bamachem's 2000 UZJ build thread (1 Viewer)

[bamachem]

Not really.

I placed the deck plate at the front (leading) face of the airbox. There is a gap between the radiator and headlight that will let in a LOT of air, just offset from the deckplate. I'm sure you could get a scoop in there, but whether it would do any good is another story...

 

[bamachem]

https://forum.ih8mud.com/100-series-cruisers/417670-restored-refinished-leather-hundy.html

 

[TheFuzz]

Any final pics of the completed front bumper with the factory fogs mounted? Looking really good, man!

 

[bamachem]

I still don't have it powder-coated... Just hasn't been a priority. It's still sitting in my garage.

 

[yoda-g3]

How many turns did you give on teh 'ol torsion bars? Looking at taking some of the pressure off my AHC without having to pay the deal to check the pressure afterwards. I was thinking three cranks would be a good start.

 

[Yukon LX]

i was told 3 - 5 cranks. I did 5 and it hit the spot. Still need to adjust my sensors though.

 

[bamachem]

I think I did about 3-4 on the pass side and 4-5 on the driver side as it was a little lower. That was a while ago, so I'm going on memory. I think I did 3, measured, then did a little more to get it where I wanted it. Stance is still good after quite a few miles since then (probably over 20K)

 

[bamachem]

Just checking in... I have developed huge CRACKS in the tread shoulder where the tread meets the sidewall in all 4 of my Zeon LTZ's. Pics will be posted soon... NOT GOOD! 1.5 years old and about 34,000 miles. Still have 6/32 of the original 14/32 of tread left too!

I got in the Hundy last night to go to the store - it's been sitting there since Friday afternoon. Anyway, had a flat. No biggie - probably picked up a nail in the tread. Aired it up and went 1.5-miles to the store. Came out in 3-min to find the tire half-flat. OH SCHIDT! Booked it home and the tire went flat as I turned in the neighborhood. Limped it home and changed it out w/ the spare in the garage.

It has HUGE cracks along the tread, both inside and outside edges. Cracks are in ALL FOUR tires!

I called Cooper and got a Customer Service Rep on the phone and then emailed them the pics. Cooper Zeons have a "premium" warranty for the life of the tire on defects. They will give me a new set 100% free, or I can get an adjustment/credit from the MSRP of these tires towards another set of Coopers.

Here's the pics... Not so sure I want another set of these - even though they have been wearing VERY well with no issues until now.

 

[LSUfj]

Not sure I'd want another set of those...

 

[bamachem]

Yeah, I'm iffy as well.

However, at FREE, it's hard to complain for now. Get a set, drive them 5000-ish miles while I decide on what to go with next, then just Craigslist them for half of MSRP ($200+ ea) and get something I trust...

Regardless, I will be going with the LT 275/70/18 this time around instead of the 285/60/18 LX-rated tire. I want a little more diameter, and I really don't want go to a Passenger tire if they were having this type of issue. The rubber compound on the LT tires is usually different from the P tires.

I asked the Customer Service Rep if they had a bad batch of rubber and she skirted the question...

 

[LSUfj]

Discount tire gave me a fair amount for the tires I traded in to get my bfgs. Not sure if it has to be a tire they sell though.

I agree that you could always use them for a while. After all, you did get a few trouble free miles out of the current set.

 

[bamachem]

I've been on the phone with "Julie" at Cooper Customer Relations and dealing with my local Cooper retailer over the counter. Here's what they're going to do.

Cooper has a national back order on both the 285/60/18 and the 275/70/18. However, they retain a small stock in their DC's for warranty adjustments, etc. They are going to ship a set to my local retailer for installation via UPS for delivery on Wednesday.

They will pay for 100% replacement on all 4 tires as they are covered under their "Premium" Warranty, whatever that is. Mounting and Balancing is also covered. Zero cost to me for the swap.

However, I am going to bump up to LT 275/70/18 this time and I will have to pay the difference in the cost of the tire (about $50 each) and they simply won't cover this upgrade no matter how much I complained about the safety, inconvenience, etc.

In all, I will have a new set of tires and out of pocket around $200.

Even though the crackes caused me some worry, I'm actually pretty happy with the outcome - as long as all goes smoothly.

I have to say that I have been extremely pleased with these tires up to now. Very smooth ride, quiet, and wear like steel. These have 34K on them and have ~ 43% of the original tread (6/32" vs 14/32 new). The LT's will have 16/32" of tread depth. Hopefully they won't have any issues.

I did a google search for "Zeon LTZ Cracking" and only found one reference on an F150 forum. He has 35k on them with 5/32" remaining tread, just like these. Maybe it was a bad batch of rubber? Weird, that's for sure.

In all, I would have to give Cooper a thumbs-up on handling this warranty though. Zero cost replacements on 60% worn tires is standing behind your product!

 

[bamachem]

New tires going on today. Here's some pics comparing the 285/60/18 Zeons with 6/32" of remaining tread versus new 275/70/18 with 16/32" of tread.

 

[FullyLitLED]

that is a huge difference! How much taller is the 275?

 

[OregonLC]

that is a huge difference! How much taller is the 275?

should be going from a 31.5" to a 33".

 

[bamachem]

31.48" to 33.15" when comparing new to new. The used tires have lost another 0.6" in overall diameter on top of that.

 

[FullyLitLED]

not bad! Upsizing and brand new tires for $200 is a good deal!

 

[bamachem]

Well... not quite the $200 I was expecting. The shop is charging me $74/tire for the difference in sizing. Comes out to $323 with tax.

But wait, that's not all...

When removing the Driver-Rear wheel, THREE of the 5 lugs were cross-threaded from the last tire monkey that did a rotation for me.

One Toyota dealer has 1 stud and 3 nuts and the other Toyota dealer across town has 2 studs and 1 nut. Either way, to get at least 2 of the broken studs replaced, then they have to go to BOTH dealerships for the parts, so the tire shop is going to go ahead and replace 3. Since this shop wasn't the one who did the last tire rotation, then the cost is going to be tacked on to the bill. At $4.89 per stud and $12.79 per lug nut, all the driving around to pick up parts, and then the labor to pull the rear drum/rotor and R&R the studs, it's going to add another $100-$150 easily to that tab.

In all, I expect to spend around $475-$500, but a BIG part of that are the stupid cross-threaded lugs.

At any rate, a LT 33" set of tires for 18" wheels out the door including mounting and road-force balancing on a Hunter 9700 for that price is good enough for me considering that I would normally be out $1200 for all this...

 

[TheFuzz]

Ugh, that blows man. This is why I normally buy all of my tires from Discount Tire. Free rotations from them, so they are the only ones that do it...keeps my chain of maintenance a little less screwy so if something does go awry, I know that I can talk to the manager and have the problem fixed. They've always taken pretty good care of me.

 

[bamachem]

We don't have DT here in Alabama, unfortunately. .

Just picked it up. $430 and change was the total damage. About $95 of that just for the studs.

Verdict: WELL worth it.

The ride is superb. These are as quiet as I remember my old Michelin LTX's to be. I was expecting a STIFF ride with the Load Range E rating, but I am PLEASANTLY surprised that the ride feels very plush - maybe due to the increased sidewall height. I don't feel any appreciable power loss, and the rubber FINALLY fills up the fenderwells the way it's supposed to.

These are 33.1" tall tires on a NON-LIFTED cruiser. Amazing that they come with puny 30" michlins from the factory when this looks SO much better!

I'm ecstatic with them on the drive back from the tire shop, I'm very pleased with how Cooper handled this, and will know more about differences/performance after going hunting in north Mississippi in the coming weeks.

Sandwiched between the boss' Sequoia and a Scheduler's GS350.