Yes, divine intervention. Twice: 1) unsolicited refund and 2) guardian angel disguised as 3 y.o. However, be aware, the 3 y.o. will eventually become a teen... You will pay it all back then, brace yourself....! 
Africa Build 2.0
- Thread starter Diplodocus
- Start date
-
- Tags
- build build thread
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
Diplodocus
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #62
But First...
As much as I have wanted to just bolt on the fun stuff (namely my Dissent bumpers and fabulous fabrications snorkel), there has been a lot of "but first..." moments the last few weeks.
Planned to install the LRA 40 Gal Aux fuel tank...but first, I needed to fix my broken airlift airbag and install my Slee 30mm spring spacers (while I could still get access to the rear suspension)...but first, I needed to replace all the AHC shock bushings and o-rings.
Planned to install BenCC goodies in the third row, including a 120V outlet...but first, I needed to install the inverter...but first, I needed to run cabling...but first, I needed to install the Owl Expedition MOLLE mount for the driver seat (since I was unbolting it anyway, to put the inverter underneath).
There is very little room behind this panel for all of the required cabling. If I was going to do this again, I would plan for immediate 90 degree turns for all cabling.
I knew the electrical upgrades would be awesome...but first, I needed to install some Slee terminals:
Driver's side:
Passenger side (waiting for universal fire extinguisher mount to arrive, so I can secure my fire extinguisher to this side):
BenCC RAM mount and RAM wireless charging phone holder, plus a Victory4X4 MOLLE panel with a first aid kit and collapsable trash bag hanging on the passenger sie. Oh and LandcruiserPhil's Tcase shifter extender, for good measure.
Slee 30mm spacers installed (while shocks were out getting new bushings / after I got a free AHC fluid shower)
As much as I have wanted to just bolt on the fun stuff (namely my Dissent bumpers and fabulous fabrications snorkel), there has been a lot of "but first..." moments the last few weeks.
Planned to install the LRA 40 Gal Aux fuel tank...but first, I needed to fix my broken airlift airbag and install my Slee 30mm spring spacers (while I could still get access to the rear suspension)...but first, I needed to replace all the AHC shock bushings and o-rings.
Planned to install BenCC goodies in the third row, including a 120V outlet...but first, I needed to install the inverter...but first, I needed to run cabling...but first, I needed to install the Owl Expedition MOLLE mount for the driver seat (since I was unbolting it anyway, to put the inverter underneath).
There is very little room behind this panel for all of the required cabling. If I was going to do this again, I would plan for immediate 90 degree turns for all cabling.
I knew the electrical upgrades would be awesome...but first, I needed to install some Slee terminals:
Driver's side:
Passenger side (waiting for universal fire extinguisher mount to arrive, so I can secure my fire extinguisher to this side):
BenCC RAM mount and RAM wireless charging phone holder, plus a Victory4X4 MOLLE panel with a first aid kit and collapsable trash bag hanging on the passenger sie. Oh and LandcruiserPhil's Tcase shifter extender, for good measure.
Slee 30mm spacers installed (while shocks were out getting new bushings / after I got a free AHC fluid shower)
Diplodocus
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #63
Auxiliary Fuel Tank Install
One final "but first" moment came when I realized that the Dissent rear bumper and the LRA TLC100AX40GAL tank use an identical mounting hole in the frame. This necessitated increasing the size of a hole in the tank mounting bracket to accommodate the 1/2 inch through bolt provided by Dissent.
Here is the tank installed (after two days of fiddling):
The #1 takeaway from doing this installation (my second time for this exact tank) is to take the instructions, quickly look them over, and then never refer to them again. They appear improved from the last time I bought this tank in 2014, but they are still terrible and will lead you in the wrong direction if you try and follow them to a T. Use common sense to bolt up and wire up the tank - it's really not that complicated.
For example, the wiring harness provided for the switch cannot / will not reach from the cab of the truck to the tank (unless you mount it so your rear passengers monitor and transfer fuel on your behalf). Not only that, but the supplied 20 gauge wire should not be carrying the full current to power the pump - the pump even tells you this "do not use less than 16 gauge wire to power this pump." Yet the wiring diagram would have you believe you should be pumping all that power continuously though the little switch.
So you have to be smarter than the directions and wire up a relay and run additional, proper-sized cabling to power the pump.
I do have to give some credit to the instructions. They are clear and correct that you need a very specific hole saw size - 20mm. That and only that size works to mount the switch. My switch is located in about the same place as my last build - the perfect location as far as I am concerned. Here it is with the truck off:
Truck on and full tank:
Full tank and pump on (transferring fuel to main tank):
Here is what the transfer looks like while it is happening:
Filling the main tank:
Filling the aux tank:
With a full main tank and empty aux tank, my rear AHC pressure was at 6.6. At full/full the rear pressure was 7.4. Strangely, whether I had the air bags at 0 psi or 35 psi, the rear pressure was 7.4 at full/full. Will have to think about what to do next to get the rear AHC pressures back in line.
One final "but first" moment came when I realized that the Dissent rear bumper and the LRA TLC100AX40GAL tank use an identical mounting hole in the frame. This necessitated increasing the size of a hole in the tank mounting bracket to accommodate the 1/2 inch through bolt provided by Dissent.
Here is the tank installed (after two days of fiddling):
The #1 takeaway from doing this installation (my second time for this exact tank) is to take the instructions, quickly look them over, and then never refer to them again. They appear improved from the last time I bought this tank in 2014, but they are still terrible and will lead you in the wrong direction if you try and follow them to a T. Use common sense to bolt up and wire up the tank - it's really not that complicated.
For example, the wiring harness provided for the switch cannot / will not reach from the cab of the truck to the tank (unless you mount it so your rear passengers monitor and transfer fuel on your behalf). Not only that, but the supplied 20 gauge wire should not be carrying the full current to power the pump - the pump even tells you this "do not use less than 16 gauge wire to power this pump." Yet the wiring diagram would have you believe you should be pumping all that power continuously though the little switch.
So you have to be smarter than the directions and wire up a relay and run additional, proper-sized cabling to power the pump.
I do have to give some credit to the instructions. They are clear and correct that you need a very specific hole saw size - 20mm. That and only that size works to mount the switch. My switch is located in about the same place as my last build - the perfect location as far as I am concerned. Here it is with the truck off:
Truck on and full tank:
Full tank and pump on (transferring fuel to main tank):
Here is what the transfer looks like while it is happening:
Filling the main tank:
Filling the aux tank:
With a full main tank and empty aux tank, my rear AHC pressure was at 6.6. At full/full the rear pressure was 7.4. Strangely, whether I had the air bags at 0 psi or 35 psi, the rear pressure was 7.4 at full/full. Will have to think about what to do next to get the rear AHC pressures back in line.
Goodness gracious! This is a million dollar build. Respect for doing all of your work yourself!
How hard was it to remove the rear AHC lines and the top bolt for the shocks? Did you choose to drill a hole in floor from the top or just managed it from the bottom?
How hard was it to remove the rear AHC lines and the top bolt for the shocks? Did you choose to drill a hole in floor from the top or just managed it from the bottom?
Diplodocus
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #65
Million Dollar Build...haha. I see it much more as a Delayed Gratification Build.
The rear AHC shocks...what can I say. Removing those lines is a journey. It will test you. Focused determination is a required skill for the job. I did manage to get them off without cutting the floor. I tried to plan ahead and order a 12mm flex head wrench, but it is still missing in the postal system two months later. Still managed to do it.
For the big top bolt, I actually ended up using a 7/8 inch offset wrench shaped like this:
Mentally, the job was a lot easier because the truck was up on a lift. If I was trying to lay on my back and do that same work, it may have pushed me past my limits.
The improvement in ride quality was very noticeable and I highly recommend the project, despite the serious challenges / spiritual journey associated with those rear lines. I didn't have extreme harshness before (save for the upper control arms beating on my front AHC shocks when the torsion bars unloaded on the far side of a speed bump), but now that the suspension bushings are all done, I can confidently describe the ride as "like new."
Thanks for the reply. Having removed AHC on my previous truck and replacing the rear shocks twice after that, I am just not looking forward to this job.
Diplodocus
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #67
Well, guess what showed up in the mail today
Diplodocus
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #68
awesomeissquid
SILVER Star
Question for you, with the new Dobinsons UCA what becomes the limiting factor in down travel since it no longer is the interference between the shock and the UCA?
Do you have a list of part numbers for this? I want to do the same, but it seems I may need to relocate power steering reservoir and maybe other stuff?
Diplodocus
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #71
It returns to the original limiting factor, which is the extension capability of the AHC shock.
Diplodocus
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #72
Pasted from my Partsouq order:
| # | Number | Name | Make | Qty | Qty Supplied | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1770050182 | CLEANER ASSY, AIR | Toyota | 1 | 1 | 453.16$ |
| 2 | 1787550280 | PIPE, INTAKE AIR CONNECTOR | Toyota | 1 | 1 | 206.42$ |
Made a plan yesterday to relocate the PS reservoir, will execute today and post some pics later.
Thanks! I though maybe I’d need different PS lines and reservoir bracket
Diplodocus
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #74
Later
Let's see, where did we leave off?
The power steering reservoir bracket. From three mounting points down to one. Hacked up and welded the original bracket back together, so the reservoir sits in a convenient area nearby the original location. So far so good, including 6 weeks of daily driving, one international road trip, and plenty of off-road adventure.
After the cyclonic air filter was installed and the power steering reservoir relocated, I mounted the Slee Group 34 battery tray. As much as I want a second battery, it just wasn't in the cards once I saw how gigantic the Badlands winch control box is. At least it fits perfectly on the tray.
Because the control box is remotely mounted, it uses cables instead of copper legs to connect the box and the winch. I repurposed one of the copper legs to solidly mount the master switch to the Slee positive battery terminal.
Leading up to a big camping trip to Botswana, I was excited to install some Owl Expedition gear. The ASAP Mud flaps were pretty straight forward, but the fire extinguisher / MOLLE panel mounts on the front seats were more involved. I mounted a fire extinguisher to the passenger side using a generic quick-release mount from Amazon.
I was so proud...couldn't wait to show the wife the new bling (and how to release it in case of an emergency).
It turns out the only trouble with this plan is that my wife has short legs.
So on to Plan B:
Let's see, where did we leave off?
The power steering reservoir bracket. From three mounting points down to one. Hacked up and welded the original bracket back together, so the reservoir sits in a convenient area nearby the original location. So far so good, including 6 weeks of daily driving, one international road trip, and plenty of off-road adventure.
After the cyclonic air filter was installed and the power steering reservoir relocated, I mounted the Slee Group 34 battery tray. As much as I want a second battery, it just wasn't in the cards once I saw how gigantic the Badlands winch control box is. At least it fits perfectly on the tray.
Because the control box is remotely mounted, it uses cables instead of copper legs to connect the box and the winch. I repurposed one of the copper legs to solidly mount the master switch to the Slee positive battery terminal.
Leading up to a big camping trip to Botswana, I was excited to install some Owl Expedition gear. The ASAP Mud flaps were pretty straight forward, but the fire extinguisher / MOLLE panel mounts on the front seats were more involved. I mounted a fire extinguisher to the passenger side using a generic quick-release mount from Amazon.
I was so proud...couldn't wait to show the wife the new bling (and how to release it in case of an emergency).
It turns out the only trouble with this plan is that my wife has short legs.
So on to Plan B:
Diplodocus
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #75
Botswana
My wife has a friend who is a 40 year old school teacher and had never been camping in her life. So what do we decide to do? Take her on an epic camping trip in the wilds of Botswana.
Getting to northern Botswana is a two day drive from Lusaka, with a convenient overnight stop in the tourist town of Livingstone (where Victoria Falls are located).
With the trailer fully loaded, fuel tanks filled, and our family of 5 plus our guest, I knew we would be stressing out the AHC. So I pumped the airbags up to 50 PSI and reversed the sensor lift, which seemed to do the trick.
The drive down was straightforward - all on pavement, with zero complaints from the AHC. We used a new border crossing with a fancy bridge that just opened last year:
The campsite was great, just outside of Chobe National Park, abutting the Zimbabwe border.
Our camping trailer is huge when it is fully set up - our entire family of 5 fits comfortably on the roof top tent bed and our guest(s) can sleep on cots in either the (ground floor) main room or the annex room. So we set up our guest on a cot in the annex room. The first night in the camp we could hear big cats nearby. We didn't know how nearby until the morning, when we could see their paw prints directly outside the tent.
The second night, when the cats were especially loud and only feet away from us, our guest climbed the ladder and asked if she could bunk with us. Yes, you can fit 3 adults and 3 kids on the upper mattress of an Echo4x4 EchoTech 2 camper trailer.
We took a couple days to do the regular tourist self-drive routes, but on our final full day we decided to take a real risk and venture deep into the park - the type of places where only poachers and anti-poachers usually go. Satellite phone required. backup GPS required. sufficient supplies of fuel, food, and water required.
As soon as we exited the paved road onto the unmarked sandy track, I knew it was going to be a rough day. To start things off there was 15 MILES of deep, loose sandy ruts, the kind where you don't want to stop because you might bog down immediately when trying to restart forward momentum.
I didn't have a chance to mount the air compressor before the trip (though I had it in the trailer back at camp), so I planned to only air down if we became bogged.
Things were going relatively well about 90 minutes into the trip, we were seeing some ostrich and giraffe, kids were happy, when all of a sudden...BOOM! it sounded like one of our tires exploded.
I got out of the vehicle - aware the any time spent outside the car in this type of environment is fraught with many dangers - and surveyed the situation in the searing heat. One of the rear air bags had blown.
I checked my tires and they were almost 10PSI higher than I had filled them back in Lusaka, so I let some air out. I figured the intense heat and high pressures must have pushed the airbags beyond their limit.
I decided to push on, hoping that without the trailer the AHC could handle it (and deciding we would turn back at the first sign of AHC trouble.
The variations in landscape were incredible. At one point we were in grasslands that went literally as far as you could see. This was the point where I decided, if we didn't have a sat phone, we would have been turning back. We can't see what's in that grass, but it can see us.
The watering holes (AKA pans) have names, and that's how you navigate
An albino land cruiser pulls up for a drink at a year-round watering hole (this one has a pump behind a fence to ensure it is always filled for the animals)
The thing about Chobe National Park is that unless you are camping at a facility within the park, you must be out by sundown. So mid-afternoon, we turned around and headed back the way we had come.
Except for one encounter with an anti-poaching army truck early on in our journey, we had not seen another human all day and we were deep - very deep - into pure wilderness. The goal was now to get out of the park without (further) incident and to do it before sundown.
When crossing the grasslands on the return trip, we were held up by a heard of elephants crossing in front of us (normally majestic but at this moment somewhat stressful, as the sun hung heavy in the sky).
a couple more hours of driving and we are making OK progress, but not as much as I would like to...and boy that sun is getting low in the sky now. We finally reach that 15 mile stretch of loose, soft sand which marks the end of the journey. The sky is orange now...the sun is on its way down. We need to get out of here. It has been a danger-filled day and our camp is still a couple hours away.
I start pushing the truck hard. I only have one thing on my mind - we have to get out of here.
The truck is in Low range with 2nd start, center and rear diffs are locked, and I'm averaging about 40km/h pushing through the deep, soft sand.
Then I look down and see the A/T OIL TEMP light on the dash. I shift into neutral and come to a stop.
It's officially dusk now. I get out of the truck - there are high bushes on either side of us...impossible to see if any animals are around. I pop the hood to vent some heat and come to realize what had happened.
Even though I tow with O/D off, when we left camp the first time without the trailer, I turned it back on. Because I was going fast through the deep sand, the truck was in low range and overdrive...causing the transmission to overheat.
Once I figured out the problem, I took O/D off, and went at a slower speed until the light turned off, which it did within about 5 minutes. I know in a perfect situation we should have stayed put until the transmission cooled down, but staying put was just not an option.
Finally, we were almost at the paved road again. Then, 500 meters before the road, elephants were crossing our path. It took another 20 minutes before we were finally out of the park and on our way to our camp.
My wife has a friend who is a 40 year old school teacher and had never been camping in her life. So what do we decide to do? Take her on an epic camping trip in the wilds of Botswana.
Getting to northern Botswana is a two day drive from Lusaka, with a convenient overnight stop in the tourist town of Livingstone (where Victoria Falls are located).
With the trailer fully loaded, fuel tanks filled, and our family of 5 plus our guest, I knew we would be stressing out the AHC. So I pumped the airbags up to 50 PSI and reversed the sensor lift, which seemed to do the trick.
The drive down was straightforward - all on pavement, with zero complaints from the AHC. We used a new border crossing with a fancy bridge that just opened last year:
The campsite was great, just outside of Chobe National Park, abutting the Zimbabwe border.
Our camping trailer is huge when it is fully set up - our entire family of 5 fits comfortably on the roof top tent bed and our guest(s) can sleep on cots in either the (ground floor) main room or the annex room. So we set up our guest on a cot in the annex room. The first night in the camp we could hear big cats nearby. We didn't know how nearby until the morning, when we could see their paw prints directly outside the tent.
The second night, when the cats were especially loud and only feet away from us, our guest climbed the ladder and asked if she could bunk with us
. Yes, you can fit 3 adults and 3 kids on the upper mattress of an Echo4x4 EchoTech 2 camper trailer.We took a couple days to do the regular tourist self-drive routes, but on our final full day we decided to take a real risk and venture deep into the park - the type of places where only poachers and anti-poachers usually go. Satellite phone required. backup GPS required. sufficient supplies of fuel, food, and water required.
As soon as we exited the paved road onto the unmarked sandy track, I knew it was going to be a rough day. To start things off there was 15 MILES of deep, loose sandy ruts, the kind where you don't want to stop because you might bog down immediately when trying to restart forward momentum.
I didn't have a chance to mount the air compressor before the trip (though I had it in the trailer back at camp), so I planned to only air down if we became bogged.
Things were going relatively well about 90 minutes into the trip, we were seeing some ostrich and giraffe, kids were happy, when all of a sudden...BOOM! it sounded like one of our tires exploded.
I got out of the vehicle - aware the any time spent outside the car in this type of environment is fraught with many dangers - and surveyed the situation in the searing heat. One of the rear air bags had blown.
I checked my tires and they were almost 10PSI higher than I had filled them back in Lusaka, so I let some air out. I figured the intense heat and high pressures must have pushed the airbags beyond their limit.
I decided to push on, hoping that without the trailer the AHC could handle it (and deciding we would turn back at the first sign of AHC trouble.
The variations in landscape were incredible. At one point we were in grasslands that went literally as far as you could see. This was the point where I decided, if we didn't have a sat phone, we would have been turning back. We can't see what's in that grass, but it can see us.
The watering holes (AKA pans) have names, and that's how you navigate
An albino land cruiser pulls up for a drink at a year-round watering hole (this one has a pump behind a fence to ensure it is always filled for the animals)
The thing about Chobe National Park is that unless you are camping at a facility within the park, you must be out by sundown. So mid-afternoon, we turned around and headed back the way we had come.
Except for one encounter with an anti-poaching army truck early on in our journey, we had not seen another human all day and we were deep - very deep - into pure wilderness. The goal was now to get out of the park without (further) incident and to do it before sundown.
When crossing the grasslands on the return trip, we were held up by a heard of elephants crossing in front of us (normally majestic but at this moment somewhat stressful, as the sun hung heavy in the sky).
a couple more hours of driving and we are making OK progress, but not as much as I would like to...and boy that sun is getting low in the sky now. We finally reach that 15 mile stretch of loose, soft sand which marks the end of the journey. The sky is orange now...the sun is on its way down. We need to get out of here. It has been a danger-filled day and our camp is still a couple hours away.
I start pushing the truck hard. I only have one thing on my mind - we have to get out of here.
The truck is in Low range with 2nd start, center and rear diffs are locked, and I'm averaging about 40km/h pushing through the deep, soft sand.
Then I look down and see the A/T OIL TEMP light on the dash. I shift into neutral and come to a stop.
It's officially dusk now. I get out of the truck - there are high bushes on either side of us...impossible to see if any animals are around. I pop the hood to vent some heat and come to realize what had happened.
Even though I tow with O/D off, when we left camp the first time without the trailer, I turned it back on. Because I was going fast through the deep sand, the truck was in low range and overdrive...causing the transmission to overheat.
Once I figured out the problem, I took O/D off, and went at a slower speed until the light turned off, which it did within about 5 minutes. I know in a perfect situation we should have stayed put until the transmission cooled down, but staying put was just not an option.
Finally, we were almost at the paved road again. Then, 500 meters before the road, elephants were crossing our path. It took another 20 minutes before we were finally out of the park and on our way to our camp.
Diplodocus
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #76
After Actions
After Botswana, I prioritized three things - bring more fuses (a whole different story), install the air compressor, and install additional lighting while I wait for LBBuiltWerks to build me some new headlights.
I found a couple RIGID SAE-compliant 4" lights on clearance for 50% off, and mounted those on the front bumper. I bought additional assortments of the various fuses the truck takes. Then I got to figuring out how to mount the ARB compressor.
There was literally one place in the engine bay it could go, but it was going to be tight. The Badlands winch control box is actually cast aluminum and is large and sturdy (as previously discussed), so I decided to use it as the base to mount the compressor.
It's tight, but doesn't rub anything
Drilling the Badlands winch control box didn't phase me, but I did take a pause before drilling my dissent bumpers for the air nozzles. Oh well, it's done now!
Front:
Rear:
This was all made possible by the excellent kit offered bu Absolute Wit's End, including this manifold setup:
And to top it all off, a switch from CH4x4
After Botswana, I prioritized three things - bring more fuses (a whole different story), install the air compressor, and install additional lighting while I wait for LBBuiltWerks to build me some new headlights.
I found a couple RIGID SAE-compliant 4" lights on clearance for 50% off, and mounted those on the front bumper. I bought additional assortments of the various fuses the truck takes. Then I got to figuring out how to mount the ARB compressor.
There was literally one place in the engine bay it could go, but it was going to be tight. The Badlands winch control box is actually cast aluminum and is large and sturdy (as previously discussed), so I decided to use it as the base to mount the compressor.
It's tight, but doesn't rub anything
Drilling the Badlands winch control box didn't phase me, but I did take a pause before drilling my dissent bumpers for the air nozzles. Oh well, it's done now!
Front:
Rear:
This was all made possible by the excellent kit offered bu Absolute Wit's End, including this manifold setup:
And to top it all off, a switch from CH4x4
Solid build, bravo. I am a contractor in Moscow’s embassy and cant have my vehicle here, my level of jealousy skyrockets everytime I leave the compound. Everywhere but US gets a lot of choices what they want in their rigs, we got none.
Diplodocus
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #78
The Sound of Silence
After nearly a year of ownership, I finally got rid of the exhaust manifold tick, woohoo!
Because my cruiser is RHD, I can readily use products made for the Australian market.
In this case, I opted for a bolt-in headers and hi-flow cat setup sold under the Genie brand:
TOYOTA LANDCRUISER 100 SERIES 4.7 V8 PETROL GENIE HEADERS EXTRACTORS & CATS - https://www.performanceexhaust.com.au/p/Toyota-100-series-4.7-V8/TOYOTA-LANDCRUISER-100-SERIES-4.7-V8-PETROL-GENIE/GEN012EKC
Note that these are specific to right hand drive cruisers (I believe @J1000 found this out the hard way).
The setup is bolt-on, which I really appreciated. That doesn't make it easy, however. As OTRAMM says in this video, the job can take anywhere from 6-13 hours.
It took me and my local mechanic 12 hours and 45 minutes straight-through. We also swapped out the motor and transmission mounts at the same time. Also replaced the little o-ring for the oil dipstick, which was sorely needed. We did everything "from below" and taking the motor mounts completely out helped tremendously.
Now, no more ticking sound and a healthy increase in butt-dyno rated output.
After nearly a year of ownership, I finally got rid of the exhaust manifold tick, woohoo!
Because my cruiser is RHD, I can readily use products made for the Australian market.
In this case, I opted for a bolt-in headers and hi-flow cat setup sold under the Genie brand:
TOYOTA LANDCRUISER 100 SERIES 4.7 V8 PETROL GENIE HEADERS EXTRACTORS & CATS - https://www.performanceexhaust.com.au/p/Toyota-100-series-4.7-V8/TOYOTA-LANDCRUISER-100-SERIES-4.7-V8-PETROL-GENIE/GEN012EKC
Note that these are specific to right hand drive cruisers (I believe @J1000 found this out the hard way).
The setup is bolt-on, which I really appreciated. That doesn't make it easy, however. As OTRAMM says in this video, the job can take anywhere from 6-13 hours.
It took me and my local mechanic 12 hours and 45 minutes straight-through. We also swapped out the motor and transmission mounts at the same time. Also replaced the little o-ring for the oil dipstick, which was sorely needed. We did everything "from below" and taking the motor mounts completely out helped tremendously.
Now, no more ticking sound and a healthy increase in butt-dyno rated output.
Diplodocus
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #79
Generosity
With another big trip planned for October, I needed to properly sort my rear suspension situation. Even after reducing the sensor lift from about 3 inches to about 1.5 inches, and adding 30mm spacers to the springs that came with the truck, I still needed the airbags inflated to keep it within the (upper) limit of acceptable AHC pressures.
What made this project so challenging is that the truck came with unidentified aftermarket rear springs. Where these springs fell on the scale of rear spring options for AHC trucks (factory-->Kings-->non-AHC factory 120 series-->non-AHC factory 80/100 series) was a mystery.
So I put out a call to the local 4X4 club to see if anyone had leftover factory springs from an 80- or 100-series. One guy said he did. He had taken an 80 series, stripped off the body, put on a lift kit, and then made a frankentruck with a couple 40-series tubs welded together, to include suicide doors for the rear occupants. Pretty neat project.
He ended up giving me the springs for free, which was exactly the right price for an experiment that had no guarantee of success.
I swapped in the springs last weekend (removed the 30mm spacer during the swap) and I was betting that they would ride rough and be "over sprung" for my application - these springs should be 170-lb./in. so you need A LOT of weight on an AHC truck to overcome that much spring and keep the hydraulics happy. I didn't think I had THAT much weight.
Well it turns out, I do. Not only that, but the rear pressure was still higher than I wanted (6.4 Mpa).
So this weekend I popped the 30mm spacers back in and got it dialed in to exactly where I want it...5.4 Mpa. This is with the front at 20.75" at the fender and the rear at 21.5" full main and auxiliary fuel tanks and zero PSI in the airbags. The truck continues to ride extremely well.
Next weekend I plan to do some testing with the trailer to see what PSI I will need to run in the bags while fully loaded and towing. I'm hoping for 20 or less...fingers crossed.
With another big trip planned for October, I needed to properly sort my rear suspension situation. Even after reducing the sensor lift from about 3 inches to about 1.5 inches, and adding 30mm spacers to the springs that came with the truck, I still needed the airbags inflated to keep it within the (upper) limit of acceptable AHC pressures.
What made this project so challenging is that the truck came with unidentified aftermarket rear springs. Where these springs fell on the scale of rear spring options for AHC trucks (factory-->Kings-->non-AHC factory 120 series-->non-AHC factory 80/100 series) was a mystery.
So I put out a call to the local 4X4 club to see if anyone had leftover factory springs from an 80- or 100-series. One guy said he did. He had taken an 80 series, stripped off the body, put on a lift kit, and then made a frankentruck with a couple 40-series tubs welded together, to include suicide doors for the rear occupants. Pretty neat project.
He ended up giving me the springs for free, which was exactly the right price for an experiment that had no guarantee of success.
I swapped in the springs last weekend (removed the 30mm spacer during the swap) and I was betting that they would ride rough and be "over sprung" for my application - these springs should be 170-lb./in. so you need A LOT of weight on an AHC truck to overcome that much spring and keep the hydraulics happy. I didn't think I had THAT much weight.
Well it turns out, I do. Not only that, but the rear pressure was still higher than I wanted (6.4 Mpa).
So this weekend I popped the 30mm spacers back in and got it dialed in to exactly where I want it...5.4 Mpa. This is with the front at 20.75" at the fender and the rear at 21.5" full main and auxiliary fuel tanks and zero PSI in the airbags. The truck continues to ride extremely well.
Next weekend I plan to do some testing with the trailer to see what PSI I will need to run in the bags while fully loaded and towing. I'm hoping for 20 or less...fingers crossed.
Diplodocus
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #80
Best Wish Never Later
I was afraid of losing my wit's end pacifiers. I was thinking about and searching for an elegant solution to keeping the pacifier from dropping in the dirt and being lost forever while on the trail, when I can across some stainless steel chains with integrated clasps. Sure, they're cheap Chinese jewelry, but you know what they say...
Anyway, they seem to do the job. So far I'm feeling much less nervous about taking a pacifier out while on the trail
I was afraid of losing my wit's end pacifiers. I was thinking about and searching for an elegant solution to keeping the pacifier from dropping in the dirt and being lost forever while on the trail, when I can across some stainless steel chains with integrated clasps. Sure, they're cheap Chinese jewelry, but you know what they say...
Anyway, they seem to do the job. So far I'm feeling much less nervous about taking a pacifier out while on the trail
