The Kitchen Sink - My First Land Cruiser Adventure (2 Viewers)

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Rotated the tires and over torqued a lug nut the morning of a work trip to Nashville. Thank goodness for impact drivers and O'Reillys!
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(yes.. thats a wrench. I didn't have any washers on hand... :hillbilly:)

I did find a mountain road right behind the hotel that wasn't locked up. So naturally I was obligated to go explore.
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It did overheat slightly and I lost acceleration and oil pressure coming up the mountain in Monteagle. Pulled over quickly and found it was due to low oil... it was about time to change the oil anyway. Not too worried about the HG. It didn't get out of control. Probably will replace it soon just to be safe.
 
Nice truck. Heres some free advice from someone who broke everything when young. Slow it down out there. Use jack stands. Getting hurt is not worth it.
 
Nice truck. Heres some free advice from someone who broke everything when young. Slow it down out there. Use jack stands. Getting hurt is not worth it.
Thanks. It looks sketchy... but really wasn't that bad. I did end up putting the stands under the truck as a fail-safe.
 
I got a winch!
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Went to Tray Mtn in North GA:

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Bought some kayaks:

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I really like my Bowfin Cruisers roof rack! @dogfishlake did a solid job designing this thing (and customer service is 10/10). No rattles, no wind noise. And can easily fit two kayaks side-by-side. Would recommend!

Replaced the alternator:
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Last Saturday I installed my Blue Fan Clutch from @NLXTACY and @landtank in search for the solution to my overheating woes. Temps around town are fine (under 55mph) around 200*F. But when I hop on the highway and get up to 65-70mph, ECT's skyrocket to the 230's. Highest it got was 237*F when I got off the highway. The TOYOBD1 warning alarm went off... but the gauge on the dash doesn't move at all.

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237*F creeping around in the parking lot letting it cool off.

Next order of business is to replace the thermostat. If that doesn't work I'll go have my radiator tested.
 
All you need is the TOYOCOM reader and an Android phone with bluetooth. I got a cheap BLU phone from Amazon. Works great!
 
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Definitely! Once I figure out this overheating issue I hope to be doing some more trips.
 
Got the thermostat changed out, but didn't think to test the new one before I put it in. *facepalm*
The old thermostat was definitely not operating correctly... it started opening around 205* and was fully open at 215*.

I went camping last weekend to test it out and everything was just fine on the way up there. Temps hovered around 195-199 (@65mph steady, ~85-90* ambient temp). Peaked at 210 once while at a stoplight, but went back down once I started moving again. I'm happy with 195-199 in hot GA weather.

However, on the way home things were not so dandy. About 30min into the drive home I noticed the needle creeping up from center. My TOYOBD1 app had disconnected about 15min in and wouldn't reconnect (usually need to restart the cruiser for it to connect again) so I don't know what the actual temp was, but it was definitely hotter than normal. I kept an eye on it and turned the heater on as I wanted to get to civilization before I pulled over. Gauge didn't move much for the next 15min or so until I hit some traffic. Then it started skyrocketing towards the red. Pulled over, turned it off and back on again so I could connect TOYOBD1, and it read 270*. It quickly cooled back down to 210* with the heaters blowing and the hood open. I got it back home with the temps averaging around 215* (windows down, heaters blowing, in 90* weather). Fun drive!

I've driven around town since then, and temps haven't gotten above 205* (averaging around 190-199, stop and go traffic). I'm stumped. Obviously my thermostat is working... maybe not 100%? Radiator has flow... Theres a 10* difference in the top radiator hose to the bottom radiator hose (144* top - 134* bottom. Measured today while idling at 190* reported on the TOYOBD1 app). I definitely think my catalytic converter is toast... I measured about 100* cooler post-cat to pre-cat. Could that be causing all my problems? Maybe my head gasket? I just sent off an oil sample to BlackStone Labs... we'll see if they find any coolant in the oil.

Thoughts, anyone?
 
I've been busy enjoying the 80 and just about forgot this thread. The report came back from Black Stone Labs, they said everything looks normal and no coolant in the oil!! :bounce:

Changed out my thermostat, and added the blue fan clutch. Over the winter the temps have stayed around 180-195*. Looking good so far! I need to seal up the shroud with some foam, and get a shop to replace the cats (they're custom "high-flow" right now and it smells terrible). We'll see what happens with the warmer weather that is right around the corner.
 
I've done a couple small day trips this fall/winter, and most recently drove up to Nimblewill Gap and FSR-28D with my brother and his Liberty, and a buddy with his '06 4.0L TJ. Lots of fun! I would highly recommend checking it out.

Started off the trip with a dead alternator in the TJ. Got that swapped out in 30-45 minutes in the local AutoZone parking lot. Glad I had all my tools!

After that it was smooth sailing until it got dark...

Some hints of Jurassic Park...

The crew:

The Liberty got stuck on FSR-28D. He smashed his front diff pretty hard on a rock in the puddle and it started clicking and grinding... I had to pull him out onto the main road. Thankfully he was able to drive home in 2wd just fine.

All-in-all, everyone had a blast! Looking forward to the next trip (TBD)!.
 
Thank you! I enjoy my 80 very much. By far the most fun vehicle I’ve ever owned.
 
You run in NC a lot? I’m in Southport (in between Wilmington, and Myrtle Beach) hit me up if you need someone to run with! I love the Crotan, and we go out on the Ft Fisher OHV beach during the week in the summer (I’m retired USMC and wife’s a teacher so weekdays are not so busy!) But I have a 91 with Aussie rear, and new 33 MT’s I want to get dirty!
 

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