UT_I_SKOGEN 80 series build

[Douglas S.]

Thanks? I'm debating on them right now. I broke two lens covers on my Tacoma in just two months, so these seem appealing right now. I'm more concerned with taking the rear "spoiler" off

I think that those taillight guards are a double-edged sword. If you take anything other than a light tap on them you'll be doing bodywork instead of just replacing a light.

[Sempertoy]

I think that those taillight guards are a double-edged sword. If you take anything other than a light tap on them you'll be doing bodywork instead of just replacing a light.

Yeah, I just haven't figured out how I want to fill the holes they leave.

[dirty Bakers]

Kan du Svenska?

[Sempertoy]

Kan du Svenska?

jaja lite grand. Inte Sa bra med att skriva o stava, med det gar bra att prata. Du med?

[Sempertoy]

So, I just ordered some OEM replacement parts from CruiserDan over on ih8mud. I'll tell you what I ordered, if you PM me I'll tell you what I paid, I just don't think it's right to throw that info out there. But it pays to be a mud member.

Valve cover gasket
Spark plug seals. (ordered all together as you need all for the job)
Throttle body gasket
6 OEM spark plugs
Dizzy O ring.


They are shipping from New Mexico, should be here soon. I'll do a write up and take lots of pictures when I do the work.

[Triumphdog]

Congrats on the 80. Your story kinda sounds like mine with my 4 runner. Where abouts in SD do you live?

[Sempertoy]

So a couple of days ago, I was out letting the cruiser get some off road action. It was the first time I have had it off the pavement. Lucky for me, it has been raining a lot here in Southern California so I encountered quite a few water crossings. The last was semi deep, I don't think it was even up to the rockers. I had a blast and was very impressed with the ability of my new cruiser.

On to the bad news. When I got it back on the road, I put it back in high and thats when I got nervous. It felt as though the transmission was slipping. Long story short, I freaked and researched all I could on mud. Then I took it to Aamco for their "free diagnosis" That was a joke, they couldn't tell me anything from an external evaluation and wanted 500 bones to drop the tranny and tell me what was wrong with it. That is out of my range to just get an idea of what is wrong so I went and picked it up, got 5 qts Toyota spec ATF, and enough Lucas synthetic gear oil to fill the diffs and t-case. At Aamco they said that my fluid was dark brown, and there were "metal chips the size of fingernails" in there I thought that was rather absurd. So I got it up on a rack, drained the fluid (looked brand new) pulled the tranny pan, (no chips to see what-so-ever) cleaned off the weird hollow cover under there.



After I got everything cleaned up, I put the OEM liquid gasket back on. That was fun. While that set for one hour, I drained and filled the diffs, fluid in the rear was very milky and smelly, center looked brand new and so did the front. I guess it would have gone for a while, but now I have the peace of mind knowing exactly when I put fluid in, what weight I put in and that I am running synthetic fluid. Here is a picture of what it looks like under the tranny plan if anyone is curious.



So on to the good news. After I got everything filled, tranny fluid put back in, I started the truck up. I drove away, it acted like it wanted to slip for about 5 seconds and the grabbed tight, after that, no issues! I took it out, ran it hard, lots of stop and go, everything I could think of and it did great! I know it isn't a major accomplishment but considering Aamco wanted $500 just to tell me what was wrong, I think I fixed it myself for under $100 including fluids for the diffs. Pat on the back for me.

On another exciting note, I am headed to Joshua Tree this weekend, going with the boy scout troop. I'm really excited because I have never been and I hear it's a cool place. There wont be much 4 wheeling, so I'll count this as the maiden "expo" voyage.

Stay tuned until next time! Pictures of Joshua Tree will follow

[DanKunz]

From the looks of it that tranny fluid looks almost original...which is bad. No viscosity = slippage. Good call on fluid swap. I recommend base-lining any vehicle you buy used.

[NM-Frontier]

I'm always glad to see people take care of stuff like this them selves and not wast money at a big national chain. Your on your way to knowing your cruiser now!

[Sempertoy]

From the looks of it that tranny fluid looks almost original...which is bad. No viscosity = slippage. Good call on fluid swap. I recommend base-lining any vehicle you buy used.

Really? I thought it looked almost brand new! It wasn't dark or murky at all, it looked almost exactly
The same as what I filled it with. Either way it seemed to do the trick