Great.

Yeah, which meant taking the camper home, unbolting the tank and bringing it to him, then bringing it back home and bolting it back to the camper. I stopped going to that store...

 

I have been spending a lot of time tracking down propane and electrical gremlins. No fun, but the propane system is mostly complete. I just need to find a way to cleanly mount all of the unions in the coach so that they aren't just sitting on the floor under the stove.

I am still having some electrical issues. I ran a new wire from the ignition switch to the positive terminal on the starter battery, and another positive wire to the tail light circuit (both of which I'd accidentally cut out when removing some burnt wiring. I also ran a new hot wire to the regulator, per the wiring diagram for the RN 27 chassis hilux. Now I have both a charge light and an oil pressure light on in the dash. They appear to have the same positive connection on the wiring diagram, so they may be connected to the same issue. I popped the cover off the regulator to see if it was corroded, but it looks pretty clean and is clearly a quality aftermarket part. Checking the volts when the car is at idle vs turned off seems to indicate that the alternator is working properly. I'll try to upload a good scan of the wiring diagram with highlights indicating what I've replaced. Any ideas about what might cause these lights to come on? Should I ignore them if the alternator is working and a test indicates that I have good oil pressure?


I sued a thin and flexible aluminum strip to secure the canvas to the coach. I pre drilled everything. There is a bead of hybrid silicone/poly adhesive sealant under the canvas to help it seal. I will eventually cover this strip with a piece of butyl tape to make extra certain that it doesn't leak.


The previous owner had started something like this for the door, but I upgraded the doorknob with a deadbolt and added a handle. The door is a total loss and the entire internal frame for it needs to be rebuilt and replaced, but life is short, so for now I just used this aluminum sheeting on both sides, with a bead of poly sealant and self tapping metal screws, to give us a functional lock.


The propane system has been a real pain. Here is a valve that gave me a lot of trouble. It leaked in the open position. It leaked in the closed position. It leaked in every position. I took it apart and put new o-rings in it, so now it seals when shut or fully open.


Gas flows and the little buddy heater lights.


the stove is installed. I am looking forward to finishing the wall paneling around this corner, eventually.

 

Nice work!

Wish I could help with the electronics...In my 83 I did quite a bit of electrical diagram studying when I swapped an SR5 gauge cluster in...but with stuff like that I tend to get buried really deep, figure everything out, then within a year I've forgotten everything I learned, since the problem is solved and I don't need to remember any more. I know if it were me, it'd be hard to ignore those red lights shining at me, even if they don't mean anything. I have an issue with my airbag light occasionally coming on, and while I notice that it's annoying when it's on, it's not until it eventually goes off after a day or three weeks that I realize how much of a relief it is not to have a red light shining on my dash...

 

Our maiden camping trip is this weekend and we still have quite a bit to do. Work on the truck recently has been a mixed bag of success and frustration.

Success:

• Repaired the ignition circuit and the truck starts up every time
• Tracked down a coolant leak and repaired it by simply replacing the water outlet gasket
• Adjusted and/or installed most of the drawer and door catches for the dinette unit
• Installed the hood for the propane stove
• Installed a bottle opener (an important piece of camping gear)
• Installed new shocks all the way around
• Rigged up a cover for the porch light
• Figured out how to get the spare tire off and confirmed that the spare holds air

Frustration:

• The new window seal we installed for the above cab area leaks like crazy (very disheartening)
  • Any tips on sealing this that don't involve taping over my new seal? I'm planning to start with a combination of 3M window sealer and prayer.
• The windshield leaks onto the passenger seat
• Both side windows leak everywhere (also pretty disheartening)
  • I'm going to loosen up the screws and ad a metric ˟˟˟˟ ton of hybrid window sealer to the butyl sealer to just glue it all up.
• The charge (alternator) and oil pressure lights are both on in the dash.
  • Maybe a bad shared ground? When I use the turn signals the oil and charge lights also blink a little along with the turn signals.
• Did I mention that everything leaks everywhere?

I have a growing to do list that I'll try to complete before we head out this Friday night for two nights at Fort Stevens State Park here in Oregon. Here is some of that list.

To Do:

• Patch the Swiss cheese exhaust system
• Seal all of the windows again and again forever and ever
• Install a radio and two speakers
• Install a voltmeter for the starter battery
• Grease all of the steering components
• Agonize over the idiot lights in the dash

The stance of the truck has changed quite a bit. The steel plate in back, along with the new shocks all around, have given it a more balanced look. It also feels more stable when making corrections in corners.



This is the goofy device that holds up the spare tire on these rigs. It's awful and I need to come up with some sort of tool to make accessing the tire a little easier.


New load adjuster shocks installed in back.


New standard NAPA shocks up front.


I made this porch light out of an old bottle of face cream. Put a bunch of poly sealant on the lid, ran two screws through it, and used an LED bulb to keep down the heat and electrical draw. The original socket is a little tired and may need to be replaced at some point, but I'm pretty happy with how this came together.

 

I'm with you. I won't be able to ignore those lights forever. I did a lot of this type of work in high school and I have basically zero memory about how these systems work and/or don't work. Then again, most of that work was on an old VW and an old Ford Falcon, so some of that experience doesn't transfer well to the Japanese stuff.

 

Looking sharp. I gotta plan at Ft. Stevens trip myself, it's a good time of year to gather up some razor clams and mussels. I added some 1/4" threaded rod to a 1/2" socket to get my spare down. Works great with about 3' of extension and a ratchet. As for radios, I'm personally super over wired systems. I have a car charger for my Milwaukee M18 tools, and just use a M18 bluetooth speaker in the cab. It's nice because you can take it wherever when you're camping. Most cordless tool manufacturers offer a radio / bluetooth speaker combo.

 

That socket tool you made is great! I will definitely make one to have in our road tool kit.

I like the idea of having a radio that works with the same batteries as my power tools. It looks like Ryobi makes two such radios. I'll pick one up if/when I become too frustrated with the cheap head unit I bought.

 

By "side windows" do you mean the camper side windows or the truck?

I don't remember if you said how you sealed the windows. In the camper trailer world, butyl tape is king. Just butyl tape and nothing else.

Ah I wish all this stuff was still fresher in my memory. I recall similar electrical problems. Searching for a bad ground is always the best place to start. These motorhomes were notorious for terrible grounding, and especially terrible tail light wiring and grounding.

Even with those coil-over rear springs, without doing some work to the leaf springs, your stance will be back to saggy really soon. I put new, HD shocks on my truck when it had worn out leaf springs. Made it ride better for about three weeks, then because the leafs were blown, one of the shocks started leaking and they wore out fast. I put new shocks on my Chinook along with an add-a-leaf. The rear up sat up really nice and high for a little less than a month. It still rode slightly better than without the leaf, but pretty disappointing overall.

The only way to really address the handling and stance for longer term than a few weeks or months is new leaf springs. But it's not necessary of course.

 

It's the coach windows I'm referring to. They are sealed up with fresh butyl tape, but still leaking badly. Some of it may be from the glass-to-frame seal (which is way obsolete and basically irreplaceable) and not the frame-to-fiberglass seal (which is fresh, sticky and ostensibly functional, butyl tape). I'll tinker with the window-to-frame part and see what I can do. The fiberglass pods on the first years of the Chinook were completely unsupported by any type of frame. I think that this results in a lot of flex that makes it tough for the coach window frame to seal properly.

I'd like to get the springs rebuilt, but, you know, money. Someday I may take the springs to Oregon Auto Spring and have them freshened up.

 

Have you checked out toyotamotorhomes.com or the yahoo Toyota Chinook forum? That's the only place I can think of that you'll find people who have dealt with the same issues.

Yeah, I dealt with leaf springs that were essentially doing nothing for 4 years with my daily driver, because of the cost. Finally replaced them, and man what a difference! But between the springs and the tools and parts I needed to buy to do the job, it was probably a $500 job in the end.

 

I had spent some time on Toyotamotorhomes before really getting in the thick of it, but now that you mention it, I'm finding all sorts of good stuff in there! Here is one thread about those side windows, with some discussion that is helpful (and of course some that's not). I'm, also starting to revisit the Yahoo group a bit. But, geeze, that space feels dated. It'l like Windows 95 up in there, but lots of good info.

I have stumbled upon Permatex 81730, which is a free flowing silicone designed to fill small gaps between the window seal and glass/plexi. I am going to give it a try on that front coach window. For the side slider windows, until I can fiddle with sourcing the correct seal bits, which (contrary to my defeated sounding earlier post) might be something I can find and source. But for now I think I'll just be slinging some silicone between the glass and aluminum, as much as it pains me to do so. I'll be sure to put up some pictures to show how the hack job goes.

 

Ah, on windows that'll never open, I don't blame you.

The Yahoo site is what you'd expect from a Yahoo site, that's for sure. Back from the beginning days of "forums". Yep. Not sure what it is about some forums...yotatech seems to be pretty non-controversial. Toyota motorhome forums...not so much...Who knows.

 

Interesting. We also took our Chinook out on it's first real trip this month.

I also have a small list of things to fix on mine. It was great to out least get out there and use it instead of working on it.

Let us know what fix you end up doing for the side windows. Thankfully it doesn't appear I have any leaks from the windows (had a few from the top that I repaired), but I would like to re seal everything again one day.

Are you on IG?

 

What's IG? (So, no.)

I ended up putting a little flowable silicone down into the top and side seams and then closing much of the top gap between the aluminum window frame and the coach body with a Dap 3.0 sealer. Seems to have worked like a charm!

Yeah, I need to remember that this thing is meant to be used, not worked on.

 

We had a very successful maiden camping trip to Fort Stevens State Park this past weekend! There were a few leaks that I'll be tracking down and fighting, but overall I was very happy with how it went.

I'll post here soon with some updates on long and short term plans for the project from this point, but we're winding down for the season, and I'll hopefully be backing off on big undertakings until March or April. For now, here are a few shots of the most recent work:


Flowable silicone to seal the seal.


Big bit of Dap 3.0 after the flowable silicone on the side windows.


A little white paint to clean up this corner until I paint the entire rig.




The door isn't straight in any way, so this seal is just to help as much as possible until I rebuild the door.


Sanded and painted under the doors to prevent the never ending creep of rust.


New LED bulb in the dash light so that we can see the heater controls.


Super cheap head unit for streaming music from our phones or making calls. This also has a built in backup camera function that we'll be taking advantage of.


Two indoor/outdoor speakers behind the seats provide the tunes.


Nice to be able to street park this rig!

 

Fancy stereo!

Looking great. I don't regret my decision, since my life is still not in a place where having a motorhome would work for me, but you're making me miss my Chinook.

 

Hey Team,

I'm going to continue posting photos to this google photo album, but I will try to take a break from posting at YotaTech until this spring. If you have any questions or comments about the project, go ahead and post here. I'll get an email and might reply. We've made a lot of progress on the project and will now enjoy taking the truck out on adventures and getting it dialed in. For now, here's a summary of the short, mid, and long term plans for the 73 Chinook.

Short Term:
[small projects over the next couple of months]

• Fix a busted coolant hose that has just appeared
• Settle on an anti-theft method (hidden kill switch, pedal lock, steering club?)
• Take the propane tank to a propane specialist to have the fill valve replaced
• Attack the various water leaks
• Re-sew pop-top tie-downs
• Make curtain for under stove area
• Finish wall behind the stove and back corner
• Fix the coach door lock (sigh, it hasn't worked properly since install)
• Track down draw on coach battery and diagnose oil/charge light issues
• Add generic weatherstrip to the cab doors

Mid Term:
[3-9 months]

• Continue tracking down draw on coach battery and oil/charge light issue
• Replace U joints
• Drain and fill diff
• Build rear storage unit (I'm going to build a rack to hold 3 milk-crate sized wicker baskets)
• Install backup camera (I've already got it, just need to hook it up)
• Create backup light with a basic 12v utility light and dash button
• Buy/refresh rear leaf springs (maybe, depending on the quote I get)
• Fix everything that has broken in previous 9 month period
• Add struts to bed/couch top for easier access to storage
• Paint wheels because fashion

Long Term:
[9 months to whenever]

• Give up on tracking down coach battery draw and oil light issues
• Complete bodywork and paint (this won't be concourse level, you'll never get me to take out these windows)
• Find and attach rear bumper (anybody out there have a rear bumper for an old hilux or chinook?)
• Add a flux capacitor
• Rebuild engine (I'd rather not, but you never know, plus it'd be an adventure)
• Develop some rear and/or side awning
• Fabricate a frame-mounted grey water tank

That's what comes to mind right now! Please comment if you have any recommendations for necessary or desirable upgrades to the truck.

And, for the sake of documenting stuff, here's a picture of the coolant line that just broke:

This little hose is designed to ruin your day and is located between the water pump and the upper heater hose connection.

 

I,m doing a brake job on friends 74 Hilux upon disassembly there were no wheel seals. I ordered new seals from Rock auto they were wrong, checked many parts stores, they all listed the same ones. Where do these seals go there is not enough room in hub behind bearing, and no shoulder on spindle for a seal to ride on. Does it have some kind of oddball seal, all the seals I have found are normal seals. I have bought 2 different service manuals neither were any help. How did yours look?

 

I'm trying to remember, but mostly what I remember about the front bearings is that it seemed crazy. I think that there were no inner seals and possibly no outer seals. It was designed by Toyota to just all be held in there by the shape of the hub, the drum, and prayer. That's what I remember, anyway. I think it improved around 75 or so. Good luck! You're not crazy, it's a crazy setup.

 

Thanks for your Quick reply, I've searched everywhere for info on this. Have a great day.