Pretty quiet in here... what are you working on?

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Brakes acting funny on the '97 4runner.
Pedal drops an inch or two lower than normal and i have to step on the pedal for satisfaction. Pump it twice then it's normal for a second. No visible fluid leaks, except for my rear axle oil seal...and no drop in brake fluid level. Same thing happened about 6 months ago then self corrected and symptom disappeared.
Also noticed something before. On a very cold start my booster would not work on the first pump or two. Id have a super hard pedal. After the first pump it would work as normal.
Truck equipped with abs.

Brake booster tests seem to clear that, but I dunno. Maybe a bad manifold line with some intermittent leaks coupled with a weird brake MC.

*Did some research. Looks like the issue could be the brake booster check valve. Somewhat known issue in cold weather. A little condensation forms in the valve, ices over, and blocks the airway. Eventually the ice melts and the airway becomes unblocked. We shall see.

** also discovered that if the rear brakes are out of adjustment it takes more pedal travel and more fluid for them to engage so that the fronts may engage. Explains the increase in pedal travel. I don't have a loss of pressure, just an extreme change in travel needed. Means that the MC is likely ok. Rear brake shoes I know are screwed anyway.
 
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Got my steering box done.
Had to order another bearing. (The scout box takes 2 bearings) then cut the main piston ring assembling it. And had to order anouther kit.
 
Finally got around to changing the thermostat in the '86 4runner. Tested the old thermostat and it opens a little after boiling water. Making me think the overheating is from some other reason. Engine is running a little s***ty too. That could be the holy exhaust and slight exhaust leak at the manifold i just discovered.
Or...headgasket...


Although when burping the system the new thermostat opened properly, unlike the old one before. More testing needed.
 
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The problem with the stock thermostats in the 22RE was that they didn't open fast enough on initial warm up. On mine it would start to get hot but if you flipped the heat on and off it would make the t-stat open. The Celica thermostat is two stage so it opens just a bit at a lower temperature and then fully later on. So your old t-stat may pass the boiling water test but be opening to slow to stop an overheat.
 
So I was thinking about how my old Honduran diesel never seems to warm up really well, and maybe it was a thermostat problem. I opened up the thermostat housing, and I located the source of the problem. No thermostat at all. Awesome.
 
Got the clutch master and slave replaced.
Installed the rebuilt stearing box and West Texas Moded steering pump.
It got realy cold out before I got to installing the radiator.
 
Not exactly a "What are you working on" but also not worth its own thread. Got an awesome birthday gift from my wife.
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I bet a jeep will park there!

While cleaning out one of the trucks I tweaked my back moving ammo aND a spare tire. Decided to change the lift struts on the '97 for soft labor.
Crawled under my '86 to replace the cat back of the exhaust. Realized an hour in that no matter how I pried and bent the hangers and basically humped the underside of the truck that the tube on the flange side was just too long to mate with the cat. Of course my grinder was at work, from some safe cracking, so right now the exhaust is hanging disconnected under the truck.
Found some more rust in the bottom quarter panels, so I ordered a die grinder and roloc discs to help prep to glue in some patch panels. Figure it's about time to patch the fender rust and monstaline the truck. My guys already make fun that I drive a damn technical, so dune beige and IR driving lights it is.

Finally received my PLX obd2 bluetooth transmitter. Going to repurpose an android phone for immediate diagnostics and extra gauges. Just need to install a couple dedicated usb charger ports. I'm eyeballing a blue sea double usb charger port to keep it all nice and neat.
 
Earlier this week, I removed the 4" ALCAN springs that have been on the rear of the 60 for the past 6-7 years, and replaced them with 2.5" OME springs to even the ride height with the 2.5" OME fronts. Today, I took it out on a Colorado Land Cruisers club trail ride to "break in" the new springs.

A few more "little things" and the 60 will be ready for Cruise Moab.:hillbilly:

Metberry Gulch, March 19th, 2016:
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SAS said:
Earlier this week, I removed the 4" ALCAN springs that have been on the rear of the 60 for the past 6-7 years, and replaced them with 2.5" OME springs to even the ride height with the 2.5" OME fronts. Today, I took it out on a Colorado Land Cruisers club trail ride to "break in" the new springs.

A few more "little things" and the 60 will be ready for Cruise Moab.:hillbilly:

Metberry Gulch, March 19th, 2016:
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Metberry%20Gulch%2019%20MAR%2016%20075_zpsbimdlezb.jpg
Click to expand...
Lucky!!
 
I finally made some real progress on my FF axle build.
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The brackets are welded on with zero warpage. I preheated the weld area and cooled them slowly just to be sure.
I must have checked them half a dozen times throughout the process.
 
I just got my 40 back from Ryan's for some much needed R&R. He replaced the radiator and all heater hoses, swapped out the cracked and leaking Cali spec Thermal Reactor exhaust manifold for a Fed spec 60 series manifold, replaced the rag joint, rebuilt the center arm, replaced the steering stabilizer and last but certainly not least, rebuilt, re-jetted and tuned the OEM carb. I also got a new exhaust done by Murphy's while it was out there. It is amazing how quiet a properly tuned 2F is at idle and how strong it can pull when needed.
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Finally bolted on the savage offroad skid plate set after a quick coat of spray can bedliner. All but one bolt lined up, so I'll have to revisit that when it isn't sleeting.
Noticed some extra vibration while driving too, so I'll have to add some rubber isolation between the plates and crossmembers.
Also thinking about adding a dedicated vibration absorber like the ones on the exhaust and transfercase. Prob overkill though
 
To pass inspection in Maryland, all windows must operate and FJ62s have notorious window issues. My driver's window worked intermittently and I needed to fix it to pass inspection.

I knew that the relay for the window was a usual suspect, so went about testing it. I tested the the line coming into the relay and it was good with 12 volts. I test the line coming out of the relay and -- bingo! -- 2 millivolts. Found the problem.

Ed kindly agreed to help me replace the relays on the circuit board. I had some wine, beer, and pizza with Ed, Pat, and Matt before heading to Ed's basement, which is essentially a transplanted Radio Shack that had been stocked with quality components.

After the truly fun experience of using a solder sucker, we plugged the relay into the 62's door and -- no window! I didn't get it. I told Ed that I had tested the line coming out of the relay and found no voltage. Ed grabbed a flashlight to look at the connector I pointed to and asked if I had power locks. Of course, it's a 62. Well, I had been testing power to the door lock. I laughed, Ed laughed, I cried. A whole lot of work had been for naught.

So, this last weekend I pulled the regulator and motor and it turns out the brushes on the motor were shot. I purchased a replacement from NAPA, lubed the regulator and the window works better than it ever has during my ownership.

It might be time to move on to the other windows.
 
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