Builds Box Rocket 1995 FZJ80 Build (2 Viewers)

[Box Rocket]

I'm chasing a drivetrain vibration that showed up about a week ago. Started out as a vibration between 40-50mph. After a few days it started showing up between 70-80mph. I have pulled the rear driveshaft to check the ujoints (which are maybe 6 months old) and they feel tight and smooth. I greased the joints while it was out. But I didn't drive the truck with just the front shaft installed so that's the next step. Then plan to pull the front DC shaft and do the same things. It's a WitsEnd/Landtank DC shaft I purchased from a local guy that sold his 80 shortly after getting the shaft so it had never been installed. It has been on for the past year and I don't imagine the joints are bad but we'll see when I pull it off.

The only real worry is if the vibration ends up coming from the rear diff. That would suck.

 

[Dirty Koala]

I'm chasing a drivetrain vibration that showed up about a week ago. Started out as a vibration between 40-50mph. After a few days it started showing up between 70-80mph. I have pulled the rear driveshaft to check the ujoints (which are maybe 6 months old) and they feel tight and smooth. I greased the joints while it was out. But I didn't drive the truck with just the front shaft installed so that's the next step. Then plan to pull the front DC shaft and do the same things. It's a WitsEnd/Landtank DC shaft I purchased from a local guy that sold his 80 shortly after getting the shaft so it had never been installed. It has been on for the past year and I don't imagine the joints are bad but we'll see when I pull it off.

The only real worry is if the vibration ends up coming from the rear diff. That would suck.

On the bright side…a rear diff vibe is a better problem to have than a front diff vibe.

 

[Box Rocket]

On the bright side…a rear diff vibe is a better problem to have than a front diff vibe.

Is it?

 

[Dirty Koala]

Is it?

Don’t even need to remove your rear wheels…pull the shafts out, remove the 3rd….fix on bench. Front knuckles are much more involved.

 

[Box Rocket]

Yeah that’s true. I was thinking you meant the fixing of the diff itself was somehow easier.

 

[Box Rocket]

So the vibration turned out to be the front DC joint. One of the 2 joints is disintegrating. Kinda sucks because that driveshaft is only about 2 years old.

 

[DJCloz]

what brand or type of DC is that ?

 

[Feldrian]

So the vibration turned out to be the front DC joint. One of the 2 joints is disintegrating. Kinda sucks because that driveshaft is only about 2 years old.

Must be all the washing so your truck looks pretty

 

[Feldrian]

My DC will never wear out ... because I don't have an engine.

 

[Box Rocket]

what brand or type of DC is that ?

Was a Wits End/Landtank DC Shaft. But, to be fair, I bought it second hand. The guy told me it was new (it looked new) and he was selling it because he had sold his 80 before putting it on.

 

[megolfer]

Are they toyota parts of aftermarket

 

[Box Rocket]

Pretty sure the DC joint on these is from a Tacoma

 

[Corbet]

They are all pull outs from Tacomas and cut. The DC part is not new. I have the same in my truck.

 

[Box Rocket]

I got tired of the cheapo slip-on steering wheel covers but the original leather was trashed. So I got one of the leather covers from Loncky and recovered the wheel last night. One more piece to the transition to black interior. Black perforated leather with red stitching. Painted the airbag and column covers too.
Steering wheel cover by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Steering wheel cover by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Steering wheel cover by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Steering wheel cover by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Steering wheel cover by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Steering wheel cover by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Steering wheel cover by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Steering wheel cover by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Steering wheel cover by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

 

[Lumpskie]

Wow, that turned out great. I hear stories about how difficult it can be to install those leather steering wheel covers. Yours came out wrinkle free and even. Looks awesome.

 

[1973Guppie]

Wow, that turned out great. I hear stories about how difficult it can be to install those leather steering wheel covers. Yours came out wrinkle free and even. Looks awesome.

If you do it right it takes time and can mess up your hands. I agree it looks great with the red stitching! well done!

 

[sco00ter]

Hi Adam - Spent the last week and a half slowly reading my way through your thread. Amazing work documenting it all as I know it can be time consuming!

I'd love to hear your opinion about the wheel spacers you're using. So many advise against them for off-road use but they seem to be a great option for the exact reason you use it for - to have more wheel options to fit over the hub and to use center caps. You wheel quite a bit (which is awesome) so wondering if you've had any issues at all with the spacers from a strength/longevity perspective?

 

[Box Rocket]

Hi Adam - Spent the last week and a half slowly reading my way through your thread. Amazing work documenting it all as I know it can be time consuming!

I'd love to hear your opinion about the wheel spacers you're using. So many advise against them for off-road use but they seem to be a great option for the exact reason you use it for - to have more wheel options to fit over the hub and to use center caps. You wheel quite a bit (which is awesome) so wondering if you've had any issues at all with the spacers from a strength/longevity perspective?

Thanks for taking the time to go through the thread. Hopefully there was a little information that was helpful.

my opinion on wheel spacers is that as long as you use them correctly and the wheel studs aren’t damaged then you shouldn’t have any problems. I’m going on nearly a decade of running spacers without any issues.

my recommendation is to do a thorough inspection of your wheel studs and replace any of them that have any signs of wear or damage. This will get you started on the right foot with studs in good condition.

next it is important to torque the spacer nuts correctly (I do 85lb/ft) and use blue loctite. Then be sure to torque the wheel nuts properly as well to 85lb/ft.

typically you only see problems when any of the nuts (wheel nuts or spacer nuts) get loose and the wheel gets any sort of wobble and stresses those studs. Or issues can arise if the studs have been over torqued and stretched which can lead them to break under load. Avoid these two things and you should be pretty trouble free.

 

[Feldrian]

Thanks for taking the time to go through the thread. Hopefully there was a little information that was helpful.

my opinion on wheel spacers is that as long as you use them correctly and the wheel studs aren’t damaged then you shouldn’t have any problems. I’m going on nearly a decade of running spacers without any issues.

my recommendation is to do a thorough inspection of your wheel studs and replace any of them that have any signs of wear or damage. This will get you started on the right foot with studs in good condition.

next it is important to torque the spacer nuts correctly (I do 85lb/ft) and use blue loctite. Then be sure to torque the wheel nuts properly as well to 85lb/ft.

typically you only see problems when any of the nuts (wheel nuts or spacer nuts) get loose and the wheel gets any sort of wobble and stresses those studs. Or issues can arise if the studs have been over torqued and stretched which can lead them to break under load. Avoid these two things and you should be pretty trouble free.

I completely agree - Keep them torqued correctly an you'll have no issues. I usually recheck after first install after 500 miles and a few heat cycles. Not sure weather I've been lucky or diligent, but never had issued including years running 44s and 800+HP with a ton of quench cycles through water/ mud.

If you check StreetSpeed's YouTube channel he stacked 8x cheap spacers on each wheel and installed 44" boggers on a new TRX - flogged the hell out of it and never had any issues (at least not with the spacers). I've seen desert racers run spacers without incident as well. Pretty good endorsement in my mind.

(I'll stop hijacking Adam's thread now)

 

[White Sheep]

I got tired of the cheapo slip-on steering wheel covers but the original leather was trashed. So I got one of the leather covers from Loncky and recovered the wheel last night. One more piece to the transition to black interior. Black perforated leather with red stitching. Painted the airbag and column covers too.
Steering wheel cover by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Steering wheel cover by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Steering wheel cover by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Steering wheel cover by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Steering wheel cover by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Steering wheel cover by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Steering wheel cover by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Steering wheel cover by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Steering wheel cover by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

How long did it take to stitch the wheel. I think mine comes tomorrow.