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Heading back from a long road trip today when this happened (4 hours in):

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Never had a tire blow personally, but that looks nasty. Makes the wheel well look massive.

Good excuse to pick up some new tires guilt-free! Running on the spare for 2 hours and then picking up some KO2s when we pass through Louisville.
 
So it's been pretty busy lately. Haven't posted on here in a while.

Basically, bought some awesome new tires after the incident. Then did a full front end rebuild (unrelated to the incident) and a few other things. Again this forum came through as an absolute treasure trove of information. Couldn't have done it without the help of everyone on here. Thanks for passing on the knowledge!

I didn't realize how bad the LC was driving until I did the front end. Now it drives beautifully. In fact, we have a 2015 F150 FX4 Lariat and I actually prefer the LC. It's a really unique car and until you own one I don't think you'll understand. But by the same token, you need to be a masochist to own one - 100% a labor of love.

Anyways, here's Beto now:
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I'm taking a week off starting Oct 9th. Wife and I are heading up to southern Utah (probably) to explore the incredible parks (incredible looking, I guess. We've never been). Haven't had time to plan anything yet and I just found out that you need to book ahead on some of these things... White Rim Trail, for example. Just stumbled across that. Wow. Exactly the kind of trip I'm looking for. Except it's totally booked. Oh well. Might try a 1-day run of it. Or just see if cancellations come through last minute. We'll see. Probably going to try to run some trails around Moab. I saw that there is a group on the forum meeting up in Moab the weekend of the 9th so I may try to join them. Hit me up if you're going to be running any trails anytime between 10/11-10/17 in southern Utah area. Definitely interested in wheeling with others since I don't have much experience wheeling or with the area. For now just planning to find a few nice parks on google, drive over there (2 day drive...) and just enjoy the area.
 
Heading back from a long road trip today when this happened (4 hours in):

:(
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Never had a tire blow personally, but that looks nasty. Makes the wheel well look massive.

Good excuse to pick up some new tires guilt-free! Running on the spare for 2 hours and then picking up some KO2s when we pass through Louisville.

Was the tire old? I've never had a blowout like that either. How did the truck handle when that happened?

Also - if you are looking for other good trips from the Houston area, you should check out Padre Island National Seashore. That's my favorite weekend trip.
 
Was the tire old? I've never had a blowout like that either. How did the truck handle when that happened?

Also - if you are looking for other good trips from the Houston area, you should check out Padre Island National Seashore. That's my favorite weekend trip.
Not sure how old it was. It was on the cruiser when I bought it last year. It had loads of trend left though. I checked all the tires before heading our for the trip.

Thanks for the tip on Padre island. I'll add it to the list! I haven't heard of many nice trips nearby Houston so I'm always open to recommendations.

Edit: Forgot to answer about how it handled with the blow out. It handled fine. Didn't have any issues exiting the highway. Had to merge a few lanes too. Just firmly gripped the wheel and gently coasted to the side.
 
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Replaced the front wheel bearings today in preparation for a 2 week overlanding trip next week. Never done it before, but it was pretty simple. A bit messy though.

Frustratingly, the previous owner trashed the cone washers and then reused them! The PO replaced the cv axles right before I purchased it and clearly didn't know how to remove the cone washers. Looks like they just tried gnawing at them with a chisel or something. It was a serious pain getting them out, but luckily I was able too without doing any damage to the flange or hub.
Technical note: If you haven't had to remove these cone washers before, there are plenty of videos on it. Basically you just need to get a punch and tap (slam) on the bolts. You'll need to remove the nuts first of course and thread them so that they are about flush with the bolt (to protect the bolt threads). From the videos I watched it didn't seem like much effort was required, but since the PO trashed my cone washers I had to put a ton of force into it. I was using a 3 lb mallet and going to town. Two of the nuts are a bit tough to thread now, but otherwise to damage. Point is you may need to work for it but please don't deviate from the FSM method to remove cone washers... but if you do be a good person and replace them...

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Also took the opportunity to change my front brake pads. Some backstory, I changed the brake pads when I first bought the cruiser. It was my first "major" project (I know it's not very major, but I had never worked on a car before so it was major for me). Like an idiot I used some semi-metallic pads from Advanced Autoparts (Carquest Wearever Gold). Unless you wash your rims daily you'll have brake dust coating everything... Very frustrating. Thankfully I kept the previous pads as they still had tons of life (remember, I didn't know what I was doing, so I didn't think to measure them first and only replace if necessary.. I was gung-ho ready to get my hands dirty!). Double-thankfully the previous pads were OEM! Score. Still had 10 mm, so basically new... Felt dumb for replacing them in the first place, but at least I didn't throw them away!

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Since I live in an apartment I have to do all my maintenance in the parking structure. ~30 minutes into the wheel bearing work today I noticed some smoke. Pretty nasty car fire. I don't think anyone was in it, thankfully. I didn't hear any noise like you would in a crash (in my previous apartment I heard plenty of crashes and they make a lot of noise...) and nobody over there seemed to be panicking. Driver probably noticed smoke or even fire and just pulled to the side and bolted. Coincidentally, I had just done interior fire fighting training with the Houston Fire Department yesterday so it was really cool to see how the firefighters responded.
Cool scene to watch. There were a few loud bursts. I'm assuming it was the tires blowing out?
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Sleeper set up from the trip:
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Super simple, super cheap



Anyways, a few hundred miles after returning I started feeling sporadic grinding under my feet. Not a comforting sound. I figured it was the front left wheel bearing - maybe I didn't press one of them in fully? A quick inspection proved me wrong. Yikes! I replaced the lower shock bushings a few months ago. Not sure how the bolt failed, I torqued it per spec. Easiest troubleshooting I've had yet with this thing though, so I'm thankful for that!

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Ok. Pulled the trigger. The main frustration I've had with my cruiser since buying it two years ago was the heavy steering. I was told that the rack was replaced recently, which may have been true, but it was non-OEM and the steering was brutal - heavy and with play. I've since replaced literally everything in the power steering system short of the rack, bushings, and hoses. After a hiatus from major maintenance, I pulled the trigger on the final jobs: New hoses, new bushings, and a brand spanking new lexus OEM rack. Going to swap it in the next two weeks (posting here to make sure I actually do it in a timely fashion and don't postpone what many have attested to as a pain of a job). Hopefully I'll have positive results to post!

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Those interested in what I've tried so far can read this:
 
Ok. Pulled the trigger. The main frustration I've had with my cruiser since buying it two years ago was the heavy steering. I was told that the rack was replaced recently, which may have been true, but it was non-OEM and the steering was brutal - heavy and with play. I've since replaced literally everything in the power steering system short of the rack, bushings, and hoses. After a hiatus from major maintenance, I pulled the trigger on the final jobs: New hoses, new bushings, and a brand spanking new lexus OEM rack. Going to swap it in the next two weeks (posting here to make sure I actually do it in a timely fashion and don't postpone what many have attested to as a pain of a job). Hopefully I'll have positive results to post!

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Those interested in what I've tried so far can read this:

Yes, don't procrastinate on this one. It's only going to get hotter where we are. Easier to do the job without sweat dripping down into your eyes.
 
Replaced the steering rack, pressure hose, and return hose. Still heavy steering. I'm at a loss... I've replaced every part of the power steering system except the intermediate shafts, steering column, and clockspring. Not sure if there is anything else I can do at this point. Compared to my F150, the steering is heavy. Compared to another 100 series I've driven (GCC model though), steering is heavy. What could it be? I am running 285/75r16s, which are large and heavy, but when I bought this cruiser it had stock sized tires and steering was just as heavy (I remember because I asked the person who sold it to me and they said that's just how these cruisers are). From what I've read on the forum though, it should be a breeze to turn.

So I'm about $1,000 deep in parts now and no change to steering. My only (minor) consolation is at least I have a bunch of new OEM components to last another 20 years...

@flintknapper for what it's worth, procrastinating would've been worse but even doing the job in June the heat was brutal!
 
While I was working on the steering rack I decided to refinish and rewrap the steering wheel. Nearly done. Just need to spray the clear and sew the leather.

Before:
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After about 7 overnight applications of citristrip. I strongly recommend you find a better stripper... I hadn't used a clear coat stripper before so I went with a mild one in case it would damage the veneer. No damage, but took ages to get it all off. Veneer looks pretty good though!

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Finished re-wrapping the leather. What a horrible project. I've done a lot of frustrating projects on the LX and this was definitely the worst (worse than no. 2 LCA bushing). I hate arts and crafts... But it's done now and I have a usable steering wheel! Probably need to inject some glue into the leather on the spokes to flatten the wrinkles, but that'll be easy.

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Also swapped out the front diff bushings this weekend. Shifting clunk gone! What a joy it is with the right tools. Air chisels and impact wrenches are beautiful things. Replacing LCA/UCA bushings took me 3 days of sweat and swearing without those tools. But with them, I had all 5 bushings replaced in under 2 hours. I'd go so far as to say it was enjoyable.

Quite a bit of sag in this one. Glad I replaced it.
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I don't have a press, so I had to get creative with removing the bushings. Used a similar set up to what people do on the LCA bushings. Used a 12" piece of 1/2" all thread to get it out (forgot to get a pic) and then used a ball joint press to press the new one in. It was a breeze with an impact. Felt guilty shelling out a couple hundred for the Milwaukee mid torque impact wrench but wow what a tool. Feels like I'm cheating.
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Parts from CruiserTeq. Great set with all you need.. $92 shipped. No brainer.
 
Finished re-wrapping the leather. What a horrible project. I've done a lot of frustrating projects on the LX and this was definitely the worst (worse than no. 2 LCA bushing). I hate arts and crafts... But it's done now and I have a usable steering wheel! Probably need to inject some glue into the leather on the spokes to flatten the wrinkles, but that'll be easy.

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What 'color' is that? Looks to be a reasonable match.
 
What 'color' is that? Looks to be a reasonable match.
It says "Fudge" on the back of the leather. I just went to a local leather shop with good reviews and found a good match in their scrap pile. It was closer than I expected to get without much effort.
 
Struggled with brakes for a while. Kept having a mushy pedal. Thought it was the MC. Replaced it. No change. Also got ABS/VSC/etc lights on the instrument panel every so often at traffic lights. Replaced the battery since it was old and many people say that a weak battery can lead to ABS issues. That seemed to help a lot. Curiously (and unrelated-ly), the new battery restored the audible beeping when you turn the car on. I always wondered why mine was silent. Strange though.

Turns out it just needed a better air bleed. I used the techstream ABS bleed method and that did the trick. Only problem was now the brake pedal was losing pressure as I held it. Then one day I had no brakes... That was a scary drive home! Luckily I was close. Come to find out it was an easy fix - just a loose bleeder screw! Everyone is so quick to warn you not to overtighten. Well, be sure not to undertighten as well! It also explains why my wheel paint was peeling... I figured it was just shoddy spray paint losing the battle to the Texas heat (even though it was the only wheel doing it... hindsight 2020). Did a number on the caliper paint as well.
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Anyways, now my brake pedal feels rock solid!
 
Another issue I ran into recently... It was a Sunday night and Houston was getting hammered by a strong thunderstorm. I woke up at 3 am to the sound of a car horn blaring. It wasn't the panic alarm noise, but the actual horn. I ran out to the driveway thinking maybe some miscreant was making a move on my vehicles. Not seeing anything, and about half deaf from the screaming horn, I unplugged the LX's battery and left it till the morning. To my delight (not), I found the driver's kick panel area and carpet flooded. First thing I checked was the obvious - clogged sunroof drains. And yup, that was it. Standing water still up there. At least it was an easy fix. Probably should add a thread about "Unclogging sunroof drains" to the list of to-do-FAQs on baselining these cruisers. Super simple and it will save you a frantic 3 am wake up call (oddly enough, a quick search of this forum shows that almost every time the horn short circuits like this it presents itself at 3 am).

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