Builds Atnolan94 Land Crooser Build Thread

[aaronrules]

It’s just a bummer that I’ve put my hands on almost everything on this truck already and the one thing I didn’t suspect went on me! Such is life. Trying to stay cool about it. Preciate the support!

There is peace of mind knowing that it's not the platform that is "breaking". A radiator can fail and is a part that is easily replaceable. You should feel fine that with all that work you put in, you are rolling in something that is a solid and capable rig.

 

[atnolan94]

There is peace of mind knowing that it's not the platform that is "breaking". A radiator can fail and is a part that is easily replaceable. You should feel fine that with all that work you put in, you are rolling in something that is a solid and capable rig.

That’s a great point. Just an ansillary replaceable part. Replace and move on. and unlike an uneducated motorist, I didn’t drive another 20 miles to cook the motor too! Haha. Luckily was able to get off quick and get to a gas station and kill it.

 

[atnolan94]

Well I picked up the cruiser and it is running great. No damage outside of the burst radiator, which is great. If ANYONE drives your cruiser, tell them to cut it immediately (if safe) if you see a big plume of steam from under the hood. While this was an expensive repair (really because of the labor) all it required was replacing the radiator. Could have taken the motor, so I'm glad I knew to kill it.

I kept this a little under wraps just because I wanted it to see in person, but the reason I was headed to Austin was to pick up this ARB bumper! It has a little impact damage from the PO putting it in ditch at hidden falls 4x4 park, but for the price I just couldn't pass it up. The passenger side is perfect, but the drivers side has seen better days. As of now, the plan is to wire wheel the whole thing raw, trim the lip, and repair the damage tot he drivers side sheet metal. Luckily the bull bar limited the damage, and the pics don't tell the whole tale. The biggest thing that I may need to pay someone to do is on the drivers side, the previous owner trimmed the last inch off the far outside of the bumper because it had hit his fender, it will be an easy fix but I don't have the equipment to do it. Good news is I feel pretty comfortable getting it repaired to the point that it can be physically on the vehicle, and I think I can circle back to the end plate repair when time allows, or I get an opportunity to access the necessary equipment.

It will need a good amount of work over time, BUT for the price I paid, I just couldn't say no. It's got the bones. It will get me thru HIH with a bumper AND sliders which I'm ecstatic about, and I can always replace this with a new unit in the future if that time comes. This unit will look just fine when I'm done, and it'll provide the protection that I need. Looking forward to putting this together.

EDIT: Those of you from Texas, bonus points if you can tell me where I took the picture of the bumper in my back seat.....there's a hint hiding behind the bumper

 

[Ouray19]

Well I picked up the cruiser and it is running great. No damage outside of the burst radiator, which is great. If ANYONE drives your cruiser, tell them to cut it immediately (if safe) if you see a big plume of steam from under the hood. While this was an expensive repair (really because of the labor) all it required was replacing the radiator. Could have taken the motor, so I'm glad I knew to kill it.

I kept this a little under wraps just because I wanted it to see in person, but the reason I was headed to Austin was to pick up this ARB bumper! It has a little impact damage from the PO putting it in ditch at hidden falls 4x4 park, but for the price I just couldn't pass it up. The passenger side is perfect, but the drivers side has seen better days. As of now, the plan is to wire wheel the whole thing raw, trim the lip, and repair the damage tot he drivers side sheet metal. Luckily the bull bar limited the damage, and the pics don't tell the whole tale. The biggest thing that I may need to pay someone to do is on the drivers side, the previous owner trimmed the last inch off the far outside of the bumper because it had hit his fender, it will be an easy fix but I don't have the equipment to do it. Good news is I feel pretty comfortable getting it repaired to the point that it can be physically on the vehicle, and I think I can circle back to the end plate repair when time allows, or I get an opportunity to access the necessary equipment.

It will need a good amount of work over time, BUT for the price I paid, I just couldn't say no. It's got the bones. It will get me thru HIH with a bumper AND sliders which I'm ecstatic about, and I can always replace this with a new unit in the future if that time comes. This unit will look just fine when I'm done, and it'll provide the protection that I need. Looking forward to putting this together.

EDIT: Those of you from Texas, bonus points if you can tell me where I took the picture of the bumper in my back seat.....there's a hint hiding behind the bumper

View attachment 1664147

View attachment 1664148

View attachment 1664149

Exit 353.

Hope you picked up with a Hot Chubby or Pecan Roll!!

 

[atnolan94]

Exit 353.

Hope you picked up with a Hot Chubby or Pecan Roll!!

Yes!! We have a winner! haha.

Their Pulled Pork Puff is to die for. I bought a half dozen fruit and a half dozen sausage and cheese for my co-workers today...no quicker way to your co-workers good sides!

 

[aaronrules]

Paying labor is the worst part. I'm paying "my guy" $550 to do some stuff this weekend, only because I don't have time. Glad you got it figured out, and good score on that bumper.

 

[LEX]

Haha. I saw that bumper on CL and have been back and forth about scooping it up for myself. I'm glad someone on here got it. Looking forward to seeing it fixed up.

 

[atnolan94]

Haha. I saw that bumper on CL and have been back and forth about scooping it up for myself. I'm glad someone on here got it. Looking forward to seeing it fixed up.

Its rough, it'll need some work. But the gentleman selling it was a great guy. I paid notably less than his asking price on that ad....it was a great deal.

 

[Ouray19]

I think all of us in Central Texas had been staring at that on CL wondering if we should or not... Haha... You were the first to pull the trigger

 

[atnolan94]

If it doesn't work out too well I'll rattle can it and sell it to the next guy

 

[bucfl]

Man...that thing is mangled pretty good. Hope you get it done!

 

[lazarus18]

I as well saw that thing and thought hmmmm but right now I am going to wait till I can replace all my shocks and new torsion bars before I jump in on the bumpers. Thats awesome you got it and cant wait to see the pics!!!

 

[atnolan94]

BAAAAAACK on the flatbed we go.....I think the Toyota dealer who did my rad played around with my rear heater bypass/Heater T's and broke the press fitting on the heater bypass. I had a big plume of steam under the hood pulling into my spot at work this morning. Very apparent that it was coming from the press fitting on the bypass. It wasn't leaking, it was GUSHING out. Luckily I'm not 3 hrs from home, and I'm just getting it towed home to fix it. I have the gaskets in my parts bin and am picking up a new bypass from my dealer. $150 tow but no harm no foul.

Now my wife is getting a bit wary of the Crooser. But for me, after the rad repair my faith came out unscathed. As with this, I still have full trust in the Crooser, because this just goes to show why the best hands on your vehicle are yours! At least i'll have some good pics to add to the thread.

 

[lazarus18]

BAAAAAACK on the flatbed we go.....I think the Toyota dealer who did my rad played around with my rear heater bypass/Heater T's and broke the press fitting on the heater bypass. I had a big plume of steam under the hood pulling into my spot at work this morning. Very apparent that it was coming from the press fitting on the bypass. It wasn't leaking, it was GUSHING out. Luckily I'm not 3 hrs from home, and I'm just getting it towed home to fix it. I have the gaskets in my parts bin and am picking up a new bypass from my dealer. $150 tow but no harm no foul.



Now my wife is getting a bit wary of the Crooser. But for me, after the rad repair my faith came out unscathed. As with this, I still have full trust in the Crooser, because this just goes to show why the best hands on your vehicle are yours! At least i'll have some good pics to add to the thread.

My wife would be the same way but your attitude again will grow her faith in it especially with the fun trips y’all will get to take in it!

 

[atnolan94]

She's been a good sport. It's a work in progress, but all I have left to do is my water pump (when I do my TB) and I'll be looking at basically a whole new cooling system, so peace of mind there.

 

[atnolan94]

It's insane to scroll thru this thread and see how much I've gotten done in 5 weeks of owning this thing. Wow! Keeps me motivated to stick with it thru rough times like this.

 

[atnolan94]

I will do a full update in a bit on the rear heater bypass replacement. It literally the same process as the starter where you remove the big metal plenum. Overall this job just is not that hard. Just have to be slow and deliberate with 20 y/o hoses and such. Not a single clip broke on my injectors which was amazing. I did a have a clip connector related to my TB break but that was the only one. very accessible so not a big deal. I spent a total of an hour and a half to tear it down and remove my existing bypass. I did utilize my mom and wife to "pass off" the plenum too because I was sitting in the engine bay

I'll be picking up the new bypass and installing it all tonight and I will do my usual not a writeup but discuss some tips that the FSM and procedural write ups do not cover style of write up.

For now....I'm sure most of you understand how a tube is supposed to be press fit into a cast piece (pic below).....well here is my heater bypass tube compared to one with the vertical bypass tube properly seated. Yes, it literally came apart. completely. Hence, coolant everywhere for the second time in 4 days. Funny thing is I had a slow leak from here prior to the radiator burst which I always checked and topped off my rad with that fancy, expensive Toyota red. I SPECIFICALLY checked this before driving home from my radiator replacement. No leaks. And for whatever reason, it finally let go completely. I'm wondering if Mr Toyta Tech figured my heater T's went based on my description of events, and went and twisted them around as he inspected.....anyways I will update once I complete the install.

 

[LEX]

It's insane to scroll thru this thread and see how much I've gotten done in 5 weeks of owning this thing. Wow! Keeps me motivated to stick with it thru rough times like this.

Don't stop, get it get it!

 

[atnolan94]

Crazy 12 hours. I put it all back together last night, and once the manifold was set in place it took me less than an hour to have it together. And that includes the time spent adjusting my accelerator cable that goes to the pedal. I idled it up to temp and all looked good.

On the drive home from my parents house (where I do all my work) all the sudden I was overheating, steam from the hood and big hissing sound. I do not ever curse in front of my wife, but this was absolutely an exception to the rule! What was weird is the steam wasn't coming from my radiator like the first time, or from the back of the engine like the second time, this (third) time it was from the TB area.

Sure enough I missed a hose that serves as the inlet and hooks to an outlet nipple on that big front coolant neck below the TB. Once the Tstat opened it was game over. It drained about a gallon and a quarter of coolant in less than a minute. So I fixed that and topped off my radiator and called it a night.

This morning, groggy, I idled the car up to temp and it just kept trucking past. I was super confused and angry when I realized I filled the radiator with a cold, closed thermostat last night. Took the wife's car to Toyota really quick and grabbed 2 gallons of 50/50. When i got back I filled the radiator, did a lap around the block to open the thermostat, filled the radiator again, did another lap, and after a couple passes it leveled out and we are good to go!

A couple tips....don't be an idiot like me, make sure you actually fill the cooling system fully. And also actually connect all your coolant hoses, it helps prevent leaks!

Overall I would consider this rear heater bypass job to be a 1.5 banana job, mostly because sitting in the engine bay to take out and put in the manifold really sucks and you need a second set of hands to pass the manifold off to.

RANDOM TIPS: Its NOT hard, you just need to be slow an meticulous to avoid breaking clips and ripping hoses. You also need to be cognizant of you method for unhooking the fuel lines and know there will be some fuel spillage. I did not do my stater while I was in there because I just needed the car operational, but I do understand that can be a bit of a bear. At the same time, if i have to do this again to o my starter I just wouldn't be too worried about it. This is also a good time to check you valve cover bolts or do your gaskets. Mine were less than finger tight, but remember the torque value is in INCH POUNDS, I think it comes out to like 5-6 ft/lb so barely any torque past finger tight. I have already noticed less oil burn odor when i shut the car after a long drive. Oh and get a long mechanic's style magnet to pull the manifold bolts out, they are way back behind the fuel rail, and some are actually very very hard to see.

TAKE PICS of everything before you take it apart it really helps in putting it back together. Overall I was in there for around 2.5 hrs. I bet I could do it in 1.5 hrs next time. i THINK my cooling escapade that occupied this entire week is over with. Random pics below.

 

[atnolan94]

THERE'S A COOLANT HOSE UNDER YOUR THROTTLE-BODY DON'T FORGET IT!!!
THERE'S A COOLANT HOSE UNDER YOUR THROTTLE-BODY DON'T FORGET IT!!!
THERE'S A COOLANT HOSE UNDER YOUR THROTTLE-BODY DON'T FORGET IT!!!
THERE'S A COOLANT HOSE UNDER YOUR THROTTLE-BODY DON'T FORGET IT!!!