What Did You Do with Your 80 This Weekend? (30 Viewers)

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Washed it and got a new exhaust. need to adjust the bumper. It's a type of stainless steel, they guarantee the welds from cracking. It's not as spiffy as I'm used to with regards to pipe bends etc but for the first time in many years, it doesn't sound like a tractor and there is no CEL d/t broken O2 sensor mounts. Life is good
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Out with the old....
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In with the new...
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I supplied the new OEM gasket and Safelite provided some Chinese glass. I guess glass is glass. The old windshield was Toyota but was only sealed at the bottom corners. Not a drop of sealer anywhere else which is likely why it was leaking.
My Safelite windshield leaks. Fortunately I live in the desert....
 
Finally got new shoes and my green wheels put on.
I was supposed to get out in the dirt today, but I snapped a lug stud taking wheels off last night, so today has been all about the slow painful process of driveway wheel stud replacement.
The Lisle wheel stud install tool doesn't fit on the rear of a FZJ80. There is just enough lip on the hub and width in the tool that it would force the studs to draw through out of center.
I broke the first new stud trying to draw it through by hand with a breaker bar and 21mm socket.
Final solution was a couple of steel machine bushings, a washer and a 12'" adjustable wrench. I tried to keep my leverage and force exerted in a pretty specific direction, only did about 1/4 turns at a time, then checked the lug nut travel on the stud each time. It took a while, but it worked.

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someone should make a tool for this 🤔
 
Replaced the radiator cap, pulled the CEL codes (TPS asking for attention), and cleaned the dashboard and center console...was sitting there anyway ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
How long did you have the STT Pros, from the pic I can see that they had similar uneven wear to the ones I had. They were absolutely terrible and I got rid of them with much less wear than yours. They become so loud and rough it was unbearable. I would never recommend that tire to anyone.

^^^^^
Owner of our local tire store put a set on his truck (Pros) and was similarly disappointed. He steered me away from them and said that for mostly on-road performance (which fits my needs) to go with the ST MAXX. They have been very good so far on my 80 series and I might even put a set on my 100 series when the Yokohama's wear out.

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I posted a thread on the process for this but I rebuilt my steering box with a 105 sector shaft over the past few days. It doesn't take a few days but I had to wait for a couple parts during the process.
Steering box by Adam Tolman, on Flickr
Nice, looks a lot like my rebuild. ;)
 
what size tires? and did you use spacers to use the center caps?

35x12.5. Yes, I used a hard rubber Automotive hose cut into lengths and longer bolts for the spacers.
 
Just got back from roughly 2 weeks and 5,000miles in the truck. Didn't skip a beat and didn't burn a drop of oil. Only hiccup we had was the A/C deciding to blow a gasket about 2 hours from home :doh: . A handful of DD trips to work away from 240k and genuinely runs better than many 80s I've been in with half the miles. Always amazes me what these trucks will do for you if you treat them right.

Left Va and after a few stops on the road, landed in Santa Fe. First time I had been there and quickly became one of my favorite towns I have been to. Really spectacular architecture and culture...not to mention the views and proximity to amazing outdoor activity. Enjoyed it, will be back someday.


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Left Santa Fe and headed for SW Colorado area (the goal of the trip). Grabbed a quick bite in pagosa on the way in and beelined for Durango. Another amazing town. Set up camp and got some rest.


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Left for Silverton/Ouray/Telluride area. Hit a few trails, saw a few sites, camped, just all around had a blast. Only problem is it rained just about the entire time. Bummer, but not normally a huge problem - the springbar tent held up very well...but 2 nights straight in non-stop rain was about all I could ask from my pregnant wife, she is a trooper.


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So made the snap decision to head to the desert. Moab. Not our first time there, so the usual tourist spots/trails weren't the priority. Sitting in a line of 30 Jeeps waiting to roll over a rock when its 103 outside is not as fun as its made out to be. Goal was to get away from the crowds, see some beautiful sites and not get rained on. After PMing a member here (won't mention him directly since I'm sure everyone will then start PMing him) he led us to a specific area in the Moab region that was just that - perfect. Felt like we were the only ones there. Couldn't have asked for more. Set up camp on some BLM land in the area, did a couple more trails, hiked a little, loved every minute of it.


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After that, made the 2,000 mile trek home, and here I sit, planning the next one.

Some things I learned, and some takeaways (some tech related, some not) since there is always room for improvement on every trip.

- I need to switch out my sliders. My wife had trouble getting in and out the entire time, will be more complicated in the future. Slee step sliders are the cure.
- I am changing my gearing choice. 5.29/35s makes sense for me 99% of the time, but if I have any hope of more trips like this, I need 4.88s. There is a lot of highway between Virginia and Utah. A brand new set of nitro 5.29s will be for sale in the classified section soon, PM me if interested.
- The Speski barrier was the most crucial last minute purchase I made. Was so happy I had it, beyond useful.
- OBA would be really nice, but I'm not sure the extra expense would be truly worth it, not a priority at the moment - filing it in the 'nice to have' category. On Board Water on the other hand is a different story. Our gatorade jug on labs bumper set up actually worked ok for what it was (pic below), but something more sophisticated is on the horizon.


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- I undervalued the importance of rear drawers. Had them in my last truck and used the hell out of them, I need a new set.
- I'm not sure if upgrading to a fridge is worth it. Besides the obvious drastic expense over even the best cooler, it adds so much extra complication. Extra wiring, extra battery or solar or both, is hard mounted and hard to remove. How is that worth it over needing to grab ice every 4-5 days? I'm not convinced. Having the ability to sleep back there in a pinch as well is very nice - not easy with a fridge if its more than one person.
- Our sleeping set up was the most comfortable camping I have ever done. Springbar tent, camptime cots, Exped Mega Mats. Was the perfect base camp. Only complaint is the stakes. Here in Va, takes a few minutes, no problems whatsoever. Out there in CO/UT...totally different story. Bent stakes and lots of curse words. Won't be changing all of this out immediately, but I don't see us going that far again with the same set up.
- Lastly and most importantly. There is no good Italian food west of the Missippi. I love it out there, landscapes are amazing, outdoor activity proximity is amazing, but good lord beyond your tacos/burritos and tex/mex, learn how to cook :flipoff2:

Posted a few more pics in my build thread since mud only lets you post 5 at a time.
 

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