Build 1996 Land Cruiser Build - "Kronk"

[Atomic City]

Did a little work on Kronk today. I replaced the hood shocks, as my old ones were not holding the hood up very well this past winter. I also adjusted and lubed the hood latch mechanism. It was getting to where I had to slam the hood pretty good to get it to latch. Now I can just gently push it closed.

I also raised the front up again to investigate this steering wobble while braking/turning. Tire pressures are both at 36 psi, which is where I like to run. 3-9 cranking on the tires gives a little play, but nothing that I wouldn't expect - just runs up to the locked steering wheel. It is minimal, IMO. 6-12 o'clock cranking on the tires feels like the wheel bearings are fine. I may still open up the front axles to look further, but I'm wondering if it is the tires themselves. They are TrXus mud terrains. When I just roll them on the flat concrete, they wobble back and forth a fair bit. It is hard to tell with the mud lugs, but I'm wondering if I have some irregular "cupping" type wear that is causing the issue. I was really hoping to find an easy smoking gun, but no such luck.

This past winter, I also noticed some slight brake hiss when cold and idling in the morning. I investigated that more today as well, and confirmed that there is a spot in the brake pedal travel where I can hear hissing from the booster. So, time for a new booster.

 

[Atomic City]

I got the new booster in. That was a pain. But, it's in. The Engineers didn't leave enough room for easy removal. Required some brute force a few choice words of lubrication.

I also noticed my rag joint was pretty shot, as well as the firewall boot for the steering shaft, so those are on order.

After doing more research, I am leaning towards my tires causing the wobble problem. It sounds like these TrXus are sometimes hard to keep balanced, and I may have been running too low of a pressure for around town driving. I kicked up the pressure and took it for a test drive. Seemed to be a bit better on braking, but I could feel a wobble at times at highway speeds (just going straight down the road).

 

[Atomic City]

Firewall boot and rag joint replaced....

 

[Atomic City]

Not too much to report on the technical side. Still dealing with the tire balance issue.

This past weekend I went out with a few friends exploring Northern New Mexico. They are all professional photographers, and one is actually trying to start up a side business for New Mexico-inspired products. It was strange having cameras pointed everywhere all of the time, but they got some good shots. Here are a couple, and I imagine there will be plenty more.

Photos courtesy:
David Woodfin | Friction Ridge NM

 

[Atomic City]

Not much new technical to report. Wobble is still there, I'm hoping it is the tires - I'm just powering through it until the tires wear a bit more before buying a new set.

I've been thinking about something quite a bit lately. Kronk has been a ton of fun, and I have enjoyed the journey - but it just didn't turn out like I was envisioning it. While I like the maneuverability, it is too small of a platform for what I was trying to use it for. Although being tall is great most of the time, it makes spaces feel cramped, and Kronk has always felt cramped for me. My family doesn't really enjoy camping in it because of the difficulty getting into and out of the sleeping platform area. Couple this with my desire to downsize my fleet, and I think it is time to sell it.

Some issues to address prior:

1. I'll have to fix the wobble issue
2. I never bothered getting the A/C going again after the engine replacement, so I imagine all of the seals and stuff are toast. I'll probably try to get that all working.
3. Rear defroster has never worked.
4. Front seats are pretty beat up, but I put some nice trail covers over them. I'll probably just leave them as is.
5. Front windshield has had cracks since I've had it that haven't grown/gotten worse. I've never replaced the windshield because of the horror stories I read about how particular these units are when replacing them or having them leak. Cracks are not in the field of vision.

I think that is about it. Kronk runs great and I haven't had any major issues with it. I checked the prices in the classifieds and they appear to be all over the place. High level details of the build below. Any thoughts?

232,000 vehicle miles, ~28,000 miles on new Toyota small block and rebuilt head (installed 2020)
Ron Davis radiator (2020)
OEM power steering pump (2020)
OEM LSPV (2020)
O2 sensors (2021)
New front and rear brake rotors (2020)
New front window regulators and window moulding (2020)
OEM starter (2020)
Delta radius arms
Dobinson upper rear control arms
Landtank lower rear control arms
ARB full length roof basket
Lost Industries front bumper
Custom sleeping/storage platform
4x4 Labs rear bumper with tire mount and bike rack
Slee 4 inch lift with ADS shocks
New front driveshaft
Front and rear Eaton lockers (2022). Center diff lock installed by PO
RCV front axles (2022)
Yukon 4.88 gears (2022)
White Monstaliner (2023)
OEM Brake Booster (2024)