Builds 94 FZJ80 - Let the Adventure Ensue (5 Viewers)

[FMC80]

Tonight was relatively productive. I had a few beers with my son while my younger son assisted in getting the BH3D cup holders installed and fixing the aft right window.

There was no power going to the motor and the window was stuck in the down position approximately 8 inches from the top. It is a concern for obvious reasons but especially here in Hawaii where we get island rains daily. My youngest son and I tackled that job and fixed it. We found the window switch wasn’t getting power and we R2d it. We got power but then the window was still very wonky. Turns out the bottom portion of the window that is supposed to sit inside the guide wasn’t seated. In fact the entire guide assembly was missing. I found it at the bottom of the door. Installed it and all is functional now.

 

[FMC80]

Okay, I’m chasing down more of the rats nest of wiring in my truck. The DS has two wires that terminate at the side marker light and I’m not sure if it is supposed to be there. I chased it back through the engine bay as seen in the pics but not sure where it originates and if it was an add on by the PO. there are other wires as well and I’m just trying to hit it all because the PO did a piss-poor job of wiring and routing.
Here are some pics for context and reference. Any assistance is appreciated. Also, I checked the PS marker light and it too has the two black wires (one with white piping) spliced into it.
not sure what is original (normal) or an add on.

 

[FMC80]

I think it’s safe to say these two wires are an add on

 

[FMC80]

Found where the black wires went: Side marker light. I’m sure the black wires used aren’t original to the truck. I cut the harness, rerouted the wires and got rid of more extraneous wiring. Heat shrank it then wrapped with electrical tape for redundancy.

 

[airon23]

Nice job getting things cleaned up. That'll make things easier if you need to troubleshoot later on. Plus always good just to put it how it is supposed to be.

 

[FMC80]

Lazy Sunday, woke up in the late afternoon....nah I woke up early. Did a little work but nothing major. Removed the hitch and it came out willingly. The bolts holding it in were eager to spin out despite a little surface rust on the hitch itself. I wasn’t sure how difficult it might be but I didn’t even soak in PB Blaster. Just took it right off.
Also removed the running boards despite both of my daughters protests! Hahaha “daddy how are we going to help you clean the Land Cruiser?” They’ll figure it out!

paint looks so bad. Upon further inspection in the sun light I see there was a terrible attempt at a paint job on the PS. Whatever. I’ll have to deal with that later.

 

[FMC80]

Another point of concern are my tires. They’re absolutely unsafe to use in any scenario. They’re 11 years old. ELEVEN. Dry rotted, cracked, bulging and frankly I don’t feel comfortable driving it with my kids or on the road with any others. It’s irresponsible and basically stupid. In Hawaii you have to have current safety inspections which consist of a laundry list of things to check and tires are one of the items. In either case, I went out and got new shoes today even though I wanted to wait. Why? Because I wanted a lift and to outfit my ride with bigger tires but being as how I’m on this island and LCs aren’t common, I couldn’t just get a lift and tires. COVID didn’t help because of the nation-wide tire manufacturing slowdown. Apparently getting tires for a 16” rim isn’t common here. All that to say I settled for 285/75R BFG KO2s. I’ll wait until next year to get my lift and new tires but for now these are great. The old tires were brutal and I felt every single bump on the road and it was jarring at times even though I stayed in my local area where the speed limits are 25 or less. The new KO2s are smooth, responsive and fill in the wheel wells well enough. I’m happy with the purchase but one thing that stuck out was the number of weights used to balance these things. Some need 7.5oz of weights! Quite unsightly but knowing I’m safe on the road is worth it. You guys running KO2s experience the same outrageous number of weights required to balance or are rims out of whack?

 

[FMC80]

Hey guys, I went through and searched but came up empty as to what this may be. Looks like it’s supposed to have a plug in it but I’m not sure. I can see the threads internally and a nipple in the middle. It’s on the US PS near what I think are AC lines?

this one from a different angle.

 

[BILT4ME]

Hey guys, I went through and searched but came up empty as to what this may be. Looks like it’s supposed to have a plug in it but I’m not sure. I can see the threads internally and a nipple in the middle. It’s on the US PS near what I think are AC lines? View attachment 2572825
this one from a different angle.
View attachment 2572826

Those are your air conditioner charge/check ports. See the port to the left of your finger with a grey plastic cap? There should be a grey plastic cap on there just like it except a different size.

 

[FMC80]

Those are your air conditioner charge/check ports. See the port to the left of your finger with a grey plastic cap? There should be a grey plastic cap on there just like it except a different size.

That’s what I was thinking. I’ll find another cap. Thank you and what the hell would I do without you? but seriously, thank you

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

Great work chasing down all that extraneous wiring! Looks like you’re sorting out lots of little issues. You alluded to a lift in the future—tell us your vision!

 

[FMC80]

Great work chasing down all that extraneous wiring! Looks like you’re sorting out lots of little issues. You alluded to a lift in the future—tell us your vision!

Hey right on, thanks for the positive vibes. As for the lift, I've been chatting it up with @Box Rocket who really knows his stuff. I like his feedback about the Slinky and since Mill Creek Overland is a dealer and I'll be retiring relatively close to their location, I'll likely go with that. My plan is Stage 1 as I'm not a huge off-roader but more stay to the tame trails and mountain roads for camping. Once I get the new lift (in about 18 months) after leaving this island for good, I'll try to repurpose my current tires to my in-law's Tundra and buy some 35s. My wife is definitely not the LIMFAC as she loves supporting me and my maniacal love for LCs but my bank account? that's another story hahahaha. For now, the plan is for me to gain confidence in this new to me LC and go from there.

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

It will be fun to see what you decide. I’m excited to keep an eye on this thread. I’m still chasing down “base line” issues on my 93 after purchasing it in 2018. It endless, but is pretty darn satisfying,

 

[FMC80]

Check this awesomeness out! Looks like the aft right quarter window was replaced with clear glass and the tint is trashed

A garment steamer made relatively easy work of it. I have an appointment next week to tint the rest of the windows and will try to match it the best I can.

Next up are my fender flare gaskets. I’ll likely paint my rig someday but for now the painted gaskets had to go. I ordered a nice set from @SUMMIT CRUISERS who shipped super fast and is very communicative and got to work.

When I opened up the back end to gain access to the flare hardware I found more rats nest of wires. The PO spliced the trailer harness poorly. There were exposed wires, wires covered in masking tape, wires routed and body drilled without rust prevention (minor rust but still) and nothing was deburred.

This doesn’t look good.

I have more to do but have to stop there. We are in an exercise this week so I’m working nights. Time to sleep.

 

[FMC80]

Here’s a close up of the replaced gasket. Three more flares to go

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

I wonder if the previous owner of my vehicle learned his electrical from the previous owner of your vehicle....

 

[FMC80]

I wonder if the previous owner of my vehicle learned his electrical from the previous owner of your vehicle....

Dude, it’s unbelievable. I don’t understand how people take so many short cuts. Especially with electrical. I don’t expect OCD from everyone but exposed wires and hack jobs aren’t acceptable or excusable.
Hows yours coming along? I’m not tracking recent posts from you but I’m certain read through your entire thread.

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

Actually I think you win this contest...unfortunately. But it is satisfying to rip out useless a s dangerous Spagetti

 

[baldilocks]

You can go back to that tire store and have them balance your new tires using sticker weights on the inside of the wheel. They should have done this in the first place.

 

[FMC80]

You can go back to that tire store and have them balance your new tires using sticker weights on the inside of the wheel. They should have done this in the first place.

I asked if they had the ability to stick the weights on the back of the rim but they said the traditional weights would interfere with the brakes so I assume they don’t even have sticker weights. First I heard about those too but thanks for the info, it’s something I can look into doing in the future.