Fitzgerald
Hey! Where'd the mountians go?!?!?
Any action shots of The Frank in Moab?
The thread of The Frank (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Springs505
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- Thread starter
- #162
Cameron is mailing me a flash drive with a bunch of shots and some gopro footage. I'll put up a few more when I get it. It turns out it's hard to get pictures of your own truck while you are driving it.
- Thread starter
- #163
Part of my plan with "the Thread of The Frank" was to give my impressions of parts and mods AFTER putting them to good use. All too often, I search for info on a part or mod I'm thinking of installing on 'Mud and I can't find any good long-term info.
This part has held up well to ~2k hard miles (Moab trip, numerous trail runs, and some daily driving). I like the part well enough to keep it installed on the truck. Here is the problem: The steering shaft through the firewall is eccentric (wobbles when it turns). This makes the part squeak sometimes when turning, even though I have disassembled and greased the surfaces between the bearing and the housing. If I had to do the leaking firewall repair again, I would use the OEM rubber seal instead of this part to avoid the squeaking.
I love the Lokka. I have a bit more than 2k hard miles on this mod including several runs in the snow. The downside: It clicks when you turn on dry pavement. This is only noticeable in parking lots and during slow right turns withe the windows down. I have not had any significant bangs or clunks come from the unit during any kind of driving. The upside: the traction is awesome and automatic, there are no leaking air lines to deal with, and it is probably the least expensive locking differential you could install in an 80. The off-road improvements have been most noticeable in the snow, and when you lift a tire while climbing an obstacle.
This part has held up well to ~2k hard miles (Moab trip, numerous trail runs, and some daily driving). I like the part well enough to keep it installed on the truck. Here is the problem: The steering shaft through the firewall is eccentric (wobbles when it turns). This makes the part squeak sometimes when turning, even though I have disassembled and greased the surfaces between the bearing and the housing. If I had to do the leaking firewall repair again, I would use the OEM rubber seal instead of this part to avoid the squeaking.
I love the Lokka. I have a bit more than 2k hard miles on this mod including several runs in the snow. The downside: It clicks when you turn on dry pavement. This is only noticeable in parking lots and during slow right turns withe the windows down. I have not had any significant bangs or clunks come from the unit during any kind of driving. The upside: the traction is awesome and automatic, there are no leaking air lines to deal with, and it is probably the least expensive locking differential you could install in an 80. The off-road improvements have been most noticeable in the snow, and when you lift a tire while climbing an obstacle.
Interesting that there are no bangs or clunks. I've owned probably seven or eight of all the different brands, and they all popped once in a while. The other day, I came around a turn and gassed on the truck- teeth in the locker weren't all the way lined up and it ratcheted, popped, then slammed in place-- scared the cr@p out of a dog walker. Haha. Thought they were gonna jump in the ditch. Those little hiccups don't matter at all to me when you add in the benefits. Love my auto lockers!
- Thread starter
- #165
I have read that the autolockers misbehave more in short wheelbase vehicles. People also say that they make the back end kick out in the snow with a swb
I've found that a manual transmission accentuates the bad road manners greatly. And yes, the locker in my 40 was pretty spooky at times!
I've found that a manual transmission accentuates the bad road manners greatly. And yes, the locker in my 40 was pretty spooky at times!
I'd agree. My 4Runner wasn't too bad with an autolocker in it, but it was pretty noticeable. Perhaps is the way torque is transfered with a clutch instead of a TC?
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- #168
Kinda like christmas...
...kinda like a big box of pain in the ass. But it's time for an exhaust upgrade
...kinda like a big box of pain in the ass. But it's time for an exhaust upgrade
- Thread starter
- #169
Rebuilding my exhaust was kind of a pain in the ass, but i'm pretty happy with the results. The 2 into 1 cat fit nicely where the 2 stock units used to be. I removed an inch of each down pipe to get the cat up a bit higher under the truck. it's all above the frame and it gets a little extra protection from the slider (off in the picture). This also let me align the pipes with the inlet on the cat.
From the cat to the muffler, it's 2-1/2" pipe and mandrel bends. It was pretty hard to make the turn out of the cat and over the frame. it's pretty tight there, and I found that I had to add an additional clamped connection near the T case to make it possible to get this section of pipe in and out. The muffler was a bit wider, but much shorter than the stock round muffler. It's a Flowmaster 50 series (no drone). The factory muffler (with busted mounts) had been hanging ~3" below the frame and had met with many rocks. The flowmaster is now an inch above the frame.
I finished off with a simple turn-down out of the muffler, instead of rebuilding the tailpipe over the rear axle and out the back. I'm not sure if I am happy with this yet. I'm worried about fumes when driving with the windows down. However, 2 days of driving and so far, so good.
It has a deep sound, a bit louder at idle than I would like, especially when it's cold out and the idle is high. I like the sound when driving. When I get moving, it gets less noisy. I have not been able to drive normal highway speeds yet, but there is no drone so far. If the noise bothers me or I notice any exhaust smell inside the truck, I will go ahead and build a more legit tailpipe. I think that this might address both issues.
From the cat to the muffler, it's 2-1/2" pipe and mandrel bends. It was pretty hard to make the turn out of the cat and over the frame. it's pretty tight there, and I found that I had to add an additional clamped connection near the T case to make it possible to get this section of pipe in and out. The muffler was a bit wider, but much shorter than the stock round muffler. It's a Flowmaster 50 series (no drone). The factory muffler (with busted mounts) had been hanging ~3" below the frame and had met with many rocks. The flowmaster is now an inch above the frame.
I finished off with a simple turn-down out of the muffler, instead of rebuilding the tailpipe over the rear axle and out the back. I'm not sure if I am happy with this yet. I'm worried about fumes when driving with the windows down. However, 2 days of driving and so far, so good.
It has a deep sound, a bit louder at idle than I would like, especially when it's cold out and the idle is high. I like the sound when driving. When I get moving, it gets less noisy. I have not been able to drive normal highway speeds yet, but there is no drone so far. If the noise bothers me or I notice any exhaust smell inside the truck, I will go ahead and build a more legit tailpipe. I think that this might address both issues.
Nice work!
I think you should get that exhaust out from under the truck sooner rather then later though. It may put you at increased risk for CO infiltration if you get stuck in snow or water, or even idling..
I think you should get that exhaust out from under the truck sooner rather then later though. It may put you at increased risk for CO infiltration if you get stuck in snow or water, or even idling..
- Thread starter
- #171
Driving my truck around town the past 2 weeks or so in the snow, I have been noticing my braking going downhill, so I did some online brake part shopping...I came across this:
So I decided to watch this
Anyway, I'll post up some installation photos after the parts come in and let you know how it turns out.
So I decided to watch this
Anyway, I'll post up some installation photos after the parts come in and let you know how it turns out.
- Thread starter
- #173
Brakes...
I bought parts to rebuild most of the parts in my brake system on rockauto and amazon: slotted rotors, EBC pads, caliper rebuild kits, drum rebuild kits, speed bleeders, and new soft lines for the front axle. My brakes have never been great and they had been getting much worse lately...it was time for this:
I swapped rotors and started working the caliper rebuild. I found some rust under the rubber boots around most of my pistons. I got this all cleaned up, but in the end, I could not get the pistons to move freely inside the caliper:
I ended up deciding to pick up rebuilt calipers from Napa. They look identical to the factory part, and they came with a good looking black coating:
I found that a lot of the soft pedal issues in my truck stem from the rear brakes. The self-adjusting mechanism is a bit hard to engage. you have to really pull the handbrake, but working this for a bit really took the "slack" out and improved pedal feel. Also, I never adjusted my LSPV after my lift. This was certainly making the front brakes work harder, and I think one reason for the binding pistons and failed rebuild on the front calipers may have been overheating from the unadjusted LSPV. Since my LSPV is stuck to the bracket that holds it by corrosion, I opted to build a bracket and raise the attachment point on the rear axle up ~2.5":
After flushing/bleeding 2 quarts of synthetic fluid through the system, I was able to get things "good". The speed bleeders were a bit problematic at first. They need thread sealant so that the brake fluid only flows through the check valve (not through the threads) to work properly. mine did not have enough to do this. I ended up thread taping the bleeders, being careful not to get any on the sealing "cone" area, and they work well.
Anyway, I now have some confidence in my ability to stop when I need to. I am still breaking-in the pads/rotors, so I am avoiding hard stops for a few hundred miles, but hopefully the slotted rotor/EBC combination gives a good improvement over the stock brakes, which have never been quite good enough for me.
I bought parts to rebuild most of the parts in my brake system on rockauto and amazon: slotted rotors, EBC pads, caliper rebuild kits, drum rebuild kits, speed bleeders, and new soft lines for the front axle. My brakes have never been great and they had been getting much worse lately...it was time for this:
I swapped rotors and started working the caliper rebuild. I found some rust under the rubber boots around most of my pistons. I got this all cleaned up, but in the end, I could not get the pistons to move freely inside the caliper:
I ended up deciding to pick up rebuilt calipers from Napa. They look identical to the factory part, and they came with a good looking black coating:
I found that a lot of the soft pedal issues in my truck stem from the rear brakes. The self-adjusting mechanism is a bit hard to engage. you have to really pull the handbrake, but working this for a bit really took the "slack" out and improved pedal feel. Also, I never adjusted my LSPV after my lift. This was certainly making the front brakes work harder, and I think one reason for the binding pistons and failed rebuild on the front calipers may have been overheating from the unadjusted LSPV. Since my LSPV is stuck to the bracket that holds it by corrosion, I opted to build a bracket and raise the attachment point on the rear axle up ~2.5":
After flushing/bleeding 2 quarts of synthetic fluid through the system, I was able to get things "good". The speed bleeders were a bit problematic at first. They need thread sealant so that the brake fluid only flows through the check valve (not through the threads) to work properly. mine did not have enough to do this. I ended up thread taping the bleeders, being careful not to get any on the sealing "cone" area, and they work well.
Anyway, I now have some confidence in my ability to stop when I need to. I am still breaking-in the pads/rotors, so I am avoiding hard stops for a few hundred miles, but hopefully the slotted rotor/EBC combination gives a good improvement over the stock brakes, which have never been quite good enough for me.
- Thread starter
- #175
I have read that drilled is no good for an offroad right due to the possibility of collecting gravel in the holes and crunching/cracking, might happen in a mud hole or in a dry stream bed. I'm hoping there is a good improvement in stopping distance. No noise so far, and EBC warns that these pads can squeal when new.
Never heard of the holes plugging, but that makes sense. I've always been told the only real way to better your brakes it to increase the size of the rotor for more mechanical advantage. I have to believe having a higher friction pad helps too though.
- Thread starter
- #177
Sway Bar Disconnect...
Full disclosure: this idea is more or less blatantly stolen from LandCruiserPhil. He makes a really nice looking bolt-on kit to do this for a reasonable price. I would have bought his kit, but my early 80 does not have the necessary bolt holes on the frame.
This is a
project, but you need a welder. Replace the bolt/nut that hold the swaybar to the axle with these:
You need bracket(s) to hold the sway bar up and out of the way when disconnected. I opted to weld only one bracket on the passenger side of the truck, since I believe this secures the bar well enough. Phil's kit uses a bracket on each side.
Sway bar replaced to drive on the street:
Full disclosure: this idea is more or less blatantly stolen from LandCruiserPhil. He makes a really nice looking bolt-on kit to do this for a reasonable price. I would have bought his kit, but my early 80 does not have the necessary bolt holes on the frame.
This is a
project, but you need a welder. Replace the bolt/nut that hold the swaybar to the axle with these:
You need bracket(s) to hold the sway bar up and out of the way when disconnected. I opted to weld only one bracket on the passenger side of the truck, since I believe this secures the bar well enough. Phil's kit uses a bracket on each side.
Sway bar replaced to drive on the street:
what exactly did you do to the rear drums to help ?
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- #180
The rear drum hardware looked good to me when I opened them up. However, I don't think they were doing much for 2 reasons: 1. They were receiving low pressures due to my unadjusted lspv. I fixed this by installing the bracket above. This bracket adjusts for my lift and makes the lspv act as though there is more load on the rear axle. After my experience, I think any lifted 80 series needs some sort of adjustment here, and there are several methods to do this. 2. I adjusted the drum brakes using the parking brake lever. I rarely need the parking brake and so I had been neglecting this. If you pull hard on the brake hndle with the engine off, and the driver door open, you will hear the adjusting mechanism in the rear drums click when they turn.
