The evolution of "Alpine" Tundra

[jim65wagon]

That looks excellent! Nice choice in the gauge and switch positions, looks quite factory. I like it!

 

[Buckru]

I had the chance to see the Alpine Tundra up close. Great looking rig with well executed modifications. For me, the way the 2 meter radio face plate was installed was really quite cool. And if you haven't met Gary personally, he is one heck of a nice guy.

Buck

Breakfeast or lunch is on me next time. How bout next week?

 

[RoundOut]

The Evolution Continues!

First off... Thanks Jim and Buck for the kind words. Buck, I'll call you tomorrow. (Saturday)

Tonight was a good news/bad news night. Good news: tomorrow morning I take the truck to Mark at Creative Engineering Offroad to do the locker install next week. The rear locker arrived today and the front one arrives Monday. Since I was doing my own wiring/plumbing, I had to get I had some work done tonight before taking it to Mark.

On my TO DO list were:
1) Check the wiring of the two switches previously installed and connect them to front and rear locker solenoid actuating wires ran through the firewall and to the rear.
2) Rewire the new console switches installed yesterday and check circuits.

When initially installing the wiring in my Ham radio and backup sensors, I ran two spare 12 gauge wires through the firewall for future expansion. Boy, did this save me some time tonight. I had also ran two extra 14 gauge wires front to back when I wired/plumbed my dual battery/air system. To gain access to the rear wires, I removed the skid plate from my dual battery/air tank mod in the rear.

Now for some bad news: as I was under there, I noticed there were no white raised letters on the right rear tire. A further inspection of this curious discovery revealed that oily fluid has leaked from the seal in the axle on that side and soiled the letters. ARGHHHHH. I have no experience with this. I have to get on it immediately after the locker mod since I already have that scheduled.

The good news: I was able to rewire all the recently installed switches (all 7 of them) to better organize the layout. It made more sense to use the switches in picture 8 of my last post to control the differential lockers, the top being the front locker and the bottom being the rear. The 5 new switches I installed above the "secret compartment" in the console (shown in the photo attached) can now be used to control other accessories. Right now, the center one, between the two 12V outlets controls the auxilliary rear lights. The one on the very left controls the air compressor. The one on the very right controls the power supply to my laptop -- this was previously on all the time. The two switches on either side of the 12V outlets will control future accessories, probably a right and left camp light to be mounted on the bed rails at some future point. Alternatively, I could use them to activate solenoids which would switch on the high amp power outlets for my front and rear winch power, or a fridge.

Although it is not as nice/clean as having them all in a row, I am pleased with how it turned out, and can't wait to have the locker mods done and get my rear axle fixed.

 

[RoundOut]

Since I didn't have time to mess with it , I made arrangements to get the axle seal fixed this morning. When I called a buddy of mine to have him come pick me up, he asked... "If you're getting locking differentials installed, they'll be removing the axles anyhow. Why not have Mark fix the seal?" I called Mark and he said no problem! That saved me three hours of labor @ $99.

:jump:


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[RoundOut]

Lockers are in and axle seal is fixed!

Mark finished the lockers and replacing the axle seal while we were on vacation in Canada. I picked it up this morning. I still need to put the wires in split loom and replace the 110/145 pressure switch with the 80/105 pressure switch. I plan on doing that VERY soon.

I am looking forward to getting to test it all out on September 6, if not sooner. There is a new club forming in Houston and we're planning a get-together. Should be a blast. I can't wait.


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[TBS]

Hey man, i have seen your truck around town. I think you actually came by the shop when you were trying to put together your tire carrier here at Shrockworks.

I dig your build, the wiring is really clean and brings a couple ideas i have had for my own into reality for sure. I'd like to check out your rig sometime if you wouldnt mind, or maybe ill just flag you down next time i see you on Louetta.

 

[devinsixtyseven]

Gary it's looking GREAT!

...I like the ARB switch and gauge spot. Was gonna do mine there, but the HU for the CB is sitting in that very spot. Convenient they left us that little space behind dash .

Will be in touch !

-Sean

 

[hovenator]

What happened to the pics? I can't see them. I would love to see what this truck looks like.

 

[RoundOut]

What happened to the pics? I can't see them. I would love to see what this truck looks like.

A few weeks ago, there was some kind of database error related to the quantity of ExPo-hosted pics on the board exceeding some maximum number. All of us lost pics when that happened. I'm in the process of restoring mine. Hang in there, I'll try to get it finished tonight. I'm about half-way done.

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[RoundOut]

Missing pics

I have updated all the pics in this thread that I found on my computer. Unfortunately, there are tons of pics that I could not find. Must be moths in my hard drive. :-(

Anyhow, I'll get some more in the next few days and get the thread back up to date.

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[Haggis]

It's amazing how many times I make it back to this thread to find some tidbit or other of info. So as there is many new Tundra owners on the ExPo as of late I thought I'd bump Gary's thread as it is one of the most useful and informative threads on Tundra mods out there.

So what's new? What have you been modding lately? And we need to see some action shots of the Alpine Tundra out and about.

 

[RoundOut]

It's amazing how many times I make it back to this thread to find some tidbit or other of info. So as there is many new Tundra owners on the ExPo as of late I thought I'd bump Gary's thread as it is one of the most useful and informative threads on Tundra mods out there.

So what's new? What have you been modding lately?

Wow, I can't believe it has been 6 months since I've looked at my own build thread. Sorry for the delayed response, which will be photo-less for now, but I will try to add some later. I can't believe how many photos are missing from the thread. That sucks.

OK, here's what's new...

• Fire extinguishers: I was wheeling without a tailgate a year or so ago at Katemcy Rocks (before it closed and reopened elsewhere), and there was a sand trail where a bunch of us got on it. Previously in the day, someone had thrown a shovel into the bed of my truck, and it hit the fire extinguisher on one side, breaking the cheap plastic bracket. In the sand, a bump and corner must have thrown it out of the bed. A few weeks later, I began a quest for metal brackets which turned out to be a wild-goose chase. I finally bought two matching metal-bracketed fire extinguishers from 4Wheel Parts and installed them horizontally above the wheel wells in the bed.
• New KC Slimlights: When I have the portable winch mounted in the front bumper, the light from the two KCs inside the bull bar is greatly blocked by the winch carrier handles. One of them had a failing seal, so I got 4 new ones, replaced the original two, and added two outside the bull bar, just inside the OEM headlights. Really bright now! :Wow1:
• In preparation for the Expedition Trophy 2008, I bought a fridge from Sierra Expeditions. I mounted it on the deck just under the back seat, which requires removal of the back seat. Eventually, I'd like to make a "half-seat" out of the rear seat, so I can have a fridge and another seat. This is by far, one of the coolest mods anyone can do. I really love my fridge. Keeping steaks or ice cream frozen is no problem now. What a beautiful thing, LOL. :sombrero:
• The ugly oil seal leak continued to haunt the rear passenger side. I have fixed it three times. Each time, getting new brake pads, too. First, when replacing the differential with the ARB locker. Second, I got real pissed and replaced the whole damn thing, axle, bearing, inner seal, outer seal, brakes, etc. I had a shop do this, and the (add really bad expletive here) jerks left the Toyota identification sticker on the axle shaft. I pulled the shaft again a few weeks ago and discovered this, and they p-tex'd instead of using the proper gasket. The decomposed sticker must have been too much for the seal to handle and it started leaking again. So, I fixed it a third time. <begin rant> One more note about this... I hate screwing with the drum brakes on this truck. I can do everything to the front disc brakes with one arm tied behind my back and a blindfold. I can't confidently get the rear ones adjusted right. I hate screwing with this axle seal issue. <end rant>
• Other issues... When wheeling in Colorado about 18 months ago, I broke the left front steering knuckle. I realized that the stacked donuts (2 1/2" Revtek kit and 1" Daystar spacer) that i had on the shocks were probably causing the suspension geometry to stress the ring at the top of the steering knuckle that holds the bottom part of the top uniball for the upper control arm. This is the 2nd time it has failed in the exact same place. I decided to replace the front suspension with Camburg SAWs. First, in order to get the desired lift, I torqued the ring on them up, and the ride sucked. I called Camburg, because their tech had said their stock coil for the Tundra would be plenty for my front bumper and winch (he was wrong). I asked about putting back the Daystar 1" spacer, and he cautioned me greatly to not do that, for the same reason I removed it in the first place. He said the tolerance was not there for 1". I shaved them down on a belt sander to about 3/8" and stuck them on top of the coilovers and got the desired lift and ride without compromising the suspension. :wings: There is a great war story that accompanied the trail repair of this steering knuckle damage. I'll get to that later, too. We typed it up on TTORA's Colorado forum and I'll get the link up here soon. LOL
• I've had a couple of axle failures on the front left side, too. With the manual hub conversion for the Tundra, the hub is replaced with a 1996 Tacoma hub and new bearings. This is all pressed into the stock steering knuckle and then a special outer CV joint with splines is installed on the axle half shafts. This is a weak link in the front drive train, as the axle shears off frequently when torqued too hard for whatever reason. The first time, it broke in the expected spot, where the snap ring holds it in the steering knuckle. The second time, the middle axle snapped just outside of the inner CV joint. I carry a spare and we replaced it the 2nd time IN THE FIELD, which makes for a good war story. I realized that the reason it was over-torquing, was that without the sway bar in place, my front left tire would stuff into the wheel well so far that it bound up. I replaced the sway bar, sacrificing some articulation for lower maintenance costs. LOL

That is all I can think of. I'll try to get some pics up soon of the fire extinguishers, etc.

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[RoundOut]

And we need to see some action shots of the Alpine Tundra out and about.

New trip coming soon. Will post up when I get back, or maybe while on the road if I get service on my air card. :elkgrin:


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[jim65wagon]

Thanks for the update G! It's always nice to see old friends are still out there alive and kicking. So, pics of your new mods, links to your WAR stories, and pics of your latest trip......I'll check back in 6 months:sombrero:

 

[Haggis]

So what's new? What have you been modding lately? And we need to see some action shots of the Alpine Tundra out and about.

New trip coming soon. Will post up when I get back, or maybe while on the road if I get service on my air card. :elkgrin:.

So...same question as before and still waiting for those action shots. The Tundrabird Nation needs an update and pics of one of it's most outstanding members. :elkgrin: