Builds The Story of Blue (24 Viewers)

[ClassyJalopy]

Mileage 219,134
Fresh Mobil 1 High mileage 5W-30 oil and Mobil M1-209A filter.

Haven't posted here for a while. Blue has been faithfully serving without asking for much in return, but I can tell she needs a few things!

Life's been incredibly busy, especially with moving in to a new place. Tons and tons of projects around the house and in the yard, that I am too cheap to pay someone to do for me. Between chopping down trees, re-grading parts of the yard, making flower beds and raised garden beds (for my wife), insulating garage, building storage racks etc. etc. I have just not found any time for Blue.
Being busy all 7 days (work and weekend classes) hasn't helped much either.

Anyway, I have noticed the power steering fluid leak on my driveway a few times. Every 500 or so miles, I had to add a couple of tablespoons worth of fluid too. Last time I checked, it appeared to be coming from pressure hose, so I ordered fresh hoses and took off the front protection plate. Well, the whole area was covered in fresh red ATF so I couldn't tell the source of the leak. So, I cleaned everything up and gave it a good wash and then drove the truck another couple fo hundered miles.

Now I am convinced that the leak is mostly coming from the rack itself. The pressure hoses are bone dry! There is slight seepage from the PS return line but that is negligible. Looks like I will be ordering a new rack the next time a big sale comes around. For now, I have added a little AT-205 in hopes of minimizing the leak.

 

[94SRUNNER]

Mileage 219,134
Fresh Mobil 1 High mileage 5W-30 oil and Mobil M1-209A filter.

Haven't posted here for a while. Blue has been faithfully serving without asking for much in return, but I can tell she needs a few things!

Life's been incredibly busy, especially with moving in to a new place. Tons and tons of projects around the house and in the yard, that I am too cheap to pay someone to do for me. Between chopping down trees, re-grading parts of the yard, making flower beds and raised garden beds (for my wife), insulating garage, building storage racks etc. etc. I have just not found any time for Blue.
Being busy all 7 days (work and weekend classes) hasn't helped much either.

Anyway, I have noticed the power steering fluid leak on my driveway a few times. Every 500 or so miles, I had to add a couple of tablespoons worth of fluid too. Last time I checked, it appeared to be coming from pressure hose, so I ordered fresh hoses and took off the front protection plate. Well, the whole area was covered in fresh red ATF so I couldn't tell the source of the leak. So, I cleaned everything up and gave it a good wash and then drove the truck another couple fo hundered miles.

Now I am convinced that the leak is mostly coming from the rack itself. The pressure hoses are bone dry! There is slight seepage from the PS return line but that is negligible. Looks like I will be ordering a new rack the next time a big sale comes around. For now, I have added a little AT-205 in hopes of minimizing the leak.

Original rack?

 

[ClassyJalopy]

Original rack?

Yes - the rack is original

 

[MongooseGA]

Congrats on the new place, Abe!

 

[ClassyJalopy]

Mileage 219,155
I am chasing an annoying vibration when the truck is stationary and in drive.
i know both of my CVs are spewing grease. I have replacement parts on sitting on the shelf for a while now but I despise that job. So I started thinking of other stuff that could cause this.

I started with replacing the transmission mount today. I had it at hand for may be 2 years but just never found motivation to replace it. Turns out it is a quick half banana job!
Old one was a little compressed and rubber was hard but it wasn't broken. LOVE working on a rust free truck! Everything comes off intact and goes back together easier.

 

[ClassyJalopy]

Got started with replacing the engine mounts. There are numerous warnings here on the forum abt how AHC lines restrict the access. We'll, they do. But the bigger issue is caused by the Doug Thorley headers.
The headers take up space than the stock ones and make access to the upper 17mm nut even harder..
I just finished installing the passenger side mount - not a fun job! I took lots of breaks and kept telling me that this is a big job it will take time and patience.
The old mount that came out is severely compressed but still intact.
I have loosened the driver side mount bolts and surprisingly found that side to have easier/better access!
A couple of pics

 

[TRDdrew]

Just did this on my buddies truck. You will be happy with the end result I promise, we didn't think his where bad, but the difference was very noticeable

 

[87warrior]

Wow! I am shocked at how compressed the old motor mount is.

 

[ClassyJalopy]

Got after the driver side today. I had loosened the bolts yesterday, before installing the passenger side mount.
The driver side mount was similarly compressed but also broken in two pieces. It was definitely time to replace it!

When I put the new mount in and let the engine down, there was still one inch gap left at the top of the mount . WTAF?!? My engine was levitating
At first I tried a pry bar to move engine back and forth to see if would come down. When that didn't work, I grabbed the top part of the engine and just shook it, it finally settled down.

I still need to connect the heater T hoses (disconnected them to avoid any stress when raising the engine), top up the coolant and go for a drive.

 

[ClassyJalopy]

Mileage 210,550
Paid someone $300 to replace the driver side manifold.
The old manifold was an ealier version of DT header built with mild steel. Some welded joints were cracked. The PO acquired a replacement set in stainless steel but never had the chance to install them so they included them with the truck.
I did replace the passenger side a while ago: Builds - The Story of Blue - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/the-story-of-blue.1244337/post-13784183

I attempted the driver side a couple of times but gave up because access was non-existent. So when it started getting loud, I decided to outsource the job.
The mechanic says they spent more than 4 hours and had to take off the steering shaft, left catalyst converter and tilt the engine up to get the old DT header out. She is all buttoned up now and quiet as it should be!

 

[katit]

Where is the crack? Afterall looks like aftermarket cracks just like OE?

 

[ClassyJalopy]

Where is the crack? Afterall looks like aftermarket cracks just like OE?

There were hairline cracks around the welds. The DT headers DON'T CRACK. This was an earlier version made with mild steel. DT has since then started using stainless steel which haven't cracked.

 

[katit]

There were hairline cracks around the welds. The DT headers DON'T CRACK. This was an earlier version made with mild steel. DT has since then started using stainless steel which haven't cracked.

I am sceptical TBH. Time will tell. Factory headers last what? At least 100k+? At least on my both trucks they were cracked when I got trucks with 200k miles. Not sure we have enough statistics with 100k+ mileages with aftermarket headers.

 

[MongooseGA]

The mechanic says they spent more than 4 hours and had to take off the steering shaft, left catalyst converter and tilt the engine up to get the old DT header out. She is all buttoned up now and quiet as it should be!

On my last truck, Gira, I had a set of the SS headers on it when she was squashed between a dump truck and a semi. I had the truck towed to the shop who installed the headers, since they were going to strip all my goodies off the truck for me. The tech told me, there is zero chance in Hell that I'm taking those headers back off. It'll cost you less to just buy a new set.

 

[ClassyJalopy]

Replaced the door checks on rear doors and added @cruiserpatch sourced reinforcment plates.
A pretty quick job once you realize that you can just take the speaker off to reach the door check assembly and don't have to rip open the vapor barrier!
These are updated door checks with flatter ramps - will see if that makes any difference.
parts list:
rear LH 68640-60081
rear RH 68630-60091
OEM cover, door check LH 68622-53010
OEM cover, door check RH 68621-53010

Toyota Land Cruiser & Lexus LX Door Limiter Reinforcement Plates

*Sold in sets of two (2). Recommended for both front and rear doors (100 Series) Install video As time passes and doors go unused, the 100 Series door limiters become stuck and apply too much pressure to the door frame. The resulting damage can be costly to repair. The Door Limiter Reinforcement...

www.cruiserpatch.com

 

[TRDdrew]

Replaced the door checks on rear doors and added @cruiserpatch sourced reinforcment plates.

I've always wondered about these. I understand their purpose, I've seen the cases in which the metal tears but is it that common of a problem? I've personally never physically seen this happen on a 100 including my own and my rear doors see lots of use. What cases them to tear? Just being overly aggressive on the door? Were yours really stiff making the door hard to open? Idk just baffles me.

 

[ClassyJalopy]

I've always wondered about these. I understand their purpose, I've seen the cases in which the metal tears but is it that common of a problem? I've personally never physically seen this happen on a 100 including my own and my rear doors see lots of use. What cases them to tear? Just being overly aggressive on the door? Were yours really stiff making the door hard to open? Idk just baffles me.

My rear ones were pretty stiff and the right rear was making pretty ugly screaching noises. I had lubricated it a couple of time without much improvement.
As for the mounting surface, it was solid on this truck but it did crack on my old 98. Not sure what causes them to crack or how common it is - Since I was replacing the door checks anyway, I figured it is cheap insurance against future failure.

 

[benznotmercedes]

Replaced the door checks on rear doors and added @cruiserpatch sourced reinforcment plates.
A pretty quick job once you realize that you can just take the speaker off to reach the door check assembly and don't have to rip open the vapor barrier!
These are updated door checks with flatter ramps - will see if that makes any difference.
parts list:
rear LH 68640-60081
rear RH 68630-60091
OEM cover, door check LH 68622-53010
OEM cover, door check RH 68621-53010

Toyota Land Cruiser & Lexus LX Door Limiter Reinforcement Plates

*Sold in sets of two (2). Recommended for both front and rear doors (100 Series) Install video As time passes and doors go unused, the 100 Series door limiters become stuck and apply too much pressure to the door frame. The resulting damage can be costly to repair. The Door Limiter Reinforcement...

www.cruiserpatch.com

This is great info. My driver door check makes a ton of noise (popping) and I took the door panel off to investigate but didn't want to mess with the vapor barrier. The noise makes the truck seem like its about to fall apart every time so this will be great to fix.

 

[daohaus]

This is great info. My driver door check makes a ton of noise (popping) and I took the door panel off to investigate but didn't want to mess with the vapor barrier. The noise makes the truck seem like its about to fall apart every time so this will be great to fix.

I have an 04 and after buying it from PO there were a couple doors that really didn’t open and close smoothly. Took a can of spray grease and inserted it into the door where the door check glides on. And it improved things immensely. Opened and closed like new

 

[D21FJ60]

Got started with replacing the engine mounts. There are numerous warnings here on the forum abt how AHC lines restrict the access. We'll, they do. But the bigger issue is caused by the Doug Thorley headers.
The headers take up space than the stock ones and make access to the upper 17mm nut even harder..
I just finished installing the passenger side mount - not a fun job! I took lots of breaks and kept telling me that this is a big job it will take time and patience.
The old mount that came out is severely compressed but still intact.
I have loosened the driver side mount bolts and surprisingly found that side to have easier/better access!
A couple of pics
View attachment 3916494

What's the toyota PN for the brick?