[Corey]

Not to rest upon Sundays small Maglite mod, I had yakked with Les Schwab Tires Saturday about the Cooper Discoverer STT tires I have been wanting.

They are unavailable right now in the USA almost in the stock size of 265x70x17 which equal 32".
He did locate a set of 4 this morning in Pennsylvania, and I had him get them shipped, they will be here in a week.

But...I changed my mind.
Les carries a tire made by Cooper for Dick Cepek called the Mountain Cat.
They are so new they are not shown on Dick Cepeks site, or on Les Schwabs site.
When you look at them, you can clearly see they are made from the same mold.
They changed the sides a bit, and a little on the tread, but you can see the mold is pretty close.
These are still actually Cooper STT tires in disguise

I got $200 for 4 of my stock tires that came on the rig.
Not bad considering I have 1,200 miles on them.

These tires are beefy!
They are actually quieter than my Wild Country TXRs I ran for the past 8 years on the 4Runner, but the tread is way more aggressive, a true mud/dirt/rock tread.

They want some feedback from me on these tires since they are so new.
They do have a low hum, and I hope that it gets louder as they break in.
I like loud tires

They also had one demo mounted to a really cool Les Schwab brand (Ultra) wheel called the Allied 891/892 in a 17x9, and they mounted it up.
I think they had that demo tire and wheel waiting for me since it fit the FJ just right
Nice wheels, and $128 each, about $75 cheaper than the AR Mohave Teflon wheels I was thinking about.

Anyways, I can not wait to get my rig off road for the Fall Colors Run coming up and test out these new bad meats.
If I like them well, I will get five of them sized at 285x70x17 and new wheels come spring to run as my spring through fall set, and the current set will become the fall through spring set.
Nice thing about having two sets is it makes them last quite a few years.
I did not opt today to replace the stock tire on the tailgate.
I will do that before winter.

[Corey]

On my '91 4Runner I had made a home brewed shovel mount using the Yakima Snap Arounds, some long bolts, and some Yakima plastic wingnuts.
The shovel I had bought at Lowes hardware.

Since Yakima has the 10V Mighty Mounts that let me mount the Slee Hi-Lift mounts, I knew Yakima would have the equivalent of a mount that would let the bolt go vertically, but the mount would be horizontal.
With the bolt vertically, this would allow the same shovel I used before to be able to sit on top of the FJ Cruisers rack slats.

I called up Yakima and they were clueless.
The tech people there are trained to only tell you what fits your rack that they have in their rack guides.
The guy I spoke with said I had to use Yakima Universal Mighty Mounts, as that is all that fits.

I told him I beg to differ, but your 10V mounts fit perfectly, as that is what Slee turned me onto when I contacted him.
I told the Yakima guy I wanted a horizontal mount that had the same shape as the 10V.
He said he did not know, but I finally got it out of him that the 23H should fit.
Now was that so hard to tell me?

I ordered up a set from RackOutfitters.com and sure enough, they fit perfectly.
However my old bolts I had used on the 4Runner were a little bent, so I had to buy new ones.
The size you want is 5/16-18-4
Also since I took off two of my racks slats when installing the Hi-Lift mounts, the two slats left were to far apart to make the shovel work with its two holes that are drilled in it.
I had to add back a slat and move it in front of the most forward slat, and that worked out perfectly.

Here is a shot of just the 23H mounts on.


Here is a shot with the new bolts.
The other plastic Yakima wingnuts I had used were to small for the new bolts and the 5/16th nut that Yakima has you insert into the 23H.
Luckily I had some old 5/16th Yakima wingnuts laying around from some old Yakima thing I bought years ago.
You can also use a standard metal wingnut, but the advantage of using the Yakima ones are they are much bigger to grab onto.


And finally a few shots with the shovel in place.
One nice thing too about mounting it more forward like this is I can step up on the sliderz to get up and take the shovel off.


It turned out pretty good, and I have two of the 23H Mighty Mounts leftover that I can use for another project up on the rack.
Maybe the kitchen sink I can mount to them.

While I was up there working on the roof, I tried to finally mount my 48" Hi-Lift on the Slee mounts.
It is not going to happen.
Jack is to heavy, and I can not get close enough on the ladder to heft it up there.
Chalk it up to getting old.

I am still working with a friend on making a Hi-Lift mount for the spare tire, or I may end up getting the Demello Hi-Lift mounts for the side of the rack in the future.
Not as hard to put the rack on the side as it is trying to put it all the way up on top.

I do not see why everyone is in such a hurry to ditch the factory FJ Cruiser rack.
I like it a lot, and with a little creativeness, you can do a lot with it by fabbing up your own stuff like I did the shovel mount here.
With the two leftover 23H mounts and buying another box of four mounts (would use four mounts), I could fab up a nice jerry can mount adding back the fourth slat.

[FirstToy]

Corey,
you better slow down or you'll be done and bored within a year!

This is turning into a nice tech buildup for a new rig. Maybe I should consider starting a ROTW for the FJC tech guys...

Also look in the FAQ for the OEM roofrack mod that shortens the rack- looks pretty cool I thought.

Tires- they look good! The center lugs remind me of the Mickey Thompson ATZ... I was considering the Cooper SST's but if these are the same for less $$....hmmm! Tell us how they shape up on the trail and freeway, thanks!

[Corey]

He he, I know.
When I traded in the 4Runner I thought it was going to take forever to mod the new rig.
I am almost done, but then are we really ever done
The mods though are keeping me very busy, and this rig is a ton of fun to work on.

Just a few more things, the 3" OME lift, ARB bumper, my old winch, and a solution to mounting the Hi-Lift lower for me, and the off road mods will be just about done.
In the future too perhaps the new rear bumper ARB is working on.
Oh, and future stereo upgrades too.

I have seen the shortend rack that a member here did I think around May?
It looked pretty good.

These tires I dig 'em.
They are getting a little louder too, and nothing wrong with that.

Will not know how they will do off road until Ocober the 7th, we have our anual Fall Colors Run planned in the shadows of Mt. Rainier.
I think we may have some snow up there by then too, so that should be a good test.

On the freeway though these feel just as smooth as the stock ones did.
We had some heavy rain the other day, and they handled great.

[Corey]

With two leftover Yakima 23H Mighty Mounts and two of the hex bolts leftover also from the shovel mount project, I present you with my custom axe mount.

Went to Lowes and picked up a fiberglass handled True Temper 36" Premium Michigan axe, part number 118590.

Drilled two holes in the handle 21.75" apart after measuring the distance between the two bolts once they were mounted.

The axe fits neatly besides the shovel.

I am loving these Yakima Mighty Mounts.
It would be very easy to get another set and more hex bolts and mount a jerry can holder up there.
I may do that, but I would carry water instead of fuel.



I do not see why some are so fast to get rid of the factory FJ rack.
With a little imagination, this rack rocks, and I actualy like the look of it better than the Gobi racks.

[Go4aRyd]

I can't stand on top of the factory rack. I need the height for photography...thus the Gobi on my ride. I agree, if you are a DIY kinda person, the stock rack can be made to support much more than at first glance. (yea - I considered custom fabing a platform for the stock rack, but I couldn't wait until after winter dor all the fab and mods it would have taken me to get it right).

BTW, I did the same thing for my axe/shovel for my gobi using a couple pairs of old yakima bar mounts - exactly same concept. Great minds must think alike!

[Corey]

Glad to hear the Gobi is working out for you.
That is cool youused left over Yakima parts too.
I have a ton of winguts and clamps dating back to the mid 80s from them.

Did you happen to see this issue of 4WD Toyota Owner magazine?
There is an FJ40 in it near the end.
The guy is local in my state, and stands on top of his rack to shoot pics too.
http://www.zendogstudio.com/RC_web/index.htm

[4x4CPOSEADOG]

Originally posted by Corey
It has a key hole on top to turn it off for when you go to get serviced and they may need to disconnect your main battery.
If you do not disarm it, it will wail when they disconnect your main juice.

Can you please post picture of your back up alarm? Mine is similar to this but I do not know if it made by DEI and do not have a label.

Congrats on your new FJ Cruiser

Thanks.

[Corey]

Noel, I would rather not post publicaly where the backup alarm is.
____________________________

Ahhhh, nothing like a mod on a work night to rush me, so excuse me if I type fast, gotta hit the hay in a bit.

These mounts use the circle rings that are similar to Demello's.
They have a bigger wingnut on them though.

I still have my Slee mounts up on the roof, I gave up on them since I can not heft the jack up.

I gotta tell you, putting these mounts on was a piece of cake.
I angled up the bolts that you slip the jack over so it would lean in towards the FJ Cruiser.
I can lift the jack up with ease to do this, I stood on a small step stool, will try it later without the stool, but I was in a hurry to get this mod done by tonight.

To purchase these, contact owner Luke at FourTreks Precision Off-Road Products.
Here is the direct URL to the product.

The diameter you want is 1.75", and you will see it listed in the drop down list to purchase them.

Also on the Hi-Lift is WabFabs Hi-Lift adaptor.
The Wabbit makes them in many sizes to fit various diameters of sliderz.
His device will allow you to use the Hi-Lift with your sliderz and not worry about the jack slipping off of them.
Here is the URL to WabFab.

Here are some pictures below including a break down of the parts in the first photo.

[Corey]

Not really a mod, but it goes with the Hi-Lift just as much as the Wabbit's WabFab Hi-Lift adaptor.
Look in the upper right corner of the Hi-Lift.

Just picked it up from Central 4WD.
This one is made by Daystar.
http://www.central4wd.com/category.aspx?page=id%7C15387

It simply slips over the jack and handle and keeps them from rattling.
I had some Velcro strap on there before, this will be much better.

[flycast]

I think I used to live there man! Do you live down the hill from GRCC near the river on 8th NE? Sorry to be nosey just looks familiar. Man I loved the northwest.

[Corey]

Nope, up past the Muckleshoot.
Same street too for Central 4WD if I headed North about 11 miles.

[Coyute]

Thanks for all the cool tips and ideas Corey!!

I finally got my FJ last Saturday and can't get enough!

[Corey]

You are welcome.
FJs are fun to mod

Looks like you are having fun already with yours.

[schlopecki]

I'm in the market for new tires.
While I googled to find pricing on Coopers I went across something:
URL 1
URL 2

Do what you want with this info, but I felt that I need to post it.

[Corey]

Good info, but it does not apply to the Cooper STTs which mine are a clone of.
Only time will tell how these hold up, but so far I am diggin' these Dick Cepeks.

My tires are not listed still on Cepek's site, I beleive it is because they were made specifcaly for the Les Schwab Tire Center chain.

[schlopecki]

Originally Posted by Corey

Good info, but it does not apply to the Cooper STTs which mine are a clone of.
Only time will tell how these hold up, but so far I am diggin' these Dick Cepeks.

My tires are not listed still on Cepek's site, I beleive it is because they were made specifcaly for the Les Schwab Tire Center chain.

The STT's are not listed there, but S/T's and Dick Cepek Fun Country II (also produced by Cooper) - which I also considered - are. :(
I didn't see any reports on various 4x4 forums I researched for tires though.
Maybe we, as a group, tend to take care of tires better...

[Corey]

If it take 5 minutes or less for this old fart to do it, you young buckaroos can do it in half the time

Step one:
Peel back the tape off of the harness under the hood.

Step two:
Harness with plug on it is in there, pull it out, and it has a little bit of gray tape around it holding it to the bigger wire that was under the tape you peeled back.



Step three:
Take plug and plug it into the horn.

Step four:
Take horn and position on the fender the way you want it.
Take the included bolt and insert into the hole in the fender and do the righty tighty with a 10 mm wrench.



That is all there is to it.
Very easy.

Here is a 2.5 MB WMV video of before and after.

So easy, and it did take less than 5 minutes to install.
Now I can be heard more easily.

Part numbers are in the vid and pictures, but I will post them here too.
Bought these from TRD Parts 4U
Horn part # 86510-60240
Bolt part # 90080-11545

[Corey]

I was not happy with my 7' Firestik flag pole I had mounted to a trailer hitch.
There was to much sway in it.

I saw this posted by member BDFJ, and I got in touch with his friend who just signed up on YotaTech, and his member name is mschradercnc.
If you would like one of these flag mounts, you can contact him, or PM me for his email address.

From the ground to the top of his mount with the HD CB spring on it, it was around 6'10".
To be legal in WA. and OR. state when running sand dunes, your flag must be about 9' off the ground.
I cut down the 7' pole to 30", that leave me a little over 9' tall.

I am also using a quick disconnect CB antenna mount similar to what I have on my 4' Firestik II CB antenna.

The first picture below shows his mount and the supplied screw.
That is what you get.
The other stuff on the right side of the picture is 1/2 of my quick disconnect mount, a lock washer to go under the spring, and a bolt.

When putting the bolt into the bracket, Mark designed it so you do not have to use a wrench.
The bolt fits in a groove and is held in tight.
You just tighten down your spring, or if not using a spring, the pole.

This is really a cool mount, and a lot less sway than using a long pole.
This mount is made for a 1.75" round tube such as the FJ Cruisers round tubes on the rack.

Mark has some other cool stuff in the works for the future, so stay tuned to this thread...

The flag I had made by Devil Woman Flags, a vendor on YotaTech.
You can get just abut any artwork of yours made into a flag, and she also has custom flags already made up.

[Corey]

Was to tired to post pics yesternight, got home late and it was dark.
Only got two pics yesternight anyways.

Took some more at work today, but it was very overcast, so they did not turn out the best.
Plus the rig is downright filthy from last weeks snow/ice storm.

Finally got all the goodies installed Tuesday at the shop.
ARB, (A Real Bumper) OME 3" lift, IPF fog lights in the ARB and Toyota switch in the dash, and my old Warn XD 9000 winch from the '91 4Runner.

Why did I go with the ARB bumper when there are others out there too?
ARB has been in the business a long time, and their products are air bag compatible, and I really liked the quality of my old ARB on the 4Runner.
The bumper is top notch material.

The Old Man Emu is a proven lift, and from all the FJ Cruiser owners I have conversed with, they are extremely happy with the setup.
I got the 886 coils up front to handle the extra weight of the bumper and winch, and the 895 regular coils back aft.

I plan on adding an ARB rear bumper later (when available) and I may have to upgrade to the 896 coils, not 100% sure yet.

The Warn XD9000 winch is a workhorse, and perfectly suited for the FJ and other Toyotas.
It is well enough to handle any situation.

The IPF fog lights are installed into the lower part of the ARB bumper and look factory.
A factory Toyota switch in the dash controls them.

I want to thank Phil and company at TRD Parts 4U, they are an ARB dealer, and great to work with.
I have ordered quite a few things in the past for the FJ from them, and the pricing is very good.

I will wait until next week to get the rig into Toyota to get my front end aligned.
I want to let the springs settle a bit.

The drive into work and home was great.
It is stiffer than stock, that is to be expected.
It will lighten up a bit I am told after the springs break in a tad.
But it feels a lot better on the highway, and already corners better.
That was my main concern that it take corners better and faster without understeer or oversteer, I get the two mixed up.

Hopefully I can find some time with my Christmas break coming up to get the rig up to the mountains and test it all out.

OK, on with a few pictures.

[FirstToy]

looks awesome corey!

[sbechtold]

Looking very nice Corey!

[Brazenhead]

I'm must say i'm jealous of you other Silver Fj owners with the ARB bumper, looks like it belonged there in the first place.

[Corey]

You can use this mount for your iPod, cell phone, or a GPS.
I already have a very nice iPod mount, but it is kind of in the way of my A Trac and E Locker buttons.

I may move the iPod up above now, or use this for a GPS mount depending if I can get a signal there or not.

Very easy to install.
1. Take off the plastic wing with one screw at the bottom of your stereo dash and pull it off.

2. Take the small metal piece and put it under the screw by the stereo, and mount it.

3. Put the dash plastic wing back on again.

4. Use the two small acorn nuts to put the rest of the Panavice mount to the smaller piece.

5. You can pre-mount the PortaGrip to the backing plate first like I did.

Here are some links:
FJ Cruiser Panavice mount
Model # 751372007

Panavice PortaGrip mount to put your toys in
Mode #l 702 PortaGrip

[rfjtoy]

Corey, nice look. I connected the DICE electronics package to my ipod and tosed it in the glove box. It all runs thru the radio software. No mount or ipod visable.

[Corey]

Thanks.
I could toss mine in there too, and then just pull it out when I want to change playlists.

I find it easier to do it that way than try to do it from the head unit.

[Corey]

I had one of these for the ARB bumper on my '91 4Runner.
To be honest with you, I never ran it.

The mount uses Maglites flash light mount clips used to hold their flash lights to things.
The clips bolt to the black metal plate, and your license plate does the same.
Then you push the clips over your roller fairleads to hold it in place.

I did keep it behind the passenger seat just in case I was asked by the law to put it on.
But in the four years I ran the bumper on the 4Runner, not once was I ever looked at for not having a front plate installed.

The new ARB bumper for the FJ Cruiser has two holes that you insert plastic screw hole mounts into so you can mount your stock plate to.
This will clear your fairleads for your winch.
You can see the white plastic inserts in my first photo below above the roller fairleads.

In the next two pics you can see the roller fairlead license plate holder.
The company that makes it is Kilby Enterprises.
However back then when I was inquiring about them, I found it cheaper to buy from a vendor that sold them for Kilby.
They are 4Wheeler Supply.

The plate will no doubt just reside in the FJ Cruiser until I get pulled over.
The asked where my plate is, I will let he/she know I have one and install it then.
I think they are pretty laxed around my area about having a front plate on an aftermarket bumper.

[Corey]

I wanted to have protection on my Elocker motor as I have heard they can be quite vulnerable to getting smacked by rocks/logs that you may navigate over while out on the trail.

I contacted owner Jim to see if he had one, and he said indeed he did for the Tacoma, and it also fits the FJ Cruiser to a T.
Here it is on his site.

I do not have an installed picture of it on my rig, so I am using one of Jim's from his website.
The first picture though is mine taken on my PC desk.

It goes on with three bolts that you already have that hold the motor cover in place.
If you pull the bolts out gently and do not break the gasket seal to the motor, there is no need to replace the gasket.
Simply insert the guard in place, and bolt back up.

[abophx]

Sweet! Thanks for the pic....

[FirstToy]

corey, that looks sweet!
i've been looking for something like that for the 80 series rear locker...wonder if it will fit..hmmm