wheretfrwe
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left blank intentional for now.
wheretfrwe's 99 limited build and adventure thread
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wheretfrwe
New member
after a few years saving dough, the time has come with and already we have ups and downs. lets get you all up to speed.
so after scrolling craigslist for a while, i thought i had finally found the one. pics made it look clean, had everything i wanted, high miles but for its age it looks ok. shortly after doing the dead, my anxiety kicked in.
on the way home check engine light came on. p0770, overdrive solenoid. after doing a radiator as the stock one was still in there along with lower ball joints and power steering pump, i took it to my work and did a quick trans flush and cleared the light, two key cycles later light comes back on. at this point i wanted it diaged by a trans shop to do it once and right so i dropped it off at the local place. dude calls me the day after i dropped it off and says its the solenoid and its 350 bucks, so i say cool do it. pick it up the next week, drove it home, waited for the old lady to show up and off we go to target and the light comes back on. take it back the next day, takes about a week for them to look at it, now they say the pan has bits of torque converter in it and the ***** need to be rebuilt. he quotes me 2 weeks, and because project car it takes them a month.
so now here we are, another project, another build thread. t4r, id like you to meet savanna...
so the specs
99 limited v6 4x4 with e-locker, 285k
done so far:
radiator
lower ball joints
power steering pump (which when from making noise to not working off throttle)
scan gauge 2
gps
very soon:
left side inner tie rod
both outers
steering rack bushings
most all the fluids
soonish:
3 inch lift (toytechs budget lift)
tires (more then likely bfg ko2s, debating 265 vs 285)
full skids (debating full shrockworks vs budbuilt with lilskip gas tank skid, both with budbuilt diff skid and some trailing arm mount skids)
few odds and ends to make long days/expo trips more standable
so after scrolling craigslist for a while, i thought i had finally found the one. pics made it look clean, had everything i wanted, high miles but for its age it looks ok. shortly after doing the dead, my anxiety kicked in.
on the way home check engine light came on. p0770, overdrive solenoid. after doing a radiator as the stock one was still in there along with lower ball joints and power steering pump, i took it to my work and did a quick trans flush and cleared the light, two key cycles later light comes back on. at this point i wanted it diaged by a trans shop to do it once and right so i dropped it off at the local place. dude calls me the day after i dropped it off and says its the solenoid and its 350 bucks, so i say cool do it. pick it up the next week, drove it home, waited for the old lady to show up and off we go to target and the light comes back on. take it back the next day, takes about a week for them to look at it, now they say the pan has bits of torque converter in it and the ***** need to be rebuilt. he quotes me 2 weeks, and because project car it takes them a month.
so now here we are, another project, another build thread. t4r, id like you to meet savanna...
so the specs
99 limited v6 4x4 with e-locker, 285k
done so far:
radiator
lower ball joints
power steering pump (which when from making noise to not working off throttle)
scan gauge 2
gps
very soon:
left side inner tie rod
both outers
steering rack bushings
most all the fluids
soonish:
3 inch lift (toytechs budget lift)
tires (more then likely bfg ko2s, debating 265 vs 285)
full skids (debating full shrockworks vs budbuilt with lilskip gas tank skid, both with budbuilt diff skid and some trailing arm mount skids)
few odds and ends to make long days/expo trips more standable
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Well that's a bummer.
Can we at least get a picture tho?! To build up the hype a bit!
wheretfrwe
New member
sorry for the delay on the broadcast but were back now.
wednesday was her first real day hitting the dirt, did pretty good even with bald ass rugged trails. few things of note.
coolant temp/ trans temp was higher the i would have liked (coolant was around 210, while at time the trans would climb to 240-245, but most the time around 200-220), but theres a few things going on there. first the coolant, when i did the radiator i picked up 2 gallons of coolant, well one was returned with water in it (mother....). second is the higher trans temp could have been helping heating up the coolant. now the trans temps. my guess is the new trans braking in could cause slightly higher then normal temps, and i have a b&m 70264 trans cooler thats going on probably next tuesday that should help. im debating running the stock one with the b&m cus it gets pretty hot here in summer.
didnt do a ton of miles do to locked gates but it was a test run anyway. now one more pic to make everyone happy. here she is the day after i got her.
wednesday was her first real day hitting the dirt, did pretty good even with bald ass rugged trails. few things of note.
coolant temp/ trans temp was higher the i would have liked (coolant was around 210, while at time the trans would climb to 240-245, but most the time around 200-220), but theres a few things going on there. first the coolant, when i did the radiator i picked up 2 gallons of coolant, well one was returned with water in it (mother....). second is the higher trans temp could have been helping heating up the coolant. now the trans temps. my guess is the new trans braking in could cause slightly higher then normal temps, and i have a b&m 70264 trans cooler thats going on probably next tuesday that should help. im debating running the stock one with the b&m cus it gets pretty hot here in summer.
didnt do a ton of miles do to locked gates but it was a test run anyway. now one more pic to make everyone happy. here she is the day after i got her.
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wheretfrwe
New member
little update, some good some bad.
had a busy few days off but got the trans cooler mounted at least. today on my lunch i ran the lines, topped her off after work and took her for a spin. thankfully the trans temp is down quite a bit. max i saw on a 15 minute test drive with a little dirt thrown in was about 190, most the time in the mid 180s. makes me feel a bit better. coolant is sitting about 205 but i still need to change the coolant and maybe do a t-stat while i have it drained.
now during the test drive, after the short bit of dirt and a short but steep hill the check engine light comes on. this time is was a p0446, which is an evap code. seeing as it came on right after doing a bit of dirt, i just cleared the light with the scangauge and well see if it comes back. the one worrisome thing is this is the first full tank of gas ive run through savanna without clearing the ecu as i battled the p0770 through the first tank. with a lot of evap stuff it takes a while for it to pop up again, and normally it mostly does it checks between 3/4 and 1/4 tank. crossing my fingers is stays off. ive done enough maintance to this thing, i want to get to the fun stuff.
between here and tuesday i want to change the diff fluid, trans case fluid, and maybe tackle the left inner tie rod, both outers and the rack bushings.
on a side toyota note, heres buddys shit box turdcel i raised the coils on and put new struts in. his car took a shit and found this gem for 500 bucks.
had a busy few days off but got the trans cooler mounted at least. today on my lunch i ran the lines, topped her off after work and took her for a spin. thankfully the trans temp is down quite a bit. max i saw on a 15 minute test drive with a little dirt thrown in was about 190, most the time in the mid 180s. makes me feel a bit better. coolant is sitting about 205 but i still need to change the coolant and maybe do a t-stat while i have it drained.
now during the test drive, after the short bit of dirt and a short but steep hill the check engine light comes on. this time is was a p0446, which is an evap code. seeing as it came on right after doing a bit of dirt, i just cleared the light with the scangauge and well see if it comes back. the one worrisome thing is this is the first full tank of gas ive run through savanna without clearing the ecu as i battled the p0770 through the first tank. with a lot of evap stuff it takes a while for it to pop up again, and normally it mostly does it checks between 3/4 and 1/4 tank. crossing my fingers is stays off. ive done enough maintance to this thing, i want to get to the fun stuff.
between here and tuesday i want to change the diff fluid, trans case fluid, and maybe tackle the left inner tie rod, both outers and the rack bushings.
on a side toyota note, heres buddys shit box turdcel i raised the coils on and put new struts in. his car took a shit and found this gem for 500 bucks.
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wheretfrwe
New member
not the update i was looking for...
truck got broken into over the last two nights (drove the car the last two days). bandits only took a brand new stream light. i would have given them it to not break the window. calling a glass guy tomorrow to see what the damage will be, another stream light is going to probably run me 130 buck or so. as with all projects, this is already over budget and getting close to making me flat broke, but ive dealt with moody cars before.
Road Bull
Senior Member
That sucks... I hate thievery. If it is any small consolation, that is a better window for them to have broken vs. the left or right cargo windows. Those are expensive! OEM cargo is the most expensive window on the vehicle I have been told. Ask me how I know.
Well, I hope you get it sorted and I hope the thieves get what's coming to them.
Well, I hope you get it sorted and I hope the thieves get what's coming to them.
wheretfrwe
New member
i would ask but i looked at your build thread out of curiosity, sad to see im not the first sailor on this boat. even just looking at the shape and size of the window, i bet it was a pretty penny. i got a quote today, 120 bucks and hes going to do it tomorrow, going to start looking into local tint places tonight to see how much that should run. debating just doing the one window but ill probably get them all done to make sure they all 100 percent match.
wheretfrwe
New member
update!
window got replaced, alreadly matched the rest so no need for tint (for now).
today i changed the rear diff, transfer case, coolant and thermostat. temps seam to have dropped where i would like them (sub 200), normally sitting around 190. tryed to change the front gear oil but the drain plug is not coming out. i tried kicking a long 3/8 ratchet and even a 3/8 impact, nothing. the other two oils looked pretty fresh, so i just topped her off and called it good.
well the other day after work i said f it and went on an old fire road that dead ends with a nice hill at the end. found a good spot to flex her out and see what she could do stock and here are the results. looks like the front sway bar needs to go but the rear flexs nice even with it still in. now the proof...
also in positive news, ive done the big order finally. on the way we have toytecs budget lift, lotus trialing arm mount skids, budbuilt skids and diff guard, lil skips gas tank skid, and 4x innovations rock sliders. once i have everything on hand ill probably order the tires.
also weirdly enough i have a 2000 limited come in with a freshly installed toytec budget lift and didnt look bad, rode a touch stiff but its all fresh so im guessing it will break in. one thing i did notice is caster was at 0 when it came in. i maxed out the cams and got it about 2 in the end, would be curious to see how much upper arms would make a difference.
window got replaced, alreadly matched the rest so no need for tint (for now).
today i changed the rear diff, transfer case, coolant and thermostat. temps seam to have dropped where i would like them (sub 200), normally sitting around 190. tryed to change the front gear oil but the drain plug is not coming out. i tried kicking a long 3/8 ratchet and even a 3/8 impact, nothing. the other two oils looked pretty fresh, so i just topped her off and called it good.
well the other day after work i said f it and went on an old fire road that dead ends with a nice hill at the end. found a good spot to flex her out and see what she could do stock and here are the results. looks like the front sway bar needs to go but the rear flexs nice even with it still in. now the proof...
also in positive news, ive done the big order finally. on the way we have toytecs budget lift, lotus trialing arm mount skids, budbuilt skids and diff guard, lil skips gas tank skid, and 4x innovations rock sliders. once i have everything on hand ill probably order the tires.
also weirdly enough i have a 2000 limited come in with a freshly installed toytec budget lift and didnt look bad, rode a touch stiff but its all fresh so im guessing it will break in. one thing i did notice is caster was at 0 when it came in. i maxed out the cams and got it about 2 in the end, would be curious to see how much upper arms would make a difference.
Road Bull
Senior Member
Wow! That's a lot of gear heading your way. That should keep you busy for a while I suppose. I am glad you got the window sorted. I too found out that with super rare exception, all rear windows behind the front windows come factory smoked, or tinted. One less thing to worry about. I only tinted my fronts when I got my vehicle. I hate the sun beating down on me, unless I decide to roll down the window.
I am glad to see you had a chance to put it in the dirt man. I look forward to updates on your adventure!
I am glad to see you had a chance to put it in the dirt man. I look forward to updates on your adventure!
wheretfrwe
New member
WEVE GOT UPDATES!
between then and now my girlfriend barrowed the truck for a week cus her 90 maxima finally bit the dust, so now shes driving a 16 versa. only down side is i still have to fix the car cus her mom needs it.
last week i took it out on what i thought would be an easy fire road. well with all the rain we've had in california, i really tested the thing out in its stock form. at one point i thought i might even roll it but made it out safe. sadly no pics cus i was to busy calming down my bro and my dad.
now this was pushed up a week but cus i have to work on the maxima and its going to rain next week, but this happened...
now what all got done?
done list: rear toytec coils, rear toytech boss shocks, rear toytec bump stop spacers, toytec rear diff breather kit, front toytec springs will bilstein struts, removed the front sway bar, toytec front diff drop, spidertrax spacers (in black), painted all the skids, installed the front skid and belly pan, lotus control arm guards, reran the trans cooler lines so it goes threw the radiator and then the trans cooler, new left inner tie road ends
left over: new outter tie rods (boots are torn from using a pickle fork and local parts store got me the wrong ones, will be done soonish), steering rack bushings (tried to do them yesterday AFTER the diff drop so i couldnt get a good angle to get them out so i only got the right outter done. would have helped if i had a decent air hammer, this is also soonish), install the gas and diff skids (later today, ran out of time yesterday, had to go to sushi), new tires and alignment (tomorrow, got the tires from 4wheel parts last week and work at an auto shop so its no big deal), and the sliders (soonish, need to call around to see who will weld them)
between then and now my girlfriend barrowed the truck for a week cus her 90 maxima finally bit the dust, so now shes driving a 16 versa. only down side is i still have to fix the car cus her mom needs it.
last week i took it out on what i thought would be an easy fire road. well with all the rain we've had in california, i really tested the thing out in its stock form. at one point i thought i might even roll it but made it out safe. sadly no pics cus i was to busy calming down my bro and my dad.
now this was pushed up a week but cus i have to work on the maxima and its going to rain next week, but this happened...
now what all got done?
done list: rear toytec coils, rear toytech boss shocks, rear toytec bump stop spacers, toytec rear diff breather kit, front toytec springs will bilstein struts, removed the front sway bar, toytec front diff drop, spidertrax spacers (in black), painted all the skids, installed the front skid and belly pan, lotus control arm guards, reran the trans cooler lines so it goes threw the radiator and then the trans cooler, new left inner tie road ends
left over: new outter tie rods (boots are torn from using a pickle fork and local parts store got me the wrong ones, will be done soonish), steering rack bushings (tried to do them yesterday AFTER the diff drop so i couldnt get a good angle to get them out so i only got the right outter done. would have helped if i had a decent air hammer, this is also soonish), install the gas and diff skids (later today, ran out of time yesterday, had to go to sushi), new tires and alignment (tomorrow, got the tires from 4wheel parts last week and work at an auto shop so its no big deal), and the sliders (soonish, need to call around to see who will weld them)
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wheretfrwe
New member
just finished installing the gas and diff skids. gas tank took a little time as the budbuilt belly skid almost overlaps the lilskips gas tank skid, the budbuilt rear diff skid was straight forward. ill snap some pictures tomorrow when i have it up on a rack.
wheretfrwe
New member
did the tires and alignment today. thought i might want to find out how much play the rack bushings alone had and found that its not the inner tie rod that was bad, it was the whole rack. so ill have to do that pretty quick cus now i'm kinda scared to drive it like that. its almost ok cus i have to do the rack bushings anyway so i had to go back either way. anywho, here's some updated pics and a few shitty shotty pics of the skid set up.
sadly no front pics cus the lighting just wouldn't agree. also a thing of note i haven't stated is i'm still getting the p0446 about every time the tank goes down to a 1/4 full, so ill have to do some research as to which valve could possible be bad or whatnot. or maybe ill just throw a gas cap at it...
edit: i'm not going to lie, looking at this pic full screen, my bumps are pretty low, i wonder how that's going to play out.
sadly no front pics cus the lighting just wouldn't agree. also a thing of note i haven't stated is i'm still getting the p0446 about every time the tank goes down to a 1/4 full, so ill have to do some research as to which valve could possible be bad or whatnot. or maybe ill just throw a gas cap at it...
edit: i'm not going to lie, looking at this pic full screen, my bumps are pretty low, i wonder how that's going to play out.
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wheretfrwe
New member
*page 2 whoot* just a small update for now but got the sliders welded and painted the other day. hope to do the rack, outter tie rods, bushings, and ps pump wednesday. after that its just a list of small odds and ends and hopefully a good test run is in order. for now, pics of the sliders (4x innovation welded on by a local fab shop).
wheretfrwe
New member
did a thing today...
new rack, outer tie rods, bushings...
and alignment.
second alignment print out.
after spending all week wrenching on cars, spending all yesterday wrenching on my womans old car (90 maxima ps pump and water pump), i got a few hours today to get the new rack installed and aligned (i hope this is the last of it for a while if you cant tell). thank god it went pretty smooth and removing the diff spacers took 2 seconds. took it to the shop after to drop off my tools and align it. they had a few alignments they were about to do so i didnt have time to massage the camber more to my liking but im guessing with how i set the caster the first go around there's probably not a lot left without bringing caster down. still want to even it out some though, the cross camber is kinda excessive. that can hold off though cus i need to put in some time on dirt finally. planing to go out to some local fire roads next week and give her a light test and make sure everything is tight. once my buddy finishes his jeep we're looking to wheel big bear hopefully end of july.
new rack, outer tie rods, bushings...
and alignment.
second alignment print out.
after spending all week wrenching on cars, spending all yesterday wrenching on my womans old car (90 maxima ps pump and water pump), i got a few hours today to get the new rack installed and aligned (i hope this is the last of it for a while if you cant tell). thank god it went pretty smooth and removing the diff spacers took 2 seconds. took it to the shop after to drop off my tools and align it. they had a few alignments they were about to do so i didnt have time to massage the camber more to my liking but im guessing with how i set the caster the first go around there's probably not a lot left without bringing caster down. still want to even it out some though, the cross camber is kinda excessive. that can hold off though cus i need to put in some time on dirt finally. planing to go out to some local fire roads next week and give her a light test and make sure everything is tight. once my buddy finishes his jeep we're looking to wheel big bear hopefully end of july.
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wheretfrwe
New member
WE DID THINGS AND WE BROKE SHIT :rockon:
first day in the dirt after all the work and there's a few things to massage but all and all she did well. did santaigo peak starting off ortega and working to oc. roads more f-ed up then i remember it being, kinda slow and go but nothing hard. the main thing i found was the rack was dumping it guts onto the skidplate. about half way threw the drive i started to hear the pump moan and i thought it was just getting hot but when i finally got to the road there was no power anymore. when i aired up i checked the level and it bone dry and the skids covered in oil. looked at it today, im hoping it blew the o-ring at the rack and it will be a quick fix. only really pukes at full lock when still, so im guessing when loaded it pukes. stuff a huge ass ac o-ring in there and call it a day i hope. i was also kinda getting a nasty metalish clunk going over bigger bumps, thought it might be a loose skid but looks like it might be the budbuild diff skid is slightly hitting the lilskip gas tank skid. ill probably grind a bit off the diff skid and all will be well. ill probably look into doing all this in the next few weeks hopefully and head back out for another test run.
first day in the dirt after all the work and there's a few things to massage but all and all she did well. did santaigo peak starting off ortega and working to oc. roads more f-ed up then i remember it being, kinda slow and go but nothing hard. the main thing i found was the rack was dumping it guts onto the skidplate. about half way threw the drive i started to hear the pump moan and i thought it was just getting hot but when i finally got to the road there was no power anymore. when i aired up i checked the level and it bone dry and the skids covered in oil. looked at it today, im hoping it blew the o-ring at the rack and it will be a quick fix. only really pukes at full lock when still, so im guessing when loaded it pukes. stuff a huge ass ac o-ring in there and call it a day i hope. i was also kinda getting a nasty metalish clunk going over bigger bumps, thought it might be a loose skid but looks like it might be the budbuild diff skid is slightly hitting the lilskip gas tank skid. ill probably grind a bit off the diff skid and all will be well. ill probably look into doing all this in the next few weeks hopefully and head back out for another test run.
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