Squishmitten's 02 Sport Edition Build
- Thread starter squishmitten
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squishmitten
New member
A rare weekend with nothing to do means I finally got to test the Kings off road. Saturday morning I woke up and while getting some coffee decided that I would just go to Butcher Jones and do some solo exploring. I took the trails out to Cove B and turned around. Had a blast, and can definitely say the Kings are a HUGE improvement over the 6112's. They absorb hard hits, washboards, and rocks much smoother. I used to get a jarring feeling riding on the 6112's, almost as if they were too stiff (which is ironic considering I'm at a higher spring rate now). I hate to further this overused description, but it rides like a Cadillac now.
Sunday I hit Squeeze Rock with a couple buddies. I'm definitely going to give it a go next time, but with my big trip coming up, I didn't want to risk breaking anything just yet. My Instagram has some "highlights' on both trips.
I'll get some updates soon on the girl's progress, but she sent me the deal of the cnetury the other day from Offer Up. I picked her up a set of 285/75/16 BFG K02's (E rated) on some generic wheels that have 90% tread life left....for $580 :reddance:
Sunday I hit Squeeze Rock with a couple buddies. I'm definitely going to give it a go next time, but with my big trip coming up, I didn't want to risk breaking anything just yet. My Instagram has some "highlights' on both trips.
I'll get some updates soon on the girl's progress, but she sent me the deal of the cnetury the other day from Offer Up. I picked her up a set of 285/75/16 BFG K02's (E rated) on some generic wheels that have 90% tread life left....for $580 :reddance:
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Road Bull
Senior Member
Nice trip you had there. That looks fun. Nice deal on the 285 KO2s. But you were running that size before weren't you? So this is just a second set? Great score. Those wheels look like Mickey Tompson Classic IIIs. Very similar to Pro Comp 7069s that I ran before my SCS F5s. Those aren't bad wheels. I am sure you wouldn't have a hard time finding them a new home if you wanted to.
Glad you go a chance to get out and enjoy your rig a bit recently.:car:
Glad you go a chance to get out and enjoy your rig a bit recently.:car:
squishmitten
New member
Thanks man! I haven't had enough time recently with all the OT and school, but I'm done with this semester and all the OT is gone, guess I'm forced to actually have a life for awhile.
Those K02's are the same size I'm running. I think they are Pacer wheels? I forget, but I'm pretty sure they have a -20 offset! My girlfriend is in the process of lifting her RWD 3rd gen, those are for her. I figure if we can get her a rear locker she'll be able to get around pretty much all the stuff we drive around here. :lookout:
squishmitten
New member
T minus 30 days until I leave for the big trip, it's starting to get down to the wire. This past week was pretty eventful. Made some purchases, installed some things, and found some broke stuff.
I stopped by 4wheel parts and picked up:
Smittybilt Gen 2 XRC 9.5-S
Factor55 Hawse Fairlead 1"
Factor55 Flatlink
Bubba Rope soft shackle
Recovery kit
I had planned to do some maintenance and install a few things I had laying around last weekend. I finished:
Big 3 Upgrade/New battery terminals
AndyMod 2.0 w/Sequoia Trac Off switch
New NGK plugs and wires
While doing the plugs, I discovered that my intake tube/chamber was so rotted that when I went to pull it off it pretty much crumbled to pieces. I bought an AirRaid to replace it, which is ridiculously overpriced IMO.
On top of that, I found oil in my plugs. :yield:
So in the next 4 weekends, I get to:
Replace valve cover gaskets
Clean MAF
Replace lower ball joints
Install winch
Install transmission cooler
Install girlfriend's upper ball joints/lift/wheels
I stopped by 4wheel parts and picked up:
Smittybilt Gen 2 XRC 9.5-S
Factor55 Hawse Fairlead 1"
Factor55 Flatlink
Bubba Rope soft shackle
Recovery kit
I had planned to do some maintenance and install a few things I had laying around last weekend. I finished:
Big 3 Upgrade/New battery terminals
AndyMod 2.0 w/Sequoia Trac Off switch
New NGK plugs and wires
While doing the plugs, I discovered that my intake tube/chamber was so rotted that when I went to pull it off it pretty much crumbled to pieces. I bought an AirRaid to replace it, which is ridiculously overpriced IMO.
On top of that, I found oil in my plugs. :yield:
So in the next 4 weekends, I get to:
Replace valve cover gaskets
Clean MAF
Replace lower ball joints
Install winch
Install transmission cooler
Install girlfriend's upper ball joints/lift/wheels
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trailbikerider
Member
I probably missed it somewhere in your thread, but what's the big trip?
squishmitten
New member
It's somewhere on page 2. I'm fortunate enough to get 6 weeks of paid vacation in June so I'll be heading through Colorado to Iowa, then over to Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, and back to AZ, hitting as many national parks as I can along the way :reddance:
This past week has sucked...if I haven't been working I've been under the truck. I managed to finish the following though:
Winch, flatlink, and fairlead (that Bubba Rope soft shackle is awesome :thumb
Valve cover gaskets
Painted valve covers (they were gross)
New PCV
Cleaned MAF
Transmission cooler
Painted skids
The winch was a pain, the control box wouldn't fit in the bumper so I had to mount it in the engine bay and had to extend the wires to accommodate. Also, the punch rivets on the Factor55 Rope guard would not seat all the way as seen in their install video. Has anyone else experienced this? The punch would start deforming the rivet, it's on there pretty solid but it bugs me.
The valve cover gaskets were not nearly as bad as I made them out to be. The intake manifold was off in 10 minutes and the rest fell into place nicely. The thing that took the longest was waiting for the paint to dry, but even that was pretty quick (perks of the AZ sun). The whole thing took probably 6 hours, and I was working really slow.
Stuck at work on Memorial day, hopefully I can get out on some trails later.
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squishmitten
New member
Thanks dude! It's definitely a huge relief to have all of that done and ready to go. As of now all that's left now is to do my LBJ and put the old lift kit on the lady's truck. Only 24 more sleeps until I get to leave! I can't wait!
Update I did get out to Butcher Jones yesterday, but my buddy's Yukon blew a heater hose like 20 feet into the dirt (better there than 20 miles in I guess). I helped him loop his lines to get him back home and we fixed it last night, but man I was looking forward to some quality time in the dirt. Also apparently the Phoenix Sheriff's department is a fan of entrapment. They had a DUI checkpoint set up with signs stating "Construction Ahead" :doh:
Vansnxtweek
New member
Man what a beautiful build. I love the setup you have done on your rig. Hope your trip goes well! It looks like that winch was a huge PITA but I'm sure if you need it just once it will be all worth it.
squishmitten
New member
Thank you! I’m definitely a big fan, and the freedom of being able to go almost anywhere is very nice! I used to play with lowered Hondas and while track days are fun, they’re very specific and confined. This thing represents a new level of freedom to explore.
That winch was a HUGE PITA but worth it in the long run. The majority of my friends that have winches have made it clear that I’ll probably use it more helping other people, but it’s always nice to have that sense of security when going out without cell service.
This past weekend I managed to finish my LBJ. It went very smoothly, took about an hour to do both. I was pleasantly surprised considering the cotter pins on my uppers resulted in me cutting the ball joint shafts out with a grinder.
I also finally got a chance to take the lady and her dog out to Cove B, it was especially great because we went on a Thursday and had the cove all to ourselves. I’m trying to plan a camping trip up north with some of my buddies before I take off for the big trip. 16 days and counting!
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meeceboy78
New member
man, I love your 4Runner! I think it is my favorite 3rd gen. I really like the painted valve covers. let me know if you want to do mine. haha
I cant wait to see your trip pictures being posted. be safe bud.
I cant wait to see your trip pictures being posted. be safe bud.
squishmitten
New member
Thanks man! They're not bad at all, considering the repercussions of a bad LBJ, definitely worth the time to have some peace of mind.
Thank you! Very much appreciated, especially coming from someone with as clean of a 3rd gen as yours!
The amount of butt pucker I had when I started it back up after doing the valve covers is definitely not worth ever doing that again
I just used engine enamel for the valve covers, one can covered it and it was like $6 at Vatozone, have fund with that one, haha
meeceboy78
New member
Thank you! Very much appreciated, especially coming from someone with as clean of a 3rd gen as yours!
The amount of butt pucker I had when I started it back up after doing the valve covers is definitely not worth ever doing that again
I just used engine enamel for the valve covers, one can covered it and it was like $6 at Vatozone, have fund with that one, haha[/QUOTE]
haha i bet man... i think i will be doing mine as soon as summer is over.
The amount of butt pucker I had when I started it back up after doing the valve covers is definitely not worth ever doing that again
I just used engine enamel for the valve covers, one can covered it and it was like $6 at Vatozone, have fund with that one, haha[/QUOTE]
haha i bet man... i think i will be doing mine as soon as summer is over.
squishmitten
New member
Nothing new on my truck, but the last thing on the to do list before the trip is now done.
I put the old 6112's and the OME 890's on the girlfriend's truck. Started on Friday and quickly discovered that the ball joint kit from the auto parts store sucks. I got them both out, but the kit would not fit press them in fully. I gave up on it and just pulled the spindles off and took them up to a shop Saturday morning.
While I was waiting on those, I finished up the rear lift. Had my buddy who did my sliders and panhard brackets weld in her Toytec panhard bracket. Once I got the spindles back everything went smoothly. She's now got new UBJ, new LBJ, and new OTE. Currently at work waiting on the alignment shop to finish up so I can take it to her.
Shitty news for my buddy with the Yukon. He recently upgraded from a 5100/spacer lift in the front to Kings with icon UCA. He was on his way to SDHQ when his uniball snapped at the threads (last pic). I helped him install them and everything was done exactly as the instructions specified and torqued to spec, curious to see how SDHQ/Icon will handle this when he can get back up there (they were closed before he could get a tow truck situated to bring it to my house).
11 days til I leave, I'm completely checked out
I put the old 6112's and the OME 890's on the girlfriend's truck. Started on Friday and quickly discovered that the ball joint kit from the auto parts store sucks. I got them both out, but the kit would not fit press them in fully. I gave up on it and just pulled the spindles off and took them up to a shop Saturday morning.
While I was waiting on those, I finished up the rear lift. Had my buddy who did my sliders and panhard brackets weld in her Toytec panhard bracket. Once I got the spindles back everything went smoothly. She's now got new UBJ, new LBJ, and new OTE. Currently at work waiting on the alignment shop to finish up so I can take it to her.
Shitty news for my buddy with the Yukon. He recently upgraded from a 5100/spacer lift in the front to Kings with icon UCA. He was on his way to SDHQ when his uniball snapped at the threads (last pic). I helped him install them and everything was done exactly as the instructions specified and torqued to spec, curious to see how SDHQ/Icon will handle this when he can get back up there (they were closed before he could get a tow truck situated to bring it to my house).
11 days til I leave, I'm completely checked out
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meeceboy78
New member
Looks really nice! Hey man, i have a shop press if you ever need it. Your welcome to swing by and use it.
squishmitten
New member
Man I could've used that this weekend! My buddy that welds is actually in the process of building us one that will double as a press brake (he wants to start making plate bumpers). I'm pretty excited for that since he wants to keep it at my house.
Update on the Icon UCA situation. All I can say is WOW to SDHQ's customer service. The issue happened late Saturday when they were closed. My buddy gave em a call on Monday morning and explained what had happened. Within minutes, 2 of SDHQ's techs were at my house with a flatbed and some spare parts to get the truck rolling (probably helps that I'm 5 minutes away).
About an hour later he got a call that everything was good to go, it turns out Icon had supplied the shorter version of the uniball which caused the threads to snap under load. SDHQ replaced them with the correct ones at no charge and sent him on his way. Again, I can't say enough about how amazing their service was.
9 days and counting, almost ready for this adventure!!!
squishmitten
New member
Hope everyone had a great Father’s Day! I spent the day with a few of my buddies and their kiddos exploring Mt. Ord. My buddy Ryan (XJ) took us about 30 miles back to get to this abandoned mining facility. It was a lot of rough terrain and unfortunately, I didn’t get any photos of the drive in. It was an epic spot though! I would recommend this to anyone in AZ or visiting. I have GPS coordinates if interested.
This is my last 4 days here, then on to Telluride/Ouray!
This is my last 4 days here, then on to Telluride/Ouray!
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