RMP&O's 1984 FJ60, v8, lockers and more!

[SNLC]

Here is the Throw out bearing i am talking about.
the Kit comes with the smaller of the two. for mine i need the larger

can you elborate more on the t/o bearing? You said kit comes with small one, what kit, an off the shelf clutch kit? I take it the bigger one is from AA? Is AA who told you to use the large t/o bearing?

I suppose I should call them....

My linkage looks the same as yours.

I got the Cruiser aligned yesterday. Man it is super nice now! I was standing in the shop waiting for them to bring my truck out and the guy asks me....who did all the work on your truck. I say, why!? He won't tell me why and just keeps asking who did all the work. I thought for sure he was going to say, well because they screwed up the front end! So it wasn't until the 3rd time he asked I say, well, I did all the work. He says....damn nice job man, truck looks excellent! One of the best front ends I have seen come into the shop in a long time, he says!

Cool!!

 

[Willard]

This is what the PO told me. I believe he got the stock off the self kit and had to get the other TO bearing.
What he told me is that the smaller one causes problems with shifting.

He also said just what you mentioned, call AA for the correct TO.

Like i said my Ranger is no hard to shift in out out than my 4 speed.
If anything it is easier.

 

[SNLC]

This is what the PO told me. I believe he got the stock off the self kit and had to get the other TO bearing.
What he told me is that the smaller one causes problems with shifting.

He also said just what you mentioned, call AA for the correct TO.

Like i said my Ranger is no hard to shift in out out than my 4 speed.
If anything it is easier.

Alright...thanks for the info and I will call AA at some point and see what they say.

 

[SNLC]

Took the Cruiser out for a drive today....it was muddy! The winch got used 2x. I am having a problem with a hub on the front RHS. At one point we slide off the road and got up against a tree. We winched off the tree but I still took some body damage! After this recovery we called it a day as it was getting late.

first spot the winch was used.

The tree....

the dent....

 

[SNLC]

So carnage from last weekend besides the dent....

My sliced sidewall with 6 plugs in it is not going to hold. I am bummed on this as it means a new tire is required. Although I suppose I could tube the tire, hate to do that though. Don't really want to spend well over $200 on a new tire when it is for a 15" rim that is to wide. I dislike not only the 15" rims but also that they are 10" wide. Any ways, not buying a new tire anytime real soon. So I put my 35x12.5x16 Maxxis Creepies on the truck. They are on some 16" steelie spoke rims that were supposed to be beadlocks. The guy doing the rims messed them up so we could not do beadlocks on them, as a result they just have a big "rock ring". They also need about 1" more backspacing. I checked another set of 16" steelies and they have to much backspacing! So I have a delima as I am out of rms to choose from but for now am just going to run the Creepies, just hate to do that because the rims suck and I do not want to run these tires on pavement much. Also the set up is not balanced but suprisingly I have little to no wobble.

One hub is not engaging. This hub was giving me problems and came apart while I was working on the front end. I thought I had it back together and in well but it seems not. Not only did this heavily limit me in the mud with only one front side locked it also means I need to tear the hub out again!

Exhaust is leaking pretty bad where the Y-pipe meets the single pipe. I told the shop last month when I had it fixed to weld it here. They didn't and now it leaks. Will try and get this welded up soon. Otherwise exhaust is all good. Didn't touch it with the front diff once while offroading and we were flexing the truck a lot.

I got Cruiser lean and I hate it! It seemed to be gone after the new suspension but then came back. It is odd because it will come and go. After this little 4wd trip it is super nasty and been leaning since. 2" lower on one side in the rear! If I had the cash I would just toss coils on this truck with a FF rear to boot! Alas I do not have the cash for those mods right now. So after like 4hrs reading on Mud about Cruiser lean and everyones opinion plus a variety of half-arsed fixes I decided what I want to do. I plan to buy a 2nd rear LHS OME HD leaf pack and put it on the RHS, I think I will end up with an A/A insted of A/B, need to check #'s. At least a couple people have done this here on Mud and the lean is gone for good. I am willing to give it a go for about $200 as I am fairly confident it will take care of the problem. Wish I knew about Cruiser lean before I got this truck! Most guys live with it but it really bothers me! After many years of working on Nissan Patrols I have never seen anything like this Cruiser lean!

Icon has been super slow to get the stabilzer out, I think I ordered it around the first week in September. Still don't have it....

I am working a lot so will not likely get have time do much to the truck until next month.

Got the exhaust leak welded up the other night. It is much better. Tried to clamp it down better, even put on a second new clamp but it still leaked. So we welded it up. Just means it gets the sawzall if it needs to come out!

Here is the Cruiser with the Creepies. I really like the skinny 7" wide rims. I also like the stance. The rims though really could use an extra inch of backspacing to protect the brakes, ect. For reference this is the exact same size tire as the MTRs just the MTRs are on a 10" wide rim with about 1" more backspacing. With a 10" wide rim it rubs on the back, sidewall to body inside fender. In the front it rubs at back of wheel arc at the bolts a tiny bit. In front at full lock it is very close to leaf springs. So I dislike the 10" wide rim not only for the looks but also due to these reasons. And yes I know the rims look like s*** and have surface rust!

 

[klinetime574]

Gotta love these old cruisers!

I agree with you that it looks better with those tires and wheels. Wide tires aren't really my thing. Throws the proportions all off IMO

 

[Tapage]

have the same dent in Tencha ..

opinions about new MTR design in those muddi hills .. ?

 

[SNLC]

have the same dent in Tencha ..



opinions about new MTR design in those muddi hills .. ?

Hey bro...

The mud was so damn sticky, full on clay. More sticky than peanut butter! Only tire that would have done any good in it is a Bogger. So the MTRs did soso.

For the kind of wheeling you do in Panama I don't think it is worth the cost for the MTRs. I think the MTRs are best suited for rocks or mixed wheeling. I am also not impressed by the Kevlar sidewalls, obviously since I have a dead tire with a trashed sidewall! I would think a Bogger would be the tire of choice. Maybe have Boggers for wet season and then run something like an MTR, BFG A/T or Creepy for the drier months or on pavement/gravel? For mud there is just a few tires I think are worth the money, rocks or other types of wheeling is a different story.

 

[SNLC]

Icon 2.0 stabilzer install

So last week my Icon stabilzer finally showed up. So this afternoon I went about installing it.

I had bought a Synergy tubing clamp and also a bracket to mount to the clamp. This for my 1 1/4" steering rods. I don't like the cheesy mini u-bolt clamps most after market stabilizers use so wanted to come up with something much more bomber. The follwoing is what I came up with....

Here is the lump of steel I fabricated. Well, I didn't make it all just welded the bracket to the clamp. It is pretty beefy and likely overkill! Should never fail me though.

Here it is mounted to the drag link.

And the stabilzer installed in the Cruiser...

Yes I love my front end shots! :roll:

last one...

It took me awhile to fabricate the drag link mount. My welding sucks so I threw a lot of steel at it to glue it all together. On top of this I had two brakets to weld to the tubing clamp. I got the wrong one first time I ordered it, PolyPerformance bad. The next one I got was right but about 3/8" to narrow. I had two options; modify the 3/8" to narrow one by cutting it in half and welding back togetehr or I could modiy the other bracket. I decided to modify the first bracket I got since I wouldn't have to cut it and then weld back together. Once it was done I went at it with the grinder and sander to clean it up. I then painted it. All that took awhile! The Icon stabilzer is nitrogen charged so it is like a shock and comes pressurized and extended. I decided to mount it at mid stroke, which is about 4 1/4" inches. The stabilzer has a total stroke of about 8 1/2" and seems just about right for the Cruiser. Lock to lock I am at about 1/2-3/4" left in stroke on the stabilzer. Since it is charged and extended I had to use a ratchet strap to compress it and get it where I wanted it, this was kind of a pain but not to bad. Once I had the stabilzer where I wanted it I simply bolted down the drag link clamp. I then took it for a drive. Got to say it made a HUGE improvement and the front end now is really nice. Yet, it now pulls to the LHS. I am thinking because the stabilizer is charged it is wanting to extend and thus pushing the steering to the left down the road. Thing is I can't think of any way to fix or counter this. It is not to bad and I am sure I will get used ot it but it is kind of annoying.

While I had the Cruiser in the shop I also tore down my hub that was not engaging a few weekends ago while wheeling. Sure enough it was not assembled correctly, when I worked on it last it came apart and I didn't get it back together right. The hub gear has a groove on the inside where a spring is supposed to sit and hold the hub gear in place. Mine had popped out so the hub was not engaging or disengaging. Once I got the spring in the seat it works great!

That is about all I got done on the Cruiser this weekend.....

 

[SNLC]

Put in a call to PolyPerformance asking wtf is up with the stabilizer making truck pull to left. They say stabilizer comes with 200psi and I need to take it down to 40psi. This should fix the problem.....I guess the Fox stabilizer comes the same way too.

So tonight will see if I have a fitting to get on the shrader valve and remove a bunch of pressure.

 

[SNLC]

I am going to give a little summary of the steering stabilzer stuff...

I bought it from PolyPerformance who has treated me well for years. When I bought it I called them and got a guy on the phone who I explained what I was doing and that I was looking at 3 different stabilzers they had on the website, ie the King, the Fox and the Icon. The guy explains to me the Icon is basically the same as the Fox just a bit cheaper. Not needing anything to hardcore yet wanting something better then your standard stabilzer I went with the Icon. I have had Icon suspension before and liked it so the choice wasn't hard. On the Poly website the Icon is not described or listed as being anything other then a steering stabilzer. It doesn't say anything about being for a specific application so I figured it is for a custom application.

It took 2 months ot get the stabilzer from PolyPerformance. During that time I called them like 3x to see what the wait was all about, each time they would put me on hold and ring Icon. Then come back and tell me the wait was all on Icon. Now I wasn't in a big hurry so no big deal really.

I finally get the stabilzer and am thinking this is odd, the stabilzer is pressurized like a shock. It has been many years since I installed a stabilzer and that was in a different truck not using a custom application part. So I went ahead and installed it. Once installed I take the Cruiser for a drive. It is nice, much better then before but it now pulls hard to the LHS. Right away it occures to me, duh it is pulling because the stabilzer is charged and trying to extend it's self. So I call Poly up and they say oh yeah that thing is likely charged with 200psi and you need to go down to 40psi. I am like uh ok but why not set right from the factory? I have a nitrogen tank for another truck so figure no worries to let pressure out of the Icon and set it at 40psi. Well, the Icon does not have a shrader valve on it! Rather it has a plug where the shrader valve should be. So this time instead of calling Poly again I call Icon and skip the middle man. Icon say first; the stabilzer is for a specific application and that is a Ford Super Duty truck. It is desinged to be used on this truck in a dual set up with each stabilzer fighting the other one. Thus it is charged to 200psi. Well that all makes sense! Icon says not to worry though I can use it in my application, I just have to set the pressure much lower then it is now. So they take a day to decide what pressure I should run it at, they come back saying 60psi. They also say they are dropping a shrader valve for me in the mail.

I have yet to set the stabilzer at 60psi, will be a few days to a week before that happens. So I can't report back on it yet with a lower pressure.

I think this is a classic example of a vendor not having a product listed correctly on their website. On top of this the employee at the vendor was not well informed on the product he sold me. Not a big deal though as I am getting it worked out in the end. This is a good example though of how buying custom parts for custom applications can not go as planned! Pretty normal when doing custom stuff but anyone thinking of doing the same kind of mod(s) should consider this before opening up the can of worms!

 

[SNLC]

sway bar installed

Well...I went to Idaho yesterday to do some things to the Cruiser. We had our first real snow storm of the year yesterday, 2nd actually but the first to make the roads nasty.

It was super slick on the roads and the 100 miles to Idaho. I did most of it in 2wd but was sliding all over the place. As is the Creepies suck on the ice, bad. Siped they may be much better. At one point I passed a super gnarly accident, must have been 40 rescue workers there and they were winching a vehicle back up on the road that was off a cliff.

We installed my front sway bar which turned out pretty good. We had to make a custom bracket to mount to the diff. The stock one we had cut off would have worked but it was making the sway bar to close to the axle. When we did the C&T it roated the axle forward thus changing how much of the axle stuck out if that makes sense. So we made a new bracket that spaced the sway bar a solid 1/2-3/4" farther out off the axle. We then just bought some 12" bolts and a sleeve to go over the bolts. 12" turns out to be perfect for the amount of lift I have.

We also changed the plug on the Icon stabilzer to the shrader valve I had gotten from Icon. When we wnet to fill it up though we discovered the nitrogen tank was empty! So I will have to fill it up next time I am in Idaho.

I also changed all my bulbs in the side marker lights and in the rear Kaymar bumper. Had a few that were dead.

Other then this not much was done to the Crusier yesterday. A fair amount of time was spent drinking beers and BS'ing!

Driving the Cruiser home was slow as the roads were still nasty and it was 1am. But the Cruiser handles so much better, back to how I want it. So I am stoked on that!

Will post some pictures later....

 

[SNLC]

pictures!

the accident

sway bar

the mount on the axle we made

the 12" link, I need a new bushing kit still we pieced this together at 10pm last night! This is 3/8" bolt with a sleeve on it. I think I will go to a 1/2" grade 8 with a sleeve, just ream the bushes a little to accept the 1/2".

 

[SNLC]

Well I got my new rear "A" leaf pack from Kurt on Thursday. Got to say CO is top notch, ordered the leaf pack on Tuesday afternoon and by Thursday afternoon it was at my house!

So today I am going to install it. I also got from Kurt a set of new sway bar bushes so will toss those in too. I ordered up a set of 6" rear shackle plates from MAF while I was at it. Those have not shown up yet.

Here in Jackson we have been hearing all week that a big snow storm was coming today. Well, I woke up this morning to 4" of snow on the ground and it is puking snow right now big time, as of 1am last night there was no snow! Weather forcast shows no breaks in this storm for the next 5 days! Tomorrow a local FJ60 buddy, another friend from Idaho with a sweet 4Runner and myself are going snow wheeling! I am super excited, it is going to be a blast!

 

[SNLC]

Well new RHS rear leak pack is in. When I dropped the truck onto the floor I was stoked but also a touch disappointed. I measured and was 1/2-3/4" lower on the RHS, still!! I told myself be patient though, you need to drive it and check afterwards on a flate surface. Which I did and it came out to be exactly level!! Super stoked!!

Not going to jump the gun though, after a good day of wheeling I will know if my Cruiser lean is gone for good.

Did a bunch of other little things after the leaf pack swap in prep for tomorrow and wheeling. Checked & topped off fluids as needed, ect. Went and swapped in my new sway bar bushes too. I am all ready to go for tomorrow, just need to toss some things in the Cruiser in the moring and that is it...

Looking forward to it since last time out I lacked full lock in my front axle. That is fixed now. Also will be running the Creepies tomorrow for the first time on this truck. While the Creepies suck on ice they rock hard in powder. Should be a good day....hoping for at least 1-2ft of fresh snow on the trails.

Here is a little re-cap for those with Cruiser lean/lifting and haven't read every page in this thread.

I got the truck, it was supposed to have a 4" OME lift. No such thing, turns out the lift on it was more then likely something sold by MAF years ago that is no longer available. The suspension was toast when I got the truck, leaves were badly shaped in the W and it had a bit of Cruiser lean. I looked at getting a complete OME lift, possibly with the MAF/4+ shackle reversal kit. MAF put together a list of stuff I should get to net me 4" of lift. I was able to get the PO to supply me with new leaf springs, when he asked what I wanted I gave him the part numbers for the OME leaves that MAF had quoted me on. I put in the new suspension, end up having to do a C&T on the front axle because prop shaft angle was to steep for me. I have the MAF/4+ S/R kit in front with OME mediums and Bilstien 5150 shocks. In the rear I have an OME HD (9-pack) with the Bilstien 5150s and some 5 1/2" pin to pin shackles. After new suspension I had Cruiser lean bad, it would come and go but often showed 2" lower on the RHS/passanger. The leaves MAF suggested in the rear were an A/B pack. The A pack is about 1" shorter and has slightly more arch to it. With the A/B combo things were not looking or riding well on my truck, perhaps noticed more then most because I have the 5150s and not OME shocks. MY LHS/drivers with the A pack rode how I want, was the heigth I wanted and didn't sag. So I ordered up a 2nd "A" leaf pack and just put it in. It would seem the Cruiser lean is completely gone, truck sits dead on level, no weird angles between the shackles and side to side in the rear. Time will tell but I am 95% sure I fixed the Cruiser lean for good!

 

[SNLC]

Great day in the back country here in Wyoming!

Josh's FJ60

We got to the trail at about 11am, took an hour or more to get there as roads were super slick. The trail is about 5 miles long, it had about 1ft of snow on it. It is a great trail when conditions are right, a mix of terrain. Josh doesn't have a front locker, on the way in he had to winch once due to no front locker. It took us about 2.5hrs to get to the end of the trail. We then had a short lunch and headed out as it was then 2pm. It took us right about 2.5hrs to get out as we had a few dramas and winched Josh 2x.

Carnage:

-Me: blew 2 tires off the bead, once for having pressure a bit low and heavy on the throttle and once from impact with a log. This happened on the way out. Fuel gauge stopped working, no idea why yet. May have tweaked the 3/8" bolt in front sway bar on one side, will have to check and see. Otherwise all good!

-Josh: mangled plasma cable a bit in winch, bolts in relay/control unit contacting rope, had to bend out of the way to keep winching. Said his e-brake was froze in the on postition, not sure if he got it free'ed up on the trail. No other problems as far as I know!

We both got lot's of new pin stripes. My Creepeis worked great in the powder, should have started out with 12 or so psi though, I was at maybe 7psi to start, to low without a beadlock. I ran 80% or more of the trail with only the rear lcoker in, Josh not having a front locker and BFG A/Ts meant he had to winch on the steepest hills, otherwise he did fine. One hill was long, we had to winch him 3x time get his truck up it, F&R lockers plus the Creepies certainly made a difference today. Overall though both trucks did great and it was a blast!

Video to come....

 

[klinetime574]

Nice pictures! I like snow wheeling pictures. Mostly because I like snow, and most Texans s**t a brick when it even rains.

I usually air down to about 15psi off-road. Works well.

 

[topaw84]

Thanks for heading out with us today. It was a blast! Front locker is definitely on the wish list this year. Also got to figure out the front prop shaft vibes. Hope we can get one more run in this year...

 

[SNLC]

Thanks for heading out with us today. It was a blast! Front locker is definitely on the wish list this year. Also got to figure out the front prop shaft vibes. Hope we can get one more run in this year...

Thanks for coming Josh...it was a blast with little carnage! I am up for anytime here this next week. If it keeps snowing like it is supposed to a lot trails will be snowed out for the year soon. I am going to have to work out something with rims before next time. Got 2 flats in the Creepy variety and one dead MTR! Geez the luck with tires on this truck!

Here is the video I shot today, it always makes the trails look milder then they are. Don't mind the cheezy editing and ignore my comments about front locker and winching...I needed the exercise!

Snow Wheeling.wmv - YouTube

 

[Tapage]

between new mtr model and creepys .. which it's better for your wheeling .?