sbarnesvta

So i have been running around and found a local off-roading club CI4x4 decided to go on a run with them yesterday. Made the 50mile trip out the the meeting point where my truck developed a strange noise that i hadn't heard before. We had to go a couple blocks to meet with a couple more people and in that short distance the noise got really bad. It sounded like a broken impeller blade on a water pump or a main bearing going out or something. All i knew is that it wasn't good. Decided not to make the run and had the truck towed home.

I pulled the fan, radiator, timing cover, and as i was pulling the belts off i noticed a destroyed idler pulley, replaced that put it all back together and were good to go.

I was kind of bummed because i could have just cut the belt and not had A/C for the day but i cant complain about the $18 fix.

Here are a couple tear down pics and the F'd up bearing





And this the the puller that was completely dead compared to the new

sbarnesvta

I started working parts put back together on the axle.

I got the brake rotors and the wheels spacer installed today.

I am hoping to fab up some lower shock mount for the front axle in the next couple days.

sbarnesvta

Did a little more work on the bumper installed a license plate light to make me legal again for driving at night. Picked this little LED light up at Autozone for like $10.



I ended up drilling at tapping the bumper for a 1/4 20 bolt and installed the light.
Wiring was easy and it just splices into the stock lighting.

sbarnesvta

Next was the TG rock sliders, I figured I would not have time to make them myself and you cant beat it for the price. I ordered them from Foothill Motorsports as they were the best price I could find shipped to my door.

Here are a couple pictures installed.





I still need to clean and paint the welds on the frame



I am working on getting a MIG or TIG set up going, but for now all the welding is done with my grandpa's old ARC welder. Its not quite as clean and MIG but it has never failed me.

sbarnesvta

Next I had to pull off the Fender flares because they were falling apart and i needed to do some minor clearancing for the new tires.



Front End as she sits now



And the rear end, If I get some time I am going to finish off the bumper work. It will have the same radius at the fender line, and there is some tube/ armor work to do.

sbarnesvta

Axle is almost reassembled

Here is the big ass 54mm socket for the axle nuts


And the Axle as it currently sits






I bought a couple cheap dollies and made a custom stand so i can move it around while I was working on the axle. That thing gets a little heavy to move around by yourself when its loaded

sbarnesvta

And my next issues to deal with

And here is the first big issue i have fun into. A couple of the holes in the hub are stripped so i need to figure out how to fix that or i need to get a new replacement hub.
There are 5 holes that are good and 1 that will not work at all. I am thinking that I will look for another hub and if I cannot find one I will drill and tap the hole the next size up .

sbarnesvta

Here are a couple more work pictures from Three Days Grace at Citizens Bank Arena in Ontario, CA. I was a System Engineer for the show and it was a LONG day. 5am leave for show 7am call, semi's were loaded by 2:30am and home by 4:30am.

Here are a couple Pictures

FOH Mix Position (Midas H3000 Console, and a couple racks of outboard gear) There were 2 more consoles behind this one for the openers


Random Show Picture


Pyro lighting up the SR and SL PA hangs

toyospearo

Great build!!
Nice work.

sbarnesvta

Thanks..... toyo i finally had some time to look through your build thread, you have done some great work.... I was planning on keeping the rig low and running 33's like you did, but I think I was to go a little bigger.

My ultimate goal with this rig is to be running 37's (don't really want to go any bigger if I want to drive it to the trails) and keep the frame height in the 25-27" range. Should be do able with a bit of work.

sbarnesvta

Also work on the truck is going to be really slow the next month or so. I will be out of town for a couple weeks with work, but i am planning on starting the SAS at the end of june. Let hope all goes as planned.

sbarnesvta

Well I completely disassembled the axle today and pulled the birfields apart to inspect them and grease the hell hell out of them.

While I had them pulled apart i decided to straighten my axle it was out by about 3/16" on the long side so i rigged it up in a 40ton press and straighten away. I got it to within about 1/16" and im happy with it now.

When axle was straight I decided to take the afternoon and put it all back together with some help from a couple friends.

Too tired to post pics now but it is finally assembled and ready to go under the truck.

Im taking off to pismo tomorrow for the day, and will be traveling with work the next week or so than the SAS begins.

Ill post up some pics when i get a chance

89silverpu

Lookin good so far! I wish I had an extra cab...you should bob that bed, it would look alot better and give you a better departure angle.

sbarnesvta

I definitely have no regrets about the extra cab, I found quite a few nice single cabs when I was looking for a truck but i knew i would regret not having the extra interior space.


As far as bobbing the bed, i don't have any immediate plans to do it as i am still using the truck for work occasionally and it is nice to have the extra bed room. I am probably going to put it on the list of things to do after i get bigger tires and make this an off-road only rig.

sbarnesvta

It has been a while since I have posted so there will be a lot of random stuff going on.

First was a random day trip to pismo beach, ca for some fun in the sand.
Last time I went up there, I was a genuis and decided not to air down and was running some pretty bald tires and and was not thrilled with how the truck performed. Had to run is 4HI or 4LO most of the day and the truck just didnt have the balls to get around.

This time out I picked up a set of smithybuilt tire deflators http://www.smittybilt.com/product/index/69.htm from 4wheelparts in Thousand Oaks and was running the new to me 33 BGF All-terrains. What a difference, I aired down to 12psi and cruised around most of the day in 2HI, I had to kick it into 4Lo once to pull a buddy out but all in all i was very happy with the truck.

In other news my buddies 04 tacoma perished. Too many weird issues to list, but it ended up being a loose ground on the ECU, but all is well now.

And a random pic of the truck on the beach ready to go have some fun.

sbarnesvta

When we got back from pismo, I decided to do some more work on the front axle.

The axle tube on the long side was bent about 3/16" and I wasn't really happy with it so i decided to completely disassemble to axle and straighten it using a 40-ton press at my dad's shop.

I managed to get the axle within 1/16" and i feel a lot more comfortable running it.

Here are a couple pictures of the set up.

sbarnesvta

While I had the axle disassembled I decided to rebuild the birfields. Had a hell of a time getting them apart until i started reading a posting around.

Easiest method I found was to buy a 6' fence post, slide the axle shaft into the tube and hit the opposite end of the tube on the ground. Making sure to hold onto the birfield as the shaft falls out the birfield will want to come crashing down the 6ft it was up the the air.

sbarnesvta

Next was fly to Reno, NV for a show in Northern Ca. While I was up there I picked up a completely e-locker w/ 3rd member and 4.10 gears that will be going in the rear, now i just need to find one more for the front axle.

The show was the High Sierra Music Festival in Quincy, CA. I was there as a system tech for the Black Crowes.

sbarnesvta

Got back to working on the truck yesterday. I decided to install a CB Radio and re-think the whole power distribution in the truck.

I picked up a Cobra 190DX Radio and 4ft stainless antenna from the local fry's electronics.

I went with the Cobra 190 because of the location I wanted to mount it, and it was the only radio small enough to do it. Seems to be decent enough for the amount I am going to be using it.

I had to cut a bit of plastic behind the ashtray to get it to slide back but it is good to go now. Looks like it was there from the factory. I do not keep the mic connected when im not using it, it just lives in the glove box.

sbarnesvta

After installing the CB Radio I got working on the power distribution stuff.

I picked up a 6 circuit fuse block from west marine.
I think 6 circuits should be plenty for now, but the plan is
1- Front- Off Road Lights
2- Rear- Off Road Lights
3- Rock Lights
4- F/R Lockers
5- Radio/ CB Radio/ Interior acc.
6- Open

I only had 10AWG wire laying around for now, I plan on bumping that up a little bit when it is fully loaded, but it should be fine for now with only the Radio's and front lights on it.

I went with this fuse block because it had both a positive and negative bus.

Here are a couple pictures of the mount location and wiring.