brevitything's first yota - 98 LX470 black unicorn

[brevitything]

Dawn pic from the day of my Jeep ride/camping trip. The Hundy towed the Jeep very well. The 4.7L feels like it is working a little harder than the 5.3L in my Avalanche did, but it was no problem. All temperatures stayed in the normal range. Even with the high miles, I think that the engine in the Hundy feels tight somehow. I think it really liked pulling the Jeep, like some carbon was burned out of the engine. There are some steep grades down around Ross county in Ohio, primitive winding state routes. The 4.7L pulled very strong to the top of the ridge.

The factory Michelin spare was still slung underneath when I got the truck, so I dropped it down and inspected it. Hard hard rubber but it looks unused and had no blemishes. I aired it up to about 30psi and it seems to be holding fine. I strapped it down against the passenger side of the cargo area, and loaded all of my camping stuff in the LX. It was a life saver, I never would have fit all of my stuff in the Jeep.

Nice view crossing the creek in the Jeep that day.

 

[brevitything]

What exactly are 80 series rear springs?

Hey man! Yeah so I bought a set of used rear coil springs from an 80 series Land Cruiser, actually found them on the mud classifieds. They brought the truck up to about the same level that I had in "N" mode with the AHC, but it wasn't where I wanted it to be. The coil spacers did the trick.

 

[brevitything]

What did you use to cut the holes? A skilsaw?

Drastic measures but you won the battle!

Yeah I was a few inches off on the first cut, and had to take out more sheet metal to get access to the shock tower. I used 12"x12" plates as panel covers, so the floor is strong and happy. Thanks man!

 

[brevitything]

Did you measure twice?

On both sides?

Honestly I eyeballed it, grabbed my balls, grabbed my grinder and started cutting I may have measured on the second one...

 

[brevitything]

32" Super Swamper IROK ND radials rated E. 265/75r16, $135 each from 4WheelParts. I like!

 

[THEROK]

Unicorn no more

 

[brevitything]

I drove the LX470 to Moab UT and back in April, pulling my Jeep to EJS. Poor old 4.7 did a great job pulling the Jeep over Vail Pass.

I spent the weekend working on the truck instead of going on a trail ride in the Jeep. I guess it has been too long since I had some time to work in the garage. Work for the weekend:
-remove brush guard and install tow hooks - Done.
-assemble rolling toolbox with padded seat top - Done. Love it!
-remove driver's side front shock and install Ironman unit - Done.
-back off driver's side torsion bar - 7 turns so far.
-remove driver's side running board - Done.
-remove driver's side frame-mount AHC boat anchors - Done.
-replace transfer case speed sensor - Done. I destroyed the old sensor trying to remove it, my mechanic buddy suggested a slide hammer which worked great.

Remaining work:
-replace passenger front shock with Ironman unit.
-remove pass AHC components from frame
-back off pass side torsion bar (going for 1" to 1.5" lower than current)
-remove pass side running board
-figure out speedometer issue
-install Metaltech sliders