Meet Gloria. But then also, meet Gira

[camino70]

Yup

 

[MongooseGA]

How have you been since your accident, by the way? Still on light duty?

 

[JT4runner]

I am down! Either day is fine with me. Hey Camino let me know when you are going and we can meet up and head down there and help GA out.

 

[MongooseGA]

Awesome!

I'll do a PM with some of the local guys with my address and that info.

 

[CBeckFJ]

well, that blue looks absolutely phenomenal! If I end up in a 100, Thats the color id want on a 98-99. Absolute stunner!

 

[MongooseGA]

Thank you!

And I think you meant "when", not "if".

 

[Balto1223]

Today my new spare wheel came in. A rear bumper and tire carrier is a ways out, so I'll need to keep it under the truck. Picked up the goods this afternoon to do the spare tire well mod. Bummer I ended up losing my chuck key, so no grinder for me to cut spacers right now.

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I crawled under the truck anyway and noticed my OEM spare is already touching the trailer hitch I have. I need to look into hitch compatibility with bigger tires. Mine may not work.

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Instead of running back to the store for a new key, I decided to do another project. I washed her and did a coat of CG Banana Wax. Then, I resprayed my wiper arms (all 3!) and the plastic cowl. No befores, but they were getting chalky. Beyond dressing any longer.

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Next up is the fuel line heat shield a la 1meancruiser and figure out the hitch. I'd also like to respray the lower rubber window trim line. Is there an easy way to remove it so I don't have to deal with masking?

What did you use on the wipers and plastic cowl?

 

[MongooseGA]

Just degreased, pressure washed and hit them with some trim and bumper paint.

 

[CBeckFJ]

Thank you!

And I think you meant "when", not "if".

If the price is right to swap a frame, it's and if. If its too much, just going to buy another truck down south
without rust.

 

[MongooseGA]

Got the lift kit in this week! I've got some settling of the springs to do or might consider swapping for another set in a few more weeks. At the suggested of Jason from Trail Tailor I threw 400 lbs of cement mix in the back this morning. Definitely rides nicer and bounces less with the weight in it.

New 285/75/17 tires go on this week and alignment is at the end of the week. Sliders should be in within a few more weeks and then maybe I'll look into drawers. The lift is emphasizing that my steering is pretty wonky, too. A new rack might be on the schedule soon. Not sure if it's worth it or not to install myself. I did replace one in my SC400 a few years back. Do we think it's a bigger job than that would have been?

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[dinnertime]

What springs did you go with?

 

[MongooseGA]

They are the 2" 0-600 lb dual rate gold coils by Tough Dog.

 

[syche]

That looks way too high for a 2inch lift, probably not much if any down travel upfront, and the rear is like 4inch higher than stock

 

[MongooseGA]

Agreed. I left the front a bit higher for now just because of how tall the rear is. Jason even said it looks unusually high. Based on measurements, it's about 1-1.5" tall in the rear. The front is about 3/4" taller than it needs to be for correct down travel.

With the 400 or so lbs in the back, it looks and feels much better but is still taller than it should be.

 

[MongooseGA]

Here's how it sits with the 400lbs of cement mix in the back. Mall crawler status in the office parking lot.

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[syche]

Could it be that you got the heavier spring than the one you ordered, i had that one time with ome, wrong labeling on the box, had hhd instead of MD

 

[MongooseGA]

For those wondering, I was unfortunately sent the wrong springs with my lift kit. Instead of the 0-660lb medium load, I received the 660+lb heavy load. Whoops! Luckily Jason @ Trail Tailor was very quick to remedy and make good on the slip up. These things happen. The new springs should be here Thursday.

In the interim, I'd ordered a set of OME 865 springs last week and just put them in last night. The difference was night and day and now my steering is back to where it had been (IE, not wandering like it's trying to turn two difference directions all the time). I have the rear at exactly 22" (haven't put in the 10mm spacer yet) and the front is dialed in to 21.5" with juuuust shy of 60mm of droop. So much better now.

I also managed to mangle the wheel lock key for my wheels. Anyone happen to have a part number for the special spline lug (not the key, I need the actual lug) to replace the wheel lock? Kind of over using two different keys to remove wheels.

 

[JT4runner]

Glad you got that issue taken care of. When are you planning on putting the new springs on?

 

[MongooseGA]

The 865s are in now. I will likely put the new Tough Dog springs in after I add drawers in the rear and have some constant weight back there. The only other weight I'll be adding anytime soon are the WKOR sliders that are on order.

Here is how she sits now. The TBs settled a little since last night so I'll plan to tweak it about a half inch up in the front. Much better than before! (3rd pic)

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[JT4runner]

The 865s are in now. I will likely put the new Tough Dog springs in after I add drawers in the rear and have some constant weight back there. The only other weight I'll be adding anytime soon are the WKOR sliders that are on order.

Here is how she sits now. Much better than before! (3rd pic)

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Looks much better!