SQOD Squad - Stupid Question Of the Day (31 Viewers)

[DirtNap]

I need help figuring out what's making the latest racket. When I turn left with any lateral g's (e.g., a sweeping turn at 30mph, or a tighter turn a bit slower) I hear a rattling/clattering sound coming from the right side of the truck. Haven't been able to tell whether it is from the front or the rear -- it's hard to stick my ear out the passenger side window while driving (-; Will try again next time I get a passenger.

Since a few months ago I had an issue with the left parking brake shoes being loose and making a noise, this time I looked at the right side parking brake - everything was fine.

Any ideas?

 

[DirtNap]

Thanks. I went ahead and got the bearing and hub assembly, so I am hopeful I won't have to pull the bearing from the rotor bearing assembly (edit: if a portion get's stuck on the shaft, I've got an old puller, and a hammer). Bonus: Get new hubs!

Harbor Freight has a pretty good bearing puller set (item 62593, $50 list, frequent 20% or 25% coupons could knock that down). Looks just like the "SST" in the pics.

 

[TonyP]

I need help figuring out what's making the latest racket. When I turn left with any lateral g's (e.g., a sweeping turn at 30mph, or a tighter turn a bit slower) I hear a rattling/clattering sound coming from the right side of the truck. Haven't been able to tell whether it is from the front or the rear -- it's hard to stick my ear out the passenger side window while driving (-; Will try again next time I get a passenger.

Since a few months ago I had an issue with the left parking brake shoes being loose and making a noise, this time I looked at the right side parking brake - everything was fine.

Any ideas?

Do you have aftermarket UCAs?

 

[DirtNap]

Do you have aftermarket UCAs?

Yes, I do

 

[grinchy]

I'm thinking about making some rock slider brackets. What is the minimum steel thickness to consider? Looking at marketed products I see lots of 3/16" and 1/4" (0.25") for the brackets. If I use 0.3125" will that be enough?

In my application there isn't a lot of room to have wide brackets, I can only get about a 5x5" pad on the frame at each mount point.

 

[electro992]

I need help figuring out what's making the latest racket. When I turn left with any lateral g's (e.g., a sweeping turn at 30mph, or a tighter turn a bit slower) I hear a rattling/clattering sound coming from the right side of the truck. Haven't been able to tell whether it is from the front or the rear -- it's hard to stick my ear out the passenger side window while driving (-; Will try again next time I get a passenger.

Since a few months ago I had an issue with the left parking brake shoes being loose and making a noise, this time I looked at the right side parking brake - everything was fine.

Any ideas?

Check the dust shields behind your rear rotors, these have a tendency to scrape against the rotor during turns. You need to take the rear rotors off to see where the interference is, on mine it was the small lip at the base of the rotor hat.

 

[Markuson]

I actually like that cover, makes a great place to set tools while working on the engine area.

But those flimsy clips are a PITA.

I use only two clips on my black grill-gap cover. Has no effect, and makes occasional access easier. I agree with JLF that it’s useful for setting tools & chargers on.

 

[Dan Lee]

Hi Guys - Sorry, I missed your replies and couldn't thank you for the responses earlier. I took a trip to Moab. I only went off highway a couple of times, the more meaningful one being Gemini Bridges road (including unintentionally veering off onto the steeper, more technical than me, old section of trail at the base of the butte with the ledge side road). No skills, stock car and street tires and I was still able to get through the section. I felt certain that I was going to get stuck (soft ground,too steep, broken axle, perched on a large rock, torn tire and/or rolled over) but I miraculously made it through. After this unexpected experience, I'm prioritizing getting at least new tires (LT, maybe something like Toyo OC RT) if not new rims as well (Tundra TRD?). I thought for sure that at the least, my tires were not going to make it.

 

[grinchy]

Right next to the oil filter housing, on the driver side, what is the 22mm bolt for? it has a spring on it with a shaped metal piece. What torque for that bolt? I have looked at part diagrams and can't find it.

 

[linuxgod]

After this unexpected experience, I'm prioritizing getting at least new tires (LT, maybe something like Toyo OC RT) if not new rims as well (Tundra TRD?). I thought for sure that at the least, my tires were not going to make it.

I can say for certain that upgrading from the factory Bridgestone tires to Nitto Ridge Grappler A/T tires was a 1000% improvement to traction. That's a highly scientificly measured calculation of course.

In snow the Bridgestone tires would spin when starting from a full stop unless I was cautious and the ABS would routinely kick in coming to a stop sign. I once parked at a state park campground with my trailer and my left tires ended up in some mud when I was hooking back up to leave, and trying to pull out spun them a bunch and threw mud in the air.

Conversely the A/Ts have felt virtually unstoppable. ABS only kicks in if I stand on the brakes, tires don't spin in the snow unless I try to break them loose, and I've had no trouble in mud, nevermind excellent traction in Moab and Breckenridge last year when aired down.

A/T tires are the best performance mod around.

 

[Dan Lee]

Thanks. I'm trying to decide between BFG KO2, Toyo OC AT2. I still have Nitto and Falken on the list but I'm leaning toward BFG or Toyo at the moment. I'm at the point where further reading / research is probably not going to help distinguish between the two. It may come down to a flip of a coin. More than likely, I'll choose BFG - I usually go to Big O and they don't seem to carry Toyo.

 

[Pnw425]

I just put a set of KO2 on my LC from stocks along with a set of RW wheels. The KO2s are an amazing tire and i am really happy with them both on and off pavement.

I had a set of the Toyo AT2s on my previous 4Runner and also really liked them . I thought hard about sticking with the Toyos for the LC but the groundswell of love for the BFGs on here swayed me. Really you can't go wrong with either choice.

 

[linuxgod]

Given the number of people who love their particular tire and the significant improvement I got with the Nittos over stock I highly suspect Nitto, BFG, Toyo, etc are all amazing tires and it really comes down to relatively minor differences in stiffness/wear/noise/grip.

 

[Dan Lee]

As a newbie, my perspective is that it's difficult to differentiate between BFG, Toyo, Nitto, etc. Especially for my novice usages. It may not make any difference at all. Or one might be better than the others for my novice usages and highway (for example, one might be better on highway (dry/wet) but not as good at rock climbing which I don't need for my novice usages). The number of choices is overwhelming (each brand offers at least 3-4 different models) and from where I sit, they all almost sound the same. And maybe that's the point -- just buy whatever is convenient for me at my preferred local shop within my target budget.

 

[Dan Lee]

Okay - got the KO2's on order. I knew going in but to actually see the paper quote took my breath away. I'm used to paying $150/tire so $350 (plus more tax) is really hard to swallow.

Anyway, I usually never get tire protection insurance. But given I'm buying these tires to go into (semi) hazardous areas off pavement, should I get the tire protection - it's $45/tire. I don't think I would need it but then again I don't have any off pavement experience.

What do you guys usually do? Get it or pass on it? I'm usually going to be on easy to moderate-easy trails but rocks and wood are common.

 

[kevinfoutch]

Okay - got the KO2's on order. I knew going in but to actually see the paper quote took my breath away. I'm used to paying $150/tire so $350 (plus more tax) is really hard to swallow.

Anyway, I usually never get tire protection insurance. But given I'm buying these tires to go into (semi) hazardous areas off pavement, should I get the tire protection - it's $45/tire. I don't think I would need it but then again I don't have any off pavement experience.

What do you guys usually do? Get it or pass on it? I'm usually going to be on easy to moderate-easy trails but rocks and wood are common.

I bought my KO2's from 4WheelParts here in town on a black-friday sale and it included the roadside hazard insurance. I've had 2 tires replaced under that program due to sidewall damage, so even tho I didn't deliberately 'buy' the warranty, I was glad to have it. It probably also depends on who'll be honoring the warranty claim (e.g. 4WP seem to be more lenient / customer friendly) and dealing with BFG on your behalf.

 

[Willy beamin]

Theres a bar code modled on the tires themselves. So its trackable in theshops computers. Like any product if you think you could end up in a situation where a failure could be possible then youll be a happy guy once you receive the replacement tire. If nothing ever happens then you spent the equivalent of three or four tanks of gas on a replacement plan. I do it and bitch about it and move on.

 

[Dan Lee]

Okay - looking at it that way, the cost of the protection for 4 tires is 45 gallons (not even 2 tanks). I probably used about 120 gallons on my trip to Moab.

I'll bitch and swear as I pay the bill but I guess I'll get it.

 

[mcgaskins]

Okay - got the KO2's on order. I knew going in but to actually see the paper quote took my breath away. I'm used to paying $150/tire so $350 (plus more tax) is really hard to swallow.

Anyway, I usually never get tire protection insurance. But given I'm buying these tires to go into (semi) hazardous areas off pavement, should I get the tire protection - it's $45/tire. I don't think I would need it but then again I don't have any off pavement experience.

What do you guys usually do? Get it or pass on it? I'm usually going to be on easy to moderate-easy trails but rocks and wood are common.

I've put dozens of sets of tires on many vehicles over the years and I have never purchased the warranty. Two reasons - first I'd rather just spend the money to get a 5th tire and put that on if I get a flat. 99.9% of the time I'm likely to get a flat, I won't be able to drive to a tire shop to get it fixed, so I need a 5th tire regardless to get me off the trail and get home. Second reason - I rely on my tires to safely take me to some really remote places, so if the tire fails in my use case I'll put the spare on to get me home and then sell the tires and switch to another brand. Maybe I'm just lucky, but I've been wheeling for 2 decades now, and I've never had a tire failure on the trail. I've seen many failures on the trail for sure, but I've never had to put my own spare on my truck. I scratch my head when I see people say they've have 5+ failures in a single year - I simply don't understand how that's possible on a high quality modern tire, but I know it happens.

I've had everything from old school bias ply Super Swampers (had a flat on one of these actually on the road at 75mph whole 'nother story, but that was my fault because I was a broke college kid and bought them off a guy who stored them in the Phoenix sun for years and were totally dry rotted out), old MTRs, new MTRs, the original BFG AT, AT KO, AT KO2, BFG MT, Mickey Thompson Baja Claws, Mickey Thompson ATs, Toyo ATs, Nitto ATs, Nitto RGs, Duratracs, Michelen ATs, etc. etc. also in sizes ranging from little 30" tires to 37" tires. Sorry to be long winded, but my point is I've had a LOT of tires in a LOT of off road miles, and I've never needed a warranty. Imagine how much money I would have wasted over the years if I bought the warranty each time. My warranty is my spare tire, and that's my advice especially since it sounds like you're not going to be running your setup in what I'd consider a high risk environment.

 

[RET2]

It's all about risk management. I wouldn't run without a spare nor do I like paying full price for a damaged tire versus a relatively small fee. Recently I was very glad to have the replacement option. Oh yeah I like 10ply rating E tires

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