I am thinking that since you are keeping it so low you will need to add a little more to the slanted parts to protect the body mounts....in other words it will need to be a bit bigger...like flat out front of the body mounts then slanted back to the sides....

on another note Planning on Dusy/Ersom trail end of AUG/ 2 days start planning....Maybe Rubicon end of SEPT maybe 3 or 4 days and Swamp Lake just as soon as the snow melts

 

i really like how you have your mirrors mounted

is that so you can still take your doors off and not worry about moving your mirrors

 

Dbcfr- Fun run today. You going to throw some pics up?

'81- lol, I'm glad you like them! I put them there for that purpose, but only until I figure out a more sano way of mounting some mirrors. They will eventually be in the same place, but with the mirror rotated ninety degrees, such that they are taller than they are wide, and without all that ugly bracketry which is just asking to get caught on branches. They work fine, they are just ugly!

 

Got my aluminum radiator (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWNX:IT) today. I am impressed with it. A common complaint that I heard over on ttora and pirate was that generally "eBay" aluminum radiators had plastic tanks and a drain plug instead of a valve. This is fully welded aluminum with a stock Toyota drain valve. It feels like it is lighter than the Taurus fan shroud that B4Runner was so kind to pick up for me.

All I need to do now, is build my wiring harness and install. I'll try to remember to charge the flipping camera ahead of time and document the process. I suck at that. I'm sorry.

 

Ummmmmmmmmm ok what would you like to see in the way of pictures?

 

is the Dusy trial passable with a mostly stock rig?? I have 31's open diffs, no winch yet either. sounds like fun though.

 

firerunner is a great name, good luck with her man

 

Cougar- I don't know. I've never been on that one. Looks like fun, though.

 

Cougar,
I will let you know just as soon as it opens....I am sure it is with stacking rocks and a winch at most you would need one locker...but that a trail you never want to play with alone it's class IV and class V and 33 miles long....do Bald Mt north trail first then Swamp lake as warm ups....

 

hey mountain cop, hows that radiator? mine is leaking a little at the bottom so I am thinkin of getting one of those! does the quality look good. does it leak?

 

Well.... I hadn't installed it yet, and had to drive to Fresno for a Dr's appointment today. The old one was ready to go. I started creeping toward 230 so I stopped on the way home and let it cool down at the 22 Mile House. I met a couple of younger guys with an 89 that stopped to take a look at the truck. Hopefully we will see them on here and some runs soon.

I had to stop again at the park & ride at Road 200, and then got home. While the truck cooled down, I began fitting the Taurus fan that B4Runner picked up for me on the new aluminum radiator. I figured out how to fit it, but later found that it only works if the fan is oriented to the passenger's side, and with a fair amount of trimming on the shroud. I highly recommend a good old fashioned Swiss Army Knife saw for the trimming. I couldn't find mine, and used a hack saw. It worked, but not as well as the knife saw would have. I suppose a dremmel could work pretty well, but mine sucks, so I didn't even bother to try.

I ended up trimming the shroud such that one side of it would fit under some tabs that were on the radiator. The other side, I was able to bolt down to the new radiator. I have about 1/2" clearance between the back of the Taurus fan motor and the front of the power steering tensioner pulley.

The install was pretty straight forward, other than the shroud trimming. I just got back from a test drive. WITHOUT the fan, I couldn't get it above 190. That tells me that the radiator is an improvement. Due to needing the truck to be drivable tomorrow, I simply wired in the relays (60a for high speed and 30a for low), and used the old dome light switch to switch the ground to the high speed relay. I will add thermo switches and a Off/On/On (Off/Auto/High) switch later.

With the fan running on high, I was able to almost instantly drop 15 degrees. Granted, the ambient temperature is probably at least 25 degrees lower than it was at noon today, but even at night, the old radiator was running much hotter than that.

The unintended serendipitous result was that the truck is much more fun to drive. I don't put much faith in "butt dynos", even my own, but the fact is that my mechanical fan is no longer spinning whenever the engine is running, and the truck "feels" more responsive. That could also be the result of being able to drive it after working on it in the direct sunlight all afternoon.

So, to answer your question- with limited sample time, I am quite pleased. The quality appeared to be top notch. Everything was TIG welded, not pressed or clamped. The drain petcock was a toyota part. All the mounting tabs and holes were in the correct places. Shipping was a bit long, but not unreasonable. I'd do the same thing again.

MC

 

Oh, and I also took the time to remove all the A/C junk, other than the compressor. OBA will hopefully be done by the end of summer. Dbcfr wants to install A/C on his ride, so I'll just give it to him. I like the engine compartment being a bit less cluttered.

 

WOW! Nice work. That truck is looking great

 

sounds good, what year taurus did the fan come off of?? I know that the clutch fan does put lots of drag on the engine, especially when it engages. I may be doing this same thing real soon. except I am keeping my a/c it is a life saver, especially when the wife and kids are with me.

 

I have no idea what year it was. B4Runner picked it up for me last time he was at pick a part off Jensen. From what I have read on Pbb, there was a transition in the fan switching format from year to year. Mine, for instance, has a blk/ylw wire for the high speed, and a blk/orange wire for the low speed. Others, I have read, have two identical hot leads, and if one is connected, you have low speed, but if both are connected you have high speed.

I paid less than 20.00 for the fan. I am surprised by how easy that was to convert. I might even convert my wife's car, now.

The headlights do dim on fan startup, but they return immediately to full brightness.

 

Hey MC, have you had any issues with the alternator yet? I've still got to order one up, but I want to make sure I get it from the right source. Also, I need to see that radiator in person. Looks like a decent part, and not too pricey. Later.

 

I haven't had a single issue with the alt. It has been rock solid from the moment I put it in. I haven't intentionally loaded it to see it's abilities, but my battery stays charged.

I'll bring the truck by the store this weekend to show you the radiator and fan. Just keep in mind, it is a temporary wiring situation. I really need to make my front bumper (with grill). I don't like having the radiator exposed this much to birds, branches, rocks and the like.

 

Cool, sounds good. I'll be there all weekend.

 

Yeah, I totally didn't even think of checking the year. I was just skimming the cars looking for the 4.3 motor. Have fun getting the fan out though. The detachment of it is cake; 1 screw, 1 bolt, one plug. It's getting the fan out that's the toughy. There is a little completely useless and pointless metal tab that sticks out upward from the block at about a 45 degree angle. Why it's there, I have no clue. In the words of MC, "It's Ford." But that tab will scrape and trap the motor of the fan. A little wiggling, yanking, shoving, and muscle will get it out though. Minor scrapes on the motor are nothing to worry about though.

 

Hey MC, I noticed that you have an over-drive lever on your stick...on a Yota?