Really looking forward to this years Run 
Enough said LOL
Enough said LOL
2010 FJ45 run !!!!!!
- Thread starter orangefj45
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Rob, how many blades did it take!
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Cmon, where are the stories and pics! I need 45 porn!!
Yeah! Some of us were stuck working and stuff. Deer Valley looked like fun when I flew over last week...
Dan
You got it Brother and this got alittle emotional when Georg handed me a set of new door strikers for my 45 LV
Thanks my doors will close again 
We spent more time out wheling this year than taking pictures
few more
Hey Mark, maybe next year I can come along with my 40 & not just the rack!
Thanks Again, it was good to meet with you guys in Tahoe.
Keith
Thanks Again, it was good to meet with you guys in Tahoe.
Keith
Need more 45 porn!
https://forum.ih8mud.com/trails-events-expeditions/400360-2010-fj45-run-7.html#post5874999 theres more getting posted here than anywhere else
I am looking forwards to it too Keith. Tina and I both enjoyed our talk with you and yours. We're sure it will be fun.
As for my adventure, read on.
We left L.A. at o'dark thirty Friday morning, and made good time up to B;field, where we made our first parts drop to bakocruiser. Then about 8 miles south of Visalia, the engine made a loud thunk and started shaking. I did a quick scan of the guages and saw that while engine oil pressure was still normal, the vacuum guage was bouncing wildly in a pattern I had never seen before. We shut 'er down and coasted onto the shoulder for further investigation.
Logic said it was more than likely a valvetrain issue, and since I've had an intermittent issue with a sticking valve for the last two years, I figured I'd start by pulling the valve cover. Sure enough, there was pushrod #4 [exhaust for cylinder #2] sitting about half an inch behind the rocker arm.
When I removed it, it was pretty obvious that it was bent about an inch and a half below the crown. What to do? Well I reckoned that we were only about 10 miles away from where D'Animal works, and he has quite the cache of parts now, so I pulled out the cellphone and made the call. No answer. Geographically, Marlin in Fresno would come next, but I seriously doubted he would have one.
I went thru my own parts box, doubtful that I had put one in my own cache, and was not surprised not to find one. So...out came the 3 lb sledge! Using my stout 2x4 rear bumper as my straightedge, I spun the pushrod about two dozen times, slowly tapping out the bend in the pushrod. Turns out there was a second bend in the rod about 3 inches from the bottom. Straightened that too. Stuck 'er back in the motor, fired 'er up and everything sounded fine. Put in a call to George to see what he could come up with, and we were off again.
About five minutes later Georg calls back and says he's found 4 of them, and he's made plans to leave them at a Starbucks just off the highway in Lodi! How cool is that?
Logic said it was more than likely a valvetrain issue, and since I've had an intermittent issue with a sticking valve for the last two years, I figured I'd start by pulling the valve cover. Sure enough, there was pushrod #4 [exhaust for cylinder #2] sitting about half an inch behind the rocker arm.
When I removed it, it was pretty obvious that it was bent about an inch and a half below the crown. What to do? Well I reckoned that we were only about 10 miles away from where D'Animal works, and he has quite the cache of parts now, so I pulled out the cellphone and made the call. No answer.
Geographically, Marlin in Fresno would come next, but I seriously doubted he would have one. I went thru my own parts box, doubtful that I had put one in my own cache, and was not surprised not to find one. So...out came the 3 lb sledge! Using my stout 2x4 rear bumper as my straightedge, I spun the pushrod about two dozen times, slowly tapping out the bend in the pushrod. Turns out there was a second bend in the rod about 3 inches from the bottom. Straightened that too. Stuck 'er back in the motor, fired 'er up and everything sounded fine. Put in a call to George to see what he could come up with, and we were off again.
About five minutes later Georg calls back and says he's found 4 of them, and he's made plans to leave them at a Starbucks just off the highway in Lodi! How cool is that?
So we're driving up the highway, and somewhere near Merced a small SUV slowly passes us [as if that isn't unusual enough itself....the slow part!] and gets in front of us. Then it starts to swerve slowly from side to side in the lane. I said to Tina that I thought the driver had taken a picture of the 45 and was trying to e-mail it to someone! Then I said watch and you'll see they will pull back into the fast lane and slow down for a second pic.
Sure enough, a minute later the SUV pulls back in the fast lane and starts slowing down! When we catch up to the SUV, the driver is not holding a camera tho. He is holding a full sized sheet of paper to the passenger window with his name on it. It's primer 7, the guy in Sparks NV that we're carrying the roofrack for! WOW!
So we pull of the highway for a few minutes, tell him about our adventure for the morning, and continue on our way. More karma.
We meet up with Travis's parents a bit up the road and congradulate them on becoming grandparents THAT DAY! Travis had ordered parts from me a couple of weeks back and told me that his wife was due around Labor Day. Sure enough she'd delivered in the wee hours of the morning. I was totally stoked for all of them, because Travis is a very talented young man who's relationship with his father is a lot like I had with mine, and I always enjoy talking to him. More karma.
Sure enough, a minute later the SUV pulls back in the fast lane and starts slowing down! When we catch up to the SUV, the driver is not holding a camera tho. He is holding a full sized sheet of paper to the passenger window with his name on it. It's primer 7, the guy in Sparks NV that we're carrying the roofrack for! WOW!
So we pull of the highway for a few minutes, tell him about our adventure for the morning, and continue on our way. More karma.
We meet up with Travis's parents a bit up the road and congradulate them on becoming grandparents THAT DAY! Travis had ordered parts from me a couple of weeks back and told me that his wife was due around Labor Day. Sure enough she'd delivered in the wee hours of the morning. I was totally stoked for all of them, because Travis is a very talented young man who's relationship with his father is a lot like I had with mine, and I always enjoy talking to him. More karma.
We get to Lodi, stop at the Starbucks and I pick up my pushrods from the barrista. They are of the 2F variety, not F135s, which means they are fatter and more importantly, about 3/4 of an inch shorter. So I figure we've got one more shot with John Pardi in Placerville, which is where we're headed anyways. So we proceed on to Sactown, make the drive up to Pville and meet up with my old cruiserhead buddy Gordon and his wife, who I've known for basically twenty years.
Gordon tells me that Pardi is scarce these days, as he's gotten a job running around the Rubicon Trail and getting paid for it. How cool is that? I try his # anyways and leave him a message. We go into town for dinner, have a nightcap at the casa and crash for the night.
The next morning after breakfast, we're standing around in his front yard when a guy comes wandering up the driveway and introduces himself...kind of. Really he just sort of launched into this story by saying "I was telling my sister last night that as my wife and I were driving up here from L.A. yesterday we passed this old...blue.....Landcruiser.....pickup truck....not once.....not twice....not three times...but FOUR TIMES! Then I get up and look out the front window of her house and THERE IT IS, PARKED RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET!" So of course we were equally amazed. More karma.
So I figure we've got one more shot with John Pardi in Placerville, which is where we're headed anyways. So we proceed on to Sactown, make the drive up to Pville and meet up with my old cruiserhead buddy Gordon and his wife, who I've known for basically twenty years.Gordon tells me that Pardi is scarce these days, as he's gotten a job running around the Rubicon Trail and getting paid for it. How cool is that? I try his # anyways and leave him a message. We go into town for dinner, have a nightcap at the casa and crash for the night.
The next morning after breakfast, we're standing around in his front yard when a guy comes wandering up the driveway and introduces himself...kind of. Really he just sort of launched into this story by saying "I was telling my sister last night that as my wife and I were driving up here from L.A. yesterday we passed this old...blue.....Landcruiser.....pickup truck....not once.....not twice....not three times...but FOUR TIMES! Then I get up and look out the front window of her house and THERE IT IS, PARKED RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET!" So of course we were equally amazed. More karma.
We drove up to Tahoe on the 50 and came back down the 89 to the 88 and the Blue Lakes turnoff, a route I had not taken before, but which we both enjoyed and will prolly make our new SOP. Wheeled into camp, found a spot near 'the regulars' and setup. Had a great time as always hanging out with sharris, pighead, 2ndGenJerod, landcrusher and all the rest. Played some of my new material for everyone at the campfire, hiked a little, sold a few parts. All the usual stuff.
Oh, and I was the lucky dog that won the uber-cool knife that pygpen made for the raffle. SHAWEEET!
We drove back out to Tahoe on Monday and met up with primer7 and his wife, who are such an enthusiastic couple, we can't wait to see them out on a cruiser run, and might have to make a separate trip to Sparks.
On the way back down to Hangtown early Tuesday morning, the pushrod cuts loose again. I've got my fingers crossed that the rod isn't going to be totally mangled from having been already bent and restraightened. When I pull the valve cover, the rod is actually less bent than the first time. Whew. Out comes the sledgehammer, and a few minutes later we are back on the road. Now I'm beginning to think I am really pushing my luck, and I should start working on a Plan B.
Oh, and I was the lucky dog that won the uber-cool knife that pygpen made for the raffle. SHAWEEET!
We drove back out to Tahoe on Monday and met up with primer7 and his wife, who are such an enthusiastic couple, we can't wait to see them out on a cruiser run, and might have to make a separate trip to Sparks.
On the way back down to Hangtown early Tuesday morning, the pushrod cuts loose again. I've got my fingers crossed that the rod isn't going to be totally mangled from having been already bent and restraightened. When I pull the valve cover, the rod is actually less bent than the first time. Whew. Out comes the sledgehammer, and a few minutes later we are back on the road. Now I'm beginning to think I am really pushing my luck, and I should start working on a Plan B.
Over breakfast in Pville, I start mulling the options with Tina. Never did hear from Pardi [had last checked the cellphone Monday afternoon] We took the 49 south out of town, hoping to keep the RPMs down, thinking that would help. No luck. About 14 miles north of Jackson it popped a third time.
I took the opportunity [if you can call it that] to swap the pushrod to a different cylinder, thinking I'd really pushed my luck on that one, and pulled out the cellphone again. I told Tina I wanted to try and cut TWO of the 2F pushrods and weld them into ONE LONGER ONE. My reasoning was that every time I'd pulled the valve cover, the skinny-shanked 135 rod would be laying off to the side, having dropped away when the valve stuck. Logically, if I had a FATTER pushrod that couldn't drop away, it would still be under the rocker arm when the valve unstuck itself, Right?
Well then Tina COMPLETELY blew me away by suggesting as an alternative that I increase the diameter of the cup on the top of the pushrod so that it would stay under the rocker arm. If that isn't bootyfab thinking outside the box, I don't know what is! I love that woman.
I took the opportunity [if you can call it that] to swap the pushrod to a different cylinder, thinking I'd really pushed my luck on that one, and pulled out the cellphone again. I told Tina I wanted to try and cut TWO of the 2F pushrods and weld them into ONE LONGER ONE. My reasoning was that every time I'd pulled the valve cover, the skinny-shanked 135 rod would be laying off to the side, having dropped away when the valve stuck. Logically, if I had a FATTER pushrod that couldn't drop away, it would still be under the rocker arm when the valve unstuck itself, Right?
Well then Tina COMPLETELY blew me away by suggesting as an alternative that I increase the diameter of the cup on the top of the pushrod so that it would stay under the rocker arm. If that isn't bootyfab thinking outside the box, I don't know what is! I love that woman.
So I call Georg to see if I can use his welder. No answer. I want to call FC Don, but don't know his number. I call greenfox to see if I can get Don's #, but greenfox is also AWOL. Finally I call D'Animal, and he answers. He's in Grants Pass OR! Dan has FC's # and I leave another message. We keep driving. Get thru Stockton without ANYONE returning my calls, so we shine it and start heading south for Fresno, figuring I'll hit my buddy Marlin up to use his welder.
Lose the pushrod one more time before Fresno, and of course by now we're doing this Indy pitcar style and we've got the whole proceedure, including pushrod straightening down to about 10 minutes.
We pull into Marlin's shop about 3:15 and Chris politely tells me that I'll have to wait until after 4, when the shop closes, to take my truck in back and work on it. When he finds me in the back about 10 minutes later, he very politely proceeds to remind me that I'll need to wait up front. I show him the bent pushrod is already in my hand [along with the guinea pig 2F rods] and he is incredulous. Marlin is of course amused with the whole affair, but we all know he smiles a lot in general.
I cut up the rods, ground them down, borrowed some drill rod to put inside the hollow pushrod to reinforce it, and then Rocky, Marlin's best welder TIGed the whole thing together. Rocky and Big Mike came out to watch me fire up the 45 with the Franken-rod.
It was now 4:30 pm, 11 hour since we'd gotten up, 10 hours since we'd left Tahoe, and we were about 250 miles from where we'd started.
Lose the pushrod one more time before Fresno, and of course by now we're doing this Indy pitcar style and we've got the whole proceedure, including pushrod straightening down to about 10 minutes.
We pull into Marlin's shop about 3:15 and Chris politely tells me that I'll have to wait until after 4, when the shop closes, to take my truck in back and work on it. When he finds me in the back about 10 minutes later, he very politely proceeds to remind me that I'll need to wait up front. I show him the bent pushrod is already in my hand [along with the guinea pig 2F rods] and he is incredulous. Marlin is of course amused with the whole affair, but we all know he smiles a lot in general.
I cut up the rods, ground them down, borrowed some drill rod to put inside the hollow pushrod to reinforce it, and then Rocky, Marlin's best welder TIGed the whole thing together. Rocky and Big Mike came out to watch me fire up the 45 with the Franken-rod.
It was now 4:30 pm, 11 hour since we'd gotten up, 10 hours since we'd left Tahoe, and we were about 250 miles from where we'd started.
With renewed confidence, we hit the road, and actually managed to pass a few vehicles. The increased airflow in the cab of the truck helped with dealing with the oppressive heat of the San Joaquin summer. Life was good again.
And then a mere 50 miles south of Fresno, the unthinkable happened. The motor thunked again! WTF? We're on it pitcrew style one more time. I raise the valvecover and...........
there's the Franken-rod, in place, straight as an arrow! It seems that my ever-imaginative F135 had found a new way to foil my attempts to maintain highway speed by....SIMPLY PUSHING THE ROCKER ARM SIDEWAYS!
So I told Tina we had two choices. The first was to try and further bootyfab the powertrain in the cruiser. The second was just to drive slower. It was now getting towards dark, and there wasn't much guarantee that any bootyfab repair would be 100% successful, so we elected to let the 45 go 45.
We actually made it all the way up the notorious Grapevine in 4th gear at a whopping 30 MPH! But most importantly, neither the pushrod or the rocker moved. We finally arrived home at 9:45 PM 15.5 hours after we'd left Tahoe, 450 miles away.
GOTTA LOVE A CRUISER!
And then a mere 50 miles south of Fresno, the unthinkable happened. The motor thunked again! WTF? We're on it pitcrew style one more time. I raise the valvecover and...........
there's the Franken-rod, in place, straight as an arrow! It seems that my ever-imaginative F135 had found a new way to foil my attempts to maintain highway speed by....SIMPLY PUSHING THE ROCKER ARM SIDEWAYS!
So I told Tina we had two choices. The first was to try and further bootyfab the powertrain in the cruiser. The second was just to drive slower. It was now getting towards dark, and there wasn't much guarantee that any bootyfab repair would be 100% successful, so we elected to let the 45 go 45.
We actually made it all the way up the notorious Grapevine in 4th gear at a whopping 30 MPH! But most importantly, neither the pushrod or the rocker moved. We finally arrived home at 9:45 PM 15.5 hours after we'd left Tahoe, 450 miles away.
GOTTA LOVE A CRUISER!