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Showing content with the highest reputation on 05/23/2022 in all areas

  1. Wow it’s been some time! I was browsing the r50 section to see what might be new and I figured I might as well throw up an update in case anyone cares. The truck is now at 320,000 miles, still going strong. Worst thing to happen since my last update was an small evap leak, everything else works like new. I’ve got a code for the swirl control system but haven’t been able to track it down yet. Doesn't affect drivability as far as I can tell, so it’s likely one of the million parameters involved in its operation is slightly out of spec for what the system is looking to see. I’ve tested the valve itself and the vacuum lines around it, no issues. Eventually Ill need to sort it out so I can pass emissions, but whatever it’s on the back burner for now. There’s a slight weep from the rear diff, most likely the pinion seal. I need to do the rear wheel bearings, drums, and axle seals all together so I’m planning it for some time over the summer. My girlfriends 4runner needs that same treatment but a little more desperately since her drums are soaked in gear oil so it takes priority over mine at the moment. My engine still leaks oil like crazy, no matter which stop leak I use. I gave up at some point and now I just run maxlife blend 10w-40 which seems to keep it under control better than the mobile 1 did. If I’m driving it a lot every day I go through about a quart per week, but luckily I’m working from home these days so I can keep the oil consumption to a minimum. I also changed the radiator and hoses, along with the two front cam position sensors and fan+clutch as preventative maintenance. Got the front shaft U-joints swapped out and balanced by a driveline shop so there’s no more rumbling on the highway. In the late fall my dad and I took the two pathfinders out to the Logandale trail network outside of Vegas to blast through the sandy canyons a bit. Super fun spot, but my skinny tires were a little bit out of their comfort zone in some of the really deep sand. Especially because the tread depth is getting pretty low. I’ve had the tires since March 2020 I think? So probably 35K miles at least, with about 6-10 months of usable tread left at this rate. My JEGS jerry can go stolen from the back of the truck over the winter. Some bastard cut the ratchet strap while it was parked. People are getting desperate with the gas prices being the way they are. So when I replaced the can I also built in a simple swing open locking mechanism to keep casual thieves from trying. It’s not impenetrable obviously, but so far no one has messed with it. I also got a nice set of seat covers so I don’t have to look at the ugly cuts and tears in my seats anymore. I think they look great now A few weeks ago I welded up some basic low profile rock sliders to help deflect the odd boulder that might want to smack the rocker panels this summer. They mount up using the original mounts for the side steps like most other guys have done. The only exception is the middle bracket had to be modified to get the right height. I tested them with my jack and they’re easily strong enough to use for lifting a wheel. My goal was to lose as little ground clearance as possible, so I made them fit nice and tight to the body, with just enough gap to be able to flex slightly upwards under load without touching. It’s a very basic setup but I’m happy to have that extra bit of protection just in case. You can hardly even tell they’re there In preparation for the season I also swapped out my rusted and damaged smitty trail jack for a hi lift extreme 48” which is much nicer quality and should last forever. I plan to keep it covered in WD40 to keep the rust away and I wipe on a light coat every couple weeks. I’ve padlocked it to the mount just in case Last but not least, I noticed my driver side CV was starting to rattle when I was going over small bumps. At first it sounded like something was loose in the suspension but it turned out to be the inner joint. When I tried to turn the shaft back and forth by hand it had noticeable play. Being that I didn’t want to break it on the trail again like last year, I swapped it out for a new one. The brand is GSP I think? Fairly cheap. Absolutely zero binding at full droop, even with no sway bar, and it’s actually so smooth I had to double check that my hub was really engaged. Time will tell if it lasts, but overall it seems to be good quality. I just wish I had the motivation and time to swap my Rockford boots onto it. From what I can tell, this one seems to be in the pre-facelift style with the round flange rather than the tri-flange shape, which I believe means it should have a slightly better range of motion (provided its made to OE spec) because I think I read somewhere the earlier models had slightly longer struts. Anyway, I think that just about covers everything I’ve done in the last several months. Next up this year Ill be redoing the rear bumper with plate steel now that I have a garage again. Even though mine is still functional, I’m sick of the plastic bumper cover. Then maybe I’ll look into some aluminum skids and a locker. It’s shaping up to be an awesome summer, I’m super excited to hit the trails again.
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