the accident was. I had salvaged and accounted for everything after the accident, except the rear seat head rest which I had to remove to get out of the truck when it was upside down. It wasn’t that big of a deal to find it, more like unfinished business and I wanted to check the site out in the summer.

My vehicle for the day was my work/plow truck, I bought it from my work about a year and a half ago and have been slowly fixing it up. It was originally a fire department truck, then was used at my work for carrying spray rigs. It was pretty tired when I bought it and needed a bunch of work to get it back to being reliable (thats why they sold it to me cheap). It also looked pretty bad from tree spraying and all the over spray the vehicle gets. But the truck has a 454, 14 bolt rear axle and the heavy duty transmission, so I felt it was worth the work to get it back to where it was when it lived at the fire department. It’s perfect for getting firewood, and has been great for home improvement projects. It's honestly hard to think about not having it at this point, it's just a super useful tool to have.

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Anyways, it was a beautiful day for a drive in the woods and I made short time of getting up to the location of the accident. I parked the truck and hiked down the hill to the tree I thought it was, but there was nothing there. So I walked down the hill side to the next tree, and again there was nothing there. I finally walked down to the furthest tree and found what I was looking for, the pile of broken glass was a dead giveaway. When I looked back up the hill side I was blown away at the fact that I rolled this far down the road!

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Setting right where it should be was the headrest, untouched for months. I looked around some more, just to make sure there was nothing else I had missed but besides for the broken glass and mirrors everything had been accounted for.

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Like I said earlier, it was a beautiful day (the tree to the left is where the 4Runner came to a stop) so I kept going up the road.

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I even found some snow to bust through!

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[TonyB66]

I call that closure. Full circle man. I might have taken a piss there too, but that's me... Next might be going there with your rebuilt rig!

 

[Dirtco]

I call that closure. Full circle man. I might have taken a piss there too, but that's me... Next might be going there with your rebuilt rig!

It was something that needed to be done. A lot of stuff went through my head climbing down the hillside, and struggling to get back up it. But I feel a lot better about the whole thing now. Oh yeah, I'll be going back in the 4Runner! There is some killer snow wheeling back in that area, but I'll also be paying a lot more attention to the conditions.

 

[4R4Trout]

Wow I just got caught up with your thread and I am completely blown away. First off from a first responder stand point (and human for that matter) I am glad you are healthy and still around to entertain us with your awesome build. This is a classic example of when life gives you lemons you make lemonade. And you have done just that, this build is way cool. I love the fact you are still keeping the cab enclosed and free from the elements. I recently just got back into the Toyota arena and bought a new to me 5th gen TE. I just lifted it and that’s just the beginning. My goal is for a capable overland rig, probably not to the extent of capabilities of your rig but close. Oh hell who am I kidding no where close. I am looking forward to your completion of the comeback rig.

 

[Dropzone]

Speaking of lights, I installed some Rigid A-Series knock off light pods I got off Amazon above the rear seats. I wired them into the factory door switches so when you open the door the corresponding light turns on.

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I have several of those knock offs. Their output is pretty dang good.
when my dome light failed I used one. Like you I added a door light. Works great

Truck progress is great!

 

[Road Bull]

I dig that you went back and got your headrest and visited the site of the accident.

And, it reminded me of a concept that has been kicking around in my head for a few weeks...

So I work a lot over the summer. I have crazy hours and one weekend I worked two, back-to-back 12 hour days. At that point, I think I was on week five of working every day with some 16 hour days peppered in there. One morning, I was leaving for work at 3:45 am. I forgot something inside and went back in quickly to grab it. I left for work to return 15 or so hours later. I was tired. I unlocked my door, stepped inside, dropped my bags to the ground and turned on the lights. Then it hit me... GAS. I could smell lots of gas!! I started to back out, and turned the lights off. Strike TWO! I realized stepping back outside that turning lights on and off could potentially cause a spark and chain of unfortunate events. I backed out, and called the gas company. They said that they'd send someone out. I went back into open up doors and windows. I passed through the kitchen hearing a loud HISS. I looked over and saw a burner had been set to high for like, 15 hours... ( I must have bumped it during the morning rush back inside.) Without thinking, I turned the unignited burner to off. Well, between HI and off, is "ignite". Strike three, still not dead.

Afterwords, it got my imagination going. I died the first time I hit the light switch. I was blown across the street into my neighbor's house and there was nothing left of my house but a crater. Everything after, was / is my imagination, the afterlife. I stopped being "Ryder" and now I am "Ghost Ryder". Still going to work though. Even though I am dead. I am highly functional. LOL.

Anyway. I am digging the steady progress. What do you see as your upcoming large hurdles to overcome as you proceed?

 

[Dirtco]

I have several of those knock offs. Their output is pretty dang good.
when my dome light failed I used one. Like you I added a door light. Works great

Truck progress is great!

They seem pretty good for the price. I also bought two of the Rigid Lights, one as the main dome light in the truck and the other as the center/middle rock light under the truck. The Rigid lights are brighter, but they are also like 10 times the price!

 

[Dirtco]

Anyway. I am digging the steady progress. What do you see as your upcoming large hurdles to overcome as you proceed?

The biggest hurdle right now is time, or should I say the lack of. The other issue is my perfectionism, I have a hard time just half assing stuff and throwing it together. I've thrown rigs together in the past just to make them drivable, and then had to go back several times to redo stuff and add things that should've been done the first time around. I will still have a large list of stuff to complete when I take it on it's first test drive, but I also don't want to back track to finish stuff.

My goal, and the deadline I'm shooting for, is to have the 4Runner drivable (not done by any means) by this fall. Every year I take my daughter out to see the fall leaves in the 4Runner and it's very important for me to try and do that this year.

 

[theesotericone]

The biggest hurdle right now is time, or should I say the lack of. The other issue is my perfectionism, I have a hard time just half assing stuff and throwing it together. I've thrown rigs together in the past just to make them drivable, and then had to go back several times to redo stuff and add things that should've been done the first time around. I will still have a large list of stuff to complete when I take it on it's first test drive, but I also don't want to back track to finish stuff.

My goal, and the deadline I'm shooting for, is to have the 4Runner drivable (not done by any means) by this fall. Every year I take my daughter out to see the fall leaves in the 4Runner and it's very important for me to try and do that this year.

Do it once and do it right. Looks like we're on the same page there. I hope you squeeze in the time to get it driveable before the leaves change. I also hope you have a late summer so you get a few extra weeks to get it done. lol

It's impressive what you've done so far with the rig, I'm sure it will be more then capable when you're finished.

 

[Dirtco]

My old rear axle housing is up for sale if anyone is interested!

https://www.toyota-4runner.org/for-sale-t4r-items/277310-fs-3rd-gen-trail-gear-rock-assault-rear-axle-housing-$800-silverthorne-co.html

 

[Big-B1975]

I will take it, just sent you a PM. Thanks Brian

 

[Dirtco]

Okay, time for an update. As usual I’ve been working on the 4Runner every chance I get, and as usual I’ve done a pretty lame job of keeping this thread up to date. So here we go, I’m going to do my best to get things caught up.

When we left off I was in the process of figuring out the rear windows and rear bulkhead. Here is the last picture I took of the tube work before I started to close it all in.

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And a close up of the spare tire mount, after my tire carrier failure I had a couple years ago I decided to build it right the first time. I don’t see this going anywhere!

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First I installed the driver side rear windows (back and side), it was a little messy cutting the acrylic sheet but it wasn’t hard. I used windshield urethane to glue the windows in place. Windshield urethane is super strong (to the point of being structural) but it’s also flexible. With the window in place I could mount my license plate, this was the best place I could find where it wouldn’t get damaged but it was also super visible.

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Then I moved on to the rear bulkhead, I used some aluminum diamond plate because it was light and free (it was the lid to an old tool box). Before I installed it I added some off brand Dynamat to the back side for sound and climate control.

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Here you can see the back side, along with the low profile subwoofer, some wiring, and the spot I found for my Hi-Lift jack.

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The jack barely fits there, I actually had to trim a small section out of the seat back to make it work. But, I was able to make it work and have the jack be in a safe spot out of the elements and taking up room that otherwise would have been wasted space.

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[Dirtco]

As most of you guys know, I’ve been running the FROR full float kit for years on my truck. For the the most part it’s been a great kit and I’m happy with the results and strength of it. But, I have found two downsides to the kit. The first is the axle seals like to leak, I don’t know how many times I’ve replaced the seals but every time I take it apart there is gear oil in the rear wheel bearings. Anyone that’s been around old solid axle Toyota’s know that this was pretty common on the old trucks, and I’ve just gotten to the point where I know it’s going to leak a little.

The other issue I had was gear oil slowing leaking between the adapter and axle housing. I tried several different brands of RTV and still after a season of wheeling there would be the signs of gear oil seeping out. Now, I wasn’t that concerned about a couple drops of oil, the bigger issue was that the adapter was flexing enough to partially break the silicone bound. And that had me thinking about the possibility of a catastrophic failure, loosing the entire wheel and hub/axle assembly while flying down a dirt road would not be fun!

So I decided to go past the point of return and weld the adapters to the housing!

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[APhelps]

By god man, awesome effing work.