Rockymtnreaper
Colorado.Cruiser
Cool of you to make a thread and keep us all in the loop on this truck! It was a big inspiration for me when I first got my 60! Keep up the good work! I'm glad you get out and use it too!
Builds Bean! The Adventure Continues (1987 FJ60)
- Thread starter Bullzi
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- 1987 build thread builds fj60
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- Thread starter
- #22
Thanks, appreciate the kind words!
I knew one of these days I was going to have to start a thread to let everyone know that the Bean was still alive...it just took a little longer to get it going than it should have!
- Thread starter
- #23
Rear Electrical Build-Out - (May 2019)
The Bean came with a nice power inverter bolted to the outside of the rear cargo area (just outside the rear window washer pouch). The PO had replaced a small section of cargo panel with a piece of diamond-plate and had screwed the inverter to the diamond plate. The install was pretty clean, but I really didn't like how easily you could see the inverter. Mostly I was worried it might entice someone to break-in while the Bean was parked on the streets of Seattle (which was all the time!).
Here is the inverter model if any one is looking for a solid unit: ProWatt SW 600 - true sine wave
I really wanted to do an install that would support an inverter, an accessory fuse panel and be able to support roof rack power down the road. I was also looking to install the inverter behind the cargo panel to be a little more discrete.
Here is what I came up with:
So previously, the inverter had a 6awg wire running to it from the battery. This worked for the PO, but I wanted to go bigger for the added electrical needs.
After measuring out the distance and estimating my maximum amperage draw, I decided to use 2awg wire from the battery with a 100amp circuit breaker in the engine bay. The 2awg wire goes through the firewall, along the floor with the main harness and feeds into the splitter. It splits to the accessory fuse box and the ANL fuse holder for the inverter.
The system is grounded through the rear quarter and into the frame.
Here's a picture of the 100amp CB in the engine bay:
The panel on the left houses a small switched 12V section with a voltage readout above a power switch and sockets for the inverter. The switch at the very top turns on lights that I wired into the hatch for cooking, etc. I used marine-grade HDPE (starboard) plastic for the panels and to mount the inverter. Everything is super solid and works well. The only bummer was the removal of the tool roll/holder. I didn't want to do it, but it was necessary to make everything fit. I think it was worth it though.
I ended up adding a maxi fuse for the roof rack power - more on that in another post...
In the future, I think I am going to rearrange the electrical panel that holds the fuses and accessory fuse box. Everything is working well, but I don't like the splitter and I would like to change the ANL and Maxi fuses to MIDI fuses. In fact, I would like to change all the ANL and Maxi fuses in the truck to MIDI. They have a smaller footprint and consolidating to one type of fuse would mean having to carry fewer types of spare fuses. You can buy MIDI fuses in amperage ratings from 30A - 200A. ANL are good from 35A - 750A...The Bean doesn't have any fused loads over 200A, so the MIDI fuses should work well. Check out this cool guide for different fuses and their amp ratings: Blue Sea Guide.
The Bean came with a nice power inverter bolted to the outside of the rear cargo area (just outside the rear window washer pouch). The PO had replaced a small section of cargo panel with a piece of diamond-plate and had screwed the inverter to the diamond plate. The install was pretty clean, but I really didn't like how easily you could see the inverter. Mostly I was worried it might entice someone to break-in while the Bean was parked on the streets of Seattle (which was all the time!).
Here is the inverter model if any one is looking for a solid unit: ProWatt SW 600 - true sine wave
I really wanted to do an install that would support an inverter, an accessory fuse panel and be able to support roof rack power down the road. I was also looking to install the inverter behind the cargo panel to be a little more discrete.
Here is what I came up with:
So previously, the inverter had a 6awg wire running to it from the battery. This worked for the PO, but I wanted to go bigger for the added electrical needs.
After measuring out the distance and estimating my maximum amperage draw, I decided to use 2awg wire from the battery with a 100amp circuit breaker in the engine bay. The 2awg wire goes through the firewall, along the floor with the main harness and feeds into the splitter. It splits to the accessory fuse box and the ANL fuse holder for the inverter.
The system is grounded through the rear quarter and into the frame.
Here's a picture of the 100amp CB in the engine bay:
The panel on the left houses a small switched 12V section with a voltage readout above a power switch and sockets for the inverter. The switch at the very top turns on lights that I wired into the hatch for cooking, etc. I used marine-grade HDPE (starboard) plastic for the panels and to mount the inverter. Everything is super solid and works well. The only bummer was the removal of the tool roll/holder. I didn't want to do it, but it was necessary to make everything fit. I think it was worth it though.
I ended up adding a maxi fuse for the roof rack power - more on that in another post...
In the future, I think I am going to rearrange the electrical panel that holds the fuses and accessory fuse box. Everything is working well, but I don't like the splitter and I would like to change the ANL and Maxi fuses to MIDI fuses. In fact, I would like to change all the ANL and Maxi fuses in the truck to MIDI. They have a smaller footprint and consolidating to one type of fuse would mean having to carry fewer types of spare fuses. You can buy MIDI fuses in amperage ratings from 30A - 200A. ANL are good from 35A - 750A...The Bean doesn't have any fused loads over 200A, so the MIDI fuses should work well. Check out this cool guide for different fuses and their amp ratings: Blue Sea Guide.
- Thread starter
- #24
Roof Rack and Roof Top Tent System - (May 2019)
I can’t take very much of the credit for the RTT and rack system. I had been doing some work for @torfab when I bought the Bean and had mentioned to Tor that I might be in the market for a used RTT if he happened upon a good deal. Well, next thing you know we are bolting his custom RTT system onto the Bean! Now every time I seen him, he reminds me how much he misses it...it's very possible he regrets the decision to get rid of it.
Tor built this system up really well with some great features. The base is a Baja utility (flat) rack with an Alucab Expedition III rooftop tent. On top of the RTT is a 100W solar panel which is wired to a Victron solar controller. The solar controller has an output to a Trigger 4 bluetooth auxiliary controller which controls the roof rack aux lights. The solar and auxiliary controllers are mounted under the rack so you don't see them. The auxiliary controller has a bluetooth switch panel that controls the front lightbar, rear lightbar and side lights. I still have one open switch for a future auxiliary item. The best part about the rack is that there is only one anderson connection at the back that powers the entire thing. This means that there is only 1 power and 1 ground wire routed to the back of the roof-rack. Install and removal is super quick and easy.
The solar controller also has some neat features. I am able to connect to it via bluetooth and see my real-time and historical power generation and consumption data (I'm a nerd) and it has a feature that conditions the battery at a specified interval. The most practical feature is that it cuts power to the roof rack system (aux lights and rooftop tent usb/inside lights) if the voltage drops below a specified value...I have it set to 12.2V right now. So if I leave a light on too long, it won't kill the batteries!
The only notable changes I have made to the system is adding a collapsible ladder and adding some better amber lighting inside the tent. The tent comes standard with 2 really crummy map lights.
The lights that I added are a little too bright, so in the future I would like to only have one amber strip light inside the tent add add light under the tent to illuminate the ladder for nighttime bathroom trips (the only downside to a RTT!).
Funny side story - when we first got the RTT, my wife and I were driving at dusk and this car next to us was pointing and giving what looked like a thumbs up. We were waving and giving a thumbs up back...this went on for about a mile, then they passed us. My wife and I figured they really liked FJ60s. Well, the next car pulls up next to us and its a similar experience...again my wife and I just think that people really dig the Bean. You probably know where this is going. Well we caught up to the first car in line for the Tacoma Narrows bridge toll booth and they motioned us to roll down our window...then they let us have it because apparently the rear light bar switch had been bumped inside the center console (where we used to keep the bluetooth switches) and we had been blinding everyone for at least a few miles. I'd like to say I never made that mistake again...but I did - twice...I'm just lucky there were no cops around!
Turns out people aren't super friendly when they have a bright light bar shining in their eyes! I have since remedied the issue so that it wont happen again.
I can’t take very much of the credit for the RTT and rack system. I had been doing some work for @torfab when I bought the Bean and had mentioned to Tor that I might be in the market for a used RTT if he happened upon a good deal. Well, next thing you know we are bolting his custom RTT system onto the Bean! Now every time I seen him, he reminds me how much he misses it...it's very possible he regrets the decision to get rid of it.
Tor built this system up really well with some great features. The base is a Baja utility (flat) rack with an Alucab Expedition III rooftop tent. On top of the RTT is a 100W solar panel which is wired to a Victron solar controller. The solar controller has an output to a Trigger 4 bluetooth auxiliary controller which controls the roof rack aux lights. The solar and auxiliary controllers are mounted under the rack so you don't see them. The auxiliary controller has a bluetooth switch panel that controls the front lightbar, rear lightbar and side lights. I still have one open switch for a future auxiliary item. The best part about the rack is that there is only one anderson connection at the back that powers the entire thing. This means that there is only 1 power and 1 ground wire routed to the back of the roof-rack. Install and removal is super quick and easy.
The solar controller also has some neat features. I am able to connect to it via bluetooth and see my real-time and historical power generation and consumption data (I'm a nerd) and it has a feature that conditions the battery at a specified interval. The most practical feature is that it cuts power to the roof rack system (aux lights and rooftop tent usb/inside lights) if the voltage drops below a specified value...I have it set to 12.2V right now. So if I leave a light on too long, it won't kill the batteries!
The only notable changes I have made to the system is adding a collapsible ladder and adding some better amber lighting inside the tent. The tent comes standard with 2 really crummy map lights.
The lights that I added are a little too bright, so in the future I would like to only have one amber strip light inside the tent add add light under the tent to illuminate the ladder for nighttime bathroom trips (the only downside to a RTT!).
Funny side story - when we first got the RTT, my wife and I were driving at dusk and this car next to us was pointing and giving what looked like a thumbs up. We were waving and giving a thumbs up back...this went on for about a mile, then they passed us. My wife and I figured they really liked FJ60s. Well, the next car pulls up next to us and its a similar experience...again my wife and I just think that people really dig the Bean. You probably know where this is going. Well we caught up to the first car in line for the Tacoma Narrows bridge toll booth and they motioned us to roll down our window...then they let us have it because apparently the rear light bar switch had been bumped inside the center console (where we used to keep the bluetooth switches) and we had been blinding everyone for at least a few miles. I'd like to say I never made that mistake again...but I did - twice...I'm just lucky there were no cops around!
Turns out people aren't super friendly when they have a bright light bar shining in their eyes! I have since remedied the issue so that it wont happen again.
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torfab
Supporting Vendor
You're right about me missing that setup, it was pretty slick to just drop it on the roof and head out for the weekend.
Any chance you have some shot of how the 5 series seats are installed in the Bean?
torfab
Supporting Vendor
Those are 3 series seats Kevin
- Thread starter
- #28
Transfer Case Rebuild - (May 2019)
Back in March of 19' when we test drove the Bean for the first time, we noticed a whining coming from the drive-train. I remembered reading in the PO's thread that he had installed 4:1 gears and they were somewhat loud on the road. I figured this was the whining noise...that was a bad assumption on my part.
.
So the next step was to find out where the noise was coming from. I met with Nick (great guy!) from Torfab on a weekend to diagnose the truck. We put it on the lift and he used his stethoscope to check the common noise points while I drove the truck. We both agreed that the sound seemed to be coming from the t-case, but it was a little tricky to diagnose.
We spent the morning tearing down and rebuilding the t-case. Nick is like a wizard with these things - very fast but also detailed and he knows all the torque values by heart
. I guess you tend to remember those when you do this every day! He has since been promoted to Torfab's head service writer.
So we found metal in the oil when we drained it (expected, because I had previously checked) and the idler shaft's thrust washers (with the little indentations to keep them stationary) were spinning and had chewed up both case ends. Everything else looked really good. We replaced all the bearings and seals and were sure that we had found the issue. We replaced one case half and were able to salvage/fix the other case half. Nick even made sure to wire wheel the outside of both halves to make them look pretty (which I was a total fan of!).
Thrust washers - I should have taken pictures...I am so bad at that!
We got it all back together (including an extended breather line) and went for a test drive, but unfortunately the whining noise was still there...the exact same!
The whining noise was really loud - it would peak at 38mph and drive me crazy. Lucky at highway speeds >50, it was less noticeable.
Well at least the leaking was resolved!
Long story short, I went around and around with different transmission and t-case issues until I finally decided to have Torfab install a 6L80 and 80 series t-case in December 2020. We never definitively found out what the noise was - I still think it was the t-case, but could have been transmission or rear diff. All three have been addressed now and the noise is gone!! It feels strange to have silence after driving with it for 2 years!
I still have the t-case and 4L60 to split case adapter...PM me if you are interested in buying. Would rather not ship, but maybe could figure something out.
It has around 10K miles on all new bearings and seals - has always worked perfect - but is likely the culprit of the noise. Who knows though - you may get lucky. I don't really want to separate the case from adapter, but could be convinced if no one wants the package deal.
T-Case and adapter have been sold.
More on the new transmission project in a future post!
Back in March of 19' when we test drove the Bean for the first time, we noticed a whining coming from the drive-train. I remembered reading in the PO's thread that he had installed 4:1 gears and they were somewhat loud on the road. I figured this was the whining noise...that was a bad assumption on my part.
I want to be clear though...the for sale add had no mention of 4:1 gears and I knew about the noise and leaky t-case when I bought the truck, so this does not fall on the seller in any way. He was very honest about the condition of the truck to the best of his knowledge. He was also super helpful in answering the questions that I had for him.
Thanks again Theron!
Anyways, after I bought the truck I was talking with Torfab about the whining noise from the 4:1 gears and they politely let me know that the Bean didn't have 4:1 gears anymore. I guess that t-case had struck a rock and cracked, so a different (34mm) t-case had been installed. That made a lot of sense because when I put the truck in 4-low, I couldn't believe how crummy the 4:1 gears felt .So the next step was to find out where the noise was coming from. I met with Nick (great guy!) from Torfab on a weekend to diagnose the truck. We put it on the lift and he used his stethoscope to check the common noise points while I drove the truck. We both agreed that the sound seemed to be coming from the t-case, but it was a little tricky to diagnose.
We spent the morning tearing down and rebuilding the t-case. Nick is like a wizard with these things - very fast but also detailed and he knows all the torque values by heart
. I guess you tend to remember those when you do this every day! He has since been promoted to Torfab's head service writer.So we found metal in the oil when we drained it (expected, because I had previously checked) and the idler shaft's thrust washers (with the little indentations to keep them stationary) were spinning and had chewed up both case ends. Everything else looked really good. We replaced all the bearings and seals and were sure that we had found the issue. We replaced one case half and were able to salvage/fix the other case half. Nick even made sure to wire wheel the outside of both halves to make them look pretty (which I was a total fan of!).
Thrust washers - I should have taken pictures...I am so bad at that!
We got it all back together (including an extended breather line) and went for a test drive, but unfortunately the whining noise was still there...the exact same!
The whining noise was really loud - it would peak at 38mph and drive me crazy. Lucky at highway speeds >50, it was less noticeable.
Well at least the leaking was resolved!
Long story short, I went around and around with different transmission and t-case issues until I finally decided to have Torfab install a 6L80 and 80 series t-case in December 2020. We never definitively found out what the noise was - I still think it was the t-case, but could have been transmission or rear diff. All three have been addressed now and the noise is gone!! It feels strange to have silence after driving with it for 2 years!
It has around 10K miles on all new bearings and seals - has always worked perfect - but is likely the culprit of the noise. Who knows though - you may get lucky. I don't really want to separate the case from adapter, but could be convinced if no one wants the package deal.
T-Case and adapter have been sold.
More on the new transmission project in a future post!
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #29
I'll defer to your knowledge on this one...I have very little knowledge of BMWs.
Picture Credit - Theron
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They are e90 seats. Definitely not x-5 seats.
- Thread starter
- #31
Okay good to know, thanks!
Like I said, I don’t have a very good knowledge of BMWs so I appreciate the feedback.
- Thread starter
- #32
FJ62 Rear Seat (April 2019 & March 2020)
April 2019 - When we purchased the Bean, the rear seat bottom was not in the truck. The PO had no use for it so he removed it. I think it was sitting in his garage in Tennessee, but it seemed expensive and hard to get it shipped out to me. So the hunt began - I'll be honest here, when I first started searching I didn't realize the FJ62 rear seats had headrests...I just came across one and it had headrests! So I purchased the seat (back and bottom) and bolted it in. It looked great, the only issue was the color. My interior is grey, the seat was brown. It really wasn't a big deal to me (function over form).
This is the best shot I have of the brown seat - buckling in my nieces for some off road adventuring in Bend, OR.
Fast-forward to March 2020 and I get word from @red66toy that he may have a set of grey seat covers available that he had been saving in case he ever needed the fabric. I don't even remember how this conversation came up because I wasn't actively searching for grey seat covers...but it was always on the back of my mind (very low on the priority list).
Anyways, Chase gave me the seat covers for free! It was near the onset of the pandemic, so it gave my wife a great project to work on in our studio apartment! A few hog rings and a set of pliers and the installation was complete! I later removed the plastic bits and the vinyl seat bottom and painted them grey.
The apartment was starting to close in on us!
The only thing I needed to do now was find a set of grey headrests. Well, it just so happened that @Aravind Dileepan (who had given Chase the rear seat covers in the first place) still had a set of grey headrests. He used to live in Seattle, but has since moved across the country. He ended up giving me his grey set of headrest for the cost of shipping!
This Land Cruiser community is really awesome!
Here is what my seat looks like now (this was obviously before the grey headrests were received) - I'm sure most of you will notice that the seat has the earlier style grey cloth pattern while the door cards have the later style cloth pattern. It doesn't bother me and the grey looks so much better than the brown!
Thanks again Ara and Chase!!
April 2019 - When we purchased the Bean, the rear seat bottom was not in the truck. The PO had no use for it so he removed it. I think it was sitting in his garage in Tennessee, but it seemed expensive and hard to get it shipped out to me. So the hunt began - I'll be honest here, when I first started searching I didn't realize the FJ62 rear seats had headrests...I just came across one and it had headrests! So I purchased the seat (back and bottom) and bolted it in. It looked great, the only issue was the color. My interior is grey, the seat was brown. It really wasn't a big deal to me (function over form).
This is the best shot I have of the brown seat - buckling in my nieces for some off road adventuring in Bend, OR.
Fast-forward to March 2020 and I get word from @red66toy that he may have a set of grey seat covers available that he had been saving in case he ever needed the fabric. I don't even remember how this conversation came up because I wasn't actively searching for grey seat covers...but it was always on the back of my mind (very low on the priority list).
Anyways, Chase gave me the seat covers for free! It was near the onset of the pandemic, so it gave my wife a great project to work on in our studio apartment! A few hog rings and a set of pliers and the installation was complete! I later removed the plastic bits and the vinyl seat bottom and painted them grey.
The apartment was starting to close in on us!
The only thing I needed to do now was find a set of grey headrests. Well, it just so happened that @Aravind Dileepan (who had given Chase the rear seat covers in the first place) still had a set of grey headrests. He used to live in Seattle, but has since moved across the country. He ended up giving me his grey set of headrest for the cost of shipping!
This Land Cruiser community is really awesome!
Here is what my seat looks like now (this was obviously before the grey headrests were received) - I'm sure most of you will notice that the seat has the earlier style grey cloth pattern while the door cards have the later style cloth pattern. It doesn't bother me and the grey looks so much better than the brown!
Thanks again Ara and Chase!!
- Thread starter
- #33
3-Point Rear Seat Belts - (December 2019)
This post is a little out of order, but I figured it's a good one to follow the last post on the rear seat/covering.
As all of you know, the FJ62 came with 3-point seat belts for the rear passengers. I was not aware of this until I started searching for the rear seat that I had needed. I know the 60 series will never be a super safe vehicle compared to today's standards, but converting the rear to 3-point belts seems like a no-brainer to increase the safety just a little.
The problem is, the parts are hard to find and expensive!
I ended up ordering a kit online that came with the retractors and the plastics for an FJ62. I don't want to name who I ordered the kit from, but I was very disappointed in the quality. I realize it was a used kit, but the webbing for both belts was torn almost all the way through and every piece of plastic was cracked or broken. I had been on a wait list for about 6 months, so I didn't end up sending it back.
I had the seat belts re-webbed by safetyrestore.com. They did a good job. They matched the grey of the original belts very well and had a super fast turnaround. I used Safety Restore because I found promotions and coupons online to make the cost about half of Seatbelt Planet. [I feel like I should share that I did hear from a buddy who used safety restore and he felt that his stitching didn't look great. He works in the clothing industry and knows his stuff. He said it didn't look like it would affect the strength, but it wasn't a super clean job. My stitching looked pretty good (to my eyes at least). So at this point I will make no recommendations one way or the other about this company.]
Install:
The install for this project is pretty simple and has been covered on a bunch of different threads, so I won't go into great detail here unless people have questions.
I used an angle grinder to cut the spots for the retractors and a dremel with sanding barrel the clean up the sides and corners. I put a little paint on the edges to keep the rust away.
For those of you without the threaded upper hole, I used a vacuum to help get a piece of string from the hole and into the spot behind the cargo panel. It was super quick and easy this way!
I used JB-weld to hold the nuts to the back side of the C-pillar.
A lot of guys drill a hole through the side of the wheel well to mount the lower seatbelt bolt. I decided to mount it to the old retractor's mounting hole. It works great and I didn't have to drill another hole in the truck!
The scariest part was cutting a little off the cargo panel so it would fit with the FJ62 plastic. It's easy, but go slow because it would be a bummer to mess up a good cargo panel. It's just a straight cut with the vinyl folded over and glued to the back-side.
I also drilled a hole for the electrical cables to run through much like the stock FJ62s.
Stock FJ62:
The entire project is pretty simple, it just takes time. If you take your time and pay attention, it will turn out great!
This post is a little out of order, but I figured it's a good one to follow the last post on the rear seat/covering.
As all of you know, the FJ62 came with 3-point seat belts for the rear passengers. I was not aware of this until I started searching for the rear seat that I had needed. I know the 60 series will never be a super safe vehicle compared to today's standards, but converting the rear to 3-point belts seems like a no-brainer to increase the safety just a little.
The problem is, the parts are hard to find and expensive!
I ended up ordering a kit online that came with the retractors and the plastics for an FJ62. I don't want to name who I ordered the kit from, but I was very disappointed in the quality. I realize it was a used kit, but the webbing for both belts was torn almost all the way through and every piece of plastic was cracked or broken. I had been on a wait list for about 6 months, so I didn't end up sending it back.
I had the seat belts re-webbed by safetyrestore.com. They did a good job. They matched the grey of the original belts very well and had a super fast turnaround. I used Safety Restore because I found promotions and coupons online to make the cost about half of Seatbelt Planet. [I feel like I should share that I did hear from a buddy who used safety restore and he felt that his stitching didn't look great. He works in the clothing industry and knows his stuff. He said it didn't look like it would affect the strength, but it wasn't a super clean job. My stitching looked pretty good (to my eyes at least). So at this point I will make no recommendations one way or the other about this company.]
Install:
The install for this project is pretty simple and has been covered on a bunch of different threads, so I won't go into great detail here unless people have questions.
I used an angle grinder to cut the spots for the retractors and a dremel with sanding barrel the clean up the sides and corners. I put a little paint on the edges to keep the rust away.
For those of you without the threaded upper hole, I used a vacuum to help get a piece of string from the hole and into the spot behind the cargo panel. It was super quick and easy this way!
I used JB-weld to hold the nuts to the back side of the C-pillar.
A lot of guys drill a hole through the side of the wheel well to mount the lower seatbelt bolt. I decided to mount it to the old retractor's mounting hole. It works great and I didn't have to drill another hole in the truck!
The scariest part was cutting a little off the cargo panel so it would fit with the FJ62 plastic. It's easy, but go slow because it would be a bummer to mess up a good cargo panel. It's just a straight cut with the vinyl folded over and glued to the back-side.
I also drilled a hole for the electrical cables to run through much like the stock FJ62s.
Stock FJ62:
The entire project is pretty simple, it just takes time. If you take your time and pay attention, it will turn out great!
mattressking
10 digits to freedom
Looks great - glad to see the truck being loved. I don't have kids so the rear seats aren't usually occupied but rear headrests have always looked good to me, nice job!
- Thread starter
- #35
Thanks @mattressking, we have really enjoyed having the truck!
I don’t have kids either, so this was a little premature...but we do give people rides occasionally and it’s nice to know they are at least a little better protected.
Can’t wait to meet in person at SAS5!
I don’t have kids either, so this was a little premature...but we do give people rides occasionally and it’s nice to know they are at least a little better protected.
Can’t wait to meet in person at SAS5!
- Thread starter
- #36
Front Shackle Mount Damage - (June 2019)
After one of our trips, I was filling the power steering reservoir and seeing how bad the PS box leak was/is (spoiler alert – really bad!) when I happened to see that the mount for the front Driver's side shackle had completely cracked off!
In the above shot you can see a crack perpetuating down the frame!
I wonder how long I had driven it like this? From the coloring, it wasn't as fresh as the last trip we were on. Maybe I bought the truck like this? I have no idea...
I wasn't exactly sure how to fix this and I was worried about the hairline cracks in the frame, so I decided to put a few temporary reinforcement welds on the bracket and take the truck up to Torfab where they could fix it correctly. I'm gaining confidence in my welding and metal skills (by no means a pro in any stretch of the imagination)...but I think if this happened today, I would have the confidence and experience to fix it myself. That being said, I have no regrets taking it to Torfab because they did an excellent job and I have no doubt about the structural integrity of the bracket/frame.
---------> Next post: The Fix --------->
After one of our trips, I was filling the power steering reservoir and seeing how bad the PS box leak was/is (spoiler alert – really bad!) when I happened to see that the mount for the front Driver's side shackle had completely cracked off!
In the above shot you can see a crack perpetuating down the frame!
I wonder how long I had driven it like this? From the coloring, it wasn't as fresh as the last trip we were on. Maybe I bought the truck like this? I have no idea...
I wasn't exactly sure how to fix this and I was worried about the hairline cracks in the frame, so I decided to put a few temporary reinforcement welds on the bracket and take the truck up to Torfab where they could fix it correctly. I'm gaining confidence in my welding and metal skills (by no means a pro in any stretch of the imagination)...but I think if this happened today, I would have the confidence and experience to fix it myself. That being said, I have no regrets taking it to Torfab because they did an excellent job and I have no doubt about the structural integrity of the bracket/frame.
---------> Next post: The Fix --------->
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #37
Here's the work that was done at Torfab to fix the front shackle bracket. I have gotten to know Torfab's fabricator Josh pretty well over the last few years. He is super skilled and really has a great eye for detail...which is why I like working with him...I learn a lot!
First he pulled off the entire bracket to assess the damage to the frame.
After cleaning up the area, he found a few cracks. He ground them out and filled them before adding a new base-plate.
Torfab has an in-house plasma table, so Josh was able to draw up and cut a new base-plate for the bracket.
Finally the original shackle bracket was welded back on. I don't think this thing is going anywhere!
I don't have a picture of the final painted bracket, but it looks great and has been serving me well!
I should also mention that the welds for the bracket on the passenger side were starting to crack...we caught it in time and Josh was able to grind them out and re-weld the areas that looked suspect.
First he pulled off the entire bracket to assess the damage to the frame.
After cleaning up the area, he found a few cracks. He ground them out and filled them before adding a new base-plate.
Torfab has an in-house plasma table, so Josh was able to draw up and cut a new base-plate for the bracket.
Finally the original shackle bracket was welded back on. I don't think this thing is going anywhere!
I don't have a picture of the final painted bracket, but it looks great and has been serving me well!
I should also mention that the welds for the bracket on the passenger side were starting to crack...we caught it in time and Josh was able to grind them out and re-weld the areas that looked suspect.
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Rockymtnreaper
Colorado.Cruiser
I had the same failure on mine. Except I was 10 miles into a trail and an hour away from Moab. That was a scary drive back to town to get it welded.
- Thread starter
- #39
How did you notice there was an issue? Could you feel it in the steering or hear it clunking around?
I think I got lucky...i'm pretty sure mine was still just holding on by a thread in the front!
- Thread starter
- #40
Full Cooling System Refresh - (July 2019)
We were driving to Oregon to visit some family and I can't really remember why, but I plugged in my OBD II reader and noticed that the factory engine temp sensor was a lot higher than the speedhut temp sensor. The factory was sitting at 215F and the speedhut was around 185F. This was during highway driving.
The speedhut sensor is in the back of the passenger side head and the factory temp sensor is in the front of the driver side head.
Anyways - we ended up getting into some stop and go traffic and the factory temp sensor was starting to show 225F. I turned the heat on full blast and it came down a little, but then it got so hot in the car that the heater's circuit breaker tripped.
Right when I was about to pull over, traffic started moving again and the engine cooled back off to around 210F. Strangely enough, the speedhut sensor was always lower than the factory sensor, but in the stop and go traffic would climb at a higher rate than the factory sensor until it would almost come to the same temp as the factory sensor.
I thought about what could be causing this...Fan clutch seemed obvious because of the worse overheating while not moving, but I tested the fan clutch and it seemed to be working fine. Thermostat seemed like a good culprit too.
Since the truck had around 145K miles on it, I decided it was time for a full cooling system refresh.
The heater core valve had a very small leak since I had bought the truck. You can see it was turning green. It may have been the original...
I replaced it with a new one [Part #: 87240-90A00].
Later on, I replaced it again because I foolishly way over-tightened the living daylights out of the worm clamps and the new heater valve was crushed/leaking...but this time it was leaking at the heater valve and where the hoses connect to the heater core.
I decided I wanted to avoid the worm clamps and purchased the constant tension spring clamps for this size hose from Toyota [Part #: 90467-21010]. I have these clamps at the heater valve and heater core connections and so far there are no leaks!
This is the hose to attache the heater valve to the heater core - I had to trim it a little
Poor quality photo of constant tension hose clamps installed:
As I mentioned above, the heater core pipes were crushed because of the over tightening of the hose clamps and I had to figure out a way to get them round again. My dad is a plumber and uses Pex A (expansion style Pex) for his water pipe. I was able to take his expansion tool and very lightly re-round the heater core tubes. It worked amazingly well and they are back to being perfectly round
.
Below is the style of expansion tool I used...he also has a Milwaukee battery powered one that he uses for everyday use, but the manual tool is better for this application. You really want to be careful not to over stress the pipe and crack it!
Everything else installed pretty easily without any issues. I removed the radiator to give it a good flush and then spent a few hours cleaning the crap out of the fins. In retrospect, I should have just taken it to a radiator shop and had it boiled...
The temps came down to normal range after the system refresh. My temps at the factory sensor fluctuate between 195F and 208F depending on load and outside temperature, but it never really goes above that. The strange thing is that the speedhut sensor consistently sits around 180F unless we are sitting in traffic on a warm day. Then it slowly creeps up until it meets the temp of the factory sensor and they both sit around 205F. It must have to do with the different sensor placements in the heads. Maybe the speedhut sensor is getting the cooler water from the radiator in the back of the head and when its sitting in traffic on a hot day, the whole system is coming up to temp so the speedhut climbs to meet the factory gauge? just my best guess.
We were driving to Oregon to visit some family and I can't really remember why, but I plugged in my OBD II reader and noticed that the factory engine temp sensor was a lot higher than the speedhut temp sensor. The factory was sitting at 215F and the speedhut was around 185F. This was during highway driving.
The speedhut sensor is in the back of the passenger side head and the factory temp sensor is in the front of the driver side head.
Anyways - we ended up getting into some stop and go traffic and the factory temp sensor was starting to show 225F. I turned the heat on full blast and it came down a little, but then it got so hot in the car that the heater's circuit breaker tripped
.Right when I was about to pull over, traffic started moving again and the engine cooled back off to around 210F. Strangely enough, the speedhut sensor was always lower than the factory sensor, but in the stop and go traffic would climb at a higher rate than the factory sensor until it would almost come to the same temp as the factory sensor.
I thought about what could be causing this...Fan clutch seemed obvious because of the worse overheating while not moving, but I tested the fan clutch and it seemed to be working fine. Thermostat seemed like a good culprit too.
Since the truck had around 145K miles on it, I decided it was time for a full cooling system refresh.
- New Thermostat
- New Waterpump
- New Fan Clutch
- New Belts
- New Hoses
- New Heater valve
- Clean Radiator
- Flush System
- New Coolant
The heater core valve had a very small leak since I had bought the truck. You can see it was turning green. It may have been the original...
I replaced it with a new one [Part #: 87240-90A00].
Later on, I replaced it again because I foolishly way over-tightened the living daylights out of the worm clamps and the new heater valve was crushed/leaking...but this time it was leaking at the heater valve and where the hoses connect to the heater core
.I decided I wanted to avoid the worm clamps and purchased the constant tension spring clamps for this size hose from Toyota [Part #: 90467-21010]. I have these clamps at the heater valve and heater core connections and so far there are no leaks!
This is the hose to attache the heater valve to the heater core - I had to trim it a little
Poor quality photo of constant tension hose clamps installed:
As I mentioned above, the heater core pipes were crushed because of the over tightening of the hose clamps and I had to figure out a way to get them round again. My dad is a plumber and uses Pex A (expansion style Pex) for his water pipe. I was able to take his expansion tool and very lightly re-round the heater core tubes. It worked amazingly well and they are back to being perfectly round
.Below is the style of expansion tool I used...he also has a Milwaukee battery powered one that he uses for everyday use, but the manual tool is better for this application. You really want to be careful not to over stress the pipe and crack it!
Everything else installed pretty easily without any issues. I removed the radiator to give it a good flush and then spent a few hours cleaning the crap out of the fins. In retrospect, I should have just taken it to a radiator shop and had it boiled...
The temps came down to normal range after the system refresh. My temps at the factory sensor fluctuate between 195F and 208F depending on load and outside temperature, but it never really goes above that. The strange thing is that the speedhut sensor consistently sits around 180F unless we are sitting in traffic on a warm day. Then it slowly creeps up until it meets the temp of the factory sensor and they both sit around 205F. It must have to do with the different sensor placements in the heads. Maybe the speedhut sensor is getting the cooler water from the radiator in the back of the head and when its sitting in traffic on a hot day, the whole system is coming up to temp so the speedhut climbs to meet the factory gauge? just my best guess.
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