joelsmithdesigns

Sorry guys, it's just been sitting. Had to do some traveling for work and was supposed to be on vacation this week to work on it, but had a time sensitive project pop up, so I'm in the office this week as well and pushed my time off back a bit.

Everything is ready to be taken out and re-installed, which should fix the alignment issue with the starter.

joelsmithdesigns

vacation got pushed out again to next week......

joelsmithdesigns

Finally getting time off. I'm on vacation (working on the rig) this weekend and all next week. Hopefully I'll have a ton of updates for everyone that following Monday.

bootscootboogie

iTrader: (1)

We're all waiting on edge of our seats!

joelsmithdesigns

Sweet mother of mangos. Completely pulled the motor. Double checked the alignment of the clutch disc, reinstalled everything and the starter is just spinning like before. I was hoping in the spirit of resurrection today, I could get this truck resurrected. No dice. I even had my buddy come over and help me reinstall the engine and it lined up perfectly. If you put it in gear and turn the main crank bolt, the car will move forward. I'm at a loss and calling it a day today. If I could get this rig running, I might drive it straight into the lake right now.

92ehatch

You say you checked the alignment of the clutch? That's not the part in question. The issue is a starter to flywheel engagement. I would have jumped the starter with the engine out to see exactly what is happening when the starter turns.

joelsmithdesigns

I manually pulled the starter cog out and verified that it lined up with the teeth in the flywheel while the motor was out.

92ehatch

Still you are having an issue you need to be able to see exactly what it is.

You say the starter works, you say the alignment is good. If your wiring is good then it should work. But it doesn't. Now you need to find out why.

millball

I still say that the overrunning clutch on the starter may be fubar.

Try switching out the starter for another one that is known to be sound.

bootscootboogie

iTrader: (1)

I get the feeling you're actually going to shoot this 22RE and see if it's bulletproof

Man hope this works out for you.

SwVa_1stGen

I still think its the wire from the starter relay on the fender
http://www.autoshop101.com/forms/h7.pdf

Relay test page 13

joelsmithdesigns

The truck is running. Starter was off. Then even when I got the starter (new one) to push it, it ˟˟˟˟ oil everywhere. Apparently, the turbo block has two holes
In it that weren't on the original motor and I had I forgot to plug. A couple of plugs....no problem. Then Gas was just raining. Apparently the number two cylinder had the injector o-ring decide to blow out. Got that addressed and solved. So the truck is back up and running.

gillesdetrail

iTrader: (1)

So what was the problem with the starter exactly? good job on getting it running!

joelsmithdesigns

I'm guessing the old starter was shot, and the new one was mislabeled our misboxed - the one I exchanged looked much more like the original although it had the same label and part number? Heck, maybe out of shear statistics on the number of times I've done it I might have just accidentally put everything together correctly? Who knows....it wasn't some great reveal or epic doh realization.

92ehatch

Whirlpool one mislabeled their microwave transformers and shipped the u.s. 240v and Europe 120v. Looked the same had the right lables and part numbers, but of course wouldn't work.

It's entirely possible they just boxed the wrong part

joelsmithdesigns

Now that the rig is running, I've been working on custom interior panels and getting the stereo and speakers installed and everything soundproofed. Hoping to have a ton of pictures and maybe a separate write up on Monday when I'm back to a computer.

I spent a long time looking for a way to make a cheap interior that would take some abuse and still look good....I'm pretty happy so far and learning as I go. Here's a sneak preview:





Neoprene upper (wetsuit material - same as wet okole seat covers) and 1/16" thick vinyl diamond tread lower (supposed to be for garage floors) - black handles and window crank on the way from rock auto for cheap

92ehatch

I ordered handles from rock auto and got second gen handles. They were going to charge me more to ship them back than i paid for them even though it was their mistake.

I hope you have better luck with it. In fact i still have the wrong ones.

joelsmithdesigns

As most of you know I had the last week off for vacation and finally got the rig running. After the starter / mis-boxed starter debacle, I spent some time thinking about what the previous issues were as this was the um-teenth time I've pulled a motor out of her.

I'm almost certain that the starter that was originally in the rig was the incorrect one and was also the source for the metal-on-metal noise I was hearing and misunderstood as the crank scraper. Further inspection of the ground teeth on the starter and wear marks on that gorgeous new flywheel proved it to me. The original motor that was in this rig was out of an early 80's celica, and had over 1/2" of washers backing the starter out. Now I know why. Anywho, my girl is up and running and to be honest, I couldn't be happier. In all reality, I'd pull the engine again this weekend if there was something else that pops up because at the end of the day I just want a car that runs like it should.

So......I spent the rest of the week playing around with some interior mods I've been wanting to do for a while, and getting some of the bumper / swing gate / exterior mods in the planning / staging mode.

I'm probably going to write up a tech article on custom interior panels (perhaps with .DWG templates for download), but for now, I'll just continue posting on this thread until I get that write up squared away.

joelsmithdesigns

As many of my undertakings in life, I try to be prepared when I begin and have some type of plan and supplies to start with. Here is a list of items I had accumulated in prep for doing some custom interior mods (that obviously would be in vain until I got the rig up and running properly)....

2 Rolls - Be Quiet Extreme (50 sq/ft rolls) - MUCH cheaper than dynamat and is light years easier to work with. Absolutely love the stuff. ZERO negative things to say about it so far. - $160




1 roll (7.5' x 15') of Home Depot black vinyl garage floor 1/16" thick vinyl - semi flexible and chemical / water resistant. Built to take the abuse of a garage floor and 1/3 of the price of everywhere else I looked (originally saw a sample at Sears) $100 / roll SHIPPED!!!



Maryland Metrics "Rivet nut Tool" - $20 and worth it's weight in gold IMHO. I hate plastic christmas tree push-in fasteners for interior panels. I like a mechanical fastener wherever possible and don't mind hardware showing as long as it looks decent. I ordered corresponding ATA-2 style rivets and some nice stainless hex head bolts and corresponding flared flange countersunk washers from McMaster Carr





ATA-2 STYLE RIVET NUT

When I got my seat covers from Wet Okole, I ordered some extra material for a console door later. the full sheet of Neoprene is much more than I'll need for a console lid, so I decided to use this waterproof wet-suit material for the upper door areas and arm rests as both of these are what I'd consider "high wear" areas. (Don't remember what it cost as I placed the order over the phone so I could get the "4Runner SR5" logo (TY4010) that wasn't shown on their website....I just considered it part of the seat covers order that I paid for with an overtime bonus) Here's a list of logos that were tough as nails to find as they're 10+ years old, but if you call in....you might be able to get




Trim-Lok edge trim to give a finished look to all the edges and replace current trim in the vehicle (around windows and such) I got the 1/4" because I was planning on using 3/16" Masonite for the panels and the garage floor material is about 1/16"




I also had a full roll of black upholstery vinyl with a cross weave pattern. This was free from an old job I had and has been sitting in my closet for a year or two. When choosing interior vinyls and fabrics, it's imperative to find one that has UV light-fastness (wont fade in the sun) and is stretchy / flexible in at least one direction - the roll of fabric I have was stretchy in both directions and UV approved as it was used in the contract retail upholstery industry

Another helpful thing was that I already had my speakers and locations figured out before I got started, which helped me know what other items I might need, or what modifications I would need to make to the actual rig (i.e. cutting sheet metal / where to run wires / etc.)

joelsmithdesigns

I've got a junky '86 4Runner (in the background of some of the images) that has the interior completely stripped out of it. As I'm replacing most of the "nicer" grey interior panels in mine, I figured I'd save them and install them in the 86 (originally brown interior). I also had another entire interior from a grey 1st gen junkyard run, so I'll be cannibalizing parts from both interiors for mine.

I started out by laying out where I wanted the 6 1/2" speakers to go. Considering the toothed gear making an arch for the manual window mechanism and that I have the vent windows, there was pretty limited space on where they COULD go. Sorry for you guys out there that have full windows, as it seemed like the only area speakers that large wouldn't interfere with any of the mechanics of the door were to the front lower portion ***BELOW the door catch***.




I then started by completely covering the interior of the door with the BQuiet first (closest to the road) and left the "access area" open to run wires and work - access areas were the last thing I closed up. Some people would only do the interior of the doors, but I'm kind of going crazy with the sound proofing as I plan on having this one a while. Just the difference in sound when you close the door is unbelievable. Haven't driven it much since I got this done, but imagine the road noise reduction is also huge.


3/4" MDF Speaker ring and BOOMMAT baffle



sound deadened the back of the baffle...probably overkill



ring installed in cutout with coated deck screws. You can see the blue sharpie swoop of the window crank (hence the scalloped cutout cutout on the MDF ring in the previous photo) Also in the top left, you can see the door hinge stop.

I bored out the holes for the plastic christmas tree pop-in fasteners and used the Rivet Nut tool to install M6 Rivet nuts in all the holes.






I then took a garbage doorpanel and cut out the carpet to make a cardboard template




cardboard template for passenger side lower door panel (mirror of right side minus rear door handle)

and traced and transferred it over to $8 sheet 3/16" Masonite / hardboard




I was careful to double check the position and alignment of the holes for the fasteners. and because I'm not fancy and wanted to cut a bunch of tiny rectangular holes, I used the same drill for the upper metal tab holes. Roberts 7200 wall base adhesive for mounting the vinyl to the hardboard (found in Home Depot flooring section and recommended by the manufacturer of the garage flooring


Took the upper metal portions off the garbage door panels and painted them up (just to prevent rust)



and then used 3M High 90 upholstery adhesive to wrap the upper metal in the neoprene. Take your time. Spray both the part you're trying to cover and the back of the fabric. For spraying varying areas, the nozzle has a High/Medium/Low setting. I used the medium for tight areas and the High for the back of the material. Let both parts set for a couple of minutes to become tacky and then start. If you start when it's still wet, you won't like the results.



material and painted metal ready to go.....notice the cutout for the tweeter (also had to cut out door panel for clearance)



I used binder clips to hold edges at first, but the High 90 is so good, you don't really need to.

Then I used the Trim-lok to finish the edges



Finished door panel....



I then ran the speaker wires and decided I wanted 2" flush mounted trailer blinkers in the backs of the mirrors, so while I still had the "access hole" to the door interior I went ahead and ran a wire to the mirrors as well while I had it open. I also greased the window track and door stop just for good measure.

Everything buttoned up and ready to be installed. The tweaters I have came with wire leads as they're soldered on the inside. I installed some blade adapters so that the positive had the female and the negative had the male (so it's impossible to wire the speaker up wrong) and used heat shrink to "weatherproof" them and prevent any unwanted grounding on potentially exposed metal.


cutout in the metal for the depth of the tweeter to be flush with the outer panel



lower baffle with wire run



Finished door panel (minus lower map pocket that will be installed later) and armrest that got covered in Neoprene as well:



And used the same cardboard template to do the other side:


Driver's side (with original map pocket moved back and covered in fabric)