Builds 2001 LX470 build LEGUSY (4 Viewers)

[Odyseuss]

I organized another club trail run for Wasatch Cruisers to Rally out west of central Utah and explore some interesting sites. There was a combination of 13 checkpoints to find by way of GPS coordinates and numerous objectives to achieve along the way. We had several participants and even some familiar IH8MUD users like @SmoothLC. It was great to see a good group making it out to join us and if there are others on here looking to do something similar feel free to check us out and join us. As a club, we organize regular trail runs and activities on our forum wasatchcruisers.org .

Since I was planning to camp overnight in the well below freezing temps, a good supply of propane was established to keep our accommodations cozy. In the past, I have tried using smaller tanks, but for this big 10x14 tent that I have been using and in cold weather, a big buddy heater needs more fuel. A 5 Gallon tank is cheap and easy to come by and is more than an adequate supply for up to 2 nights of consistent use by my calculations. I made a quick mounting system for it out of some wood scraps and it held solid for several hundred miles beyond the pavement.

This area abounds with unusual geological features like this grand rock wall called the Lace Curtain.

 

[Odyseuss]

We found a hot springs nearby an ancient volcano.

On our list was a dilapidated old unsuccessful attempt at a variant of solar energy. It appears more like a wind powered design, but nonetheless it sits in ruins.

After a storm moved through the weather cleared up to reveal a spectacular desolate landscape.

 

[Odyseuss]

Then we found a rock feature that I had been looking for resembling an elephant with a Howdah.

We also looked over a couple partially frozen reservoirs, several other landscapes, historic sites, and a couple museums.

We visited the site of the Topaz Japanese internment camp and found this exquisite art in the nearby museum that occupants had made out of the seashells they found in the bed of Prehistoric Lake Bonneville.

 

[ikarus]

Then we found a rock feature that I had been looking for resembling an elephant with a Howdah.
View attachment 1874735

We also looked over a couple partially frozen reservoirs, several other landscapes, historic sites, and a couple museums.
View attachment 1874736
View attachment 1874738

View attachment 1874737

We visited the site of the Topaz Japanese internment camp and found this exquisite art in the nearby museum that occupants had made out of the seashells they found in the bed of Prehistoric Lake Bonneville.
View attachment 1874742

I saw the plans for it, wish i could have made it! Looks like a fun trip.

 

[Odyseuss]

I did another oil change, and took a tip from @SmoothLC and a few others and installed a Fumoto drain valve. The access with the Dissent skids is minimal and it seems easy to stick a hose on the drain valve to keep oil changes cleaner and simpler. I also used a boot to keep debris out of the drain valve. IIRC these boots come with the Toyota fuel filters and work well for a lot of 3/8 caps.

I was able to bend a license plate just right and direct oil from the filter out past the front skid too. I've used this trick for several different truck over the years and it works pretty well.

 

[SmoothLC]

It's the little things, huh?

Nice trick on the license plate - I'll have to give that a try!

 

[Odyseuss]

Yeah, the little things do count, and they add up. Its the attention to details that affect the overall craftsmanship of a finished product. A lot of the things that go into this build are little things. Here are a couple more.

I appreciate that the 100 has an interior manual latch to open the rear hatch. It comes in handy when sleeping in the rig and exiting through the rear, I suppose it would be nice for the 3rd row occupant access. I have encountered an issue with cargo shifting rearward and locking the latch. This makes it difficult to open the rear hatch. Sometimes I have to reach over the back seat to pull large items forward and then unlock the latch while trying to open it.

So I made a kydex cover that allows me to operate the lock and latch by hand yet prevents objects from inadvertently locking the hatch.

 

[Odyseuss]

I picked up a pouch for holding a water bottle or extra fire extinguisher that I could mount in front of the front passenger seat. I get a bit annoyed by water bottles rolling around the floor, so this is supposed to be a handy solution to that issue. I don't usually have a front passenger as often as I have a rear passenger, and I think its negligible additional intrusion to the foot space area. Since I already have a bracket for a large sturdy Ram mount there was already something there to mount too. I thought about making a Molle pannel, but there really wasn't space for it, so I made a kydex tab to utilize the PALS webbing on the pouch. So far it works well, stays in place, and is easy enough to remove the pouch if necessary.

 

[Odyseuss]

Another Prerun through Lockhart Basin with Wasatch Cruisers

After a quick meeting we departed for the Lockhart basin trail again. This time, under partly cloudy skies reaching damp dirt that wasn’t muddy or dusty. I had mentioned some concerns about the trail in general and I was focused on determining what would work best for this group and the next as I plan to lead another group through the area for the inaugural run of Lockhart Basin for Cruise Moab.

We had a great group of qualified experienced drivers and solid vehicles that would be put to the test as we pressed on despite harrowing tales of past experience in the area. We passed consistent traffic and worked our way out towards Chicken Corners when we encountered another such tale. After a bit of research, I found that the nearby grave site marked by a stone and a lasso indicated that Sheriff Johnson had died here when his horse fell after stumbling into a hole in 1927. It wasn’t far past that point that we encountered a muddy rutted section of trail precariously close to a cliff, sheer down to the Colorado River. After the scenic route and back, we settled on a site with a view and stars for the night.

The next morn, we enjoyed the new light to the same spectacular scenery and packed up to move on for Lockhart. Once past the sign, this trail gets serious right away as it climbs up a series of narrow and uneven grades to a rocky canyon. At the top there are several large rocks that challenge ground clearance more as the area around them erodes. As such, the holes get filled in with numerous rocks as they are stacked to make the route passable. These rocks present their own challenges as they can move unpredictably at times and out from under spinning tires. We found a good line that let the first trucks though without incident. At the bottom of the hill, Silly Dave managed to move to the right of a large rock that left him high centered with a large noise emanating from the front differential. We managed a coordinated effort with the use of Maxtrax and stacked rocks to get him off of the boulder and up to the base of the main obstacle. Using a 4Runner, we setup a solid anchor for SDave to winch up the hill. A GX made it up most of the way until it kept getting high centered at the top. Every attempt to get it back up of that rock failed once the tires turned sending other rocks and maxtrax out from under the tires, so we winched it up to become the new steadfast anchor. Around this point, we had a some moto and SxS traffic backing up. We made quick work with the next 2 trucks and made room for the bikes to ride through. Another well equipped 100 series crawled up with delicate precision spotted and assisted by the whole crew, but somehow, the heavy rig struggled up the unsettling boulders and the front end let out a dreaded pop that began to repeat itself. From there we repeated the well known process to stabilize the vehicle on rocks just high enough to clear the biggest boulder and winch past it up the hill.

Our grouped moved on and over to a large pull out area with a view of beyond and we proceeded to convert SDaves truck to 2 wheel drive by removing the front drive shaft and hub flanges and covering the hubs with a Gatorade bottle that fit just right. Some duct tape fabrication held the bottle halves in place and the black 100 was set to roll again. The other 100 driver opted to perform the procedure after we made camp retaining the use of what drive might still be available from the front end. As our club moved on, it was impressive to see what SDave could accomplish with just rear wheel drive. It was apparent that he had some driving skills and the guts to put them to use where momentum was needed to overcome the lack of traction.

The basin was named after L. B. Lockhart, a prospector that settled at Utah bottoms on the Dolores river in the early 1900’s. It is exposed to vast reaches of grandeur from the Colorado river below reaching up the steep cliffs and hillsides across numerous mesas, chimneys, arches, and such amazing topographical texture. Towering above are the plateaus and viewpoints like the famous Hatch point, named after Alonzo Hatch.

In 1952 a Lockheed T-33A Shooting Star crashed in the canyon on a flight from Hill AFB to Biggs field TX. The aircraft carrying 2 pilots suffered an engine failure when it flamed out and after 3 in flight starting attempts the turbine wheel had exited the aircraft and weakened the tail assembly which separated from the aircraft. The plane then spun out of control and after a jettison of the cockpit lid, a LT. Harsh was flung from the craft and then parachuted to the ground. He suffered a twisted ankle and survived in the canyon until spotted by another C-47 aircraft and rescued some 27 hours after the incident. The co pilot Lt. Wingert had died near the wreckage that still remains in place due to the remoteness of the crash site. Upon looking the area over and the aid of some optics, our group was able to spot and photograph both a tail section and aircraft debris spread across a few drainages in the area.

Cruising on towards Lockhart canyon a distance that was best described in clicks heard from a 100 series front diff, I was impressed by the characters in our convoy and how well they maintained an optimistic outlook that makes it fun to be around each other and chat on the radio. The group was tolerant and accepting of dogs and kids and an errant driver over the occasional fire pan. It seemed like the group was easy going about the time or pace that we traveled though it was nice to find a good place to rest and setup camp after a long day on the trail. Our recon revealed one of very few locations that actually seemed suitable and legitimate as a campsite for this occasion and the upcoming CM event. We had good conversation around the fire under the stars.

Up and running like a well oiled machine of a 2UZ, we were ready and rolling and working like a pit crew to sort out another 2wheel drive conversion. Solo cups were fit and fashioned over the hubs with such quality that the stock center caps still fit on over them and you couldn’t tell there was anything out of place. The trail ahead was pretty smooth as we enjoyed some more incredible views and made it out to Indian Creek and then airing up for the road out past newspaper rock. We had been very fortunate to enjoy excellent weather for the entirety of the trip. Setting off and bidding farewell, I could still hear the chatter over the radio for quite some time in the distance.

After further consideration from this and past experience, taking in to account various ideas, I determined that it would be better to run the route for the Cruise Moab Overnight run from the south instead of the North. I had considered this before as an alternative, though I thought that the more challenging route from the north was still reasonable and worthwhile. After encountering the difficulty that we did, I think it will be best to take the easier route down the most challenging obstacles with a likely larger group. Though it’s possible, and has been done, I would prefer to minimize the potential of damage, while still enjoying the adventure. I did not expect to encounter the mechanical issues that we did, though I know that it is part of the risk and I feel confident that we tried to avoid the damage while exercising caution in a challenging situation. Fortunately, the remainder of the trail was no trouble and this prerun with our club was very helpful in determining several valuable insights for the future run. If you are registered for Cruise Moab and considering it, feel free to join us on this great trail if there are still spots available.

special thanks to Kyle for some of the photos.

 

[Odyseuss]

And a few more pictures.

 

[SmoothLC]

Looks like you had a great trip @Odyseuss!

Spectacular views.

And that plastic Gatorade bottle? Brilliant.

 

[Odyseuss]

After returning from Lockhart, I gave the rig a good overall inspection and sorted a couple things out. I found that the inside side wall of one of the rear tires had some damage to it. The damage went to the cords in the tire though it still wasn't loosing any air. I found some other wear and rocks embedded in the tread, as these tires all got a close inspection and they are taking some punishment. For now, just the one tire got swapped out as a road hazard. and the others got a rotation.

The wire to the reverse light broke just as it enters the light, so I installed a new light. I tried to route the wiring as best as possible so there is less fatigue to the wires as they go around the pivot of the rear bumper swing.

I was pleased to see that though the newer skid plate has been taking a beating, it hasn't seen but a minor flesh wound to the paint and is still straight and solid.

 

[Odyseuss]

As some more miles accrue and as a bit of preventative maintenance, the front brakes and wheel bearings got another thorough service. I replaced the rotors with new OE Toyota units and installed another set of pads as the bearings got fresh grease. Fortunately, everything looked good and there wasn't any sign of water entry, another concern that helped motivate this maintenance a bit ahead of the regular schedule. I also inspected the rear brakes and adjusted the parking brake, making sure to lube the bell cranks so they don/t seize up.

@cruiseroutfit hooked me up with one of the new ARB stainless trays for the Outback drawers. I noticed a few things upon the installation, and I'm excited about how it all turned out. I have my Outback drawers packed to nearly every square inch. Its all well organized and accessible yet I had to make some accommodations to fit the sliding tray. I really like the Akro Mills bins. they are tough and easy to arrange and remove in order to access other items in the drawer. I had to trim the sides of the bin just a bit to fit the tray and I cut the ends off some of the bolts that were hitting on the bin. I also cleaned up some of the edges that were still rough from the manufacturing process. The tray will be a nice addition as it slides separate from the drawer and also acts a lid for contents in the bin.

 

[Odyseuss]

Overall, I really like the clean look without a snorkel and the factory intake design is good with a decent height, so I had been putting off the install of a snorkel. However, I feel like I've pushed my luck a bit over the years and had some close calls. After a recent inspection of the air box I found some indications of water entry. With the abnormally high amount of precipitation over the past several months, (and I'll admit to watching a lot of 4WD Action on you tube) I decided that now was the time to get this taken care of. I installed a great snorkel kit with good reviews and a write up here from @phi1osopher

$98 ARB-Clone Snorkel install -- It turned out GREAT!!

The kit was just what I was looking for as a clean unit without any writing on it and ample clearance for the antenna. I did think that the included studs were a bit short, so I sourced some longer stainless ones at the local hardware supply.

I used the included template to mark the locations of holes on the truck and then cut the 4.25" hole in the template first and test fit it on the snorkel. After verifying the fit was correct, I aimed small to miss small and drilled the holes just large enough to fit the studs on the snorkel at 3/8". I was much more concerned about drilling the A pillar than the fender, and after doing so, I applied fluid film in the A pillar and inner fender areas, followed by a generous dose of tough up paint around all of the holes and finally silicone sealant upon assembly. I really hope to avoid water entry and rust as much as possible.

Here is what I removed from inside the fender:

I cleaned all the dirt and deposits out of the airbox and added a plug for the hole to keep water out yet it can be easily removed in case I need to drain moisture out for some reason, in either case, its water tight.

My son gave his approval to the new setup and I hope the look will grow on me.

 

[Odyseuss]

We made it out to Cruise Moab for a great opportunity to run trails and visit with other cruiserheads. I led the Lockhart Basin overnight run, then took the tail position the rest of the trip on 7 mile rim, Cameo cliffs, and Elephant hill. It was an awesome week of wheelin' around with family and friends. Legusy performed exceptionally without any issues. It was impressive to behold the gathering of capable rigs and drivers as we made our way through incredible scenery.

 

[Odyseuss]

 

[Odyseuss]

Long before installing the snorkel, I had been considering how to make the most of that upgrade. I have decided that its a necessary evil to have the big chunk on the outside of my vehicle in the event that it can save me from major engine damage. I heard of a recent scenario where major damage occurred to a 200 series at Cruise Moab in a water crossing that I have already passed through a few times lately. I would probably continue to get used to the snorkel look and that should probably be the least of my concerns.

I realize that there are other reasons for installing a snorkel that involve cleaner air higher off the ground that may have less particulates in it. In addition, some people may say that the intake air is cooler being further from a hot road surface, and that this may contribute to some gains in engine performance. The original design in the fender is less exposed to outside air and dirt than the forward facing snorkel scoop, and the intake air temp difference may be negligible. I haven't really seen much studies, tests or personal experience to prove the significance of these benefits, but I won't discount them entirely either. Feel free to impress me with science if you have factual information about these functions.

In any case, I am still not a big fan of the typical snorkel scoop. It still seems too exposed to debris, bugs, dirt, pine needles, etc. I realize that this stuff still isn't getting past the air filter so my engine is safe, yet I don't even want it in my air box let alone stuck somewhere in the tubing assembly, if I can avoid it. I have seen the sock type covers that can be attached over the front of the scoop, and these look like a decent option though they seem to be more disposable and something that will degrade over time and are not designed for everyday use.

4x4 Pre-Cleaners

4x4 Snorkel Pre-Cleaners

www.uniflow.com.au

So I settled on a cyclonic pre-cleaner. I found this site with some information and a calculator for air flow.

BRAVO SNORKEL

Bravo Snorkel - The European Genuine

snorkel4x4.com

It indicates that a Top Spin pre cleaner has a few advantages over the standard decantation or clear bowl prefilter. It seems to have a better flow rate which seems important since by my calculation the decantation type flow rate seems insufficient for a 2UZ. However, It also seems like that setup may still work in some cases though it may not be ideal, or there are prefilters in use that have better flow rates than this site lists. Even still, the Top Spin is more efficient and maintenance free. There is also an HD version of the Top spin that is available though it seemed to be much more expensive and less available so I went with the standard Top Spin H002426. At first it seems rather large, though it is comparable to the size of the snorkel scoop, and a smaller unit would not fit as well or have similar flow rates.

DONALDSON H002426 TOPSPIN PRE-CLEANER

air filter cleaning, air filter reconditioning, industrial filter cleaning, air filters, industrial filter cleaning service, donaldson, air filter cleaning service, air filter reonditioning, air filter cleaning, dust collectors, pleated bag filters

www.filterrecon.com

I used a 3" pipe coupling adapter that was basically a rubber hose with a 3.5" ID and a 3.75" OD. It was a great fit to slide the precleaner on over the snorkel and securely attach with 2 clamps. I observed the movement of both of these implements attached at highway speeds in gusty winds and the Top spin does move a bit more though it is still secure and does not seem to loosen or have any I'll effect. I can notice the turbine spinning at wide open throttle though it doesn't seem to spin at idle or a steady rpm with no load. I suspect that while driving down the road, air moves across the fins and into the pre cleaner causing the impeller to spin though that is a bit difficult to verify. So far the unit seems to work fine and offer a less exposed or direct yet unrestricted route for the intake air while still offering protection. This is still a short term use scenario so time with tell how it proves its use though I expect that it will perform.

 

[ikarus]

Interesting. I was going to go with a bowl when I got around to a snorkel. I believe there's a 7" and 10", and the 10" can do 200-450 CFM. What kind of flow does the UZ need?

Also, which water crossing got the 200? I'd be interested to hear more

 

[Odyseuss]

Interesting. I was going to go with a bowl when I got around to a snorkel. I believe there's a 7" and 10", and the 10" can do 200-450 CFM. What kind of flow does the UZ need?

Also, which water crossing got the 200? I'd be interested to hear more

I used the calculator in the link, and converting from metric to CFM is about 415 @ 5000 RPM. It sounds like a 10" bowl would work, but that would be a larger diameter than this unit of 9.5" though this is probably taller at about the same dimension. I've seen the bowls get discolored over time and need cleaning, so that might be another concern. Also, they claim that the inertia turbine empowers centrifugal force to enhance filtration and performance due to air over pressure. I think its a fancy way of saying its a bolt on turbo for your air filter and that might be worth something, maybe. On the other hand, maybe the bowl collects specimens while you drive.

The water crossing was Kane Creek returning from Chicken Corners. It was a bit deep the last couple of times I've crossed it and there seems to be some spots that are deeper than others. The driver won the "8 Ball" award and gave a description of his experience. I think it had to be towed from that point on.

 

[ikarus]

Yeah, that pre cleaner you got seems like a great option. And no way - I crossed that a few times the week before Cruise Moab and was surprised at how deep it's become. That's crazy that he hydrolocked