Brauski's LX470 Build "Linz" (2 Viewers)

[brauski]

Rang in the New Year with a roadtrip to Michigan. Took the roof rack off to try and gain some MPGs, it did get me an extra 1 or 2. First time driving Linz in the snow, that was a blast. Didn't get any pics as it was super early, I was super tired, and hungover. But here's a pic in some snow we got the other week in Mississippi (never thought I'd say that...).

However, the tensioner pulley bearing decided to commit suicide on hour 9 of my 14 hour roadtrip back.

It all kinda worked out. My roadtrip buddy decided he needed to piss early, and pulled over at a travel station. All the front spots were full so he parked at an empty pump like an a******. But I'm super stoked he did that. We were right under some great lights that really helped when working on it in the dark. After some quick trouble shooting after the belts made a terrible noise when trying to start the engine, I found a PILE of shredded belt in the vicinity of the alternator/tensioner pulley. Was worried it was the alternator, but I switched that recently. Jumped on here and youtube, did some sluething and figured it out. Grabbed my tools (glad I brought them), took the serpentine off, and sure enough everything spun free except the tensioner.

The local O'Reilly's had what we needed, but we had to find a way to get there. They weren't doing Uber/Lyft because of Covid, and it was BFE Kentucky, so no cab service. While I was working on the truck my bro was asking workers of the store if they could drive us, and straight asked one chick if we could borrow her car. She obviously declined, but pointed us to a older guy in the back who ran a low key 'cab service'. After some convincing he let's us jump in his beater Rav 4 (we're talking jammed screw drvier holding the drivers window half way up) and we're off. Great guy tho, actually lived in Mississippi and was AF too back in the day. As we're leaving the O'Reilly's, I check the parts against the receipts and the numbers aren't matching for the belt. The kid working the counter charged me for the correct one, but gave me a belt that was 6" too short the first time - shoulda been 882, not 822. Not catching that would have made the whole alot more entertaining for sure. Also, if you have spares, bring them. Murphy's Law clearly sets out that this would happen on the one trip where I left the extra serpentine belt at home...

She started right back up and after only like 1.5 hours, we were back on the road.

 

[brauski]

I was getting tired of the stock rims, and it was bothering me that the rims were all crappily plastidipped, besides the spare which was way brighter. Used the corona money round two to throw some new rims on. The KMCs on Tire Rack were hella cheap so I scooped them up. The tire shop down here took off my rear spacers, but left the front ones on...? Also didn't install the center caps correctly (not flush) so I had to go back and fix their work yesterday. But hey, I've yet to see any "skilled labor" down here. So now we're rocking no spacers - with just slightly more poke than I wanted. But I can live with it, just the slightest amount of rub at full lock.

I think they look better, but they're not exactly what I want. Maybe they'll look better when everything is clean or dirty instead of this weird hodge-podge. Also, peep the Cruiser Gear TEQ caps. Pretty stoked on those. They look great and should be harder to lose airing down. haha

 

[brauski]

Rolled thru 180k recently, so it was time for some service. Took it in to a local guy cause I didn't have the time to spend on the job. He had never worked on a 100 series, but had lots of experience with Tundras. Was telling me as I was paying about how he ensured he torqued everything to spec and has like 11 torque wrenches. He also left the truck parked inside during a 4 day ice storm. Big fan of the dude.

180k Service & Extras:
-All front ball joints replaced with 555
-TB/WP replaced with an AISIN 14pc kit
-Fan clutch bracket replaced
-Got some broken off bolts drilled out and tapped to prep for skid install
-Attempted to swap torsion bars for LC ones, but he said the back brackets are basically rust welded to the bars (In the future we'll just cut them off and get new brackets so we do the AHC lift)

Finally got the Dissent rear bumper and skids on. Looks like a different truck now. Ben does some great work. Struggled with some broken off bolts/clogged holes but we got it on there. As far as the skids, I found that the middle plate front hook needed to be cut down a bit to fit around the crossmember, and my chinese knockoff Ironman bumper required me to cutoff the excess aluminum outside the side holes on the front skid. Thing is solid, should provide some much needed protection.

Also, shout out to David over at Trekboxx, for helping me get the hardware I lost disassembling my Series Bravo. Also said that the guy I bought the drawers from had one of the first units and didn't exactly build or install it correctly. Apparently he installed the drawer slides upside down and bolted it down improperly resulting in some warping - which explains why one of the drawer slides doesn't feel 100%. I'll throw that on the list as a future job.

It's moving season, so unfortunately it's about time to throw the roof rack back on. After the move though, I may ditch the rack and RTT. The clean roof aesthetic is really growing on me...

 

[brauski]

Long time no post! Life’s been busy, but now I’ve got some time to update the thread. Mid last year I moved out to New Mexico, which has been amazing with the Rig. Took as much of the Trans-America Trail as I could on the drive west. That was phenomenal. The Ozarks were unbelievable!

Got to use the winch for the first time...

 

[brauski]

I’ve never had this much offroading so close to me, I love it out here in New Mexico. Everything from the high desert to 9k plus mountains. At the end of last year I took my best trip yet, went up to Silverton, CO and hit Engineer Pass on the way to Denver. Been tryna do that for years now. Wanted to hit more trails, but the snow had already started closing trails down.

 

[brauski]

I've needed to do some work recently after all the trips. The stock alternator couldn’t hang – It was quite erratic on the voltage produced, and sometimes would kick off under heavy load and low RPM. I only replaced the OEM about two years ago with a reman, but I’m guessing it didn’t love the water crossings. Went with a Pure Power 240amp from Tucson Alternator Exchange. This thing’s a beast. Had to get a smaller belt as it has a smaller pulley, but that gives me all the power I need at idle. Also went with the upgraded wiring. I’ve had zero issues electrically since. This was a mandatory upgrade as instead of running a second battery, I decided to hook up a Yeti 1500 for camping accessories.

Also on the Colorado trip, I noticed the power steering pump making a high pitch squeal, especially under load or near lock. Replaced it with a used one and it works like a charm now.

 

[brauski]

Finally got around to doing the AHC lift. Bought the 4x4 Japan AHC Shock spacers years ago, but finally was able to get the rest of the parts and install em. Went with LC TBs up front, have the King springs in the back (may need coil spacers for heavy trips), and found these awesome aftermarket SS AHC height sensor turnbuckles that won’t seize up like the OEMs. Looks nice with the new stance. Also took the time to put some Trail Tailor shock skids on, it’s rocky out here and they’re already kinda beat up. LCA skids will be installed when I can get some time.

Here's my new N position, big improvement.

Biggest thing though was something I noticed as soon as I got off the trails in CO. In left turns, below about 40, if I was neutral or decelerating, all the ABS would lock up. That made the next 10 hours of driving on that trip quite exciting to say the least. Time for some maintenance to address that. Turns out I had serious play in the rack, and the outer tie rods were pretty shot. I assume the rack bushings were dead too. Since I plan to own it for many years with big tires and got a Black Friday deal on the parts, I elected to replace the rack. New CVs too. Also redid two of the front diff bushings. That really helped with the thunk.

 

[brauski]

Linz is back from the shop, and she feels like a new rig! The clunk is gone, and all the play in the steering that made the truck feel 20 years old is gone. It's unreal.

Finally took some time to update the stickers, it's starting to become quite the collection. Left side is trips the rig has been on, right is the places I've lived with it. Stay tuned, later this year there's gonna be an Italian flag on the right side...