New to the game: fresh owner of a 99 LC (1 Viewer)

[GerLC100]

Hey guys

I was reading along your lines already for a few weeks/ months and the forum helped me to choose the right LC model: so thanks for that!
Just yesterday I bought a 1999 LC, 269k miles, nicely serviced and 20 years owned by the same lady, all life in California, ...

Quite some stuff has already been done in the past 1-2 years like alternator, battery, water pump/ timing, T pieces have been replaced with metal ones, new transmission cooler, ...
The paint is a little faded, but my first quick shot of polishing looks very promising and I don't have the typical clear peal
I'll add pics along my hours on the new ride.

I've been working for a few years on my Ford E350 including lifting, diff lock and regearing, full repaint, transmission overhaul, ... So I'm not new to working on cars as a hobby, but the LC will a new adventure.
Main reason to buy one is that our 2WD locked van is nice and fun, but after a few years doing the full PCOR, going on some more rugged rides like Leavitt Lake, CA, Toquerville Falls, Death Valley... we're ready to move into more rugged terrain where the van just doesn't fit

First action items will be a proper cleaning, spark plugs, coils, replace ALL fluids, brake pad/ caliper/ line check check, fuel filter, new radio, check why the sun roof gets stuck open in winter but works in summer, ... so the normal topics.
Once done I'll move on with suspension, tires and front bumper for winching and from there we'll see where we go.

I guess that's it as intro and I'll now raise my first questions in the respective threads

 

[GerLC100]

Hey guys

I’m starting my built of my 99 LC100.

Beside regular Maintainance after buying it this is the plan:
- Lift 2-2.5”
- wheels and tires (SCS F5 and MT Baja Boss AT 285/75-16 ordered)
- front Dissent bumper (does a 12k Badland Apex fit?!?)
- rear Dissent swing bumper
- general suspension overhaul (sway bar bushings, extended links, clean and perhaps repaint components using POR-15, replace all ball joints, bushings,…)

The vehicle will be used for anything our 2WD locked and lifted E350 can’t do.
Our target is to easily drive washboards (which is why I stick to 16” wheels), but then do trails like Lippinkott in Death Valley. No extreme rock crawling
We have two mid aged kids, some gear we carry, but surely no built out interior (wifey wants to pick up 7 kids from school )

now after I ordered the first parts the next question is which torsion bars. Slee, Ironman, Stock,… a lot of “I like…”, but not really stating what each person is doing with it’s vehicle.

So my first question:
How would rank OEM, Slee, Ironman, Dobinson,… in terms of stiffness?
I guess I’d rather go “mid sized”, but don’t know which one it is. And this is mainly about technical topics: money starts to come in when we talk custom made to my use case :-D

From there we’ll talk rear springs and shocks one after the other

 

[GerLC100]

 

[GerLC100]

A few pics of my other one in various stages (white as bought, orange after driveway repaint and taking it down to bare metal)

 

[GerLC100]

 

[GerLC100]

And the new baby with no name

 

[excessive]

nice rig man ( both of em) looks like the van has already had many smiles and miles, looking forward to seeing what you do with the cruiser

 

[GerLC100]

Regarding torsion bars I’m reading a lot opinion and which ones work best. What is hard to find is a kind of ranking in terms of stiffness.
Can you guys help ranking from stock to Slee to Ironman …based on tech specs? Partially I find diameters, partially not. And them the specific material…

 

[GerLC100]

Didn't want to wait too much longer and started ordering

CruiserTeq: Tie Rod Ends, 555 Lower Ball Joints, both bushings, Sway bar Refresh Kit
Slee: Diff Drop
Nitro: UCAs
Exit Offroad: Dobinson C56-167, Dobinson IMS extended travel front, Dobinson MRA rear

Torsion Bars are going to stay stock for now and I'll see how they perform cranked up. Easy to swap, so no need to do it right away.

Pickup up my wheels from SCS tomorrow, tires should also come in this week.

In case weather goes right, I will kick off the refresh this weekend

 

[kevgentile]

Dig the van! Before I nabbed my LX I was looking at some E350's to build. Already had some axles from a '16 SD that were bought for a T1N sprinter 4x4 conversion. The Econo's are such a great buy since they are so much cheaper to get into than the other vans on the market, and a 4x4 conversion can be done on a decent budget.

Enjoy the cruiser!

 

[GerLC100]

Yep, that build was fun , but at that time I was shying away from 4x4 as I was afraid of the transmission work. 1/2 year later I had to do transmission and since then I regret my decision :-D Will also never take down a vehicle to bare metal and repaint again :-D

But that's exactly where the Cruiser comes in

 

[GerLC100]

Soooo! Got my tires mounted, got new tools as I‘m afraid of LCA bushing #2, got new jacks to have enough space.

Tomorrow the journey of suspension swap starts
(In case it doesn‘t rain here in California…)

 

[hoser]

Check here for torsion bars sizes. But I'd probably suggest you stay with the stock ones until you gain significant weight up front. I've always wanted a 4wd van but I see them struggle on trails due to size. It's all a trade off. To have one of each is the best solution.

P.S. I've never been to or around Leavitt Lake. Looks like a nice spot. I'll put it on my to do list.

Custom Diameter Torsion Bars (Sway-A-Way)

This thread is geared more towards AHC folks but those with standard suspension might be interested too. I reached out to Sway-A-Way and they do offer custom T-bars for the 100 series. I was suggesting maybe 27mm T-bars for those with added weight in the front but not so much to warrant the...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[GerLC100]

Yep, will check. I think cranking/ indexing gives me the targeted ride height and from there I‘ll see about being to soft or not. Right now I’m at 19.2/3“, so looking forward seeing it higher up. If close to good I might just order OEM again. Let‘s see. Based on what I see it‘s easy to swap.

Also ordered new bolts, spacers, crown nuts,… to be sure I‘m good to go.

And everything I have in my hands (like LCA, new tie rods,…) will see a proper treatment via POR-15 before it goes back on.

Before disassembling I plan to crank it up to 22“ hub/fender and then mark the position. This way I know where to tighten the LCA when the weight is on.

One change I had to make:
Swapped the Nitro UCA to Dobinson‘s fixed ones as Nitro has at least 4 weeks delivery time. Having Dobinson‘s shocks I guess it‘ll fit for alignment

And if all goes well I‘ll be in Hollister next week

 

[GerLC100]

Guys… hate California or not… but you‘ll love it for the fact that after 270k miles I just got the passenger LCA bushing #2 out only using my regular 1/2“ ratchet

 

[GerLC100]

First side is out, all TB parts marked with a punch. Now, after degreasing and etching, POR-15 needs to dry and I got to wait for parts and then it can go back together.

 

[GerLC100]

Just a little pretaste

 

[GerLC100]

There we go! Dobinson is in, tires mounted. Got to readjust the front from now 20.5 to 22 and then it‘s more level, but still have 1-1.5“ more on the rear.
And got to take care for pinch weld/ fender as well as confirm the rear reservior is mounted in the right place.

One things that wasn‘t really obvious for me was which anti spin washer to use and which way to mount everything. The Dobinson instructions don‘t provided all info (at least not for me ^^).

But: right now I‘m happy and can enjoy my beer

 

[GerLC100]

Got it out to the first test drive, Bay Area to the Pacific Coast.
Generally driving nice, but starting at ~45-50mph I get a vibration front right under load and increasing intensity going fast.
All gone when no gas, left turns are more or less without it. So mainly when the right gets pressure.
all visible bolts checked, nothing loose.

So I guess it‘s CV shaft, shaft flange or tire balancing. Let‘s see

 

[chrismenke]

Are you the guy on CL who just won't get back to me about the stock wheels for sale?