What have you done to your 200 Series this week? (34 Viewers)

[tbisaacs]

Cam tower went from minor annoyance to top of the list It traveled down manifold heat shield and hit the drive shaft and has been flinging everywhere.

 

[TeCKis300]

hit the drive shaft and has been flinging everywhere.

Insult to injury. Or auto rust prevention?

 

[bloc]

Cam tower went from minor annoyance to top of the list It traveled down manifold heat shield and hit the drive shaft and has been flinging everywhere.

View attachment 3911123

Did this coincide with an oil change, or change in viscosity or something?

 

[tbisaacs]

Did this coincide with an oil change, or change in viscosity or something?

I honestly dont know — I only found it because of an oil change. I was in moab all week and happened to be under my truck replacing screws missing from the skid plates and it was dry. I went to go get oil, opened the drain and saw spray everywhere so decided to drop all the skids. I've been running 5w-30 for a very long time.

 

[Ratchey]

I honestly dont know — I only found it because of an oil change. I was in moab all week and happened to be under my truck replacing screws missing from the skid plates and it was dry. I went to go get oil, opened the drain and saw spray everywhere so decided to drop all the skids. I've been running 5w-30 for a very long time.

Moab will put you at some wonky angles that you don't normally see when off-roading. Oil might have gotten to a weak spot not normally seen when level.

 

[tbisaacs]

Moab will put you at some wonky angles that you don't normally see when off-roading. Oil might have gotten to a weak spot not normally seen when level.

Yea good point!

 

[LvCruiserNewb]

Camping trip in Utah to get out of the Vegas heat.

Hoping to take a day trip in to SLC to go to the heritage museum. I see Saturday they are having a Cruisers and Coffee gathering there. Anyone going?

 

[S.CarolinaFZJ80]

Oil and filter change.

Third change using 5W-30. I like the higher oil pressure with this grade.

First start after change.

At idle

 

[TeCKis300]

None are like the other. Lesson learned rear upper trailing arms from the LC are not the same as those for the LX. The LX (bottom two) arms have brackets for height sensors.

Another fun fact, upper arms are asymmetric in length. Just as driver vs passenger springs are asymmetric.

 

[GrouchyTech]

Did a little baking today. New lenses. I got them on eBay about a year ago—I think they were around $130.

I need to order a pair of new gasket/moldings for the area between the hood and headlamp housings. I’ll also need to pull them again to polish over the sharp curved edge along the fender and then spray some plastic-safe black paint on the inside edge of the lens in that same area to match the painted area on the original lenses for a much more finished look.

I give them a 9.5/10 for fit, 9/10 for finish.

 

[K9LTW]

Cleaned her up with the trailer after a weekend of camping ahead of our trip to Wyoming in two weeks. Also installed some Diode Dynamics Pros, and with some commiserating and advice from the community, got my beeeeeeautiful E&E skids put on after having to drill out around a busted bolt and busted extractor.

 

[bloc]

Another fun fact, upper arms are asymmetric in length. Just as driver vs passenger springs are asymmetric.

Really interesting.. any idea why? Seems like an unacceptable compromise simply for packaging reasons. Something to do with torque steer maybe? Or to account for sagitta of the rear axle and panhard combo?

 

[HighRanch]

View attachment 3912346
Camping trip in Utah to get out of the Vegas heat.

Hoping to take a day trip in to SLC to go to the heritage museum. I see Saturday they are having a Cruisers and Coffee gathering there. Anyone going?

View attachment 3912347

Love to be there...please post pictures!

 

[TeCKis300]

Really interesting.. any idea why? Seems like an unacceptable compromise simply for packaging reasons. Something to do with torque steer maybe? Or to account for sagitta of the rear axle and panhard combo?

I doubt it's for packaging issues. If I had to guess, I likewise think it's to compensate for panhard geometry and possibly driveshaft torque.

 

[GrouchyTech]

I doubt it's for packaging issues. If I had to guess, I likewise think it's to compensate for panhard geometry and possibly driveshaft torque.

They didn’t know for certain that this was the reason, but a Toyota engineer (TAS engineer) told me that was likely the reason. The control arm lengths and angles probably greatly diminish the effects of axle movement on drivability in the first place. So, I imagine this is compensation for the remainder.

 

[dms]

I got my 18 LC out of storage and drove it around a bit. 200 series are truly fantastic vehicles.

 

[wjcunningham3]

Elsie has been getting a good amount of love this week!

With nearly 230k miles on her (23k since I bought her May 2024), she got new OEM shocks. Long, annoying story, but I had a parts credit at a local dealership and needed spend it down quickly. An independent shop put on the front spacer and the shocks. I took off the side steps this afternoon. Alignment later this week. Prepping for two long roadtrips this summer.

Looking at a cargo box - Thule Motion 3 XL Low - any opinions?
(Yes I know FB marketplace and Craigslist have boxes half price, but I have been shopping for a while and haven't found what I am looking for.)

 

[Quidnam]

Looking at a cargo box - Thule Motion 3 XL Low - any opinions?

I've had the XXL version of the Thule Motion XT since 2018. We use it for at least a couple trips per year, and it has served us well. We got 5 duffels that pack up into the space, and it makes a big difference on long trips. No real complaints (apart from the inevitable practical downsides of dealing with the thing before and after). Once it's mounted, you barely notice it's there.

 

[77pantera]

Haven't had nearly anytime lately to work on the 200. Finally got it out of the garage and into the barn.
Cleaned up the RW's, they came out pretty good. Pulled all 4 rings, need to try and polish the one a bit more, but for the garbage I see for sale, they look half decent, no corrosion on the outside. Date code correct too!
Oil change and filter, lubed both prop shafts, thoroughly washed and Fluid Filmed the underside. (It won't see daily winter use, but it is a northern vehicle, no need for it to get worse, and it will go on the occasional road trip in the winter)
Mounted and balanced some 285/70/17 AT4's in SL flavor. I really did not want heavy stiff E's on this. $240 a pop from my tire distributor which wasn't half bad.
Installed the Rival skid's. Nothing special, but for the sale price and my use case, a decent product IMO. Still need to install the Fuel Tank skid, but I'm going to add a heat shield to it.

 

[wjcunningham3]

I've had the XXL version of the Thule Motion XT since 2018. We use it for at least a couple trips per year, and it has served us well. We got 5 duffels that pack up into the space, and it makes a big difference on long trips. No real complaints (apart from the inevitable practical downsides of dealing with the thing before and after). Once it's mounted, you barely notice it's there.

Thanks. With the garage measured, I placed the order! Looking forward to putting this on.