Awesome build @pandathrust ! Still rocking my '99 4Runner at the moment, but I see an FJ80 in my future at some point!
Builds "Red Lobster" Build
- Thread starter pandathrust
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- Thread starter
- #122
So my brakes were feeling a little iffy lately so I decided to do the only right thing to do when you're too lazy to track down the problem and bought new front/rear rotors, brake pads, and caliper rebuild kits. Hopefully that solves the problem of terrible stopping distance and a wobbling steering wheel when decelerating. Also, I'm giving speed bleeders a try on all calipers as well so that should make changing out the brake fluid and bleeding easier in the future. Rebuilding the calipers was easy and they weren't in terrible shape so I figured Id give it a try before I toss them over a core charges on reman ones.
Fronts. I've got new pins on order but for now I put these ugly rusty ones back on.
Hunnid series pads
Rears
New pads, also I already flipped the pad retaining clips since they are backwards in the pic.
While I was doing the brakes I figured I would change out the lift with a shiny new slee 4 in that should be here in a few days, granted I wont be putting it on till the monsoon ends. I was getting a pretty bad cruiser lean maybe from the springs or the spacers, but either way it looked like s
t and I wanted to change things up.
Seeing how the 37s will look under the wheel well, hopefully it sits way lower once its off the jack stands or you'll see it in the classified section soon.
I'm gonna give the headlights an upgrade in the near future too. Feeling Depos and some HIDs because I actually want to see at night, without blinding everyone else with fake LED bulbs.
Fronts. I've got new pins on order but for now I put these ugly rusty ones back on.
Hunnid series pads
Rears
New pads, also I already flipped the pad retaining clips since they are backwards in the pic.
While I was doing the brakes I figured I would change out the lift with a shiny new slee 4 in that should be here in a few days, granted I wont be putting it on till the monsoon ends. I was getting a pretty bad cruiser lean maybe from the springs or the spacers, but either way it looked like s
t and I wanted to change things up.Seeing how the 37s will look under the wheel well, hopefully it sits way lower once its off the jack stands or you'll see it in the classified section soon.
I'm gonna give the headlights an upgrade in the near future too. Feeling Depos and some HIDs because I actually want to see at night, without blinding everyone else with fake LED bulbs.
I’m so excited for this build! You’re gonna be one taaaaall, slowboy. Keep on truckin, pandapal!
- Thread starter
- #124
UPS man dropped off 150 lbs of goodies...
Literally the only reason I bought the slee kit
These adjustable links adapters are beefy
Rears
Fronts
The rain continues, so maybe this weekend it'll end so I can finally toss the new brake stuff on without it all turning to rust before I even get to drive it.
Literally the only reason I bought the slee kit
These adjustable links adapters are beefy
Rears
Fronts
The rain continues, so maybe this weekend it'll end so I can finally toss the new brake stuff on without it all turning to rust before I even get to drive it.
- Thread starter
- #125
So I managed to finish up the lift this weekend. It only took 2 weeks since I was trying to paint some of the truck and the rain wouldn't let up for me to do that, but once it did all the parts went on in a day.
First off the adjustable panhard adapters were set up on the stock front rear panhards and the upper links. Here they are cleaned with rosettes ready to weld.
My brother decided to tell me after I spent 2 hours setting the rear uppers up and welding them that I could've bought some metal techs for $30 more. Thanks @robustbambi
. The Slee links are nice though.
Up front I changed out the rotors, rebuilt calipers, pads, and SS brake lines along with all the suspension. It looked really pretty until the rain started and gave the nice smooth rotors a little rust tint.
New pins
I still need to weld the caster plates to the axle mount, but those plates are definitely needed with the 4" lift. Before I had some unknown OME lift springs with a 1.5" spacer with ended up being about 3", Probably needed them then too. But now the front pinion is oriented property.
The finished whip
So I drove it around for about 60 miles yesterday to get a feel for handling. The shocks and springs need to kinda settle in since speed bumps are horrible right now at around 25mph. There is barely any body roll on corners which was something I thought might be a problem.There also isn't any vibration in the drive shaft and I don't have a double cordan. (EDIT: spoke too soon, there is some vibration at 35-55 MPH that is closer to a very jerky side to side motion of the steering wheel when accelerating. Working on fixing that now). There are a few more things I need to do like see about the panhard length being correct but I might cycle the suspension on dirt before I mess with those. I also need to mess with the drag link now since my steering wheel is all sorts of sideways.
Then I decided to take the headlights out and start setting up some projectors into some Depos. I'm pretty excited to get those in so I can see better at night.
First off the adjustable panhard adapters were set up on the stock front rear panhards and the upper links. Here they are cleaned with rosettes ready to weld.
My brother decided to tell me after I spent 2 hours setting the rear uppers up and welding them that I could've bought some metal techs for $30 more. Thanks @robustbambi
. The Slee links are nice though.Up front I changed out the rotors, rebuilt calipers, pads, and SS brake lines along with all the suspension. It looked really pretty until the rain started and gave the nice smooth rotors a little rust tint.
New pins
I still need to weld the caster plates to the axle mount, but those plates are definitely needed with the 4" lift. Before I had some unknown OME lift springs with a 1.5" spacer with ended up being about 3", Probably needed them then too. But now the front pinion is oriented property.
The finished whip
So I drove it around for about 60 miles yesterday to get a feel for handling. The shocks and springs need to kinda settle in since speed bumps are horrible right now at around 25mph. There is barely any body roll on corners which was something I thought might be a problem.
Then I decided to take the headlights out and start setting up some projectors into some Depos. I'm pretty excited to get those in so I can see better at night.
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- Thread starter
- #126
I've been putting off rewiring my front corner lights to make them running lights and blinkers with an 1157 socket/bulb. I originally bought some sockets off amazon that worked well for a little while, but crapped out after a year or two. They weren't waterproof so that probably caused some of the downfall, and that I was using some of the crappy wire taps to get into the stock lower blinker. Decided to rewire everything the right way with some 1157 rear 80 series brake sockets that I picked up from @slow95z.
Harness with the 1157 80 series brake sockets to the front corner marker lights. Long wire needs to be tapped into the stock blinker.
The rear brake socket isn't exactly the same fit as the stock marker light socket so 10 seconds with a dremel and its a solid fit up.
Just had to take a little bit of the longer "foot lock" to make it even in size to the other. You can see here how much needed to be taken off , ~1/8".
Fits in great and is well protected from the water with rubber gaskets, since it sees water in the brake light setup too. Much better than anything that you''ll find online in terms of socket quality.
I used solder seal wire splices that were really easy to use. Just heat it with the heat gun until the solder flows, and then get each of the sides to shrink the wrap and fuze the "epoxy like glue" that makes them waterproof. I should've taken a pic of what they looked like, but you can get some cheap ones from Amazon. Here is a final wiring that I had with all the heat shrink and electric tape to hold everything in place.
Finally the only thing that really matters that you can barely tell a difference in the pictures in the daytime, only running light...
Running/Flasher combined
It was a really easy thing to do, but buy some Toyota 1157 sockets, quality electric connectors, heat shrink, and wire sleeve to make it last for the lifetime of the truck and you'll be happy you don't have to pull all that crap off to rewire it again like I did.
Harness with the 1157 80 series brake sockets to the front corner marker lights. Long wire needs to be tapped into the stock blinker.
The rear brake socket isn't exactly the same fit as the stock marker light socket so 10 seconds with a dremel and its a solid fit up.
Just had to take a little bit of the longer "foot lock" to make it even in size to the other. You can see here how much needed to be taken off , ~1/8".
Fits in great and is well protected from the water with rubber gaskets, since it sees water in the brake light setup too. Much better than anything that you''ll find online in terms of socket quality.
I used solder seal wire splices that were really easy to use. Just heat it with the heat gun until the solder flows, and then get each of the sides to shrink the wrap and fuze the "epoxy like glue" that makes them waterproof. I should've taken a pic of what they looked like, but you can get some cheap ones from Amazon. Here is a final wiring that I had with all the heat shrink and electric tape to hold everything in place.
Finally the only thing that really matters that you can barely tell a difference in the pictures in the daytime, only running light...
Running/Flasher combined
It was a really easy thing to do, but buy some Toyota 1157 sockets, quality electric connectors, heat shrink, and wire sleeve to make it last for the lifetime of the truck and you'll be happy you don't have to pull all that crap off to rewire it again like I did.
Just read the whole saga, awesome build! Are those FJ Cruiser steelies with no spacers?
- Thread starter
- #128
Thanks! They are the 17” fj cruiser steelies. No spacers for now but I’m thinking about maybe adding some spidertrax 1.5” spacers in future. Gotta see how it handles off road first, might need some extra width.
Nice, I think the steelies look awesome. I'm currently running a clapped out OME kit with the same wheels and 35's. The 4" Slee kit looks great. I'm looking forward to seeing how your setup works and if spacers are needed.
- Thread starter
- #130
That's where I was sitting before the slee lift. I'm not really a huge fan of spacers in general but the extra width with a taller truck will probably make things feel a little more stable.
- Thread starter
- #131
So I noticed more of a jerking side to side motion of the steering wheel that feels like there are some vibrations stemming from the driveshaft and working its way to the sloppy steering ends/worn out wheel/trunion bearings. I haven't driven the truck around too much but it kinda crept up on me at lower speeds. Everything is okay above 60MPH. Kinda sucks since I redid the seals and gaskets (no bearings) in the front a few years ago with marlin seals and they seem to be leaking now, but I need to change the bearings anyway. I am going to order a kit from Cruiser Outfitters and get on that soon. I also have a few torn TRE boots that need to be dealt with so I plan to get Marlin's DOM replacement tie rod and drag link bars with new steering ends as well. I called up Tom Woods today and got a new double cardan front drive shaft so that will be coming in next week. Lots of crap to do but once its done I might actually get to drive this thing for longer than a day or two...
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- Thread starter
- #132
I finally brought my 80 to the 21st century by retrofitting some HIDs into the Depo clear headlights. Honestly, I had no experience with retrofitting to begin with and was a total noob but I got with @Luke111 who just so happened to be retrofitting some D2s 5.0s into his Depos right when I was looking to do mine. He's a really nice guy who answered all my stupid questions and he's also a Morimoto dealer so you know who to get in touch with when you decide you are tired of not being able to see at night... I went with the morimoto d2s kit with the morimoto 5500K bulbs. From the little tests I've done this far I think they are nice, but I have read good things about the phillips bulbs as well. Maybe down the line, I just got the projectors fully buttoned up today and haven't even been able to oogle them at night yet. Nothing else much added to the kit but some 9006 extenders, high beam splitters, some dielectric grease, and the tool to tighten down the nut on the back of the projector.
Look at that big piece of glass
First thing I did when I got them home was dremel down the back to accept the H4 lock ring and the nut so I could mount them up to see what I was working with
I put them on and aimed them to where I thought would work and then test fit the glass to see there was no way the projector was going to clear
This being my first retrofit job, I didn't really feel confident in my ability to aim/level the headlights in my first go since hard mounting with the screw and oring would require you to aim before adhering the light housing glass back on so i came up with another approach to make them fully adjustable once completed. I managed to get one completed last night before dropping a shroud and putting a deep scratch in it, but I managed to pick up another from TRS today in Atlanta. Here's the finished product, shiny as fk. I went with morimoto 2stroke LEDs in the high beam spot since I wanted to make sure the bulb in the stock high beam spot matched in color to the d2s projector 5500k bulbs. I think the LEDs are about as close a match to the pure white as you can get and they are really bright just by themselves.
I trimmed the rubber boots to fit over all the important stuff and replaced all the hardware that was taken off when it was put into the oven.
I mounted the ballasts out of the way on either side of the truck as shown. The relays for the morimoto harness is mounted to the battery hold down angle iron with a self tapping screw but wasn't put up yet in this picture
Installed on the passenger side...
Driver side...
Now for the whole bug eye look
. Looks so new I might need to actually repaint the labs bumper to match
I haven't gotten around to actually aiming them, but I probably won't be able to do it properly for the next week or so. I've got the front axle in pieces right now with an axle rebuild and I'm still waiting on my Tom Wood's DS (coming tomorrow) and my marlin crawler heavy duty tie rod/drag link. I'm pretty confident doing all that will fix my wobble on the highway since my wheel bearings were pretty worn and felt sloppy and the tire rods were wayyyy too easy to move around in the socket. Im surprised I haven't died yet driving with those things, but now I am changing them out with all new ones. One day soon I'll get to drive the 80 again or sell it who knows
Look at that big piece of glass
First thing I did when I got them home was dremel down the back to accept the H4 lock ring and the nut so I could mount them up to see what I was working with
I put them on and aimed them to where I thought would work and then test fit the glass to see there was no way the projector was going to clear
This being my first retrofit job, I didn't really feel confident in my ability to aim/level the headlights in my first go since hard mounting with the screw and oring would require you to aim before adhering the light housing glass back on so i came up with another approach to make them fully adjustable once completed. I managed to get one completed last night before dropping a shroud and putting a deep scratch in it, but I managed to pick up another from TRS today in Atlanta. Here's the finished product, shiny as f
k. I went with morimoto 2stroke LEDs in the high beam spot since I wanted to make sure the bulb in the stock high beam spot matched in color to the d2s projector 5500k bulbs. I think the LEDs are about as close a match to the pure white as you can get and they are really bright just by themselves.I trimmed the rubber boots to fit over all the important stuff and replaced all the hardware that was taken off when it was put into the oven.
I mounted the ballasts out of the way on either side of the truck as shown. The relays for the morimoto harness is mounted to the battery hold down angle iron with a self tapping screw but wasn't put up yet in this picture
Installed on the passenger side...
Driver side...
Now for the whole bug eye look
. Looks so new I might need to actually repaint the labs bumper to matchI haven't gotten around to actually aiming them, but I probably won't be able to do it properly for the next week or so. I've got the front axle in pieces right now with an axle rebuild and I'm still waiting on my Tom Wood's DS (coming tomorrow) and my marlin crawler heavy duty tie rod/drag link. I'm pretty confident doing all that will fix my wobble on the highway since my wheel bearings were pretty worn and felt sloppy and the tire rods were wayyyy too easy to move around in the socket. Im surprised I haven't died yet driving with those things, but now I am changing them out with all new ones. One day soon I'll get to drive the 80 again or sell it who knows
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- Thread starter
- #133
For the past few days, I've been rebuilding my front axle. I forgot that I actually changed the trunion bearings out the last time I changed the gaskets/seals (like 4 years ago I think), since they were fairly new looking. I still trashed them for new trunions since I wanted everything fresh. I used Marlin Crawler seals last time and figured it was probably best to switch back over to the OEM inner axle seals. I bought the Koyo kit from @cruiseroutfit and got to ripping that trash apart. The bearings I took out were a mix of koyos and timkens so it looked like some may have bee replaced and others might have not, who knows. They are all new now. Still waiting on more grease which will get here today and I''ll finish up the rebuild.
I used Redline CV2 grease which was pretty pricey but I figured it was worth it since it's supposed to be good stuff all around. Repacked the birfs since they were pretty gross and slammed a gallon of grease into those giant knuckle balls.
I decided to paint everything as well. It was pretty gunky with leaking fluid and once that was degreased it looked like it could use a coat. Tractor paint is good stuff.
This is about as good as it will ever look. Still need to weld up the slee castor plates.
I noticed a week or so ago when I actually drove this thing that the brake light was sticking on. It might've been from the cold weather but I didn't want to mess with it so I just bought a new OEM one. Works great now
I also installed an ultragauge since it seems like what all the cool people do to keep an eye on the engine temp. I haven't fully set it up yet but it seems nice enough Chinese quality to use for a while. I wanted to keep it out of the way, but I didn't want it in from of the cluster gauge or near the gear shift. Its about as low as it can be shoved up in front of the window but I figure I'll use it as a speedo too.
I used Redline CV2 grease which was pretty pricey but I figured it was worth it since it's supposed to be good stuff all around. Repacked the birfs since they were pretty gross and slammed a gallon of grease into those giant knuckle balls.
I decided to paint everything as well. It was pretty gunky with leaking fluid and once that was degreased it looked like it could use a coat. Tractor paint is good stuff.
This is about as good as it will ever look. Still need to weld up the slee castor plates.
I noticed a week or so ago when I actually drove this thing that the brake light was sticking on. It might've been from the cold weather but I didn't want to mess with it so I just bought a new OEM one. Works great now
I also installed an ultragauge since it seems like what all the cool people do to keep an eye on the engine temp. I haven't fully set it up yet but it seems nice enough Chinese quality to use for a while. I wanted to keep it out of the way, but I didn't want it in from of the cluster gauge or near the gear shift. Its about as low as it can be shoved up in front of the window but I figure I'll use it as a speedo too.
Got grease?????? Did you leave any open space inside the knuckle? Have you had the castor angle measured since the lift install? Any vibes?
- Thread starter
- #135
Yeah there’s some space in there. It’s 3/4 full but it looks like the full thing since I scraped the grease off my hand into the ball.
Didn’t have a chance yet to measure the castor angle but the pinion is pointed pretty much right to the t case so a DC was needed. I ran a normal driveshaft for a few days when I drove it and there was some pretty wild death wobble at 30ish mph. Steering wheel moving 1/4 turn from center is pretty scary. I took the front shaft off and drove once and the wobble was still prevalent but not as bad. Front needed to be rebuilt anyway and the tie rods were toast with ripped boots. Still waiting on the marlin crawler steering links and rod ends before I can see if the work fixed it. I’m pretty confident that improper toe in on the tie rod has been a big part of the issue.
Driveline vibes won’t fause death wabble. Warn suspension parts and tires are usually the culprit. Nice looking rig you gave there and very nice work on the tail gate storage lid.
- Thread starter
- #137
Yeah I didnt notice much else that was overly worn in terms of suspension bushings but that could be the next step if it still happens. Hoping for smooth sailing since it didn’t do anything before i lifted it. Thanks!
Yeah dawg you messed that truck up.
- Thread starter
- #139
- Thread starter
- #140
I finished the front axle last week and got it back onto its own wheels. I messed up the tie rod in the pitman arm by smacking it with a hammer since it was seized in there pretty good so I couldn't get the nut back on. Right now its just got some wire through the cotter pin hole so I can move it in my driveway. The marlin steering links will be arriving mid week and once those are on I will test drive it.
I also forgot to show that I installed a Tuffy center console in the truck because the stock one was too low to use and at the lack of cup holders was annoying
I installed the cupholders on the rear instead of the front like most people do. I like the cupholders in the back and I like the idea of removing them easily with wing nuts that I used. So they can drop off in a minute. That meant there was a large hole in the shifter cover place that I had to make a plate to cover
The plate is just some 16 gauge that is cut to fit into the spot there and cover the hole. It has a recess for all the wires that are routed through that area as well
its held down with some clampy metal things on the driver side and top side and the passsenger side ties into the shifter cover screw.
The puffy has a solid footprint and it takes up a lot of room but it also means a lot of pretty safe storage for whatever you have.
I noticed my truck has developed (over a looooong time) a bunch of engine oil leaks. So I bought a bunch of gaskets and stuff to fix the really problematic areas along with the valve cover. That should be a fun thing to dive into in the next few weeks
I also forgot to show that I installed a Tuffy center console in the truck because the stock one was too low to use and at the lack of cup holders was annoying
I installed the cupholders on the rear instead of the front like most people do. I like the cupholders in the back and I like the idea of removing them easily with wing nuts that I used. So they can drop off in a minute. That meant there was a large hole in the shifter cover place that I had to make a plate to cover
The plate is just some 16 gauge that is cut to fit into the spot there and cover the hole. It has a recess for all the wires that are routed through that area as well
its held down with some clampy metal things on the driver side and top side and the passsenger side ties into the shifter cover screw.
The puffy has a solid footprint and it takes up a lot of room but it also means a lot of pretty safe storage for whatever you have.
I noticed my truck has developed (over a looooong time) a bunch of engine oil leaks. So I bought a bunch of gaskets and stuff to fix the really problematic areas along with the valve cover. That should be a fun thing to dive into in the next few weeks
