Poor life decisions epitomized; Taking Mom's car to the party (3 Viewers)

[WrongsideDaily]

I ended up with this '98 model a few months back through a trade. The plan was to slap some tires on it, do a little maintenance, and try to capitalize off of the market before it dropped off earlier this year and put a few backs back in the tiller towards a goal I've been working towards on the back burner. It needed a muffler and some tires, upper ball joints, and a new home as I have too many projects. Figured I'd passively look for some marketplace deals as I waited for the title, and get back to working on other things.

At this point I yanked the running boards off and I started rounding up tundra steelies every time I could find one cheap. Then I bought some alloy Tundra wheels with tires that weren't bubbled to get around with for $50 as the Boys (sorry in advance for all the Dog pics) needed a ride to the local creek in the evenings and the Yaris wasn't ideal after a little rain.

I absolutely HATED this look, but I was having a REALLY hard time finding a fourth steelie for what I wanted to pay that would allow me to pull the trigger on some tires, so it had to do. Meanwhile, I got bored and started messing with stuff I had laying around. One was a Matrix XRS steering wheel. I like the sportier feel of a smaller wheel, so I chucked it on to see how it felt. And while I loved the feel, I highly disliked how out of place it looked equal to the Tundra wheels, and the dual stage airbag wasn't happy with the OEM SRS ECU.

I've played this game in a few other Toyotas and was familiar with this style, so off to the local pick n pull I went looking for a RAV4 with the proper cover and single stage bag assembly. BINGO! The xRS wheel with Rav4 guts was right at home!

It's about this point that I knew I was in trouble. You see, I'm already spending time doing small things that I'm justifying as completely reversible, learning experiences. No big deal, it's just a steering wheel, and it will work in the other car I have now aesthetically as well. Perfect. Let's make a lap around this joint to make sure there's nothing cool, and GTFO.

 

[aedgington]

Not gonna lie. Sorting out that Matrix steering wheel with a RAV4 airbag fits a 100 is the most outlandish 'mod' I've ever read on here.

 

[WrongsideDaily]

Well imagine my surprise when I come across this thing a few rows over. It was the end of the day, so I got my ass in gear and got what I could with what time I had left in the day with plans to return in the morning. While this is technically my first Land Cruiser and first time I've had a 100, I'm not new to Toyotas and keep my ears open. So I leave with an OME 2.5" kit, a 4 pinion front diff, and my steering wheel parts all the whole telling myself I'll be able to double my money on the diff and the lift is a selling point.

For the money, I'd be stupid not to grab the T Case to hoard (I have a problem, lol) as I was wanting one of these cases for a 3uz build in something else. So I go home and slap the lift on it and continue looking for a $50 steelie. About this time I see GSMTR pics after joining a few facetube pages. I was kinda sad to see it was no longer in October as that was a big part of my childhood, and flat-out devastated about Tellico closing. That place will forever hold a special place in my heart. Then I see registration for COTR22 drops, and I knew. It may not be Tellico, this 100 may not be a 55, but this is now and that was then. So I started ordering things that I felt would get me where I wanted to be instead of trying to appeal to a Cali-transplant looking for something to run to Central Market in.

A week or so later I have five 255/85r16 Yokohama G003s wrapped around the light OEM wheels and a Chinese snorkel on the way. A little time in the creek and I'm starting to get excited. For what it lacks, the factory locker definitely helps make up for it. A couple things that bother me are clearance and flex, so I quickly remove the tow hitch and the sway bars and toss them in the round file then snag a campsite at Hidden Falls.

 

[WrongsideDaily]

We had a blast at Hidden Falls. My SpiderTrax 1.25 spacers for the front showed up early which was just in time to go out that weekend. I had already snagged some 1" Bora's off marketplace for a few scheckles and I couldn't be happier with the way it sat. Overall the truck did well, but I mostly was just trying to get to know the rig and didn't push it. Now I just wanna kinda push it. I know I need sliders and skids to really do so, but slee didn't have their skids in stock and I'm hell bent on making my own sliders, so I gotta stick to shooting for lines that avoid drivetrain damage.

So now I'm racking up miles and finding trails where I can. Mostly just getting the boys to the creek and waiting for Slee to get some skids back in stock, and looking for a workspace since I live in a duplex and working on cars in the street flat-out sucks.

It wasn't much longer after this shot that I got greedy and found myself in a spot that queued the front diff to exit the chat. When it left the party, it took it's homie CV with him.

Literally between a rock and a hard place, I get winched out and head home. Front diff is lunched, passenger CV is snapped, whatever. I have spares, it's part of the game.

What isn't part of the game is random watermain leaks you can't see when you try to visit a cemetery the next day and only have two wheel drive. I've parked here a thousand times. And this day I pulled up and it just SANK. Hammering the s*** outta it does absolutely nothing. So two days in a row I need a winch. Great. I get yanked out, and head home determined to buy a winch.

 

[WrongsideDaily]

Heading home I notice the rear diff is a bit noisier than it already was. Mind you I've been beating on a 230k mile soccer mom mobile from Ohio. Whatever, I gotta make it home. NOPE. The skid marks are from what I later determined was the ring gear losing a tooth and wedging itself between the pinion at 55mph. Pop it in reverse and throttle breaks it free. Hazards on, I make it another 4 miles home at like 25mph with a friend following me since a tow truck was going to take a few hours. At this point I'm like "**** IT" what else could go wrong.

What else you say? The ol' short shaft, that's what! It snapped in this magical place called the OEM e locker collar; the part that engages the actual locker. Using the GX as a work light, I quickly realize this axle ain't coming out and am fairly certain I know the State of the Union. A quick trip to snag a slide hammer and my 6'7" friend and all guesses are now confirmed. I'm less than two months out from a trip I already requested PTO for and have a COMPLETELY fragged LC sitting in the street.

I'm quickly starting to think there's no way I'm going to make it to COTR. And even so now the front locker and skids I wanted need to get put aside to put the funds towards making this thing just work so the city doesn't bitch. A quick trip to The eBay and a little Google led me to pull the trigger on this 99 LX470 rear axle. I've always bitched about factory e lockers before having an actual reason and there was no way I was willing to go back. I'm familiar with Supra LSDs, specifically the Mk3 clutch type, so I figured this would do and I could make it with a front locker for just a bit. Sorta locked is better than open.

Going in. You can see my neighbor's Winnebago turned pickup in the background, neat dude.

After popping off the inspection plate (lol) I got the view of the scene I had already pictured. Yep, just as s***ty as I thought.

 

[nukegoat]

"Inspection plate"

 

[Patassa]

Jesus. This was a wild ride.

 

[Patassa]

How'd you grenade the rear diff though? That's not very common.

 

[WrongsideDaily]

By now I'm already corrupted and I know there's no going back, but I'm at a crossroads and down on the budget I'm just pulling out my rear. I had already decided on tossing a Harrop in the front, but something I saw when listing applications for that specific unit had the the worn spider gears in the back of my skull turning; IS300/FRS/BRZ uses the same 8" Harrop as the front diff of the 100 series land cruiser. Well, I have some Toyota 8" diffs laying around, a six pack, and some time right as my Weir Performance lock plates came in. If my idea fails, I can use these parts in the Soarer, so no worries. Do and fail, or do and succeed, worst that can happen is I'm six beers deep and learned a lesson, so what, a normal Tuesday a week before your 1000 mile one-way trip? My QC department is cuter than yours

So back to the streets

Sheared the cross shaft for the spiders, and then blended it all up. Hell of a midweek cocktail if I do say so myself!

Looks mint!

 

[Patassa]

You're a really entertaining writer. Keep it coming.

 

[WrongsideDaily]

So I grab my spare diff and some Supra and Cressida 8" diffs I have just to compare what's going on.

On the right is an MK3 diff with clutch type LSD, left is the ol' two pinion. Yank the carrier bearings off, a little measuring, and I'm convinced this will work, so time to build the locked Supra diff using the carrier bearings from the replacement junkyard diff. If you're familiar with a late 100 front diff, this will start looking familiar.

With the carrier ready to go, it's time to press bearings from the old diff back on as well as the ring gear. A little assist from the oven and it's all ready to go back together.

 

[WrongsideDaily]

Excitement is growing, part time kit showed up, and diff is ready to be sealed and slapped in. So I seal it and slap it together. Time to install new bushings. The cover bushing turned out to be toast, but the previous owner replaced the other two bushings. Win! I HATE doing bushings, so one is better than three.

T- case time! 10/15/2022, time is rapidly dwindling. I need to be on the road in four days, and that's a long trip.

QC wasn't happy about the bearing, but I was more concerned with unobtainable trans output seals my local dealer failed to secure for me. They didn't pull the ONE IMPORTANT OUTPUT SEAL

Got the old bearing off, going on with the new one and I discover I don't have the tool to press that bastard the last 15000ths of an inch. Since I've never done this job and I'm just an idiot with tools, I spend several hours running around trying to sort a solution. Frustrated, I crack a beer and remember I bought a spare t case.

This thing FOUGHT me HARD. Seized bolts for the case snapped, and this thing was in the back of a non running truck with a race against daylight, but I won. Ran over to my storage and finished the press job.

 

[WrongsideDaily]

Part time spool has a bearing, it's in the right place, time to spend Sunday getting this thing back together. Windows neglecting QC and begging for a walk.

After 6 hours of an important day, my search for a Japanese made output shaft seal was fruitful. Daylight is waning, it's the 16th of October.

Time for the front diff!

 

[aedgington]

This is better than 'The Martian'.

 

[WrongsideDaily]

How'd you grenade the rear diff though? That's not very common.

Pinging off the limiter in reverse trying to get outta mud with locker engaged and one wheel catching traction instantly and one in mud twisted the short shaft inside the locking collar. OEM design is kinda meh since I guess they never accounted for ham-fisted idiots like me. That coupled with a 3rd that already had a noisy pinion bearing and you get the magic.

 

[nukegoat]

Pinging off the limiter in reverse trying to get outta mud with locker engaged and one wheel catching traction instantly and one in mud twisted the short shaft inside the locking collar. OEM design is kinda meh since I guess they never accounted for ham-fisted idiots like me. That coupled with a 3rd that already had a noisy pinion bearing and you get the magic.

While that driving is kind of reckless, I do think the front diffs are a little anemic, especially in earlier years.

 

[WrongsideDaily]

While that driving is kind of reckless, I do think the front diffs are a little anemic, especially in earlier years.

This was the rear diff I was speaking about. But to be fair, after taking apart these front diffs and observing a few things over the years in other applications, I don't feel the diffs are as anemic as they're made out to be. I think one of the biggest problems is expecting someone's Mom's car to have the diff fluids changed every 30k, ESPECIALLY the front. Then there's the 20yo plus bushings, and someone that wants to enjoy it off-road moderately. Slop creates issues. Couple a sloppy diff all around with spin to traction and you're asking for problems. A tight setup and a keen driver shouldn't have too many issues. But that's just my opinion and I'm just an idiot that bought some tools, so don't take that as gospel.

Monday, 10/17/2022; I get blessed to work with my boy "3:30 Verdi" on my last work day before my vacation officially kicks off, so I'm home by 4:20. A few minutes later, it's time to hit the street.

Luckily this thing got some CVs before I got it, and the old ones came with. Unfortunately the OEM one had a chewed outer spline from some drive flange ****ery, but this AM one was GTG! These things are HEAVY! I'm essentially built like a mid-frame Japanese woman, so absolutely none of this endeavor is fun. Since I don't gym, I can't complain, I needed the workout.

 

[tbisaacs]

You've got a way with words my friend. Subscribed.

 

[WrongsideDaily]

With the front diff and axles back in their home, it's time to finish up the part time kit and make this 100 the way whatever deity you may or may not believe in intended for it to be before Toyota USA decided we only wanted to take these things to market in the snow. I'm from Texas, I don't need AWD/full-time 4wd. I also like to party. Donuts are fun, and fixing a CV in a precarious position is not. So here we are:

You can also see the Nitro Gear UCA's I snagged in the last pic. They were STUPID cheap at under $400 shipped, I couldn't say no. Make sure you grease the ever-living-s*** outta them as they came bone dry.

All buttoned up! Also pictured is my go-to beverage for s***-shootin' and other general endeavors as well as the SpiderTrax spacers doing what they do.

Lubing the shafts lol

And I found a use for the Inspection Plate! Fluids topped off, I'm pretty much outta time for daylight. This thing hasn't been aligned, I haven't packed because I honestly don't know if this is something I should even be doing. The goal is to be on the road after the alignment scheduled for the morning is complete. My friend who is making the trip with me still isn't back in town, and all of our camping supplies are locked in his van. Great.

 

[WrongsideDaily]

Tuesday the 18th; What am I even doing with my life? Making appointments at the local Brake Check is pointless, but at the last minute there's no time to go anywhere else. They also offer a 3 year warranty and every bushing other than the diff bushings and Nitro Gear bushings in this rig are McToast. As I find time, it'll all get replaced. I also failed to mention earlier (and to the alignment dude haha) about the driver side lower rear arm shaped like a homewrecker.

They give it back, tell me their printer is out of paper so they can't provide me with a print-out, but assure me it's in spec. I chuckle knowing that's probably not true, but if it drives straight I'm happy enough until I get back. And it did, so off we go. Time to change the oil, pack, and hope my friend gets back in time or I'm gonna have to do some last minute scrambling.

Windy day, so I made this wind block and tossed a new OEM filter and a few quarts of Wal-Mart's finest house-brand synthetic. Chef's Kiss!

Decide to take a nap hoping my friend makes it back, he doesn't. I've driven this thing *maybe* five miles at this time. Wake up late, he's not back, time to go shopping. IDGAF, I'm going either way. I have Catholic and Jewish heritage, so suffering isn't anything new to me. Time to hit H.E.B.

Some spirited driving home shifting it manually and running it up north towards the limiter reminded me quickly about my blown out muffler. Do I REALLY wanna listen to that for 1000 miles one way? Nah. I don't. Wednesday, October 19th: