Thanks! I may take you up on that offer! I'm pretty close to you, I25 and Broadway round abouts. Going to go look up your rig now and see if I recognize it because like a lot of people here I might have a bit of an obsession and stare at every 3rd I come across. :banana:
Project GG35
- Thread starter seank
- Start date
Thanks! I may take you up on that offer! I'm pretty close to you, I25 and Broadway round abouts. Going to go look up your rig now and see if I recognize it because like a lot of people here I might have a bit of an obsession and stare at every 3rd I come across. :banana:
I don't have a build thread and I'm stock. Pretty boring
You're not stock, you're just in stealth mode!
So I am NEVER going to buy another Energy Suspension product again.
A while back I ordered a steering rack bushing kit, from Amazon, to install while I had the front diff out. I went to install it this past weekend, May 15th, only to discover that that one of the two halves of the center bushing set was COMPLETELY wrong. Additionally, of the two sleeves included for the center NEITHER was correct. That, however, is a commonly known issue as I found after the fact. Pardon the f### out of me for assuming that the kits would all contain the correct parts and not double checking first :rollseyes: By the way, the solution to the incorrect sleeve diameter is to use a 9/16 drill bit to bore it out.
NOTE TO ANYONE BUYING AN ENERGY SUSPENSION PRODUCT: well two notes, first don't do it, second open the kit and check everything right away.
I ordered another kit from Amazon thinking fine, I just want this in the past, the kit should have at least one of the correct bushing I need, maybe even the right diameter sleeve. Just to be safe I ordered a drill bit too as the largest I had was 1/2". For the record, I ordered 9/32 instead of the CORRECT 9/16. :ybrick: The kit got here yesterday along with some Rotella T6 and my dog's supplements. Amazon put those last two in the same box and shipped them USPS and the damaged box was covered in oil on the inside. I went to install this new kit about an hour ago. it had all the right sized bushings, but only one center sleeve and that was too large. Out comes the drill bit and that's when I realized I got the wrong size. Bored out the small sleeve from the other kit with my 1/2" bit in the bench vice, installed everything and torqued it to spec. Rack bushings? Meet the past.
Back to Sunday morning,
So after this discovered the bushing problem I moved onto the suspension determined to make some/any progress. By myself. The front struts were a cake walk with the axles already out, took about 40 minutes. The rear was more challenging. I followed the advice of others here and simply took the sawzall to the top of the shocks instead of messing with vice grips or whatever. Popped them right off. For the springs, on the first side, I took off the upper control arm to get some more articulation. DO NOT DO THIS, it was a ***** to get back in. On the second side I used the bottle jack; I'll eat that cake. Then I started on the shocks. I couldn't get the top nut to cinch down and wasn't ready to commit to removing the pretty boots that were on there. So after some more wrestling I called it a day, cleaned up and took four Motrin.
WRT to (anti)swaybars, I order f/r Prothane kits a long time ago. I took the front bar off when I was pulling the diff because why not; broke one of the body brackets, order two new ones, have them in hand. Rear is hanging there disconnected. I also have new end links from [MENTION=98153]MStudt[/MENTION]/Overland (thanks man!). I'll get all that bolted by the end of this upcoming weekend. But First on the to-do list is installing the new, fully assembled with ADD junk, front diff. Fingers crossed...
A while back I ordered a steering rack bushing kit, from Amazon, to install while I had the front diff out. I went to install it this past weekend, May 15th, only to discover that that one of the two halves of the center bushing set was COMPLETELY wrong. Additionally, of the two sleeves included for the center NEITHER was correct. That, however, is a commonly known issue as I found after the fact. Pardon the f### out of me for assuming that the kits would all contain the correct parts and not double checking first :rollseyes: By the way, the solution to the incorrect sleeve diameter is to use a 9/16 drill bit to bore it out.
NOTE TO ANYONE BUYING AN ENERGY SUSPENSION PRODUCT: well two notes, first don't do it, second open the kit and check everything right away.
I ordered another kit from Amazon thinking fine, I just want this in the past, the kit should have at least one of the correct bushing I need, maybe even the right diameter sleeve. Just to be safe I ordered a drill bit too as the largest I had was 1/2". For the record, I ordered 9/32 instead of the CORRECT 9/16. :ybrick: The kit got here yesterday along with some Rotella T6 and my dog's supplements. Amazon put those last two in the same box and shipped them USPS and the damaged box was covered in oil on the inside. I went to install this new kit about an hour ago. it had all the right sized bushings, but only one center sleeve and that was too large. Out comes the drill bit and that's when I realized I got the wrong size. Bored out the small sleeve from the other kit with my 1/2" bit in the bench vice, installed everything and torqued it to spec. Rack bushings? Meet the past.
Back to Sunday morning,
So after this discovered the bushing problem I moved onto the suspension determined to make some/any progress. By myself. The front struts were a cake walk with the axles already out, took about 40 minutes. The rear was more challenging. I followed the advice of others here and simply took the sawzall to the top of the shocks instead of messing with vice grips or whatever. Popped them right off. For the springs, on the first side, I took off the upper control arm to get some more articulation. DO NOT DO THIS, it was a ***** to get back in. On the second side I used the bottle jack; I'll eat that cake. Then I started on the shocks. I couldn't get the top nut to cinch down and wasn't ready to commit to removing the pretty boots that were on there. So after some more wrestling I called it a day, cleaned up and took four Motrin.
WRT to (anti)swaybars, I order f/r Prothane kits a long time ago. I took the front bar off when I was pulling the diff because why not; broke one of the body brackets, order two new ones, have them in hand. Rear is hanging there disconnected. I also have new end links from [MENTION=98153]MStudt[/MENTION]/Overland (thanks man!). I'll get all that bolted by the end of this upcoming weekend. But First on the to-do list is installing the new, fully assembled with ADD junk, front diff. Fingers crossed...
I got the front differential in today. Man, that was a pain. It only took about 90 minutes to bench press it up and move it around until I got everything to line up. Unfortunately I can't call it done yet. I was about to start torquing everything down when I realized I needed to move the top bracket into place and install the two 12mm bolts. I did that and realized I lost the little 3" piece of hose that connects the diff breather barb to the hard line. I tried to get some cheap plastic tube on there with no luck, partially because the tube was too small, mostly because I couldn't get an angle on it. I ordered a spool of 3/8" fuel line that'll be here Wednesday, I'll loosen everything up and hopefully get it torqued down then.
Also buttoned up the rear suspension including wheel spacers :bounce: the rear wheels stick out really far now.
Also buttoned up the rear suspension including wheel spacers :bounce: the rear wheels stick out really far now.
Hehe, glad they're entertaining. I know they need more pictures, but there's only so many pictures of a truck on jack stands I can bare to take, and I'm way past my quota. Plus they'd be boring. I do have one interesting one, let me see if I can find it.
Sent from my Nexus 9 using Tapatalk
Sent from my Nexus 9 using Tapatalk
Biiiiiiig news! GG is on the road! arty::dancin::whoo:
This past weekend was really productive. Saturday I got the driveshaft bolted back in but that it. Sunday I hit the garage about 8 AM and knocked out the CV axles, front anti-sway bar bushings and links, bolted the LBJs back up (using locktite) replaced the missing stud on the front passenger side, filled the front diff with 1,000,000 weight Lucas oil, slapped on the wheel spacers, bolted up the stock wheels/tires, sacrificed a chicken and went for a test drive. Nothing exploded so win!
I've been working on the gear break-in according to the ECGS PDF, think I have about 50 miles/10% down so far. Tuesday I got the new General Grabbers mounted up on the Procomps. Tomorrow she has appointment at B&A in Englewood for alignment :fingerscrossed: and just a few minutes ago I ordered lug nuts :facepalm: I knew I needed new ones but I just never got around to ordering them.
There are a couple things I'm not totally happy about however. One, I lost one of the bolts that hold the bracket to for ADD vacc lines in place. Two, the other bolt won't go in all the way. It did the first two times I installed it, then it didn't, I tried the other bolt before I lost and had the same problem. Got frustrated as hell and said f'it. Three, I have the wrong size hose on the front breather; it's too big, so it leaks. Four, when I went to remove the passenger caliper to pull the rotor to install the new lug stud the head snapped off the bolt that holds the braket for the hardline. I don't have a screw extract and again said f'it, I'll fix it later. Five, I haven't done the rear sway bushings or links yet, but I still have the bar on with the links disconnected and it makes nosies when I go over bumps. All of these things are really nagging at the back of my mind and I need to get them fixed, just taking a break for a few days.
I still have a LOT of stuff on my to-do list for which I already have parts/supplies so I'll start cranking through that this weekend. But for now, damn, it feels good to be on the road.
And now, pictures!
Day I got it on the road:
IMG_20160605_123115 by seank13, on Flickr
IMG_20160605_123142 by seank13, on Flickr
Action shots, from me getting coffee this morning:
IMG_20160608_082643 by seank13, on Flickr
IMG_20160608_082554 by seank13, on Flickr
Tire size comparison:
IMG_20160608_090159 by seank13, on Flickr
Top of the to-do list:
Screen Shot 2016-06-08 at 10.16.01 PM by seank13, on Flickr
arty::dancin::whoo:This past weekend was really productive. Saturday I got the driveshaft bolted back in but that it. Sunday I hit the garage about 8 AM and knocked out the CV axles, front anti-sway bar bushings and links, bolted the LBJs back up (using locktite) replaced the missing stud on the front passenger side, filled the front diff with 1,000,000 weight Lucas oil, slapped on the wheel spacers, bolted up the stock wheels/tires, sacrificed a chicken and went for a test drive. Nothing exploded so win!
I've been working on the gear break-in according to the ECGS PDF, think I have about 50 miles/10% down so far. Tuesday I got the new General Grabbers mounted up on the Procomps. Tomorrow she has appointment at B&A in Englewood for alignment :fingerscrossed: and just a few minutes ago I ordered lug nuts :facepalm: I knew I needed new ones but I just never got around to ordering them.
There are a couple things I'm not totally happy about however. One, I lost one of the bolts that hold the bracket to for ADD vacc lines in place. Two, the other bolt won't go in all the way. It did the first two times I installed it, then it didn't, I tried the other bolt before I lost and had the same problem. Got frustrated as hell and said f'it. Three, I have the wrong size hose on the front breather; it's too big, so it leaks. Four, when I went to remove the passenger caliper to pull the rotor to install the new lug stud the head snapped off the bolt that holds the braket for the hardline. I don't have a screw extract and again said f'it, I'll fix it later. Five, I haven't done the rear sway bushings or links yet, but I still have the bar on with the links disconnected and it makes nosies when I go over bumps. All of these things are really nagging at the back of my mind and I need to get them fixed, just taking a break for a few days.
I still have a LOT of stuff on my to-do list for which I already have parts/supplies so I'll start cranking through that this weekend. But for now, damn, it feels good to be on the road.
And now, pictures!
Day I got it on the road:
IMG_20160605_123115 by seank13, on FlickrIMG_20160605_123142 by seank13, on FlickrAction shots, from me getting coffee this morning:
IMG_20160608_082643 by seank13, on FlickrIMG_20160608_082554 by seank13, on FlickrTire size comparison:
IMG_20160608_090159 by seank13, on FlickrTop of the to-do list:
Screen Shot 2016-06-08 at 10.16.01 PM by seank13, on FlickrmeRockboost
New member
I like your build thread. Mainly I like your overuse of sarcasm.
Rock_Rat
Senior Member
Hey Sean, I enjoyed reading your Tolstoy novel this morning over a cup of coffee. Very thorough. Taking care of the platform first and building from there. Keep up the great work and hope you get those handful of little things taken care of. I think you'll be glad you went with the 4.88's. I could have gotten away with 4.56's with 33's but, like they say "go big or don't go at all". Sub'd
Thanks, [MENTION=116467]Rock_Rat[/MENTION]! As you already know I am a Rock_Rat Fan_Boy, so that means a lot. As for the Tolstoy comparison... I definitely have more words than mechanical skills, so I use what I have. I think I'll take it as a compliment too, at least that way I won't cry into my pillow as much later.
Speaking of going big or not going at all...
Holy Balls, 315/75-16 (35"s) are HUUUUGE. I went out and got some crappy and mismatched lug nuts last night just to get the wheels on for the alignment; I wanted B&A to move things forward to help clear the pinch weld. I threw them on this morning right before I was scheduled to drop her off. I immediately had break out the BFH just to get enough radius to exit the garage.
The good news is they clear the UCAs no problem with the Spidertrax 1.25 spacers. I do not think they would clear otherwise. I also picked up a air cutoff tool and a bunch of discs off Amazon a while ago so I'm ready to go Sweeney Todd the girl.
The bad news is I am now positive that the fender flares have to go. I already knew this but I'm good at denial. They're in decent shape if anyone wants them.
And pictures:
IMG_20160609_084123 by seank13, on Flickr
IMG_20160609_084136 by seank13, on Flickr
Holy Balls, 315/75-16 (35"s) are HUUUUGE. I went out and got some crappy and mismatched lug nuts last night just to get the wheels on for the alignment; I wanted B&A to move things forward to help clear the pinch weld. I threw them on this morning right before I was scheduled to drop her off. I immediately had break out the BFH just to get enough radius to exit the garage.
The good news is they clear the UCAs no problem with the Spidertrax 1.25 spacers. I do not think they would clear otherwise. I also picked up a air cutoff tool and a bunch of discs off Amazon a while ago so I'm ready to go Sweeney Todd the girl.
The bad news is I am now positive that the fender flares have to go. I already knew this but I'm good at denial. They're in decent shape if anyone wants them.
And pictures:
IMG_20160609_084123 by seank13, on FlickrIMG_20160609_084136 by seank13, on FlickrSo I just got a call from Kelly at B&A, the alignment shop. He had some bad news:
First, right rear eccentric is seized. This isn't terrible because he said they don't actually need to adjust it, this time. It's cool, I was planning on to LCA bushings not too far down the line, can replace it then.
Then he told me that the rack and pinion is leaking like crazy. When the tech went to take the left inner boot off to adjust the toe it started pouring fluid out.
He wanted to know if they should finish the alignment or if I wanted to replace the rack then bring it back :awesome:
I reason that the zip ties were holding the fluid in and could do so again. Additionally, the steering feels fine so it may just be a slow leak. Additionally, wallet is severely fatigued at the moment (just got back from vacation, Mrs b-day is coming up). And lastly, I told myself when I started this build that I would stay IFS so long as I didn't have to start pouring cash into it (at the time I was thinking UCAs). If you've read my entire epic you know the original plan was to SAS but reasons. A whole new rack is starting to tip those scales.
So I told him to finish the alignment and I'll keep an eye on it. At the same time I'll keep a lookout for a new-to-me rack with a known history, as well as waggy d44's or other front solid axle deals, just in case.
First, right rear eccentric is seized. This isn't terrible because he said they don't actually need to adjust it, this time. It's cool, I was planning on to LCA bushings not too far down the line, can replace it then.
Then he told me that the rack and pinion is leaking like crazy. When the tech went to take the left inner boot off to adjust the toe it started pouring fluid out.
He wanted to know if they should finish the alignment or if I wanted to replace the rack then bring it back :awesome:I reason that the zip ties were holding the fluid in and could do so again. Additionally, the steering feels fine so it may just be a slow leak. Additionally, wallet is severely fatigued at the moment (just got back from vacation, Mrs b-day is coming up). And lastly, I told myself when I started this build that I would stay IFS so long as I didn't have to start pouring cash into it (at the time I was thinking UCAs). If you've read my entire epic you know the original plan was to SAS but reasons. A whole new rack is starting to tip those scales.
So I told him to finish the alignment and I'll keep an eye on it. At the same time I'll keep a lookout for a new-to-me rack with a known history, as well as waggy d44's or other front solid axle deals, just in case.
Update time. Yesterday I removed the washer reservoir from the passenger wheel well and installed the Sonoran relocation kit. Also removed the rest of the front "bumper". Man what a joke that thing is, must only weigh 11 lbs and soooo flimsy. Then I refitted the stock turn indicators, with zip ties. I will be be building a real bumper after I tub the firewall, always have to do the hard stuff first, so it's only temporary I swear.
Then this morning I noticed that both the inners on the CV axles are spitting grease, not even 100 miles after the lift and diff drop. What yall think, should I get some Napa Maxxxxxxxawesome lifetime axles and Toyota reboot kits? I need a spare set either way.
Then I left work early because reasons, got coffee then put her to the test doing what she's meant to do.
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Then this morning I noticed that both the inners on the CV axles are spitting grease, not even 100 miles after the lift and diff drop. What yall think, should I get some Napa Maxxxxxxxawesome lifetime axles and Toyota reboot kits? I need a spare set either way.
Then I left work early because reasons, got coffee then put her to the test doing what she's meant to do.
Sent from my Nexus 9 using Tapatalk
trovergraywilson
New member
My kinda thread.
Because reasons.
Keep it up.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Because reasons.
Keep it up.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Rock_Rat
Senior Member
Dang man, didn't take long for the boots to tear. They are 15 plus years old so no surprise, plus you're now lifted. Geometry has changed. A lot of the guys swear by the napa axles. Lifetime warranty is good. I originally bought aftermarket extended boots but changed my mind and ended up using OEM. I also bought a spare set of OEM axles from the salvage yard with another set of OEM boots. I'm just going to keep rotating them out as the boots tear. Seems inevitable no matter what you do. I just lowered my coil overs this weekend to reduce the angle of the axles and lubed the inner boots with greaseless lube to see if I can get some extra mileage out of them. I accepted the fact that axles are something I'm going to have to change out every year or so as long as it's lifted.
Thanks for the reply man. I'm not too surprised by the boots, the darn thing is 20 years old. And I've read enough (I seem to have contracted 4runneritis, see [MENTION=115590]StreetCreeper[/MENTION]s thread) so I was fully expecting it to happen. I like the idea of salvage yard axles, I'll have to hit up Yoda Jim's and see what they have. That and some oem boots seem like a winning combination.
Also, for the record, I LOVE that the sides are interchangeable, so much easier than my VW.
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