Me too

 

Made a switch plate today. Probably cost $30 total. Switches were $8 a piece so that was most of it. The brackets on those cover plates were so flimsy that the switch would just fall out from the weight of the switch so i put something more robust in.






You can see the tabs are bent.

Got a piece of sheet metal and cut and drilled it out. Threw some paint on it.



Had to remove the center piece to fit 3 switches.



All screwed in.





Works!

 

Nice! I like utilitarian and simple.

 

i've seen the phrase brutally functional used on a blue dovetailed truck on here. i think the poster of said comment was being rude, but i've taken the term been saying it in more of a positive connotation, cause hell, these aint no luxury sunday drivers. their built to work.

looks awesome.

 

I love that idea, why didn't I think of that!

 

 

 

08 fj radio in 1st gen

 

I modified this T shirt to work on my truck.......

 

Got some LED lights going inside my 'Runner ... they are wired up to a remote control dimmer . About $20 total here...

 

Good idea. I might use it on my runner. Is it one led rope or multiple ones?

 

They're called LED ribbons , very thin , only about 1/4" wide , the strand I got is 16 feet long ...

 

Thanks for the link. I've got some 12" led strips in my DD, never thought they made them that long. I've got all sorts of ideas now

 

That's awesome V_man. What a great solution for lighting the entire back!


My latest cheap mod.....


I just had a complete Transmission service done. Yes I can drain it and refill it on my own. But I have no desire to lay on my driveway and remove the tranny pan. Clean everything and change the filter. So I took it to a tranny shop.


My cheap mod was changing the position of my Tranny dipstick on my 1988 Toyota 4Runner.


It used to come out under my alternator. It was impossible to check. You could hardly get your hand down in there! Especially when running and hot.


So I asked the shop to move my tranny dipstick tube up by the master cylinder, near the firewall. Turns out it fits just fine and it's a very easy move with just one small bend in the dipstick tube. They only charged me $25 bucks to move the dipstick.


And to prove why I needed this done. When the mechanic was first checking my tranny dipstick with my engine running, he got a shock from my alternator! Yikes!


Now I can check and refill my tranny with ease! It always bugged me! I should have done this years ago!


Just do it!


.....


~Mark

 

Another cheap mod I did.


I had a Toyota Electric Locking 3rd Member installed. It's from a 2009 Toyota FJ. I found it on Craigslist for only $50 bucks! Yes it fits. Had my gears swapped in. You just need to have two bolts holes moved and pound out the rear housing a bit. Best mod I ever did on my truck!


Now, it's like I don't even need 4x4 anymore! Cost me $600 bucks to have it installed and wired up though. But well worth it! These electric locking third members cost over $1,200 bucks new!


I have a thread on this somewhere here, under my screen name. On how to do it.


And I found this great locker switch that fits my dash perfect online for only $12 bucks! Looks factory!

 

Nice... Don't know if $600 is cheap though.
Now do yourself a favor and buy the bolt on guard for the locker motor. They are more then worth there weight in gold when a rock tries to reengineer the motor for you. http://www.lowrangeoffroad.com/elect...tor-guard.html

 

Thank you. Yes I have been looking into the rock guards. There are several on the market. And they bolt right on. I am always very careful on the trail.....notice no dents! Sweet! ; )


This is my little Toyota collector truck!

 

And by the way.....that's a really good link you just shared. I just studied it. I bought my Locker Switch from Low Range in SLC Utah. A pic of my truck is on their member pic page. Back then they did not have this electric locker armor that you linked. This is awesome! And for only $40 bucks, that's a steal!


Thanks!




~Mark

 

$600 bucks for install and wiring up to the switch was a great deal for me! It was the best deal that I could negotiate in San Diego at the time. And most mechanics had no idea how to do it!


He had to drill out new holes and weld shut the old ones. Very time consuming to measure and get the hole accurate!


I have a page for this install here on Yotatech.


My mechanic could not figure out how to wire it up in the end. So he had to send my 4Runner to an auto electric shop to complete the wire up to switch!


He said that made him lose money on the job! That's means that I saved money!


The wire pack into my firewall...... not an easy feat! From your rear axle!


It's the clean black flat wire pack going into my firewall. Just to the left of my master cylinder.

 

I found my locker retrofit thread.......here it is.


https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f31/...inally-243769/


The links help explain how it is done. Best cheap mod I have ever done! Now I can go almost anywhere. And I don't even always need 4 wheel drive! And I just hit the button.