Jkelley429

iTrader: (1)

Well, i've been stalling on creating this for too long. I bought the truck (188,000 miles)back in April of last year when i turned 16. A good tune up, a MAF, TPS, and ECU later it ran good. Progress was slow over the first summer. I did get some brand new (1000 miles) 265/70/17 BFGoodrich Rugged Trails and some 17'' Mondera Davanti wheels for $300 from a guy who wrecked his chevy and had to sell them. My dad is good friends with the local exhaust guy, so i got my Flowmaster 40 done fairly cheap. I then installed a pioneer radio, Kicker door speakers, and a 10'' Kicker Comp sub. From the time i got the truck i could tell the clutch was gonna need replacing, and sure enough at 191,000 miles it was slipping beyond repair. Bought a factory Aisin clutch kit for $68 and installed it. Iv'e always had a problem with my transmission(1st jumps out, no 3rd, 4th grinds) and i finally ordered a used w56 from a fellow yotatecher yesterday. I guess what motivated me to finally start this was the fact that i stayed up til midnight on sunday installing a 3'' body lift. Well, so far iv'e only goth the cab lifted, but i guess thats over half of it. I have a rod knocking in my engine and i know that these engines are really tough, but im currently looking for parts to build my 22rte this summer. Iv'e rebuilt a 22re before and i have a good bit of automotive knowledge so im sure i can pull it off with some help from the fellow yotatechers. This is probably gonna be a rather slow build as i am currently training with a guy to build websites. When i start doing that ill definitely have money on hand to customize the yota, but until then its gonna have to wait. Before you ask, my phone is acting up right now so no pics yet, but ill try to upload some this evening. Any comments, advice, complaints, criticism are accepted and would be appreciated. I, as many if not all other Yota owners have big plans for my rig and hopefully i can achieve those all while saving for college. Thanks in advance for your help.

jason in tn

Hey man ain't heard from you in awhile. Glad to see you started a build thread, can't wait to see some pics.

bob200587

Jkelley429

iTrader: (1)

Sorry it took so long for the pics. Haven't had much spare time lately. Haven't done much since my last post, although i put on some new Buckshot Mudders on Saturday. Got all 4 for free from my cousin. All i had to pay was mounting and balancing.


1. I think this is also my profile pic. This is a local fishing spot on the Harpeth RIver. Had my buddy that was taking the pic about to take off running away cause he thought i was going to hit him.


2. Took this pic in my driveway after replacing the transmissison. It's a little dark, and you can't tell, but i think this was after i did the 3'' BL.


3. New tires after i washed the truck. The front tires are brand new, but the rears have a few miles on them. The drivers side rear is chopping really bad due to over-inflation by the PO. These are considerably louder on the road than the old BFG's.


4. Tread on the front tires. With the BFG's I would always have to slow down to about 5 mph to keep from skidding off the road when it's wet on a curve that i take on the way to school. With the Buckshot's i was able to go about 15 mph before sliding. Didn't expect that from an M/T.

Ill post more pics as i go along, but as the title says, it going to be a slow build since im not making much money while in high school.

Jkelley429

iTrader: (1)

Well, as you may have seen on other threads, i developed a coolant leak from somewhere(still undetermined) and without the temperature gauge so much as moving a millimeter past the middle of the range(i check gauges religiously) it apparently overheated and i drove approximately 10 miles without noticing . After tearing down the engine i discovered that my fears of blowing the head gasket were true , although i also discovered i had zero ring groove, which combined with the fact that all internals are so clean looking, makes me think the PO might have rebuilt it. After having the head magna-fluxed, resurfaced, and steam cleaned, and ordering the HG kit w/ bolts from Ted at ENGNBLDR (if you've never used them you should, excellent customer service and great parts) which arrived on Friday i started to prepare for the build . As you can tell by the first 2 pictures, the HG has a ton more metal in it than factory.





I just started the rebuild this afternoon after church and helping my dad put a fuel lift pump on his 96 Dodge 3500 Cummins Turbo Diesel(yes it is the 12 valve 5.9L for those of you into that) I have already got the head and timing chain installed(i made the mistake of putting the head on before the timing chain cover, so i had to drop the oil pan in order to put the timing cover on without folding the HG over behind the cover).





After i had to drop the oil pan down an inch or so, i realized that it could be possible to maneuver the oil pan out of the way, and replace the rod bearings. I've had a rod knocking since i got the truck and it seems to be getting worse. I'm on a teenagers budget so pulling the engine to rebuild is not really a feasible option right now, so i figured that might be a cheap way to extend the life of the engine(it's only got 198,xxx on it which is of course just breaking it in LOL ). What do y'all think about that, ever done it yourself or heard of anyone doing it successfully?

I used to be the kind of person to laugh at others that said that they couldn't go more than a week without driving their truck, but after not driving mine for about a month I definitely know what they mean. It's really starting to get to me, so I really hope i don't hit anymore roadblocks on this project.

Jkelley429

iTrader: (1)

Well, after a year of searching ive finally found a good place to go wheeling. Best part is its only 5 minutes from my house. Some friends of my dad are on the lease for this 650 acre tract that has at least 20 miles of 4wheeling trails of varying difficulty.

On the first day i was kinda talked in to attempting an atv trail that a jeep had been unable to take a few days earlier. Well, i made it a few feet further than the jeep , but once i lost momentum i had to roll backwards and it just so happened that my turning radius wasnt sharp enough so i ended up sitting against a tree on a very steep slope and was unable to go anywhere. I reluctantly had to have the jeep(late 80's cherokee) drag my rear wheels sideways so i could get traction. .(ill get them back eventually).

The next day, another friend of my dads, probably about 22, brought his late 98'ish ford ranger, which has apparently gone places most jeeps cant go. After some "my 'yota will go anywhere your ranger will" talk, he proceeds to take off at about 45 down a very dry dirt track and within a minute of taking off slams into a tree, deploying both airbags, snapping the lower ball joint and cv axle, ripping the tire partially off the rim, and damaging the fender. It then had to be dragged to a clearing by the 'yota he had just talked crap about.


After he fixes his truck (knowing him it will be pretty soon) ill get to see some more of the trails, and report back. So, most likely all the local yota guys will be invited out there one weekend before summer is over.

jason in tn

I used to be the kind of person to laugh at others that said that they couldn't go more than a week without driving their truck, but after not driving mine for about a month I definitely know what they mean. It's really starting to get to me, so I really hope i don't hit anymore roadblocks on this project.

I havent drove my 86 runner in 5 years I feel your pain and then some LOL. hope all is well and glad to hear youve been able to get in some wheeling.

Jkelley429

iTrader: (1)

I went to leave for work on Wednesday and once i started my truck i smelled gas. Shut the engine off and found that i was pouring fuel from the banjo bolt on the fuel rail(the one coming from the fuel filter). After doing some research i discovered that there are supposed to be 2 crush washers on the banjo bolt, on on each side of the feed line. When doing the HG last month i only put one crush washer on the bottom side of the feed line. I have no idea how it held with no leaks for that long but it apparently stopped holding. I went to oriely's to try and find a replacement washer, and ended up going with a copper drain plug seal for 69 cents apiece. The OD was too large, so they didnt seal all the way, once it built up fuel pressure it started a slow leak. I broke down and ordered the correct washers from the stealership. They are $1.61 apiece! More than i paid for 2 of them at oriely's. Oh well, i guess it's worth getting the right part. Only bad thing is, they won't be in until tuesday, so the yota will be own until then.

Jkelley429

iTrader: (1)

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been really busy with school and getting ready for college in the fall. I regretfully inform you all that my current daily driver is a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the 4.7L V-8(graduation present from my parents). Hopefully I will not be shunned for this or upset the yota gods. lol. I do still have the yota, but my dad has taken over the mods from now on. He has a pretty awesome build planned for it, so this thread won't go to waste.