It's not you. It's him. LOL.

 

I'd feel better if he were wearing Mr. Magoo glasses. Let's just pretend he was sorely in need of them.

Got the front skid back on, still need to clean up, paint and install the gas tank skid. Hope all is well in your world and in everybody elses, too.

 

96 4Runner 298,823 miles

A while ago after getting the winch into the bumper I was thinking about how the winch hook and some of the line is below the front face of the bumper and wondered how people get their line up and out of the way to keep it from getting hooked, dragged, pinched or damaged.
This is the '99, but the '96 looked the same other than to the driver's left.


I saw this option for $19 shipped:


Interesting. I did a lot of searching for a D-ring that would work with my winch hook and came up with something from Tractor Supply for about $3. I already had the velcro.
So I put it together and got this:


Which I'll probably use on an as-needed basis (off-road) though I don't know how often I'd need the winch line to be that far out of the way.
I believe the husbandio is going to flip the D-ring he has the winch hook attached to (first pic) up and tighten the line a little to make it stay so it won't be hanging below the bumper face either.

And that's my super-dumb mod of the day.

Today I was looking for the Metalcloak site for my wee write-up and came across this for $76.98 shipped:
https://www.rubitrux.com/maximus-3-1...ok-anchor.html


Which if I had that kind of spare change I would go with a thimble after searching high and low for the best price I could find on something like a Factor 55 or like and call it a day.
Thimble just currently isn't in the budget right now.

 

96 4Runner 299,122 miles

NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

He actually did pretty darn good on his very first drive- then asked for an automatic!

I told him give it at least 7 days of practice, then think about a stinky old auto- but that he had to learn how to drive a clutch either way.

 

I remember the first time I drove a car (actually, it was my truck I drive now), it was exciting and nerve-wracking, and it was just in our local movie theater parking lot, and my truck is an automatic.

I learned to drive a manual in my mom's Honda Civic and also preferred the automatic at first because I was used to it and could drive them better. Now that I have had several years to practice, I actually prefer them now over automatics. It is a lot more fun driving a manual.

I see that you are only a few hundred miles until the big 300,000 miles!

 

Good morning old87yota!

The first time I drove a car it was a stick and I spilled my dad's beer.
I traded my 69 Fairlane 500 that I bought before I could drive for a 74 Mustang II FOR THE STICK because I really wanted one. Every time I get an auto I wish I had manual and now it's all we have. In other words, agree more fun!

That is so cool that you still have your truck. So wish I still had my 67 Bronco. It was already becoming a pile of dust back then but now I could get new body panels for it.

I was going to take a pic of 299,000 but forgot. Will get a chance to forget the 300,000 pic by the end of July.

 

96 4Runner, 299,134 miles

Been chasing a steering clunk around for awhile now. At first intermittent but finally reliable enough that I was able to catch it. Had the kid move the steering wheel back and forth a bunch and got it narrowed down to a couple of things. When I pushed on the inner tie rod the noise would quiet down. After pulling the boot and watching/listening it turned out to be a loosened steering rack guide. I've tightened it about two turns (3 was a tiny bit too much and the steering got stiff). I also replaced the left outer tie-rod end after watching it move around a bit where it wasn't supposed to. Noise has gone away, at least, so far, I need to take it on a longer test drive.

I bought the new rack from Toyota on 7/28/2014 at approx 267,xxx miles.

 

I feel your pain...and pride! I taught my 3 daughters to drive...stressful to say the least.
Only have one of them left on my insurance..

Winch Thimble- i got my factor 55 dirt cheap on ebay..about $50 off retail and NIB.
and of course a few days later I find that SMittybilt pretty much pirated Factor 55's thimble...but you can find them for $72 shipped..which isn't a bad deal

 

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!

Oh, that is great info dropzone, on the thimble. When a spare bunch of bucks shows up I'll certainly refer back to ^ post.

The kid drove our VW on the second day. He says he can see better and the diesel is a little more forgiving to get started off from 1st gear. I am not offended.

 

Highway test this evening- the shimmy that wasn't as bad as the bad upper control arm bushing but increasing in severity appears to be gone. Still getting the stupid guide just right, it's not real easy if you've left the skid on like somebody here did.

Look, these actually unbolted without breaking! Removed the links so the sway bar could come up out of the way of the guide.


I forget who came up with using this handy dandy threaded rod connector (Home Depot, cheap enough)but it's an awesome find for this job. You have to loosen the lock-ring before adjusting and be aware that the nut will want to tighten along with the lock ring.


And the husbandio swapped his 3rd member. The 99's got some sad bearing sounds in the old one and we have a spare. Now the '99's will be a spare. He also pulled the e-locker because needed to move it over. His E-locker looks so much cleaner and less corroded than mine. It had a crack on the back which got jb welded and he had a great time swapping things during a heat warning day.

 

96 4Runner 299,522 miles

Kid says he still wants an automatic.
DNA test pending....

 

That's sad... he's driving one of the coolest vehicles ever made

 

What size nut did you use for the steering rack guide? I need to adjust mine, The 5/8" one did not fit- I guess mine is a different size than an OEM rack.

 

I guess he could get an automatic 3rd gen....but I'm not sure why because stick.

My caliper says the outer size of the rod nut is right at 24mm if that helps. It does appear to be for 5/8" threaded rod.

 

I found a threaded rod coupler laying around at work and it fits in a 21mm socket. Perfect size for mine! Seemed to tighten up my steering!

 

Awesome! I ran out and checked my rod nut, definitely won't fit in a 21mm socket. You must have gotten the special one.
It's a bit of back n forth, trying to get that thing tight enough but not toooo tight, isn't it?

Not much happening here, just stupid-hot n humid, currently only 94 degrees with 56% humidity = feels like 104 degrees. At least the okra likes it. Now if only I liked okra....

 

I love me some fried okra! I'm going to be driving through St Louis next Saturday...... can't stop for long though. Have a 12+ hour drive that day :/

 

You'd have to make another trip, the Okra isn't even flowering yet!

12 hour drive is long. If you want to stop by or meet let me know but I'd completely understand if you didn't. That much driving all I'd want to do is get out of the city areas asap. I'm not in the scary part of town, Unless you count some of the drivers. If you need anything around here let me know...hopefully you won't have to deal with rush-hour traffic (north and east-bound in the morning, south and west-bound in the evening).

 

Son pointed out a Horizon Blue Metallic across the street from where we were, of course I had to take a pic...just showing the color difference...


Also, said son stuck by his want of an automatic. One craigslist Volvo being sold by a nice guy later...


Runs great, no rust, grandma car, intermittent gas gauge, driver seat stuck, no a/c, broken windshield, variety of issues but engine/drive train/suspension is sound.
A/C bad solder joint repaired and a little more R134a
Gas gauge- bad solder joint repaired
Driver seat- cable that drives gear re-seated and 2 writing implements removed from track.
Appointment for new windshield on Friday.
Other than windshield the out-of-pocket for fixes are nominal because we are doing the work. Okay, mostly the hubby is doing the work.....

 

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY EVERYBODY!
and happy anniversary to my husband.

Junkyard run today, mostly for ^ Volvo parts. Husband mentioned a 4Runner showed up on Row52 while I was scrounging around the pick n pull. It's an '02 and lo and behold- EXTENDING VISORS!
Been watching for these almost forever.

Of course, they're not grey which was a small bummer but even better, they are oak or tan or whatever that color that's not grey is called.
So Happy Anniversary to my husband and I'm sure he liked working in the heat-warning hot this afternoon. If it weren't for the extra wiring this would have been a cut and paste job. One of his visors already had electric and now they both do.

Old vs New. 5 1/2" wide vs 6 1/4", and as you can see they're longer, too, even without the extension out.




New ones installed...


Down:


Down and extended: