HiluxSurfGuys 99 (Slow) Hilux Surf Build

[HiluxSurfGuy]

Front End Supsension

It was time for Upper and Lower Balljoints and Control Arm bushings. There was a scary amount of play in both and did not want disaster to strike.

For the Uppers, I decided to go with the Light Racing SPC Upper Control Arms as I have been eyeing them for a while. They have a bolt in balljoint once you press an adapter plate into the spindle. The updated balljoints were also grease able which was very cool. The install of these was very simple.

With all the adjustable options these hold, I actually found both control arms and the CV's sit much flatter with these installed which made me pretty happy.


For the lower's, I was able to obtain a set of First Gen Tacoma control arms from a friend who had just put new red poly bushings in them so instead of having to press new bushings in mine, I opted to use his arms. I did however go buy OEM ball-joints and installed them into his control arms:

The old ball-joints......:

To finish the whole job, I ended up installing new poly bushings for the steering rack and new inner and outer tie rods. Needless to say it was an expensive weekend.

Here is a picture of me getting an alignment afterwards.

 

[HiluxSurfGuy]

Transmission Cooler

I decided that my Transmission seemed to be running hot. It would almost burn me through the Transmission Tunnel so it was time for a cooler. I opted to go with the B&M 70264 as it has a large cooling capacity and still fits nice behind the grill. Unfortunately I did not take any pictures of the install.

I also installed a new CV and brake caliper this day.

I also had an idea to help me gain a bit of a better approach angle. I decided to remove the entire lower plastic valence of the bumper giving me about 5" more inches of approach. It looks a bit "hack job-ish" right now but it will be cleaned up:

After this picture was taken, I also went and removed the front rebar piece. It just looks strange with it and also kind of deafeats any gained approach angle. I plan to run a piece of steel between the two frame rails soon so replace it but much closer into the truck as the rebar comes all the way out.

 

[HiluxSurfGuy]

Disaster

So... this is a little embarrassing. Not completely clear on what happened, but likely something not done right when installing the new LBJ's. There are 4 bolts that hold the LBJ and steering knuckle to the hub. When I was out wheeling with some friends, two of these bolts seems to have undone and fell out. The remaining two both sheared off from being unbalanced.

Luckily, I was able to catch it before the hub slipped off of the knuckle and my friends and I did the best we good with ratchet straps:

We were able to coax her out to the main dirt road and off the trail. After waiting for several hours, we were able to have my buddy come help us out with his huge flatdeck:

After the first bump on the truck driving down the road, the LBJ completely failed and the tire shot up into the wheel well but we were still able to get the truck unloaded back on pavement:

We ended up having to re-tap all 4 holes again, replace a CV and do another alignment and she was up and running. I now carry quite a few spare bolts in-case this ever happens again.

 

[HiluxSurfGuy]

Skid Plates and Transmission Temperature Guage and Fan

Was able to pick up some Tacoma Bud Built skid plates that fit with some minor modifcations. These go from the rad support, all the way back to the rear of the Transfer Case. I stripped all the paint and rust off and painted them red to match the accents on other parts of my truck. Very happy with how it came out:

To monitor all my Transmission cooling changes I installed a transmission cooler. It was relatively simple after buying a few pieces and creating an in-line temperature sensor. I chose to mount the guage next to my inclinometer:

After monitoring the temps for about a week, I decided to add a 7" pro-comp electric pull fan. The mounting process was relatively simple and it mounted right to the front of the transmission cooler. No install pics but here is the fan.

It is normally a push fan but by flipping the blade and reversing the polarity for it, it became a pull fan.

 

[HiluxSurfGuy]

Tire Carrier

So, with the help of a friend, the flip down tire carrier is completed. It started out as a flip-down bike carrier and after a lot of chopping it now solidly holds my spare, license plate and I have a light wired for the plate as well. Here are some pics:

I love how it turned out. It looks great, I lost little to no departure angle and it was a quarter of the cost of a full swing out.

 

[HiluxSurfGuy]

OME 861s and Homemade Adjustable Panhard Bar

Decided that the LC 9.25 wrap coils were riding too soft and would sometimes cause my 5125s to bottom out when I was loaded up for camping. So I pulled the trigger on some OME 861's which are actually slightly shorten than the 9.25 wraps but have a much higher spring rate. Here is a comparison picture and installed picture:

Also, realized a never posted about the adjustable bar we built so here are some pictures of it. It works like a charm:

 

[HiluxSurfGuy]

LED Turn Signals and Winch Bumper?

Finally got rid of my hanging stock turn signals which I felt were going to rip off every time I went out wheeling. Just picked up some LED side-markers from Princess Auto and bolted them into existing holes in the upper portion of the bumper. They work like a charm:

Also.... this....... It's kind of a big deal:

Again, forgot to take photos, but I also installed some Redline gas pressurized good struts which work great. No more using the stock pole when doing engine work!

 

[HiluxSurfGuy]

Wheeling Pics - PICTURE HEAVY

So here are some pictures of some of trips. Let's be honest, it's the real reason you're here!

 

[aleks77]

Hey fellow North Vaner! I always see you parked at the automall, sweet ride! Where was that last photo you posted taken?

 

[HiluxSurfGuy]

Hey fellow North Vaner! I always see you parked at the automall, sweet ride! Where was that last photo you posted taken?

Hey! Yea I worked at Park Shore but have quit since then. What do you drive? That last picture with the Canadian Flag was at Jones Lake between Hope and Chilliwack.

 

[HiluxSurfGuy]

Wheeling

A few pictures of two recent trips I did up here in BC. First four pictures are in Squamish and the last four are at Chehalius Lake.

 

[aleks77]

Hey! Yea I worked at Park Shore but have quit since then. What do you drive? That last picture with the Canadian Flag was at Jones Lake between Hope and Chilliwack.

99 4runner limited, black. I do all the wheel repair for Park Shore haha and half the automall. My buddy adam with a stock silver 3rd gen met you at the Bc toyota coffee meet last week, i gotta make it out next time!

 

[HiluxSurfGuy]

Custom Bumper

So I finally got my custom tube bumper built and installed.

Here are some pics form the early building process on one trip to Poison Mountain in BC. After are pics of the bumper on an Oregon trip I did.

I also installed a Smittybuilt XRC 9500 winch in it.

I also finished installing the full skid plates that reach the gas tank skid.

If you want to see anymore pictures from the Oregon or Poison Mountain trip check me out [MENTION=221]Chris[/MENTION]thecheeseball on Instagram.

 

[HiluxSurfGuy]

Upgrade TIME!!!!

Also in the mix for the next two weeks. The beast is getting new 5100 Bilsteins in the front with adjustable Eibach coils.

In the rear there will a complete axle swap happening and the truck will be getting re-geared to 4.88s with her new to me e-locker! Pretty exciting.

Sliders are also on the list.

 

[hoathbill]

CV's

Hey Chris,
Great build thread, I picked it up after following you on Instagram. You mentioned several CV replacements and I wanted to ask you what happened. Just wheeling? I'm in Vancouver and my '99 LTD is starting to show her age. Blew up my rear \ diff on the Whipsaw this summer and Ive been wondering if I should start to carry a spare CV off road in case of a failure.
Thanks
Bill

 

[W4R123]

Wow great truck and some beautiful pictures! I also live in Vancouver man we have some amazing places here just waiting to be explored!

Can I ask you where that sandy beach is? It looks stunning.

 

[HiluxSurfGuy]

Hey Chris,
Great build thread, I picked it up after following you on Instagram. You mentioned several CV replacements and I wanted to ask you what happened. Just wheeling? I'm in Vancouver and my '99 LTD is starting to show her age. Blew up my rear \ diff on the Whipsaw this summer and Ive been wondering if I should start to carry a spare CV off road in case of a failure.
Thanks
Bill

Hey sorry for the late reply, I've never actually broken a CV, but I have torn a lot of boots. I am currently trying a "boot slide mod" to stop the tearing of the boots. Ill write up about it soon!

 

[HiluxSurfGuy]

Wow great truck and some beautiful pictures! I also live in Vancouver man we have some amazing places here just waiting to be explored!

Can I ask you where that sandy beach is? It looks stunning.

Pretty amazing here for sure! The beach pictures are all in Oregon. Just outside of Florence!

 

[HiluxSurfGuy]

4.88s, E locker, Eibachs and more!

Time to do a bit of an update. I really only seem to do these when enough people bug me about it, which usually works out to be only ever few months. So I apologize for the lack of activity, but you get a whole bunch of mods in one post this way!

To start us off, I pulled the truck off the road for a while in late August to get some goodies installed.

yukon 4.88s and E locker:

I was able to find a cheap rear housing for an e-locker so I didn't have to do a whole housing retrofit. So I proceeded to clean that up and re-paint it.

Meanwhile, I didn't trust myself to regear my diffs, so a local shop called Disturbed Industries re-built the entire rear end (bearing kit, gears and output flange) all into the new to me e-locker which has a very mint actutator.

He also pressed new wheel bearings, abs rings and retainers and axle seals on for me.

While I was waiting for Yukon to send the gears, I also went ahead and ordered new front suspension. I went with the 4Runner Bilstein 5100s with 650lb coils. I originally installed them on the lowest notch, but now have them on the top notch. They ride a lit stiff but work amazing offroad:

Pretty incredible travel here with them:

Finally, also with the down time, I had to change out my old Double Din deck as the touch screen failed. I ended up going with a new Single Din Kenwood so I decided to build a Double Din switch panel to go with it.

Future mods in the next while will include:

-Trail Gear 67" Sliders (will be adding a kickout):

- Rock lights
- Snorkel
- Looking for 35's but it will probably be some time before this happens
- Full sleeping set up to extend my current drawers.

 

[HiluxSurfGuy]

Trip Update

Also as per usual, here is the post about all the trips since last update:

Blowdown Pass, Sea to Sky, First snow of the season:

Stave Lake, really got stuck:

Kenyon Lake, I think this is the most flexxed out the truck has ever been:

As per usual, follow me on instagram [MENTION=221]Chris[/MENTION]thecheeseball where I post more pictures.

Also please ask me questions about anything on the truck or in the mod list on the first page. I know I don't explain everything super well on here!