Build el bandito rojo

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Nice score on the parts. 👍 I'm with you on supporting local business, up to a point. A little more money for the convenience is ok but I have my limits.

The reason the column clam shells break here in AZ is because they get so brittle that they just crumble. All of the ones I've had were found on the floor one day. The columns inside that the screws go into are usually the first to fail and the outer surface "looks" ok. I usually patch it together for a while with a plastic straw filled with JB Weld to replace the broken off posts. All the screw bosses will have a bunch of radial cracks around the screw holes. You'll find your screws on the floor and wonder where they came from. Mystery solved....for my climate anyway.
 
guess it's been a minute 😂
I've been in a holding pattern waiting for this property sale, so I've been trying not to really blow money on this turd.

today shyt motor mounts sent the fan into the shroud. in reality i should have been all over this earlier but such is life. not like this thing is making hp or anything. mashing speed bumps too hard finished things.
local shop had replacement parts. blew this out pretty quick with minimal cussing

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i also have a new headlight harness to install. Paraguay has a law about headlights and the wiring is questionable at best. i don't really like unnecessary convos with jackboots. this should remedy any chance of said encounter.
probably will pick up a light bar as well.
 
i added the headlight harness but it really didn't help much. kind of thinking these reflectors just suck aşş.

broke down and did my first real "mod" 😂

hella black magic 20" 100w bar. i just wired this parallel with the high beams so I didn't have to run anything into the cab. all just tucked underhood next to the headlight harness.

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I tried doing upgraded wiring harness and new parts store 5x7’s in an old F250 and they still light up the road like sh!t. The only real upgrade anymore is Hellas or going to projector retrofits/HIDs it seems like
 
Mudder said:
I tried doing upgraded wiring harness and new parts store 5x7’s in an old F250 and they still light up the road like sh!t. The only real upgrade anymore is Hellas or going to projector retrofits/HIDs it seems like
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idk. my 89 is fine with old skool sealed beams. i just cranked the adjustment up a bit and they are good enough. i do still have a 100w bar on it but didn't really use it much on road.
these are h4 drop ins. they are depo brand reflectors, and they just throw a shyt pattern. some of the surfs here use an oe kioto reflector. i might try a set of those at some point.
my 2000 used to eat drop ins every year. to say that im less than impressed with this style of bulb would be a vast overstatement. imo they are absolute garbage.

just took this bar for a drive to check adjustment and its exactly what i was looking for.
 
The patterns has been my biggest issue and I tend to notice a s*** pattern with the seal beams that are considered the "brighter" ones. They also were tiny little squares even with upgraded wiring harnesses which is why I did the HID kit on my 84.
 
truck came home on the hook last night. left wife stranded.
i've been slacking on some repairs. been chasing a charging issue that I waz pretty sure was the alternator lead. you can see super crusty. even sourced another alternator 😂
ya, turns out the last idiot limp dicked the crank pulley...
pretty sure the crank will clean up. everything else is getting replaced.

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i got the key out.
i started yesterday playing with the alternator situation. my "new" alternator failed the bench test. old unit testing ok.
i had to cut the positive post off my old part to get it opened. i ended up just robbing the stud and brushes from the new part. i will take this other unit for service.
now im just trying to source parts. not really holding my breath on the local Toyota dealership.
trying to find a pulley and cover local so i don't have to eat a grip of shipping

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today I put this back together. was slow because of being my first time being this deep.
i scored a good used pulley, timing gear, keys and plastic cover. i changed the tensioner and regreased the other tbelt idler. new crank seal.
i modded another crank pulley bolt to work here.

it appears the root cause of the problem was the incorrect pulley bolt. it looks like it was bottoming out the threads before clamping the pulley properly. the bolt shown had the stock 5mm washer with another pos stacked. there was also another piece of something living between the pulley and timing gear that didn't belong there.

new bolt was installed with copious amounts of loctite 😂

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aztoyman said:
You were fortunate that it wasn't FUBAR and I'm glad you got it going again. So......Are you going to be "THE" Toyota tech down there?
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i was lucky for sure. im in this job about 220$ not counting the tcase stuff. that worked out to be about the same $.
guy i bought the used stuff from, delivered too. that was a huge help
i just want to do clean work. i understand getting stuff here can be challenging but these type of repair fumbles are pretty bad.
the tcase/driveshaft bit is super obnoxious too, considering how many of these things are down here. especially beat azz old surfs.

either way, wife drove it and said it feels better than before. idk. i think its just happiness it's back😂
i didn't notice any less noise or vibration in the driveway 😂
 
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