Tis true, premium fuels are in fact recommended/required. I can tell you I've been forced to run mid-grade as result of being in a lonely Central NV gas station that had nothing other to offer and I can't say I noticed a difference however it was mixed with a half tank of premium. Come to think of it my wife accidentally topped off a tank with regular grade once too but I added a bottle of octane boost to be on the safe side. Surely a factor that needs to be considered.
Thanks for the clarification.
...At 85 something has to give a little, but it's not too bad. You will have to use the gears and lock the tranny out of OD until 70 or so unless you are on flat ground. You will be in 4th gear allot in the mountains. Nothing wrong with that.... You will have to manage all this, but you can....
Earlier today, I was thinking the same thing regarding locking out the OD. I think that is a workable solution.
...Inchworm and Marlin make crawlers, but I'm not sure about the ratios....
Thaks for the lead. I'll check them out.
...This May I'm going down to visit Wyatt at RST and get a twin stick FJ case. For towing it is a big benefit. It allows low range in 2 wd which you will use all the time to back up and make careful manuevers. Of course in an auto you can manage things better because you have the torque converter. I either have to slip the clutch or drive in reverse way too fast. I don't know what Toyota was thinking with the reverse gear in these manuals. It should be 1/2 what it is. Aside from all that, I hate electric gear engagement. I want levers. I'll still have ADD until someone gets a manual hub kit built, but I'll eliminate as many solenoids as possible. It's as much a personal quirk as anything.
I know what you mean, I prefer levers as well. Must be a Jeep type thing.
I also prefer troubleshooting a mechanical linkage than some electric gizmo. I tend to let all the smoke out of those electrical things...they never seem to work after that.
... The (rear diff temp) probe is threaded into the diff housing. You would have to pull the 3rd to do the work right. Clearances in there are tight. If you decide to do it, we can email each other and I can take some pics and measurements to show you the location....
You must have done this work when you regeared or added the locker. Thanks for the offer. I'll definitely shoot you an email when I get to that point.
...Bottom line is, it's doable. This is not a truck that you will toss the keys to a kid and say "go have fun". Managing all this will require a competent driver. Fullfilling all these divergent requirements is asking allot, so some added stress will be there. On the other hand, using our rigs for expo use is also an added stress. It's the price of performance.
Agreed.
My suggestions have been predicated on the idea that I shouldn't tell you what your priorities should be. Here's what I really think though. The easy answer is to regear and slow down. That's pretty much what all the rest of us have done, so you'll be in good company. The problem seems to be with keeping pace with your buddies. I can understand that. On the other hand, if my buddies weren't willing to slow down to be with me, then why should I speed up to be with them? I would just say "see ya". You're looking at spending a pile of money to hold up your end, when all they have to do is back off the gas. Just sayin ............... :sombrero:
Everyone is very understanding when we're traveling down the highway. I think it's mostly because they know once we get off road, they're the ones struggling to keep up. Sometimes it pays to be THE guy with THE winch, recovery gear, and full set of tools. :Mechanic:
...Another approach which makes as much sense as anything we've discussed is to pick up the tab for all the beverages and food along the way and run 65. How much you want to bet that you get voted in as Wagonmaster? You'll have friends along that you have never even met! For the price of all the work described, you'll never end up on the wrong side of this deal.
Apparently you haven't seen my crew eat!
Everyone, thank you. Stay tuned... the wheels are turning. (some clunking going on, but mostly turning
)