2002 TuRD

[gslander]

Is this spindle toast? Or clean it as best I can and run it? No deep grooves on there

 

[skyhighZJ]

If the seal surface is good and you have good contact where the inner bearing seats I’d run it unless you just have some spare Benjamin’s floating around.

P.S. I’m poor and scavenge shit to make fun times.

 

[1stgenxxx]

I can bring beers and moral support

 

[gslander]

I can bring beers and moral support

Down for when the hand drilling through the frame commences!!

 

[gslander]

Got out in the garage tonight and messed around with the truck. Spent way too long messing with grinding down knuckle balls to get more steering angle for like zero actual gain. Kind of a waste of time. After that I spent a ton of time cutting old air bump pads off my spring plates. Then I moved the axle back 1" and it looks like it's going to clear the AC idler pulley. Additionally I didn't really like the look of the axle being so far forward, and we all know that's the most important part of this hobby, damn performance!! Uptravel looks to be around 4.25" to the oil pan, which is double what I had before, so score.

After that I mocked up the steering box. Looks like I won't have to hack up the body mounts, awesome, but it hits my radiator DAMNIT!

So I need to look online and see what thickness the frame reinforcement plates are, I need 7/8", so if I can get it close with those plates, I'll stack some washers, or even toss some weld washers on there if I'm feeling bougie. This week I hope to knock out the fifth stud mod and knock in my new trunnion bearings and service the wheel bearings. I would have done that tonight, but I bought the wrong bolt size for the "stud" and didn't have the right length laying around the garage.

It's coming together and parts are generally going back on which is good.

 

[gslander]

This is going to be a bit of a long post wall-o-text, but you may laugh so may be a good read for ya, maybe not. TLDR: one full day in the shop has somehow set me back 2 full days on this project, enjoy....

So everyone has that phrase, or that word, that knocks you off you game the second you hear it. For people of my generation (X and early millennial) almost like in the cinematic classic, Happy Gilmore, when the guy shooter paid off would say "jackass" evreytime happy went to hit the ball.

For me it's when my wife asks "how long do you think you will be?" When I go out to the shop. It's the kiss of death for a successful day. So today, going out to the shop, thats exactly what she asked me and I just thought "fuck".

So today's goal was to do the fifth stud mod, rebuild my knuckles and hubs and chain my motor mounts. So kicked off with the fifth stud mod.

So this actually went kind of smoothly INITIALLY, this will come back to haunt me later... but overall messing around in Toyota knuckles sucks ass. Packed full of sticky goopy moly grease and it's just a messy job, not hard, just messy. It's like doing plumbing work, not hard, just you will make a huge mess no matter how hard you try to stay somewhat clean. Maybe it's just me though.....

So I got to drilling and welding

I had some shock tabs that were going to work with some minor trimming

So hell yea done, after struggling with bearing races, but still in good spirits and moving the project forward. So I looked at the spindle that I asked about it but earlier and its pretty sketch, so I decided that I'm just going to order a new one since I don't trailer and I don't need that to come back to haunt me on a trip. So I packed some bearings and moved to the other side.

Other side was fighting me HARD. So I was pounding on the steering arm FOREVER to get it off. In the process I bent two of the holes where the studs attach, so that had to be addressed. Pic omitted, ask to see if if you see me.on the trail and make fun of me in the moment.
So two of my knuckle studs are bent, I don't know if they were bent from wheeling or frome beating the ever holy hell out of the knuckle, so that kind of stalled out that part of the project, I'll order up.some new ones and swap them in for piece of mind Still in decent spirits. So I decided I'm done with these damn knuckles and here is a good spot of work on something else. Look at the motor mount, I'll chain that mofo.

So I found some chain and started welding. Well in all.my infinite wisdom,.I'm pretty sure I melted the motor mounts fawk!!!!!!!

So at this point I decided I'm going to mess with the pax side shock mount. That was uneventful but I was looking at the 5th stud bracket I built about 5hrs earlier and looked at my brake bracket.. no..... no..... holy shit I don't think it's going to fit in there now. I test fit it and confirmed. So I start cutting the 5th stud bracket apart. I am warning you I was rage grinding at this point and I will fix this later......

So I need to fix that...

So damage bill after today, I don't know, I'm going to get drunk on martinis and order parts, but I have at least a day ahead of me redoing that 5th stud bracket and changing out the motor mount.

Thanks for reading, that felt good to type that out....

 

[1stgenxxx]

This is going to be a bit of a long post wall-o-text, but you may laugh so may be a good read for ya, maybe not. TLDR: one full day in the shop has somehow set me back 2 full days on this project, enjoy....

So everyone has that phrase, or that word, that knocks you off you game the second you hear it. For people of my generation (X and early millennial) almost like in the cinematic classic, Happy Gilmore, when the guy shooter paid off would say "jackass" evreytime happy went to hit the ball.
View attachment 411754
For me it's when my wife asks "how long do you think you will be?" When I go out to the shop. It's the kiss of death for a successful day. So today, going out to the shop, thats exactly what she asked me and I just thought "fuck".

So today's goal was to do the fifth stud mod, rebuild my knuckles and hubs and chain my motor mounts. So kicked off with the fifth stud mod.
View attachment 411755

So this actually went kind of smoothly INITIALLY, this will come back to haunt me later... but overall messing around in Toyota knuckles sucks ass. Packed full of sticky goopy moly grease and it's just a messy job, not hard, just messy. It's like doing plumbing work, not hard, just you will make a huge mess no matter how hard you try to stay somewhat clean. Maybe it's just me though.....

So I got to drilling and welding
View attachment 411756
View attachment 411757
View attachment 411758
I had some shock tabs that were going to work with some minor trimming
View attachment 411759
View attachment 411760
So hell yea done, after struggling with bearing races, but still in good spirits and moving the project forward. So I looked at the spindle that I asked about it but earlier and its pretty sketch, so I decided that I'm just going to order a new one since I don't trailer and I don't need that to come back to haunt me on a trip. So I packed some bearings and moved to the other side.

Other side was fighting me HARD. So I was pounding on the steering arm FOREVER to get it off. In the process I bent two of the holes where the studs attach, so that had to be addressed. Pic omitted, ask to see if if you see me.on the trail and make fun of me in the moment.
So two of my knuckle studs are bent, I don't know if they were bent from wheeling or frome beating the ever holy hell out of the knuckle, so that kind of stalled out that part of the project, I'll order up.some new ones and swap them in for piece of mind Still in decent spirits. So I decided I'm done with these damn knuckles and here is a good spot of work on something else. Look at the motor mount, I'll chain that mofo.

So I found some chain and started welding. Well in all.my infinite wisdom,.I'm pretty sure I melted the motor mounts fawk!!!!!!!
View attachment 411761
So at this point I decided I'm going to mess with the pax side shock mount. That was uneventful but I was looking at the 5th stud bracket I built about 5hrs earlier and looked at my brake bracket.. no..... no..... holy shit I don't think it's going to fit in there now. I test fit it and confirmed. So I start cutting the 5th stud bracket apart. I am warning you I was rage grinding at this point and I will fix this later......
View attachment 411762
So I need to fix that...

So damage bill after today, I don't know, I'm going to get drunk on martinis and order parts, but I have at least a day ahead of me redoing that 5th stud bracket and changing out the motor mount.

Thanks for reading, that felt good to type that out....

sry buddy

 

[gslander]

sry buddy

Thanks! It will work out, I was having flash backs to when I SAS'd this thing. 16hr trash sessions, nothing accomplished. Go out in the garage after dinner to "tinker" for a few hours and knock like 4 of the things I was thrashing on out LOL!! The positive of the day is I found 2 bad trunnion bearings that could have sucked for future me and some bent steering studs that I'm gonna replace.

 

[Kickdeez]

Hahaha. I like this update, a lot. Not because I enjoy basking in the misery of others' misfortune...but because it hits so close to home. I can't count how many times I've done this kind of shit. Usually happens when I've spent all day/night in the shop blasting Creed and slamming cold stallions. Wake up the next morning to go admire the previous day's progress, only to find that I have to undo everything I just did, fix problems created by the "undoing", and then do it right, but a different way, and probably sober so I don't screw it up again.

Glad to see you can laugh it off. It does no good to beat yourself up. Keep up the (good) work

 

[gslander]

Hahaha. I like this update, a lot. Not because I enjoy basking in the misery of others' misfortune...but because it hits so close to home. I can't count how many times I've done this kind of shit. Usually happens when I've spent all day/night in the shop blasting Creed and slamming cold stallions. Wake up the next morning to go admire the previous day's progress, only to find that I have to undo everything I just did, fix problems created by the "undoing", and then do it right, but a different way, and probably sober so I don't screw it up again.

Glad to see you can laugh it off. It does no good to beat yourself up. Keep up the (good) work

I figured the board can relate, I enjoy posting my F ups as most build threads are like a text version of an episode of a show on the power block. "Time to swap tons in the jeep" (comes back from 14 AutoZone commercials) "well that's done, lets get to installing this atlas"...

The funniest part about all this is, I am doing this work because when I initially did the axle swap in 2016, my dumbass put the axle in the wrong spot to begin with and I realized it when I heard the tie rod smacking off the oil pan hitting some whoops (speed bump in my neighborhood but whoops sounds cooler) on the test drive. grrrrrr. F this I'm going wheeling and I'll fix it later, honey get your suitcase we are 1day late leaving to wheel for a week in the black hills.

 

[gslander]

Another tldr: I have been off work sick and web wheeling and I found out why my turning radius sucks.

Been sick as shit since Friday so I have been sitting around web wheeling and ordering parts. But today I went and messed around in the garage for a few mins between fatigue and sneezing and played around with the knuckle wipers. So anyone who has wheeled with me has almost been backed into by me at least once as I need to do like a hundred back and forth a to make even the broadest turns. This truck seriously has the turning radius of a battle ship. So I consulted with some fellow Toyota owners and they were telling me my marlin knuckle gussets are causing the problem. So I attacked them with a grinder a few weeks back with minimal results. So I was admiring the RCVs one day recently when I had them out in the garage and saw witness marks all over the bells and inside the knuckle. Shit I think I figured out what is causing my shit steering, the RCVs are hitting the balls. So flash back to page 1 when I did the SAS, there was a ton of stuff that "I was going to come back and do when I get back from the shake down run" that I never did and I believe this is one of them. So I swung the knuckle with no brif and no seal attached, smacks the tube each direction, I put the wiper seal on, no birf, and i lost maybe an 1/8" but damn near hits the tubes. Bingo found the problem for sure. So looks like I'll be attacking this thing with a die grinder and making some room once my candy ass gets the energy to get off the couch whenever whatever I have come down with passes, ideally by Friday lol.

I have had a steady stream of parts coming in: Got my psc pump, new spindle, ARP knuckle studs because why not, random nuts and bolts to replace rusted and broken stuff and my radial dynamics goodies should be here Friday.

 

[1stgenxxx]

Another tldr: I have been off work sick and web wheeling and I found out why my turning radius sucks.

Been sick as shit since Friday so I have been sitting around web wheeling and ordering parts. But today I went and messed around in the garage for a few mins between fatigue and sneezing and played around with the knuckle wipers. So anyone who has wheeled with me has almost been backed into by me at least once as I need to do like a hundred back and forth a to make even the broadest turns. This truck seriously has the turning radius of a battle ship. So I consulted with some fellow Toyota owners and they were telling me my marlin knuckle gussets are causing the problem. So I attacked them with a grinder a few weeks back with minimal results. So I was admiring the RCVs one day recently when I had them out in the garage and saw witness marks all over the bells and inside the knuckle. Shit I think I figured out what is causing my shit steering, the RCVs are hitting the balls. So flash back to page 1 when I did the SAS, there was a ton of stuff that "I was going to come back and do when I get back from the shake down run" that I never did and I believe this is one of them. So I swung the knuckle with no brif and no seal attached, smacks the tube each direction, I put the wiper seal on, no birf, and i lost maybe an 1/8" but damn near hits the tubes. Bingo found the problem for sure. So looks like I'll be attacking this thing with a die grinder and making some room once my candy ass gets the energy to get off the couch whenever whatever I have come down with passes, ideally by Friday lol.

I have had a steady stream of parts coming in: Got my psc pump, new spindle, ARP knuckle studs because why not, random nuts and bolts to replace rusted and broken stuff and my radial dynamics goodies should be here Friday.

What did you get from radial dynamics?

 

[gslander]

What did you get from radial dynamics?

A res and one of their fancy pressure valve things. Pinky's out!

 

[1stgenxxx]

A res and one of their fancy pressure valve things. Pinky's out!

Nice. What power steering pump are you using?

 

[gslander]

Nice. What power steering pump are you using?

Psc. I almost bought a RD trail series, but it was like $100 more and it didn't make sense over a PSC pump.

 

[1stgenxxx]

Psc. I almost bought a RD trail series, but it was like $100 more and it didn't make sense over a PSC pump.

Yea that’s what I’m looking at now. It’s a lot of money for a pump/resi but hopefully buy one cry once.

 

[gslander]

Yea that’s what I’m looking at now. It’s a lot of money for a pump/resi but hopefully buy one cry once.

That's the way I look at it. I also think pressurizing the res and the vortex action getting the air out will solve some of the design challenges of installing a remote res on a 3.4 Tacoma. There's like barely any real estate under the hood on the pax side to put the res, and where there is, it will be below the pump inlet unless I want to cut a hole in the hood and have it poking out, not a fan of that. Also I have cruise control which sucks up a bunch of room on the fender where people normally put the res on a trail only rig. It's so frustrating that they put the PS pump on the pax side of the motor on the 3.4, would have been much easier if it was on the driver's side like the 4cyl trucks. I considered swapping locations of the alt and ps pump, but then I remembered how much I don't like fabricating and that idea went away LOL

 

[gslander]

So I was sick as hell last weekend, and I am almost better so I turned some wrenches on this pile tonight. I went into this wanting to install the steering box, so I clamped it up and did some flexing;

So everything clears, I need to notch the frame and I'll be good to go. However I was still not feeling like drilling holes in the frame and welding, so I decided to mess with the powersteering pump. So with the PSC pump, you have to drill out the upper bolt to 10mm, so always a good feeling having to take a drill to a $250 ps pump. So clamp it up .....

And FAWK!!

Luckly I was able to knock the bit out. It actually drilled better broken ! I used the TG TC bracket and it was ok, their spacer didn't work so I had to stack some washers for the upper bolt and that took longer than it should have. I also pressed the pulley on while it was on the truck which was tedious, but it's in. Feels good to be bolting shit back on this pile.

I'll probably mess with the steering box mount Sunday night.

 

[gslander]

I have been messing with the truck, but a lot of trying to fit things, taking parts off and getting frustrated. Tonight though, I have cleared a mental hurdle, the holes in the frame have been drilled for the steering box mount. I have been putting this off since 2016 specifically because of this LOL! Hand drilling holes in 3/16 frame rails sucks dong. Anyway, huge hurdle overcome, at least mentally for me. Friday night I'll finish cleaning up the frame and clearancing it for the TRE nut, and I'll burn the plates on and the sleeves in and I can put a bow on the steering box.

Also I got my steering res, looks like it's going to live up here and I can get an almost straight shot down to the ps pump with only a 45* fitting.

Looking up from the pump

So I got to build a bracket for that.

I have all the parts I need either here, or in the mail, except the hydro hose and a few misc fittings, so hopefully I can get this thing wrapped up sooooooon.

 

[gslander]

Spent all day in the garage today and knocked some big shit out, here are the highlights:

Steering box plates welded on, but first notch the frame for TRE nut clearance:

Next up was find a place for the ram, this took a long time, but found a spot that will work:

Plan on rotating the ram forward, for fitting and hose clearance. Also built the steering shaft, old one is the tiny one.

Res mount also mostly built. The bottom will be some angle iron to bolt it to the fender well.

Knocked out most of the major fab work, only thing left in the welding department are shock mounts and bump stop mounts/pads.

I also need to order up a new drag link as the TRE is seized on the driver side, along with the drivers side being seized on the tie rod. I cut the TRE off the drag link and welded a nut to the stud and hammered on it with my impact for like 20mins, heated it, ran weld beads around it, gooped anti seize in there and nothing. So I'll call up bud bilt and get some new ones made and the current tie rod will become a spare. Tons of progress made today, next up is reassembling the knuckles and boring shit like that.

 

[gslander]

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!!

Actually I'm really close to getting this thing driving again. I probably would have had it driving if I didn't find out my power steering pump has a -12 feed line fitting (ordered a -10), and I got a feed hose made with -10s on each end, doh. So I'll get a new hose made this week, and a -12 fitting for the res, this pump better not cavitate, ever LOL. I wrapped up a ton of boring stuff reassembling the axle and most of the stuff I took apart. All I have left to get it driving is install the steering shaft (I'll do that tomorrow), align the truck, install drivers side shock tower, hook up all the ps lines, bleed everything, bolt check and drive. To wheel I need to notch the pax side frame rail, install some weld washers and install the air bumps. That's pending no issues on the test drive.

 

[gslander]

Plugging away on this pile. Didn't get a chance to work on it as much today and probably tomorrow as much as I want because my wife had to go get herself a damn kidney stone, so I have been helping her, she's so selfish!! I did get some time in the garage tonight for a couple hours. Wrestled with the steering column and got that hooked up, ran some steering hose, did an alignment and got the res into its final resting place. Hope to get it at least fired up and leak checked tomorrow, potentially street worthy if I can get the driver's side shock tower burned on and the lower shock mount burned in on the pax side.

 

[gslander]

My wife's been sick so I haven't been able to wrench on this thing all last week/weekend, but she's feeling better and I was able to get into the garage tonight. I got the steering system plumbed, fired up and bled and it works with no leaks!!! F yea! That red stuff is Toyota coolant.

I know the ram lines are going to be in the way of the bumps and the shocks, but that's a problem for future me to solve.

Res with pressure valve

The res worked as advertised, took me about 45mins to bleed it, which isn't bad considering it took me like 2hrs to do the Ford box with the stock Tacoma stuff and a far simpler steering system when I first did the axle swap. So this week I plan on thrashing on it daily after work to weld on shock mounts, weld washers, fix some booger welds, and torque everything and hopefully drive it to work by Friday or over the weekend. Shake down run is at the ranch the weekend of April 19th, c'mon out!

 

[gslander]

Test drove it today, didn't die so mission accomplished. Just need to install the bumps, notch the pax side frame and some misc little shit and she's ready to wheel!!

Got it up to 75, stable, and no death wobble! Plan to take it to work everyday this week to see if anything starts leaking

 

[gslander]

Leak number one found:

"New" PSC ram, been sitting on my shelf for 5yrs, is leaking. I'll order up a seal kit and fix that hopefully before wheeling in a few weeks, if not I'll just keep topping the fluid off lol. It will work out as I want to swap out the external limits to internal ones.