klbeans

I bought this truck in June of 2009. Since then I have chronicled my build on a local forum. I've decided to take my posts and put them up here... on YotaTech.

So let's begin the journey...

Day of Purchase
Looks great in these photos, don't it? Well looks can be deceiving. Previous owner did a weekend Bondo bananza and these are the results. Great for photo ops... not so good in real life. :cry:



Take a close look around the rear wheel well and tailgate. You can see hints of Bondo thickness.





Body Work Done By Previous Owner
Luckily for me the previous owner offered me pics taken during the weekend paint job I mentioned above so I knew what I was in for prior to purchasing.















Certification and Beyond
In order to get the truck certified back in August, I had a few items to take care of:
- installed catalytic converter
- replaced one broken wheel stud on the driver's side front wheel
- fibreglassed a couple rust holes on the body (below eye level)

Other items repaired since ownership:
- replaced passenger side inner CV boot
- cleaned up stereo wiring and removed useless amp/sub configuration
- installed CB and 8' antannae
- built and installed a custom made cubby located below aftermarket deck
- removed pinstriping. A little birdie told me pinstriping is for dorks. :shock:
- hand painted bumper sticker

As can be expected, since I've taken possession of the truck the bondo has started cracking and the paint has started flaking.

Build Starts
Moving forward, here are my initial plans for the next year:
- repair torn driver's side inner CV boot
- rebuild Aisin hubs and install
- rebuild front hubs
- replace upper ball joints
- install BJ Spacers
- install sway bar drop kit
- install differential drop kit
- install Land Cruiser springs
- body work.

For the body work, I currently have in my possession 1 driver's door (thanks 94beast4runner) and 1 left/rear passenger door. I will be buying new fenders and a replacement tailgate over the next few months. I'm currently debating how I want to handle the rear wheel wells. Pay someone to do the prep work or attempt it myself. I don't have welding experience nor the equipment so if I do it myself it'll be done in fiberglass.

I've since started by removing the rear bumper in preparation for the body work. I've also removed the brush bars and tire carrier to buy me some room in the garage (length wise). Here are most recent pics I have which shows the rust that was hiding behind the rear bumper.







Current State
As mentioned in a previous thread (http://www.sontt.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=442) I'm currently in the process of removing the CV shafts and relaxing the torsion bars. I believe I have the answers I need to move forward but if not I'll post any questions here.

Thanks to all for your help so far and I look forward to more help moving forward.

Fern :ugeek:

klbeans

More...

Here are a few more pics...

Here's a pic of the cubby I made and the CB install.



Previous owner chewed up the dash so I did the best I could to clean up the damage he made when trimming the plastic using a butter knife. You can see said damage around the deck.



Image of spare driver's door.



Image of rust free left passenger door picked up from Tokyo Auto parts.



Torn driver's side inner CV boot. In the process of removing and replacing the boot.



Here's a pic of the torn upper ball joint I'm replacing. While doing this I will be adding the BJ spacers. I tried using the "pitch" fork or whatever it's called to remove it. Gave it a couple good whacks but it didn't budge. I'll need to spend more time on it later but first I want to do some reading up in hopes of getting some helpful tips.

klbeans

More...

So, once the kids were in bed I decided to venture out to the garage to tinker a bit. That's usually when I have time to myself where I can work on the truck conscious free.

I wanted to start with something simple so I decided to finish cleaning the parts for my manual hubs. I have all the parts cleaned and ready for assembly. As you can see I have my gaskets and O rings ready to go. I'm just waiting on the springs and ball bearings and they'll be ready to be put back together.



Next I decided to relieve the torsion bars. I've been told to expect them to snap so I was prepared for the worst. All things considered, I think the night went o' aight.

I've been soaking these bolts for the past 6 days with Liquid Wrench. I'd like to get my hands on some PB Blaster to give that a try.

I digress... so I decided to start working on the driver's side torsion bar. As I was loosening the bolt, I could feel the bolt getting harder to turn as you cranked it. After about 1/2 turn it would creak as if it were relieving itself (bolt would spin). So I knew the bolt was twisting and then eventually the nut would let go and allow the thread to turn. After about 5 minutes of that... snap.





Now, when the bolt let go, the spring shot up and blew the threaded portion of the bolt toward the under side of the floor of the truck. Blew a hole through it. Gonna have to fix that. Any suggestions? It's only the size of the threaded part of the bolt so not too bad.



Because the threaded portion was now embedded into the floor of my truck, getting it out took a bit of work. To make matters worse I had my closed end wrench on this nut so that as I was torquing the bolt from along side the truck, it allowed me to peak under the truck every once in a while to see if the nut was turning. Problem was, when the bolt shot up through the floor the wrench was pinned between the truck's floor and the adjuster arm of the torsion bar. I'm thinking I may have to grind this out and the wrench is now in the way. Thankfully after about 5 minutes of working at it, I was able to work it loose.

So onto the passenger side... this time I'm thinking I'll be smart about it. I made sure not to keep a wrench on this one but I also put a small piece of wood (1" x 2") above the nut to prevent the threaded portion of the bolt to blow through the floor again. Well wouldn't you know it, the nut on this one starts turning. :x Now I'm thinking I'm screwed. I can't put a wrench on the nut and rest it against the frame of the truck as I have the brake lines and fuel filter located here. I'm worried about pinching a line and creating more problems. After some thought I came up with a workaround... 8-)





This proved to be successful...



Now in most people's books snapped torsion bar adjuster bolts may not be considered a success. In my case considering what I was up against with that second nut turning on me and having limited options to get it off, I think things worked out pretty good. But then again, I'm not sure what will be involved in replacing these bolts. I may be cursing myself. For now ignorance is bliss. :ugeek:

klbeans

More...

Grinding UCA to accomodate BJ spacers.













Front end's put together; CV boot's been replaced and manual hubs rebuilt/installed. Just need to tweak the torsion bars, grind down/install the bolts for the CV quick change mod and install new disk brakes.

Next problem... :cry:





Here's the "good" side...

klbeans

Yikes. Land Cruiser springs ended up being too high.



Using 2 inch spacers from 4Crawler worked out better.







Phase 1 - winter build

Completed to date:
1. Repaired torn CV boot.
2. Rebuilt Manual Hubs.
3. Modified CV bolts for quick removal.
4. Installed Ball Joint Spacers.
5. Installed new front calipers & pads.
6. Rebuilt front hubs.
7. Installed new rear spring spacers.
8. Installed new stickers.
9. Froze bag off. :confused2:

klbeans

So here's where I netted out today...

Secured the rear brake line. I flipped the 2 clips closest to the centre of the axle that secure the hard line so that I can add a spacer to alleviate stretching the flex line. I used 1/2" copper pipe as a spacer.



Here are the bits and pieces I used to create the new bushing for the lateral support rod.





Cut down the sleeve and shaped the rubber using a bench grinder.



Bushing in place.



Yeah, that's right. I used hairspray. A little trick I use from my bicycle mechanic days. When wet it acts like lube. When dry its tacky preventing the bushing from shifting. 8-)



Panhard drop and rod installed.





Now onto my next problem. While taking the truck for a spin, I decided to hammer on the brakes to test the new front calipers. A brake line leading to the rear ruptured.

I think I'll be taking the truck to my mechanic. There are certain things I'm willing to fix myself others I don't. I'll let the professionals deal with this one.

klbeans

"New" used Japanese tailgate. No rust!

Gonna have to ditch the rear tire carrier though.

klbeans

Snorkel install.





Template was a bit off... good thing I didn't put any faith in it.



Some modifying required.





Final product.

klbeans

Leaky seals and worn bearings equals...













Parts are on order. Replacing seals, bearings and brake shoes on both sides. Planning on cleaning the backing plate by grinding off what's left of the dust shield and giving it a fresh coat of paint.

klbeans

More....

I was able to remove the bearings from the shaft.

Using the "caveman" method the first bearing came off with about 20 pounds to the concrete (well really masonite board). The second bearing which was the problematic bearing pretty much obliterated after a couple of shots. Here's a close up of the carnage.



So here's what I was up against:

Bearing retainer and bearing inner race were still on the shaft.



And here's how I fixed it.



I cut a slot until there was a hair of material left.



Then using a chisel, I cracked open the slot and spun the bearing race off.



Onto the inner bearing race.



Both shafts. Not a mark on them.



Thanks to BigRunner for his advice.

Now onto cleaning the backing plate and drum followed by a fresh coat of paint and then install.

klbeans

Head gear!



Oh... and rear bearings and rear brakes done.

klbeans

I drive a shifter truck and I have a couple of knobs riding with me. :geek:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/16825290@N05/4972502887/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/16825290@N05/4972503151/

klbeans

More...

OK. So here's where I'm at...

I had a power steering leak so I rebuilt the power steering pump. Here's some pics of that.

Power steering pump removed:



Power steering pump disassembled:



Rebuilt and cleaned power steering pump (pulley not installed yet):



Now following the install, I noticed that the truck continued to leak power steering fluid. I checked all around and under the pump yet it's dry. The rebuild kit seemed to be working ok but I'm still leaking fluid.

Upon closer inspection, I noticed that there was a leak further down the line. I've attached pics as I have no idea what this component is called. I've looked in the service manuals and searched the forums but I have not found any reference to what this part can be.

We initially tried soldering a leaking brass pipe. That seamed to hold for about 1 week. Then the leak started up again.





I haven't had time to get under the truck for a better look but I thought it would be a good idea to post some pics to get some input from you guys.

klbeans

So that's a year and 4 months at a glance. Aside from the above power steering leak, here's where I am currently.

Getting ready to wire up the new gate:


New "used" gate wired up:


Temporary wiring:


Extra wire you see below is the wire for the license plate. Since I had a tire carrier on originally with this truck, I had to run the wire over to the left side and along with the wiring harness.


Here's the old gate:


Sad...


New gate rewired and test fitted in position ready for paint.


And the latest purchases:

space-junk

iTrader: (1)

SO MUCH RUST!!!!

nice rig so far, man... too bad the cancer is slowly taking her back tho... your doin a good job at fighting it...

toyospearo

WOW! Nice work.

Philbert

iTrader: (2)

This is looking great! Love the photo documentary of the project - a great motivater

Hey, I'll be the first to ask this....what are you doing with your rear tire carrier now? And....can it be retrofitted to a first gen 4runner (guessing there will be drilling and there are reinforcement plates on the other side of the rear passenger side of the sheet metal)?

Been looking for a cheap solution to my 32" spare, which keeps rubbing against my rear leaf springs and exhaust!

bobby_duce

wow what a build! love it!

klbeans

A snapshot of the havoc the Great White North reeks on our vehicles.

Salty roads = rusty truck.

Lots of rust but not at the swiss cheese stage. Still pretty solid.

klbeans

I'm holding on to the rear tire carrier. The new door can be retrofitted to accommodate the tire carrier by mounting the receiver on the tailgate. That would require some body work/modifying which I'm not ready to dive into just yet. It does leave me with the dilemma of what I'm going to do with my spare. May look into an under body tire carrier or put it in the back for now.

In the meantime, I'm going to keep the carrier mounting hardware on the passenger side of the truck. I'm thinking of modifying my upper hinge bracket from the tire carrier to accommodate my CB antenna.

Re. reinforcements... they exists within the rear quarter panel. There would be some work involved in getting this to work on your truck. Have you considered building a bumper with an integrated tire carrier?