1st Gen. Lunch Table - General Discussion

Ok thanks. Again it is like a weird loose feeling. And it makes a clunking/rattling noise too. It feels like its coming directly behind the steering wheel. Also it is 100 percent prominent when driving down an old rough gravel road. It feels horrible.

 

Have someone rock the steering wheel back and forth while you watch the different components in the steering system. If it’s a prominent rattle, you’ll likely see the play in the culprit part.

 

Get that thing in the air soon. It can be tie rod or ball joint related.



you do not want EITHER failing it will end badly

 

I have been having the same lately. I need to climb under tomorrow and give it a check

 

Is upgrading to a hellwigs front swaybar worth it? Or is it about same as stock

 

I did the upgrade but also did a bunch of stuff together so not sure the impact this had but it's definitely a more robust sway bar

 

Well worth it! Makes street driving super fun. Keeps the inside wheel down in a slow 90° turn. During highway speed lane changes, it makes them snappy and precise.

$500 Hellwig 7700 Solid, Heat Treated Chromoly, 1-1/8" Rear Sway Bar

Hellwig 7700 is the bar. It has three settings holes. Start with the loose setting first and you’ll notice a big difference. I moved it up to the middle setting after some time and love it. My truck has the OEM front sway bar also.

Also, it helps tremendously with towing and hauling.

 

I agree 100% concerning the rear bar, but what about the front?

 

Not sure your question, but my truck came with a front bar. The rear bar makes a huge difference. Never drove with the front bar off with just the rear on.

 

You just sent Pucks into hyper-anxiety worry mode. Code Red!

 

The previous poster asked about upgrading the front by replacing the factory bar with a larger Hellwig bar, TRD offers the same option for 2nd gen trucks. I have left my front bars factory.

 

Thanks for the correction. Yeah, my front swaybar links rusted off and I drove it around like that for a few years from 2014-2018. Truck wobbled around turns similar to a boat turn. A shop rebuilt the front end and reconnected the dangling front bar with new links. She drove much better. The rear addition months later was even better. Survey says: Get both!

 

Based on the videos I'm seeing, it looks like I don't have to touch the tie rod.

The axle nut requires 173ft lbs torque spec. My brand new torque wrench only goes to 150lbs. You think I can get by going by hand after that, or should I go invest in another torque wrench?

 

Lmao. I am pretty sure my ball joints are good. But still, my cortisol is through the roof now!

 

I usually lick my wrench handle, about 3 times and once my hand slips off of it once thats about 60ftlbs for me. Its a pretty accurate way tbh. So do that like 3 times bro, trust me

 

Will do

 

Yo i just watched chris dicks coolant flush video (chris fix) and this dude flushed it with straight up water.wouldnt that wreak havoc on your water pump and seals? I hear most jdms are very specific about what coolant to use and using water for even 10 minutes sounds like a really stupid idea

 

Go buy a new one. The torque on your axle shaft set the preload on the wheel bearing, without the correct torque you'll wear out the bearing prematurely. The parts stores have them as loaner tools also.

 

Eh. Your pretty close just nudge it a bit
More. But ideally you want it 165-180

 

We are hoping my wife is allowed to WFH permanently as well. She prefers the quiet here vs the [needy & dramatic] office environment.

I don't make it a habit of licking my tools. I'll give this a try next time I'm really fighting something that's tight.

Unless your engine is full of raw, solid sodium, I can't imagine water doing anything at all (let alone bad) in 10 minutes.
I'm reasonably sure all coolant has water in it...sans Evans Waterless.

 

I flushed my heater core with the garden hose as it has no bottom plug to let the gookies out. I then ran copious amounts of the Zerex Pink via the Borneo Blow Dart Technique.

 

@FirstGenVol here are a few pics from the archives to help you picture where the bolts are located on the headers/shields. Its tight in there for sure.

Also included, from the archives, is the steering column bushing caulk repair.

 

Lol

 

Ehh. It’s not that bad of a job

 

I’m beginning to think everything is not as hard as it seems when working on the truck. Most of the battle is having the PROPER parts before hand along with the right tools. Most everything is plug and play on repairs with some small degrees of retro fit. I need to get over my suspension hurdles, though.

 

So after a week of meditations about these short tube headers, I have become very enlightened and at the same time a little hesitant on doing them due to reports of not really any gains in performance.

This morning, after finishing my second cup of Italian Dark Roast, I’ll be crawling under the truck for the first time in many moons for a deep inspection of:

1) Manifolds (as much as can be easily seen).
2) Y-Pipe
3) o2 Sensors
4) Front Brake Caliper Bolt markings.

I need to also inspect drivers rear wheel drum to confirm/deny stealers warranty work from a few weeks back. Might drop my spare tire and do some touch up painting.

On another day, based on a theory, I may try to just re-torque the OEM manifold nuts after removing the shields for a true inspection. If I find some real problems/cracks/leaks, then its new header time. Currently, I have no exhaust ticks/weird noises/or fumes coming from engine bay. I do remember having the engine tick circa 2005-07 but I ignored it and it went away after a few years.

 

Leave the factory manifolds alone if they aren't cracked & ticking.

The only reason I have JBA shorties on my truck is because they were direct bolt on replacements, and they cost a lot less than replacing the cracked factory manifolds with new factory manifolds would have cost... I didn't replace them for a power gain. All that being said, I do enjoy the little boost in low end power they give me, and they seem to also enhance peak power in the highest RPM ranges.

 

@Jim LE 1301 "you ever change a cam tower on a turd gen "

 

Nope