2000 Extended Cab Tacoma, mild, long-term overland build
- Thread starter mbrewer
- Start date
more photos related to the rollover
Here's the tow-truck pulling her out after it flipped her over... I'm in the the driver's seat steering. He's explaining exactly how he wants me to steer so he can line it up with his truck.
IMG_4477 by smalladventures photos, on Flickr
The road just a few minutes before I spun out.
IMG_4472 by smalladventures photos, on Flickr
Indeed!
Here's the tow-truck pulling her out after it flipped her over... I'm in the the driver's seat steering. He's explaining exactly how he wants me to steer so he can line it up with his truck.
IMG_4477 by smalladventures photos, on FlickrThe road just a few minutes before I spun out.
IMG_4472 by smalladventures photos, on FlickrOn the road again soon
It took a while to get the truck repaired because there just keep being more storms in North dakota. The power kept getting knocked out and stuff like that, but it's finally just about done. The engine's been checked (header pulled and cylinders checked for oil) and it runs fine. The roof has been pushed back up and a windshield installed. As I thought everything is structurally sound. The mirror should be replaced within a day or two.
The fun part has been trying to figure out the DMV stuff. It turns out that in MA the whole concept of salvage is irrelevant to the DMV on a vehicle over 10 years old. As a result there is NO extra paperwork to do. The regulations I found on the DMV site were not clear at all. It took me a lot of calls to figure this out, but finally I talked with a total loss representative at my insurance company and they said there's nothing to do. It's still legally registered, the title is legal, and liability is covered (I already dropped comprehensive and collision... since it's salvage and they won't pay out anyway).
Once the truck is back in a drivable state, there are a couple of other minor repairs we need to do. The cap needs a crack repaired in the back that I think is repairable with a standard fiberglass repair kit, either by me or a boat repair place or something. The roof-rack needs new towers, and may have other damage, I'll have to get a good look at it to figure that out. Lastly, I think the bed of the truck got bent outwards just a tiny bit, so I may need to bend that back with a ratchet strap or something. The passanger door window may not work, so we may end up just going to a junkyard and picking up a new door (thus undoing the effort to repair the mirror... oh well). Who knows though, maybe it'll work okay, or maybe I can take the door apart and make it work again.
So, after almost a month dealing with this, we should be back on the road in not too much longer ::crosses fingers::. We're in MA right now (came back to my parent's place for christmas), we'll book tickets back to ND, and chat with my friend in Wisconsin about hanging out for a couple of days to get things cleaned up, as soon as we hear the truck is fully repaired.
It took a while to get the truck repaired because there just keep being more storms in North dakota. The power kept getting knocked out and stuff like that, but it's finally just about done. The engine's been checked (header pulled and cylinders checked for oil) and it runs fine. The roof has been pushed back up and a windshield installed. As I thought everything is structurally sound. The mirror should be replaced within a day or two.
The fun part has been trying to figure out the DMV stuff. It turns out that in MA the whole concept of salvage is irrelevant to the DMV on a vehicle over 10 years old. As a result there is NO extra paperwork to do. The regulations I found on the DMV site were not clear at all. It took me a lot of calls to figure this out, but finally I talked with a total loss representative at my insurance company and they said there's nothing to do. It's still legally registered, the title is legal, and liability is covered (I already dropped comprehensive and collision... since it's salvage and they won't pay out anyway).
Once the truck is back in a drivable state, there are a couple of other minor repairs we need to do. The cap needs a crack repaired in the back that I think is repairable with a standard fiberglass repair kit, either by me or a boat repair place or something. The roof-rack needs new towers, and may have other damage, I'll have to get a good look at it to figure that out. Lastly, I think the bed of the truck got bent outwards just a tiny bit, so I may need to bend that back with a ratchet strap or something. The passanger door window may not work, so we may end up just going to a junkyard and picking up a new door (thus undoing the effort to repair the mirror... oh well). Who knows though, maybe it'll work okay, or maybe I can take the door apart and make it work again.
So, after almost a month dealing with this, we should be back on the road in not too much longer ::crosses fingers::. We're in MA right now (came back to my parent's place for christmas), we'll book tickets back to ND, and chat with my friend in Wisconsin about hanging out for a couple of days to get things cleaned up, as soon as we hear the truck is fully repaired.
Back on the road
We just drove from Bismark ND, to my friend's place near Madison WI (lots of driving on ice). Truck runs great, though it might need an alignment.
IMG_20170112_094608 by smalladventures photos, on Flickr
IMG_20170112_094652 by smalladventures photos, on Flickr
IMG_20170112_094715 by smalladventures photos, on Flickr
IMG_20170112_094621 by smalladventures photos, on Flickr
The roof of the cab took most of the damage. They shoved it back in to place and got a really solid seal around the window, but it definitely looks a little worse for the wear. I need to sand and repaint the spots that really got creased. The cab may rust through before the truck wears out now... oh well... if it does I'll have to either replace that sheet metal or do a cab swap, for now it works fine though.
The cap lost a few little chunks of fiberglass, no biggy, but I think I'll fill in the biggest hole just to keep water from getting in there, freezing, and opening things up wider. I might just mix up epoxy and shove it in there.
The most immediately problematic damage is a crack in the truck cap. Our theory is that we can repair this either with fiberfix or a standard fiberglass repair kit. It's an issue because the cap is twisting left, so the window doesn't close properly (as you can see here), and the structural integrity is an issue for remounting the roof rack. In theory it should be an easy fix. A major reason we headed for a friend's place is that our stuff has to go somewhere while we take it all apart and put it back together, so a garage is likely to be helpful. We need to get the rack back on the roof so we can sleep in the back again.
Other minor work we need to do includes checking the transmission and differential fluid levels, bending the bed sides back inwards maybe an inch, sanding and painting the dents on the body so they don't rust, remounting the right front signal properly, replacing/repairing the roof rack, replacing one storage box that got smashed, and replacing the radio antenna... but that's all minor stuff.
Not bad for having rolled a vehicle!
We just drove from Bismark ND, to my friend's place near Madison WI (lots of driving on ice). Truck runs great, though it might need an alignment.
IMG_20170112_094608 by smalladventures photos, on FlickrIMG_20170112_094652 by smalladventures photos, on FlickrIMG_20170112_094715 by smalladventures photos, on FlickrIMG_20170112_094621 by smalladventures photos, on FlickrThe roof of the cab took most of the damage. They shoved it back in to place and got a really solid seal around the window, but it definitely looks a little worse for the wear. I need to sand and repaint the spots that really got creased. The cab may rust through before the truck wears out now... oh well... if it does I'll have to either replace that sheet metal or do a cab swap, for now it works fine though.
The cap lost a few little chunks of fiberglass, no biggy, but I think I'll fill in the biggest hole just to keep water from getting in there, freezing, and opening things up wider. I might just mix up epoxy and shove it in there.
The most immediately problematic damage is a crack in the truck cap. Our theory is that we can repair this either with fiberfix or a standard fiberglass repair kit. It's an issue because the cap is twisting left, so the window doesn't close properly (as you can see here), and the structural integrity is an issue for remounting the roof rack. In theory it should be an easy fix. A major reason we headed for a friend's place is that our stuff has to go somewhere while we take it all apart and put it back together, so a garage is likely to be helpful. We need to get the rack back on the roof so we can sleep in the back again.
Other minor work we need to do includes checking the transmission and differential fluid levels, bending the bed sides back inwards maybe an inch, sanding and painting the dents on the body so they don't rust, remounting the right front signal properly, replacing/repairing the roof rack, replacing one storage box that got smashed, and replacing the radio antenna... but that's all minor stuff.
Not bad for having rolled a vehicle!
In Arkansas now, at an amazing rock-climbing area:
PANO_20170203_145725 by smalladventures photos, on Flickr
IMG_20170203_171221 by smalladventures photos, on Flickr
(I failed to get any photos of actually rock-climbing
)
We had a little trouble with the starter, it was sketching out on us in Wisconsin. When I turned the key it would just *click*, and nothing more, took maybe 5 or 6 attempts before the engine started. Then, one time it started and wouldn't stop trying to start, I turned off the engine and it was *still* trying to start. I turned it on and off again and it quit. Anyway, replacing the starter relay seems to have fixed it, we're getting good strong starts again on the first try. I actually gave a jump to some folks a couple of days ago when their engine wouldn't start in the cold.
Rollin' on!
PANO_20170203_145725 by smalladventures photos, on FlickrIMG_20170203_171221 by smalladventures photos, on Flickr(I failed to get any photos of actually rock-climbing
)We had a little trouble with the starter, it was sketching out on us in Wisconsin. When I turned the key it would just *click*, and nothing more, took maybe 5 or 6 attempts before the engine started. Then, one time it started and wouldn't stop trying to start, I turned off the engine and it was *still* trying to start. I turned it on and off again and it quit. Anyway, replacing the starter relay seems to have fixed it, we're getting good strong starts again on the first try. I actually gave a jump to some folks a couple of days ago when their engine wouldn't start in the cold.
Rollin' on!
surlydiesel
Adventurer
Fun adventure you're having. I would cruise craigslist and look for a replacement cap. You should be able to find one for a few hundred bucks and you'll know it's structurally sound.
Cheers,
Jorge
Cheers,
Jorge
@surlydiesel
I was worried about the cap being strong enough, but after chatting with the fiberglass guy, I'm convinced it's fine. The crack repair we did with fiberfix failed again, but I picked up a fiberglass repair kit and I'm going to do it again, crank it over with the ratchet strap, stand it down, and glue on a patch on either side. If I removed the window it'd be sure to hold (in fact, it'd be stronger than original), but I probably won't bother. I just want my window to close properly again is all... but honestly it's working fine anyway.
In other news, the starter relay didn't do it... Since we're on the road, and we're also at 92k so need a new timing belt, I had a shop in Arkansas do it. I ran the rest of the 90k service myself... looks like the steering rack bushings are a little old/worn, I can see some wiggle in the rack as I turn the wheel, but the steering still feels tight on the road, so I'm guessing it's still okay for now (if someone knows to the contrary I'm interested). The oil catch in the air intake was completely filled with oil from when we rolled it, dumped that out, wiped the intake out, and replaced the filter while doing the plugs. Trucks still running great... including going through some fairly deep puddles to get in and out of unofficial campsites out here. A 2WD taco with no lift and good tires could probably do it, but I wouldn't without a winch or buddies.
I was worried about the cap being strong enough, but after chatting with the fiberglass guy, I'm convinced it's fine. The crack repair we did with fiberfix failed again, but I picked up a fiberglass repair kit and I'm going to do it again, crank it over with the ratchet strap, stand it down, and glue on a patch on either side. If I removed the window it'd be sure to hold (in fact, it'd be stronger than original), but I probably won't bother. I just want my window to close properly again is all... but honestly it's working fine anyway.
In other news, the starter relay didn't do it... Since we're on the road, and we're also at 92k so need a new timing belt, I had a shop in Arkansas do it. I ran the rest of the 90k service myself... looks like the steering rack bushings are a little old/worn, I can see some wiggle in the rack as I turn the wheel, but the steering still feels tight on the road, so I'm guessing it's still okay for now (if someone knows to the contrary I'm interested). The oil catch in the air intake was completely filled with oil from when we rolled it, dumped that out, wiped the intake out, and replaced the filter while doing the plugs. Trucks still running great... including going through some fairly deep puddles to get in and out of unofficial campsites out here. A 2WD taco with no lift and good tires could probably do it, but I wouldn't without a winch or buddies.
Picture from the coast of Luisiana, camping on the beach.
IMG_20170225_134558 by smalladventures photos, on Flickr
This photo was taken a bit after I untied the tarp from the truck and went off to pull someone out of the sand who'd gotten stuck.
Angie decided we should go classy for valantines day, so we spent a weekend (about a week after valantines day) in a yurt.
IMG_20170220_133423 by smalladventures photos, on Flickr
We're now in Texas. We did do the fiberglass repair, just sanded it down and applied the new fiberglass as directed (we didn't sand it far enough down to make the final patch flat, whatever)... and that's been holding great. The rear window shuts all the way closed on it's own about half the time, no big deal to shove it a bit so it closes the rest of the way.
Last night I noticed a small leak around the front windshield, no surprise there... but the denting caused pant cracks that I didn't sand and paint because they were under the rubber seal around the windshield, and those are rusting. So, time to do a little research on pulling and re-installing window seals.. pretty sure I can seal up the leak with a bit of glue, it looks like it's just due to one deeper dent creating a nice route under the rubber seal.
This is month 11 of our trip... haflway through next month we'll be at a year on the road, and it's been awesome the whole way.
IMG_20170225_134558 by smalladventures photos, on FlickrThis photo was taken a bit after I untied the tarp from the truck and went off to pull someone out of the sand who'd gotten stuck.
Angie decided we should go classy for valantines day, so we spent a weekend (about a week after valantines day) in a yurt.
IMG_20170220_133423 by smalladventures photos, on FlickrWe're now in Texas. We did do the fiberglass repair, just sanded it down and applied the new fiberglass as directed (we didn't sand it far enough down to make the final patch flat, whatever)... and that's been holding great. The rear window shuts all the way closed on it's own about half the time, no big deal to shove it a bit so it closes the rest of the way.
Last night I noticed a small leak around the front windshield, no surprise there... but the denting caused pant cracks that I didn't sand and paint because they were under the rubber seal around the windshield, and those are rusting. So, time to do a little research on pulling and re-installing window seals.. pretty sure I can seal up the leak with a bit of glue, it looks like it's just due to one deeper dent creating a nice route under the rubber seal.
This is month 11 of our trip... haflway through next month we'll be at a year on the road, and it's been awesome the whole way.
IMG_20170429_084512 by smalladventures photos, on FlickrPictures never look as intense as the real thing
... Angie was driving, we've been camping above this spot in Gila National Forest out in New Mexico.We spent a couple of weeks out near Cloudcroft, mostly backpacking, but we got snowed on a couple of times.
IMG_20170329_203740 by smalladventures photos, on Flickr
IMG_20170401_115525 by smalladventures photos, on FlickrWe've been using the 4wd a LOT more since we got out west. The lift seemed silly out east, and now we use it almost daily. We hit Big Bend during spring break, and the place was mobbed, but they still had a few backcountry sites available. Our first site was down the one unmaintained dirt road they have... some of the more intense 4-wheeling I've done. As always I failed completely to get any good photos of the intense looking bits (think narrow roads with small washouts and cliff dropoffs), but I did get this completely tame looking photo from just before the big downhill
IMG_20170317_161214 by smalladventures photos, on FlickrAnd this one of the campsite we went to
IMG_20170317_195719 by smalladventures photos, on FlickrActually, between Cloudcroft and Gila, we decided to check out Vallez canyon, where there are some petroglyphs... turns out it's way out in the boonies. We hit a gate that said no trespassing, and while trying to figure out what to do this cowboy shows up with his dog riding a side-by-side. He was super sweet and actually drew us out a map. The way he directed us was pretty crazy. The hill down to it is intense, enough so that we actually stacked some rocks, just to be sure the truck wouldn't roll by accident... I actually botched at the bottom of the hill and hit the skid plate due to maxing out the entrance angle on a rock... oops! Trucks fine though, good times
.
IMG_20170416_155724 by smalladventures photos, on FlickrWe had to get the front rack bushings and lower A-arm bushings done... after looking it up I figured no way I was tackling that without a garage, cost a fortune by Jack is still running great... despite his rollover.
A couple other minor updates. A little while back truck threw a CEL, turns out if you roll your truck you should dump the oil-catch in the air intake, and then use some MAF cleaner... we ended up taking a beautiful side-trip from big-bend out to get some MAF cleaner, and that did the trick, no problems.
Window leak is still an issue, but meh.
With all the wheeling, we've been flexing the front a lot more, and it started catching my hack-job on the front fenders. So, I updated my hack-job a bit on the right side where we were having trouble, here's the result:
IMG_20170421_170238 by smalladventures photos, on FlickrLiberal use of a BFH (actually the pawl of an axe) and more cutting at the platic, and it's stopped catching. I was worried the seam would cut the tire, which is why it's hammered down like that. Bit of clearcoat over it to keep it from rusting.
New Mexico is amazing
.Gila Nationa Forest
While in Gila we ended up clearing a lot of downed trees to get to a trailhead where we wanted to start a backpacking trip. I think we cleared 7 or more, and a few of them were *big*... I could've really used a winch, but we got it done with the jerk strap.
Here's an easy one, I just lifted these off the road.
IMG_5470 by smalladventures photos, on Flickr
One of the worse ones we we had to roll partly by hand, here I'm using a large steel pipe as a lever to get it to roll. I didn't bring my log-roller when I hit the road, sadly.
IMG_5464 by smalladventures photos, on Flickr
Most of the larger ones we were able to clear with the truck.
IMG_5460 by smalladventures photos, on Flickr
This one gave us a little trouble though, I was in 4-wheel low with the rear diff locked, and I had to go forwards then jerk it and was able to drag it maybe 5 feet at a time.
IMG_5462 by smalladventures photos, on Flickr
Here's an easier one
IMG_5459 by smalladventures photos, on Flickr
We got through though, and that's what counts. It was a fun backpacking trip, though we got pretty cut up. One of the "trails" we took turned out to be nothing but a narrow washed out canyon full of loose rock, blowdowns, and thorns. Quite the adventure though.
While in Gila we ended up clearing a lot of downed trees to get to a trailhead where we wanted to start a backpacking trip. I think we cleared 7 or more, and a few of them were *big*... I could've really used a winch, but we got it done with the jerk strap.
Here's an easy one, I just lifted these off the road.
IMG_5470 by smalladventures photos, on FlickrOne of the worse ones we we had to roll partly by hand, here I'm using a large steel pipe as a lever to get it to roll. I didn't bring my log-roller when I hit the road, sadly.
IMG_5464 by smalladventures photos, on FlickrMost of the larger ones we were able to clear with the truck.
IMG_5460 by smalladventures photos, on FlickrThis one gave us a little trouble though, I was in 4-wheel low with the rear diff locked, and I had to go forwards then jerk it and was able to drag it maybe 5 feet at a time.
IMG_5462 by smalladventures photos, on FlickrHere's an easier one
IMG_5459 by smalladventures photos, on FlickrWe got through though, and that's what counts
. It was a fun backpacking trip, though we got pretty cut up. One of the "trails" we took turned out to be nothing but a narrow washed out canyon full of loose rock, blowdowns, and thorns. Quite the adventure though.Some car troubles.
After the steering rack and lower A-arm bushings we found the truck was pulling right a little... clearly they'd mucked up the alignment. It was a NAPA shop though so we took it to another NAPA shop and told them what was up.
That shop took a look and found out that our Tie-rod ends were bad, left inner and right outer. Okay fine, they replaced those.
But, the truck was still acting weird, under breaking it would pull right pretty hard. They told me it was because the shocks were bad and the truck was loaded unevenly, supposedly one shock was binding.
Sooo. I went on a trek all over town (We were in albuquerque at the time, sleeping in a nearby OHV park), looking for new front lift coilovers. I checked a few parts shops, then a 4-wheel parts store, and ended up at a shop that specifically does lifted vehicles, especially toyotas (called Maverick Auto, they are super awesome BTW). They didn't have any in stock.
BUT... the guy was suspicious of my story, he asked if he could take it for a drive, and within 10 minutes had found that the left inner tie-rod end was bad, he showed me how the left boot was flexing, and he said it was probably a bad part. He also said bull****, my shocks were a little worn but fine, and they can't cause pulling under breaking.
Okay, that work was again warrentied so I took it back to the other shop (who I now really didn't trust). They took a look and said no, it's the rack. They showed me it, sure enough it WAS under the boot, like the other guy had showed me, but the end of the rack was wobbling all over on the left side.
So, they replaced the rack, and credited me for the tie-rod ends and the alignment... fine.
Well... truck *still* pulled right under breaking, though not nearly as badly.
Alright, so I picked up some break cleaner and lubricant, took the front wheels off and went at it. I checked individually that all the pistons on the left caliper move, and then pushed them back in to place... nothing is frozen. I put everything back together. Truck still pulls right (though a little less than before)! I checked the rear drums (which the shop had adjusted) by pulling the e-brake, no pull... The trucks alignment is nearly perfect. The parts are solid. I tried wobbling the wheels, nothing budges. I also checked that the brake lines are all good (not dented) they all look undamaged.
Only a couple of possibilities left:
1) air in left brake line, though I've no idea when that would've happened. I'm going to bleed the left brake as my next step
2) left caliper is bad, in which case I should probably replace both (I'm guessing).
That's all I've got, though if anyone following this thread has advice I'm all ears.
Oh, interestingly, when I brake lightly it doesn't move, then I cross a threshold and suddenly the truck veers right, that's what made me think rear drums... is it possible for just the hydrolics to freeze in the rear drum, but have the e-brake still move the pad properly?
Love my truck, but this has been a serious headache. It's not horrible normally, but it could definitely cause a spinout in imperfect conditions, particularly while braking hard.
After the steering rack and lower A-arm bushings we found the truck was pulling right a little... clearly they'd mucked up the alignment. It was a NAPA shop though so we took it to another NAPA shop and told them what was up.
That shop took a look and found out that our Tie-rod ends were bad, left inner and right outer. Okay fine, they replaced those.
But, the truck was still acting weird, under breaking it would pull right pretty hard. They told me it was because the shocks were bad and the truck was loaded unevenly, supposedly one shock was binding.
Sooo. I went on a trek all over town (We were in albuquerque at the time, sleeping in a nearby OHV park), looking for new front lift coilovers. I checked a few parts shops, then a 4-wheel parts store, and ended up at a shop that specifically does lifted vehicles, especially toyotas (called Maverick Auto, they are super awesome BTW). They didn't have any in stock.
BUT... the guy was suspicious of my story, he asked if he could take it for a drive, and within 10 minutes had found that the left inner tie-rod end was bad, he showed me how the left boot was flexing, and he said it was probably a bad part. He also said bull****, my shocks were a little worn but fine, and they can't cause pulling under breaking.
Okay, that work was again warrentied so I took it back to the other shop (who I now really didn't trust). They took a look and said no, it's the rack. They showed me it, sure enough it WAS under the boot, like the other guy had showed me, but the end of the rack was wobbling all over on the left side.
So, they replaced the rack, and credited me for the tie-rod ends and the alignment... fine.
Well... truck *still* pulled right under breaking, though not nearly as badly.
Alright, so I picked up some break cleaner and lubricant, took the front wheels off and went at it. I checked individually that all the pistons on the left caliper move, and then pushed them back in to place... nothing is frozen. I put everything back together. Truck still pulls right (though a little less than before)! I checked the rear drums (which the shop had adjusted) by pulling the e-brake, no pull... The trucks alignment is nearly perfect. The parts are solid. I tried wobbling the wheels, nothing budges. I also checked that the brake lines are all good (not dented) they all look undamaged.
Only a couple of possibilities left:
1) air in left brake line, though I've no idea when that would've happened. I'm going to bleed the left brake as my next step
2) left caliper is bad, in which case I should probably replace both (I'm guessing).
That's all I've got, though if anyone following this thread has advice I'm all ears.
Oh, interestingly, when I brake lightly it doesn't move, then I cross a threshold and suddenly the truck veers right, that's what made me think rear drums... is it possible for just the hydrolics to freeze in the rear drum, but have the e-brake still move the pad properly?
Love my truck, but this has been a serious headache. It's not horrible normally, but it could definitely cause a spinout in imperfect conditions, particularly while braking hard.
Last edited:
Aaalright, so truck was still pulling right. We were tired of dealing with ****ty shops, so went looking for some place with really good reviews. We found a shop in Durango that looked promising, so started working our way over there.
Turns out our route accidentally included the southern side of the Alpine Loop in Colorado. Neither of us had noticed this (we'd just routed it stairing at a map) until we got there. Someone had told us you needed a Jeep to do it, and we'd have wheelbase problems.
They were full of it. We had a great time and no trouble. In fact, it's actually a very easy trail compared to what we do daily... the only issue was that our cheepo all-pro front-suspension makes for a bit of a rough ride for my girlfriend's liking on that long a stretch of road... but hey, it works.
IMG_20170527_154836 by smalladventures photos, on Flickr
IMG_20170527_155020 by smalladventures photos, on Flickr
Anyway, we made our appointment in Durango and after telling them our story they took a look. They called me back telling me the right rear brake was locking up. The previous shop we'd been to had supposedly tightened them, and apparently had done so too much. I'd checked the left-rear already, thinking maybe it was a frozen hydrolic there, but hadn't checked the right rear. They fixed that, but it still pulled right.
Next, they took it for a test drive and found that the front disks were different temperatures after braking, and concluded it needed new calipers. Okay, makes sense, so they replaced the calipers and the two brake disks were now the same temperature. Great! But... it still right.
Looking at it, they found that the shop that did our lower a-arm bushings had done something seriously weird with them. I'd gotten suspicious that this might be the case. It looks like they replaced some washers and stuff, but not the actual bushings... one of the bushings actually had a small chunk missing! It was quite easy to see.
So, today that shop is replacing the lower A-arm bushings.
I'm strongly suspicious that the first shop didn't do much of what we'd asked them to do (and payed them for). Based on the alignment afterwards it looks like they didn't align the truck, and based on looking at the bushings, they didn't replace the bushings. So, my theory is that the first shop did do the rack bushings, but also *broke* the rack while doing that work (since it the truck had been fine before that just loose steering, that's when things went wonky). Second shop replaced the tie-rode ends, but weren't bright enough to figure out that the rack was broken, overtightened the right rear brake drum, never checked the brake temperature, and blamed everything on my suspension. It's good to finally be at a shop that's actually fixing my problems... We're at something like $5k in to trying to fix this! Something like $500 for the rack bushings $1000 for the A-arm bushings first time, $1000 for new tie-rod ends $1000 for new rack, $500 for new front calipers, $1000 for new A-arm bushings (again). FYI, the good shop is Durango Brake and Muffler. Nice folks!
Of my 3 guesses (I'd added one after my last post, the rear drum, but thought I eliminated it by checking the left rear brake)... it was all 3... Damn.
Good news is that I'll have nearly a complete front-end rebuild when this is done, so hopefully the truck will be good for some time to come.
Turns out our route accidentally included the southern side of the Alpine Loop in Colorado. Neither of us had noticed this (we'd just routed it stairing at a map) until we got there. Someone had told us you needed a Jeep to do it, and we'd have wheelbase problems.
They were full of it. We had a great time and no trouble. In fact, it's actually a very easy trail compared to what we do daily... the only issue was that our cheepo all-pro front-suspension makes for a bit of a rough ride for my girlfriend's liking on that long a stretch of road... but hey, it works.
IMG_20170527_154836 by smalladventures photos, on FlickrIMG_20170527_155020 by smalladventures photos, on FlickrAnyway, we made our appointment in Durango and after telling them our story they took a look. They called me back telling me the right rear brake was locking up. The previous shop we'd been to had supposedly tightened them, and apparently had done so too much. I'd checked the left-rear already, thinking maybe it was a frozen hydrolic there, but hadn't checked the right rear. They fixed that, but it still pulled right.
Next, they took it for a test drive and found that the front disks were different temperatures after braking, and concluded it needed new calipers. Okay, makes sense, so they replaced the calipers and the two brake disks were now the same temperature. Great! But... it still right.
Looking at it, they found that the shop that did our lower a-arm bushings had done something seriously weird with them. I'd gotten suspicious that this might be the case. It looks like they replaced some washers and stuff, but not the actual bushings... one of the bushings actually had a small chunk missing! It was quite easy to see.
So, today that shop is replacing the lower A-arm bushings.
I'm strongly suspicious that the first shop didn't do much of what we'd asked them to do (and payed them for). Based on the alignment afterwards it looks like they didn't align the truck, and based on looking at the bushings, they didn't replace the bushings. So, my theory is that the first shop did do the rack bushings, but also *broke* the rack while doing that work (since it the truck had been fine before that just loose steering, that's when things went wonky). Second shop replaced the tie-rode ends, but weren't bright enough to figure out that the rack was broken, overtightened the right rear brake drum, never checked the brake temperature, and blamed everything on my suspension. It's good to finally be at a shop that's actually fixing my problems... We're at something like $5k in to trying to fix this! Something like $500 for the rack bushings $1000 for the A-arm bushings first time, $1000 for new tie-rod ends $1000 for new rack, $500 for new front calipers, $1000 for new A-arm bushings (again). FYI, the good shop is Durango Brake and Muffler. Nice folks!
Of my 3 guesses (I'd added one after my last post, the rear drum, but thought I eliminated it by checking the left rear brake)... it was all 3... Damn.
Good news is that I'll have nearly a complete front-end rebuild when this is done, so hopefully the truck will be good for some time to come.
Last edited:
Anyone ever heard you could reseat a tire using a ratchet strap and a small compressor? Yup you can!
IMG_6044 by smalladventures photos, on Flickr
We totally trashed one of our valve stems recently, presumably off-roading, though I actually don't know, it took a while before I noticed the tire losing air. Anyway, we crushed the tip
IMG_6034 by smalladventures photos, on Flickr
And cracked it completely open on the side
IMG_6033 by smalladventures photos, on Flickrl
Air whooshed out when I pulled it to the side like that.
But, we picked up a valve stem puller and a new valve stem, unseated the tire by driving over it (after trying a couple other things that didn't work). pulled out the old stem, stuck in the new one, reseated the tire as shown above, and viola!
In other news, the roof rack we built had a minor flaw. The bars were sliding through the fiberfix. To fix this we drilled the crossbar and bracket below it using a hand-crank drill I had in the truck (much patience required, but it works). Then we ran 1/4" bolts through it, no more sliding!
Here's a pic before going up in to the mountains snow backpacking a few weeks ago... the snowshoes got used a LOT on very deep snow
IMG_20170606_102239 by smalladventures photos, on Flickr
And one from the 4-pass loop we did a couple of days ago (accidentally did it in 2 days, beautiful and amazing)
IMG_20170712_130250 by smalladventures photos, on Flickr
And lastly, because this is the kind of thing that I should post on this thread, here's a photo of the truck at a recent campsite in Colorado
IMG_20170713_201019 by smalladventures photos, on Flickr
IMG_6044 by smalladventures photos, on FlickrWe totally trashed one of our valve stems recently, presumably off-roading, though I actually don't know, it took a while before I noticed the tire losing air. Anyway, we crushed the tip
IMG_6034 by smalladventures photos, on FlickrAnd cracked it completely open on the side
IMG_6033 by smalladventures photos, on FlickrlAir whooshed out when I pulled it to the side like that.
But, we picked up a valve stem puller and a new valve stem, unseated the tire by driving over it (after trying a couple other things that didn't work). pulled out the old stem, stuck in the new one, reseated the tire as shown above, and viola!
In other news, the roof rack we built had a minor flaw. The bars were sliding through the fiberfix. To fix this we drilled the crossbar and bracket below it using a hand-crank drill I had in the truck (much patience required, but it works). Then we ran 1/4" bolts through it, no more sliding!
Here's a pic before going up in to the mountains snow backpacking a few weeks ago... the snowshoes got used a LOT on very deep snow
IMG_20170606_102239 by smalladventures photos, on FlickrAnd one from the 4-pass loop we did a couple of days ago (accidentally did it in 2 days, beautiful and amazing)
IMG_20170712_130250 by smalladventures photos, on FlickrAnd lastly, because this is the kind of thing that I should post on this thread, here's a photo of the truck at a recent campsite in Colorado
IMG_20170713_201019 by smalladventures photos, on Flickr
changingground
Member
Looks like a great adventure. My hat is off to ya both!
Similar threads
