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View Full Version : Big-A's rig, "upgrades"


Big-A
02-09-2008, 09:18 AM
I am in the begining stages of some major upgrades on my rig in preparation for this summers wheeling season.

Heres a list of things to be completed in the next coming months on my truck......Matt (Tacochaser) will be helping me out with the panhard bar and hydro assist fabrication and install.

edit: due to the fact that people cannot reply in the garage folder just pm me if you have any questions.

1) Panhard Bar installation- I am tired of the poor handling and slop in the steering on the road so I am adding a panhard bar. Eventually I will be 3 linking my truck in the front and will need the panhard anyways.

2) Hydro assist- This is something I have been wanting to do for years but never had the time or money. I will post pics of the tapping of the steering box for the hyrdo lines as things progress. I am still doing research on hydro assist and collecting parts so wont be done until May or so.

3) New shocks

4) New battery tray for Optima red top- After my sac in 05 my battery tray support was weakened due to the placement of the steering box. It has been flopping around for years.....it has been held together by a bungee chord and just looks hoakie as hell. The new support will be tied into the frame directly below the battery tray.

5) Electrical relocation- I wll be installing a ATO/ATC Fuse Block System that will power my ARB compressor,rock lights, and other accesories.

6) rear disc brake conversion I will be converting the rear drums to discs. I plan on removing the e-brake cable at the axle housing and will be converting to manual/or possibly electric line locks for the rear.

7) Bed bob-I am considering to bob the double cab bed....yes I know the bed is already small enough but with my swingout I have more than enough room for all of my gear on long trips. The whole reason behind bobbing the bed is to get more/better departure angles and make it easier to manuever under certain extreme off road conditions. I understand the bumper will need to be modified.


Heres what the bed bob will more than likely look like finished. Thanks to Perry for the photoshop
http://pic70.picturetrail.com/VOL1809/9104823/18782926/303197405.jpg




Recent truck pics:
http://pic70.picturetrail.com/VOL1809/9104823/18782926/302437836.jpg

http://pic70.picturetrail.com/VOL1809/9104823/18782926/302439477.jpg

Big-A
02-10-2008, 11:23 PM
Today I got a little progress made and tapped my spare steering box for hydro assist. The procedure is pretty straight forward. It took me about 3 hours from start to finish.

Also when you are tapping your steering box it would be a good idea to replace worn or possibly damaged seals. I opted not to replace the seals because they looked fairly new on mine, which was odd.

First step remove the sector shaft. Some of the fluid will spill out so be prepared.
http://pic70.picturetrail.com/VOL1809/9104823/19019463/303473614.jpg

http://pic70.picturetrail.com/VOL1809/9104823/19019463/303473622.jpg

Then remove the 4 bolts on the input shaft.
http://pic70.picturetrail.com/VOL1809/9104823/19019463/303473616.jpg

Then I layed out where to install the fitting for the hydro assist lines. You can see here I made the mark on the "o" of the word Toyoda. There are other areas you can place the fitting but his is where I wanted it.
http://pic70.picturetrail.com/VOL1809/9104823/19019463/303473807.jpg


You can see where I drilled for the second fitting to go in this pic. This is located at the top of the steering box. You can also see the "vein" that I am tapping into. Its important to keep the metal shavings to a minimum while drilling the holes for the fitting. I found that a screwdriver with a magnetic tip was very helfull in collecting a large majority of the shavings.
http://pic70.picturetrail.com/VOL1809/9104823/19019463/303473817.jpg

Very helpfull tool
http://pic70.picturetrail.com/VOL1809/9104823/19019463/303474011.jpg

Dont be afraid to use plenty of cutting oil when drilling
http://pic70.picturetrail.com/VOL1809/9104823/19019463/303473834.jpg



After drilling you will want to make sure all of the shavings are cleared from the upper vein. I used a 12 gauge solid copper wire. And a stranded 12 gauge wire to clean the vein. Note: when you are drilling for the upper fitting you are essentially tapping into a "vein" it's important that you DO NOT drill past the vein and through the inner wall of the piston. That will ruin your steering box and the time you spent to get to that point.
http://pic70.picturetrail.com/VOL1809/9104823/19019463/303473824.jpg

When removing the input shaft housing be sure not to let the shaft spin away from the piston or this will happen. If this happens dont stress you can fix it. Go here and study http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=603023&p=7090374

http://pic70.picturetrail.com/VOL1809/9104823/19019463/303474024.jpg

After I installed the new fittings I noticed the fitting was partially obstructing the upper channel so I just drilled through the material and cleaned it out before continuing. Also I used red rtv sealant around the thread of the new fittings.
http://pic70.picturetrail.com/VOL1809/9104823/19019463/303474029.jpg

I used threadlocker on the upper part of the steering box
http://pic70.picturetrail.com/VOL1809/9104823/19019463/303474745.jpg

All tapped and ready for hydraulic assist,weeeeeeeeeeee!
http://pic70.picturetrail.com/VOL1809/9104823/19019463/303474748.jpg

Big-A
02-21-2008, 12:46 PM
I finally got my parts from Ballistic, so hopefully by the end of this week Matt and I will have the panhard in.

http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL2079/10258070/18412029/305202402.jpg

http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL2079/10258070/18412029/305202399.jpg

http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL2079/10258070/18412029/305202396.jpg



Heres what I ordered from Ballistic:
-(2) 3/4" Heims and jam nuts
-(4) misalignment spacers
-(2) tube adapters
- 5' of dom
-Upper panhard bar brackets

Osh-(2) 3/4"x4" Grade 8 bolts/washers/nuts/lock washers

Big-A
02-24-2008, 08:18 PM
I dont know how I went this long without having a panhard on my rig....what a night and day difference.

Matt fabed the brackets and welded everything!
http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL2079/10258070/19122918/305748552.jpg

Finished pic
http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL2079/10258070/19122918/305748541.jpg

http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL2079/10258070/19122918/305748547.jpg


http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL2079/10258070/19122918/305748543.jpg

http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL2079/10258070/19122918/305748541.jpg

I decided to throw wire wheel and add a fresh new coat of paint on everything. I also threw my new Bilsteins in and some new u-bolts since I had to pull the u-bolt plates off. Bling bling muutha fuckaaaa!!
http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL2079/10258070/19122918/305748561.jpg

all done for tonight.
http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1322/10351636/18956960/305750373.jpg



Next on the list will be the rear disc conversion, hydro assist and whatever else I can get to. I removed the e-brake cable and saved everything just in case.
http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1322/10351636/18956960/305750378.jpg