Good thread! I recognize that hillside in the pics and those apartments too ha ha... I just POR15'd my 16' wheels yesterday, can't wait to see those new tires on my truck!
Builds Well into my build - Herculiner today
- Thread starter Black Rhino 13
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Good thread! I recognize that hillside in the pics and those apartments too ha ha... I just POR15'd my 16' wheels yesterday, can't wait to see those new tires on my truck!
- Thread starter
- #22
Thanks Jake! Put up pics and let me know.
Oh I will, its torture waiting for that stuff to dry! Hopefully tomorrow I'll have em on.
A couple of us have done the interior w/ Durabak. I'd do it again. Not a big fan of Herculiner - though it may have changed since I used it 6 years ago - wasn't as good a product as Durabak IMHO.
- Thread starter
- #25
Is Durabak the 3-part mix-n-spray type?
nope, 1-part, roll, brush or spray. But if you don't like texture, I think the herculiner is smoother - but like I said, my experience was 6 years ago, and products change. I'm partial to Durabak cause I've done a whole 40 with it, the flares on my 80 twice with it, and the interior once with it. My current olive drab is about as dark as I'd like to go here though - black would be hot when it's 110 in Tulsa. I like where you're going with this build though.
- Thread starter
- #27
Herculiner is pretty rough in texture, though I haven't seen any other vehicles bedlined up like this around here or checked out any other products. That's one advantage people in more populated (by Cruisers) areas have. They get to see the results of different products more easily.
Thanks for the comment!
Black seems fine for Montana, though it did get into the 90s many days this summer. I think the difference is it only hit the 90's for a couple of hours those days. It's now September 20th, and it's predicted to get down to 40 or below tonight.
This is our (4-person) family's only vehicle while we're both in school for the next several years, so we've adapted it to be our do-it-all car. We sold three vehicles and have tried to make this one fill all our needs. We have made practical choices for our area as much as possible. There's nothing about it I would specifically change at this point. I just need to finish all those front end projects like the dual batteries system, Slee wiring, lights, finish wiring the winch, etc...
I think progress from here on out will be slow as I just started law school and the extra-curricular stuff takes up as much time as the classes do. I didn't expect that. Thankfully, there are a few other Cruiser guys around here who keep me motivated.
- Thread starter
- #28
Okay, 1st semester is over. Two weeks of winter break to do some of those very belated mods. I finally got my windshield washer fluid bottle wired up. Relocated it with Slee's bracket quite a while back. Simple enough, just didn't get around to cutting and splicing in longer pos/neg wires. Also put on new horns I got off of Amazon. Had to do a positive jumper wire as I only had one plug. No wonder the old horns were so bad - only one was wired up. Put in the new battery tray and pos terminal post clamp on DS. And put on the limb risers finally. I like em. Still have a list to work on. Will put up pics very soon. Planning to do Slee's wire harness, aux harness, and put in 9011/9012 and IPF lights next.
- Thread starter
- #29
9011/9012 bulbs w/ Slee harness. Slee harness and OEM switch for the IPF lights too. Don't have nighttime shots and didn't take any "before" pics but it certainly is better than it was.
- Thread starter
- #30
Okay, just a little update as this is an ongoing process.
Recently removed the spare, spare tire hanger, and trailer hitch. I just installed the Speski cargo barrier today. In that process I installed a spare tire bracket to my 4X4 Labs rear cargo baskets. I have a 6th wheel lined up. I won't normally carry two tires in the cargo area, but I will sometimes and will rotate in pairs. I also moved the DS rear hand hold handle up to the driver's seat and replaced the trailer hitch with Slee's little 4-hole filler receiver for a bike rack.
Also recently acquired all new Power Stop drilled/slotted rotors and pads and an eBay snorkel. Next Friday my replacement cooling fan shroud goes on, coolant gets replaced with Toyota red, PHH is replaced by 4' silicon bypass hose covered with black rubber hose, valve cover gasket gets replaced, and brakes get installed.
Snorkel and diff breather mod are next on my list.
This winter I got into tire chains. I did a whole thread on that.
Also, I did my first Shell Rotella T-6 5W-40 oil change and that seems to be going very well so far.
I have quite a number of things I need to do. Stuff I've had in boxes for months in some cases. Spring break is in a week so maybe a lot of that will get knocked out then? No guarantees!
Here are a few pics.
Recently removed the spare, spare tire hanger, and trailer hitch. I just installed the Speski cargo barrier today. In that process I installed a spare tire bracket to my 4X4 Labs rear cargo baskets. I have a 6th wheel lined up. I won't normally carry two tires in the cargo area, but I will sometimes and will rotate in pairs. I also moved the DS rear hand hold handle up to the driver's seat and replaced the trailer hitch with Slee's little 4-hole filler receiver for a bike rack.
Also recently acquired all new Power Stop drilled/slotted rotors and pads and an eBay snorkel. Next Friday my replacement cooling fan shroud goes on, coolant gets replaced with Toyota red, PHH is replaced by 4' silicon bypass hose covered with black rubber hose, valve cover gasket gets replaced, and brakes get installed.
Snorkel and diff breather mod are next on my list.
This winter I got into tire chains. I did a whole thread on that.
Also, I did my first Shell Rotella T-6 5W-40 oil change and that seems to be going very well so far.
I have quite a number of things I need to do. Stuff I've had in boxes for months in some cases. Spring break is in a week so maybe a lot of that will get knocked out then? No guarantees!
Here are a few pics.
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That's a fine looking barrier 
- Thread starter
- #32
That's a fine looking barrier
Ha ha, thanks! We like it. Super easy and seems like a really solid mount.
- Thread starter
- #33
A few things to update. Charcoal canister, PHH, OBDII, brakes, and mechanical stuff.
Put in one of those GM charcoal canisters. That was a little more surgery than I expected. Ended up removing the two round brackets that held the old, smaller Toyota canister. The new canister was hard to fit with either bracket due to the tightness with the fuse box, wires coming out of the bottom of the fuse box, and the positive terminal wires coming off of my battery. Yes, if you remember I flipped pos/neg positions on my battery when I moved to the Sears Die Hard Platinum. So, I ended up drilling a new hole in the more permanent support bracket and used the lower round bracket up on the top. Bought a small 2.25" bolt to keep the cannister in place. Not sure yet what to do with the frame mounted pipe the old canister connected to out the bottom. Plug it, remove it, dunno. I also ended up cutting off the bulb end of the larger connecter on the new canister. The connecter is still slightly larger than the hose's inner diameter is meant for, but it works and fits on more easily without that little bulb end. As for performance, my engine isn't running any differently, but the gasoline smell is gone when I start er up now.
Had a mechanic do the PHH work around while doing a few other things. They really appreciated the pics I supplied and the instructions from 'Mud. They're a great Toyota-only place here in town, and they know Cruisers, (or Land Crushers / Land Bruisers as they call them) from a mechanical stand point, but they aren't familiar with the 'Mud types of things. Thanks 'Mud! I also got the thermostat o-ring replaced so hopefully no more little coolant leak. And switched back to Toyota Red.
I also unscrewed the fuse panel and OBDII jack which allowed me to put in my bluetooth OBDII module and cover with my new fuse panel cover under the steering wheel. CDan only had them in gray but I painted it with the bronze paint I used on the discovery cupholder. It's lighter than the surrounding plastic, but it's hardly noticeable where it is and things are multi-toned in the interior anyway. I'm happy with it. I use the Movi Pro software on my MacBook Pro, which I like for engine temp, air temp, etc...
I got the rear Power Stop drilled/slotted brakes on but the mechanic found many things which need attention and the diagnostics took too long for them to finish the work list yesterday. So, next Tuesday the LC is going in for two days of surgery.
Looks like:
Oil pump o-ring
Front crank shaft seal
Install fan shroud
Install new front brakes and tab washer
Xfer case front and rear output seal
Rubber boots for rear brakes (?)
New diff and xfer case fluid
New valve cover gasket
I've had pretty high oil pressure and I suspect the oil pressure relief valve isn't working. They'll check that. High oil pressure from that stuck valve could explain my oil seal issues.
It's a hefty price tag but I like these guys and this is a lot of that base-lining I failed to do initially. They're also going to check the front axle to see if it might be bent, as someone elsewhere on mud suggested once.
Just hoping the rear crankshaft seal doesn't need to be done also, but won't know till the others are done and things can be cleaned up.
Snorkel should be going on tomorrow which will include installing the new corner light assembly. I was prepping for that today, meaning looking around the engine bay and watching the videos on youtube by Narrow Pass 4x4. I didn't even know about that cup below the air box which catches mud or dirt. I emptied mine and cleaned it out. It wasn't even close to full. I assume that's 144K worth of dirt, but who knows. Nice to know it's clean though.
It's spring break so I'm looking at doing the diff breather mod into the air box too. Still need to wire up my winch.
Put in one of those GM charcoal canisters. That was a little more surgery than I expected. Ended up removing the two round brackets that held the old, smaller Toyota canister. The new canister was hard to fit with either bracket due to the tightness with the fuse box, wires coming out of the bottom of the fuse box, and the positive terminal wires coming off of my battery. Yes, if you remember I flipped pos/neg positions on my battery when I moved to the Sears Die Hard Platinum. So, I ended up drilling a new hole in the more permanent support bracket and used the lower round bracket up on the top. Bought a small 2.25" bolt to keep the cannister in place. Not sure yet what to do with the frame mounted pipe the old canister connected to out the bottom. Plug it, remove it, dunno. I also ended up cutting off the bulb end of the larger connecter on the new canister. The connecter is still slightly larger than the hose's inner diameter is meant for, but it works and fits on more easily without that little bulb end. As for performance, my engine isn't running any differently, but the gasoline smell is gone when I start er up now.
Had a mechanic do the PHH work around while doing a few other things. They really appreciated the pics I supplied and the instructions from 'Mud. They're a great Toyota-only place here in town, and they know Cruisers, (or Land Crushers / Land Bruisers as they call them) from a mechanical stand point, but they aren't familiar with the 'Mud types of things. Thanks 'Mud! I also got the thermostat o-ring replaced so hopefully no more little coolant leak. And switched back to Toyota Red.
I also unscrewed the fuse panel and OBDII jack which allowed me to put in my bluetooth OBDII module and cover with my new fuse panel cover under the steering wheel. CDan only had them in gray but I painted it with the bronze paint I used on the discovery cupholder. It's lighter than the surrounding plastic, but it's hardly noticeable where it is and things are multi-toned in the interior anyway. I'm happy with it. I use the Movi Pro software on my MacBook Pro, which I like for engine temp, air temp, etc...
I got the rear Power Stop drilled/slotted brakes on but the mechanic found many things which need attention and the diagnostics took too long for them to finish the work list yesterday. So, next Tuesday the LC is going in for two days of surgery.
Looks like:
Oil pump o-ring
Front crank shaft seal
Install fan shroud
Install new front brakes and tab washer
Xfer case front and rear output seal
Rubber boots for rear brakes (?)
New diff and xfer case fluid
New valve cover gasket
I've had pretty high oil pressure and I suspect the oil pressure relief valve isn't working. They'll check that. High oil pressure from that stuck valve could explain my oil seal issues.
It's a hefty price tag but I like these guys and this is a lot of that base-lining I failed to do initially. They're also going to check the front axle to see if it might be bent, as someone elsewhere on mud suggested once.
Just hoping the rear crankshaft seal doesn't need to be done also, but won't know till the others are done and things can be cleaned up.
Snorkel should be going on tomorrow which will include installing the new corner light assembly. I was prepping for that today, meaning looking around the engine bay and watching the videos on youtube by Narrow Pass 4x4. I didn't even know about that cup below the air box which catches mud or dirt. I emptied mine and cleaned it out. It wasn't even close to full. I assume that's 144K worth of dirt, but who knows. Nice to know it's clean though.
It's spring break so I'm looking at doing the diff breather mod into the air box too. Still need to wire up my winch.
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Great to see all the work you are doing.
The Montana Mud guys need to get together soon!! You need to check out my new MT Sliders.
The Montana Mud guys need to get together soon!! You need to check out my new MT Sliders.
- Thread starter
- #35
Thanks for the OBDII and other tips, Gary!
Last night we were looking at the pics of the LC from the last 20 months. They're all on our smugmug photo website.
Cruiser stuff, build process
That covers all the time since we got it to today. I never planned to do all the mods like this but it's been a very logical progression. Hard to believe it's the same vehicle we bought a year and a half ago. When my 6 y.o. older daughter walked out of the mechanic's shop Friday afternoon she hugged the cruiser. Kinda sweet. It's really the 5th member of our family and we all love it. The other night we were out and it was about bed time. The girls thought we were going to Taco Sano for a burrito, but we weren't. They were upset. They were trying to negotiate. The last attempt was "Fine! If we're not going to Taco Sano I at least want to go off-roading!"
Bill mentioned you got sliders. MT sliders? Hmm...
cool! I'll cruise over to your shop after I drop off the LC at Jake's at 8:00 on Tuesday. Any chance you'll have your cruiser there? 
Yes, it looks like it might be a longer 4x4 season this year, which will be nice. We need to make a list of trips which need to be accomplished by the MT 'Mud guys. I have that new book of trails in our region.
C'ya soon!
Last night we were looking at the pics of the LC from the last 20 months. They're all on our smugmug photo website.
Cruiser stuff, build process
That covers all the time since we got it to today. I never planned to do all the mods like this but it's been a very logical progression. Hard to believe it's the same vehicle we bought a year and a half ago. When my 6 y.o. older daughter walked out of the mechanic's shop Friday afternoon she hugged the cruiser. Kinda sweet. It's really the 5th member of our family and we all love it. The other night we were out and it was about bed time. The girls thought we were going to Taco Sano for a burrito, but we weren't. They were upset. They were trying to negotiate. The last attempt was "Fine! If we're not going to Taco Sano I at least want to go off-roading!"
Bill mentioned you got sliders. MT sliders? Hmm...
cool! I'll cruise over to your shop after I drop off the LC at Jake's at 8:00 on Tuesday. Any chance you'll have your cruiser there? Yes, it looks like it might be a longer 4x4 season this year, which will be nice. We need to make a list of trips which need to be accomplished by the MT 'Mud guys. I have that new book of trails in our region.
C'ya soon!
- Thread starter
- #36
Okay, snorkel time.
I screwed up. It's okay, but I totally screwed up. Full disclosure. I didn't pay close attention to how the template and the snorkel should line up on the fender crease. I can't remotely blame the eBay snorkel for this. I was shooting from the hip. Oh well. All is not lost, but it wasn't a good show.
So, here is the first part of it.
First remove the corner light. This was so easy I kicked myself for not replacing my broken light sooner. Oh, yeah, add clear corners to my list.
One little screw and that's it!
These two plastic pieces come out. It's just 3 nuts in the engine bay and they're out.
Gotta call CDan first thing Monday morning. Not sure how long this has been this way.
Just the hole with the inner fender chambers gone.
I screwed up. It's okay, but I totally screwed up. Full disclosure. I didn't pay close attention to how the template and the snorkel should line up on the fender crease. I can't remotely blame the eBay snorkel for this. I was shooting from the hip. Oh well. All is not lost, but it wasn't a good show.
So, here is the first part of it.
First remove the corner light. This was so easy I kicked myself for not replacing my broken light sooner. Oh, yeah, add clear corners to my list.
One little screw and that's it!
These two plastic pieces come out. It's just 3 nuts in the engine bay and they're out.
Gotta call CDan first thing Monday morning. Not sure how long this has been this way.
Just the hole with the inner fender chambers gone.
- Thread starter
- #37
Okay, we did a pretty sloppy job picking the drill point. Why? I couldn't tell ya.
The astute out there will notice this point is too low.
Actually, the hole saw wasn't that big a deal. The first attempt.
I can now understand part of the reason people use tape, but with the Herc it wasn't a big deal. Maybe tape would catch a little bit of metal shaving, but I'm not sure. There wasn't that much.
The astute out there will notice this point is too low.
Actually, the hole saw wasn't that big a deal. The first attempt.
I can now understand part of the reason people use tape, but with the Herc it wasn't a big deal. Maybe tape would catch a little bit of metal shaving, but I'm not sure. There wasn't that much.
- Thread starter
- #38
That was pretty. Then we realized we were to low. That took a trip to Ace, to storage, etc... Tried file, sawzall, bought blade for jigsaw, used several Dremel bits, etc...
Whew!
Just trusted the template after that and drilled the bolt points. They're a little bit off but that just means you'll have larger holes. You work it till everything fits and it'll be tight when it does. Or, you could do it the right way. I've hear that's less of a headache.
I'm not really all that frustrated. Maybe that's because my helper,
, had a good attitude about it all. Snorkel was her idea to begin with.
That's where it sits for now. Crappy weather today. Gonna threadlock the studs in the snorkel and re-attack tomorrow. Will touch up the holes with herculiner tomorrow and finish the install. I think it will be easy to put the nuts on the studs. Only finding the correct drill points for the upper bracket will be a challenge. We'll post more tomorrow. Day after that the Rhino goes to the shop for some TLC.
Whew!
Just trusted the template after that and drilled the bolt points. They're a little bit off but that just means you'll have larger holes. You work it till everything fits and it'll be tight when it does. Or, you could do it the right way. I've hear that's less of a headache.
I'm not really all that frustrated. Maybe that's because my helper,
, had a good attitude about it all. Snorkel was her idea to begin with.
That's where it sits for now. Crappy weather today. Gonna threadlock the studs in the snorkel and re-attack tomorrow. Will touch up the holes with herculiner tomorrow and finish the install. I think it will be easy to put the nuts on the studs. Only finding the correct drill points for the upper bracket will be a challenge. We'll post more tomorrow. Day after that the Rhino goes to the shop for some TLC.
Uncle Grumpy
SILVER Star
Bolting on the snorkel will be a lot easier your helper has small hands.
- Thread starter
- #40
Nah,
was no help with that! But she was moral support and did a few things.Got all the other mechanical stuff done. $$$. Getting the new air hose tomorrow.
Anyway, Snorkel went on right and tight after the initial hole fiasco. Ended up taking off the hood just for the heck of it. Was nice to not have it in the way.
China via Malaysia eBay snorkel worked out pretty well and looks good. Air temps were less than 10 degrees above the outside temp. I guess you can't get exact outside air temp with so much of the stuff under hood and right over the exhaust. I'll check air temps again with the new air hose.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-rZp42rt/0/L/i-rZp42rt-L.jpg
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-GzVpsrB/0/L/i-GzVpsrB-L.jpg
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-9JbdMW9/0/X3/i-9JbdMW9-X3.jpg
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-xjCRKxg/0/X2/i-xjCRKxg-X2.jpg
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-hqmZNVB/0/XL/i-hqmZNVB-XL.jpg
Looks like a scratch or something by the bracket but it's just from this stupid paint pen thing I tried to use. Waste of time and hard to clean.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-sTh7gwT/0/L/i-sTh7gwT-L.jpg
I think next up are diff breather extensions and wiring the winch. Then we'll take a look at that dual battery install.
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