Builds Fixing up “The big Ox” (1 Viewer)

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Some more smalls out of the way while I still wait on a few front end parts....
- A/T P light come on when in park. thought I screwed something up. Figured out it was the transfer case left in neutral.
-Got sick of the lower bolt on the steel up tube off the PHH and cut it off. Knicked it a bit and it leaks. Another part on the way from UAE. All good, flushing coolant a few times anyway.
- changed up the engine oil and first time ever using Toyota filter... bonus is it comes with a new washer. Worth it for that alone.
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- another part came super fast from UAE. Heater valve swapped out.
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Always hated the orange marker lights. Tried EBAY knockoff’s years ago and they turned yellow and looked worse. Saw a member here post, I think Europe spec white marker OEM markers so going in for round two. Always heard they were discontinued here. Expecting these to be temp as I have different lights in mind but it’s likely years out and a lot of fab work.
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Week of doing shiat twice. I was hoping to wrap things up and get some adjustments made in the shocks and look at the bumpstop and rubbing, but hit a few snags.
Tom woods, rear standard shaft with new OEM bolts on the rear.
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cleaned up the rear and added the Dobinson VT springs, Delta panhard relocate, adjusted the parking brake so it slows a bit but hardly what I would like to see, added new OEM calipers and painted red for now, to match the fronts until I can find a Wilwood rear solution. The rear adjustable panhard was a mofo to adjust, had to break out the pipe wrenched and torch, thinking I might have never painter the DIY bars when I put them back on. Landtank lower arms finally on. rear end far from as clean as the front but may yank the rearend and clean it up a bit better if/ when I do the calipers or LSVP. For now cleaned it up as well as possible and gave it a fresh coat of paint.
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30MM sway bar and LCP heavy duty swaybar drops on now(Phil should offer this in black or cheaper raw steel, the yellow zinc looks like s*&t and doesn't paint well
LOL) Overall they feel solid tho. Hit a huge snag on the right lower shock mount, bolt was toast and basically fell off, started digging in and was working to drill and tap a new bolt and had a great idea to try to back the bolt out and snapped off the fricken back out hardened tool inside. Ordered up some M12 and M14 studs and going the welding route and if a fail there I'll have to grind the mount out and start over.
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110 sector shaft rebuild complete, after 2 attempts, shaft seal got mangled and leaked so pulled it all back out. Need to adjust the steering wheel a bit but other than that everything feels good. Same Amsoil ATF as the tranny will get. Flushed like 4 times and still a bit dark but much better.
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Ordered the upper metal tube for the PHH, more of the compression clamps from Mcmaster Carr, did the PHH a second time. Lower bolt never put back so much easier on round two. No pictures so the PHH can f&*k off. 70/30 red Toyota mix in the radiator.
 
Overall pretty happy with things but without the front swaybar on and mounts welded up and missing a rear shock it drove well, just really soft but expected until I can wrap it up. Back seems a little lower than the front but again, once the shock is on I'm not even going to sweat it. Drove well, no fluid leaks. Also, a reminder I need to adjust the front panhard bar. I have a 1" offset from the lift and left side tire rub with no rub on the right(inner fender), was hoping to dodge this and may go another 1/2" body or spacers. Any luck we can go play a little and check rubbing and clearance by next weekend.
 
Finished the 1445/145 Dobinsons MRR combo. I have rubbing on the front left inner fender still but not as bad. Going to need to make a decision on this and figure it out. No rub front right Not sure why the difference, Pan-hard was adjusted and only off 1/8". I found a local shop to get the alignment done and see if we come across anything, They seem to be big Toyota and cruiser shop so pretty excited about that. May ask if they see anything stand out on the rub.
So about 4" overall but seeing more sag in the rear than I would like, especially with the heavy a$$ spare, and have a ways to go on added weight. Center hub to fender measurements,
LR-24
RR-24 1/4
FR-24 3/4
FL-24 1/2
Rear pan-hard adjusted and spot on.
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The rear cleaned up and all together. Just need to keep playing with the shock adjustments and check bump stop numbers and work on that. Front is adjusting the hydros down likely. Rear is TBD once I get some good numbers.
Not sure I like the SLEE rear locker cover. It protects the locker well but exposes the electrical connections. May cut the original shield and put them both back on.
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Right rear shock was a success, so far.... First time ever welding my own screw-up, went the stick weld route on shock mount and upgraded landtank front mounts. Ended up welding a stainless rod with a metric thread to the mount I cut back a bit. Good feeling welding a fix to my own vehicle. Lots of grinding after the fact to smooth out the shaft but worked very well.
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Flushed the transmission with 3 gallons of ATF, it was pretty dark.
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LP9 lights on. Right side super tight with the winch controller but it all tucked in. Working on the wiring this week and hope to have the switch pro up and running.
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Decided to try the Delta switch pro firewall mount. It is above the engine but off to the cooler side. Spent a few hours prepping the wiring and assembling. For now I will go with the ash tray board mount Wit's end offers until I dive into the interior. A lot more prep going into this mount than I realized. should be a nice clean setup when done though.
I dropped the ball on moving the charcoal canister so have to come up with a temp solution for some temp hefty terminal strip mounting I want to run some major accessories through. At some point I hope to open up the ABS and canister location to route some electronics a little cleaner.
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Chasing more rubbing issues on a new dock I found down town. The heavy duty land tank lower arms seem to cause some rear rubbing issues now. This is with front sway bar's still attached. Need to check the rear angles and hopefully pull the upper arms in a bit. Also need to do some more measurements on the lift. The rear seems a bit low but maybe I'm used to the stinkbug. Front is great on clearance minus the rear inner rub. Alignment check coming Friday and hope to have some better answers on how things are looking and possibly getting another 1/2" of lift to better clear. With this rub I'm looking at a 7" bumpstop I don't see happening. Much closer to the rear bumper than I would like to be also.
This is the left rear where the big pat pig spare is so hopefully I can space the springs and clear a bit better if needed. Looks like I missed a spot on the wax job :hillbilly: Good for checking rub marks....
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Winch wired up and working but need to look into a disconnect or fuse for this. Not sure I’m a fan of something never used being hardwired. While in there cleaned up the fusible link, starter wire re-lugged and added some heavy terminal strips for the larger accessory connections.
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Saw another mud member add a (what I think was) door switch to the aftermarket alarm hood switch. Ordered one up to clean up the crappy switch they used. Used an existing bolt and trimmed and shimmed it up a bit. It's a simple ground disconnect switch. Worked perfect.
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Switch pro in and fully wired, Still need to add stickers on the switch and program it but want to make sure I like where everything is laid out. Added the LP9's and squadron lights. The Delta mount works great and was well thought out. Lets hope the heat is a non issue. I believe the app monitors heat on the unit so I will watch it.
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Got the alignment done Friday and unfortunately the Caster is looking out of spec a bit with the 144/145 VT combo. It also shows the right side worse which reflects the slightly higher lift I got somehow on that side I believe. Need to loosen up everything down under and re- torque. Reached out to Dave @Delta VS to see about swapping out the 4" arms to the new 5L arms they now released if it makes sense. Also, still have the inner fender front tire rub going on so this seems like the perfect fit. I have to weigh the 80 front/ rear yet to get final numbers but until something is done with the motor I'm about done upfront weight wise. The rears have a bit to go and I'm a little worried about the weight and the VT's. Suppose there is always SLEE down the road for the rears which seems to be a good solution.
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after:
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Winch wired up and working but need to look into a disconnect or fuse for this. Not sure I’m a fan of something never used being hardwired. While in there cleaned up the fusible link, starter wire re-lugged and added some heavy terminal strips for the larger accessory connections.
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Saw another mud member add a (what I think was) door switch to the aftermarket alarm hood switch. Ordered one up to clean up the crappy switch they used. Used an existing bolt and trimmed and shimmed it up a bit. It's a simple ground disconnect switch. Worked perfect.
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Switch pro in and fully wired, Still need to add stickers on the switch and program it but want to make sure I like where everything is laid out. Added the LP9's and squadron lights. The Delta mount works great and was well thought out. Lets hope the heat is a non issue. I believe the app monitors heat on the unit so I will watch it.
View attachment 2729005Got the alignment done Friday and unfortunately the Caster is looking out of spec a bit with the 144/145 VT combo. It also shows the right side worse which reflects the slightly higher lift I got somehow on that side I believe. Need to loosen up everything down under and re- torque. Reached out to Dave @Delta VS to see about swapping out the 4" arms to the new 5L arms they now released if it makes sense. Also, still have the inner fender front tire rub going on so this seems like the perfect fit. I have to weigh the 80 front/ rear yet to get final numbers but until something is done with the motor I'm about done upfront weight wise. The rears have a bit to go and I'm a little worried about the weight and the VT's. Suppose there is always SLEE down the road for the rears which seems to be a good solution.
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Have spent a lot of time monitoring the SP temp in 100+ degree weather. Have never seen it above 125*F (it's rated for 125C, way over double what we've seen). If it was mounted on the other side (over the exhaust), could see an issue, but haven't seen anything here yet.
 
Took a two week break and went to play without the 80 this time unfortunately. Side by sides are a blast but not the same as the 80 and dirt bike. Missed it.
Little Taylor part and Lake city fun. The picture with 30 or so UTV's was American flag mountain. Usually I see 2-3 if that. That weekend was easily pushing 30+. Unbelievable.
Wish I could load the Polaris on the roof rack but not happening LOL.
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skidding on the belly down the "WALL"
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Made a couple more orders, tested the 6 pound propane tank. Overall weight is 15lbs. May have to get 2-3 for long weekends. Love it so far, paired up with a Delta mount(small) but was in between sizes unfortunately. Worked great but had to drill the latch pin holes out to work.
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Another weekend adventure and still needing to do some trimming and bump stops so keeping it mellow why I wait for a few more parts in the works. Love the TOYO's! Aired down and worked great and realized I cant air up so wired up the old compressor I disconnected until a new one arrives later this year. Oversized #10 wire to the Switch pro. Slowly taking the dash out of the 90's LOL. 7min per tire air up. Hope to improve this quite a bit.
LP quick disconnects worked OK but not a fan of crawling under the 80 to mess with it. May just leave it connected until I get the flex and bump stops sorted.
Programmed the amber lights on the LP9's to come on with ignition. No dice on lockout feature for high/ low so have to do a bit of rewiring to the LP9's and Switch Pro.
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turned the Delta front bumper into a vodka Cranberry table..
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OEM fusible link not looking to bad but now a spare. Replaced with a new link, added no-ox and landed on the external bus I added.
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Added one ram mount for the phone to the wit’s end mount, a new hardwired dual usb and iPhone chargers. Mount works ok so will likely order the second. Much cleaner wiring than cigarette lighter charger. Wired to the switch-pros and set to battery to operate manually when I want.
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started to wire some KC round lights to the engine bay but not feeling it and will likely go BD LED dome lights there. Yanked the mid and rear seat belts and the lights mount to the upper location perfect with oem bolt. Mocked it up to see if I like them before I wire them in and counter sing the bolts. Will use a dimmer and looking for a good mount location. Use will be mostly for sleeping in cab.
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Per Baja Design you can run the high/ low on the LP9’s at the same time. I probably should have done a bit more research on what the lights come with and made my own wiring harness for free and a bit of a step up in quality but oh well live and learn. After reaching out a few times I got a wiring schematic to use the Bosch relay they provided with the kit I got with Delta. I pulled the harness apart and temp wired as suggested. I assumed the lows wouldn’t come on when using the relay but apparently on high both still light up it just cuts the low feed voltage. I realized this after just cutting the relay out and wiring to the SP direct when I saw no change with the light output. Should have done a voltage test. Oh well, it dumped the relay out by the Charcoal canister And this area is still a bit busier than I want. Direct wire it is…
Test on a wall tonight. Not sure this shows well but the highs are crazy bright and as everyone knows the OEM lows absolutely suck… it’s hard to drive with them after lighting it all up.
OEM low-really suck
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OEM high- still suck
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Squadron lights- much better
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LP9 low- Damn nice
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LP9 high- KA FAWKING POW. Not sure how often I will use them but damn, they light EVERYTHING UP.
side note, amber lighting, lower LP9, set with ignition on, just because they look cool...
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Started to mock up a mount for the under carriage charcoal canister(this thing is huge). Decided on the driver side rear area tucked out of the way. There is a nice spot over the frame and above the Delta rear bumper it going to call home to leave room for possible air tank or water storage in the main area.
I have to figure out what ports are for what on the CC. Looks to be gas tank far left(picture of gas pump), when blowing on the inlet the tube next to it seems to have path of least resistance(labeled”2”)so assume this feeds the engine and far right I’m guessing is vent( no label). May have to hit up @TYM4FUN to see what he came up with. Took a peak at the existing hoses and it seems extremely simple to swap over with no major mods whatsoever. Have a great vent location close by so works perfect.
Parts pulled from most recent GM truck with LT1 6.2 variant, to match up when, not if I get one in.
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Disconnect some wiring and will re-route over the top:
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This is out of site so figured WTF, going to try to fab something up on the cheap. Existing hitch bracket will work well and use two existing thread mounts on the frame. Absolutely no changes to the 80 physically.
pre hack:
84113689Vapor Canister Bracket
84050713Vapor Canister
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brackets on hand mocked up:
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Pulled out the cardboard to fit the rear mount and I’m pretty happy with the fit:
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Started to mock up a mount for the under carriage charcoal canister(this thing is huge). Decided on the driver side rear area tucked out of the way. There is a nice spot over the frame and above the Delta rear bumper it going to call home to leave room for possible air tank or water storage in the main area.
I have to figure out what ports are for what on the CC. Looks to be gas tank far left(picture of gas pump), when blowing on the inlet the tube next to it seems to have path of least resistance(labeled”2”)so assume this feeds the engine and far right I’m guessing is vent( no label). May have to hit up @TYM4FUN to see what he came up with. Took a peak at the existing hoses and it seems extremely simple to swap over with no major mods whatsoever. Have a great vent location close by so works perfect.
Disconnect some wiring and will re-route over the top:
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This is out of site so figured WTF, going to try to fab something up on the cheap. Existing hitch bracket will work well and use two existing thread mounts on the frame. Absolutely no changes to the 80 physically.
pre hack:
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brackets on hand mocked up:
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Pulled out the cardboard to fit the rear mount and I’m pretty happy with the fit:
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Nice! I messed with putting it there as well. Still might if it ever impedes anything later where I have mine. For your canister- rear bumper hole goes to tank, middle is purge, and forward by bracket is vent.
 
Started to mock up a mount for the under carriage charcoal canister(this thing is huge). Decided on the driver side rear area tucked out of the way. There is a nice spot over the frame and above the Delta rear bumper it going to call home to leave room for possible air tank or water storage in the main area.
I have to figure out what ports are for what on the CC. Looks to be gas tank far left(picture of gas pump), when blowing on the inlet the tube next to it seems to have path of least resistance(labeled”2”)so assume this feeds the engine and far right I’m guessing is vent( no label). May have to hit up @TYM4FUN to see what he came up with. Took a peak at the existing hoses and it seems extremely simple to swap over with no major mods whatsoever. Have a great vent location close by so works perfect.
Disconnect some wiring and will re-route over the top:
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View attachment 2760130View attachment 2760131
This is out of site so figured WTF, going to try to fab something up on the cheap. Existing hitch bracket will work well and use two existing thread mounts on the frame. Absolutely no changes to the 80 physically.
pre hack:
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brackets on hand mocked up:
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Pulled out the cardboard to fit the rear mount and I’m pretty happy with the fit:
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hey nice tool roll
 
hey nice tool roll
LOL, your timing is good. I went to pull the trigger on a couple and you guys just happened to get this last batch in stock... I packed a whole tool box of tools into that poor sucker. I cant quite get it closed and rolled all the way but its amazing how much it holds! So far seems built really well and getting a lot of use, as I'm trying to use only tools out of the bag as I go to make sure I have enough on hand when I need them. Good product! I especially love it doesn't rattle and clank constantly..
 
OEM fusible link not looking to bad but now a spare. Replaced with a new link, added no-ox and landed on the external bus I added.
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Added one ram mount for the phone to the wit’s end mount, a new hardwired dual usb and iPhone chargers. Mount works ok so will likely order the second. Much cleaner wiring than cigarette lighter charger. Wired to the switch-pros and set to battery to operate manually when I want.

started to wire some KC round lights to the engine bay but not feeling it and will likely go BD LED dome lights there. Yanked the mid and rear seat belts and the lights mount to the upper location perfect with oem bolt. Mocked it up to see if I like them before I wire them in and counter sing the bolts. Will use a dimmer and looking for a good mount location. Use will be mostly for sleeping in cab.
Where did you get your electrical mounts? I have too much stuff on the battery.
 
Where did you get your electrical mounts? I have too much stuff on the battery.
Amazon. Mounted to the battery box well. Little cheap for my liking but get the job done and clean up the battery posts well. You can find on marine supply sites also.

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While I'm getting the charcoal canister sorted and parts ordered, moving on to a few other things.
Ordered up the rear Timbren off road bumpstops. I figured I needed ~7" on the rear which seemed like too much, but after checking the rear flex I may need to add their 1" puck. It just tucked up and seemed to slightly rub, which I can trim a bit more flare, but I think the shock just bottomed out when the bumpstop came to full compression.
Debating adding the 1" body lift yet, or even mill it to 1/2" but want to sort a few more things out before I move forward.
Also considering fabing up an upper shock mount 1" rise, I have seen these before but find it odd no one has any available. Unfortunately the 4"-6" rear is too tall for the 3" VT's(4" overall lift). Another 1" spacer on the suspension would also solve this issue but I'm still leaning to the body just from the additional benefits I can get, With these few adjustments I think I can get more stuff, Not sweating it yet as this will be no rock crawler.
Also added the SLEE 2" rear bumpstop to get the 7" I needed.

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Full stuff showing the bumpstop. Man these things must be bullet proof with the abuse they can take. Now I see this I need to double check the spring perch mount and make sure they don't hit. I think it cleared but looks close from that angle.

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Slight rub on the Delta rear now with the beefy Landtank lower arms. Bummed on this. May have to find an alternate lower arm but can live with the slight rub for now until I go another 1/2" -1" to the 4" I have now. Possibly can adjust the bumper slightly out as well. Big fat 13.5's causing a few issues as expected.
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15MM Dobinson spacer added to the left rear to sort the left side sag from the 140lb spare, fuel tank, battery and me....
On a bit of a slope but just about perfect. Measured all 4 corners from the seam on the lower body to ground and within 3/16" all around at ~2'. I want a level stance so easier to measure here than center hub to flare. Likely go air bag helpers at some point so want the level stance.

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