A New Lease on Life (1 Viewer)

[77mustard40]

Started with the cooling system this past weekend, changed out most of the hoses including bypassing the PHH. Changed the thermostat and soft flushed the coolant which was in worse shape than I thought. Added a quart of Thermocure and distilled water and will run that for the week and see what gets washed out.

Not everything was a success. Busted the plastic clip on the #6 plug wire when wrestling the top hose on, plug wires and plugs on the way. Also managed to pull the wire to the rear knock sensor right out of the pigtail, which I thought I hadn’t touched. CEL popped on Monday and figured out what I’d done this evening when I pulled the code, I think it’s just the wire that needs to be replaced.

 

[77mustard40]

I got the wire to the rear knock sensor fixed yesterday and this morning drained the Thermocure/water I put in the system last week and it was pretty black and dirty. Refilled with distilled water and ran the truck with the nose up to burb it. On startup and for a few minutes before the temp came up the water started to foam. I let it run until it was warm enough for the thermostat to open and then the foaming stopped. Checked my recently changed oil and it looks good and didn’t have oil in the coolant I drained.

Anyone ever seen this, do I need to be concerned?

 

[gatorcruiser]

I got the wire to the rear knock sensor fixed yesterday and this morning drained the Thermocure/water I put in the system last week and it was pretty black and dirty. Refilled with distilled water and ran the truck with the nose up to burb it. On startup and for a few minutes before the temp came up the water started to foam. I let it run until it was warm enough for the thermostat to open and then the foaming stopped. Checked my recently changed oil and it looks good and didn’t have oil in the coolant I drained.

Anyone ever seen this, do I need to be concerned?

View attachment 2441159

Mine did the same thing after the thermocure. That thermocure smells like rotten eggs. I believe they recommend flushing the system four or five times to clear out all of the thermocure. Will foam with it in there, at least that has been my experience. Flush it a few more times and it will quit foaming.

 

[DKW]

Well I finally got some new shoes and installed my suspension today. Old springs were probably original and the shocks had been changed once, maybe twice. You could push on the truck and it would rock like a swing. Tires were shot so you can imagine how it drove.

I’m trying to keep the cost down so after some reading I went with Milestar Patagonia’s 315’s and an Ironman lift. I’ve got some stink bug but have plans for a rear bumper with swingout so I will wait before worrying about leveling the stance. As for the tires, they seem great after all of one day. Very quiet for an aggressive mud tire and track nice. They are actually quieter than my old worn out tires.

Up next Landtank caster correction plates via Joey.

View attachment 2225566

How are the patagonias working out? Looking for tires right now, but 285's

 

[77mustard40]

Mine did the same thing after the thermocure. That thermocure smells like rotten eggs. I believe they recommend flushing the system four or five times to clear out all of the thermocure. Will foam with it in there, at least that has been my experience. Flush it a few more times and it will quit foaming.

Thanks for the feedback! I’m planning to change it out until it runs clear, then go red. Found the TEQ red for under $16 using the wholesale parts link at my local dealer.

 

[77mustard40]

How are the patagonias working out? Looking for tires right now, but 285's

I bought them because of the price point, I was trying to keep the cost of this project as low as I could. They are quiet for an aggressive tire but I don’t have more than 2,000 miles on them so it’s tough to tell how they will hold up long term. I’ve got a couple that have quite a bit of weight on them to balance them which tells me the production QC isn’t that great.

My plans have changed since I got started on the 80. I’m going to give my DD 4Runner to my youngest daughter and DD the 80. If I had known that going in I would have chosen another all around tire.

 

[77mustard40]

Got the final flush of distilled water done this morning and filled with TEQ Red.

I had broken the plastic clip to the plug wire on #5 when I was changing hoses. Installed new wires, plugs and plug seals, along with a new air intake hose. Old plugs were gapped nearly twice spec. Huge difference in the way it runs, just feels so much smoother and stronger (it’s probably all in my head). I think some of my vibes were from the motor although it’s never thrown a misfire code.

 

[77mustard40]

A couple of weeks ago I installed extended brake lines and replaced the axle to caliper lines, bled the brakes using a coworker’s Motive power bleeder. Great product, need to add that to Santa’s list.

Today I finally got something fun installed!

 

[77mustard40]

I haven’t done a very good job of updating this thread, but I finally replaced some of my Dad’s scars on the front. I removed the beat up front bumper and pulled out a dent to valence on the PS. Replaced it with this bumper from Slee. Big assist from @davegonz for helping lift this bad boy on.

 

[77mustard40]

Didn’t stop there, my rig just hits my garage door so I pulled off the roof rack. This truck spent its full life in the desert and the screws came right out after a soak in my special rusty bolt juice. Underside was a mess but it cleaned up ok, she’ll fit now.

 

[cbmontgo]

Those non-tinted windows and non-sliding rears are very interesting. Cool that your dad was able to order it that way.

 

[77mustard40]

Those non-tinted windows and non-sliding rears are very interesting. Cool that your dad was able to order it that way.

I think CDan said you could get them without the 3rd row seats and this was how they came. I‘m a big fan of the untainted glass and the cloth interior. If I could find new cloth for the DS bottom then I’d have a pretty pristine set of seats, cloth just seams to wear great. Looks like they are NLA but I keep looking thinking there’s one in some obscure warehouse somewhere.

 

[77mustard40]

My group buy 4X4 Labs rear end finally showed up a couple weeks ago. Last weekend I found time to get the banged up ass end removed, cut out the cross member and got everything prepped. Last night I was able to lure some manpower with free beer and got her mounted up. Much better. Will hang the spare this weekend if time allows.

 

[77mustard40]

Also ditched the Milestar Patagonia's for Cooper AT3's a few weeks back. I guess I'm getting too old for MT's and now that the 80 has turned into a DD I just felt I needed a quiet comfortable tire, my initial impression is that these things rock. Dead quiet and very smooth, I missed a local wheeling run a couple of weeks ago and am eager to get them dirty to see how they do.

 

[77mustard40]

Well hell, a year and a half goes by and you realize you haven’t posted to your own thread. I really don’t know where I left off, but I do know at I’ve finally lost my HG at 239,802.

I’m too busy at work to eat up my garage and do it myself, so it’s been dropped at Bearden Automotive in ATX. Bummer because Roundup is next week and I had a blast in it last year.

 

[77mustard40]

Head gasket job is complete, picked her up today. I was able to stop in as it progressed and catch a few things that needed attention. I ended up replacing the water pump and the two small hoses at the fire wall meaning all the hoses have been replaced. Also got the harness rewrapped and protected in the area adjacent to the EGR pipe. Here is a pic from last night as it was coming together and my DD for the three and a half weeks. HG failed at 238,828.