Done

Well thats enough of this. When I first heard we were doing blogs for class I was, for lack of better words, pissed. I did not want to do this at all. But after a couple of posts I felt a little more comfortable with it and I wasn't, as pissed. I have learned from this though, some things about my rig, but nothing I couldn't have learned more efficiently than reading forums and fixing my own truck. So will I continue to blog? NOPE, see ya later.

Parts Conspiracy

OK so it is not really a conspiracy because the companies are not doing anything illegal, but they are stealing our money. Any of you auto mechanics out there know most of the places to get parts for a decent price. Places like Advance Autoparts, Autozone, or Napa. All of these places do offer a great variety of parts for almost every vehicle, but there is a catch. Most of the parts are rebuilt and the ones that aren't are not built that well. Whenever they have a core charge on an item and you have to return the bad part to get the money, someday you could see that same part again. For example, brake drums; you buy some "new" ones from Advance Autoparts and slap them on. Then you return your old ones and get some money back. Now those old parts get shipped out companies that only rebuild core parts. Which means they could even get outsourced again to some other company. What I am getting at is do you think that the average Joe trying to make his quota cares about safety when rebuilding these. Some might get less treatment than others and that one part could be dangerous if it fails.
I have actually had this happen to me. My clutch master cylinder went bad and needed replacement. So I went to the closest parts store and purchased a rebuilt one, put it on, and thought everything was all better. The following day driving on the highway, my newly purchased master cylinder blew out resulting in a near accident. So what if this was my brake cylinder? I think that it could have been a lot worse.
So what do you do? I would suggest buying those special parts straight from the dealership. This means that they are more dependable and they will last much longer. Sure they are a bit more expensive but is your safety worth it? Smaller parts that are almost meant to be rebuilt such as alternators, are just right to buy from these other companies.

Toyota 8" Axle

The Toyota 8" axle is one that is famous not for its strength, but for its easy fix capabilities. Do not get me wrong though they are not a weak axle, with some upgrades you can make the front just as strong as a Dana 44(Chevy/CM axle). The stock front is notorious for having one weak point due to the fact that the front uses birfields at the knuckles instead of u-joints. The purpose for both of these is so that the front tires can turn. If you had an axle that was completely solid and straight, the only way you could go would be straight; but with joints it can change angles at the knuckles. Even this can be fixed though by getting the birfields replaced with u-joints like most other trucks use. The great thing about these axles is that any 8" third member whether from the front or rear will bolt up to any 8" axle. A third member is in the part of the axle that looks like a pumpkin; hence, it is called the pumpkin. It contains the gears that distribute the power from the drive-shaft to the tires. If you destroy your gears it is a very simple fix. Take any third member, say a v6 one from a 94, and it will bolt up to any front or rear 8" axle. This makes it very easy to replace entire housings and not have to worry about troubleshooting.
One thing that gets to a lot of Toyota fans is the fact that they stopped producing the Toyota 8" front axle after 1985. All of the 1986 and later models were converted to independent front suspension for better highway ride quality. This makes it a little bit more difficult to find the 1985 and earlier axle. So there is an abundance of third members and a lack of axles. This would make one think that they would be a more expensive axle; well they aren’t. They cost about 200-300 depending on the shape of the parts. So if you ever get a hold of a Toyota 8" front axle, keep it, do not sell it, you could get more out of it later on.
Another great quality that the Toyota 8" axles have is there high gearing. Having higher, which is bigger, gearing, makes it so that your engine doesn’t have to work as hard per tire rotation. So you can climb steeper angles with less effort. For most stock axles you will find a gearing of around 3:54:1. For stock Toyota axles you will normally find 4:10:1, which is a lot better. The V6 models even sometimes have 4:88:1 stock which is exceptional for off-roading. So overall this axle is tough, simple, and very easily maintainable. It is the right strength for the size vehicles that get ran on it and is definitely affordable. Would I say that Toyota did a good job on this axle? Yes they did a great job, but there are always things that can be better.

Help Me Choose My Next Big Step

So since I am underway with project rejuvenation, wich is simply doing more repairing and a lot less breaking, I have to start thinking about my next step toward earning it the name Toyzilla. I vowed that when my truck was big enough that I would name it Toyzilla and get a huge decal for my windshield with that on it. I feel that the last mod I need for this is a fresh set of tires. Now I have narrowed it down to the size and a couple of different tires but I wanted some input on what you think? Now for all of the choices I was going to get 38-39inch tall tire.

First is the Pitbull Rocker. The one word I would use to descripe this tire would be "monsterous." This is the ideal tire for rock crawling and mud slinging. It has a tough sidewall and unique tread pattern that is supposed to do amazing things offroad. Also, the price is relatively cheap for this quality tire. Sure like all great things there is a downfall though; there street ride is pretty bad and this would committ my truck to the trails and that is it. Which I don't really have a problem doing.

Next up is the TSL Super Swamper SX. Like the Pitbull tire this is an excelent offroad tire. It is a classic tire that has been around for a whyle now and has been axcelling ever since it was introduced. The price is midranged, and the road quality is sadly worse than the Pitbull's.

Lastly I chose the Michelin XZL. This is a military tire and of coarse it performs well, off the road. On the road they wear pretty quick. They are very puncture resistant and are the cheapest tire out of the three by far.

So those of you who read this comment on wich ones you like best and maybe that will help me in my decision.

Square Drive Shaft?

The driveshaft is and essential parts to making a vehicle move. Once the power moves from the engine to the transmission, it has to get to the axles. This is where the driveshaft comes in, usually it is a long cylinder made of metal that is balanced so that it can spin at high rates without wobbling. Notice I said usually; since I have done my solid axle swap with a Chevy Dana 44 instead of a Toyota axle, I can not go out and buy a stock Toyota driveshaft. This means that I am down a front driveshaft until I can get a custom one done. Tom Woods is the leading drive shaft specialist right now and I was quoted around $350 from them. After doing some research for cheaper alternatives I found that they can be made fairly easily. The supplies needed are five feet of 2.5" square tubing that is 1/4" thick; three feet of 2" square tubing that is 1/4" thick; U-joint attachment from a 1979 Chevy 1/2 ton; a CV joint from an 85 Toyota pickup/4runner. After all of this is collected the process is pretty simple. Measure from the flange to the u-bolts on the axle; subtract the CV, and u-joint length. Then make sure there is about 3-4" of compression room and 10-12 inches of slip. This is because when off road the suspension will flex up and down, which means the driveshaft has to be able to get longer, and shorter. After cutting the tubing, weld the U-joint attachment to the 2" tubing and the CV joint to the 2.5" tubing. Then you simply slide the smaller tubing into the larger tubing and bolt it up. Once this is all done you’ve got a cheaper, yet stronger driveshaft that will take whatever you can throw at it.
That is why I am going to be building one. There are many benefits and it will probably cost me around $100-150 to make. Hopefully I will have it done before the end of the class and I can post up the final product.

Whats next

Ok, since offroading is such a big topic and there are thousands of things to put on here for things that I already know, what I am going to do is present a list of subtopics that I feel I am adequately familiar with to the point that I feel I would get more out of learning about something else.
· Toyota makes and models-that is in what years did this model come out, or even particular parts.
· Suspension
· Basic maintenance
· Axles
· Drive train
· Tires
· Wheels
· Gear sizes
· Safety
· Mud-what to do and what not to do when traversing mud pits.
· Sand-the smart way to navigate beaches and deeper sand.
· Recovery-smart and safe ways to recover vehicles.
· Trail riding-navigation of basic off-road trails
· Customization
· Body work
· Water Crossings

There is still a plethora of information out there that I can and will access. Some of the major things that I would like to more about is, rock crawling, snow wheeling, setting ring and pinions, engine work, and troubleshooting. The places that I can get this information are all easily accessible, and I do it every day. Websites such as pavementsucks.com, pirate4x4.com, and yotatech.com have information for every subject that I could want, and them some.

Is This Art?

What is art? Does it have to be a painting? Does it have to be a sculpture? I'm sure that everyone realizes there is a lot more to art than just creating images on paper, or out of stone. To me art is taking something that you imagine and bring it to life so that others can share it with you. So, would you classify off road enthusiasts as artists? I most certainly would. When you can take a stock truck, imagine its potential, and then bring it to life; that is art.

There are many trucks out there that are big, sure, but it’s not until you start to incorporate your own ideas and custom work that it becomes art. For example, the truck you see below is big, clean, and looks well built. The only thing is that all of these modifications are all bought from companies, and anyone can get them. There are little to no original ideas.

Now the next truck is a creation from someone who looked at his truck as if it were a canvas. He incorporated his own ideas with a custom paint job, custom exocage, custom lights, and numerous other things. You can definitely tell by looking at it that there is no other truck out there like it. And the best part is that everything on the truck except for the paint, has a purpose. The lights are for better vision at night. The winch is for getting yourself or others unstuck. The steel cage around it is so that when there is a rollover, the truck remains intact. The big tires on this truck are for traction and axle clearance, while on the other truck they are purely aesthetic.

That is the difference between being an artist, or just having a big truck. Artists take what they have and add some metal tubing here and there to create these insane concoctions that perform great and in my opinion, look bad ass.