Just got word that the #FEM #FireExtinguisherMounts arrived at powder coating. Also got word from a kind customer that the FEM-1 and FEM-2 work perfectly for those looking to upgrade to @Scheelmann seats.
As of right now there are 14 of the FEM-1 and 22 of the FEM-2 left.
/80-series-fire-extinguisher-mount-left-side/
Just a quick update…
I miscalculated on one piece of the hardware to ship out the remaining 20 QPMs for batch 4. I should have those on Saturday so that the rest of batch 4 can ship out.
Batch 5 and 6 are both coming online at the same time as far as material ordering. These have all been cut and are waiting to have hardware installed then bending.
The wait for batch 5 and 6 shouldn’t be horrible. Roughly 30 spots left from batch 6.
/quarter-panel-mount-80-series-right-batch-6-pre-order/
Just a quick brake line PSA
Folks please don’t crush down the brake tube fitting onto the new brake hoses when you replace them. You don’t need to kill it. Just seat it and make it snug.
When you crush it you force the mating edge of the flare to force the fitting to do what it has no choice but do and that’s “flare out” because the mechanical action of over-tightening the fitting ruins things.
In this case you can see the difference in the flare out between the new and old brake tubes. This causes issues with not only sealing properly but also but both removing and trying to install the new hose. On three of the hoses on this build they couldn’t even go into the female end of the brand new OEM brake hose. The correct course of action is to replace the brake tubes as well as the hoses. On this LX450 we would up replacing all four brake tubes connected to the caliper brake hoses.
…oh and there were missing copper gaskets on the banjo bolts. Dumb. Really dumb. Both sides of the banjo fitting needs a fresh copper gasket. They are cheap washers. Just replace them. And don’t be dumb with brake tube fittings, especially since they are NOT plentiful in Toyota inventory. Just an FYI.
Another day another bathroom break…
Land Cruiser Dual Tank Fuel Door Knob
Replacement dual tank fuel knobs for 77324-60011 and 77324-60012 which are now obsolete. Commonly found on nearly all Land Cruisers with a fuel door tank selector knob. The original from Toyota is made from Bakelite and is either gone or cracked.
/dual-fuel-tank-lever-knob/
Since I’m doing bathroom break and have five mins to kill..
SPEEDO-LUBER
NOTE: Only 10 in stock ready to ship. The rest will be on pre-order status.
NOTE x2: This ONLY applies to those with an actual cable NOT a speed sensor #3FEMafia
If you have a pre-93 Toyota Land Cruiser, or other Toyota 4WD truck with a speedometer cable, then you likely know all about that really annoying squeaking from the speedometer. It juts wont shut up! You've tried repositioning it. You've tried using the little graphite tube and maybe you'll get a temporary relief. But it never lasts.
Why does the speed cable squeal? Basically the wound stainless steel cable wears out the PTFE coating inside the lining of the outer sheath. This occurs wherever there is the tightest curve point of the cable. Every speedo cable has that one "tight" curve somewhere. The cable slaps around and spins and wears a groove into the PTFE lining. There is your noise.
So what's the solution? Well its time to rip out the instrument panel and thread in a new speedo cable of course. Except...there is no factory replacement and in some cases no aftermarket replacements. So now what?
Grease the cable with this little tool the Speedo-Luber! During testing we machined up a neat little tool that would allow us to grease the cable from the instrument panel. But that didn't work because the grease pushed out from the coupling on the cable. Big fail. Then we moved onto the bottom end of the cable at the transfer case. A quick machining to screw into the cable end and threaded in a zerc and what do you know? Couple pumps of grease and the noise is gone. Gone gone. What kind of grease? PTFE is ideal although we just used moly that we had in the grease gun ready to go.
You only need a couple pumps of grease and the machined twist AND drive direction of the stainless cable will actually push grease up to where you need it. Don't overfill it like we experimented with 😜
/toyota-speedo-luber/
Next up, the #80Series #FEM are wrapped up and getting ready to ship out to powder coating. These are scheduled to be picked up Monday to be shipped to my coated here in Grants Pass. Couple of weeks and the FEM-1 and FEM-2 orders will be able to ship out.
Still have a few more available out of this batch.
Sorry about furthering my piss-poor communications but last Friday I ended up at the ER because of a teeny tiny little heart issue. I’m fine. Everything’s fine but we were all nervous for a minute.
Anyway back at it and I’m just gonna post vomit a whole bunch of shit that I’ve been ignoring.
First up the #QPM quarter panel mounts are done and have started shipping. These will all go out over the next two-ish weeks while we figure out time to assemble and package it all.
If your receipt says BATCH 4 then your order is being processed and you will see your order within the next two weeks.
Batch 5 and 6 is IN PRODUCTION. I do not have a solid date yet so don’t ask or else your order might somehow mysteriously end up at the very very bottom of the pile…somehow 🤔
Modified 54mm Hub Nut Tool- V2
This tool is a 3rd party machined piece that Wits' End is now carrying on hand as a convenience. The original OTC version is no longer available and this is the next best option. After being asked enough times by customers AND the machinist it was time to just start carrying them. I’ll be taking over the sale of these.
This is a new 1/2" drive 54mm socket that has been CNC machined to add 3 notches for use on the full float rear wheel bearing nut. This single tool can be used to loosen/torque the front and the rear axle wheel bearing nuts. The interior of the nut was also machined to better fit the Toyota 54mm hub nut.
/modified-54mm-hub-nut-tool-v2/
Getting better with the back orders. I’m still dealing with the site crap but it’s not as bad. Better yet there is a bunch of stuff coming in this week so another big push to get orders out.
Ok another hint…
This is version 1.0 that we figured was a no brainer. Til it was tested and we realized it wasn’t going to work the way we had hoped 😒
Employee of the month @2ndgentoyotafan got my 8-ton gantry crane’s winch operational after a crap ton of redneck effort.
First test of our new capabilities was to remove the 1HD-T out of a 5” lifted JDM81. I think I was getting a grabbing a drink and poof, engine is out. Man@it ’s stupid overkill and I love it.
Have a frame off customer coming in end of year. It’ll be a cake walk. So happy to finally have something going in a positive way 🥃
