Wrench Slinger
New member
I was just checking out your Rubicon pics! Really like the way this thing looks and works!
TheeMikeB Build Thread
- Thread starter TheeMikeB
- Start date
TheeMikeB
New member
Thanks, it's been a long but fun process. I think I like wrenching and modding just as much as wheeling... if not more. It's easier for me to slip out into the garage then it is to go off the grid wheeling on weekends.
TheeMikeB
New member
I should post some pics of them now after Rubicon... they are totally banged up. They are certainly worth every penny.
TheeMikeB
New member
Stereo
I'm a little out of order and I'm missing some pics but I thought I'd put my stereo/speaker/amp install in here too. I did a partial write up on this a few years ago but all the links are now broken. I'll probably have to take some updated photos too to fill in the gaps.
My system: Alpine IDA-x305 HU, Infiniti Kappa Five 5CH amp, JL Audio C2-650 componenents in front, JL Audio TRX-525cxi in Rear, Polk Audio 10" Dxi DVC sub mounted in a sound ordanance bass bunker.
First thing for me was to layout the amp and cossover locations under the drivers seat to get an idea of cable runs/paths.
Now that I know where it was going to sit, I could start running and measuring cable paths. I decided to not drill a new hole in the firewall but to use the existing hole where the factory wire harness penetrates.
I used a long nail with the head cut off, taped it to the amp wire and put a little grease on there to fish it through.
Here is where I penetrated the firewall along the factory harness under the drivers footwell area.
I followed down along the factory wiring behind the foot well area and under the door jamb.
I used the small hole in the carpet under the drivers seat where the seat belt light connector wire came out to run the power wire.
I'm a little out of order and I'm missing some pics but I thought I'd put my stereo/speaker/amp install in here too. I did a partial write up on this a few years ago but all the links are now broken. I'll probably have to take some updated photos too to fill in the gaps.
My system: Alpine IDA-x305 HU, Infiniti Kappa Five 5CH amp, JL Audio C2-650 componenents in front, JL Audio TRX-525cxi in Rear, Polk Audio 10" Dxi DVC sub mounted in a sound ordanance bass bunker.
First thing for me was to layout the amp and cossover locations under the drivers seat to get an idea of cable runs/paths.
Now that I know where it was going to sit, I could start running and measuring cable paths. I decided to not drill a new hole in the firewall but to use the existing hole where the factory wire harness penetrates.
I used a long nail with the head cut off, taped it to the amp wire and put a little grease on there to fish it through.
Here is where I penetrated the firewall along the factory harness under the drivers footwell area.
I followed down along the factory wiring behind the foot well area and under the door jamb.
I used the small hole in the carpet under the drivers seat where the seat belt light connector wire came out to run the power wire.
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TheeMikeB
New member
Stereo
Since I was putting the crossovers and the amp under the drivers seat area, I had to run all the speaker wires here as well. I used upgraded gauge wire (dont' remember what I used but I think it was 14awg)
I followed all the factory paths using my nailhead/grease/fishtape method. I pulled out the rubber cable sleeves inside the door jambs and fished it through.
Did this on all 4 doors and pre ran my wire, soldered on connectors to prepare for the speaker installs.
Factory speaker removal in front door:
Fitting the new speaker into the factory speaker bracket. I used silicone glue to seal it along the opening.
New speaker mounted in the front door.
Tweeter time... used the factory tweeter location and bracket.
Used my dremel and cut the hole for the new tweeter.
Mounted in the factory bracket.
Installed back on the door.
Since I was putting the crossovers and the amp under the drivers seat area, I had to run all the speaker wires here as well. I used upgraded gauge wire (dont' remember what I used but I think it was 14awg)
I followed all the factory paths using my nailhead/grease/fishtape method. I pulled out the rubber cable sleeves inside the door jambs and fished it through.
Did this on all 4 doors and pre ran my wire, soldered on connectors to prepare for the speaker installs.
Factory speaker removal in front door:
Fitting the new speaker into the factory speaker bracket. I used silicone glue to seal it along the opening.
New speaker mounted in the front door.
Tweeter time... used the factory tweeter location and bracket.
Used my dremel and cut the hole for the new tweeter.
Mounted in the factory bracket.
Installed back on the door.
TheeMikeB
New member
Stereo
On to the rear doors:
Factory speaker removal:
Mounting into the rear speaker adapters:
Silicone glue along speaker rim to seal it in the adapter.
I seem to be missing the pics where installed the rear speakers in the rear doors but you get the idea.
Now it was time wire everything up:
I used a 4 awg battery wire with a welded on terminal and used the left rear seat bolt as my amp ground. I used my dremel to grind away the paint. You can see the bolt through it in the above pic. I kept the seat out to test and adjust the amp.
Once it was all wired/tested I was ready to cleanup the wiring paths and put the seat back in.
Here you can see the amp RCAs and right side speaker wires feeding into the center console area:
View of front of the seat area:
View from the back pass area, this is exactly why I picked this amp. It just fits perfect under the drivers seat and is out of view. Not the most powerful but for a 5ch amp to fit under the front seat it's perfect for me.
Use the rear floor mat to cover the back and it's completely out of view:
I'm missing the sub install but it's just a standalone 10" box I got from Cruthchfield. I put an extra few feet of speaker wire to it so I can move it arond my cargo area and even take it out if I need the space. And now i'm rocking!
On to the rear doors:
Factory speaker removal:
Mounting into the rear speaker adapters:
Silicone glue along speaker rim to seal it in the adapter.
I seem to be missing the pics where installed the rear speakers in the rear doors but you get the idea.
Now it was time wire everything up:
I used a 4 awg battery wire with a welded on terminal and used the left rear seat bolt as my amp ground. I used my dremel to grind away the paint. You can see the bolt through it in the above pic. I kept the seat out to test and adjust the amp.
Once it was all wired/tested I was ready to cleanup the wiring paths and put the seat back in.
Here you can see the amp RCAs and right side speaker wires feeding into the center console area:
View of front of the seat area:
View from the back pass area, this is exactly why I picked this amp. It just fits perfect under the drivers seat and is out of view. Not the most powerful but for a 5ch amp to fit under the front seat it's perfect for me.
Use the rear floor mat to cover the back and it's completely out of view:
I'm missing the sub install but it's just a standalone 10" box I got from Cruthchfield. I put an extra few feet of speaker wire to it so I can move it arond my cargo area and even take it out if I need the space. And now i'm rocking!
TheeMikeB
New member
One day on my way home from work my neighbor who literally has the exact same truck and color AND ARB bumper stopped me to chat. Seems he had a set of Shrockworks bolt on sliders that he wanted to sell. He had them on his truck but then ended up doing a BL and didn't like the gap that was now there because of the BL. I had been looking at sliders for some time and Shrockworks were not even on my radar, but the fact they were bolt on and I could get them immediately was a huge bonus.
Paid $375 for them and they were powdercoated and had the 3rd support tube so these were the "upgraded" ones. These things are pretty beefy and more than capable of rocker protection. (Ask me how I know lol)
The nice thing was that since he already received his new set, he gave me his new mounting hardware to use.
Here are the sliders:
Here is the hardware:
Install was pretty simple. I measured the center of the rocker panel and marked it, measured the center of the slider and marked it. Used my jackstands to hold the slider up and slide it into place. Marked the holes to drill, drilled them, fished the tape nuts in there and bolted them up. Each side took me about 45 min by myself.
No pics of install as it went so fast I forgot but here are a few of them mounted:
Note all the brush scratches/scars in the above photos and look for the update later where I take care of all that and make it look like new.
Paid $375 for them and they were powdercoated and had the 3rd support tube so these were the "upgraded" ones. These things are pretty beefy and more than capable of rocker protection. (Ask me how I know lol)
The nice thing was that since he already received his new set, he gave me his new mounting hardware to use.
Here are the sliders:
Here is the hardware:
Install was pretty simple. I measured the center of the rocker panel and marked it, measured the center of the slider and marked it. Used my jackstands to hold the slider up and slide it into place. Marked the holes to drill, drilled them, fished the tape nuts in there and bolted them up. Each side took me about 45 min by myself.
No pics of install as it went so fast I forgot but here are a few of them mounted:
Note all the brush scratches/scars in the above photos and look for the update later where I take care of all that and make it look like new.
TheeMikeB
New member
My Rig pretty much stayed the same for a while after the lift/tires/bumper/sliders/skids with the exception of replacing the CVs as the boots split after my lift. After much research on here of OEM and NAPA Max Drives etc... I decided on using the Napa Max Drives with the lifetime warranty.
My thoughts were keep my OEMs as trail spares and run the Max Drives. Since they have lifetime warranty it will be the last CV I'll ever pay for. Yes I may break them but breaking CVs is part of wheeling IFS. Plus I read some of the threads on some of the more serious wheelers on here like [MENTION=47945]brian2sun[/MENTION] and [MENTION=32837]J-money$$$[/MENTION] and they both were running them as well and both had proven trail experience with them.
My thoughts were keep my OEMs as trail spares and run the Max Drives. Since they have lifetime warranty it will be the last CV I'll ever pay for. Yes I may break them but breaking CVs is part of wheeling IFS. Plus I read some of the threads on some of the more serious wheelers on here like [MENTION=47945]brian2sun[/MENTION] and [MENTION=32837]J-money$$$[/MENTION] and they both were running them as well and both had proven trail experience with them.
J-money$$$
New member
I have come to the conclusion that all the Cv's break about at the same point. The OEM ones are no better than the Napa ones. The only thing I have noticed is the splines on some of the autozone or other part store remanufactured cv's are not as good. This never has caused an issue for me. Check rock auto. then get the discount code from pirate4x4. THey have new cv's for less than $50 to the door. And they have EMPI branded cvs for about $75. Not saying one is better than the next but EMPI was known for making good Birfields on the older toyotas
TheeMikeB
New member
Exactly and that's my point, breaking CVs is just part of wheeling IFS. I think there is so much fear in aftermarket CVs and it is unwarranted. At least for the Napa ones.
News flash... wheeling leads to broken parts lol :crutch:
TheeMikeB
New member
I was waiting to save up some $$ for gears and lockers so while I did that, I decided to practice detailing and polishing using my Porter Cable DA 7424. I figured if I screwed up the paint on here I didn't care and wanted to get good so I could do the family car (Black G35 Sedan)
Here is how the paint looked at first... plenty of swirls, pin-striping, and a little oxidation.
Pinstripes:
Oxidation:
Swirls:
I used some products from Chemical Guys, specifically I used the V36, V38, and then Luminous Glow Black Wax. I followed the video pretty much to a T here using the same pads/polish combo:
How To Remove Swirls, Scratches & Polish Paint with the Porter Cable 7424XP - Chemical Guys - YouTube
Here are my results:
Before:
After:
Hood, Top of photo is not done... bottom of photo is done.
Before:
After:
Hood complete:
Entire Truck Complete:
It's by no means perfect and some of the pinstripes are going to be there forever and that's fine it's a wheeler. But it was good practice to know what can and can't be taken out before going to a wet sand. And I feel better about putting this thing on my nice car.
Here is how the paint looked at first... plenty of swirls, pin-striping, and a little oxidation.
Pinstripes:
Oxidation:
Swirls:
I used some products from Chemical Guys, specifically I used the V36, V38, and then Luminous Glow Black Wax. I followed the video pretty much to a T here using the same pads/polish combo:
How To Remove Swirls, Scratches & Polish Paint with the Porter Cable 7424XP - Chemical Guys - YouTube
Here are my results:
Before:
After:
Hood, Top of photo is not done... bottom of photo is done.
Before:
After:
Hood complete:
Entire Truck Complete:
It's by no means perfect and some of the pinstripes are going to be there forever and that's fine it's a wheeler. But it was good practice to know what can and can't be taken out before going to a wet sand. And I feel better about putting this thing on my nice car.
TheeMikeB
New member
Thanks, my build is actually already done I'm just now getting to my writeup. This is all past tense and this detail was done last year. It looks nowhere near that pretty now... it's still dirty from my Rubi trip in NOV.
I ended up going with 4.88s. I picked up a used 3rd with ARB from [MENTION=1422]the_josh[/MENTION] on here. It is built with Sierra Gears. My front I ended getting done from ECGS and got Nitros with an ARB too.... that part is still to come.
TheeMikeB
New member
Ummm yeah I wouldn't use them either. So you already have the gears and just need them installed? You could reach out to ZUK at Toyota Gear Installs his prices are good and his work is solid from what I read. I was going to use him but I couldn't afford the down time for the send in. With ecgs I just had to send mine back for the core.
I also found this guy doing a web search. He is in hayward, I actually called him with a few questions at one point and he was very friendly and helpful over the phone. But I have no record of his work.
http://www.petesgearshop.com/
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