Builds Another Prado in Montana

[AirheadNut]

We awoke to a crisp, clear morning, made breakfast and broke camp.

Exploring some of the tracks winding around the mountains, we found a route through to another mine we had located using satellite imagery. As it turned out, this unassuming tunnel portal led the way to some of the best underground workings we had seen yet.

This mine had been active much later than most we visit, and had some "modern" upgrades over other such as steel manway ladders instead of the usual rotten wood.

In addition to an extensive network of ore cart tracks, including working switches and a canton switch, there were several Eimco 12B Rocker Shovels and air-powered winches that ran slushers in some of the winzes.

 

[AirheadNut]

We spent hours underground, exploring the maze-like tunnels, raises, winzes and drifts. Finally it was time to head for home, so with reluctance we emerged back into the daylight, drove down the mountain, aired up the tires and hit the road.

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

Lost Trail Pass on the MT/ID border.

Cruising in my backyard!

 

[RHINO]

wow that chainsaw!

 

[AirheadNut]

I believe that heater valve is 87240-60100. Not sure if it is still available, but there are other similar valves from different Toyotas.

 

[theglobb]

man I'd love to give that chainsaw a second chance at life, was it left down in the mine?

 

[AirheadNut]

I actually thought about trying to restore that chainsaw, but because it is for underground use it runs on compressed air, and no compressor I have access to (even @SnowVersion 's big twin cylinder 80-gallon unit) would be able to output the volume necessary. The compressor at this mine was a rotary screw compressor powered by a Detroit 8V71T, which gives an indication of the air requirements of operating mine equipment!

 

[SnowVersion]

I actually thought about trying to restore that chainsaw, but because it is for underground use it runs on compressed air, and no compressor I have access to (even @SnowVersion 's big twin cylinder 80-gallon unit) would be able to output the volume necessary. The compressor at this mine was a rotary screw compressor powered by a Detroit 8V71T, which gives an indication of the air requirements of operating mine equipment!

I looked at the data tag on the saw… it was rated for something insane like 90cfm at 110psi. The air hose connection was probably 1” id!

 

[AirheadNut]

Next up was a little bit of maintenance. Since installing lift springs the axle breathers had a tendency to pull off the nipple on the axle housing when the suspension flexed. I got some rubber hose and made extended breathers. The rear is routed to the original location for now, but the front I plumbed up into the top of the engine bay next to the battery. Out with the old:

In with the new:

While I was in there I removed and cleaned out the nipple in the rear axle, it was almost entirely plugged with dirt and grime.

I also removed the front sway bar to see if I could get some extra articulation without too great a loss in road handling.

 

[AirheadNut]

Got out and explored a couple of local Forest Service roads in June with some fellow Mudders.

We had unusually heavy rains this spring, and the wildflowers were in full bloom.

 

[AirheadNut]

Joined the local Land Cruiser club for a trail run in the Little Belt Mountains in Central Montana. It was really a treat to see this part of the state so green and lush.

Toward the end of the trail was an exciting, off-camber hill climb, made more exciting by my killing the engine halfway up and nearly taking out the corner of my rooftop tent in the process! Second attempt, in 1st gear rather than second, did the trick.

 

[AirheadNut]

Lots of mud puddles and tight trees on this trip. The paint may have suffered a tad...

Took my time on the drive home, this area is usually fairly arid and gets brown and crispy by early summer. This year it was cool and wet well into summer.

 

[AirheadNut]

Back to catching up on the summer's events. Early July I made some more modifications to the ARB front bumper to add in some extra mount points to the frame and a reinforcement for the factory winch. Shortly thereafter a childhood friend I hadn't seen in years got in touch and wanted to go wheeling in the Pryor Mountains in SE Montana. We met up mid morning at the base of the mountain range and aired down.

Once we got up into the mountains I promptly found a place to get stuck. The unusually heavy June rains had left plenty of mud at higher elevations.

A quick winch out and we found a better way to get around the mud hole.

The track took us up across a high elevation open ridge with stunning views.

 

[AirheadNut]

We found some more exciting mud holes, I got to put my bumper reinforcement to the test pulling my friend's heavy 4Runner out of axle deep mud.

Had to stop occasionally to soak up the scenery.

 

[coldtaco]

Love hight country/alpine country

 

[AirheadNut]

As the day progressed I started to hear an odd clunking noise coming from the front suspension. As it turned out, a couple of the front sway bar bracket bolts had loosened and fallen out, resulting in the end of the sway bar completely mangling the bracket as the suspension cycled. I removed the sway bar completely and continued on with better flex.

As we descended down the south side of the mountains the alpine landscape gave way to arid, red dirt hills with cactus and juniper.

While airing up tires at the main gravel road I had to admire the mud patterns on our rigs.

 

[AirheadNut]

Just as the tires were up to pressure we heard there were some people back up in the mountains stuck in a mud hole. We turned around and headed about 45 minutes back up into the hills. Part way along I noticed what looked like a sway bar bushing in the middle of the track, turned out it was from my friend's 4Runner. We decided to wait to reinstall it until we rescued the stuck folks:

Turned out to be a relatively simple winch out, after which we proceeded to take an easier, but longer way back to the main road.

There were even more large mud puddles on the way out, and after going through a particularly deep one the 4Runner developed some odd issues, including running a bit rough and going into limp mode. After finally making it back to the road again an hour later we discovered that his air filter had taken in some water, so I stuck it over my footwell vents and turned the heat on full for 15 minutes. With a dry-ish air filter the limp mode and other issues were solved, so we hit the road for home.

When I finally got on the highway the Prado was noticeably low on power, and could only cruise at around 100km/h on flat ground. I finally got home at around 4am after my longest day of wheeling to date. We had wheeled around 80km in 11 hours, with a further 10 hours on the road.

The Prado was due for a thorough cleaning:

As it happened, I had gotten some water in my intake as well but didn't realize it at the time. Probably the cause of the low power issue on the way home.

 

[AirheadNut]

After work the next week I went for a quick but gnarly drive up a washed out Forest Service road not far from town. While sitting at a stoplight on the way home that evening there was a squeal from the engine and I watched as my serpentine belt idler pulley rolled out across the road. Upon inspecting the engine the next day I noticed that the LH motor mount had cracked off just like the RH one had done last summer.

I parked the Prado while waiting for a new serpentine belt and pulley and planned out how to pull and repair the broken motor mount. A friend dropped by and helped pull the bracket out, which turned out to be a huge pain to get at.

It had been cracked for a while, holding on by a tiny little tab.

I welded it back together and then added in some extra gussets for the time being. I purchased some laser cut 1/4" motor mount plates that will eventually replace the cobbled together stuff in there now. The hydraulic Mercedes mounts will also be replaced with solid rubber Dodge motor mounts when I can get around to it.

 

[AirheadNut]

After a couple of years of scheduling conflicts and bad weather interruptions I finally met up with @pradoblivious for the first time since the fall of 2017 when I sold him my first LJ78. It was really fun to meet up again and check out each other's rigs. His 78 now has a 13B-T and A440f in place of the 2L-TE.

 

[AirheadNut]

My younger brother came for a visit in August, so we packed up and headed for Yellowstone. He had never been there before, so we braved the crowds and watched a couple of geysers.

Wildlife viewing wasn't great, but we got to see some Bison, Osprey and even a fox late at night.