thanks goodness.
I would like drop runs. I always have one that is a disaster.
thanks goodness.
I would like drop runs. I always have one that is a disaster.
ANYway... I wonder if the additional weight of having a passenger was mitigating the excessive stiffness in the rear?
irish44j said:First run I actually put down the fastest run in the class - mostly because I go out aggressive and don't pick up much speed over the day, where most of the other top guys start more cautiously and pick up time (especially Nick, who watches the course on video between runs to learn the course better) #seriousbusiness lol.
LOL, you seem really hung up on that one point! I don't see you complaining about four of our other top drivers constantly doing ride alongs with their co-drivers, which is far more useful than a shaky 3" camera screen with a poor view of the course. I'm just doing my best to catch up to all their extra "seat time". :)
I've only run gravel rally tires on my car, are you telling me I'll be faster if I switch to soft-sidewall grass tires? ;)
Knurled. said:ANYway... I wonder if the additional weight of having a passenger was mitigating the excessive stiffness in the rear?
could be. My spring rate calculations take the weight of a 2nd person into account.
that said, even over previous years i tend to have pretty quick runs with ANY passenger. IDK what it is. Maybe I just focus better. But with the M42 you could FEEL the extra weight in acceleration. With the M50, that isn't an issue...
No Porsche work other than regreasing the steering/horn ring that was making a bit of grindy noise. But it is running GREAT and I'm happy to be driving it again without worries.
Got our annual fire extinguisher certification. Very exciting, but necessary.
Jim came by today so we could check some stuff on the car, including making our ebrake work reasonably well for once, and trying to work out some bugs in our GoPro/audio input stuff that failed out at NEFR.
So the car has had a kind of light knocking noise from the driveline someplace, which is extremely hard to located. The best we could do was kind of locate it to the input flange of the diff, or the rear u-joint of the driveshaft, or maybe a CV axle. It's so faint when spinning the wheels by hand it's almost impossible to locate, but I can feel/hear it when driving - but only when clutch-in or out of gear coasting. So, it's something that is affected by "loading" of the driveline. So, yeah, all that stuff.
Well, I was going to be lazy and not do it, but seems as good a time as any to eliminate the diff as a culprit by swapping in the 4.10 rear end (the 3.73 was in the car due to its better gearing for rallycross to avoid having to use a 3rd gear shift). But for rally, the 4.10 is better gearing, so yeah. So, after much hassle getting it out (because the e36 driveshaft has a slip-joint on the FRONT of the CSB, so you have to uninstall the heat shields and crap to get to it, which I stupidly decided not to do initially)...
While it was out, decided to do what I'd been meaning to do for a while: make access holes to tighten the upper diff bolts that are a major PITA to get to otherwise. With the diff out, I drilled pilot holes straight up through the trunk floor and then used a holesaw to make them large enough for a 19mm socket, from the top...in the trunk just behind the bulkhead.
So yeah, that works pretty well and is immeasurably easier to tighten the upper bolts than it used to be!
Oh, and I had forgotten this, on the driveshaft.....
So....
After a quick drive, changing the diff didn't do anything for the knocking sound. While it was off I moved the U-joint on the DS around and it felt smooth and tight, so I really don't think it's the suspect. The CSB is almost brand-new so also unlikely to be bad. So that leaves me (probably) with one of the two CV axles - which have been on the car for years - or something farther forward toward the transmission. It's just really tough to tell. This transmisison is pretty noisy already, and G240s get the "Getrag Rattle" big time. Guess we'll see if this all holds up for STPR. I have a 2nd spare transmission out in the shed that I've never used, may drag that to STPR just in case.......
i think i want to sell my beloved 96 Bronco that is built to be really good for offroad, which means it sucks on the street, and the minivan and replace the 2 with a v8 4x4 Sequoia. We do 3 to 7 hour road trips frequently, myself, wife and 14 yr old son, i do man stuff so towing and hauling, plus i hunt and fish which means 4wd is important for wet boat ramps and riding out in a green field to grab a deer once or twice a year. I tried to find the Sequoia content in this thread but it is pretty long so i skipped to the end to beg for advice. Any words of wisdom? v8 4x4 and cold AC are my minimum, would like second row captains chairs and i am a lifelong Toyota guy.
thanks,
jim
Justjim75 said:i think i want to sell my beloved 96 Bronco that is built to be really good for offroad, which means it sucks on the street, and the minivan and replace the 2 with a v8 4x4 Sequoia. We do 3 to 7 hour road trips frequently, myself, wife and 14 yr old son, i do man stuff so towing and hauling, plus i hunt and fish which means 4wd is important for wet boat ramps and riding out in a green field to grab a deer once or twice a year. I tried to find the Sequoia content in this thread but it is pretty long so i skipped to the end to beg for advice. Any words of wisdom? v8 4x4 and cold AC are my minimum, would like second row captains chairs and i am a lifelong Toyota guy.
thanks,
jim
Yeah, not a TON in this thread about the Sequioa, since it's mostly just little stuff to make it better for rally support (roof racks, some mild suspension stuff, lights, etc).
As to Sequioas in general, assuming you're talking about the 1st generation like mine:
- Look for an 05-07 model year. They got an extra 30hp (variable intake) and an extra transmission gear (ans supposedly stronger transmission). The earlier ones will do the job too, they're just not quite as good in those and a few other minor details.
- There are 2WD versions out there, so make sure you check if you want 4WD. They're pretty capable off-road, just big. The Toyota ATRAC system works well. I've never had any problems off-road, running Revo2 tires. Not that i do anything extreme, but it handles trail-running and stuff fine. It's basically a 4Runner underneatch, except bigger. And we all know they're good off-road.
- Bilstein HDs for the Sequoia substantially improve the ride and handling, assuming you aren't going to go for a full suspension/lift setup
- if you're towing, get airbags in the back (if you buy a Limited, it may already have them). i have AIR-LIFT bags that cost like $100. Really makes towing better since the Sequioa rear springs are kind of soft.
- It tows 5k with ease, though if you get bigger tires it tends to take it out of the power-band on long highway uphills in the mountains and stuff. Stock size tires are best for towing, but look visually "too small" IMO. I went basically one size up (I can tell you the exact size if you need).
- urethane steering rack bushings are a noticeable upgrade
- rear liftgate handles get wonky, but the replacement/updated part is super-cheap
- if the rear window on the gate doesn't roll down, there is an EASY/FREE fix for that, usually.
- I looking in northern/salt states, check frame CAREFULLY for rust. They had a frame recall for years due to bad rustproofing. In a southern truck, won't be an issue. otherwise, they aren't particularly rust-prone.
Otherwise, they're pretty typical 90s Toyota stuff. Not exciting, not flashy, but extremely functional and reliable.with huge parts availability. Less off-road aftermarket stuff, but there is still some (there's a Sequioa off-road group on facebook with some nice builds, and some great builds on the Tundra forums).
So that's about it, really. If you have any specific questions, LMK. I'll try to answer them.
Thanks a bunch. Plans would be plus one size all terrains and drive it for a bit to see what it needs first, then mods are always a possibility. The 05-07 tip is huge, and i'm assuming the extra gear gets you a bit better mileage? I am in Alabama but will get under whatever i look at to make sure it isnt rusty. again, thanks and sorry for the thread jack
Justjim75 said:Thanks a bunch. Plans would be plus one size all terrains and drive it for a bit to see what it needs first, then mods are always a possibility. The 05-07 tip is huge, and i'm assuming the extra gear gets you a bit better mileage? I am in Alabama but will get under whatever i look at to make sure it isnt rusty. again, thanks and sorry for the thread jack
Not sure if it gets better mileage (I suppose there are published ratings someplace), but gives better gearing choices for sure and is supposedly stronger. It's the same as the Tundra. As to mileage....I mean, these things are certianly gas hogs. Back when we first got it I think we could occasionally get around 18 on the highway with stock tires and stuff. Now I have rack, lights, bigger tires....I get probably closer to 15-16 unloaded highway cruising. About 12-13 towing the e30 (though, I have a pretty heavy foot and we tow pretty fast). I tow exclusively with O/D off unless I'm someplace totally flat with no need for any real acceleration.
I also have the 3rd row seats removed (never use em) and often take out the larger half of the 2nd row as well when going to racing. The seats back there are really heavy, so that improves my loadout weight when towing heavy to races with all our gear.
Yeah, i wouldn't imagine rust would be an issue down there.
Threadjack all you want, that's why I have this thread. It's no fun just talking to myself lol!
After much taking stuff apart, inspecting stuff, testing stuff, etc, I almost gave up and forked over some cash for another drive shaft. Then kind of was like "berkeley it" let's just run it as-is and see how it goes. Then put everything back together, but noticed the CSB really wasn't "preloaded" very much as its supposed to. I know I did that when I installed, but I guess it slipped or something.
Repositioned it with the correct preload forward and.....yup, clicking sound gone. I guess the lack of preload was just allowing the ujoint to be under the wrong longitudinal load when "unloaded." So, seems like that should be good to go now. Guess we'll see.
So other than that, just checking last-ditch stuff, but apart from my semi-lack-of-trust in this noisy transmission (though people say the "Getrag Rattle" is normal on these and will go forever like that) I think we're more or less ready to roll.
Side note: Due to our slowness at NEFR last year and no other ARA rallies since 2017 (and not having an M50 before), our speed factor is pathetically low (like, 25). Doesn't help that we've only entered top-tier rallies (NEFR, STPR), where speed factor is relative to the fastest cars (which would be Pastrana, Higgins, etc) - while people who enter smaller regional rallies like SOFR or Ojibwe or whatever are being "factored" against fastest cars that "aren't as fast' overall. The formula is kind of a bit of black magic and causes all kinds of pre-rally inquiries about start order (since if you double your HP, your speed factor is still what it was). They do make "manual adjustments" but nobody is every happy, apparently.
Which means we'll probably be starting like 60th or 70th in the field lol (though, the Z3 Coupe guys have the same speed factor, so may be near them). Oh well. I like chasing people anyhow so hopefully it's not too dusty and we can catch some cars that are rated faster than us :) I'm definitely not going to get upset about it. Hell, at Black River they had us starting ahead of Gary DeMasi, who is much faster than us, and I actually requested for him to go first so I didn't ahve him running us off the road :)
irish44j said:Since I'm deleting the throttle-body preheater and the charcoal canister system, had to plug up all the ports on the TB, and then cross-splice the hose from the head to the "spider hose" that normally would go to the TB. Home Depot provided some barbed elbows that were a good fit.
[...]
Oh, also removed the A/C pulley since I have no need for it. Made sure to add a couple washers to the bolts to compensate for the missing pulley thickness.
Are those caps/plugs on the throttle body also from home depot? I've just about wrapped up the front/top/exhaust side of my engine and am now going over to the intake side and need to start cleaning that stuff up.
Also, why did you need to have those washers on the crank pulley? I removed my A/C pulley and the bolts just went right back into the crank pulley. Seem to sit flush, so I'm not sure what the purpose of the washers is?
In reply to artur1808 :
I think the caps/plugs were from a box of various size plugs/caps that i either got at Harbor Freight or McMaster or something. I have a whole bin full of those $2.99 boxes of random stuff that HF sells (hose clamps, c-clips, plug, caps, ett etc). i buy a couple every time I go there since you never know when you need some random thing.
I don't specifically recall on the washers. I think maybe I read something someone posted where the bolts were contacting something on the backside without any washers once the AC pulley was off. IIRC it's pretty close behind there and didn't want to risk that chance if crank walked a little or something. Or maybe my bolts are longer than yours or something.
see you in about a week!
Well, that damn vibration didn't go away, and after much more futzing around with stuff I determined it's definitely the rear u-joint on the driveshaft. While it's probably ok for the rally, it makes me nervous. So, everything apart again (I'll note, the exhaust hanger setup I did makes it a breeze to remove the 1-piece exhaust).
that's just a spare transmission, nothing going on there.
While waiting to get the new rear driveshaft from a buddy, painted up the kinda-rusty front section, being sure to not paint over the writing lol
Also pulled out my spare CSB. The CSB on this driveshaft is almost new, but really hard to get it off without damaging the bearing. The spare CSB is a URO part. The bearing is good, but man, the rubber surround is flimsy as hell compared to the Meyle one coming off the car. So, decided to press out the bearing and switch the new bearing into the Meyle housing.
So, hopefully get that all buttoned up tomorrow, and we're good to head to STPR on Wednesday.
Oh, and saw this today right after I saw a McLaren Senna ($1 million). This was cooler though
Just noticed we've got a GRM faceoff on the entry list, I didn't realize you and Kevin would be right next to each other in start order:
At the rally, crewing for Josh. Both he and Kevin seem to be doing well, and I'm enjoying the lovely poo mud we're servicing in.
Here, play "find the Sequoia" in this screenshot:
Yeah, we're behind the porta potties 
Also
Josh seems to be having a good time:
Meanwhile in the service park things are... brutal:
You don't see too many post apocalyptic porta poties. Seems like an obvious place for the zombies. Be careful.
That night photo looks like it should be an album cover.
In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :
You ever seen a rally crew on day two? Plenty of zombies
I could have done this SO much better if I still had my Cintiq. But I do not, and I have a schedule to keep, so I did this quick and dirty.
artur1808 said:Just noticed we've got a GRM faceoff on the entry list, I didn't realize you and Kevin would be right next to each other in start order:
Kevin is extremely fast. while we were feeling out the car in the first stage he was in full go mode and actually caught us about halfway through and passed us, only seconds before we were about to pass another competitor ourselves. As a rally went on I think he backed off a little bit for the sake of his co-driver (or some other reason I'm not sure) and we turned it up a notch, and we ended up pretty much trading times throughout the rally.
What’s the scoop on Ozgur? I saw on fb he has a broken arm that required surgery.
paranoid_android said:What’s the scoop on Ozgur? I saw on fb he has a broken arm that required surgery.
Fast crash, he was codriving in an Evo and took a tree to the door at high speed- glad it's only (!) a compound fracture, the cage moved a LOT and it could have been much worse.
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