RainGoat

I didn’t know about it at the time, however, I would have felt the same way until 11/26/17. Mine had lost 5, it was #5 that did the trick. Several others have had similar results. I think we lost about 4 engines on NPORA alone 2018ish. Just doing my civic duty.

Did anyone else’s truck dress up for Halloween?

If we know ahead of time, I imagine as many as possible would be happy to meet up but there are a couple logistical things to consider. Most work mid week, @02_Pathy &@stpickens are in PDX & @grizzlypath is on the Peninsula plus March is definitely snow season in Washington & trail options would be limited. Just as an FYI, June - September (in reverse order) are usually the best months to visit the PNW.

Not just the notches - be very sure about the strut spacer placement on the top hat if you are not using OEM. That compressor recommended above has been used by several of us, is cheaper than having it done and is VERY stable & safe.@hawairish ,@R50JR & the entire PNW crew wholeheartedly recommend it.

I look forward to eventually seeing how those projects turn out. I intend to do the former as well & like the concept of the latter. You’re a little short on time to get it delivered at this point but the I would strongly recommend the new style spring compressors- they can be as little as $65 & have consensus support from all that have used them as both effective & safe. I would STRONGLY advocate doing your power valves ASAP. It is only a 2-3 hour job and doesn’t need a rented bay. Pay a shop if necessary. It can DESTROY your engine and make everything else you’ve done pointless & a waste of time & money. I would be prepared to find some screws already missing & needing to be replaced.

Yeah, Stioc’s truck for sale is kind of sad. [mention=1343]XPLORx4[/mention]’s Rubicon in an R50 is probably tough to beat.

I expect only[mention=1343]XPLORx4[/mention] & maybe Stioc have done anything like what you do with an R50. (Oh &@TheExBrit)

I’d be interested in how that works out long term. I used Raptor liner on our T4R sliders & have mixed feelings. I ultimately covered it with Rustoleum Texture in black. I corresponded with U-Pol prior to make sure that combo would work. The Raptor liner gives a nice course finish but it has a fan spray which is good for flat surfaces - not so good for sliders, racks, etc. The Rustoleum Texture has a nice fine grain, satin finish, hides blemishes & touches up both with ease & inexpensively ($5/can v $25 for the Raptor). When I recondition my Coastal offroad bumper, or perhaps for the tops of my own sliders, I’ll consider the Raptor again but I’ll likely still finish it off with the Rustoleum Textured.

Beautiful work, as always!

Alright, just watched that vid. First off, great to see you & the Pathy in action. I can see your frustration in that first section. I didn’t think the 2nd looked bad and you absolutely cake walked that descent at the end! Need a new truck - give me a break...[emoji3]

Does their “key in a box” mean that the immobilizer is essentially neutralized & functionally deactivated at all times? If so, you can have as many keys as needed. It’s easy to test. Cut a key for a couple bucks at Home Depot & try it. I have ones for just getting into the truck & occasionally the ignition has been turned on without the chip - it just coughs & dies. You put a key with a chip in & it starts by the 2nd try.

Blasphemy! A BIG NO on that!

Yeah, when you say “sacrifice”’ do you mean they took the chip out. The “key” is 3 parts: key, chip & fob. Key can be cut easily. Amazon fobs are easy to get & program. The chip is the rate limiter as described above. Make sure they didn’t just pitch your chip.

Commenting on DBC / TX14 '02 LEs: [mention=39493]02_Pathy[/mention]: A year ago I was spotting for the PNW group at Tahuya. 02_Pathy was able to approach, climb, traverse & descend obstacles with minute precision - a VERY controlled drive. Myself: I've mostly used 4Lo just on rough Forest Roads this year, my last trip I was in 4Lo for long time intervals, however, I would note that I definitely have a linear throttle response. Now that I think about it, there was another R50 that was very lurchy on the same obstacles. I chalked it up to inexperience as he was a new off-road driver, however, I do believe he had an ‘03, which would be DBW, so maybe that was really the issue.

Commenting on DBC / TX14 '02 LEs: @02_Pathy: A year ago I was spotting for the PNW group at Tahuya. 02_Pathy was able to approach, climb, traverse & descend obstacles with minute precision - a VERY controlled drive. Myself: I've mostly used 4Lo just on rough Forest Roads this year, my last trip I was in 4Lo for long time intervals, however, I would note that I definitely have a linear throttle response.

Thanks for the offer. Unfortunately, I only make it back to KC for a handful of days every other year or so & that’s usually full of me doing stuff for my folks who are 75 & 80. I have spent many years of my youth in Southern MO & Northern AK. It’s pretty country for sure. It was a trip to Taum Sauk & Johnson Shut-Ins that rekindled my outdoor explorations back in January ‘92. I actually did my advanced SCUBA check out dive at Bull Shoals.

Pics link broken

Interesting video. Makes me nostalgic for the woods of my youth. A couple of those shots seem to show the locked center &/or the LSD at work.

#nostalgia

You’re lucky your geographically isolated from us - those words hurt [emoji17]

Steve, I’ve got your link & aluminum mid skid. They fit well & do the job nicely. I particularly like that they are aluminum and, consequently, maintenance free. It would be nice, however, if there were horseshoe bolt protectors welded in front of the bolt slots like on my RCI skids for the 4Runner. Another nice touch is to overlap from the front to back so there aren’t any edges to catch if you’re sliding along the skids (you can see that in the photo below as well). Your skids do this from the front to the link, but the rear plate has a forward facing edge. Finally, turning up the sides increases the skids rigidity. I would buy your rear skid if the shipping weren’t so unreasonably high. It’s like AC, it’s tough to stomach shipping that’s a significant percentage of cost of the item. In AC’s case, it’s clear shipping is just another profit center - is yours just the result of size, weight & import duties?

Pretty area around there. I love the Karst topography of the Ozarks. The Buffalo National River near there is a nice float trip and I’ve always heard the Ouchita Mtns are nice but I’ve never been. (I’d stay out of Tulsa-based on HBO’s Watchmen ; )

I still think of them as the “pound” sign

You can easily attach those lights to the tube. Tube gives you endless mounting possibilities.