Tag: On-Road

4x4, On-Road

More Tundra maintenance updates

I haven’t made a post like this since last year so I figured that I was due for another one of these. I have had two oil changes with different brands just to see how the engine oil analysis results would come out, had some of the Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF) changed out, swapped out the u-joints on the front driveshaft, and had to have corrective maintenance performed for the first time ever when the passenger side rear wheel bearing started to go out. My heart just sank when I saw gear oil smeared on the brake backing plate. I can’t complain too much since nothing else has actually required repair or replacement on a 2008 model year truck. Anyway, here are the reports from men smarter than myself and associated photos.

Valvoline 0W/20 Oil Analysis:

Castrol Edge 0/W20 Oil Analysis:

Toyota World Standard ATF oil analysis:

The bearing seal just sort of disappeared off of one of the bearing caps on the front driveshaft forward u-joint so I had both replaced.

I was curious about how fat the truck had gotten over time so I went to a weigh station:

Lastly, here’s the part that makes me sad. $1200 later I had the wheel bearing replaced at Toyota of El Cajon.

4x4, Off-Road, On-Road

Miscellaneous Truck updates

It’s been a while since I’ve posted some progress updates on the truck build so here it goes. The following is a short list of components I’ve changed out and a few maintenance items performed:

I had approximately four quarts of automatic transmission fluid changed out and did an oil change with fine lab results.

I replaced one Blue Sea Systems fuse block with the higher capacity Safety Hub 150. The Safety Hub 150 is rated for up to 280A and allows the use of higher current/interrupt rated MIDI®/AMI® fuses in addition to smaller ATO/ATC fuses. I also finally got around to covering up the exposed “hot” points on the isolation breaker, upgraded a few ground wires and replaced the Odyssey Group 34R battery with a NorthStar 27F battery.

After giving the exhaust a few love taps on a trail recently I had a new pipe welded onto the end of the muffler. There’s so much more clearance this way…

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I replaced the Rigid LED flood lights with a Vision X Light Cannon. This light is simply amazing!

After putting enough dents into the rear bumper is was time to get a new-to-me bumper off of craigslist for $80 and replace the disgusting chrome with some satin black spray paint.

DSCF6310

Those are all of the updates for now, what’s your favorite truck mod?

4x4, Off-Road, On-Road

Rubberized undercoating removal, part two

A few weeks ago I typed up a post about cleaning up the frame of my truck and am posting a quick update. I took off the front skid plate and proceeded to alternate between working on the front and rear ends of the frame. I spent some more time chemically dissolving the rubberized goop previously applied to the frame, used a lot of wire wheels and flap discs, and spent so much time cleaning all to spend just a small fraction of the total time actually laying down any paint. In an endeavor such as the one I’m am working on the preparation work is what is the most important. Here are the photos of the forward end (before):

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During:

After:

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I only took a few photos of the rear:

I’ll post up some more progress photos, a few opinion pieces, and another soldering video soon!

On-Road

Coronado Bridge drive and Tidelands Park

Good evening everybody, tonight’s post is just about the most recent photos and videos I took from the Coronado Bridge and Coronado Tidelands Park on the eastern side of the island. The ride up and down the Coronado Bridge is awe inspiring and quite beautiful at all times of the day and is well worth your time if you ever pass through San Diego. Bridge traffic to and from Naval Base Coronado can be terrible from about 0500-0800 and 1500-1800 on a weekday so be sure to avoid the bridge at those times. The Coronado Tidelands Park is a quite and calming place to spend the afternoon and I’ll have to take my bicycle and explore island and Silver Strand in a more personal way. I’ll leave a few photos below and you can enjoy the rest of them on the dedicated page here!

Automotive, On-Road

San Diego drivers

I’ve compiled a short video of some of the more interesting (and scary) driving techniques that I’ve observed in San Diego over the last few months. Bad things happen when you: tailgate, drive too fast for slick roads, never yield, and in general drive like a jagoff. Unlike the majority of bad driving compilations that you’ll find online this is actually original content from my own dashcam (SpyTec A119). Maybe there’s something that you or someone you know can learn and take away from this short video. Or perhaps you’ll simply get a few laughs out of it. Either way, enjoy!

4x4, On-Road

Winter in San Diego County

During February a large cold front passed through California and brought an unusual amount of snow to the mountains east of San Diego with snow level down to about 2000 feet. I decided to head east on I-8 and up towards Sunrise Highway/Mount Laguna to see what kind of chaos the roads would be in due to a few inches of snow. The freeway was full of people: stuck on the side of the road, in the middle of the road, motorist driving with their hazard lights on continuously, heavy trucks that hit each other, and seemingly confirmed all of the bad driving tropes about Southern California. Sunrise Highway (S-1) offered a far different experience and was almost empty. I passed very few other motorists and only a single stuck vehicle. The snow was coming down harder, the temperature was lower, and I had an amazing time up on Mount Laguna.

I stopped around the peak at Mount Laguna to throw some snowballs and take a few photos. All was quite, all was calm, and all was cold that night on Mount Laguna. There were CHP Officers at the southern end of Sunrise Highway who stopped anyone who either: drove a car without chains installed or had a 4×4 truck without chains with them. Usually when there’s a few inches of snow it’s too crowded to head up to the Laguna Range but the heavy storm kept most away. It was a wonderful time and I hope that you enjoy the videos!

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Fox 5 San Diego-Storm brings Mount Laguna heaviest snowfall in years

4x4, Automotive, Guam

A Short Drive Through Turner Road

Hello everybody, once again I’m posting up some videos of a few short drives through Guam and its wonderful landscape. Turner Road breaks off from Route 6 near the top of Nimitz Hill and allows you to see both sides of the island very easily. The dirt road at the end offers access to numerous mud-bog trails, biking and hiking trails, and stunning vista points from the center of the isle of Guam. I have to leave the island soon and can no longer afford to get my truck dirty but I may take some more pictures of the area from a few bike rides. Enjoy!

 

 

 

Sometimes I just wish that my truck had some Super Swampers on it…

Guam, On-Road

Southern Island Drive

Good evening everybody, all I have for today are some videos showcasing the southern half of the isle of Guam as the Sun was setting. It really is a wonderful drive and I might have to try it on my bicycle at some point before I leave. Editing and uploading all of these videos in 1080p resolution reminded me why I switched to dealing with 720p videos though; the files just get so large. Anyway, I hope that you enjoy this virtual tour!

Bonus video: