Some notes after just completing a 4400 mile trip to Colorado and back. My truck is a 1990 HDJ81, of Japanese origin, the odometer was at 151230 KM when I pulled out of my garage. Made the drive from PA in three steps, first day to a little bit west of Indianapolis, second day to Salina Kansas, and from there to Idaho Springs on the third day. My notes say it was 1716miles.
The truck ran great, never a hesitation from it in any way. Got almost 18MPG on it on the drive out. The cruise control worked adequately although not quite as smooth as some of my newer vehicles. I set it at 72MPH (GPS verified) on the various interstates, and the engine was turning 2600RPM at that speed. I run 285/75-16 tires on the truck. Had plenty of power for all applications no problems there at all.
I did notice though that the coolness of the AC decreased as I drove along to the point where it was open windows for the rest of the trip. The previous owner told me he had spent a good deal of money getting the AC working properly but it looks like there is a leak somewhere. Will give it a charge now that I’m back home and see what happens.
My friends from PA and VA met me in Idaho Springs and from there we made an eight day run across Colorado doing most of but of course not all the good passes. Among others we did Hancock, Tincup, Pearl, Taylor, Cinnamon, Stony, Black Bear, Imogene, and Ophir passes along with Corkscrew. Was an awesome time, no breakdowns and no body damage. I was a little concerned going down the creek bed on Taylor Pass but managed to squeeze my truck through without banging it up. I was especially concerned with the factory running boards being susceptible damage but thankfully they’re still fine.
Put almost 1000 miles on the truck going through CO. Made the drive back home on I-80, the northern route, the first day drove from Idaho Springs to Des Moines Iowa, next day to the Cleveland area, then home to northeastern PA the third day. Was good to get home after the fifteen day trip.
The truck ran perfectly. The oil level on the dipstick was down negligibly (3/16”) when I got home. I'm running Shell Rotella 15W-140 oil. Cruise control worked well, transmission perfectly, no noise from the axles or anything else mechanically. I found the cloth seats to be very comfortable and noticed favorably that when having the rear seats folded up against the back of the front seats there was none of the “squeaking” evident in 80’s with leather seats. The PO had installed an expensive Pioneer stereo and upgraded the speakers and that system worked great. The power antenna worked well too, lowered it the first day on the trails and didn’t raise it again until the ride home.
Very happy with the Toyo tires, they held up well the entire trip and are not noisy on the highway. Bought the Open Country M/T’s, not cheap but I felt pretty good about having such strong sidewalls on the trails with all the sharp slide rock we drove over. The OME suspension was perfect- opted for the medium springs and am glad I did. The truck rode comfortably and handled very well on the highways. I had done a 600 mile trip prior to the CO trip just to be sure I felt comfortable with the truck and I gotta say it was about as good as I could ever have expected. The combination of the OME suspension and Toyo tires made for a firm stable ride. Ran 38PSI on the highways and 24PI on the trails for a softer ride.
In preparation for the trip I had some work done at OTRAMM in northern Virginia. Ryan replaced the connecting rod bearings, I had bought a set of standard size bearings from Radd Cruisers and thankfully they were correct. Although it didn’t look like the oil pan had ever been off the engine the bearings that were removed looked perfect. Probably could have got away without replacing them but I didn’t want to take the chance. Ryan also replaced the timing belt, water pump, all the radiator and heater hoses, and the alternator and AC belts. Replaced the air, fuel, and oil filters. He also flushed the brake system. I can’t say enough about the good work Ryan does the temp gauge stayed at the same spot for the entire 4400 miles and the engine ran great.
One thing I did notice was that at higher altitudes the truck would smoke black whenever the transmission downshifted going uphill. This got more evident the higher we went. Once down out of the high elevations that went completely away. I was the trail leader and the guys behind me mentioned that some days the black smoking was worse than other days. Will post up on the diesel section to see what was happening as I am extremely limited in knowledge and experience with diesels.
I thought I would be glad to have the altimeter/compass package in the upper console but found that it was difficult to read while driving. Having the GPS was handier and I’m sure more accurate than the gauges in the truck.
Brakes. The truck has what I consider to be typical 80 series brake performance- meaning not as good as I would like. I had thought about doing some brake upgrades prior to the trip but didn’t do so. I can say that while descending the scary sections of Black Bear Pass I thought I was running out of brakes! Of course with my right leg trembling a bit it might have been my imagination……. But I can truly say if I do any more work on this truck it’s gonna be a brake upgrade.
I’d been trying to get OEM replacement wiper blades with no success. Finally settled on a pair of Napa AccuFit blades part number 60-018, they were inexpensive and worked extremely well. I am partial to OEM wiper blades but these NAPA blades worked just fine.
All in all I have to say I can’t imagine a better vehicle for this kind of trip. Mileage overall was right at 18MPG- used 250 gallons of diesel to do the 4400 miles. The truck was very comfortable even when driving eleven hours a day. Plenty of storage space with the back seats folded forward, too. People constantly asked me how hard it was to get used to the right hand drive- for me not at all difficult. In fact when I got home after the fifteen days in the 81 I found it a little difficult when I got into my Subaru to re-adjust to the location of the wiper switch and turn signal stalk! Frankly, except for better brakes I couldn’t ask for anything else. The truck was everything I’d hoped it would be and the drivetrain combo in this truck is hard to beat.
The truck ran great, never a hesitation from it in any way. Got almost 18MPG on it on the drive out. The cruise control worked adequately although not quite as smooth as some of my newer vehicles. I set it at 72MPH (GPS verified) on the various interstates, and the engine was turning 2600RPM at that speed. I run 285/75-16 tires on the truck. Had plenty of power for all applications no problems there at all.
I did notice though that the coolness of the AC decreased as I drove along to the point where it was open windows for the rest of the trip. The previous owner told me he had spent a good deal of money getting the AC working properly but it looks like there is a leak somewhere. Will give it a charge now that I’m back home and see what happens.
My friends from PA and VA met me in Idaho Springs and from there we made an eight day run across Colorado doing most of but of course not all the good passes. Among others we did Hancock, Tincup, Pearl, Taylor, Cinnamon, Stony, Black Bear, Imogene, and Ophir passes along with Corkscrew. Was an awesome time, no breakdowns and no body damage. I was a little concerned going down the creek bed on Taylor Pass but managed to squeeze my truck through without banging it up. I was especially concerned with the factory running boards being susceptible damage but thankfully they’re still fine.
Put almost 1000 miles on the truck going through CO. Made the drive back home on I-80, the northern route, the first day drove from Idaho Springs to Des Moines Iowa, next day to the Cleveland area, then home to northeastern PA the third day. Was good to get home after the fifteen day trip.
The truck ran perfectly. The oil level on the dipstick was down negligibly (3/16”) when I got home. I'm running Shell Rotella 15W-140 oil. Cruise control worked well, transmission perfectly, no noise from the axles or anything else mechanically. I found the cloth seats to be very comfortable and noticed favorably that when having the rear seats folded up against the back of the front seats there was none of the “squeaking” evident in 80’s with leather seats. The PO had installed an expensive Pioneer stereo and upgraded the speakers and that system worked great. The power antenna worked well too, lowered it the first day on the trails and didn’t raise it again until the ride home.
Very happy with the Toyo tires, they held up well the entire trip and are not noisy on the highway. Bought the Open Country M/T’s, not cheap but I felt pretty good about having such strong sidewalls on the trails with all the sharp slide rock we drove over. The OME suspension was perfect- opted for the medium springs and am glad I did. The truck rode comfortably and handled very well on the highways. I had done a 600 mile trip prior to the CO trip just to be sure I felt comfortable with the truck and I gotta say it was about as good as I could ever have expected. The combination of the OME suspension and Toyo tires made for a firm stable ride. Ran 38PSI on the highways and 24PI on the trails for a softer ride.
In preparation for the trip I had some work done at OTRAMM in northern Virginia. Ryan replaced the connecting rod bearings, I had bought a set of standard size bearings from Radd Cruisers and thankfully they were correct. Although it didn’t look like the oil pan had ever been off the engine the bearings that were removed looked perfect. Probably could have got away without replacing them but I didn’t want to take the chance. Ryan also replaced the timing belt, water pump, all the radiator and heater hoses, and the alternator and AC belts. Replaced the air, fuel, and oil filters. He also flushed the brake system. I can’t say enough about the good work Ryan does the temp gauge stayed at the same spot for the entire 4400 miles and the engine ran great.
One thing I did notice was that at higher altitudes the truck would smoke black whenever the transmission downshifted going uphill. This got more evident the higher we went. Once down out of the high elevations that went completely away. I was the trail leader and the guys behind me mentioned that some days the black smoking was worse than other days. Will post up on the diesel section to see what was happening as I am extremely limited in knowledge and experience with diesels.
I thought I would be glad to have the altimeter/compass package in the upper console but found that it was difficult to read while driving. Having the GPS was handier and I’m sure more accurate than the gauges in the truck.
Brakes. The truck has what I consider to be typical 80 series brake performance- meaning not as good as I would like. I had thought about doing some brake upgrades prior to the trip but didn’t do so. I can say that while descending the scary sections of Black Bear Pass I thought I was running out of brakes! Of course with my right leg trembling a bit it might have been my imagination……. But I can truly say if I do any more work on this truck it’s gonna be a brake upgrade.
I’d been trying to get OEM replacement wiper blades with no success. Finally settled on a pair of Napa AccuFit blades part number 60-018, they were inexpensive and worked extremely well. I am partial to OEM wiper blades but these NAPA blades worked just fine.
All in all I have to say I can’t imagine a better vehicle for this kind of trip. Mileage overall was right at 18MPG- used 250 gallons of diesel to do the 4400 miles. The truck was very comfortable even when driving eleven hours a day. Plenty of storage space with the back seats folded forward, too. People constantly asked me how hard it was to get used to the right hand drive- for me not at all difficult. In fact when I got home after the fifteen days in the 81 I found it a little difficult when I got into my Subaru to re-adjust to the location of the wiper switch and turn signal stalk! Frankly, except for better brakes I couldn’t ask for anything else. The truck was everything I’d hoped it would be and the drivetrain combo in this truck is hard to beat.
