Great woodwork!

 

Hey TRIARII long time no see man. What happened to your old DII? The grey one. You put a lot work into that rig if I recall.

 

Impressive progress.

 

Have a feeling if you had fixed that front bumper, the larger tire would rub! The replacement was a win-win.

 

Trucks been running good for the most part. Last week the crankshaft position sensor failed so I replaced it and all is well.









I also took another go at the broken exhaust manifold bolt that was in the block on the passenger side. Used two nuts and 2 wrenches to get it off. Came out easier than anticipated. While I was down there I replaced the exhaust manifold and flange gaskets. Never using tin gaskets again. Unfortunately while doing the exhaust work I found a buildup of coolant behind the engine. Looks like a big coolant leak. I gather that the headgaskets are the culprit and need to be replaced. I already pulled the cylinder heads off the Turner block and will be getting them rebuild and machined momentarily. Once those are back I plan on doing my first head gasket job.






I also bought a new heated windshield and a pillar trim pieces. No more cracks but unfortunately there is a big gap below the windshield where water is getting inside my truck and soaking the floor on the driver side.

 

 

New steel wheels, lug nuts and center caps. Sent to shop for zinc prim and powder coating. Threw the old alloy wheels and damaged spare tire in the garbage. Got all the new wheels rotated, balanced and an alignment.

Upgraded to Akebono brake pads and replaced all 8 caliper guide pins.

 

Sure doesn't seem to be much threads holding, on those lug nuts. Typically, you'd like at least 7 full revolutions, but10 full turns of threads is better. I'd remove one and see where you're at, start the nut, mark the top, spin it on counting revolutions. The techs at the tire store didn't question this?

Truck is looking great!

Brian.

 

The steel lug nuts are huge and appear to not have enough threads. Mine look the same but they do get at least 7 full revolutions, I questioned it when I switched to the steelies.

 

Iam currently in the middle of a claim. I ordered both the wheels and lugs from the same merchant. The first set of lugs that I purchased to go with the tf wheels were not compatible with the genuine center caps, so I called the merchant back and explained the situation and asked if they have the other type of lugs that enable me to fit the center caps and they suggested these larger lugs. I told them that they were for my tf steel wheels and asked them if the lugs were compatible with the wheels and they said yes. So I ordered the bigger lugs and installed them. Torqued to LR specification. Ever since the truck has developed a vibration in the steering wheel and accelerator pedal at speeds of 45mph and 65 mph. So into the truck back to the tire shop who mounted the new wheels and tires and asked them to rebalance the wheels. They removed the lugs and informed me that the lugs were were damaging the wheels and chewing the metal on the lug holes. They double checked the torque of all the lugs and found them to be within LR specification. The wheels were installed correctly. They told me the wheels are salvageable but damaged to the point that they personally cannot even remove any of them due to liability issues. They said the wheels are unsafe and even if I put the smaller tf lugs back on, the lug holes are chewed out and it would be unsafe.

I feel like if I found a random set of lugs and installed them and if they damaged my wheels then that's my own dam fault. However in this case I reached out to a company and specifically asked them what lugs would be compatible with both my new tf wheels and the center caps. They assured me that these bigger genuine lugs were compatible with these tf wheels and that they have seen other trucks using the same lugs on these wheels. But now that my wheels are damaged this company is refusing to take any responsibility. They did offer to reimburse me for one of the sets of lugs I purchased ($90 value) and they did reach out to Terrafirma to see about a claim. But obviously since my wheels were powder coated that voids any manufacturer's warrenty. But my arguement is that the wheels and lugs are neither defective. The damaged was caused by using lugs that are not compatible with these wheels. I personally installed these lugs. But the company assured me over the phone that these lugs were compatible with these wheels.

Companies that sell auto parts should be knowledgeable of the vehicle and parts and compatibility. If they are unsure whether a part is compatible with your vehicle or with you wheel setup then they need to be forward about it. They should never suggest parts that do not fit your vehicle or wheel combination.

To top it off I ordered a new 3" suspension kit with adjustable shocks from this same company. Yesterday the order was delivered. 4 cool springs and 2 shocks. There is suppose to be 4 shocks. I had to call the company back and ask them to ship out the other 2 shocks. It seems like one thing after another with this company.