MountainBrew's 98 Build Thread

[MountainBrew]

Lots of fun reading through your post. Thanks for sharing!

Any pointers on the PCK install? Was it fairly straightforward?

I appreciate the words.
PCK install was very straightforward but there isn’t a lot of room for error from what I’ve read. It seems to me (and I am next to clueless compared to most of the folks on here) that the pan hard would bear the brunt of almost all the lateral force applied to the rear wheels. As such those welds need to be solid. I used a 230v welder and welded inside and out. Seemed to get good penetration. Mtbtim did a great video on it, of course. I liked his method of installing a piece on angle iron to reinforce the axle side. I can’t tell if the ride is any better since I didn’t drive the truck without it after installing the lift. After I get the brakes done and the truck off jack stands I’ll take a picture of my pan hard bar angle sitting at rest and post it here


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[MountainBrew]

This is the new angle of the panhard bar. The trails I went on yesterday were pure dust so everything has a nice coat.
If anything the PCK almost went a touch too far but not nearly enough to be concerned. That configuration is for 3” of lift according to EIMKeith. I ordered the 3” lift toytec springs but also have the steel bumper with a tire carrier and 10 gal of gas so I’m sure it’s closer to 2.5” or even 2”.

Note: I put a few coats of rattle can on the PCK brackets after I took this picture...must’ve done the last paint job post six-pack

I also finished the brake job and it stops on a dime! I’m still not happy with the parking brake but I also haven’t done enough research on how all the components work together. I’m thinking I need to adjust the stop screw on the bell crank bracket until there is less slack in the cable inside the brake drum, and then adjust the cable stops attached to the parking brake handle.

Edit: forgot about the bell crank picture. Think I found the problem

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[JohnOfTheJungle]

You name yourself after my favorite beer Mountain Brew (aka a very cool brew!)?

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[MountainBrew]

Question for you all...

I didn’t think about this before but when I replaced my wheels I reused the lug nuts that were on the steelies that came with the truck when I bought it. I’m not sure what year the FJ wheels are so I have t been able to definitively tell which style lug nuts I need. It looks like I may need mag style lugs rather than the conicals I have. Any thoughts?

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[phattyduck]

Question for you all...

I didn’t think about this before but when I replaced my wheels I reused the lug nuts that were on the steelies that came with the truck when I bought it. I’m not sure what year the FJ wheels are so I have t been able to definitively tell which style lug nuts I need. It looks like I may need mag style lugs rather than the conicals I have. Any thoughts?

You need the washer / flat seat lug nuts for those wheels. The OEM steel wheels use the conical seat style and won't be safe on the aluminum wheels.

-Charlie

 

[MountainBrew]

Yeah, I’m a jackass. Definitely supposed to use the mag style lugs with washers. They fit perfect. Glad the wheels didnt fall off.


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[MountainBrew]

Some additions...I mounted the traction mats and hi lift jack

Couldn’t figure out a good way to mount the mats so a ratchet strap primary with a climbing rope secondary are going to have to do for now.

Also built a platform drawer system...

Pretty happy with the way it turned out considering I didn’t have any plans, but I did have a 6 pack. Lumber was cheap but the 36” drawer slides were well over $100. Oof.

Next up is my custom 4 tire filling/deflating system. I use all sorts of draft beer components and have a pretty good system worked out that keeps all 4 tires at exactly the same pressure. Modified version of what 4Crawler sells.


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[MountainBrew]

Just got the compressor mostly installed. I had done this once before but the first gen 4R 22re has a lot more extra room in the engine bay than the 3rd gen 5vz so I wasnt sure where to install it and settled on the plate bumper. It ended up working pretty well but I am going to give the compressor the snorkel treatment since it’s a bit lower than I want.

It’s slightly visible in the first pic, it’s mounted pretty much right behind the turn signal I. The second pic.

The ARB on/off switch fit perfectly in the stock switch cutout.

Now I just need to do some research and figure out which wires to tap into for ignition(on) and headlight on.


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[MountainBrew]

More updates...
Installed an awning I got from Costco. Seems to be pretty well built and was fairly cheap.

Also installed a snorkel. Is it necessary? Well the reason I don’t have my first gen anymore is because I hydrolocked my 22re driving through a puddle (read: mini lake). A few weeks later I threw a rod through the side of the block leaving a 3 inch hole. The only thing left is an ashtray I made from one of the piston heads. RIP Millennium Falcon.

This part was pretty nerve racking

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[MountainBrew]

Battery relocation ideas...

It's been quite a while since I posted on this but the truck is doing very well on the trails, and not terrible on the highway considering I haven't re-geared it yet.

A friend of mine got stuck in the snow at about 11,000ft last week so I went up to pull him out, and it quickly became obvious my electrical system isn't up to the task of running my winch while pulling on an F-150. So, I figure it's time to do the big three wiring upgrade I should've done a long time ago and replace the 7 year old lead acid battery. I'm also considering upgrading the alternator but that discussion is for another time...

I used to have a 1st gen, and always really like the setup 4crawler did with his dual batteries mounted under his vehicle.
Dual Battery Installation

I searched far and wide and haven't found anyone who did that on their 3rd gen yet. Since my spare tire is now mounted on my rear bumper I have tons of spare room back there where I could mount a couple of batteries. I've pretty much decided to go with AGM Interstate batteries from Costco because the price is good and the warranty is better. I would wire it pretty standard for a dual setup with an isolator and some remote battery terminals up front for jumping, etc. I dont plan to weld with them so I wouldn't do the series/parallel setup 4Crawler did.

Thoughts? Stupid idea? Part of me is saying just do the wiring upgrade and get a better battery and call it good, but the other part wants to do a sick mod.

 

[Iron duke]

It's been quite a while since I posted on this but the truck is doing very well on the trails, and not terrible on the highway considering I haven't re-geared it yet.

A friend of mine got stuck in the snow at about 11,000ft last week so I went up to pull him out, and it quickly became obvious my electrical system isn't up to the task of running my winch while pulling on an F-150. So, I figure it's time to do the big three wiring upgrade I should've done a long time ago and replace the 7 year old lead acid battery. I'm also considering upgrading the alternator but that discussion is for another time...

I used to have a 1st gen, and always really like the setup 4crawler did with his dual batteries mounted under his vehicle.
Dual Battery Installation
I searched far and wide and haven't found anyone who did that on their 3rd gen yet. Since my spare tire is now mounted on my rear bumper I have tons of spare room back there where I could mount a couple of batteries. I've pretty much decided to go with AGM Interstate batteries from Costco because the price is good and the warranty is better. I would wire it pretty standard for a dual setup with an isolator and some remote battery terminals up front for jumping, etc. I dont plan to weld with them so I wouldn't do the series/parallel setup 4Crawler did.

Thoughts? Stupid idea? Part of me is saying just do the wiring upgrade and get a better battery and call it good, but the other part wants to do a sick mod.

I mean couldn't you technically just get a big jump starter pack and use the winch fine on that? I know it's not fancy or cool but it would save a lot of work. Just a thought...
If in fact you have time (and Christmas money lol) then running dual batteries is what a lot of people do that are serious about crawling/overlanding. It would be cool to see how you do the dual battery system too.

 

[MountainBrew]

I mean couldn't you technically just get a big jump starter pack and use the winch fine on that? I know it's not fancy or cool but it would save a lot of work. Just a thought...
If in fact you have time (and Christmas money lol) then running dual batteries is what a lot of people do that are serious about crawling/overlanding. It would be cool to see how you do the dual battery system too.

I actually carry one of those around at all times anyway...so maybe I'll give it a test run. In the meantime I'm going to do the Big 3 upgrade and get a 24f AGM from Costco and see how is goes.

 

[MountainBrew]

Good, bad and ugly

The good first because the bad is really bad.
I replaced my radiator and hoses, and swapped from Prestone green to Toyota Red with a few distilled flushes in between. Also added a transmission cooler inline with a transmission fluid filter. I flushed the trans per the video from [MENTION=120071]mtbtim[/MENTION] and replaced the current (surprisingly clean) fluid with Valvoline Maxlife. Worked great.
I also added a trans fluid temp gauge to the a pillar and it is working great. Taken a few highway rides and the trans temp stayed around 150 even with some good old fashioned Colorado inclines. Haven’t climbed in 4low yet but I like that I’ll be able to monitor temps on the trans now.
Did the t-stat while I was at it, and found the jiggle valve was at 12 o’clock not 6. The debate continues I guess, I follow instructions and put it at 6. Motor temps stay perfect.
The ugly
My truck in general. Nothing new here. The paint was faded 20 years ago, now the clear coat peels like an old sunburn. Also my haircut.
The bad
I did a compression test yesterday. Warmed it up first and pulled the gas tank pump plug under the back seat.
Started on the passenger side first. All three were within 10 points of 160. Not great, but with 300k on the motor it’s kinda what I expected. Consistently average/below average is my middle name.
Then came the drivers side. 70ish on all three! What a major let down. I assumed a bad head gasket would be one cylinder if leaking outward, two cylinders if leaking between cylinders, but all three?!? Timmy mentioned to me in video comments that it could be a cracked head and now it’s time to do a leak down test. I’m going to see if Orielly loans them out and go from there.
I already have a JDM replacement sitting in storage right now, but honestly I’m not confident in doing the job myself. I watched about half of Timmys 5vz replacement series (finished the engine tear down last night) and it seems like there is a heck of a lot I can mess up on this job.
IF it is a cracked head, would the motor fail over time or catastrophically? I’m considering just running it this summer and dealing with it after the camping season. As of right now the car runs fine. It’s a bit of a dog but I put 33s on and tons of armor without regearing so I expected it to be slow. It’s starts immediately every time and doesn’t blow smoke, just a bit of condensation vapor at start up. My oil and coolant levels don’t noticeably change either, and both look good to the naked eye, not that it really tells me anything.
I’ve invested a lot into this truck so I’m not giving up by any means, I just don’t necessarily want to tackle an engine swap right now. Thoughts?

 

[G_Raw]

You could pay a shop to do the swap. Thats what i did since i didnt have the time or space to pull off the swap. Truck was out of commission for a week. Im just about finished with the break in of the new motor. And camping season is about to start. And i have piece of mind.

If you opt to not tackle the issue now you risk damaging other components depending on what's truly going on with your motor. Also I pushed my motor a bit last summer when my issues came up. I was 8 miles off road with my family when the engine started misfiring hard, there was fires that started that week in the mountains near where we were, and no one else was around...that was not a fun situation to be in or drive out of the mountains. It immediately made me think "what if the motor fully gave out at any point offroad?". That was not something I wanted to have to deal with so I personally retired the truck to my grocery getter and commuter ( it's a 20 minute drive to work nothing crazy) until I could get my new motor built and put in.

So I guess my point is be mindful of what you're actually risking with each decision and if you're fine taking those risks and dealing with the potential negative outcomes then run it hard! If you aren't okay dealing with or fixing those negative outcomes then bite the bullet and figure out your plan of attack to get the issue fixed sooner rather than later.

 

[MountainBrew]

You could pay a shop to do the swap. Thats what i did since i didnt have the time or space to pull off the swap. Truck was out of commission for a week. Im just about finished with the break in of the new motor. And camping season is about to start. And i have piece of mind.

If you opt to not tackle the issue now you risk damaging other components depending on what's truly going on with your motor. Also I pushed my motor a bit last summer when my issues came up. I was 8 miles off road with my family when the engine started misfiring hard, there was fires that started that week in the mountains near where we were, and no one else was around...that was not a fun situation to be in or drive out of the mountains. It immediately made me think "what if the motor fully gave out at any point offroad?". That was not something I wanted to have to deal with so I personally retired the truck to my grocery getter and commuter ( it's a 20 minute drive to work nothing crazy) until I could get my new motor built and put in.

So I guess my point is be mindful of what you're actually risking with each decision and if you're fine taking those risks and dealing with the potential negative outcomes then run it hard! If you aren't okay dealing with or fixing those negative outcomes then bite the bullet and figure out your plan of attack to get the issue fixed sooner rather than later.

That is certainly something I’ve thought of...or tried not to think of. The wildfire that shut down I-70 for a month last year was about 2 miles from my house and charred our favorite camping spot. I’m going to talk to some shops on Monday and figure out what sort of time and $ this is going to end up costing me. Since I already have a JDM motor it will just be the cost of the r/r and any timing belt things I want to replace


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[G_Raw]

Good luck with the rig. For what it's worth local shop with mechanic who has a Sami built up quoted me $1600, Yota 1 quoted me $2000. Yota 1 might be near you if you're close to where 99 intersects 70. IDK if you providing your motor does anything to the Yota1 situation. I had them build my motor so they were putting in one of there own...they are cool though I'm sure they'd work something out with you.

 

[MountainBrew]

Good luck with the rig. For what it's worth local shop with mechanic who has a Sami built up quoted me $1600, Yota 1 quoted me $2000. Yota 1 might be near you if you're close to where 99 intersects 70. IDK if you providing your motor does anything to the Yota1 situation. I had them build my motor so they were putting in one of there own...they are cool though I'm sure they'd work something out with you.

Thanks for the advice, unfortunately I’m at a very different part of I-70 where the CA turns into CO


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[MountainBrew]

Well the saga continues. A few folks mentioned bad compression on all three cylinders on the same cam could be caused by timing being off. So I rotated the crank pulley to “0” and it looks like both cam pulley marks correctly lined up. Other than the fact that my timing belt was put on backwards I don’t see any issues.

The leak down test kit arrives in a day or two so we will see what comes next.


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[MountainBrew]

Another note, the piston heads all appear to have plenty of char on them, consistent on both passenger and driver sides.


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[MountainBrew]

I did a wet compression test today and the compression numbers basically doubled to about 150+. Looks like the rings are bad, I assume from a fueling issue on the driver side washing the cylinder walls and wearing them down.

So I found a shop to do the motor swap since I don't have the stones. I'm paying more than I care to admit. Before the JDM goes in I'm going to do the timing belt and all the fixins, real main seal, flex plate, injectors (motorwest), knock sensors (yota1) and valve covers with a lash check/adjustment. Anything else I should be looking at?