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Didn't get anything done today on the truck, BUT I did get the shop space cleaned up. Still have a buttload of cleaning and sorting of tools to do, but I had a more important task to accomplish. Co_94_PU had his sunroof shatter on him the other day. I have a spare that while it has a crack through it, is water tight. So I told him I'd give it to him. Unfortunately, I didn't have a box large enough to ship this thing in. I did, however have a ton of packing material, a roll of duct tape, and an old sleep number box that I'd been using to lay on for working on the runner(yes, co, it might smell like my butt and ATF...im sorry). So I went to work wrapping this thing and making my own box. I don't think I did too bad. It's ugly as sin, and gonna take CO about a week to get open, but I think it should work!
pics as usual.
the shop as it sat after pulling the runner out.
Looking better.
Gotta love oil stains. My dad is gonna murder me if I don't scrub these out. Lol.
pile o tools that need to be cleaned and sorted.
Here's the sunroof I'm sending co. It's got a crack through the middle but it should work ok for him. I originally planned to swap the rubber gasket to my glass since this one is in better shape, but he needs it more than I do right now.
Odd bubbling in the crack.
All packaged up. Hopefully it's enough bubble wrap. 4 layers of small bubbles and 2 layers of large bubble. Plus some foam to fill out the concave side.
Getting the measurements to cut the large piece I to my custom box.
Doomy packing the box with extra material. She was concerned it wobbled around too much.
I don't think it looks terrible. Ugly but works is good enough for me!
Not a lot to do on the runner right now, so I'm keeping myself busy with piddly stuff. Scrubbed and organized all the tools. Took me 2 hours, but I enjoyed it. When I was a kid, my dad used to make me clean all the tools when we were finished and I hated it. Now, it's kinda nice to just sit there and veg while listening to music. After I finished there, doomy and the girls came out to the shop and while putting some things away, I noticed the hood. The nasty, dirty, rusty hood. Figured I'd give it a quick wipe with the microfiber towel I had nearby. Well, that turned into me trying to show doomy that a green 3m pad will work for getting the paint roughed up. And that led into me showing her how good the paint will look after a good wax. An hour later, doomy was bored, but I was pretty proud of the way it looked. It definitely needs a sanding with some 1200 grit, and some meguires scratch and swirl remover, but it'll work for now. You can actually see the reflection of the cloth on the hood. This paint hasn't had a reflection since we bought it. Hahaha!
Cleaned and sorted. That micro fiber was brand new.
Found more tools to clean...dangit.
Can y9u tell what my favorite brand of tools are?
Oh yea, finally get to be all back together and organized.
Cleaning the hood off.
3M scotch brite pad. Right side is already done. It looks dull, but it took up a lot of rust spots and a few issues in the paint.
Used some meguires crystal paint restoring compound. Could definitely use a wet sand and a scratch remover, but this works for now.
Meguires nxt gen tech2.0. I've loved this stuff since i first discovered it.
I think this proves that i need to clean the combo switch for the headlights.
Yes, Heeps have that problem with Truck-lites.
Possibly:
1) The switch, AND the poor wiring design of the headlights, OR...
2) Poor charging system regulation.
Here's a quick check.
IF grounding pin1 or 2 fixes it then, it's the convoluted path and/or possibly bad dimmer-combo switch contacts that are causing the flicker. Here is my fix for the convoluted path (snipped 2 wires, wired in ONE additional relay). It retains switched-ground system that I THINK Tuck-lites require: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f199...ml#post5206074
Here is 4crawler's write-up on convoluted path: http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...adlights.shtml)
IF none of the above fixes it then it could be the charging system - poor regulation.
Last edited by RAD4Runner; 08-19-2017 at 01:00 PM.
Decided to get the top put back on the runner in case they need to park it outside while it's being worked on. And since it was filthy, I decided to clean and wax it while doomy scoured the hard water off the windows. It turned out ok. The topper is hammered and needs replacing, but it'll work for now. Got the top back on and almost stripped a bolt. I guess this top needs to align itself off of the top left bolt to the cab otherwise none of them line up. After that, I got the lug nuts pulled and swapped for the ones I bought from arlindsay and I gotta say, I dig them. The stock ones on the runner were short but the ones ingot from arlindsay are twice as long. They stick out just enough. I really dig it. I also pulled the spare tire out since its a 29" tire and I can't use it(I'm running the 32x11.5s). Turns out, its not a steelie, but a factory SR5 wheel! So, now i have 7 of them. After airing up the tires, we should be good to go to the shop tomorrow.
Before.. Suprise gift! A speckled widow..Looks like I should have had you check the insurance price. It made it in one piece, but they flat shipped it and dropped something on it, maybe dropped it also..
It's on its good and just in time my tape was starting to peel loose and I was going to loose my 20 piece of corrugated plastic "real soon".
Wow! Looks good.
i've been known to use Comet on factory Toyota paint to remove the scum before waxing.
where did the rest of the rig go?
Never thought to try that. I'll have to give it a go.
Originally Posted by RAD4Runner
Nice job!
Yes, Heeps have that problem with Truck-lites.
Possibly:
1) The switch, AND the poor wiring design of the headlights, OR...
2) Poor charging system regulation.
Here's a quick check.
IF grounding pin1 or 2 fixes it then, it's the convoluted path and/or possibly bad dimmer-combo switch contacts that are causing the flicker. Here is my fix for the convoluted path (snipped 2 wires, wired in ONE additional relay). It retains switched-ground system that I THINK Tuck-lites require: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f199...ml#post5206074
Here is 4crawler's write-up on convoluted path: http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...adlights.shtml)
IF none of the above fixes it then it could be the charging system - poor regulation.
Thanks rad. I'm going to try to use 4crawlers writeup. I've had it printed and sitting in the top of my toolbox for a few weeks, but I've had more pressing things to attend to. Lol.
Originally Posted by Co_94_PU
Before.. Suprise gift! A speckled widow..Looks like I should have had you check the insurance price. It made it in one piece, but they flat shipped it and dropped something on it, maybe dropped it also..
It's on its good and just in time my tape was starting to peel loose and I was going to loose my 20 piece of corrugated plastic "real soon".
I'm so sorry, co! I thought it was wrapped up well enough! Check your PayPal, brother. I feel terrible for this. Also, that male black widow was a gift, I hope you're taking care of him. I killed his wife and all 4 of her egg sacks. Must have missed him.
Originally Posted by SomedayJ
Nooo!
My response as well. Only I was actually angry when I responded. Slapped the counter at my work so hard that my coworker 1t feet away jumped.
Originally Posted by highonpottery
Bummer. Not surprised though, that glass should have been double-boxed for sure.
Troy - I'm jealous of your dad's shop. I'd kill you too if I found an oil spot on my new concrete pad
In my defense, I've never shipped anything large and fragine before. I thought I had wrapped it well enough. As for the oil shop comment...youre welcome to come over if you EVER need to use it. Same for Keith.
Originally Posted by dark_fairytales
You should see it in person Brian it is a huge space, might even pass as a Ten car garage.
it's 60x40. My dad has wanted one since he first moved out here 30-someodd years ago. Worked his ass off and finally got it. He's also looking at getting a 15k lb 2 post lift in there too. He's tired of having to lie on the ground to work on vehicles. And like I said, y'all both are welcome to come out and use it if you need.
Little update on the runner. I managed to get up early on Monday and get the truck driven into town to the shop. Doomy followed me with her flashers on and other than the fact that it wouldn't go much over 45 without falling on its face, it made it. Seems like the hotter it got, the more it acted up and misfired. Dunno if that's a clue or not.
anyways, got it to the shop(superior automotive) and spoke with the lady at the desk and explained to her what was the issue and the history of the motor. Also informed her that I had brought previous vehicles to them for repair in the past and that I did so because the engine builder(Rick at crackaway racing engines) told me to take anything toyota related to them. She told me that they couldn't get to it Monday but would look at it first thing Tuesday and get back to me.
well, I woke up this morning to get ready for work and before I got out of bed i got a phone call. It was Dean, the owner of superior calling me. He told me that he called Rick over at crackaway and Rick told him that too many people have had their hands on this motor and he wouldn't touch it. I asked him what he was talking about because Rick built the motor and I did all the other work with the help of my dad, doomy, and darkfairytales. He then told me that he was just a 1 man shop and he didn't have time to work on my truck and that I needed to get it out of his shop. I was floored.
For the TL;DR background, Rick, who has built several motors for my family, built this motor and it took him close to 6 months. He also told me he could adapt a t3 turbo from a mustang, charged me 400 bucks, gave me a piece of steel with a tube press fit into it. Them told me he needed another 200 dollars for more materials. At that point, I liberated my motor from him, where it sat in the shop for 3-ish years until I installed it.
I get that Rick and Dean are friends, but for Rick to tell Dean that "too many people have had their hands" in the motor is a bold faced lie and quite frankly, petty. He's in his 70s and is acting like a high schooler. I'll admit that I had a temper back then and didn't handle the situation with as much finesse as I should have, but I like to think I've matured since then. Hell, I would still recommend him to people for machine work after this fiasco. I guess the word I'm looking for is disappointing.
anyways, I had to find another shop to bring the runner to, and luckily there was a nicely reviewed Honda and Toyota specialist in the same parking lot called Expert Automotive! Unfortunately, they don't work on anything turbo charged or anything as old as the runner is. So, that was a bust. However, he did tell me that the shop right across the street would probably work on it and he gave me the number. Called this shop called Custom Gear and explained the situation. Entire situation. The lady I spoke with said that she couldn't believe that Dean at superior would say that he was too busy because he didn't have anything in his shop at the moment and that she could get me in on Thursday at 11:30. I explained to her that the truck was sitting in the parking lot about 50 feet and asked if I could come by Wednesday morning and at least drop off the keys. Even if they couldn't get to it right away. She told me that wasn't a problem and that if I could get to the shop to do that by 8:30am then shed have me speak to the owner since he'd be there moving cars around their shop lot. So, that's where I will be headed in....6.5 hours? I should probably get to sleep.
i have a good feeling about this shop. they are more of a high performance and hot rod shop, but the owner, arturo, was a very down to earth person. I explained to him the situation and all the back story and we talked about what had been done with the motor and parts used. He said that he used to work for toyota back in the day when the turbo trucks were being produced. He said that Toyota really had a problem with the motors not spooling fast enough and in his mind, a 255 pump and a 55 pound regulator fixed the issue, but toyota wouldnt push the fix through to all the trucks since they came out with the V6 right then. As he talked about it, it looked as if he were lost in memories and had a slight grin on his face. Suffice it to say, I think i found someone whos willing to work on it, but furthermore I think i found someone who might actually enjoy the challenge of trying to track the misfire down. Only downside from what i can see is that he had a big order for some fleet service that needed to be done, but he said after that, hed look at it himself.
as we were leaving, we walked past the open bay doors and saw every single rack and lift full with more cars jammed in the corners, including an R32 skyline.
ewong, that is rad! thanks so much for finding those for me! kind of a cool piece of history. when i upgrade the axle in the future, im gonna have to keep these tucked away somewhere. is there any mention in that big book of yours about what the extra length of the inner shocks is? and is there a double front shock setup as well? im assuming so since its downey stuff. makes me wonder if the springs are downey units too that have just sagged over the years.
once again, that is freaking awesome!!! Thank you so much!
wow, i remember getting that Downey catalog in the mail when I ordered my headers and exhaust back in 1990 for my 87 xtra cab. So much want in that catalog at the time...
08-17-2017, 12:06 AM
