Great work!!

Now take it out and wheel!

 

Haha yeah at least we can relate! At least nobody can see that blue mess when it's under the 4runner, but I'm hoping sooner or later to spray it so it looks at least half as good as your axle does!

 

I want to! But the dumb sway bar mounts just snapped when I did a test flex. I guess the one bolt holding it to the axle per side wasn't enough. I'm gonna have to make like 4 tac welds on all corners of the mounts to make it work or something

 

time to buy a new sway bar heh

 

Lots of of guys go without them. I definitely wouldn't go without the front. Food for thought.

 

Well the front sway bar is already gone. Which is exactly why I need to do everything I can to fix it. I have a feeling it would be a deathtrap driving with no rear sway bar and LC coils.

 

nice elocker. i know i love mine. where did you get the elocker switch and is it a on off on switch

 

I got all my parts for the swap from Low Range Offroad, including the switch and the harness. And yes the switch is on off on. Good prices and cheap shipping compared to others!

http://www.lowrangeoffroad.com/

 

thanks. i have mind wired up with two relays but i wanna use that switch. guess ill order it and find which pins i need to use

 

Found a bunch of square tubing that I used for the tire carrier, so I'll be fabbing up a bolt on dual jerry can carrier here in the next week or so after I figure out how to mount everything.

 

I snapped off a bolt in the axle housing on mine with I replaced the rear sway bar bushing with poly bushing, I had my welder buddy tac it up to secure it and I went flex crazy a few weekend after with no issues. It worked for me!

But that week or two before I had him do it and I was DD'ing w/o front OR rear sway bars I had to refer to my truck as "TippY"

 

Been busy with the 4runner lately. Last month at Hollister Hills, I snapped both CV's in the obstacle course. We replaced one there at the trail with a spare, and I was able to get home on the other one being broken.

The goal was when replacing both CV's back home, to remove the front diff and replace my leaky oil pan. The 12mm allen bolt on the front diff had me stumped, as no stores around here had an allen wrench that big. So all I could do was replace the CV's and call it a day.

Trail fix



Original CV on the left with 230k miles...suprised they lasted this long!



New ones in...the paracord helped hold them up while I whacked them in



I also built myself a dual jerry can carrier. I wanted something I could take on and off, as I didn't want to drive with it on everyday. After a little fab work and tab making on the tire swing out, I created this...



Completely bolt on, it only takes 2 minutes to take on and off the tire swing out.



Tire only



Jerry can mode



I am leaving today for the Overland Expo in Flagstaff, AZ. So I will see how well everything holds up. For the next week I will be hitting trails in Utah and Arizona!!

 

What about a plate between the two and maybe a bar on the back going from the top of the plate to one of the corners. Help give it some more support when they are getting slammed side to side. They might roll over still in some heavy thrashing. I guess Utah and Arizona trip is a good test though. Is that still my old ratchet strap?

 

I have thought about that, and I figured if I had any problems on this trip with it, it will really get beefed up. I made a super strong 4 pass fillet weld on the base where it connects to the square tubing, I don't think that will ever break. I was hoping to make a slide out counter under the carrier, so hopefully it stays strong and I can keep that space free.

And yep, that is your old ratchet strap. It has come in so handy for me, thanks again for it!

 

Road trip is finished, and the 4runner served me well! 1800 miles, 1 cracked battery terminal, 1 speeding ticket, no A/C and about $400 in gas made this a trip I'll never forget. The main point of this trip was to go to the Overland Expo, which was also an amazing experience.



Camped out on the north rim of the Grand Canyon for a night, we pretty much had the place to ourselves.



100 yards from the campsite





The Overland Expo really was worth the drive. Anyone who has wondered about it really should check it out. Made quite a few friends and saw some awesome stuff. And spent a ton of money there which was expected.





Some cool stuff out there





Checked out Death Valley on my way home too, it was 106 degrees when I took this pic



I got some 7" HID flood lights at the expo. HID's really arn't my style, but I couldn't pass them up for the price. They really do light up the night too.

 

nice pictures. i heard about the expo over on portal. saw the date it was on and if i have know earlier i might have planned for it. i guess i try next near. i wanted a set of those HIDs. but like you wanted to keep it all old school. how much you pick up the pair for?

 

Sick! i want to go next year! But I bought a mustang and didn't have the spending cash lol. $400 in gas would've been like 600 for me!

 

You really should go out there next year, I'll definitely be there. I got them for $120 for the pair, some vendor didn't feel like taking them home on the last day so he really dropped the price for me.

Yeah I saw that, so cool you picked one up. There were actually a bunch of people who drove out in classic cars and just tent camped. That would be an awesome road trip in the mustang!

 

I plan to get the mustang trip worthy! I would LOVE to hit up highway 1 with it and not have a worry in mind! maybe someday. she's really starting to come along. I bought a new hood for her today. and I've been researching some new shoes, and exhaust for her all day! so we'll see

 

Looks like a great trip, Matt. Great deal on the lights too!