What did you do to your FJ Cruiser today?
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Just did my oil-lube-rotate at 330,000K interval.
I replaced the alternator, all 3 idler pulleys and fan belt. SInce the alternator died I did the 130 amp tacoma tow package alternator upgrade. I had one idler pulley fail last year while on a road trip and had to grab one at Autozone. I previously had bought the Gates kit so I went ahead and installed those Gates goodies.
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Did some elective surgery on mine as well. Installed Dobinsons MMR rear shocks.
Had to shave my FJTOYMAN shin guards a bit to make them fit again.
Had to shave my FJTOYMAN shin guards a bit to make them fit again.
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Not today, but recently installed some under hood lighting while watching college football.
Bought it and hauled it home today.
2007 6MT, locker, a-trac, black/white, factory sliders, 213,000 miles. Has the slight 2nd to 3rd shift grind. Not very rusty for being a Colorado truck it’s whole life.
The wheels that are on it are hilarious, so I picked up a set of the FJC 8 hole rims with tires off of marketplace.
2007 6MT, locker, a-trac, black/white, factory sliders, 213,000 miles. Has the slight 2nd to 3rd shift grind. Not very rusty for being a Colorado truck it’s whole life.
The wheels that are on it are hilarious, so I picked up a set of the FJC 8 hole rims with tires off of marketplace.
Swapped out ugly cheap wheels with some OEM 8 holers. Added a usb insert. Changed the air filter. Drove it.
Complete steering overhaul on Saturday. Had perfect weather to work in the driveway. Pump, reservoir, hydraulic lines and rack done. Was able to get the rack inserted without removing the inner tie rods for the first time (I've swapped out the rack 3 or 4 times over 19+ yrs). Having the fluid lines completely out of the way probably helped. Most tedious part was the 17mm fittings crammed between the AC compressor and the top of the rack. Had to use a stubby open wrench and keep flipping it over every 1/16th of a turn 
Tied off the steering wheel with a couple of cargo straps to ensure I didn't screw up the center point too badly (also keeps you from roasting your clockspring in the steering column).
I was really disappointed that the rack is so poorly protected inside the box from Toyota. No protection for the threads on the tie rods and it had busted through both ends of the box.
All the part numbers:
Gotta be real careful to not cross thread these fittings - easy to do because it's such an awkward angle. I loosely mounted the crossmember bracket pre-attached to the lines to take some of the weight off of them, but loose enough to wiggle them as needed to get them started by finger tightening.
Putting the final "torque" on the pressure line fittings with a standard 17mm wrench. A crow's foot might work better here. I don't have any (yet).
Tied off the steering wheel with a couple of cargo straps to ensure I didn't screw up the center point too badly (also keeps you from roasting your clockspring in the steering column).
I was really disappointed that the rack is so poorly protected inside the box from Toyota. No protection for the threads on the tie rods and it had busted through both ends of the box.
All the part numbers:
Gotta be real careful to not cross thread these fittings - easy to do because it's such an awkward angle. I loosely mounted the crossmember bracket pre-attached to the lines to take some of the weight off of them, but loose enough to wiggle them as needed to get them started by finger tightening.
Putting the final "torque" on the pressure line fittings with a standard 17mm wrench. A crow's foot might work better here. I don't have any (yet).
Ok dumb newb question here: why so many rack replacements? Is it tire size, use case, poor design, leaking, play in steering, premature failure of some kind?Complete steering overhaul on Saturday. Had perfect weather to work in the driveway. Pump, reservoir, hydraulic lines and rack done. Was able to get the rack inserted without removing the inner tie rods for the first time (I've swapped out the rack 3 or 4 times over 19+ yrs). Having the fluid lines completely out of the way probably helped. Most tedious part was the 17mm fittings crammed between the AC compressor and the top of the rack. Had to use a stubby open wrench and keep flipping it over every 1/16th of a turn
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I was really disappointed that the rack is so poorly protected inside the box from Toyota. No protection for the threads on the tie rods and it had busted through both ends of the box.
View attachment 4048680
All the part numbers:
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View attachment 4048683
Gotta be real careful to not cross thread these fittings - easy to do because it's such an awkward angle. I loosely mounted the crossmember bracket pre-attached to the lines to take some of the weight off of them, but loose enough to wiggle them as needed to get them started by finger tightening.
Putting the final "torque" on the pressure line fittings with a standard 17mm wrench. A crow's foot might work better here. I don't have any (yet).
View attachment 4048684
Hard use in the rocks with 315/70/17 or similar sized tires. Also my daily driver so I'm at 348K miles right now. Rough (average) math says that's about 70K-95K miles per rack, but in reality I've been running this rack since 2017 (150K ago). My main symptom has always been what I think is a chipped tooth on the end of the rack. When I go to full lock one way or the other the pinion hops back into place, but then at the other end of the rack the pinion jump off a tooth again. This causes the steering wheel center point to move 5-10% off in one direction and then the other.
I replaced the pump once before but that was only because I misaligned the serp belt. The belt shredded and the fibers ended up getting spun up on the pump internals. I tried rebuilding that pump but it was beyond repair.
Thanks for the info @BMThiker . I just did some maintenance on the FJ today. Had codes on codes (P0420, P0430, P0022, C1201). So I did a deep dive and used my brother’s obd2 scanner. Checked voltages on both downstream o2 sensors. Bought denso o2 sensors to replace.
We’ll start with the engine area: I wanted to see if the OCV filter screens and cam position sensors were dirty or sludged up. All were very clean and minimal to no debris. Yes I even removed the PITA alternator to check the bank 2 filter screen. The PO was religious about oil changes and it showed in those filter screens.
Next I removed the three idler pulleys to check for bearing play and noise. One is definitely more chirpy, but that’s a problem for Christmas break.
I buttoned all that up and put it on the lift to check the source of my steering abnormality. Control arm bushings and ball joints all looked good, but the steering rack has a little shimmy to it. And I could see it move in the rack bushings. Problem for the springtime when I can get back to Tulsa and use my lift.
On to the moneymaker: had no problem removing both downstream o2 sensors and replacing with denso units from O’Reilly. Easiest part of my day for sure. Slapped those in and hooked up to the scanner. All codes clear except some random evap warning. It’s not even throwing a code (see pic below).
We’ll start with the engine area: I wanted to see if the OCV filter screens and cam position sensors were dirty or sludged up. All were very clean and minimal to no debris. Yes I even removed the PITA alternator to check the bank 2 filter screen. The PO was religious about oil changes and it showed in those filter screens.
Next I removed the three idler pulleys to check for bearing play and noise. One is definitely more chirpy, but that’s a problem for Christmas break.
I buttoned all that up and put it on the lift to check the source of my steering abnormality. Control arm bushings and ball joints all looked good, but the steering rack has a little shimmy to it. And I could see it move in the rack bushings. Problem for the springtime when I can get back to Tulsa and use my lift.
On to the moneymaker: had no problem removing both downstream o2 sensors and replacing with denso units from O’Reilly. Easiest part of my day for sure. Slapped those in and hooked up to the scanner. All codes clear except some random evap warning. It’s not even throwing a code (see pic below).
Found this place
New to site & FJ
Welcome!
Welcome to the zoo.
^^^^^^^
What he said. So, what ya got, and where's the pix?