Kurts rear swing out design is slick, I asked him if he was concerned about bumping the back tire into a tree or something and pushing the back door panel in? Other wise great design by cruiseroutfitters.
"Rusty Rockers" BJ74 Daily.
- Thread starter PeeZed
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ha, I did that with a crapwagon I built about 10 years ago, didn't realize it was a thing now...
because yeah, having to open swing out and then door is a pain. Worked great, just had to push door closed rather than slam it.
Mine was more ghetto naturally, rubber bushings not heims...
Wish I could do it to my 60. 3 freaking layers before you can get in...one of my many peeves with that lumbering behemoth...
Looks good. Nice to do it all at once rather than peck away at it for years.
- Thread starter
- #43
Installed the Amber Laminex on the LED pods. They’re Speed Demons I got through Loki Lighys out of Nanaimo.
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- #45
I suppose it’s time for a trans cooler now...
Gonna do a spring over and taller skinnies on it. And trailer brakes. Easy camper special. Picked it up at auction for cheap. Just throw some camping supplies in and away we go...slow and steady.
Gonna do a spring over and taller skinnies on it. And trailer brakes. Easy camper special. Picked it up at auction for cheap. Just throw some camping supplies in and away we go...slow and steady.
I love me a porta power. Nice trailer fix. Ones mans junk eh!
I think sell it and maybe something a bit smaller, lighter. But never one myself to turn down a deal.
Smaller... it's just a wee one. Sometimes I miss my 16x7 tandem cargo. If I still had it I could store the roof in the front and then drive the 40 inside. It would be nice for a run out to Texas. It would follow nice behind the Ambo... I'd likely hardly notice it was there.
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- #49
Found a pinhole in the upper road hose during routine oil change. One hose led to two, three, four...well, everything coolant related has been removed.
Although still in pieces, this is what’s going back in.
New hoses, some OEM, some have to be made.
New OEM water pump.
New thermostat.
Added transmission cooler good for towing 22,000 gvw.
Replacing battery cables.
Removed all A/C components. Some may be available for sale shortly.
Removed rear heater lines. This eliminates the possibility of a rock breaking one of the lines when out in the bush and risking engine overheat and failure. This keeps everything coolant related under the hood and front of house as it were.
Looking forward to getting it all back together and doing some exploring!!!
Nice work! All important stuff to do before loading your engine down towing that trailer.
Does your truck have a factory transmission cooler in the bottom of the radiator? If so, make sure you keep that in the cooling circuit. Best route is flow from transmission to auxiliary cooler, then into radiator trans cooler and then back to transmission. The radiator cooler also acts as a heater to bring the ATF up to the proper temperature. This is important for proper TC lockup and shifting. And when your ATF temps get really high, both coolers work together to cool the ATF. Don't underestimate the capacity of the radiator cooler to help cool; it's incredibly effective. I saw a truck recently where they went only with an auxiliary cooler and disconnected the radiator cooler. The truck had black trans fluid and the trans was toast. This was an A343F which is known to have less overheating issues than the A440 or A442. Once these transmission drop out of lock-up, be prepared for megaheat from the torque converter while towing. I've heard 10kW of heat is generated, and I believe it (proven on dyno).
Does your truck have a factory transmission cooler in the bottom of the radiator? If so, make sure you keep that in the cooling circuit. Best route is flow from transmission to auxiliary cooler, then into radiator trans cooler and then back to transmission. The radiator cooler also acts as a heater to bring the ATF up to the proper temperature. This is important for proper TC lockup and shifting. And when your ATF temps get really high, both coolers work together to cool the ATF. Don't underestimate the capacity of the radiator cooler to help cool; it's incredibly effective. I saw a truck recently where they went only with an auxiliary cooler and disconnected the radiator cooler. The truck had black trans fluid and the trans was toast. This was an A343F which is known to have less overheating issues than the A440 or A442. Once these transmission drop out of lock-up, be prepared for megaheat from the torque converter while towing. I've heard 10kW of heat is generated, and I believe it (proven on dyno).
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- #51
April update!
Got the truck back from bullet proofing the cooling system a few months ago. Tranny cooler was installed and the A/C was deleted along with the rear heater so as to avoid the lines being hit under the truck and dumping my coolant. Now, all cooling hoses that exist are in the engine bay only!
Being excited to get my rig back I went out for a spin with cruiserpilot to the Power Station and around the old diversion damn. Upon arriving home I discovered my rear leaf pack had lost a couple leafs!
7 weeks later I’ve got new OME heavies installed with greasable shackles and some new shocks too. Rides like a dream now!
And then to top it off I’m having second thoughts about the whole towing a trailer for camping thing. I always figured an RTT was both too expensive and also too top heavy for my rig.
Well, with a local supplier of RTT’s that seem cost effective, and seeing how many other 70series not toppling over with RTT’s on top, I’ve reconsidered my options and am leaning towards an RTT now!
Right on! Nice to see progress and the upgrades! Cool picture with yours and Jon's truck there.
I agree about the towing to camp thing. Avoid that if you can. Once my kids are a bit older I'm going to stop too. Cruisers just ain't that great at towing either. Are you going to try the RTT thing with your whole family? Let me know how it works out. I'd like to try something like that too.
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- #53
A few weekend warrior projects completed finally.
1. Small secondary tank for my ViAir on board air system.
2. Removed Centre console and heater (deleted rear heat) to accommodate military box with 10x the room! Had to put in on an angle to accommodate seat movement though.
3. Can’t wait to get the other two 255/85/16 Toyo MT’s next weekend and step up the peace of mind in the bush factor substantially! I came across a pair locally (brand new) for irresistibly cheap, so I’m biting the bullet on the other two and selling my General Grabbers to help offset the cost.
1. Small secondary tank for my ViAir on board air system.
2. Removed Centre console and heater (deleted rear heat) to accommodate military box with 10x the room! Had to put in on an angle to accommodate seat movement though.
3. Can’t wait to get the other two 255/85/16 Toyo MT’s next weekend and step up the peace of mind in the bush factor substantially! I came across a pair locally (brand new) for irresistibly cheap, so I’m biting the bullet on the other two and selling my General Grabbers to help offset the cost.
- Thread starter
- #54
Look Mom, I’m all growd up now. Got my big boy boots on now!
Before (265/75/16 General Grabber AT2)
After (255/85/16 Toyo MT’s)
Before (265/75/16 General Grabber AT2)
After (255/85/16 Toyo MT’s)
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- #56
Got these pullouts at Costco for cheap...no idea if they’ll hold up or if the plastic frame will buckle under the lid, but I guess we’ll see!
I was very impressed at how much stuff I could get back there all nice and organized instead of trying to lift huge Rubbermaid’s around.
There was room behind the pullouts for another compartment so I built one. It holds all my liquids perfectly and some other gear. Access is via a piano hinge.
The middle skinny section is just right for some tool cases and axes and such.
The sides are for chains, first aid, and air lines.
Haven’t reinstalled the ViAir yet but will
Probably go where it was before.
I was very impressed at how much stuff I could get back there all nice and organized instead of trying to lift huge Rubbermaid’s around.
There was room behind the pullouts for another compartment so I built one. It holds all my liquids perfectly and some other gear. Access is via a piano hinge.
The middle skinny section is just right for some tool cases and axes and such.
The sides are for chains, first aid, and air lines.
Haven’t reinstalled the ViAir yet but will
Probably go where it was before.
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- #58
Yeah, I have a fairly short attainable list for the truck this winter, but I really need to start building an off-road all-weather square teardrop type trailer so I can go explore during any season!
This winter I'm hoping to get these done on the truck:
1. Install new greasable (shorter) front shackles and bushings,
2. Install an 80 series brake booster,
3. Install a 60 series drop arm,
4. Service front hubs,
5. Install transmission temp sensor.
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- #59
Injectors got a rebuild and service!
New nozzles. Was really fortunate he had a new set he’d forgotten about in his tool box!
Serviced and pressures set correctly.
I can feel a sight power increase. I’m hoping for better fuel economy if nothing else.
I was going to get him to do mine, we played email tag for months, till I finally gave up. Those ones he'd forgotten about were probably the ones he said he was going to order for me 
I've had a set of 6 denso nozzles on ebay in my watchlist for ages. Someone in the UK sells them pretty reasonably, one of these days I may just grab them and do it, once the weather improves and I have another vehicle going.
I've had a set of 6 denso nozzles on ebay in my watchlist for ages. Someone in the UK sells them pretty reasonably, one of these days I may just grab them and do it, once the weather improves and I have another vehicle going.