John, your not kidding about how much our trucks look alike. Hey at least we don't have the same name like the former "Eric's and 80's club."
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I got a chance to see JohnVee's LX today. I am impressed by how clean it is. Looks like it's going to be a great truck. I do believe it has the optional 5W30 underbelly rust prevention feature as well. Those folks at Lexus think of everything!
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- #24
Holy crap! 1.5yrs with no updates, wow. I think the only things I've done to this truck beside drive it are collect springs and small parts, fix the lockers, wash it (twice), new OEM shocks all around, new 9011 and 9012 HIR's, and add oil. Lots and lots of oil. Changed the filter a few times, too. I wanna say I've put about 3000 miles on it since April 2017. Oh, I also had to reattach some harness connectors that a rodent chewed through last fall.
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- #25
So now I have a problem. Attached is a photo of the cargo area. Note the 2 wet spots on the cardboard (lower left and upper right). I came home to this on Wednesday after being gone for 3 weeks. The truck was unused while I was gone. I had cleared the sunroof drains this spring and sealed (silver tape FTW) the sunroof before the hurricanes came this fall. Dry as a bone. The windshield/front floor area also shows no sign of leaking. The spots on the cardboard appear to only be possible by water from above, but there are no stains anywhere on the interior roof. There also wasn't any moisture in the truck after the last 2 days of rain. The truck was/is sitting on a slight nose-up incline.
All I can think is that massive rains must have gotten in through the roof rack mounting holes and ran down the headliner to 2 choke points where it eventually leaked through. The lack of water marks or moisture up there is what's confounding. Anybody have any ideas?
All I can think is that massive rains must have gotten in through the roof rack mounting holes and ran down the headliner to 2 choke points where it eventually leaked through. The lack of water marks or moisture up there is what's confounding. Anybody have any ideas?
My guess would be roof rack holes, like you said. That’s about all it could be way back there. I found on my truck that when I removed the factory rack, there was a lot of ugly under those mount feet. I’m glad I pulled mine when I did. It’s a shame they installed that garbage in the first place.
My ungaraged vehicles live mostly under trees and don’t get good sun in the winter. After fighting a mildew issue a couple of years ago I keep a tub of Damp Rid in all my trucks through the winter now. It does help dry them out.
My ungaraged vehicles live mostly under trees and don’t get good sun in the winter. After fighting a mildew issue a couple of years ago I keep a tub of Damp Rid in all my trucks through the winter now. It does help dry them out.
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- #27
I need to find somebody to "Rushing" this truck. It's white. Green stuff has started growing on sections of it. I think a good wash & wax could keep it happy for a few years. Mrs Johnvee was supposed to wash it in March. And April. And May, etc.
Gotta get a battery, too, when I get back next time. Probably gonna do a Duralast AGM like I have in my '94. Oh, and teach Mrs Vee how to swap the Battery Tender from truck to truck using the permanent leads attached to each vehicle's battery. And the location of the elusive FJ40 hood release (Argh! WTH?).
Gotta get a battery, too, when I get back next time. Probably gonna do a Duralast AGM like I have in my '94. Oh, and teach Mrs Vee how to swap the Battery Tender from truck to truck using the permanent leads attached to each vehicle's battery. And the location of the elusive FJ40 hood release (Argh! WTH?).
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- #28
I hadn't updated here because I haven't hardly even driven the truck since December. I did put in a Duralast AGM battery last December. Other than that, all I did was drive it to the DC-area and rebuild the starter. Then it sat. And sat. And sat. Then it went to @OTRAMM (only 20 miles from my parent's place!) to remove the 'driveway stainer' aspect of the engine. Sadly, that also deleted the 'spare tire-oiler device'. In other words, I told him fix the timing chain cover leak, replace the head gasket, and whatever else was prudent to get another 300k miles of trouble-free life out of it. Ryan can explain what he did to it if he's so inclined but I think most of you who care already know.
Sarah just ran it through Auto Bell on her lunch break. I hope they got the stains off the hood and roof.
The flares and bumpers need some rattle can love to tie it all together and make it a beautifully clean truck again. New front row leather would be the cherry on top but my wallet has informed me that it's out of money.
Next up is deciding if I want to keep stock size tires on it or see how little I can lift it to accommodate the 315's I got from @mtweller last month. It won't be going off road any time soon but the tires are already paid for. Might be worth doing.
I'll snap a new pic when Sarah gets home if Auto Bell did a good job!
Sarah just ran it through Auto Bell on her lunch break. I hope they got the stains off the hood and roof.
The flares and bumpers need some rattle can love to tie it all together and make it a beautifully clean truck again. New front row leather would be the cherry on top but my wallet has informed me that it's out of money.
Next up is deciding if I want to keep stock size tires on it or see how little I can lift it to accommodate the 315's I got from @mtweller last month. It won't be going off road any time soon but the tires are already paid for. Might be worth doing.
I'll snap a new pic when Sarah gets home if Auto Bell did a good job!
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- #29
Ooooooh, oooooooh, oooooh! I'm conjuring my inner Arnold Horshack because I got 17.271mpg for the 367 highway mile leg of my trip to CLT the other day! Used 93 octane. I'm pretty damn sure I coulda made 400. I'd wager most people have never seen 400 miles on a tank of gas in an 80.Now I have a goal in life!
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By the way, I have nothing but good things to say about Ryan and Crash at @OTRAMM. They know Land Cruisers and they're obsessive about getting things right the first time. They also have great attitudes and personalities. I'm quite lucky to have had access to them over the last 8 months that I've been in Northern Virginia.
It's in our Youtube Channel thread, but, again, OTRAMM has a Frosted Flakes channel there, meaning It's Greaaaaat!
It's in our Youtube Channel thread, but, again, OTRAMM has a Frosted Flakes channel there, meaning It's Greaaaaat!
Fort Knox
SILVER Star
I've known Ryan a long time. I think he, Bob, Matt and I started wheelin' together sometime around '98. He installed the first lockers (Lock-Rights) that I ran in the 4Runner. Haven't seen him in a while, unfortunately.
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- #32
Annual update: The springs on the truck were saggy as could be so I bought @AJR 's 2.5" OME lift because Sarah has the same one on her 1997 LX, so it's a known entity...BUT, I instead ended up installing the HDJ81 springs I got from @slceso a few years back. Turns out I gained at least an equal lift to the OME 2.5". Some corners are actually .25"-.50" taller than her OME. So, since I want the stuffed look with the new Toyo AT2's I might have to revert to the 80 take off springs I acquired from somebody a few years ago and throw in some spacers if needed.
I drove them back to back today and the HDJ81 springs/new OEM Toyota shocks rides just a bit rougher than the OME 851/860 with Rancho RS9000 shocks. Of course, the OME lift is a also carrying a winch hidden in the front bumper. There's also the issue of Toyo's vs Milestar's. Pretty sure the Milestars aren't E-rated. Both trucks are still eminently drivable, I'm just coming from worn ass 303K mile springs.
I have a 900 mile round trip starting this weekend that will allow me to learn a little more about the new setup.
I drove them back to back today and the HDJ81 springs/new OEM Toyota shocks rides just a bit rougher than the OME 851/860 with Rancho RS9000 shocks. Of course, the OME lift is a also carrying a winch hidden in the front bumper. There's also the issue of Toyo's vs Milestar's. Pretty sure the Milestars aren't E-rated. Both trucks are still eminently drivable, I'm just coming from worn ass 303K mile springs.
I have a 900 mile round trip starting this weekend that will allow me to learn a little more about the new setup.
you already know how I feel about those tires. You should give them to me. Haha!
Looks good as is.
Looks good as is.
