From England to Mongolia in my 1993 Toyota Pickup for the summer of 2012
 

Hello Everyone,
My name is Tom and I recently purchased my first truck. I have never owned a truck before but the next 6 months I own this rig it should be fun. The reason I say that I will only have this rig for 6 months is that at the end of my build/ rally adventure I will be donating the truck to some people in Mongolia :safari: (Closest image I could find :) )

The rally I am competing in is called the Mongol Rally, check out some youtube videos about it (I am not sure if I can post links to the rally since I am new, otherwise I would include my facebook page for you guys to follow my adventure this summer. The rally starts July 14th and will end some 40 days after that. The race is from London, England to the capital of Unnai Baatar, Mongolia. Every team lays out their own route to make there and me and my teammate will be going through England, France, Belgium, Germany, Czech. Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and finally Mongolia.
The reason I am here at Yotatech, I need any advice, help, or info I can acquire and learn about the rig I have chosen to use. It took a lot of leg work for me to get an exception to use a truck over 1.3L (we are limited to vehicles with displacements normally smaller than 1.3L but since my team found a special case for pickups, panel vans, and emergency vehicles….we are taking a truck and I’d like to make it a nice donation to the people in the rural country side of Mongolia once I am finished with the rig). Anywho, my truck is a 1993 Toyota Pickup single cab. The truck has 151000 miles and we nabbed the truck in an auction for $2400 two weeks ago. Currently, I am looking into a new clutch and some kind of kit to repair the timing chain. I have read some links about the timing chain guides being an Achilles heel of this pretty much bullet proof engines so I wanted to take care of this problem before it catches up with me in the Himalaya Mountains some ¾ ways through my expedition. Additionally, putting in a new clutch seems like a good idea since there will be quite a bit of offroading for the rig, and from what I understand since the engine is low power a lot of clutching has to be done, so I don’t want my stock clutch to be giving out on me when I am on the Pamir highway. The last major item I am looking at is some steel wheels at JCwhitney for roughly $60 and some BF All Terrain KO tires (If anyone knows that its ok I can post links to the parts I am looking at let me know, I am new guy so I didn’t want to run out my welcome to your awesome community).
Here are some pictures of the truck now, let me know your thoughts (sorry if the pictures don’t post, I am still new at this forum thing and I am struggling to get anything accepted by the sizing standards for a picture :( ). I have posted some photo bucket pics, I hope they are ok.

Best, Tom
Btw, let me know if yall need any other info for me to clarify the adventure I am embarking on :rockon: All the help I can get from you guys will help me out

http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...y/P2250048.jpg

http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...y/P2250058.jpg

http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...y/P2250059.jpg

http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...y/P2250061.jpg

http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...y/P2250060.jpg

http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...y/P2250055.jpg

http://http://s1265.photobucket.com/...t=P2250048.jpg

Hey Folks,

I thought I would post a few of the links of the parts I was looking at (I saw some other guys post links in a few threads so I think its ok.)

Here are the steel wheels I am looking at (I think the alloys on the rig would get beat up on the rally, especially throughout the Pamir Highway and the Himalayas):

http://www.jcwhitney.com/allied-whee.../p3043266.jcwx

Here are the tires I am looking at (Planning on 5 at minimum and possibly a 6th tire just to be safe for blowouts):

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....WLV2&tab=Sizes

Here is a clutch I was looking at. The engine will be stock on the rally, but I just want a slightly better than stock clutch. I was figuring something with a full face and am still looking into centerforce and Luk clutches, so any help here would be great :)

http://www.lceperformance.com/Clutch-Kits-s/16676.htm

Now just some enjoyment and to give yall some fun videos to watch, check out what the rally will be like :) Thanks again for your help

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeeL09NH-SA

(This guy isn't doing the rally, but his route is very similar to where my rig will be conquering the earth :)

http://vimeo.com/24177388

you might want to check out this site before you go.

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/

Just as a quickie note, the last video is of a guy on a motorbike (motorcycle) so I am not sure if that makes it better that I doing this in truck but I shall see.

Btw, has anyone had success with using ammo boxes as tool chests/ storage containers in the bed of the truck. There are a few times on the rally I could get robbed, so I am looking for a way to make something that I could put a lock on and weld it to the bed of the truck.

If you have any ideas for a soundtrack/ driving music that I should listen to on the rally let me know :) All I have currently worked up is:

1) Van Halen - Running With the Devil
2) Stone Temple Pilots - Vasoline
3) Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Fire

A whole lot of the 90s :) (Wish I had grown up during that time, great music)

Roger that DIHOWARD, I will look more into the site, looks like a great source of info from what I see already, thanks

Scribed

Right on man!! Thats gonna be one badass adventure!!

As for tunes.... Angel of Death by Slayer is always a nice mellow one but as for 90's... Burden in my Hand by Soundgarden or maybe Tweeter and the Monkey Man by Headstones. The 90 kicked ass.... I could list off songs for weeks to you....

Haha, my teammate will be pleased with more metal for our month or so expedition :) Thanks

Btw, I just realized, maybe the thread is more of.....from the Eastern U.S.A. to England then to Mongolia :safari:

After checking out a few threads and couple web sites, I think I am going to go with a clutch from Marlin

http://www.marlincrawler.com/clutch/...ch-kit-1200-lb

Does anyone know if that roll bar on my truck is a show bar or a real roll bar? Wait I have an idea........actually, no that won't be a good idea, the truck might not roll bar over :)

I found this link of use, thanks irab88

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...d-pics-232381/

It's for looks, but they can work surprisingly well if you do happen to roll it. Providing it's securely mounted to the bed prior to it. So doesn't go flying out of it before it gets a chance to work. I say that because I can't tell if that one is fully bolted down/welded to that bed or not.:dunno:

Anyhow, I know what I'm talking about from first-hand experience...
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w...A/P3090004.jpg

90's tunes: Faith No More, Primus, Beck, Portishead, Beastie Boys, Nirvana, Rage Against The Machine, Korn, Tool, Sepultura, Pantera, Fear Factory, Morbid Angel, to name a few. They've gotten me through many long road trips.;)

http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/sr...es/exp_rig.gif (Closest image I could find )

But how you made it translate that as http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/sr...es/exp_rig.gif (Closest image I could find :) ) instead is beyond me...:think:

I can make it cooler to look at though...

Check this out...http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/sr...es/exp_rig.gif (Closest image I could find :) )

Mudhippy thanks for the music. I've got all of Primus, Becks, and Rages albums and you are certainly right they will make for some great driving tunes.

Btw....did you know Primus is considered their own genre of music, awesome haha

Although, I haven't tried rolling the vehicle (I don't think the bolt-in mounting points on the wheel hubs look like the strongest things in the world. I certainly want to make sure the roll bar will be able to withstand a roll over like MudHippy had. Any who here is the first time the truck was run through the mud.

I have to say, this truck runs through the mud so well (sorry about the light in the camera at the later part of the video, but the important part is the first 30 seconds) Enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9L40s...ature=youtu.be

Hey folks,

I took some pictures of the underside of the rig today, mainly because I am sending them to LCE engineering to discuss the shape of the truck. If any of you guys see anything strange other than mounds of rust let me know.

Currently I set up to buy from LCE:
- Single-Chain Timing Kit
- Water Pump
- Oil Pump
- Upper gasket kit
- Rear Main Seal

Im buying from Marlin:
- New stock flywheel
- 1200 ft-lb clutch (just cya so I don't chances on the life of the stock clutch on the vehicle)

Anything else other than steel wheels and the free BF Goodrich All Terrains I got as free-bees from my driver instructing for Teen Survival Driving (scary I know...I teach people to drive :) ) hasn't been planned to be ordered...yet. Let me know if anything looks strange.

Btw, the left CV axle has been replaced

Questions that come to mind are:

-Does the steering stabilizer look ok?
-And...how bad are those blocks under the springs going to be for the longevity of the suspension? I am leaning towards getting rid of the life so that the truck has a lower Center-of-Gravity (CG) even though that will reduce my ground clearance. Thoughts on this? Thanks

Picture A - Steering Stabilizer
http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...y/P3100007.jpg

Picture B - Right Front (Passenger side) CV Axle/knuckle
http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...y/P3100006.jpg

Picture C - Left Front (Driver side) CV Axle/knuckle
http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...y/P3100005.jpg

Picture D
http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...y/P3100004.jpg

Picture E
http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...y/P3100003.jpg

Picture F
http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...y/P3100002.jpg

Picture G
http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...y/P3100001.jpg

Dude-do they have a tech inspection before this race?
I would scrap the entire under carriage of that truck before I considered sending in my entrance fee. Sorry to say but with the amount of rust on that thing you will have something fail early on..

FYI-ground clearance is measured to the lowest point of the truck, not the frame. Only way to increase ground clearance is a taller tire, not a lift kit...

Edit 2.0: MH got lucky, what you have in your truck is a light bar IMO..

Dropzone, I appreciate you taking a look at my thread.

You should check out a bunch of the other cars that go on the rally, just to name a few:
-Mini Coopers (no longer allowed because of the age requirement)
-Ford Ka
-Kia Rio
-Toyota Yaris
-Ambulances and Fire Trucks (emergency vehicles)

There is a huge constraint to the vehicle type that can be brought to the rally, the vehicle must have less than a 1.3 L engine. For every 0.1L you are over the requirement you must pay $150.00. I know that may not sound like a lot of money, but it certainly adds up after awhile. Additionally, if you do decide to show up to the rally with a vehicle such as one outside the rules you will face a $2500.00 fine up front before additional charges for importation taxes on your vehicle to enter Mongolia. The goal at the end of the rally is to be able to sell off your vehicle to a person of Mongolia and as rough of shape as this truck is in, half of those 1.3L less economy cars will barely cross the finish line. The upside to an economy car is that if they break down, they don't face the penalties of $2500, but you are still expected to get your car across the finish line (towed or on its own propulsion (the preferred of course)).

Now, if I had to imagine you might wondering, well how did you get to take a truck and at that with 2.4 L? My teammate and I had been in the market to buy a dump truck or a firetruck (something that met the emergency vehicle exception rule on the $2500 penalty). However, we were able to make a case for a specialty vehicle they had left open, open-bed pickups or utility vans (no windows in the back). Now that might sound like a gold mine, but it took more searching because we weren't allowed to take any truck. Due to the past years of the rally, people taking really old cars that died in Russia before even toughing the desert, Mongolia put a requirement on the cars to be no more than 10 years or older unless given special permission otherwise (a firetruck would have been an easy case). So this put us in kind of a tough spot, we were allowed to look for a truck but it needed to be 1.3L and less than 10 years or older......yeah :facepalm:
On top of that we/everyone is on a low-budget so the truck had to be cheap, so affordability nuked all possible new trucks.
But we made a case for trucks made in the mid 90s (although our rig is pushing almost 20 years) and is 1.1L over the required engine size. We were allowed to take the 93 Toyota you see after roughly 3 months of deliberation (and this was constantly talking to the coordinators of the rally).

So Dropzone, I totally see where you are coming from but I hope you get why I am trying to make best with what I have. Any advice on the build will be great, I know I am looking at some tough times with rust, but I really have confidence that this rig will make it through the rally much easier than at least half the field, especially considering the route we are taking

Thanks for the verification on the roll/show bar. I've got work ahead of me, but I think it will make for a fun build, fun thread to update, and a fun adventure. Good times ahead :)

Hey folks,

I am uploading some videos and pictures from my week long spring break build for the rally vehicle.

Currently, I have hit a few snags (mentioned below). I will have some pictures posted soon if not tonight tomorrow morning to give you an idea where I am (photobucket and youtube are taking awhile and I am fairly tired). If you guys have any ideas about ways to fix some of the problems I have come across that would be great, or if you could tell me I am on the right path that would be good too.


Challenege:
(A) Cracked exhaust manifold (looks to be a header that the previous owner put on
(B) A few exhaust manifold bolts pulled out the studs with the nut
(C) The crankshaft pulley/harmonic balancer pulley bolt was frozen onto the pulley
(D) The front timing cover doesn't seem to want to budge (even after I found the sneaky bolts hidden on the coolant pipe)
(E) The camshaft bolt.....Is there a groove to line the upper gear up in an exact position on the cam? I want to make sure that I maintain the engine at TDC, but the Haynes Manual is quite vague in my opinion.


Some of my Answers:
(A) Bought a new stock manifold (if anyone wants the old one they are welcome to it. I am not sure how the stock manifold will attach to the old exhaust system, it looks a flange hook up from what I saw on some of the stock manifold pictures for the downpipe. Here is a link I found about the stock manifold: 1) http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-b.../7cylinder.pdf

(B) I will use the "double-nut method" to drive a few new studs into the cylinder head

(C) A torch was used to heat up the bolt holding the crankshaft pulley on. I couldn't believe how much heat had to be used, we could light a cigarette, off the bolt so much for in car lighters ;) Although, I am going to purchase a new crankshaft pulley bolt (the crankshaft pulley/harmonic balancer looks to be in good condition on the rubber side, just a little toasty on the front side). However, does anyone have another opinion about the condition of the crankshaft pulley (refer to the pictures with grooves on the pulley, I am not sure what condition the grooves are allowed to be, should I pick up a new one? Here are some links I have found: 1) A good example to me of how much force it takes to break one of these bolts loose https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...me-0-d-222219/ , 2) Possibly using a "tin" sleeve, but this doesn't seem to be a popular option https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f115...pulley-160325/ , 3) Although this is an option to buy a new crankshaft pulley (http://www.lceperformance.com/20R-22...-p/1016114.htm), I am trying to salvage using mine, let me know your feedback, check my photos below (when they are posted in the next 12 hours)

(D) I'm fairly lost as to why the timing cover won't budge......I am hoping as soon as I answer (E) that I can pop out the bolt under the ignition gear under the camshaft gear. Here is a link I found: 1) https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...84/index2.html (this is missing pictures about the timing gear alignment at TDC for my problem in E and I am still uncertain how he broke the seal safely between the oil pan and the head gasket without a pry bar which could potentially cause some harm), 2) Page 3 mid page there is a great youtube video by ChefYota4x4 https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...81/index3.html

(E) I still don't have an idea about this question from the Haynes manual....I am concerned about keeping the engine at TDC. I am not sure how to hold the camshaft still while I break the bolt loose (impact gun or just a really good smack?) Links or pictures would be greatly appreciated, and I am not having any good luck with pictures. If you can give me some help I will certainly post pictures about the process. I have done a fairly documented build thus far (I just am having trouble with photobucket to upload pictures). Here are some links I have found for information: 1) http://home.earthlink.net/~twopapa/toytech.htm

Video for the replacement cigarette lighter via the crankshaft bolt

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8jvW...ature=youtu.be

In short, it seems a lot of troubles I am having is with the lack of detail in the Haynes manual, especially on things like ensuring to me that there is a way for me to reinstall the cog gear on the camshaft once pulled off

Thanks :)

Hey Guys here are some pictures of the build and some references for the questions I had above. Thanks

Picture I - Before the tear town
http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...DSC00003-1.jpg

Picture J - Transmission before removal
http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...y/DSC00012.jpg

Picture K - My exhaust problem (see challenge number 1 to see what I am talking about)
http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...y/DSC00028.jpg

Picture L - The inside of the exhaust manifold at the collector was bent, I'm not sure if this was intentional???
http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...y/DSC00032.jpg

Picture M - Is there someway to gear the driveshaft? I have never seen that before but I found a greasing nipple of some sort.
http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...y/DSC00036.jpg

Picture N - Seems like the very last bit of the coolant was pretty dirty, I guess it is a good thing we were changing the coolant
http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...y/DSC00043.jpg

Picture O - Does this mean parts were made mind by General Motors (GM)?
http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...y/DSC00044.jpg

Picture P - Radiator looks used but ok
http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...y/DSC00045.jpg

Picture Q - Now for taking the timing chain off. I used a small pair of channel locks to hold the fan still while I removed the bolts holding the fan on...I am not sure if this is the best idea, but it worked
http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...y/DSC00048.jpg

Picture R - I think I should clean the threads up on these water pump bolts
http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...y/DSC00061.jpg

Picture S - Water pump off
http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...y/DSC00064.jpg

Picture T - Now to pull the crankshaft pulley off...the crankshaft bolt was frozen on though
http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...y/DSC00067.jpg

Picture U - A torch had to be used on the bolt the break her loose. If you guys would like to see the torch being applied to the bolt I will post a youtube video of this later for other guys doing this build
http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...y/DSC00076.jpg

Picture V - Crankshaft pulley
http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...y/DSC00077.jpg

Picture W - Pulled the crankshaft pulley off with a (and correct me if I am wrong) two bolt puller?
http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...y/DSC00098.jpg

Picture X - The two bolt puller on the crankshaft pulley
http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...y/DSC00101.jpg

Picture Y - Now for my concerns about the groove in the crankshaft pulley, are these grooves ok? Refer to my fourth and fifth challenges being faced (the questions I have above)
http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...y/DSC00111.jpg

Picture Z - Another shot of the pulley
http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...y/DSC00112.jpg

Picture AA - Another shot of the pulley
http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...y/DSC00113.jpg

Picture AB - Is there a groove in the cam gear that locks into a location so that the pulley doesn't spin when I take the chain off? I am concerned about losing my TDC position. I think I see a small pin on the camshaft that fits into a groove onto the cam gear, check out this link I found
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...88/index2.html

Sorry for so many pictures guys, I have more but I just like to make sure I am detailed as possible
Thanks