Sacedog's Build Thread (4 Viewers)

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April 2024

After reading a post about someone's dirty air box, I thought I would replace the filters and clean mine out. When I opened up the air box, this is what I found.

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I duct taped a dryer cleaning tool to my small shop vac, and got to work...the entire air box was jammed full of debris. Needless to say, my blower worked a lot better after this was cleaned.

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May 2024

I purchased the Trail Tailor LCAs, extended sway bar links, and a new set of front and rear sway bar bushings, and got those installed. I sprayed some PB Blaster on the bolts/nuts a few hours before I started, which seemed to help them come off fairly easily. After reading about others who had broken off bolts, I was happy this turned out to be easy. The front sway bar bushings took a little time to get in. If you replace them when the sway bar links are disconnected, you can get the bushings out with the torsion bars in...it just takes a lot of wiggling.

I purchased an 18" crescent wrench to tighten the LCA nuts. This tool came in handy later for the bump stop install.




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May 2024

Since I was towing over the Sierra's occasionally, I thought it would be a good idea to install a ScanGuage 3. I purchased the A-pillar grab handle mount and Scangauge 3 from Spiker Engineering. I routed the ODB cable under the A-pillar trim, which made for a clean install.


Right after I installed the Scangauge, the LC hit its first 100k.

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After running my new head unit with CarPlay, I wanted a place for my phone. I went back to Ben for another 3D printed item, and used it with a Ram mount.

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I did need to grind down a bit of one of the plastic posts in order to get the mount adapter to fit snugly.

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May 2024

While under the LC, I did notice there was some rust where the AC drained onto the frame, so I purchased the extension kit from Cruiser Garage which installed in a few minutes.


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May 2024

While I had already placed an Element fire extinguisher, I thought a second traditional extinguisher was a good idea. I purchased a mount for under the passenger seat from Cruiser Garage, and the extinguisher and quick release from Amazon. The quick release is nice for when my wife rides shotgun...she does not like the extinguisher under her feet.

 
July 2024

I removed the factory rack, and replaced it with a Prinsu rack, with the cutout for a light bar. One of the mounting bolts was rusted pretty bad, so this took a while to get out. Luckily, I was able to get it out without having to drill.

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The rack was easy to install otherwise, and turned out pretty nice. I took it out to trail test it prior to the light bar install.

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July 2024

I purchased the CaliRaised dual light bar to install on the Prinsu rack. I do not use lights enough to warrant the expense of a Baja Designs light. This light fit great, and CaliRaised sells the brackets with it to mount to the Prinsu rack. I ran the wire down the windshield drain channel, and over to the Switch Pros junction box. With the 3 conductor cable, I was able to hook up the white and amber lights to two separate switches to run them independently.

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July 2024

I called up Stellar Built again, to order Dissent bumpers. They would take some time to come in, and I decided I would install the Plaidwagon windshield reservoir tank so the factory one would not be visible after the high clearance bumpers were installed later in the build.

The removal was pretty straight forward; I unfortunately had a lot of washer fluid in my factory one, so I spilt a bit getting it out. The new tank was a little bit smaller, but fit most of the fluid I took out of the factory tank.

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After draining the fluid, I removed the washer motors, and extended the wiring.

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The airbox needed to be removed to install the new tank, but once it was in it fit perfectly and looked nice to boot!

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July 2024

After accidentally pressing the center diff lock button multiple times, I purchased and installed the CruiserPatch CDL button guard. Unfortunately, I could not find this on his site, so he may no carry it any longer.

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August 2024

I had a set of generic recovery boards which did not fare well after a couple of uses when I was stuck in the sand. I decided to purchase a set of Maxtrax boards, and the Prinsu mount for keeping them up on the rack. I added in a lock to keep them from walking off on my way to and from outings.

 
September 2024

After reading about brake booster failures, and due to me towing occasionally, I thought I would take the LC into Shannon Automotive to have them replace it. About the same time, I noticed a very small amount of coolant in my driveway. Since Shannon warranted their parts and work for 2 years, they replaced it free of charge. While they were in doing the work, they also noticed that the steering rack was leaking and recommended replacement after sending me pictures. I decided to have them do the work, and was pretty happy with the results of the replacement. The steering felt way more responsive.

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October 2024

I swapped out the Trail Tailor real lower control arms, with a set of Dobensons rear lower control arms. After installing the TT ones, I had a squeak that bugged my wife (and me as well, but it was something I could live with). I had tried removing the TT arms, and greasing everything I could but the squeak persisted. After replacing with the Dobinsons, I still had the squeak...grrrrr. I took apart and greased every suspension component I could in the rear, but still have the squeak.

If anyone is looking for a set of TT rear LCAs at a cheap price, hit me up.

This is a good video install of the TT arms, and they use a nice hack to ensure the length is correct.

 
October 2024

Sometimes, I get reading on the forums, and think "that would be a great idea". I go up to Tahoe a lot in the hot months, and read about the issues with fuel delivery at high altitudes in the heat. A number of people replaced their charcoal canister with the Tundra one, and said they no longer had the issue. So I purchased the Tundra charcoal canister and hoses, and went to work.

The Tundra one is nearly identical to the LC one, but is missing one mounting point. Some people have 3D printed a mount, but I have left mine as-is and not had an issue with it coming loose yet. This video is a helpful guide.



Here they are side-by-side.

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I decided to replace a number of the old hoses while I was in there. Parts are below.

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Part Number Part Name Price Quantity
77310-48020 Fuel Tank Cap $22.70 1
77740-34080 Vapor Canister $229.68 1
17030-50070 Hose Assembly Air $45.34 1
17341-50110 Hose Air $41.59 1
23829-50070 Hose Fuel Vapor Fee $33.52 1
77249-60140 Hose Fuel Emission $10.92 1
17345-50080 Hose, Air, No. 5 $19.35 1
77747-60031 Vacuum Hose $17.23 1
90999-92003 Hose Vacuum $2.78 1
96132-51300 Vapor Hose Clamp $2.35 7
90080-46347 Hose Clamp $1.56 1
96135-51100 Hose Clamp $2.93 2
 
October 2024

I had acquired a number of recovery gear items, and wanted extra storage in the back of the LC. The Hurricane Fab tailgate storage mod was the perfect solution. I took my time installing it, but it was pretty straight forward. I left in all of the cross members for extra strength, which makes it a little challenging to fit things in. This video was a good watch prior to installation.

 
October 2024

I finally got the call from Stellar Built, that all of the parts were in! I dropped the LC off, and they were done in about a week. They installed the Dissent high clearance front & rear bumpers (I opted for the tow hitch), a ComeUp 12.5k winch, the rear swing out for the spare, a new Method 701 and BFG KO2, and the Dissent skid plates. It was one of the best and most expensive mods to date, but I am really happy with the results.

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They post to social media platforms a lot, and I got to see the progress. Another customer was in the shop, and did a full walk around of the LC, saying that he wanted one.

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The finished result.

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November 2024

A couple of days after the winch install, I went to start the LC, and it was dead. After jumping it and driving around to run my errands, I did some troubleshooting and found that the winch was the culprit. I disconnected it from the battery, and ordered a winch battery switch.

Once I received the switch, I had to fabricate something to mount it on. I went to Home Depot and purchased a couple of construction brackets, welded them together, and spray panted the final product.

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While it was not great, it was better than the bracket I had for the circuit breaker, and it fit both the switch and the circuit breaker.

 
December 2024

Something else I read about and thought would be a good idea to do, was to replace the factory bump stops with the Perry Parts front and rear bump stops. I sprayed all of the factory ones with PB Blaster, and let that sit overnight. Removal of the front ones was tough, but luckily the old ones came out in one piece. I would recommend an 18" crescent wrench or something similar for the front ones. It came in VERY handy.

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December 2024

Some unnecessary mods this month, but I was bored and thought a couple of other red accessories to match the winch shackle would be nice. So I added some Agency 6 grab handles to the Prinsu rack, and Rhino D-ring shackles front and rear. The grab handles are much nice to grab onto that the sharp rack edges are, so that is a plus. The shackles were a bit loose on the rear bumper, so I added a couple of rubber shackle isolators to avoid them making noise (for the wife).

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We drove the LC and another car up to Truckee last weekend, and parked the LC in the garage for a couple of months. I am going to be busy with work, and it made sense to keep it covered rather than sitting in my driveway. I hope to get in more off-roading next year after the snow melts, and try some more difficult trails.

Hopefully this write up is helpful to others. Feel free to reach out with any questions if you are doing any similar installs.
 

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