The Land Yacht 2.0 - Army Green TRD Pro Build

Looking good man!!

 

Thanks bud!

 

Nitrogen Kit Ordered. Found the coupon code POLYFB10 for polyperformance.com and splurged on the aluminum bottle.

Seems like things are starting to fall into place for the full install next week.

 

And just got word from the powdercoater that the spindles are done.

 

Love this build thread, couldn't stop appreciating the attention to detail. Just curious, did you work for Toyota in longbeach and then take a position at TMMI?

 

Appreciate the comments. Main intent of the build thread is to keep track of the changes over time and post wheeling pics. The fact that you guys actually read this is pretty cool. Too many projects in my past that I’ve built and let go, but wish I had done something to document.

In other news, N2 kit showed up. This thing is quality. Didn’t realize it came with a gauge and had placed an order for the king one. Bummer... It’s also deceptively massive. Pics don’t do it justice.



Parked the truck in the shop where it will be getting suspension work for the next weekish. Gotta represent some ‘Murcia and my alma mater.



Pile-o-goodies waiting to go on.


Also picked up the spindles from the powdercoater. These things looked great in pics, but even better in person. He does quality work.


Assuming I can find inner wheel seals for the spindles locally and some super lube for the total chaos arms, all the suspension should be on by tomorrow.

Also, Merry Christmas!

 

Super nice Luis!

 

Sneak peak

 

Broke a bolt on the driver side front, so it’s still up in the air. Passenger side is on the ground. Ordered the bolt from the dealer, but while waiting, I decided to get the rear started. This is how far I got.



Drilling these holes actually wasn’t that bad. Just take your time and if you can, order up a couple shorty bits on Amazon. Also, having a right angle drill is also mandatory.



This pic may look awesome, but getting the rivets out of the bump stop bracket SUCKED!!!!!!!! Ended up cutting them with a cut-off wheel, flapping them flush with the frame, then beating the living shit out of them to get them out. I guess it’s better than drilling though. Still have the driver side to do tomorrow. Ended up putting a coat of paint on it to cover up the bare metal. I’ll do a 2nd coat tomorrow in the AM.



TRD Pro Bilsteins packaged and already off to their new owner.

 

Good eye. You are correct, they are for king bumps with stem mounts. I actually assumed they would be for the Fox’s, but I ordered through SDHQ via PM and they ordered the King version from camburg for me. I didn’t event realize this was an option, since it’s not on their site, and I separately ordered the Fox bumps through SDHQ. They changed my ordered and fixed everything though. Good peeps over @sdhq_offroad

Apparently I also got like the literal last set or 2nd to last set, since the king version is now discontinued. Only the fox version will be offered.

 

Front end is on the ground. This thing looks HUGE!! I think it will settle a bit once the uniballs get worked in and the rear is lowered.

Also decided to forgoe the swaybar this time, per recommendations of others on here. I’ll see how I like it, but I’ll report my findings. Biggest concern I had was towing, well see if those concerns are verified or if I was just worrying about nothing.

 

all the favorite viewings for the night!

 

Forgot to post the 2nd part of the pics that a buddy snapped.

Removing the driver side mount has been the hardest part thus far. A plasma cutter would have made this much easier, but a grinder got through it. I put a couple gouges in the frame, so those will be getting welded up, ground down, then a couple coats of paint will cover it. Then I’ll drill the holes for the driver side shock relocation mount and permanently mount the bump can bracket. From there, the leaf packs are coming apart, nitrogen is getting drained out of the shocks, then start the process of flexing out the leafs to weld in the lower shock mounts.

Nothing like grinding a 3 yr old truck...

 

Pretty sure to get a good cycle on them with the leafs and airbump setups along with the lower eyeball shock tabs.

 

What Dara said. Trying to compress 150psi in the shocks and ~150+ in the bumps without lifting the truck and getting the leaf to do what you want it to, is basically impossible. This is the same reason the leaf packs are torn down to a main leaf to be cycled.


In other news, more updates.

Results of welding up the gouges I put in the frame with the cut off wheel. Ran some beads on top to fill and then flapped it smooth with the trusty grinder. Cutting this bracket off really was terrible though. As mentioned above, this would have been ton easier with a plasma.



And......... more grinding. This was to cut off the old shock mounts.

Helpful hint: drop the axle onto jack stands, remove the lower u bolt brackets, then pull the leafs. This will make cutting off the mounts much easier. Just be mindful of the ujoint when you drop it off the leafs. Probably a good idea to put a jack stand under the pinion.



Checking pressure on the shocks. So much for a “no loss” valve... Looks as though they were set to 150psi from King, even though the gauge is reading roughly 140.



Lastly, a pic of how I left it for today. Brackets for hydro bumps are bolted down. Brackets for shocks are bolted down. Leafs were torn down to a main leaf and mounted. Bumps are purged. Shocks are purged and hung. Just need to go to the store tomorrow in the AM to get bolts with thread deforming nuts for the shackles (since they didn’t come with any, weird??) and I’ll be ready to cycle the suspension. This is temporarily setup with the factory shackles, but I want to have the shackles I’ll be running in there in case it changes anything.

Also, I’m pretty sure that Deaver uses the cheapest and worst bolts available ever. Taking the leaf packs apart sucked, just because of the super shit bolts they use to put the leafs together. Kind of disappointing really, since they demand such a high premium for their products. I have Deavers on my crawler and they don’t have shit bolts like this.



More tomorrow hopefully.

 

Welp.. welcomed 2019 with bypasses officially on the truck.

Was able to get some more progress today on the rear suspension, even though I wasted a ton of time chasing parts and hardware today. Looking through some of the pics of the rear on my previous posts, it looks like I just keep posting the same ones. Kinda depressing....ha! Promise each one has some progress in it tough.

Anyway, spent the day finish tightening all the hardware for the bump brackets and upper shock brackets. Was waiting for paint to dry the last couple days. Then chased hardware for the MCM shackles. Couldn’t find any bolts in town that had the size I needed, so I just punched out the ones on the stock shackles and used them for mock up. From there I installed the bumps, hung the shocks one at a time, then started mocking up location for the lowers. I then fitted, ground, refitted, rinse repeat, until I was happy with the location. Then tack welded the lower mounts in. I cycled the suspension a bit, but I was by myself and really need at least 2 people there to look at both side for binding while it’s going up.

Anyway, onto the pics.

Stock part pile keeps growing with stuff I’ll never need again.



Full droop with only the main leaf pack.



Full stuff at bump.



Draining the other shock and bump to use on the driver side.



AND.....we have shock movement!! Lowers are just tacked in place to cycle the suspension. How do you like my custom bump stomp protection?



How I left it for the day. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll get an extra set of hands to do full axle bump and then side to side independently of each other, to make sure nothing binds. Then burning them in for good, then paint.



Happy new year everyone!!

 

:drool All kind of yes going on here!! What's the purpose of the protection on the bump? Just curious on that part. Can't wait to see your truck all completed and on its 4 wheels and in action!! Happy New Years Luis!!! I just woke up, sipping my coffee, and thread surfing like usual before I get ready for work lol.

 

It’s to protect them from weld spatter. Getting a tiny piece of weld spatter on a shock shaft is a quick road to needing a rebuild on the shock to replace the wiper seal. I draped a welding blanket over the shock, but couldn’t do it over the bump without it being in the way for welding. So a shop towel and zip tie did the trick.

Sent.

 

Ah, kind of figured it was to protect from weld spatters!

 

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!!

Got some more progress today. Fully cycled the suspension and gave it the green light. Didn’t take pics though.

Leafs were sort of a bear to put together. We finally decided to work smarter, not harder, and the leaf packs went together like butter. I have a long brass punch that fit the centering hole perfectly. We aligned all the leaf packs with the long brass punch, then used the clamps to compress the springs. Easy peasy.



From there, we installed the brackets and sleeves for safety, then tapped the brass punch back out and replaced it with the bolt.

The funny thing is, not 2 minutes after this pic below was taken, my buddy stripped the centering bolt. Yay... he blamed his huge biceps and junk deaver hardware.... smh.



Anyway, we made a store run to O’Reilly’s to get a replacement and the packs went together and got installed. Don’t mind the green tape, I was throwing down another coat of paint.



Then I burned in the mounts on both sides.



Tomorrow, I go get actual shackle bolts, finally. Then another stop to get the nitrogen bottle filled. Then back to the shop to torque the leaf packs and hopefully put this bitch back on the ground.

 

And.......
















Done.

 

Did you cycle the suspension with just the main leaf sitting on the perch or did you compensate for the rest of the pack that is normally under the main leaf with a spacer?

 

Kind of did it 2 ways. When I used the main leaf, I put the centering bolts in place to make sure I had the correct placement on the axle. I then used the top of the bolt as a reference to see if it would touch anything on it's way up. It was well clear of the frame under full bump. I did this to find the location of the lower shock brackets at bump and tacked them in. Then I cycled the suspension in place, I used a 2x4s to help locate it a bit more. I did the axle at full bump and then each wheel individually and so far, it looks like I am good. Also fully cycled the leafs, best I could, after putting the truck on the ground and it also looks like I am clear.

I'd like to think I overdid it on the checking clearances and such, but time will tell. Appreciate the input though!

 

looks good brother!

 

im considering this kit, keep me posted on how its working for you... id like to see it in person

 

No truck updates since I actually had to work today and it’s dark. Once the brake lines get here from SDHQ, they’re getting replaced and the truck is getting aligned.

In other news though, bumper and spare wheel showed up. Waiting to find out where the winch is and then getting it installed.

 

Dropped it off for an alignment today, but while there, they are going to throw on the extended brake lines I picked up from @sdhq_offroad. If my winch ever shows up, I’ll be able to throw that bumper and winch on, then adjust the coilovers to raise the nose up. May need another alignment, but the truck was just barely drivable as it was.

 

And it’s aligned and driving! Thus far, really digging the ride. We have a trip planned with @blackoutt next weekend to stretch it’s legs, but until then, it’s putting in road miles. Then it’s a quick nut and bolt prior to taking off for the trip.

Also parked next to a stock quicksand at work today for contrast. Truck is seems huge next to it.

 

need more pictures