Karmann

Amen brother. When you have to become your own mechanic, and the people on this forum make it easy.

Hahahahaha He'd appreciate that. And he only paid, I was the one to sign all the docs. The billed items weren't replaced, and yes, I'm on NPORA's side. People here frankly know more about pathys than he could ever dream.

We have that here too, and that's my next step if they choose not to comply.

So I just completely wasted $1300. I usually, if not always do the work on my car myself, minus mounting tires etc. But because my upper rear control arm bushings needed to be replaced, and I don't have a press, I took the pathy to what I thought was a respectable mechanic. Francisco's Automotive in Huntington Beach CA if you're curious. So after explaining what the problem was, and going on a ride with Francisco, he said he would replace the control arm bushings after inspecting them. I said alright and left the car with him, along with the NIssan bushings I had bought earlier. So next thing I know I'm getting a call at work saying that I needed to have the front control arms replaced and my sway bar bushings as well. I knew this ahead of time, but was planning on doing the work myself to save the money and know it was done correctly. But then he asks to speak to my father (who was gracious enough to pay for it as a birthday present.) Then my dad tells me the mech is keeping the car overnight, and will be ready tomorrow at noon, which is extremely impractical for me as I have both work and school from 9am to 7pm, but I told him he could deal with it. Anyway, after receiving the pathy again tonight, the marked noises from the bushings were gone, but others persisted. So after returning home, I got out the flashlight and inspected underneath to see. HE DIDN'T REPLACE THE RIGHT BUSHINGS!!! He replaced the rear upper control arms and the front lower control arms, but nothing else. This is despite being billed for rear lower control arms, front "stabilizer bar" bushings, front lower control arms, and having a rear brake service (unnecessary). So he didn't do his job..... nice. And to top it off told me that I was 2qts of oil low. Now that's what made me angry because if there's anything in this world I know, it's that my oil level is perfect. In short, I'm not going to this mechanic ever again, but not until after I tell him where to shove it. PS: My dad's in utter denial about the whole thing, citing that he's had 40 years of experience and tells me he believes the mechanic first and me second. And plainly put, that he doesn't believe a whole community of people who specifically wrench on these wonderful rigs all the time. (You guys)

Pics!

Will there be photos of the carnage?

Hmmm now you have me thinking... And I think they are equipped with a center locking diff, my only reason being it being mentioned in period articles, as well as the obvious "Don't use on dry pavement or above 55" warnings. Could be wrong though

As above, and get yourself a Chilton/Haynes manual to explain the process among other things on your rig

I run Phillips 9003 Xtreme Power bulbs (amazon for ~$30) and couldn't be happier. Nice spread, very clear white light, and for every day driving duties they're perfect. Only issue is lifespan,which is about a year or so but that's no problem for their output.

I think the vehicross is a really neat concept- sporty 4x4 that can handle both high speeds on tarmac and dirt. I seriously considered one before my pathy, but practicality-wise it wasn't in the cards. Either way, neat, and I always enjoy seeing them. On monteros- go look at the Mitsubishi section of ExPo, they're highly reliable.

Meh, don't like the look of the sidewall, but I'm sure the performance is better.

Post pictures of odd tires you come across. For example- found these today, as opposed to my sea terrain tires

Gotcha, is it possible to swap an SE-R Drivetrain into that bad boy?

Sorry if I'm dense for asking, but could someone decode b12 and b13 for me? What's special about them etc? Sorry I'm used to American muscle and Mercedes engines haha.

Sounds like a hell of a project to me

Nice buy, can't go wrong for $300

Wow nice choice, I can't really see in the pictures, but how much of it is original?

God I hope they update the frontier before they put the diesel in it. It's nice as a used truck and all, but it's extremely outdated.

Looks good, I love the design language. Should be pretty fun to drive too.

Good choice on the 16s. 15s require some caliper trimming anyway. To be completely honest with you, for the look I assume you're going for, meaning clean, I think you should keep your stock rims and throw some nice ATs on there (BFG ATs would be a good look) in an uprated size, and lift it maybe 1" with the spacers. This is still a cheap option IMO, and other than one member who had some legitimate JDM wheels on his pathy, I tend not to like the non-factory rims. Craigslist is a good source for tires and 17s are a common size among Jeeps etc. You could always buy a set of toyota rims and tires as a package and call it a day, if you were looking for a change, and still keep that cleanly look. While you are switching tires, you could always have the current rims powder-coated in something like gunmetal grey. Just throwing some thoughts at you

They have a little more kit than some people are giving them credit for- revised spring rates, remote res Bilsteins, bigger tires, skidplates, unique body work, exhaust mods. Basically the first things you would do to upgrade one of these trucks to improve their capability for my SoCal environment. That said however, I think it's a gross overstatement to compare it overtly to the raptor. Granted, it's better off than a lot of TRD/PRO-4x packages, but it's not had the complete reworking the Raptor received. And even the Raptor is overrated IMO. Of course the course they ran at the auto show is weak, but one would have to expect that considering there's a crowd of people standing near by, and if there was one mishap it would be in the news. Our trucks among others would make it easily, but out in the dirt, for washboards especially, that Tacoma/4runner/Tundra would take my lunch money. And I'm ok with that. http://www.expeditionportal.com/toyota-other-models/2843-toyota-officially-unveils-trd-pro-series.html In terms of pricing, keep in mind they're in business to make money. And I would take a TRD-Pro taco over one of these anyhow.

Very interesting, good choice. Fun fact- it shares ~60% ford/volvo architecture.

When speedbumps and puddles don't scare you.

Can anyone comment on how quiet they are on the street?

They really are I've had them for 25k and have loved every minute of them- quiet, great wear, excellent traction, low price. Everything is right about them, and I should get over 50k out of them. Also on the ST Maxx: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/73251-Official-Cooper-STT-thread