Builds 40 Guy Builds a 100 Series

[REZARF]

So it came time to drag the heavy pig of a winch over to the mount. I had read in a few other places about folks who have successfully stuffed the Warn m12000 into the Sahara bumper and they have the pics and threads to prove it. I believe my Sahara bar to be an early version (for one the grey color verses black and the old part number in the catalog) and without major reconstruction the cradle wont play nicely with the big m12000. Seeing how the m12000 is designed for a feet forward application and the fact that I'd have to tear into a well designed, strong and perfectly good mount, I have decided I'll swap winches before chopping this bumper up.

Here is what it looked like when we tossed it into place. Only the m12000 can make a 100 look small

The actual winch physically fits in the space with just enough room to spare. Maybe a little trimming here and there might be required but there is enough "room" to make it work.

Here's the real problem the feet don't line up and you'd have to create about an inch or more of new mount and level the angle of the winch cradle to make this work. It can be done for sure, but with three kiddos, lots happening at work, and a desire to keep my building moving along, I think swapping the winch makes more sense than chopping and welding up a new mount to make it work.

Again, the winch does fit. I am going to sleep on it for a week and see if I can get motivated to do the work it needs and or find someone who wants to upgrade to a m12000 and trade me their m9000 and synthetic line. Any takers?

 

[REZARF]

The rest of the install was really easy. The hardest part for us was fitting the rubber trim that takes up the gap between the lower sheet metal and the bumper. It just took a little time and we kept installing the bumper without accounting for a sheet metal lip that prevented leveling the bumper at the wings to the wheel well opening. Once we figured that out it was smooth sailing. Three main mounting bolts per side then a fitting of the rubber trim, and the chrome hoop to finish it off.
I picked up three Hella Rally 4000's over the past few months since the bumper has been waiting installation. I have used a set of Hella 4000 Euro beams on my FJ40 for almost 10 years and I LOVE them! The beam pattern is so nice and useful for spotting elk and deer in Colorado, and the flood pattern is awesome off road when working technical trails as well. I know that LED light bars are all the rage right now, but these lights are proven to me and since the LED bars have become so popular the Hellas have plunged in price and increased in availability on the secondary market. For this build I decided on 2 Hella 4000 Euro beams with free form refectors, and one center Cornering beam for wide angle light up front.

I have to give a shout out to my friend Leal for taking some time on a day off to help me install this. He is a fan of vehicle based travel and wheeled an AWD Sienna harder than anyone else I've known. He's got plan for a Toyota build himself once the timing is right. Thanks again bud.

We got the hoop installed along with the fog lights and turn signals. This was pretty straight forward and I was impressed with the quality of the IPF fog light kit and harness. I went ahead and installed the roller fairlead onto the bumper as it helps the overall look of the ARB imho.

And here is the after. It took us about 4 hours of actual work to get this done. Just a little bit of head scratching and having to undo something to redo another but that is how any first time installation goes.

Also, in the end I think the center corning light clutters the front end a little too much for me. I will have to decide if I want to run it or not when I build the harness for the Hellas but for now, I have deleted it and will focus on the fog light angles for slow trail work and the Euro beams for spotting game on the roadsides.

All that is left is to finish the wiring for the lights, figure out my winch dilemma, adding recovery points and enjoying it!

 

[SS100]

Great post... Great timing.
I just got my ARB Savannah yesterday. I'm planning on installing my trusty Ramsey Patriot 15.000 on it (which is a tad larger than the M12000)... I'll see if it fits (Had to modify the ARB bumper a little on my 80 for it to fit, but nothing major, basically just drilled new holes).

Did you evaluate mounting the winch so it bolts to the front of the bumper instead of down? Is this even possible on this model bumper?

 

[REZARF]

Great post... Great timing.
I just got my ARB Savannah yesterday. I'm planning on installing my trusty Ramsey Patriot 15.000 on it (which is a tad larger than the M12000)... I'll see if it fits (Had to modify the ARB bumper a little on my 80 for it to fit, but nothing major, basically just drilled new holes).

Did you evaluate mounting the winch so it bolts to the front of the bumper instead of down? Is this even possible on this model bumper?

Thanks, yes I looked at mounting it feet forward but the thickness of the steel doesn't look like it'll be thick enough to support even a modest pull.

 

[bkmc24]

This is going somewhere awesome quick! I am in Steamboat, when the snow melts, we should meet up and wheel some to test weak points before HIH!

 

[REZARF]

This is going somewhere awesome quick! I am in Steamboat, when the snow melts, we should meet up and wheel some to test weak points before HIH!

Let me know, I've never been up your way but would love to. I need some more seat time in the 100 this season as well. It wheels so different than the 40 that its like I'm starting over learning to wheel.

 

[hoser]

REZARF, it looks like your ARB rubber trim is overlapping the body parts. It should be sandwiched instead. Take a look at this thread.

ARB Sahara Bar - Scratches in my fenders and front panel ???

 

[REZARF]

Thanks Hoser, I missed that. I appreciate it.

 

[benc]

Fwiw, the m12000 is a foot forward only winch. Also at 136 lbs I think you are right about going with a different winch, I'm sure you could get a fair amount out of the m12000 if you were to sell it.

 

[REZARF]

One step forward, three steps back. Managed to drop the IPF Fog light while removing the bulb to replace it today. Of course it landed glass lens down, shattering it. Uhggg, ARB is checking to see if they have a replacement for me. This is the real world of building a truck that a lot of people act like doesn't happen.

 

[SS100]

Ouch! That sucks.
I was checking the ARB Application guide and it states the M12000 should work with the Sahara 2003 - 07 Model. So maybe it's worth looking if it is just a matter of getting the correct winch cradle from ARB? Maybe it will bolt on just fine on your 98-02 Bumper? Just a thought.
http://www.arbusa.com/uploads/PDF/accessorizeYourRig/toyotaLandCruiser100Lexus470.pdf

 

[hoser]

^^^ I believe that is a typo on the application guide. The 03+ Sahara install instructions say:

"This winch bumper is suitable only for Warn 9000lb and 9500lb winch only."

http://store.arbusa.com/Assets/PDF/3913160i.pdf

 

[REZARF]

Yeah, I have been on the phone with the great folks at ARB. I am getting a few hits locally for swapping winches, I hope to get a newer Warn 9000 with synthetic line for the m12000.

I also had an ARB rep checking into getting me a new IPF Fog light part number 9249FC if anyone has a spare laying around from an upgrade I'll pay good money for one. ARB needs $137 for one of them... uch:

So, in my defense and since I have zero hours on this lamp otherwise, I invested heavily in a glass repair kit called GLASS GLUE from Loktite at the tune of $2.89 this is the way a true 40 owner builds a Cruiser! I picked up a spare bulb to see if I could get the darn thing working (I did, it is likely a loose connection but the new bulb seemed to fire up fine).

And here is the spider crack at 4 O'Clock. I pulled the lamp and taped the light off and smeared the GLASS GLUE over the top of all the cracks, it flowed like super glue. I wasn't trying to be surgical, just seal it back up as best I could and hope for the best. I'll upgrade to LED's before dropping big $$$ on a replacement.

I'll post up some after pics once the glue dries.

 

[Squatchy Adventures]

those hella Rallye LED's are what I'd like to have but at $700 per light....

 

[REZARF]

I got a few little jobs done. I popped on new gas hood struts I got of Amazon, Strong Arm I think was the name. They went in without a hitch. This may be the best $30 I have spent on the Cruiser to date. I am now thinking of retro fitting a set to my 40.

I have had some corrosion issues and have chased some gremlins with my battery. In preparation for the sub fuse panel and audio system I decided to upgrade my battery terminals to audio ones. They are nickle plated, and have set screws to clamp down different large/small gauge wires.

 

[REZARF]

We had a warm day in Colorado yesterday so I grabbed some time to work on the cruiser, I was all set to cut the snorkel and bolt it up, but in the end decided to work on a few paint related things, maybe I got scared, maybe I didn't

One thing I wanted done before the new wheeling season kicks off was to add two more cross bars to the factory rack to support a little more weight. With a family of five, a Thule box, hi-lift, axe/shovel etc. I like to put as much as I reasonably (and safely) can on the roof to keep the rear free of as much clutter as possible. The box gets our wet and or soft gear, camp chairs etc. but a few more supports won't hurt it either.

My factory cross bars were showing their age with the paint/coating coming off in sections. Last fall a friend Andy (AimCOTaco) gave me his old bars in response to a request on our local board, thanks again Andy!

Before: faded, peeling coating on the cross bars.

Tim owner of GAMIVITI lives around the corner from me, since he has perhaps the most experience of any Cruiser head removing 100 series factory racks I asked for a few tips in doing this painlessly. I ended up following his advice and I used an interior trim pry bar to get the caps to start moving. Then pull and wiggle straight up. Got all 4 off without an issue, so I was grateful for the help, THANKS TIM!

Next I slid out the rubberized insert.

Disassembled Rack. On a note the front and rear cross bars have a different profile. I would assume this is to reduce wind noise and drag, but I am just guessing. Good news is you can't mix them up when reinstalling them as they are labeled well and "keyed" and will only fit the corresponding track mounts.

Taped up so I don't make it tough to fit the end caps or the rubber extrusions.

 

[REZARF]

Close up of what I am dealing with, there is paint, then a rubbery covering over the top of the paint. I decided to try out Rustoleum's version of Plasti-Dip. It seems to be all the rage and I thought this would be a good test bed for it. I was just trying to do a scuff and squirt, I was not looking for a showroom finish.

After coating with the flexi spray stuff.

All done, 4 factory fresh cross bars. This is a temporary solution to get me through this wheeling season, I need to save my beans for a suspension lift before a roof rack... but the GAMIVITI and Prinsu Design rack are both looking GOOD as options when I get that far.

 

[REZARF]

I installed a ScanGauge 2 OBD tool, simple as pie... (is pie easy to make? Mmmm, pie).

One screw by the kick panel and yank, then you have this access to the steering column.

And here is the OBD 2 port in a 1999 100 series. It's center of the pic with the bundle of stereo wires above it, just inboard and above the gas pedal. This thing is plug and play, it was nice to get something done in 20 minutes without hassle.

Pop our the lower dash cluster panel and route your CAT5 cable through. I will mount mine up higher near the rear view down the road but for now this was easy and got me up and running.

I'm always on the hunt for new fasteners, this stuff is some of the best I have come across... its like Velcro on steroids. I used it to mount the gauge to the steering wheel housing. It's rock solid and doesn't leave a residue after being left on any surface. Pretty awesome stuff.

View attachment 1211265

 

[REZARF]

Final result.

 

[REZARF]

I wrapped up my mic holder and added a USB port for the stereo and an Aux plug in that I can use to run my Midland CB through the Radio as a speaker when wheelin'. Pretty straight forward. I decided to use the blank panel on the dash to mount this stuff. I popped it out and heated the wood trim and pealed it off.

I didn't want to chop and cut too much of the rear structure. In retrospect I would have and mounted the USB port a little higher on the panel to give it a little more spacing between the mic hanger and the USB/Aux port.

Drilled a hole and opened it up with the dremel. Keep test fitting and taking it slow there is a small amount of material that overlaps and you can remove too much really quickly.

All wrapped up, it came out pretty factory looking and I kept the dust cap on the cover. My goal is to keep the clutter to a minimum and be able to return to stock quickly and inexpensively. This panel costs $5 from Toyota and I can pop a new one in in a matter of seconds.