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

[70 FJ40]

Happy to walk through the d-rings, but really all I could say is “M6x1.00 rivnuts”. Just install rivnuts. If you do it in the cargo area floor, beware the gas tank is directly below. Watch your drill bit depth!
[/QUOTE]

What D-rings did you use?

 

[CruiserTrash]

Happy to walk through the d-rings, but really all I could say is “M6x1.00 rivnuts”. Just install rivnuts. If you do it in the cargo area floor, beware the gas tank is directly below. Watch your drill bit depth!

What D-rings did you use?
[/QUOTE]

Husky brand from Home Depot, they came in a four pack. I was doing some last minute shopping before SAS! The L-tracks on the platform (that were previously bolted to the floor of my cargo area - again, don’t drill into the fuel tank) came from here. The cooler s-rings are fixed because that will almost always go in the same spot, whereas the L-track on the platform allows me to move the attachment points for different cargo.

 

[CruiserTrash]

Speaking of SAS… a few teaser photos. Just rolled in at home tonight and we’re whipped. More later.

 

[CruiserTrash]

More photos…

With @yarncruiser & @Fyffer in a secret location that I’ll never divulge

Miss Moose hanging out

Original owner driving his 60 on a Sunday cruise to the top of Cinnamon Pass - no affiliation with Mud or SAS. Just a guy with an old truck that he still enjoys.

Smokey & hazy view from the summit of Imogene Pass.

Somebody’s cool 40 on Imogene, not sure who. I think @BigHighBlue behind that in the 12HT 60, along with a few others.

Classic Cruiser’s 40 and his son’s 62.

@John McVicker 60 - one of my favorite trucks, perfect patina because he uses it the way it’s supposed to be used.

Shelf road on the west side of Ophir Pass, a particularly beautiful spot

Camp time with @Fyffer as well as the big green SOA 2H 60 that belongs to a German guy (toy.story.sixtee on IG). Monster of a rig!

I believe this photo was taken by @maverickcruiser. All credit where it’s due … great shot!

As always we had a 10/10 time. No mechanical issues with the truck. All gauges stayed exactly where they belong in throughout the entire trip, nothing broke or even hinted at breaking. I earned my trail leader flag by leading Imogene this year - I didn’t feel up to the task but did it anyway and it was all good. I also led a small gang over Ophir too.

We usually camp 1-2 nights on the way home, but this year we made a beeline from Ouray to Denver on Friday. My daughter started high school today and I figured it would be good to get home, unpack & clean up, then have a low-key weekend preparing her for the big time. She said she had a great day, so that was a success too! Maybe next year I can finally convince her or my son to come.

A few more photos to follow since I hit the limit…

 

[maverickcruiser]

More photos…

With @yarncruiser & @Fyffer in a secret location that I’ll never divulge
View attachment 4192509

Miss Moose hanging out
View attachment 4192510

Original owner driving his 60 on a Sunday cruise to the top of Cinnamon Pass - no affiliation with Mud or SAS. Just a guy with an old truck that he still enjoys.
View attachment 4192511

Smokey & hazy view from the summit of Imogene Pass.
View attachment 4192512

Somebody’s cool 40 on Imogene, not sure who. I think @BigHighBlue behind that in the 12HT 60, along with a few others.
View attachment 4192513

Classic Cruiser’s 40 and his son’s 62.
View attachment 4192514

@John McVicker 60 - one of my favorite trucks, perfect patina because he uses it the way it’s supposed to be used.
View attachment 4192517

Shelf road on the west side of Ophir Pass, a particularly beautiful spot
View attachment 4192519

Camp time with @Fyffer as well as the big green SOA 2H 60 that belongs to a German guy (toy.story.sixtee on IG). Monster of a rig!
View attachment 4192520

I believe this photo was taken by @maverickcruiser. All credit where it’s due … great shot!
View attachment 4192522

As always we had a 10/10 time. No mechanical issues with the truck. All gauges stayed exactly where they belong in throughout the entire trip, nothing broke or even hinted at breaking. I earned my trail leader flag by leading Imogene this year - I didn’t feel up to the task but did it anyway and it was all good. I also led a small gang over Ophir too.

We usually camp 1-2 nights on the way home, but this year we made a beeline from Ouray to Denver on Friday. My daughter started high school today and I figured it would be good to get home, unpack & clean up, then have a low-key weekend preparing her for the big time. She said she had a great day, so that was a success too! Maybe next year I can finally convince her or my son to come.

A few more photos to follow since I hit the limit…

Was a pleasure meeting and hitting Ophir with you! Until next time. Ill be sending more pics soon

 

[CruiserTrash]

Always great to see @mazder

I spied @gonzopancho and his 80-framed, turbo-1FZ’d pig. What a cool truck.

@DrRock new 70 Series insurgency vehicle. Needs more 50cal in the bed!

It’s not a trip to the San Juans without checking out some old mining stuff. We got to attend a wedding here on Wednesday for the sweetest couple.

The best co-pilot and truck-enabler

Did a casual drive with @orikawa and got to see some prototype stuff that I think he should mail me for testing…

Finally, we visited a good friend on the way home. He has unspeakably cool things in his barn that I’m not at liberty to talk about.

Made it home just before dark Friday and man did a real bed feel nice after spending a week in a tent. No complaints though!

 

[CruiserTrash]

A local guy in my neighborhood had his 62 stolen this week. I spotted it on the way home from work yesterday and stationed myself within viewing distance of it until he got there and was reunited with his truck. He was a happy guy! No damage to the truck fortunately, not even the ignition cylinder!

Somehow this is the 2nd stolen 60 Series I've found in the past couple years. I can't say I have a knack for it, maybe it's just luck. Whatever the case, seeing a stolen 60 back in the owner's hands is a nice thing.

Because he lives so close to me I got pretty spooked, so today I'm installing some security measures. My truck doesn't fit in my tiny garage - too tall & too long, and my 40 is sitting there inop - and I don't have a driveway, meaning the 60 is parked on the street in front of my house all the time. That makes it an easier target. I'm not going to give away what I'm doing here (since car thieves can read forums too) but feel free to PM me. Anyway, just a word of caution to folks that it can happen to you so be careful!

 

[CruiserTrash]

Some weirdness with the truck the past few weeks, since SAS really. Very difficult to describe.

The steering is getting increasingly wandery and has a mind of it's own. Driving down the road and it's pulling right or left for a while then all of a sudden it snaps to pulling hard the opposite direction and I have to react as fast as possible with steering wheel input to keep it straight. 60% of the time it feels VERY floaty. The suspension also feels like it's riding like a dumptruck, very jarring. Sometimes when I go over a bump that's perpendicular across the road, I'll hit the bump and feel like I "land" on the other side of it as if something picked my truck up and set it down at a 15% angle to the direction of travel. Oh, and I've gotten a slight touch of death wobble three times in the past two weeks. Starting this past weekend, there's an occasional noise going over large bumps at highway speed coming from I think the front left. Sort of a metal on metal bang/crack type of thing.

I've done a visual check/"grab-and-shake" inspection 4-5 times now and looked at:
Tie rod ends
Knuckle caps
Steering box (including looking for frame cracking)
All spring hangers looking for cracks or rivets pulling out
Spring pins
Looked for leaf spring cracks
Checked welds on the shackle reversal hangers up front
Checked shackles
Shake the tires/wheels for play (although I haven't jacked the front end up in the air yet)
Checked crossmember for looseness
Checked sway bar, end links, and bushings
Checked shock towers front and rear
Made sure all shocks were firmly attached to their posts on top and bottom
Checked lug nut torque
Quick check of frame for cracks - need to look deeper

Also:
Rear spring bushings were replaced prior to SAS
Front bushings replaced 2-3 years ago, whenever I put the 75 Troopy springs on (I used the Dobinsons bushings that came with the springs) - those might be worth checking
I checked undercarriage torque prior to SAS but I might zip around and recheck everything - leaf spring axle plates, spring pins, etc (nothing here is visually off and nothing is spinning free when I touch it)
Steering box was rebuilt appx 18 months ago
I'm half wondering if my rear driveshaft got twisted and locked up like the front did in February - that would explain the dumptruck feel. Or maybe a shock got seized for some reason. The rear shocks are maybe 4 year old Dobby IMS and the fronts are Bilsteins I put on in the early spring.


On top of all that I think I need to do a light refresh on the carb. It alternates between running rich and running lean. Might be some stuck crap in the jets or a passage, or maybe a bad seal inside somewhere. I'll pop it off, blow some air/brake cleaner through everything, inspect for smoking guns, and then run it and see what happens.

 

[RevISK]

Did you see that the wandering started happening in my 40 after putting tall skinny's on? I am going to slowly add more toe in to see if that helps but I was actually a little scared driving on the freeway yesterday. Felt on the edge of control and it feels exactly like I need more toe.

 

[Fyffer]

Had something similar going on, was not a fix all. But the front, rear shackle hanger mount was partially broken Driver side, on the very top outside only. I did not discover it until changing the spring pack. Got it welded ( if it's the case make sure there is a good alignment to the front) and resolved the most. Just a thought.
That spring pin can be a little deceiving as well, what UB flip kit are you running. I have a headache one you can have

 

[toy_tek]

My Dobinsons bushings were hella worn out after 2.5 years. Yours may be too. I had disconnected the front u-bolts and let the axle down so the springs dangled on the shackles, and the bushes were so worn the springs just swung easily by 3-4” left/right. New bushes solved that. The OME bushings fit the Dob shackles fine and are a hair stiffer.

I know you said you visually checked the rod ends, but did you run the plugs all the way in and back off to re-seat them? I swear I got half or one full more rotation in after 2-3 years which snugged them up nicely.

 

[CruiserTrash]

@RevISK Your new tires on the 40 look great. I've been running these for a few years so that wasn't a recent change that could have caused an issue.

@Fyffer Sent me a video where he grabs the fixed eye spring hanger (with no spring attached) and it moves all over the place due to loose rivets. Honestly I could see that causing my issues.

@toy_tek I'll go ahead and do the front bushings with OME, I've got them on hand anyway. Good time to inspect the hangers too.

 

[DrRock]

Hey @CruiserTrash one thing I don’t see on your list is the steering column. I would check the U joints in that and grease the fitting for the coupling near the steering box.

Cheers, James

 

[CruiserTrash]

Hey @CruiserTrash one thing I don’t see on your list is the steering column. I would check the U joints in that and grease the fitting for the coupling near the steering box.

Cheers, James

The steering column has been on my mind actually, it's the one part of the steering system I haven't done anything too! Good call James.

 

[FJBen]

In the dump truck riding a new phenomenon?



Wandering:
It’s possible you have loose u-bolts. A quick retorque on everything suspension related would be a good starting place.

Did I remember you made custom ubolts or am i imagining that?

Did a degree shim get spit out?

 

[CruiserTrash]

In the dump truck riding a new phenomenon?



Wandering:
It’s possible you have loose u-bolts. A quick retorque on everything suspension related would be a good starting place.

Did I remember you made custom ubolts or am i imagining that?

Did a degree shim get spit out?

Torquing everything is the next step for sure. I've been absolutely slammed lately and it's been hard to get a free hour. The front axle has shims and those haven't moved at all, so I'm hoping that's a sign that at least the front u-bolt nuts are good.

I had custom shackle pins made by @Tancruiser for the rear. I don't imagine they've snapped - they're 18mm diamater and Dale used hardened material for them. They're threaded on both sides and I have nylock nuts (and loctite) on both ends for every single one. Those haven't visually moved either. But a torque wrench will tell the story.

 

[CruiserTrash]

Finally got a day to investigate...

Started with leaf springs since I had a hunch from @Fyffer about a loose hanger. No loose hangers on the left side of the truck, but I did bang a bent hanger into shape.

Collateral damage from the Coney Flats trail:

I've been meaning to pop some new bushings in there anyway. The four year old Dobinsons came out easy and were in one piece but the ID for the spring pin had about 1-2mm of play. Not the best, not the worst.

I finally found the source of my loose steering after that: the drag link end where it attaches to the pitman arm. Over the past couple weeks I had given a shake to all the TREs several times, but they all felt tight. I guess they need to be at the exact right angle to show their slop.

I tried adjusting the end, but it was seized up good. I made a crude little "tool" out of 1/8" steel and tried turning it with big channel locks - it just twisted the steel sadly. I guess I'll save the piece for non-seized TREs. It's too bad, because it fits the slot perfectly.

Oh well, I've been living with sloppy steering for a while and the TRE didn't feel super loose or dangerous at all, just a little play.

So I got back to tidying up the leaf spring I removed, checking torque on various other suspension stuff, etc. Here's the view we all know so well...

Got wrapped up, talked to my partner about dinner, warmed the truck up, and pulled out from my shop building to head home. Stopped at the stop sign at the end of the street, started making the turn onto the main road and POP. Steering wheel turns, truck keeps going straight.

Drag link end wasn't fine after all. s***. Fortunately I was rolling at about 3mph and there was no traffic. I put it in reverse and pulled back to the stop sign to asses. There are no cars on that street after about 7PM anyway so it was a fine spot to post up.

The hole is all wallered out and rusty from water crossings. No amount of tightening was going to help. I have to assume the boot was holding everything together. By the way the grease in the photo is stuff I put in there today. Looks like it was bone dry before that. Where does it go and how does it get out of the boot? We'll never know.

Trail fixed it and got it back to my shop where it'll sit until fresh TREs arrive. Caught a lift (Lyft) home to dinner waiting on the table. Karen's so sweet.

With the holiday weekend it'll be a bit before the TREs arrive. Good excuse for some bike commuting. Here's from a ride to work a couple weeks ago.

 

[klip]

Holy Mack! Thank everything you believe in that didn’t happen on the highway! Nice bike! Hopefully you’ll have nice riding weather.

 

[CruiserTrash]

Huge thanks to @MonPetitShoe! This fine gentleman took the drag link end off his own 60 and delivered it to my house today. What a guy! Good thing he's got a killer 80 to drive around until I get him a new end for his 60.

I wrapped up the greasy part, threw it in my bike bag, and away I went. @klip great weather for a nice 10 mile ride - who needs another vehicle or an Uber anyway when you can get fresh air and some exercise?

The old junk came out no problem. I completely disassembled the new (used) end and cleaned it all up, flushing out a mix of grease, rust, & water soup. Got it lubed up and put back together and it felt nice and tight. FSM says to bottom out the end plug, then back off 1 1/3 turns. That felt right to me. Kind of stiff, but it moves freely.

See the larger part of the opening? You have to shift the ball to that side for it to come out - file that one away in your memory banks. I noticed the boot had a Toyota part number on it - I suspect it was original to Josh's 60, or a very old replacement. It lasted though.

Installed, test drove, took the backroads home. Feels much better and no drama. Thanks @MonPetitShoe, I owe ya one!

Ok, so what happened to the old one? It's only four years old. I've seen many an old 60 with original TREs that steers fine.

Wallowed out on the top and left sides of the photos. The socket/cup piece in the end is all jacked up, as is the cup towards the bottom of the photo (can't see it). The end plug was seized so I couldn't adjust the cup inwards at all. The edge of the outer shell was also chewing its way into the ball (right side in the photo, just under the ball end). But why the wear?

Here's my theory...

My shackle reversal nets me about 4-5" of lift, which is fairly tall without going SOA. Look at the steering links - the flatter the better and my drag link is anything but flat thanks to the lift. I think that ball end sat inside the cup at an angle and that accelerated the wear. Here's the angle at the pitman arm exaggerated for effect:

And here's the not-exaggerated angle where the steering damper meets the drag link end:

I'm sure that's great for the bushings. I think I'll be checking my TREs at the three year point after install, or maybe just replacing as preventative maintenance. Mine were pretty dry and rusty, so more regular lube should help too.

@Domofthedead (an 80 guy) Pinged me a while ago about some 60 parts he won at an event and wanted to get in my hands. Turns out they're steering arm knuckle caps. They look like they're made out of CNC'd billet material and they're from FROR or somebody like that who makes beefy crawler stuff. The best part is they don't drop down like the stock arms, which nets me a 2" rise in the tie rod. Meaning the lower end of the drag link would be 2" higher, decreasing the angle at the damper and the pitman arm. I'm still going to install a whole new TRE kit for peace of mind (and give this used and rebuilt end back to Josh), but I'll see if I can nab the steering arms from Dom in time to do both jobs at once. More to come on that...

 

[CruiserTrash]

New 555 TRE kit is in, steering feels loads better. Still a little freeplay with small "knock" feeling at either end - I'm better worn out u-joint in the steering shaft.

FYI, the drag link ends only have light oil to prevent rust in them, zero grease. I completely disassembled both and greased behind and around everything. Rust won't get me this time! (famous last words)

Found my drag link is slightly bent at the end, but fortunately it's behind the threaded portion so the end installs no problem. I should probably replace it.

I grabbed the beefy high steer arms from @Domofthedead last night but didn't get them installed. The tops of the knuckles need machining and they're designed for 25mm ID trunnion bearings. I need to get those turned down at a machine shop so they fit the stock bearings. At least the TREs give me some peace of mind on the road for now though.

I ran into a small issue, and I think I had this last time I was in here. The lower drag link end that attaches to the passenger side tie rod end wont get to torque. the castle nut has pulled the shaft so far into the hole that the nut is completely below the hole for the cotter pin. That lower drag link end joint is tight - can't move it by hand, although I'm sure the steering forces can move it.

I loosened the nut and pulled the shaft out of the hole. When I put it back in I realized it wallowed out the hole so much that it insert basically right back to where it is now.

I'll probably get a new passenger side TRE and do it again. Torque spec is 55-79ftlb and the nut torque seems proportional to the interference fit between the tapered shaft and the hole it's going into. It stands to reason that I should just tighten it until I hit torque, but obviously the resulting super tight joint isn't good.

Anybody have tips for this?