Builds Gerry's Build thread: "If it happens again I'm buying an Abrams" (5 Viewers)

[MongooseGA]

Tires are back on the ground, LC t-bars have been leveled side to side, and she got an alignment this afternoon.

Driveline clunk is much better, though not perfect. At this point, all bushings are new (suspension and diff), both drive shafts are new, axles are new, axle flanges are new. I don't think there's really much more potential to remedy this. Old truck life. Driveline vibration is reduced as well, but not gone. Again, I may be nearing the end of what I can mess with without really digging in to nitty gritty. My alignment guy also adjusted my rear trailing arms to straighten the axle relative to the frame. One side was slightly forward of the other, about 1 turn of the Jonny Joint, I believe.

The LC t-bars are definitely softer than the Tough Dogs I took out, but I don't dislike it. I can actually feel the front shocks doing their jobs now, and the front end feels overall nicer. It is more floaty, and the front sway bar delete is more noticeable. Not positive if I'll keep these in or not, but for now I'm not regretting putting them in.

LCA bushings were a pain, I haven't heard back from SuperPro about them yet. Doing the PS was much, much faster than the DS once I had a strategy and familiarity. I could probably do it all again in one full day.

Rack bushings suck. **** those.

Just for my records, this is what I replaced:

Rack bushings with SuperPro Poly
LCA bushings wit SuperPro Poly
UCA bushings with SPC X-axis bushings(came in the arms originally, but 100k wore 'em out)
TREs with OEM from Toyota
CVs with OEM from Toyota
Axle flanges with OEM from Toyota
Front drive shaft with OEM from Toyota
Torsion bars, used OEM Toyota

Mileage is 336,3xx.

 

[7toy9]

Tires are back on the ground, LC t-bars have been leveled side to side, and she got an alignment this afternoon.

Driveline clunk is much better, though not perfect. At this point, all bushings are new (suspension and diff), both drive shafts are new, axles are new, axle flanges are new. I don't think there's really much more potential to remedy this. Old truck life. Driveline vibration is reduced as well, but not gone. Again, I may be nearing the end of what I can mess with without really digging in to nitty gritty. My alignment guy also adjusted my rear trailing arms to straighten the axle relative to the frame. One side was slightly forward of the other, about 1 turn of the Jonny Joint, I believe.

The LC t-bars are definitely softer than the Tough Dogs I took out, but I don't dislike it. I can actually feel the front shocks doing their jobs now, and the front end feels overall nicer. It is more floaty, and the front sway bar delete is more noticeable. Not positive if I'll keep these in or not, but for now I'm not regretting putting them in.

LCA bushings were a pain, I haven't heard back from SuperPro about them yet. Doing the PS was much, much faster than the DS once I had a strategy and familiarity. I could probably do it all again in one full day.

Rack bushings suck. **** those.

Just for my records, this is what I replaced:

Rack bushings with SuperPro Poly
LCA bushings wit SuperPro Poly
UCA bushings with SPC X-axis bushings(came in the arms originally, but 100k wore 'em out)
TREs with OEM from Toyota
CVs with OEM from Toyota
Axle flanges with OEM from Toyota
Front drive shaft with OEM from Toyota
Torsion bars, used OEM Toyota

Mileage is 336,3xx.

I just swapped my IM torsion bars for OME last weekend. Gotta say it’s the single best move I’ve made in terms of ride quality. The MRA shocks can actually work and manage suspension travel.

I’ve a decently heavy truck (especially front end). The IM bars are just crazy stout.

 

[MongooseGA]

When I made it home from alignment the other day, my passenger side fog light was dangling out of the bumper. Crap. Not the end of the world though as one of the lights was actually dead, so I hadn't used fogs in a while.

I ordered a set of Baja Designs Squadron R Sport, in the driving/ combo yellow flavor. Yesterday I pulled the ARB fog light buckets and installed. Instead of rigging it myself like I'd done with the old lights, I ordered a pair of 3d printed brackets from eBay to easily install my 3.5 lights.

While I had the buckets out, I disassembled the ARB turn signal lights and cleaned years of mud out of them. Now there's a visible light, AND it's amber.

I also got sick of my filthy headlights, so took them out, baked and removed the lenses and cleaned the lenses and shrouds with hot soapy water. Sanded the lenses from 800-2000 grit.

 

[MongooseGA]

This was super cool. After 20 years of wet sanding and buffing headlights, I consider myself to be pretty good with the process. I ordered a headlight Vapor cleaner from Amazon for like $30. It heats up a little cup of solvent, the vapors of which effectively melt the surface of the plastic, making them perfectly clear instead of needing to buff after sanding. This was literally like magic to me.

I also aimed the big lights after finishing the fogs.

 

[MongooseGA]

At COTR III last year I won a set of bump stops from @PerryParts . I just got around to placing my order but they arrived quickly and look great. Easy install: 4 bolts out, 4 bolts in. I did it without taking wheels off or lifting the truck up.

Mileage is somewhere around 328k.

 

[silvarshooter]

Those headlights came out great! Which vapor kit do you get?

 

[MongooseGA]

Those headlights came out great! Which vapor kit do you get?

Thanks! Just a cheap kit on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09PHJ5SZ1?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

I also bought an extra bottle of the solution but didn't end up needing it yet for this application. What came with the kit was plenty for the 2 lights.

 

[silvarshooter]

Sweet, thanks!

 

[AEC]

Just shy of 5k since my last update to this 'journal', as I'm considering it now.

Had the steering rack replaced. Our last trip to Flatland Rd really toasted the original. Went new OEM (Toyota part#, btw) and had it installed by a buddy at the Lexus store.

View attachment 2322388

Did another paint correction. After a riveting weekend in the woods, she wasn't looking so hot. Yeah, there's a line for when to stop caring about the paint on a trail truck. But, until I buff through the paint or put some damage into it that can't be corrected, I like it to look 'presentable'.

View attachment 2322389
View attachment 2322390

Replaced the other 7 ignition coils since I didn't like having 1 new, 7 @ 250k. Decided it was PM and splurged. Pro tip: if you CALL Advance Auto corporate customer service, they will match Rock Auto's online price. If they're in stock locally, you can get them same day. If not, they'll ship for $7 flat. I held this secret until I ordered the rest of mine

Also replaced the radiator with a CSF. My buddy noticed a leak while replacing my rack so I went ahead and got that done. My temps have been just barely high for a while, and I've replaced like everything else in the system at this point. Shame, the leaking one was less than 2 years old. Chinese made. Go figure.

Lastly, I reinstalled my sliders today to get ready for a trip this weekend. I've been having all kinds of God-awful creaking from my WKORs for a while, and I might be the only idiot who has that problem. So I devised a plan to cut that s*** out.

View attachment 2322394

Under-the-tub liner on the feet of both sliders, and wrapped from the top,inside, to the bottom edge of the frame rails. Now the sliders have insulation, as do the U-bolts. My short test drive yielded good results. $5 for one 1'x4' section with plenty leftover.


I've got some movement/groaning in something in the suspension. Hard to consistently duplicate, but annoying considering EVERY FRIGGIN PIECE OF SUSPENSION IS NEW. I suspect it could be my SPC UCAs. Greasing them didn't seem to improve, so maybe I'm chasing the wrong thing.


Mileage is 258.5k. I'll be doing oil in another 2-3 weeks I presume..

Love your build! I'm in Atlanta and am mid build on my 2003 LX. Recently went to ACC for a rack centering and somehow it got worse, they said I need to have it replaced now. After a month of no response I'm looking to have it done elsewhere. Curious how your LC rack is doing in the Lx with VGRS? Has quite a few miles on it now!?

 

[MongooseGA]

Love your build! I'm in Atlanta and am mid build on my 2003 LX. Recently went to ACC for a rack centering and somehow it got worse, they said I need to have it replaced now. After a month of no response I'm looking to have it done elsewhere. Curious how your LC rack is doing in the Lx with VGRS? Has quite a few miles on it now!?

Hey another local!

It's been perfect with the LC rack. No issues at all.

 

[MongooseGA]

It only took 3-4 years, but a project has finally been crossed off the list.

@YezusLX brought me a new fuel tank 2 years ago. Every time I'd go to put it in, I'd end up shooting the s*** with someone and not actually getting to it. So, @Wermz came by today and we did the deed.


I accessed the connections at the pump from inside the truck, under the 2nd row. Easy enough to get to; remove back seats, pop the lower side trim off from the door jamb, remove the plastic caps where the seats anchor in to the floor, and separate the carpet from the cargo carpet. pull it up and you're rewarded with a cover that accesses the top of the tank. Remove those wire connections and fuel/vent connections.


Old tank out.

Here's how we did on the old guy. This tank is still totally useable, so if anyone bought a truck from a snowy hellhole and your original tank has rusted out, I'm happy to donate this one. No rust, solid tank and skid.

We transferred 5 gallons from the old tank to new, and I added another 21 gallons immediately afterward. Feels good, man. Fun fact, the tank had 212 miles on it, and was at a level where it wouldn't have gone but probably 10 more miles. So, glad to have that capacity and proper shape back. I'll put my @ASFIR 4X4 fuel tank skid on now, too.

Mileage is 338k.

 

[MongooseGA]

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it to JizzMeater this year, but I still had a frickin' awesome weekend.

My circle of friends has stayed extremely close since Boy Scouts and high school. We're now in our mid 30s and just realizing we've been friends longer than we'd been alive at the time we all met. Very proud of that. So this weekend was a boy's weekend in the woods. This year was our 3rd year of a now annual trip to Lynchburg VA in the Blue Ridge for camping, hiking, and some... chocolate bars by the lake. We're a bunch of fun-guys.

We ran the Big Levels/ Bald Mountain overlook trail in Amhurst. Super easy trail, but we were a solo truck and my buddies have never wheeled before, so, perfect for our purposes. I watched some videos of the trail beforehand and noticed there is really only one obstacle in the whole 10 miles. I figured they'd get a show, so I got up the 2 rocks, came down in front, then pulled a @cruiserpatch and turtled myself. Entirely predicted and the guys got the experience of a winch recovery as well.

This little guy popped out of the soft dirt around the 2 obstacle rocks after the recovery. Sorry to disturb you, bud.

Got her home Sunday afternoon. Today I did my 5k mile oil and filter change, swapped the air filter, topped off the coolant (maybe half a quart?) and washer fluid. Tomorrow I'll pull the 35s off the truck and put the Michelins back on. Happy to report that my 200ish mile range on the dented tank and 33s turned in to about 230 miles of range on my 35s. This should be even better back on street tires.

I also gave her a bath. That Big Levels trail is incredibly tight, with mountain laurel really creating a pathway just wide enough for smaller vehicles. Needless to say, she got some striping. Not sure if I'll address this before or after CRockies.

Mileage is 340k*


*Despite reaching the moon and being on the way back, Gerry is by far the 'house vehicle'. My Ms. mentioned to me when I got back that she was happy to drive the other cars while I was out of town, but she really missed the ease of jumping in to a vehicle with no quirks or special care required. She's got her dream car, the LT1 Camino in the garage, has access to my W123 300D, and the SC300, but really, the 100 is the favorite. I keep suggesting we pick up a cream puff LX for her but she's not convinced we need 2 of the same vehicle. Maybe a GX550 in a few years. Good truck for a wife.

 

[MongooseGA]

Today I threw the Michelins back on and finally installed my @ASFIR 4X4 fuel tank skid. I've been sitting on this for about 2 years and it feels good to get it out of my shed and on to the truck.

It's pretty amazing how much a set of tires can improve the ride of the truck. I took her out to the local Autozone to dump waste oil after the tire swap, and dammit, they're cushy!

Taking my W123 to an autocross event this weekend. Likely the 100 will be my support car in case the diesel doesn't make it back home that afternoon

 

[ClassyJalopy]

You converted me to "New Balance" shoes too! I love the defenders, I even plan to try them out on mild off road stuff too
Didn't know w123 were nimble enough for autocross use, I guess you learn something new everyday!

 

[MongooseGA]

You converted me to "New Balance" shoes too! I love the defenders, I even plan to try them out on mild off road stuff too
Didn't know w123 were nimble enough for autocross use, I guess you learn something new everyday!

New Balance velcros for life!

I don't know that it is, to be honest. But I drive the car pretty hard normally and it takes it all, and I think it'll be hilarious. These are the other cars registered for the event:

 

[Trapper50cal]

I'll just plop this in here...

 

[ClassyJalopy]

New Balance velcros for life!

I don't know that it is, to be honest. But I drive the car pretty hard normally and it takes it all, and I think it'll be hilarious. These are the other cars registered for the event:

View attachment 3658919

Give that 20 year old Civic hell on the course!

 

[MongooseGA]

Give that 20 year old Civic hell on the course!

Funny you say that. My buddies from the camping trip are encouraging me to start a rivalry with him specifically.

 

[ClassyJalopy]

Yup! I have skidded through life by aiming low and failing spectaculary at that!
I assume you are not handicapped like that but still realistically that guy would most likely be bringing up the rear of the pack! Plus, Civic is the only non-rear drive sports car there.

 

[MongooseGA]

The autocrossing was a blast, and I've mentally purchased a Miata for myself.


Updates for Gerry: Big month for the old girl. At the end of the month, the Ms and I will be packing up the dog and driving 2 days to CO for CRockies. Big trip, lots of things to make sure are right before we go.

First up, I blew a speaker recently. This was on that I'd already re-foamed, but looks like the flat paper under the cone lost its seal. IDK the names of these parts, so just use your imagination. It's the orange bit under the cone. I ended up cutting off the (recently replaced) foam for access to the inside of the speaker, then re-adhered the orange paper. I ordered new foam to wrap it all up.

Next up! I hate my 35s. I mean, they're really cool looking and do great on trails, but they ****ing suck to drive on. I feel like I've done all the stupid stuff that I'm going to on this platform, and I would rather just enjoy the truck than see how much abuse it can take (it's a lot). So I'm selling my super aggressive 35x12.5 X-MT and replacing with a set of hybrid tires that won't annoy me on a 3,000 mile highway trip. Read a ton of reviews, watched a bunch of videos, and I just placed an order for a set of 5- 285/75/17 Nitto Ridge Grapplers. I'd always assumed these for tires for Bro-dozers on 14-wides, but turns out they're actually supposed to be pretty great off road as well. They'll be installed on my RW wheels this week.

I've also been dealing with a dying gauge cluster for years. I normally don't let problems fester in my vehicles, but in this case, between the SGII and cluster, I had all the info I needed. However, I'm tired of it, and it's time to repair. Fortunately, I was given a spare cluster by a friend at the local Lexus dealer, so I'm sending it in to Tanin Auto Electric for complete rebuild and odo correction, then will swap the rebuilt unit right in to the truck, no down time.

Ok, what else? The truck has had rare, intermittent issues with loss of throttle. I can't find any consistency in it. I'd replaced the speed sensor on the t-case a few years back and that seemed to help for a while. But lately, it's been feeling like there's a dead spot in the throttle. Giving more input does little unless I slap the shift lever in to 4th and let the trans gearing actually speed me up. I thought it may have felt like a slipping trans, but not quite. Did some more research, and took advantage of some sales. I ordered a new accelerator pedal position sensor (APPS) and a complete new throttle body with the motor and sensor attached. I'm hoping this is all related to the issue I have of cruise control just cancelling itself occasionally.

That's the happs for now. Mileage is just a touch over 340k.