Finally - a mod thread of my own!

[bootzilla]

Bootzilla's Mod thread (renamed!)

It is about time I got down to some business - took me long enough!

Superwinch hubs went in over the weekend - double thumbs up! Takes so much unsprung weight and extra drag off of the driveline, and I am positive that the rpm's are a little lower now at 70mph! And they save wear on the CV joints, too - can't go wrong.

Swapped out the radio for a JVC HDRadio unit a few weeks ago

Next up is getting tint done - not the most road-worthy mod, but it will keep the doggie from roasting on road trips. :sunny:

Pics to come soon - if you want to see what the hubs look like - just check out Zaphod's thread - they look like that.

 

[photoleif]

cool! good move on the hubs. you may also notice a slightly better turning radius as well. also everything is a bit quieter in mine. w00t

 

[Scott Brady]

All right Todd! Now post some pics

 

[bootzilla]

The 40 days and 40 nights of rain we were getting here prevented any decent pics - but I will take some Saturday and post 'em up.

I took my original shots when I bought it and put them up on a cheesy-template website provided by my mostly-reliable DSL service - link is in sig, not much there yet...

 

[bootzilla]

And unintended addition to the mod list...

The Trooper justr got me home last night when the battery died

So...Optima Red-Top went in tonight.

For anybody considering - I got part number 75/35, and if you use the included height-spacer (comes as a kinda 'lid' attached to the top of the battery when you buy it), it fits the late-model Trooper battery tie-down bracket perfectly - same height as stock!

It was dark when I put it in - I'll shoot pics of the Hubs, stereo, Optima, and tint tomorrow morning when I get back from the tinting shop...

 

[bootzilla]

Ok, lets give this a try...

Hubs:

Optima Red-top - fits great!

Tint (looks really good, but I have to get a couple panels redone, I think one of the guys as new or something)

Isuzu dealer-accessory Yakima rack can be seen in that one, too

 

[kevin]

Looking Good! I can't tell from the picture but it looks like the roof rack is attached directly to the factory rail slot, that is a much cleaner look than what I have found before. Most of the rack systems I have looked at have a metal clip that extends into the door opening, and the doors weather striping closes against it. I was considering building a rack for my Trooper but could not find a way to atach it to the rail slots. Perhaps I could buy just the feet through the dealer. It is good to see some other Troopers here, keep us posted.

 

[Willman]

Pics not working!!! The pics were a red X for me!!! I'm missing out on the love here!!..lol

 

[Willman]

Now they're working...weird!!!

 

[bootzilla]

The website hosting the pick is my DSL provider, and I have found that about 20% of the time, it likes to display the infamous red X instead of the pics - then you refresh - and magically they appear - it is very strange, and about as reliable as the DSL service itself, heh heh...

You're right about the rails, Kevin - there are brackets that bolt to factory mounts that are in the rain gutters (below the weatherstripping on the roof), then there as brackets that bolt to the mounts, and the Yakima feet slide right on.

The only negative is that the feet are plastic - which is dissapointing. Because it was designed as a ski-rack, there are warnings on the mounts to not load more than 50 pounds on them.

I put a Thule Excursion box on top for my trip this week (box is pretty light, only 23 pounds or so). I didn't put too much in it, just some light bulky items and a few small bags - and it had no problems on the 10-hour drive - I think that the 50 pound rating is conservative (I've read about others loading more on those rails and having no problems).

They look very clean and make almost no wind noise - I was going to take them off after my trip, but I might just leave 'em up there.

And for anyone who has just the factoy mirror-type tint on your Trooer - go light with the aftermarket stuff! I can't see a darn thing when it gets dark out - it looks absolutely killer, but I am going to have to have them make it lighter - the back windows look like a jet-black lomi-tint, and the front ones are really hard to see into - great for privacy, but bad for night-vision...not to mention the undue attention it could draw from the local constable...

 

[datrupr]

Looking Good! I can't tell from the picture but it looks like the roof rack is attached directly to the factory rail slot, that is a much cleaner look than what I have found before. Most of the rack systems I have looked at have a metal clip that extends into the door opening, and the doors weather striping closes against it. I was considering building a rack for my Trooper but could not find a way to atach it to the rail slots. Perhaps I could buy just the feet through the dealer. It is good to see some other Troopers here, keep us posted.

Kevin, if you pull up the trim along the roof, there are six holes on each side of the roof that are there for the non NA spec Troopers that got rack mounts automatically. The Thule and Yakima racks from the dealer are a bit spendy, so be ready for it. I found a guy selling his 99 Trooper and he had the Isuzu Yakima towers, so I bought them off of him. As soon as they come in I can mount my basket and lights. Also, be carefull pulling off the strip from the roof, try not to break the plastic clips, and after the towers are on, the strip will go back down over the mounts.

 

[bootzilla]

I've been savin' - now it is finally time to spend a little :box:

Starting out small - picked up a shorty shovel and an air compressor, since I will be driving on the beach next week - just a heads-up if you are looking for a cheap, good quality air compressor - Pep Boys has the Superflow MV-50 (packaged as the Masterflow MF-1050) on sale - $10 off, then you can mail in a $10 rebate on top of that for $20 total savings through Aug 26th.

Tomorrow the Yokohama Geolanders A/T II's go on. Price and availability forced me to go 265/70, but they will give me an extra 1/2 inch lift over stock, and will look and perform a lot better than my worn out Bridgestone's. Pics to come when it is done tomorrow afternoon!

I think Pro Comps are on deck next

 

[flyingwil]

Tomorrow the Yokohama Geolanders A/T II's go on. Price and availability forced me to go 265/70, but they will give me an extra 1/2 inch lift over stock, and will look and perform a lot better than my worn out Bridgestone's. Pics to come when it is done tomorrow afternoon!

I think Pro Comps are on deck next

Pro Comp what? They make a lot of things... Looking forward to the Pics!

 

[bootzilla]

Heh heh - good point there. I forget that Pro Comp makes lots of cool stuff...just not for Troopers. They do make shocks that fit, though - and I was thinking of a set of Pro Comp ES9000's to replace the overly-bouncy stock shocks.

I wanted to do OME 912 springs at the same time, to get a little touch of extra lift - but I had to get the Troop aligned when I put had the tires put on, so I will wait a little bit - seems like a waste to get it aligned twice in a row after cranking the t-bars.

The Geolanders look great - I'll snap a pic tomorrow. I am not a big fan of them yet on the road - they are rougher and a tad louder than the Bridgestone Duelers, and they feel much heavier on the road - I addded a few pounds of air and they felt somewhat better, so I am sure once I play with the pressures a little bit, I can get them where I like them.

I am headin' to the outer banks this weekend, so we'll give 'em a better test out on the beach. :sunny:

 

[bigreen505]

I'm guessing the ProComps will be a good fit given the weight of the Trooper. I have them on the Pathfinder and hate them untill the truck is fully loaded, then they start to feel good. On the Trooper my Rancho 9000x shocks are dialed all the way stiff and even on an empty truck I wish they were a bit stiffer, even running OME 919 springs.