Builds The Rushing Turdle (4 Viewers)

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Do you have any photos of the work for getting the Carb Fan to work?
I don't but I can take some tonight. It was really super simple. Just ground the blue wire. That's it.
 
A blue wire exits the harness at the same point as the wires to the idle fuel solenoid on the carb. The blue wire is supposed to go to a thermostat mounted on the manifold. The thermostat may be faulty or the wire burned and broken. Strip back the blue wire and ground it. The fan should work again.
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I did the same thing with the carb fan recently. I just used an existing bolt holding a metal bracket to the fender well.

I was having some occasional hot starting issues, so hopefully this will quell those...

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My son, Nathan (10 y/o) had his first driving experience last weekend. He drove me around my folks' property in the Turdle. I'm one proud dad!

Video clip below:

That is just the best. His facial expression, both of your accents and the tweaked off center 60 steering wheel. That and the rootbeer brown. Best color by far. My first 60 was rootbeer brown. And the stripes are kickass.
 
The metal line that goes from the water pump to the lower radiator hose (or any of the three coolant hoses that connect to it) is a common culprit for a coolant leak, mostly because it's buried and difficult to repair/replace.
Difficult isn't the word. Wish I'd thought to replace mine when I had everything open and off. It wasn't too pretty. The things I learn when I dig deeper into Mud. Ah, well fingers crossed. Stuff is all reinstalled but now I know incase it doesn't hold.
 
The blue wire. Ah, that is what I was trying to ask someone yesterday. Bam, thank you sir!
 
The Turd has been behaving itself lately so I decided to treat it to a brand new dash overlay. Yeah...I know it's not much but it sure did improve the view looking out the windshield.

Before:
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After:

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I did an oil change on the Turd last week and hit all the grease zerks. I noticed a little slop in the rearmost driveshaft u-joint so I decided to replace it. I placed my order with @reevesci (Trail Tailor) and received a new Toyo universal joint. I must say that I am really impressed with these u-joints. They are nicely packaged and, for a part that hardly ever gets noticed, they are beautiful pieces. The joint is greaseable. There is a zerk. I just didn't get it in the pic.

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I rented a Ball Joint / U-Joint press from my local Advance auto. Pressed out the old and pressed in the new.

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I hit the shaft with a coat of paint and it's ready to go back in.

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How easy was using the ball joint press? I've never used one. Have always used either a BFH and sockets or my hydraulic press with sockets.
 
Theres a tool for that. dam! I usually do it between a rock an d hard place.
 
Love the pooper cruisers
 
How easy was using the ball joint press? I've never used one. Have always used either a BFH and sockets or my hydraulic press with sockets.

I'm sure it's easier to do with a shop press but this solution was waaaayyy easier than the old hammer and socket method. I'd say this is the quickest way to do it if you don't have a good way to support the shaft. It would be a great way to do it on the trail and I'd wager that even the cheap Harbor Freight tools could easily press these out. I have a thing against whacking new bearings with a BFH. Not going to do it that way anymore.
 
I'm sure it's easier to do with a shop press but this solution was waaaayyy easier than the old hammer and socket method. I'd say this is the quickest way to do it if you don't have a good way to support the shaft. It would be a great way to do it on the trail and I'd wager that even the cheap Harbor Freight tools could easily press these out. I have a thing against whacking new bearings with a BFH. Not going to do it that way anymore.
Great pix. Thanks for that. The press looks really easy and simple. Makes perfect sense to me. Can't be an expensive tool.
 
I'm sure it's easier to do with a shop press but this solution was waaaayyy easier than the old hammer and socket method. I'd say this is the quickest way to do it if you don't have a good way to support the shaft. It would be a great way to do it on the trail and I'd wager that even the cheap Harbor Freight tools could easily press these out. I have a thing against whacking new bearings with a BFH. Not going to do it that way anymore.

I bought one from NorthernTool years ago when I was building a D44 front end for an old Heep .... best $40 I ever spent on tools! I have changed ball joint and u joints on the trail with it an like you will never go back to the BFH method ....
 
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I did an oil change on the Turd last week and hit all the grease zerks. I noticed a little slop in the rearmost driveshaft u-joint so I decided to replace it. I placed my order with @reevesci (Trail Tailor) and received a new Toyo universal joint. I must say that I am really impressed with these u-joints. They are nicely packaged and, for a part that hardly ever gets noticed, they are beautiful pieces. The joint is greaseable. There is a zerk. I just didn't get it in the pic.

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I rented a Ball Joint / U-Joint press from my local Advance auto. Pressed out the old and pressed in the new.

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I hit the shaft with a coat of paint and it's ready to go back in.

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Glad you like the Toyo. They are a very nice and durable joint. I've used them for a couple years now and have had no issues at all. Still as solid as the day I installed mine.

Thanks for the order.

Merry Christmas

J
 
I like tent camping when the weather is dry but tent camping in the rain can be a miserable experience. Set your tent up in a bit of a depression and you wake up in a pool of water. I believe there is value in being able to sleep comfortably in your vehicle if you're on a trip and the weather isn't cooperating. I love the high dollar sliding drawer systems and sleeping platforms that the overlanding guys build. Some of them are truly amazing but I have two kids and I need to be able to keep the rear bench seat for everyday kid duty. I also have a gigantic dog (Great Dane) that barely fits in the back of my 60 as is. Building a permanent fixture and loading up an already underpowered rig with hundreds of pounds of plywood, carpet, refrigerators, etc. seems counterproductive to me.

My goal is to build a sleeping platform for two that can be set up and removed in five minutes or less, is light weight, maximizes headroom and costs less than $50. Did I accomplish my goal? You decide.

The foundation for my build are these cheap and easy bed risers from Target. They are plastic and their intended purpose is to set your bed at home on top of to raise it up. They are a 7" rise. They can be stacked as well to raise an additional 3". These were $6.79 a set (4 per set) at Target. I got three sets and had two risers left over. My local Target did not have three sets of black risers so one set is white. I got what they had...

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The risers will be arranged as shown to support the platform.

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The rest of the platform was built with 4'x8' OSB from Lowes. Two sheets at $11.00 / sheet. My materials cost is a little over $45 total for everything.

I had some 3/4" plywood scrap that I cut in 2.5" squares that I will attach to the bottom of my platform. These squares drop into the reliefs on the tops of the bed risers to anchor everything into place.

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I decided to split the platform into two pieces with the split being just behind the rear seat. This will allow me to be able to leave the back section of the platform in the truck but still allow the rear seat to be utilized. Here's a pic of the underside of the rear section with the blocks permanently attached:

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Here's a pic of the underside of the front section with the blocks permanently attached:

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Note the placement of the blocks at the split between the front and back pieces. The front section has one block (the center one) cantilevered halfway off the plywood. The rear section has two cantilevered blocks at the split. When the two sheets come together and the blocks sit down into the risers, everything is locked tightly into place. There is no movement of the two halves of the platform. There is no chance that anybody will get pinched by shifting or flexing boards at the split.
 
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Here is a pic of the installed platform:

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My plan is to use the space underneath to pack in small items (tool cases, straps, etc.).

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Another option for transport is to toss the one or both of the platform pieces up on the roof rack. They are small enough and light enough to be able to go up top with no problem. I decided to seal the OSB with Thompsons Water Seal in the event that I put the boards up on top for transport during a rainy camping trip. The whole thing breaks down in a jiffy and stores away neatly in my attic as shown:
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Final thoughts: I really like the portability of this setup. It is plenty sturdy yet lightweight (about 20 lbs) and breaks down and packs away very quickly after use. With the low 7" rise I can lay down or sit up without bumping my head on the roof. The cost was less than $50. One major drawback in my particular application is the position of my spare tire. At some point I may decide to purchase a rear bumper with a tire carrier to move the spare outside. My 10 year old, Nathan and I will be able to sleep just fine with our heads toward the front and our feet down by the tailgate even with the spare inside but the spare does take up significant legroom as is.

After building this platform it occurred to me that if I were to purchase additional risers and stack them two-high for an additional 3" the platform would be raised up over the rear wheel wells and the platform could be widened over the wheel wells and lengthened a few inches to pass over top of the folded rear seat bottom. The downside to raising the platform is headroom or lack thereof. I think we will try this setup as-is first. If we feel like we need the extra space I can always add a few risers and cut another couple sheets of OSB to make a bigger platform.
 
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Great idea! I'm in the same boat - I can't get rid of the rear bench seat to build a full drawer system. What I'd like to do is build a half drawer that only covers behind the bench seat and have a second deck piece that is hinged to the rear piece. Basically, what you have but with a drawer under the back half and the forward half is hinged to it with some fold out legs to support it when in use.

For now, I just have two big pieces of 3" thick closed-cell foam that is cut out just like your OSB.
 

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