TheGoodBanker's UZJ100 Build

[TheGoodBanker]

Hey there! I just purchased my very first LC in March of 2016. So i'm fairly new to the LC life.
Things that have impressed me thus far are:
•how smooth it rides (geez am I just hovering over the ground?)
•flexibility - I can drive this thing to visit the family/in-laws and then immediately turn off on a logging road and go exploring
•the cushy - I mean I did go with the UZJ100. First vehicle I've ever owned that has seat warmers!
•the durability - speaks for itself. Purchased my ride at 189k miles.
•capacity - it's got space to haul folks. Ive always driven an Access Cab truck, so this was nice.

There's tons of other obviously, but these are just some items that come to me immediately.

What I plan to do:

I want a vehicle that is fully off-road capable but also not a street poser. The majority of its life will be on the road, but I do want to be able to ride where ever, whenever.
Some upgrades and the order of completion include..
•Suspension
•tires (A/T for me)
•roof rack
•bumpers

If you have any suggestions or questions I'd love to hear them! I wanna do this right the first time.

 

[TheGoodBanker]

One of the first things I did was attempt to clean the carpet. There were floor mats, but underneath that was old grimy carpet. No luck. If anyone has any suggestions on ways to deep clean, I'm all ears!

 

[TheGoodBanker]

After I gave up on the carpet, I removed the side steps. I had seen some other pictures of the appearance improvement and thought I'd give it a shot. Very satisfied. No more soccer mom.

 

[TheGoodBanker]

The faded stripe down the side was bothering me. I used a can of Plasti-Dip and thought it improved it. Not sure how a really feel about it though. Not sure if it goes well.

I'll post the after pic this afternoon.

 

[george.arnold]

One of the first things I did was attempt to clean the carpet. There were floor mats, but underneath that was old grimy carpet. No luck. If anyone has any suggestions on ways to deep clean, I'm all ears!

Chemical Guys - Carpet Brush w/ Drill Attachment, Medium Duty, Yellow

Try something like that for your carpet. That is the brush, but they also have videos on that page that mention cleaners to use. Just browse around on that site and you'll find something that will take care of what you need.

 

[bluecruiser]

It is not really too difficult to just pull seats, console, etc. and remove the carpet. Then you can really lay on the soap (Simple Green, etc) and thoroughly soak and scrub. You will get far better results than trying to do it while in the truck, IMO.

 

[TheGoodBanker]

Here's the pics as promised on the lines after they've been dipped. They've slowly grown on me. I wasn't sure at first, but I've decided I like em painted.

 

[TheGoodBanker]

It is not really too difficult to just pull seats, console, etc. and remove the carpet. Then you can really lay on the soap (Simple Green, etc) and thoroughly soak and scrub. You will get far better results than trying to do it while in the truck, IMO.

I'm probably going to have to do this. I gave it another shot this weekend, using some Purple Power, water and a shop vac. The stuff in the shop vac looks terrible, but the carpet didn't improve much.
Like you said, I'll prob have better luck just pulling the seats out.
I'll post an update if I have any luck!

 

[DirtDawg]

I'm probably going to have to do this. I gave it another shot this weekend, using some Purple Power, water and a shop vac. The stuff in the shop vac looks terrible, but the carpet didn't improve much.
Like you said, I'll prob have better luck just pulling the seats out.
I'll post an update if I have any luck!

Purple power isn't the best for carpet. I suggest getting a devoted carpet stain remover or steam cleaning the carpet. That should help get it really clean.

 

[TheGoodBanker]

I thought I'd give an update since it's been a while.. Just to mention, the wife has already made a comment about how much TLC I'm doing on the cruiser. She jokingly says she's jealous. I guess the fever is real.

Updates:

Suspension: I got a deal on some OME shocks (60000 & 60002) and installed those the previous two weekends. No noticeable difference in ride, which is nice considering it rode great before. Broke a lug nut on the driver's side left wheel.. I was happy to see that it was a pretty common thing and it's relatively easy to fix. What's next? I'm planning to purchase a diff drop to ease the stress on the CV boots. While I'm at it, I need to replace the boots. I also need some coils for the rear, but I'm not sure if I'm going to get a steal bumper yet, or not. Time will tell.

Carpet cleaning: Jesus I don't know what happened to this poor carpet but it can't be cleaned for nothing. I did as recommended and bought a special cleaner from Chemical Guys and a brush to go on a drill, but the carpet is still discolored. This is not to say I didn't get something out of the cloth, because the suds and foam that came out were a nasty color. The carpet almost looks clean once I've scrubbed it good, vacuumed it and it's still a little damp, but as it dries out during the day it turns back to the same old, rusty color. This past weekend would make the 3rd attempt I've tried cleaning it.
To be clear, it's not the entire carpet, just the edges next to the plastic where the door meets. The issue is the obvious color difference between the stain and the factory color. As previous, I'm still up for suggestions.

Plasti-Dipped trim: I still don't mind the color I went with, but I've decided it's not my favorite. Since my front and rear bumper need some TLC, I decided to buy the factory color (1B1) and plan on painting them. I went with AutomotiveTouchup.com for this. Since I'm doing the bumpers, I figured I would repaint the side panels (door trim?) while I was at it. I'm excited about this job because I've seen Wngrog and a few others successfully restore their trim. I'll make an update when it's done.

Interior: My wood trim on the shift panel (?) was flaking really bad so I went ahead and tore it off. I took out the plastic paneling and have been trying to repaint it. My first go of painting didn't work too well. I didn't have the right spray paint and it wouldn't harden up. So I stripped it back down to bare plastic, sanded it and used a plastic paint primer. I'm waiting on that to dry now, so we'll see.
While I was babying the interior, I got some khaki speaker cloth and replaced the two front speakers covers. It's crazy how much better they look now.
I don't think I ever mentioned it before, but the PO must have had dogs in the backseat because on both rear passenger doors, there were holes taken out just below the ash tray on the doors. I bought some plastic JB Weld and filled in the holes and have sanded them flat. I'm trying to figure out my next step on this one.. Is there a special paint for vinyl? I want it to be the same khaki color as the interior. If anyone has any leads on that, I'm all ears.

Tires: I noticed a small bulge in one of my rear tires the other day (maybe I wanted it to be there?) so I'm in the process of getting new tires. I was stuck for the longest time between General Grabber AT2 or Kumho Road Venture AT51. Think I've settled on the AT51.

Rack: Call me a cheapsake, but I was bummed upon initial search that almost all roof racks were $1,000+. Then I stumbled upon the Gamiviti Line and now I'm convinced that's in the future. Great looking rack, great price. After tires and this, I should be happy for a while

 

[tacoduck]

subbed

 

[DirtDawg]

Pics of the carpet stains?

 

[Manhattan]

If the carpet won't come clean after all the right chemicals and machines - before you replace it - you could dye it. Search for color options. I did my tailgate - I swear the previous owner rebuild Harley Davidson engines on the damn gate... I cleaned, scrubbed, eventually dyed it. It looks like new... just doesn't match. Yeah, I should've been more patient and ordered the right color.

 

[TheGoodBanker]

Pics of the carpet stains?

Pictures aren't very good. I feel like the contrast between the actual carpet color is a lot more noticeable. Of course, that could just be me.

 

[TheGoodBanker]

I ended up going the other direction on tires and went with the Kumho Road Venture AT51. I have yet to read anything on here about em so I'll post a pic for reference. So far, I'm content with them!

 

[TheGoodBanker]

While I'm doing my updates I might as well post some more pics. I ended up pulling the plasti dipped side lines and painted them to match the body. Really satisfied with the new color!
Also, here's a pic of the refinished center shift panel. It turned out good.
With just those two changes I feel like I got a new ride!

 

[TheGoodBanker]

With all this good, I was wondering if anything would go wrong.. Welp, just yesterday after leaving a meeting in Brandon, I noticed my engine light was flashing. Uh oh. I backed it out and drove to the nearest gas station so I could check it out. Thankfully, I had my Bluetooth OBD reader hooked up, so I pulled up the app on my phone to check for error codes. Sure enough, Cylinder 4 Misfire. I quickly searched MUD for any feedback on cost of repair. This was also my first time dealing with a misfire (in any vehicle) and I didn't want to damage the engine running around in it.
So, I did the first thing I could think of: took it to the stealership
$245 bones to replace a coil... After I dropped it off and searched the internet a bit, I saw where this was easily a <$100 DIY job. I felt ashamed. Oh well, now I know.
While it was in the shop, the tech called and said my front pinions were leaking. I thought, there's no way. They said it was going to be $2K+ to fix. I later learned when I picked the ride up, she meant the CV boots were leaking. I already knew that and already planned on replacing the clamps. Talk about a scare. Got my clamps through PFran, just waiting on them to come in.
Got that coil replaced and the tires aligned and now it's back to it's old self.

 

[TheGoodBanker]

If the carpet won't come clean after all the right chemicals and machines - before you replace it - you could dye it. Search for color options. I did my tailgate - I swear the previous owner rebuild Harley Davidson engines on the damn gate... I cleaned, scrubbed, eventually dyed it. It looks like new... just doesn't match. Yeah, I should've been more patient and ordered the right color.

You don't happen to remember the brand & color you used, would you? Trying to find a good option that comes as close to factory as possible.