Weekend before last, I took a ride with Wife & Baby to try and find some snow wheeling. Unfortunately the road we went looking for was closed for the winter, so we didn't get to play. I was hoping to make Baby's first wheeling trip a snow run, but oh well. We ended up taking the dogs for a walk and hanging out, and she still had fun.
(NO she doesn't ride around in the 4Runner like this, I just grabbed a quick shot before we strapped her into the car seat)
An opportunity came up to purchase another E-Locker ECU at a decent price, so I went ahead and bought it. I will just swap the new one in for the time being while I get the old one repaired. I plan to hang on to whichever one I don't use as a spare in case I have any other problems in the future. The new ECU will also allow me to verify exactly what type of resistor I need for the old ECU, since the markings were burned off when I smoked it.
Also, the Valve Body is back from I.P.T. and has been fully upgraded. I need to find a couple afternoons to install it, along with the B&M 70264, some fresh fluid, a new filter, and some new lines to the coolers (I accidentally used fuel line on one of the runs from the cooler to the trans hard lines... oops). I inspected the V.B. and it looks good as far as I can tell. I spotted a few things that were modified, so I know they didn't just clean it up and send it back to me. :fro:
I finally got the Limit Straps installed.... for an easy job, they were a total pain the ass. I have now officially made my ugliest weld to date.
(Want to know what parts are needed for a front limit strap setup? Click here >
Limit Strap Parts List)
Measuring up the mounting location on the D/S....
I used a sanding wheel on the Dremel to clean the paint off the frame...
Before I realized that it was going to be a tough position in which to lay a bead, I laid down a snake of a weld. I tried to get in there and grind it off, but there was no way to get the grinder in there without tearing everything up. My only option was to run a couple more passes and really burn everything in. It came out looking nasty... just nasty.
I was more prepared on the other side, and things got a lot better..
I wanted to be sure that the welds were going to hold, so after they cooled, I started with a dead blow hammer and pounded the snot out of the bracket. Then I moved on to a framing hammer. I actually bent the 1/4" thick bracket by hammering on it, and the welds held up just fine, so I think they'll be ok. (notice all the dents in the bracket, and the bend to the right)
Moving on to the P/S, I was determined to take my time and do a little better...
The welds came out much better... not perfect, or beautiful, but strong.
Add a little self-etching primer, and flat black...
And all that was left was to install the straps and adjust them.
Putting 101 lb/ft of torque on the lower shock bolt got a little interesting, because the limit straps kept trying to rotate with the nut. I threaded a coat hanger through the D/S strap end and twisted it tightly around the LCA to secure the D/S strap. That worked out great.
On the P/S I had to prevent rotation in the opposite direction relative to the LCA, and I found that a 17mm socket between the strap end and the LCA worked great for that purpose...
I adjusted the straps to where the spindle/UBJ comes within 1/8" of the coil under the full weight of the wheel/tire combo and the full downward pressure of the shock/coil. That was the recommend clearance per the instructions from Sonoran Steel.
After the install was complete I took the truck around the neighborhood and hit some speed bumps that normally result in major contact between my front suspension parts at any speed above 20 mph. I hit them all at 30 mph on the nose, and had ZERO contact between the spindles/UBJ's and the coils... PERFECT! No noise, no drama, just nice smooth launches over the speed bumps. The welds held up just fine, too.
Last but not least, I took some measurements between the edge of the fender flare and the top of the tire. At full droop I measured 8.75", and at ride height I measured 6.5", on both sides. So, with the current setup, I've got 2.25" of droop at ride height at the front tires outside edge, and the rest is uptravel.
All done, side by side: