TWT -- The Wrenching Thread (33 Viewers)

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You can also get metal at the Metal Supermarket in Garner they've got some pretty good competitive prices.

Thanks for the info. Fayetteville steel is about four blocks from my work. Just makes it easier for me to pick up since I pass by it on way home.
 
Fairly newb question but here goes.
I am getting ready to regear the lx450 to 4:88. I am going to stick with my current tire size until they wear out. I figure I have about 20-30k miles on them.

My current tire is 285/75-16. I might go one size higher when I get new tires but for the most part I am perfectly happy with this size. With me towing the trailer more and more I think it's time. The truck pulls perfectly fine with zero issues and averages 10-11 mpg at highway speed (60-70). The problem is that I'm afraid of hitting any real climb with the trailer. As it is the 80 bogged down quite a bit by itself going over black mountain on I40 this summer. I would hate to see how it will perform while pulling the trailer. I'm hoping the 4:88 gears will help with this.

Also, the plan is to take the 80 with trailer out to California and do the mojave rd and Death Valley in about a month. Some of the passes out west are no joke.

What do you guys think? Is rehearing overkill? Especially if I plan to stick with the same size tires for the most part.

I am getting ready to call ECGS in a while but just wanted to get some opinions from you guys.
 
Fairly newb question but here goes.
I am getting ready to regear the lx450 to 4:88. I am going to stick with my current tire size until they wear out. I figure I have about 20-30k miles on them.

My current tire is 285/75-16. I might go one size higher when I get new tires but for the most part I am perfectly happy with this size. With me towing the trailer more and more I think it's time. The truck pulls perfectly fine with zero issues and averages 10-11 mpg at highway speed (60-70). The problem is that I'm afraid of hitting any real climb with the trailer. As it is the 80 bogged down quite a bit by itself going over black mountain on I40 this summer. I would hate to see how it will perform while pulling the trailer. I'm hoping the 4:88 gears will help with this.

Also, the plan is to take the 80 with trailer out to California and do the mojave rd and Death Valley in about a month. Some of the passes out west are no joke.

What do you guys think? Is rehearing overkill? Especially if I plan to stick with the same size tires for the most part.

I am getting ready to call ECGS in a while but just wanted to get some opinions from you guys.
I hadn't seriously considered regearing until I drove to the Grand Canyon. Around here, I don't think there is a need to regear but it would be nice to have. But the climb on I40 over the Appalachins really had me thinking. I had my foot to the floor and could only muster 45mph in some sections of the interstate. Out west the hill are long and straight. The truck really struggled a 7000 feet and always seemed to be out of the power band. I often found myself slipping in behind dump trucks or semis that were driving slow.

Pulling a trailer with stock gears and larger tires would be pretty miseable. Short steep climbs wouldn't be too bad but the long sustained climbs would be pushing it. Let me know what ECGS says. I might be dropping off my thirds myself.

Eric Johnston says that a regear was the best mod he ever did.
 
I hadn't seriously considered regearing until I drove to the Grand Canyon. Around here, I don't think there is a need to regear but it would be nice to have. But the climb on I40 over the Appalachins really had me thinking. I had my foot to the floor and could only muster 45mph in some sections of the interstate. Out west the hill are long and straight. The truck really struggled a 7000 feet and always seemed to be out of the power band. I often found myself slipping in behind dump trucks or semis that were driving slow.

Pulling a trailer with stock gears and larger tires would be pretty miseable. Short steep climbs wouldn't be too bad but the long sustained climbs would be pushing it. Let me know what ECGS says. I might be dropping off my thirds myself.

Eric Johnston says that a regear was the best mod he ever did.

I have been reading about the subject here on mud for the last couple of days. One guy claims that he can only get his 80 to get up to 28 mph on long steep grades in Colorado.
I was in an off-road park in northern Alabama last year and was climbing a steep gradual hill they had to the rest of the trails and my cruiser barely made it. Gas pedal floored, shifted to low and transfer case in low. Luckily I disconnected the trailer at the camps site. No way it would hVe made it over with a trailer.
I will call them tomorrow and see what they say.
 
I'm struggling between 4.56 and 4.88 on the gearing on these 34.6" tires. I love rolling across the roads at 64 mph at about 2.1K rpms, but . . I'd love to get more advice on this. I have only done the standard FAQ reading in 80 Tech, so . .not a huge bit of research here to date.

On 33" like the 285/75r16, have you considered the 4.56 instead?

My '85 4Runner had the 5.29 and 33's and it was MISERABLE, but that is a whole different story :) It would bog down on some angles that you would think, "damn man, I got to put up with a max speed of 64 and it still bogs down." At some angle, your gearing just doesn't do much and your engine is the issue.
 
I'm struggling between 4.56 and 4.88 on the gearing on these 34.6" tires. I love rolling across the roads at 64 mph at about 2.1K rpms, but . . I'd love to get more advice on this. I have only done the standard FAQ reading in 80 Tech, so . .not a huge bit of research here to date.

On 33" like the 285/75r16, have you considered the 4.56 instead?

My '85 4Runner had the 5.29 and 33's and it was MISERABLE, but that is a whole different story :) It would bog down on some angles that you would think, "damn man, I got to put up with a max speed of 64 and it still bogs down." At some angle, your gearing just doesn't do much and your engine is the issue.


Interestingly enough I was reading one thread where they recommend 4000 rpms for high mountain passes. Lots of Colorado guys say that they can maintain 65 going up some of the highest passes in the US by down shifting and running the engine at 4000 rpms. Of course, most people that don’t live in Colorado did not feel comfortable doing that according to the thread.
If I regear I am going 4:88. I would hate to go to 4:56 and want to bump up tire size and have the same issue
 
it's all where the torque is. you need to match the rpm with the speed you are looking for.
on an 1FZ-FE engine 2200-2600 RPM is your cruising range. max torque is somewhere between 2800 and 3200rpms.
factory gears and tire size put you there.
4.56 will keep you there with 33" tires
4.88's with 36" tires. (35" inch tires lean a little towards the power side and less towards economy but keep me in the power band which works for me cause i am focused on driving around town and crawling some trails). if i was going to be driving across country all the time i would run 4.56" and some street tires.

key to the gears is know you power band and gear to your main objective.
 
it's all where the torque is. you need to match the rpm with the speed you are looking for.
on an 1FZ-FE engine 2200-2600 RPM is your cruising range. max torque is somewhere between 2800 and 3200rpms.
factory gears and tire size put you there.
4.56 will keep you there with 33" tires
4.88's with 36" tires. (35" inch tires lean a little towards the power side and less towards economy but keep me in the power band which works for me cause i am focused on driving around town and crawling some trails). if i was going to be driving across country all the time i would run 4.56" and some street tires.

key to the gears is know you power band and gear to your main objective.

Engine torque is not the whole story. Yes, the 1FZ peak torque occurs ~3200, but above 3200 the torque curve is relatively flat. So winding the motor to, say, 3600 and beyond and using lower gears gets more torque to the wheels which is the part that counts. This is why high torque diesel engines lose to less impressive gasoline engines. Since gas engines can turn 3X the RPM's their lower gears (torque multipliers) get more muscle to the road.
 
Nut backed out from a header flange which eventually blew out a gasket. I'd heard others talking junk about aluminum gaskets warping but tried it anyway. Dang!

Regardless, back to copper gaskets. More $$$ but worth it. Engine breathing a little better now.

exhaust-1.jpg




exhaust 2.jpg
 
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Interestingly enough I was reading one thread where they recommend 4000 rpms for high mountain passes. Lots of Colorado guys say that they can maintain 65 going up some of the highest passes in the US by down shifting and running the engine at 4000 rpms. Of course, most people that don’t live in Colorado did not feel comfortable doing that according to the thread.
If I regear I am going 4:88. I would hate to go to 4:56 and want to bump up tire size and have the same issue


Going up hills I always kick off OD. 4.88's and 35's are really a good size with a tired motor. Mine has 400k. It drives 5 mph under the stated speedo but feels like a stock 80 should.

4.88's and 33" tires is really pushing it if you like driving above the 70mph mark. 60-65 is about max I'd say comfortably. Sustained RPMs for long periods of time are just not good on trucks. There is a reason there is a back side of the mountain. lol
 
I’m in full on home wrenching mode for December. Nothing else gets in the way. Time to finish all the big and small things I’ve had brewing for a year or more. Some of you will be be happy to not have to go downstairs to use the bathroom anymore.

I’ll probably have a few items I’m looking for to tide me over before things like kitchen remodel and deck rebuild.
 
are you saying you can't get it up to stay up
or
it's stuck in the down position

and i really DON'T want to know the answer to either of those questions

looks like someone took it apart then put it in backwards.
 
you should be able to pry the tap out ( to straighten it ) with a largeish flathead screw driver or a tire iron. pull the head up past the ledge and then bend the tab back in.

if you have a welder weld a bolt to the tab, straighten it up, then cut the bolt off and bend the tab back in after you raise the head up past the ledge/lip.

if need be, bring it to the barn i'll fix it for you.
 
Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding! Yeah, some dumbass hammered in the retainer tab while the upper arm was all the way down, trapping the tab in between the upper and 'stupidly close to upper' stops. D'oh! Not enough room to get a screwdriver or prybar in there to lift the tab. He banged it in good. And, of course, it's too far of a reach to go in from the top. I tried to put a washer and nut inside and use a bolt to lift it up but the only bolts skinny enough to fit twisted right off. That's some damn strong Chinese metal. I thought about drilling and tapping a hole in the tab to use a screw to lift it but the welding a bolt to pry it up is a better idea that 'preserves the integrity of the product as designed'. HA!!! I was mostly interested in seeing if anybody could even identify the problem. I'll deal with it here one day.

Hmmm. Challenge: Can @Rice or @stevezero turn this into an enabled moment to justify a welder? I mean, that thing's like $15 if I had to replace it!
 
He could just JB Weld a bolt to that tab. Let it dry for a day or two and then bend it out.
Then cut it off with a hacksaw or a grinder and bend it back in.
 

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