Builds Fix'n up the Land Cruiser.....

[TYM4FUN]

DC shaft in!

Well Monday came and so did the DC shaft from Landtank. Packaging could have been stronger as it was falling apart, but the DS looked to be in good shape. First I lubed up the joints, installed it, then torqued her down to 54lbs...After work today I will commute home and test this bad boy out.

 

[TYM4FUN]

DC shaft 1st impressions....

After commuting home and back to work today I would say that the DC shaft from AJIK fixed 90% of the grrrrr and vibrations. I was really hoping that it would fix the problem 100%, but it didn't. After reading through some old threads today I found that it might be necessary to measure my front dc angle and caster. Of course lift height will change both of these measurements, so I will wait until I get all of the permanent items I want installed on the LC before proceeding with fine tuning this. It is very liveable now though, where as before it was embarrassing....

Large heavy items to be installed later are, front bumper with winch, rear bumper with carrier, and another battery.

 

[Welltech]

I have come to the conclusion that I cannot live with the extra noise and vibration from the front drive shaft after installing the 4" lift. Hopefully to fix this problem, I will install a dc shaft I have ordered from AJIK Overland Exchange. I also purchased their PHH kit that contains an upgraded hose and constant torque clamps. They ship really fast, as I've already received their PHH kit.

Did you do the PHH yet? Also I need to do mine, I have seen lots of chatter on PHH options, why did you go wtih this one?

Thanks

Keith

 

[93yotasr5]

hells yes man. that thing is coming along nicely and rapidly!!!

 

[Azonic84]

Did you do the PHH yet? Also I need to do mine, I have seen lots of chatter on PHH options, why did you go wtih this one?

Thanks

Keith

PHH is not hard. Just time consuming.

 

[TYM4FUN]

Did you do the PHH yet? Also I need to do mine, I have seen lots of chatter on PHH options, why did you go wtih this one?

Thanks

Keith

Not yet, haven't found if you lose a lot of coolant when you change it. If so then I want to do a full drain and refill with Toyota coolant, but don't have any. Project isn't at the top of my list right now, so when I'm bored I'm going to do it.

I got the green striped hose and those clamps because it is an upgrade from OEM. Plus it is much cheaper than going with silicon hose, without loosing reliability.

The hose kit was on AJIK when I bought the DC shaft. Hose plus clamps was only $20....

 

[TYM4FUN]

hells yes man. that thing is coming along nicely and rapidly!!!

Thanks

 

[TYM4FUN]

CB Installation

After reading around and weighing my options, I have decided to mount a CB in place of my ashtray. I got the ashtray install instructions from Slee's website. It was really easy and straight forward. I routed my coaxial cable under the center console, under the drivers seat carpet (following existing wire channels) and down the left side under the sill plates (following the fuel door cable till the end). To power the radio I wired the pos. and neg. to the terminals that plug into the back side of the cigaret lighter. This made for a really clean install. Pictures of the CB and wire routing below. The products I found needed and purchased are as listed....

Uniden PRO520XL 40 Channel CB
4' FireStik II W/Tunable Tip - Black
25' CB Cable PL-259 50 ohm
SoCalFranks Antenna Mounts
K-4A FireStik Heavy Duty Stud Mount
FireStik Heavy Duty Stainless Steel Antenna Spring
90 Deg. Coaxial Connector (For the back of the CB)
SWR meter (for tuning the CB)

 

[TYM4FUN]

 

[TYM4FUN]

....

 

[countryslicker]

How do you get the wire from the inner fender near the bottle jack to the antennae mount?

 

[TYM4FUN]

How do you get the wire from the inner fender near the bottle jack to the antennae mount?

Still need to found out. UPS is taking for ever to deliver my antenna and related parts...Most, I think, just connect it up and let the cable squeeze between the hatch seals. Think I might ponder drilling a hole in the metal between the jack storage and the rear. For the hole, I would use a rubber grommet to run the cable through.

***EDIT--I have decided not to drill a hole in the rear pillar, and just run it through the hatch. This way I can just install the antenna when I go on a trail and tuck the cable in the side panel out of the way when I'm not. This also let's me still run through the automatic car wash.***

I will definitely post up pics of that as well.

 

[TYM4FUN]

Tuning CB with SWR Meter and Oil Change

Parts showed up yesterday and I finished wrapping up the antenna install. After everything was mounted I checked to make sure there was a good ground between the antenna mount and the chassis. The CB cable is only running between the rear hatch seals until I drill a hole in the D pillar.*To be edited in later...

Then after work I picked up a SWR Meter from Fry's Electronics to calibrate my setup. At first I was getting readings @ 2.5:1-2.8:1 as is, which is not good at all, according to FireStik's website. After I adjusted the antenna tip to be about 5/8" taller and ran the SWR test again. I was able to get exactly 1:0-1:1 on the meter across all channels!!

I have never installed or tuned one of these before, but according to FireStiks website, I was able to obtain calibrations that are just about perfect and well above the average install. There website was a wealth of information for me and very helpful.

Also changed the oil with Mobil1 synthetic and used a Toyo filter. (155k miles)

 

[1973Guppie]

looks good, like the cb install, never use that ashtray anyhow.....

 

[TYM4FUN]

Thanks. It was a great use of wasted space....

 

[TYM4FUN]

Road Trip!!

Finally got time to take the boys up to the snow and play a little. I was amazed at how planted the LC was on the snow and slushy stuff. Made our way to a quite snow park and got some sledding in on the way back down the road. Some pics....

 

[TYM4FUN]

Boys, myself and last pic on the way home....

 

[1973Guppie]

nice man! that's what it's all about, adventures with the family......

 

[TYM4FUN]

Yup, both the boys and I had a great day. They can't wait for the next time, and neither can I.... From all the stress I've had the past couple of weeks from changes at work, this was some great therapy.

 

[80seriesnut]

That first pic with the road going between the snow covered pine trees is just amazing! I would love to live somewhere like that.