Topic: What have you done for your Rig lately.

[Jayrat]

Always looking good, Joe

[Gunslinger2N]

J,
  What size is that? And why did you pick the driver side as apposed to the passenger side?

[JFanaselle]

J,
  What size is that? And why did you pick the driver side as apposed to the passenger side?

It's the ARB 2000 model, which is just over 6 feet wide and just under 8 feet deep when deployed (2000mm x 2500mm). Their other option flips the canvas direction, so it's 8 feet wide by 6 feet deep.

As far as driver vs. passenger side - I had it mounted on my previous setup and opted for the driver side because I kept the hi-lift jack on the passenger side. I figured I only deploy the awning when I'm out camping or in the middle of no-where, so I don't really worry about street side vs. curb side. The jack, on the other hand, could be needed in many situations, even to change a flat on the highway, so it was better to keep it on the curb side of the vehicle. Now that I've had it on the driver side for so long, I love it there. When I'm camping and I'm just hanging out or cooking or whatever under it, it's nice to be next to the driver's side door to turn on the radio or start the engine (if I'm using my inverter for anything), etc.

[Gunslinger2N]

Makes sense.... thats the one I was looking at (2000 x 2500) for mine. Just wanted to make sure i didn't miss anything. I did get the foretreks mounts so i could swap it back and forth if I find it better on one side or the other.

[TurboChris]

Got my ARB awning mounted up to the new Front Runner rack

Man your truck is looking good. Giving me a serious case of Xterra envy.

[SuperSlideStyle]

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[G.B.H.]

Automotive rhinoplasty. New radiator, aluminum bumper and a winch. Still have some tweaking to do on it but liking it so far.

G.B.H.

[JFanaselle]

Looking good! You're going to LOVE the aluminum bumper, I certainly love mine. Do yourself a favor though and grab some shackles to mount that winch hook, instead of just attaching it to the shackle hole like that. You can get the Smittybilt ones for like $10 a piece, and they work just fine. People will tell you not to leave them on your rig all the time, because they'll seize up. I just periodically unscrew them and spray a little WD-40 on the threads, and I be sure to carry an extra one or two along with my recovery gear so that I can always attach another one to the ones on the bumper if they do seize up when I need them.

https://www.amazon.com/Smittybilt-13047B-D-Ring-Shackle-Threaded/dp/B001CF1A6U/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1546306606&sr=8-4&keywords=smittybilt+shackle

[G.B.H.]

I picked up the computer just now to look at shackles and find out the size of the shackle pins for the bumper then thought I would check here while I'm at it.   

Did you have any alignment issues when installing? One of the bumper supports had no extra play at all. The whole bumper should go about a quarter inch to the passenger side but can't and if I mounted the bumper on the outside of the support it would be exactly the opposite. Barely noticeable but now I have to trim the grill a bit to get it to snap back on properly. Again, when I finish I will probably be the only one who notices but it would be nice if I didn't have to.

G.B.H.

[JFanaselle]

Yeah, mine is about 1/8" toward the driver side as well. My 2010 has the grill that tapers off toward the bottom vs. yours which is wider on the bottom, so I've only ever noticed the difference if I compare the amount of bumper that sticks out wider than the fender on each side. I really only noticed it for the first couple of days, then never noticed it again and no one has ever said a word about it. I also have a slightly larger gap below one of the headlights than the other (can't remember off the top of my head which side has the larger gap, but I think it's the driver side). This is more noticeable, but still not really a problem at all. I honestly never knew if my front end was slightly tweaked, or if the bumper is just built slightly misaligned. I did have a few pretty intense "smash the front end against the ground" incidents in the desert before I upgraded my suspension back in the day. I can remember one instance specifically on my first Mojave Road trip where I hit a good sized dip going about 70 mph across Soda Lake. My misalignment issues could be related to that. 

[x4dblduty]

Finally got my SPC UCAs and Radflos installed, about 2.5" lifted Of course had to cut the UCA driver side bolt and ground off part of the coil buckets. Took us 5 hrs, can't complain. Best tools PB Blaster and breaker bar Surprising tho, didn't need to install LCA camber bolts, alignment still w/in specs, camber right around 0 deg. Yeah!

[3rdhandedX]

I saw this off some member at TNX forum and thought it was worth doing . 4 chinese led ambers were hella cheap and it came out pretty good  [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]

[JFanaselle]

That does look pretty good

[G.B.H.]

So I've built the framework for my storage system. Looking to put a drawer on the left to start and keep the right a cubby hole and access to the well. The frame weighs less than I thought, which is good but I want to keep it low weight. Any ideas on how to make a sturdy light weight drawer? Would love aluminum or something like that but that is out of my skill set. Ideas? Opinions?

[JFanaselle]

My rig just turned over 103,000 miles, but since it's really just a recreational fun/vehicle now (as I have a different car for DD/commuting), the last 30k or so has just been off-roading and camping trips. So I am finally starting to take care of some maintenance items and a few repairs that I've needed for some time now.

A couple of weekends ago, I removed the intake manifold plenum and changed the spark plugs. Pretty straight forward project. I've seen the threads on TNX about using 15 swivel/wobble extensions with a magnetic spark plug socket and bribing your kid with a cookie to use his tiny hands and remove the bolts on the coils. But I found a great video on YouTube that walked through the process of changing them out the "right" way (removing the plenum), and decided it was actually easier for me and my fat hands. The whole project took about 2 hours, which included some time spent cleaning the throttle body (which badly needed it). I think I may pull the intake back apart and clean the TB a little better, using some purpose-specific cleaning spray and a soft bristle brush.

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Then this past weekend, I changed out the uniball bearings on my PRG upper control arms, as the driver side one was failing and had been making a "clunk" sound (with up and down play in the wheel). Not a terrible project. The UCAs come off really easy compared to the rest of the suspension components. The biggest issue I ran in to was the spacers on the driver side arm seizing up in the uniball that I was trying to remove. I ended up spraying the hell out of them with penetrating oil and chewed them up pretty good with vice grips and channel locks before I got them free. Kind of wish I could have just ordered new spacers along with the new bearings. Wrestling with the snap ring was also kind of fun. I had a pair of cheap Harbor Freight snap ring pliers, which broke before I even got the ring out of the first side. So I was stuck monkeying around with a pair of thin needle noise pliers and a small screwdriver, which got the job done but took a little time. I cleaned up the UCA really good with some fine sandpaper and put the new bearings inside the freezer for a day and a half. A dab of anti-seize lube and they tapped right in nice and easy.

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Next up on the list: The failing steering rack is being replaced. Probably going to tackle it this weekend. While I'm in there and tearing everything apart, I'm also replacing the LCAs (the boots are ripped on both of my current ball joints) and wheel bearings. Then I'll take it over to my local shop for an alignment, and hopefully have a nice tight front end again for a while (that's what she said). I also have a new belt/tensioner pulley/idler pulley kit that I'll be throwing on at some point.

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