ToyoTech559

great looking runner

truckmike26

I completely understand your shackle issues from when I was replacing my springs and bushings.

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...72/index2.html

runs-on-4

iTrader: (1)

saw your write up on the knock sensor im about to do mine. was they anything that required some serious mechanic skills or was it basically follow the directions but very time consuming. just wondering if they is any part i could really mess up aha besides not labeling everything

chuntr

I'm fairly mechanically inclined but I don't really have all that much experience with autos. the knock sensor job was the first time I had torn apart an engine, for what that's worth.

i'd just say label everything and write down all your steps. I can't think of any serious gotchas off the top of my head.

runs-on-4

iTrader: (1)

i definitly plan on taking it slow and labeling everything.. ive never torn down a new engine just old v-8s... i guess we'll see how it goes aha thanks for the input and nice looking runner man

B-yodaful

hey Chuntr what ever did you do with your original rims those babies were sweet.

ddbrown811

When you changed your knock sensor did you have to replace all of the gaskets in the process of tearing everything down? If so, where do you recommend getting them?

truckmike26

Check out www.rockauto.com. The prices are very good.

chuntr

Probably to late to be useful for you, but here's what I used:
* set of intake manifold gaskets (1 for the air intake, 2 for the heads, 1 for the water bypass and one for the EGR valve)
* set of copper o-rings for the fuel line connections to the manifold

chuntr

Been a while, but I've done a few things, mostly upkeep. I had an annoying problem that was on-and-off for a couple years now, where the headlights would stop working. I've wired in an extra relay for the driving lights which makes it a little more complex: Driving lights only work if high beam switch is on *and* if a toggle on the dash in on. This way driving lights can be filpped on and off with the high beams, or you can use just the high beams like normal.

Anyway, when it would go out, the main headlights would not work at all. the brights and main lights would work only in the "flash" position of the switch. Normal or high beams I had nothing.

In the course of this, I replaced the headlight switch, which fixed it for a while, then the alternator (which was undervoltage anyway, probably not helping). In the long run it turned out to be that a wire from the main harness on the steering column was a little bit loose in the connector. This looseness had caused arcing which melted the plastic enough to foul the nearby ground wire connection. To fix it, I had to bypass the harness and connect the ground wire with a splice. On top of that I still had to fix the hot lead. I pulled the female connector out of the harness, compressed it a bit with pliers and reinstalled. Has worked like a charm since. The whole time, that one wiring bit was just loose enough that it had been causing mayhem for two years. Make sure those connections are solid y'all!

Other than that, I finally did the air intake silencer bypass with a kit I had sitting around for a while. Not much noticeable difference but it seems to run a bit better. I'd post pics but lost them all when I had to format my phone a bit ago.

twistedyota

iTrader: (1)

How's your gas milage with the 4.88's and 31's? I have a 3.0 auto that I want to put 31's on and want to know if the gear change helps out

chuntr

On the plus side, I went to a campout recently that draws quite a lot of people. It's a remote location and involves a few water crossings, and there's always a handful that push it with a vehicle that isn't quite capable.

The water was pretty high this year but I had no issue getting across. On the way out, we encountered a 2WD truck that had got stuck in the middle of a 30 foot stream crossing. He had overloaded a bit and got his exhaust submerged and was literally dead in the water, blocking anyone else from leaving.

My own exhaust was only a few inches above waterline, but I backed in, and pulled him out from a dead stop. That front locker makes a world of difference. It was no problem at all, and afterwords we found out the doof had had his e-brake on the whole time, so I was just dragging him through the stream with his wheels locked!

This beast may be showing her age a bit, but she can still come through in a pinch without breaking much of a sweat.

chuntr

I do a lot of city driving on hills so I get a lousy 13 mpg in city. On highway it's way better, I can get 16-19. 200 miles on a tank is doable on long trips. I've got a 5-speed though, so that makes a difference.

chuntr

Oh I also installed a 2" receiver tow hitch a couple summers ago. With the custom rear bumper, that was a bit a of a trick. Had to do some serious fab, welding and cutting 1/2" steel to make it all fit right. I'll grab some pics tomorrow and post.

chuntr

Did I mention I had put a killer sound system in? Well I did that was a 2013 project. Off the top of my head I think it's about 1200 watts, and I had to do some custom fab to mount one of the amps in the right rear quarter panel. That could be it's own write-up by itself.

julsruls

Just read through. Very nice!

twistedyota

iTrader: (1)

Oohh def interested in the amp location. And how you got everything to work, got an amp and sub that one day will go in mine