I have shipping info from AtoZfabrication that indicates the swingout kit should be on its way. This is good. I bought a new 60" HiLift jack, and it isn't fun to put it in to and pull it out of the truck cargo area.

Dbcfr, Datsayota and I took a little trip up to Shuteye Lookout today (http://www.fire-lookouts.org/cali/sh...peak/index.htm). I love the 4.7 crawler gear and Aussie locker operation. I feel like I no longer have to choose between stalling and beating my truck to death on rocks. I can now just idle up and over them, aided by my manual idle control lever attached to the transmission stick. The Aussie took only a little getting used to, and the ratcheting sound is only audible if I am really listening for it. My turning radius is a bit wider with the Aussie, but not to the point where it bothers me at all. It backs up obstacles with ease, so the occasional added three point turn shouldn't be an issue. The Aussie is probably the best $260 I've spent on the truck, so far. The crawler gears are well worth the time and money, as well.

I am more aware now, that I need to address suspension. The rear will come first, as I have not determined with any finality whether I will be doing and SAS or beefing up the IFS. My plan (at this point) is to find some Chevy springs, do some math, and then some serious research on shocks. Dbcfr's rear axle flexes nicely, and he is running Downey spring packs and Procomp MX6 shocks, remounted like this: /\, rather than || (IIRC), but with a 3" body lift, which is something I would like to avoid.

I scored a spare pair of NEW 33x12.50 KM1s for $100, and Malteserunner gave me his old 33x12.50 BFG A/T spare, so I should be set on tires for a little bit.

The new mirrors work fine. I probably won't mess with them anymore.

As far as the trip goes, carnage was fairly mild, with everyone sharing a little bit. I think I came out on top.

Carnage report:
Dbcfr: Fan controller stopped working, was fixed by attaching the unused A/C trigger lead to the battery, overriding the thermostat.

Datsayota: Possible spider gear. While heading downhill, especially on rock, the rear right tire had a tendency to lock, unless given an extra amount of power. We jacked the truck up, and neither rear wheel was free-wheeling. He doesn't have a locker (but he might have an accidental one, now!). Seems like the ol' 3rd gen is in need of an E-locker!

Me: Going up a small staircase, my truck stalled, then wouldn't fire again. It turned over fine, and everything else appeared normal. I figured a lost my fuel pump somehow. Turns out, my EFI or fuel pump relay in the driver's side kick panel had vibrated out. I plugged it back in. Like I said, I win.

Because you all seem to have the attention span of hummingbirds on Redbull, and don't like to read here are some pics:

Datsayota on the way up to the "real" trail:


Rigs, in order: Datsayota, Dbcfr, the Firerunner




Dbcfr's truck and my 'Runner:


























My "A-Driver":

 

Looks like a awsome trip, wish I could have went, I worked all day Nice pics.

 

ok I can wait, thanks great views

 

One more pic. A friend took this one at the rock by the Amphitheater.

 

wow....

 

That is a FANTASTIC photo!
Great thread!

 

x2


(i vote ":clap:" becomes a smiley. i mean, we have 3 "bowdowns")

 

Had a great time on that trip, working on lining up an e-locker for the the ol 3rd gen, sorry I won't make the trip tomorrow, I'll be working.

 

Yeah, it was a fun trip. Sorry about your diff, though.

 

wheres the VIDEO???? J/K I just got back from practice and am too tired to mess with the pics tonight, if you start that bald mountain thread I will put my pics in there!! My son said he had a good time and so did I, it was good wheelin with you and Dbcfr. cant wait to do it again.

 

Yeah, I had a blast! The Bald Mountain ongoing trip report thread is here: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f100.../#post51592583

I just dumped ALL the photos onto it. I will try to go back and sort / edit them later. The videos are up!

 

^^ nice pics. that should feed us pic zombies for a while

 

Here are a couple of shots that c0ugar69 shot of my truck on Bald Mountain:

 

I got started on an OBA system today.

I am roughly following Malteserunner's A/C compressor / OBA conversion (in his build thread, starting about here: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f199...l#post51325513).

I was able to get the compression fittings off from the old A/C lines that attached to the compressor. I threaded the inside of the aluminum and attached fittings, which were attached to air hoses.

Let me be the first to say that I would prefer a different way to go from compressor to hose. Does anyone know the size and thread for the stock hoses? I would prefer to adapt from brass rather than thin aluminum tubing.

In any case, for now, I'm running it with threaded aluminum tubing. The low side tubing goes through a 1/4" NPT fitted 1' air hose to a barb, to a Harbor Freight oiler. There will be an air filter in line before that.

The low side is a bit more complicated. I'm running from the aluminum to a brass adapter to 1/4" NPT 1' air hose. That hose is going to a oil/water separator.

That is where I am at now. I am ordering a 110psi on / 145psi 1/4" NPT pressure switch off eBay. The separator will be attached to a T fitting, which will run to a 90* fitting through the front of the truck, next to the grill, and to a pressure regulator with a female quick connect fitting on it. The other half of the first T will be routed to the rear of the vehicle, where eventually the 5 gallon tank and a Y will be housed. The Y fitting will split to another hose which will be mounted at the rear bumper, giving me air at the front and rear.

So far, running Oiler>Compressor>Separator, I'm running into two problems. The first is that the oiler is impossible to fill without an eye dropper. The second is that the A/C pump is still spitting a fair amount of the ugly tan oil/residue from the air conditioning system. The compressor puts out plenty of pressure, but there is still a lot of oil in it. Perhaps I just need to run it for a while. Perhaps, I will need to just purchase a quality separator, instead of relying on a $6.00 HF piece to do the job!

I finally hooked up my fan controller as well. The fan kicks on at 170*. I have it set up to control the low speed side of the fan, and it is quite sufficient. The high side has a bit more draw, and I'm not sure that the fan controller can handle it. I might wire that in later with a separate relay as a switchable backup.

The controller is switch-controlled from the cab, such that regardless of ignition position, the fan will turn/stay on if it is above the temp setting. This lets me stop the car and go inside and let the truck cool itself down unattended. The switch just lets me kill power to the system (in case of water crossing, etc).

My wiring is a bit messy right now. I will need to spend some time cleaning up my engine compartment when the OBA is done.

 

I've collected a lot of parts lately. I only wish I had the time to install them!

I have a 1" brake master cylinder from a 2nd gen. It has been riding shotgun for the last two weeks.

I also ran into an old friend last week at O'Reilly's. He saw the firerunner and mentioned that he had some parts for me.

I dropped by his house today, and saw his 4runner mid-SAS. He showed me a ton of spare parts, and I ended up buying a 2nd transfer case, a complete straight axle, leaf springs, and some other odds and ends for $400.00! That will put funding on hold for other projects, but gets me closer to where I need to be. I acquired a set of V6 rear / IFS front 4.88 differentials, and an Aussie Locker for the V6 rear, so I just need a set of 4.88s for the front and I can be fully locked and geared when I do the SAS. I also have a front grill on the truck, for the first time since the fire!

 

I would have to say that this is one of the koolest rig shots I've seen to date!

 

that grill sure looks nice, You sure did find a good stash of parts. cant wait till spring for some more trail rides.

 

Z's C-Toy: Datsayota's wife took that. It is one of my favorites as well.

 

C0ugar- thanks! By spring, we should be good for some good runs!

The grill is silver. It clashes with the rest of the truck. The question is, do I paint it black, or try to blend it into the somewhat-military look that I've stumbled upon, and paint it desert tan to match the truck?

 

I would paint the Grill black, it goes well with the Tan and with your wheels being Black. I did the same thing to my old FJ60 & Ranger before I sold them. Once you do a Rattle-can paint job and paint over all the shiny chrome fixtures its hard to go back to that lol.

Great Build