Builds Welcome home Matilda - faded like your favorite pair of jeans

[RDub]

Hey, Jim. Mine has a similar leak and it’s coming from cracks and such in the ancient roof rain gutter sealant. The A-pillar has that spot welded gutter strip that creates a direct leak path down into the corner of the dash area. Yours may be something else entirely, but that is where my similar leak originates.

 

[CruiserTrash]

Hey, Jim. Mine has a similar leak and it’s coming from cracks and such in the ancient roof rain gutter sealant. The A-pillar has that spot welded gutter strip that creates a direct leak path down into the corner of the dash area. Yours may be something else entirely, but that is where my similar leak originates.

We need to set a date for resealing our gutters together, remember? I don’t think I’ll completely remove all my old sealant, it’s in pretty good shape. Maybe just pick out the bad parts, patch them, and top coat the whole thing. Let’s do it before winter hits!

 

[DrRock]

Got some rain for the first time in weeks last night. Came out to the truck and found a nice puddle on the driver side floor. It’s coming from the area behind the fuse panel door.

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In the last photo you can see a water drop making it’s way down the side of the dash frame. I can’t for the life of me see where it’s getting in above that. Lower corner of the windshield maybe?

As others have said, most likely coming down the A pillar…

 

[CruiserTrash]

Met some friends this weekend and romped around in the fall colors.

Plenty of new weird noises, but nothing broke. Truck ran great at altitude. Wish we never had to come home.

 

[cps432]

Met some friends this weekend and romped around in the fall colors.

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Plenty of new weird noises, but nothing broke. Truck ran great at altitude. Wish we never had to come home.

That’s awesome! Where’d y’all go?

 

[CruiserTrash]

That’s awesome! Where’d y’all go?

You know I shouldn’t publish secrets like that on the internet! That’s how you get 492 yahoos from the Denver metro area up there next year haha!

 

[toy_tek]

You know I shouldn’t publish secrets like that on the internet! That’s how you get 492 yahoos from the Denver metro area up there next year haha!

Don’t discount a yahoo from Phoenix, that looks amazing! Haha.

PS: mine leaked the same way, gutter reseal took care of it. Easy job.

 

[CruiserTrash]

Don’t discount a yahoo from Phoenix, that looks amazing! Haha.

PS: mine leaked the same way, gutter reseal took care of it. Easy job.

Like I told @cps432 in a chat, I don’t want to gatekeep. I also don’t want to “ruin” spots. I’m willing to share, just not on a public forum that can be Google searched. So if a yahoo from Phoenix wants to come check it out, PM me and I’ll meet ya there.

Gutter reseal needs to happen before winter then. The gutters mostly look great but I can see a few small spots where the original sealant is compromised. I’ll probably just top coat it. The product that gets mentioned around here is very liquidy and needs the truck on a level surface … but that material doesn’t seem like it would work for the gutter coming down the A-pillar. Is there something more viscous that would stay put while it’s drying?

 

[Homey15]

Like I told @cps432 in a chat, I don’t want to gatekeep. I also don’t want to “ruin” spots. I’m willing to share, just not on a public forum that can be Google searched. So if a yahoo from Phoenix wants to come check it out, PM me and I’ll meet ya there.

Gutter reseal needs to happen before winter then. The gutters mostly look great but I can see a few small spots where the original sealant is compromised. I’ll probably just top coat it. The product that gets mentioned around here is very liquidy and needs the truck on a level surface … but that material doesn’t seem like it would work for the gutter coming down the A-pillar. Is there something more viscous that would stay put while it’s drying?

https://www.amazon.com/3M-08308-Heavy-Bodied-Sealer-Cartridge/dp/B000PEW41E

That stuff will stay where you put it. It has zero self leveling properties so you'll need to smooth it out with your finger.

 

[CruiserTrash]

https://www.amazon.com/3M-08308-Heavy-Bodied-Sealer-Cartridge/dp/B000PEW41E

That stuff will stay where you put it. It has zero self leveling properties so you'll need to smooth it out with your finger.

Thanks so much for that. Seam sealer products are not something I've ever worked with so I appreciate the recommendation. I'll probably remove the chrome gutter trim, clean up the few bad spots, clean everything with a wipe of solvent and compressed air, run a tape line on either side, then go for it.

 

[CruiserTrash]

Film prints from last weekend

Here's a comparison for the iPhone image posted further up the page:

To save money, I get prints made and then scan them at home. My scanner sucks so I should probably just have the lab scan them, it's not going to break the bank. It's difficult to explain since I'm not a photographer by any means, but the images are both more fuzzy (low dpi?) and more harsh (even when I back off the contrast a touch) at the same time. The scanned images give me much more eye fatigue/eye strain to look at than the real-life prints do. In addition to that my scanner seems to have a real hard time with blacks - they're both too black and the part of the scan that looks to have the lowest resolution. It's like the scanner is trying to generate a ton of 1s and 0s for the blacks, but runs out of steam and gives up. I know that's not really a technical description, but I don't know how else to put it in to words. I still like that the film is more how your eye sees things as opposed to my iPhone which is doing some algorithmic wizardry to make sure every pixel of the frame is optimized - the blacks are lightened to fill in detail, the lighter parts are dimmed to bring up detail, the focus is balanced for all depths, etc. Your brain - or at least mine - doesn't really look at the world that way. That's mainly why I shoot film. I can look at a print and see things the way my memory remembers it. My vision and brain don't really look at things the way an iPhone does.

 

[cruiserinsanity]

Film prints from last weekend

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Here's a comparison for the iPhone image posted further up the page:
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To save money, I get prints made and then scan them at home. My scanner sucks so I should probably just have the lab scan them, it's not going to break the bank. It's difficult to explain since I'm not a photographer by any means, but the images are both more fuzzy (low dpi?) and more harsh (even when I back off the contrast a touch) at the same time. The scanned images give me much more eye fatigue/eye strain to look at than the real-life prints do. In addition to that my scanner seems to have a real hard time with blacks - they're both too black and the part of the scan that looks to have the lowest resolution. It's like the scanner is trying to generate a ton of 1s and 0s for the blacks, but runs out of steam and gives up. I know that's not really a technical description, but I don't know how else to put it in to words. I still like that the film is more how your eye sees things as opposed to my iPhone which is doing some algorithmic wizardry to make sure every pixel of the frame is optimized - the blacks are lightened to fill in detail, the lighter parts are dimmed to bring up detail, the focus is balanced for all depths, etc. Your brain - or at least mine - doesn't really look at the world that way. That's mainly why I shoot film. I can look at a print and see things the way my memory remembers it. My vision and brain don't really look at things the way an iPhone does.

It’s gorgeous out there. Seeing pictures like this makes me wish I was out west.

 

[CruiserTrash]

It’s gorgeous out there. Seeing pictures like this makes me wish I was out west.

Come out to Colorado for an event some time! Solid Axle Summit is always a fun one.

 

[kody472]

Film prints from last weekend

View attachment 3742473
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View attachment 3742477

Here's a comparison for the iPhone image posted further up the page:
View attachment 3742481
View attachment 3742482

To save money, I get prints made and then scan them at home. My scanner sucks so I should probably just have the lab scan them, it's not going to break the bank. It's difficult to explain since I'm not a photographer by any means, but the images are both more fuzzy (low dpi?) and more harsh (even when I back off the contrast a touch) at the same time. The scanned images give me much more eye fatigue/eye strain to look at than the real-life prints do. In addition to that my scanner seems to have a real hard time with blacks - they're both too black and the part of the scan that looks to have the lowest resolution. It's like the scanner is trying to generate a ton of 1s and 0s for the blacks, but runs out of steam and gives up. I know that's not really a technical description, but I don't know how else to put it in to words. I still like that the film is more how your eye sees things as opposed to my iPhone which is doing some algorithmic wizardry to make sure every pixel of the frame is optimized - the blacks are lightened to fill in detail, the lighter parts are dimmed to bring up detail, the focus is balanced for all depths, etc. Your brain - or at least mine - doesn't really look at the world that way. That's mainly why I shoot film. I can look at a print and see things the way my memory remembers it. My vision and brain don't really look at things the way an iPhone does.

Is it the scan that’s off or your exposure settings on the camera? How are you metering these shots? Some look fairly tough due to the lighting and shadows you are trying to capture.

I always just let the lab scan and send them to me. They have much better scanners that what I can or want to afford.

 

[CruiserTrash]

Is it the scan that’s off or your exposure settings on the camera? How are you metering these shots? Some look fairly tough due to the lighting and shadows you are trying to capture.

I always just let the lab scan and send them to me. They have much better scanners that what I can or want to afford.

I am not skilled and my photography is down and dirty snapshot stuff. Pentax K1000 with built in light meter gauge in the viewfinder. Is it calibrated? No idea.

The conditions were wonky - lots of very bright light and lots of shadows. I tried metering to the subject as best as I could.

And yes, I’m finding out that “saving” money by scanning at home isn’t really “saving” anything.

 

[kody472]

I am not skilled and my photography is down and dirty snapshot stuff. Pentax K1000 with built in light meter gauge in the viewfinder. Is it calibrated? No idea.

The conditions were wonky - lots of very bright light and lots of shadows. I tried metering to the subject as best as I could.

And yes, I’m finding out that “saving” money by scanning at home isn’t really “saving” anything.

Even with the huge dynamic range there, still some great shots. I always love how analog pictures look even if they are a little “off.” Keep on keeping on.

 

[CruiserTrash]

Went to Moab for a wedding this past week. The happy couple are friends of ours from our local TLCA chapter and the wedding was VERY Land Cruiser/trail driving oriented. They even got married at an overlook halfway through the 3D Trail, complete with their pair of 80s driving down the aisle!

Matilda did great all around, from the long highway drives there and back, to bumpy desert dirt roads, to obstacles bigger than I’ve ever done before. The 4.11 gears definitely knock the top speed down a bit, but also definitely help with maintaining speed up long grades - very happy with the decision to swap those in. I still have a click-click-click from the back somewhere that sounds like a rock in the tire, but isn’t. I’ll probably pop the drums off this winter to inspect. Only happens on the throttle or under decel - so under load. I developed a new sporadic click under articulation from the front left as well. I’ll investigate that one after the mud is washed off.

Pretty good campsite

Onion Creek

The overlook where the wedding happened

Seriously, how do you top this??

Got the canoe wet. Almost sunk it once, but 98% of the ride was great. The Colorado is a powerful river.

The Green River. The scale doesn’t translate here, the river is probably 1500’ below the edge of the rim if I had to guess.

A good reminder that we weren’t the first ones here.

Overall a fantastic trip - especially and most importantly because our good friends tied the knot - but also because we’re typically done with trips this late in the year. It was nice to get one last adventure in before the snow flies.

 

[CruiserTrash]

(Mud seems to be having issues posting photos. I'll do that later.)

More engine rebuild drama…

I found a different shop to install the cam bearings properly and they did a great job. I thought I was home free to build the engine so I spent a couple weekends cleaning and organizing my shop for the task.

Yesterday I went to install the crank … the first machine shop (who screwed up the cam bearings twice) never took the main bearings out of the package and didn’t accommodate for the increased thrust clearance of #3 on the set of undersized bearings. Crank wouldn’t fit because the thrust surface of #3 was too wide. F#*%!!! I think when Toyota originally assembled these engines #3 main bearing was flat and the thrust washers were a set of separate half-moon pieces. Now you can only get bearings where #3 is saddle shaped, incorporating the flat bearing surface and the thrust washers into one piece. And if you get undersize bearings, they come with thicker/wider thrust surfaces.

After that failure, I pulled the #3 bearing out and plastigauged 1, 2, and 4. Not great.

Spec = .020-.044
1: .051
2: .049
4: .063

These are approximate numbers, just using the stuff printed on the plastigauge paper and approximating the value if it's between two. Probably fine, probably typical for an engine with some miles. But on a new motor I paid a machine shop thousands of dollars to "do it right"? Nah. Like I've said before, my math is that I'm not willing to bet all the money I have in this project on a "it'll probably be fine" kind of feeling. I didn't even check the rod bearing oil clearances, I was too heartbroken at that point in the day.

Tomorrow I'm going to pack everything up. Everything. Block, pistons, crank, cam, every single bearing, all of it. It's all going to this new machine shop I found. I'm going to have them inspect it all and give me a price estimate for what needs fixed. At minimum I think the crank journals will have to be ground down to the next undersize and will require a new set of bearings.

Oh, and the bad machine shop rebuilt a 61040 head for me about three years ago. It was originally destined for the Tomato truck, but when I acquired Matilda I thought I'll eventually rebuild a block and use this rebuilt head to make a whole new motor. It's been sitting on a shelf and now I'm wondering how messed up that might be. May as well have it inspected. I had that head rebuilt to stock - bottom got machined only for flatness taking off as little meat as possible. Manifold surface was made flat. Only about 4-5 valves were replaced, seats were only replaced as necessary. All the seats then got cut. Since the block was bored +1.00mm over and the cam is an RV grind, I'm wondering if I should just have the head redone with the larger Chevy valves and do a little light DIY port matching - get it to breath better and accommodate the "improvements" on the bottom end. Race tractor? I don't think it would hurt reliability. I wouldn't be trying to push the limits of a 2F ... more like as long as I'm spending the money anyway, may as well.

I don't know. Somebody give me some advice. I'm pulling my hair out about this.

 

[yotadude520]

Let’s just scrap the 2F stuff and go grab this LS:

LS 5.3L ~ 4L60E 2wd 103k miles Complete with harness and computer plus fuse bloc - auto parts - by owner - vehicle...

LS 5.3L ~ 4L60E 2wd 103k miles Complete with harness and computer plus fuse block all sensors and accessories included Fits 99 through 2007 perfect for LS swap 45 day warranty Delivery available

denver.craigslist.org

Just kidding! What a joke of a machine shop, really sorry they screwed you over like that. Hope the new one can get you back in business.

 

[RevISK]

(Mud seems to be having issues posting photos. I'll do that later.)

More engine rebuild drama…

I found a different shop to install the cam bearings properly and they did a great job. I thought I was home free to build the engine so I spent a couple weekends cleaning and organizing my shop for the task.

Yesterday I went to install the crank … the first machine shop (who screwed up the cam bearings twice) never took the main bearings out of the package and didn’t accommodate for the increased thrust clearance of #3 on the set of undersized bearings. Crank wouldn’t fit because the thrust surface of #3 was too wide. F#*%!!! I think when Toyota originally assembled these engines #3 main bearing was flat and the thrust washers were a set of separate half-moon pieces. Now you can only get bearings where #3 is saddle shaped, incorporating the flat bearing surface and the thrust washers into one piece. And if you get undersize bearings, they come with thicker/wider thrust surfaces.

After that failure, I pulled the #3 bearing out and plastigauged 1, 2, and 4. Not great.

Spec = .020-.044
1: .051
2: .049
4: .063

These are approximate numbers, just using the stuff printed on the plastigauge paper and approximating the value if it's between two. Probably fine, probably typical for an engine with some miles. But on a new motor I paid a machine shop thousands of dollars to "do it right"? Nah. Like I've said before, my math is that I'm not willing to bet all the money I have in this project on a "it'll probably be fine" kind of feeling. I didn't even check the rod bearing oil clearances, I was too heartbroken at that point in the day.

Tomorrow I'm going to pack everything up. Everything. Block, pistons, crank, cam, every single bearing, all of it. It's all going to this new machine shop I found. I'm going to have them inspect it all and give me a price estimate for what needs fixed. At minimum I think the crank journals will have to be ground down to the next undersize and will require a new set of bearings.

Oh, and the bad machine shop rebuilt a 61040 head for me about three years ago. It was originally destined for the Tomato truck, but when I acquired Matilda I thought I'll eventually rebuild a block and use this rebuilt head to make a whole new motor. It's been sitting on a shelf and now I'm wondering how messed up that might be. May as well have it inspected. I had that head rebuilt to stock - bottom got machined only for flatness taking off as little meat as possible. Manifold surface was made flat. Only about 4-5 valves were replaced, seats were only replaced as necessary. All the seats then got cut. Since the block was bored +1.00mm over and the cam is an RV grind, I'm wondering if I should just have the head redone with the larger Chevy valves and do a little light DIY port matching - get it to breath better and accommodate the "improvements" on the bottom end. Race tractor? I don't think it would hurt reliability. I wouldn't be trying to push the limits of a 2F ... more like as long as I'm spending the money anyway, may as well.

I don't know. Somebody give me some advice. I'm pulling my hair out about this.

Wow, sounds like quite the quagmire.
I have no advice except be the kitten on the branch.