The Turbo Rock Lobster

[steezemcqueen]

Install looks good!

A couple questions...

First, do you plan on adding another cross member or extending the factory crossmember for a little more support? It looks like the added length of the adapters and extra t-case might, along with the extra torque of the crawl box, add a lot more stress to the stock mount.

Second, did shortening the rear driveshaft add any vibration to the drivetrain at highway speeds? Did you adjust your rear pinion angle to compensate?

Third, could you take a measurement of the left side of the rear of the t-case and the crossmember / fuel tank? I have the multi mode transfer case and it has has more crap on it, I'm just wondering if it would fit or if it would hit the gas tank. Thanks!

Thanks Jeremiah!

I am planning on doing another crossmember. Either going to do a FROR or just build my own. I did just order the 4xinnovations HD trans mount so that will help but I definitely want another crossmember for additional support.

I haven't noticed any vibs with the shorter driveshaft. I have the Toytec links like you but they are currently set to stock length. I am going to adjust them out to correct the pinion angle when i do the new trans mount.

I will definitely take some measurements and post them up.

:cheers:

 

[Dous]

How well would those mounts bolt up to our transfer cases?

They all mention that they work up to 1995, but don't mention anything newer than that

 

[steezemcqueen]

How well would those mounts bolt up to our transfer cases?

They all mention that they work up to 1995, but don't mention anything newer than that

Sorry i missed your post above too. I know the auto trans is longer so it may not fit without moving the gas tank. I still need to take some measurements so i will post up with those once i get them.

The mount i bought is the Tacoma trans mount which is for the 5 speed. Here is a link to is on Marlins website.
Crossmember Mount, HD Tacoma | Marlin Crawler, Inc.

I think i may end up buying the BudBuilt Lefty crossmember and either using just that or using it in addition to my stock crossmember. I would like to use the FROR crossmember and clock the tcase but i''m not sure if there is enough room behind the stock case without moving the gas tank

 

[steezemcqueen]

Prepping for the next mod. Regearing to 4.30's

 

[steezemcqueen]

The pile o parts keeps growing.

In addition to this, i've got a front diff, complete elocker axle, and lower control arm bushings to do. Also need to fab my T case crossmember and cut out the low hanging stock one.

 

[rideexileex]

Nice! What diff armor is that?

 

[steezemcqueen]

Nice! What diff armor is that?

Marlin's full face.

Link here
Full Face Differential Armor | Marlin Crawler, Inc.

 

[smkd13]

hey man just read through you whole build thread and looks amazing honestly. hope your able to make it out to Moab this year so i can see this beast in real life!!! :becky:

also how do you like your adjustable Panhard bar? did you do it with a PH drop bracket or no?

 

[steezemcqueen]

Elocker Swap

This is still ongoing but the hard part is finished(I hope!)

I've been wanting to put in a elocker pretty much since i bought the Rock Lobster. Recently, my rear diff started to make a horrible howling noise and the gears had way to much backlash. Also one of my wheel bearings had some play in it even though they have less then 30k on them :ybrick:

So i decided to not bother with fixing my current open diff or do the wheel bearing again and just swap the entire axle out for an elocked one. After searching for a little while, I bought a hub to hub elocker axle from a local guy parting a 96 after a wreck. This way i would not have to mess with cutting, drilling, and tapping to retro the elocker diff in to my housing. I had purchased a 4.30 front diff awhile back in anticipation of doing the elocker swap since most 4Runner elockers are the 4.30 ratio. However, the truck i pulled the axle from was a 96 V6 5spd and the gear ratio was 4.10 so i ended up not having to swap the front diff out! I confirmed that both the new and old axles were 4.10 by doing the spin test.

We ended up working out a deal where we would basically swap axles so he could use my axle and still move the truck around while he was parting it out.

I went and pulled the axle yesterday and did the swap at work. The elocker axle had a leaking axle seal so i replaced that and added some diff armor while it was out and easy to work on

My work stand

Cleaning the oil out of the brakes. The shoes looked to be pretty new so i used 3 cans of brake clean on them and got them looking pretty good.

Dafaq is that on my diff????

Welding on the Marlin armor

Old axle out and new one in

All done and painted!

Next i need to build a control for the locker. I got the pigtails for the locker and the dash switch but no ECU. From what I've read, it should be pretty easy to make my own.


The Moab to do list is getting smaller!

 

[4-Ripcord]

Nice work! Good move on the diff armor, thats awesome.

Which control circuit are you going with?

 

[blcktpgsr]

So let's see.....first you got a supercharger, then a dual t-case and now an E-locker?...big deal!

Lol i'm flaming jelly now man.:tsk:

I wanna see this monsta in action.

 

[steezemcqueen]

Nice work! Good move on the diff armor, thats awesome.

Which control circuit are you going with?

Thanks Jim!

Not sure what the plan is for wiring yet. I may just build my own harness. I have the short harness that plugs into the diff so i can probably build off of that. If i do build my own, i will probably follow this writeup.

http://www.norcalttora.com/~dick/Writeup Stuff/toyota_elock_control.pdf

So let's see.....first you got a supercharger, then a dual t-case and now an E-locker?...big deal!

Lol i'm flaming jelly now man.:tsk:

I wanna see this monsta in action.

Hahaha! I only wish i had the attention to detail that you put in to your rig. My most used tool on this rig is a BMFH. If it doesn't work, i'll usually smack it.

I really do need to get it out and wheel it. The trails here are still too snowy to do any real rock crawling.

 

[smallfry]

Next i need to build a control for the locker. I got the pigtails for the locker and the dash switch but no ECU. From what I've read, it should be pretty easy to make my own.

Just get a Slee Elocker control box.

 

[4-Ripcord]

Thanks Jim!

Not sure what the plan is for wiring yet. I may just build my own harness. I have the short harness that plugs into the diff so i can probably build off of that. If i do build my own, i will probably follow this writeup.

http://www.norcalttora.com/~dick/Writeup Stuff/toyota_elock_control.pdf

That's the one I used and the one I would recommend, super simple. Just find a trailer supply shop (like a local semi-truck stop) and get 11 feet of 6 conduit trailer cable. Its 6 induvidually colored and insulated 14 AWG cables in a single, bigger, insulated line. Costs like $20. Then just get a switch and a light (another $15 tops).

 

[BigFishAllDay]

Very nice, Dylan! Looks like another successful E-locker swap will be in the history books soon. Between the crawl box and the locked rear, that rig is going to make a lot of things look easy.

Make sure you get plenty of sleep before Moab, we wouldn't want to see pictures of you taking a nap in the driver's seat while your rig is crawling up big rocks all by itself.

 

[4-Ripcord]

we wouldn't want to see pictures of you taking a nap in the driver's seat while your rig is crawling up big rocks all by itself.

I, for one, would love to see pictures like that. :hiding:

 

[BigFishAllDay]

Maybe you're right, it could be pretty interesting. I can see it now...

Dylan goes to sleep for the night in the back of the 4Runner. In the middle of the night, he rolls over and presses the button on his remote start. The rig fires up and runs Hells Revenge all by itself. Dylan wakes up the next morning at the end of the trail...

 

[downpour11]

:lmao::lmao::lmao:

 

[smkd13]

Maybe you're right, it could be pretty interesting. I can see it now...

Dylan goes to sleep for the night in the back of the 4Runner. In the middle of the night, he rolls over and presses the button on his remote start. The rig fires up and runs Hells Revenge all by itself. Dylan wakes up the next morning at the end of the trail...

Ha ha that would be funny... Think of the people in Moab watching a truck creep down the road without a driver and make perfect turns too lol

 

[steezemcqueen]

:lol:

Next mod: Remote control steering. The Rock lobster will be a 1:1 scale RC crawler. The possibilities for freaking people out are endless