Builds Atnolan94 Land Crooser Build Thread
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atnolan94
I'm Your Huckleberry
atnolan94
I'm Your Huckleberry
- Thread starter
- #68
Not-so-fun Projects coming up. but all will make a world of difference with my steering slop issue.
I have a set of rack bushings on the way. I am 100% sure mine are destroyed. I have so much steering slop so the plan is to do these and reassess, then more likely do tie rods inner and outer along with ball joints.
I also have a wheel bearing rebuild kit coming in from Kurt at Cruiser Outfitters. We tightened mine on the big baseline day a couple weeks ago, but you could feel most of the bearings were absolutely cooked...except my outer driver one was actually in decent shape. Nonetheless, all 4 bearings are getting replaced and all the necessary washers and such that come with Kurt's kit. i am also planning to swap out my warped rotors while I have it all apart! This reminds me I need to order a hub socket, a brass drift, and a spring gauge to set the inner nut on the hub....amazon has all of these.
I have a set of rack bushings on the way. I am 100% sure mine are destroyed. I have so much steering slop so the plan is to do these and reassess, then more likely do tie rods inner and outer along with ball joints.
I also have a wheel bearing rebuild kit coming in from Kurt at Cruiser Outfitters. We tightened mine on the big baseline day a couple weeks ago, but you could feel most of the bearings were absolutely cooked...except my outer driver one was actually in decent shape. Nonetheless, all 4 bearings are getting replaced and all the necessary washers and such that come with Kurt's kit. i am also planning to swap out my warped rotors while I have it all apart! This reminds me I need to order a hub socket, a brass drift, and a spring gauge to set the inner nut on the hub....amazon has all of these.
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atnolan94
I'm Your Huckleberry
- Thread starter
- #69
Got all my parts in. Went with Bosch rotors and pads cause they were just stupid cheap on amazon and mostly no complaints from mud members who have used them.
Also parked next to a 98-02 brother at dinner last night. Turned out to be a group of older ladies but loved to see them rocking the 20 year old cruiser. Also saw 2 LX470s and 2 LX570s in the same lot. Like a mini HIH....with no mountains.
Also parked next to a 98-02 brother at dinner last night. Turned out to be a group of older ladies but loved to see them rocking the 20 year old cruiser. Also saw 2 LX470s and 2 LX570s in the same lot. Like a mini HIH....with no mountains.
Whats the cost on these? Wondering if I should pull the trigger and replace these when I pull my wheels off to paint them.....
atnolan94
I'm Your Huckleberry
- Thread starter
- #71
Rotors were like $58 each or something free shipping with prime. $37ish for pads also from prime. And the bearing kits are $85 EACH I think...from cruiser outfitters. Then obviously a little more here and there for tools. But we may be able to meet us so you can borrow or something.
EDIT: That's all 4 pads BTW, the rotors come in singles.
atnolan94
I'm Your Huckleberry
- Thread starter
- #72
You really should do your bearings when you do you rotors because they all come apart together anyways....
BTW, I decided black on my wheels. My concern is long-term. If I scratch them it will be hard to get a good graphite match if I don't find the same brand. Black is Black is Black....
BTW, I decided black on my wheels. My concern is long-term. If I scratch them it will be hard to get a good graphite match if I don't find the same brand. Black is Black is Black....
Vote of confidence from me. Black or classic wheels on your color of car is best. I think graphite would just be "too many shades" type of thing going on.
atnolan94
I'm Your Huckleberry
- Thread starter
- #75
Totally unexpected, but a guy here on mud just listed a bunch of OE Viper 30% tint so you can match your front window tint to the rear. I have enough to do my front windows on the way. 30% tint, which should take me to right at 25% on top of the windows, which is the darkest you can legally go in Texas. This was not on my list, but when an opportunity like that comes up, its definitely worth it!
I get a little scared of adding tint on top of tint because of the window speed rolling up.... Ive had it happen on other vehicles but I am wanting tint for the fronts. There again I love the idea behind LCs being those vehicles used in safaries and such and having the front to somewhat bare and easy to see out of is great at our deer lease especially when its super cold or super hot and we have ac/heat running. Love to see easily and far without having to roll down the windows. Lets be honest though.... doesnt really look that cool when they dont match the rest of the windows haha.
atnolan94
I'm Your Huckleberry
- Thread starter
- #77
Wow, that bearing job went super fast. I am glad @DirtDawg walked me through this a couple of weeks ago or else I would've been lost. Once you understand how this hub works this job is really not hard at all. Whoever designed this is a genius, very serviceable without sacrificing reliability and durability. I'm used to ford trucks with non-serviceable bearings which can really leave you in a pinch if they fail.
I'm not going to do a write up because there are great videos, write ups, and the very useful FSM. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE FSM HANDY! It really helps to double check each torque value. And while many people here say the fishing scale process for setting the torque on the inner nut is unnecessary, the FSM says to do it...so I did it, and added a tad extra torque since I'm running load range E 33's. FWIW many people set these to 35 ft/lb regardless, and this would have been WAY too tight on mine.
Anyways, here's a few tips if you are doing your rotors, put your removed wheel face down and place the lug studs in the wheel, this is a makeshift vice to help you remove the bolts in the back of the hub assembly to install the new rotor. The rotor actually gets pressed in place as you tighten the bolts, so you'll need a pry bar to separate the hub. Luckily there's gaps in the mating surface and my Kobalt pry bar worked like a charm. It also help the opposite process of reinstalling the rotor.
Once I cleaned the cavity and swapped the races, the inside bearing goes in, then you have to press that rear seal in. Again I used the face down wheel trick and then put a 24" piece of 2x4 on the back of the seal and tapped it in with a hammer. Honestly a 4x4 would be absolutely perfect for this job, it would span the seal perfectly and it would set easily.
I also found that a brass hammer was way easier for me than a drift when getting the cone washers out of the flange.
This is a messy job. Don't buy the 10-pair pack of disposable gloves. Buy the 100 pack. I used probably 25 pairs to try and avoid contaminating the new bearing grease. And they would get so caked I literally had to change them out.
While I was down there, I inspected my steering rack bushings, and honestly they don't look bad. i may put that project on the back burner until a more convenient time.
Overall, my steering slop was cut by probably 75%. My ITRs still need to get done, but overall drive-ability has greatly increased. I also did my rotors and pads since my fronts were clearly warped...my suspicions were confirmed on that....below is a pic of my passenger rotor. You think that's a bad rotor???? Lol. When i took my pads out they were cracked and destroyed. They weren't down to the metal, but the wear indicators were nothing but a memory. Some pics in no particular order.
Oh and P.S. I have a new antenna mast on the way, hopefully my power antenna works after I replace it!!
I'm not going to do a write up because there are great videos, write ups, and the very useful FSM. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE FSM HANDY! It really helps to double check each torque value. And while many people here say the fishing scale process for setting the torque on the inner nut is unnecessary, the FSM says to do it...so I did it, and added a tad extra torque since I'm running load range E 33's. FWIW many people set these to 35 ft/lb regardless, and this would have been WAY too tight on mine.
Anyways, here's a few tips if you are doing your rotors, put your removed wheel face down and place the lug studs in the wheel, this is a makeshift vice to help you remove the bolts in the back of the hub assembly to install the new rotor. The rotor actually gets pressed in place as you tighten the bolts, so you'll need a pry bar to separate the hub. Luckily there's gaps in the mating surface and my Kobalt pry bar worked like a charm. It also help the opposite process of reinstalling the rotor.
Once I cleaned the cavity and swapped the races, the inside bearing goes in, then you have to press that rear seal in. Again I used the face down wheel trick and then put a 24" piece of 2x4 on the back of the seal and tapped it in with a hammer. Honestly a 4x4 would be absolutely perfect for this job, it would span the seal perfectly and it would set easily.
I also found that a brass hammer was way easier for me than a drift when getting the cone washers out of the flange.
This is a messy job. Don't buy the 10-pair pack of disposable gloves. Buy the 100 pack. I used probably 25 pairs to try and avoid contaminating the new bearing grease. And they would get so caked I literally had to change them out.
While I was down there, I inspected my steering rack bushings, and honestly they don't look bad. i may put that project on the back burner until a more convenient time.
Overall, my steering slop was cut by probably 75%. My ITRs still need to get done, but overall drive-ability has greatly increased. I also did my rotors and pads since my fronts were clearly warped...my suspicions were confirmed on that....below is a pic of my passenger rotor. You think that's a bad rotor???? Lol. When i took my pads out they were cracked and destroyed. They weren't down to the metal, but the wear indicators were nothing but a memory. Some pics in no particular order.
Oh and P.S. I have a new antenna mast on the way, hopefully my power antenna works after I replace it!!
atnolan94
I'm Your Huckleberry
- Thread starter
- #78
Since I finished my bearing/rotor job in 3 hours, and I budgeted the whole day to do it, I decided to tackle a project that I’ve been waiting on for a while. I finally got to paint my wheels black!
Basically I used 800 grit sand paper just to scuff the top layer, cleaned as best as I could, then did 3 light coats of sandable primer. Just a rostoleum product from autozone. It went on really nice so I didn’t actually end up sanding it. Then I did 3 coats of VHT black, the first row being light with the color just trying to cover the surface, then the third coat went on heavy. Then I hit it with a ton of matte clear coat, like half a can on each wheel. The paint has a semi gloss to it so it’s got a nice satin finish. Overall very happy with the look, curious to see how durable it is!
I need to go get them balanced tomorrow so praying the tech doesn’t damage them.
I found out my TB was done at 135k, which was exactly 100k ago. I definitely need to get to it but I’m relieved I’m not running on a 235k timing belt.
The truck has come a realllllly long way in under a month.
Basically I used 800 grit sand paper just to scuff the top layer, cleaned as best as I could, then did 3 light coats of sandable primer. Just a rostoleum product from autozone. It went on really nice so I didn’t actually end up sanding it. Then I did 3 coats of VHT black, the first row being light with the color just trying to cover the surface, then the third coat went on heavy. Then I hit it with a ton of matte clear coat, like half a can on each wheel. The paint has a semi gloss to it so it’s got a nice satin finish. Overall very happy with the look, curious to see how durable it is!
I need to go get them balanced tomorrow so praying the tech doesn’t damage them.
I found out my TB was done at 135k, which was exactly 100k ago. I definitely need to get to it but I’m relieved I’m not running on a 235k timing belt.
The truck has come a realllllly long way in under a month.
I knew you would go black, haha! Truck looks badass!
