Zed

It's almost iftar time, and as I'm about to cut my rope... i mean steak, what better way than to give thanks to everyone here 😊 @Patrick van der Loo @Gary F @Benjamin @Stumpy Paj @Joji varghese @Joseph Raju @Mohamad Anwer great teamwork guys, thanks for spotting the pop-out and helping when the V8 pulled a bit too hard trying to do a non-straight tug. Can't ask for a better convoy today in terms of spirit and helpfulness... @Gurcharan Mehta brilliant idea on the ECU Reset, as software developer not sure why I forgot about restarting the computer! The previous codes (Knock Sensor Error) probably got stored and cached and Nissan programmers tried to be smart by reading from cache (faster) instead of loading 2mins for all the sensors to return values 😅 Anyone with Land Cruiser or Lexus of course will make a joke about helping with the tug 😁 but I wanted to check how far the 360hp VVTi engine can tow before giving to the Toyotas. @Krishna R thanks for always being the first to get out of the car and support anyone with refusals and stucks. You're on your way to Support Team i'm sure 👍 @Chris Wing great second-leading with the New Black FJ (is that the Good-Bye Edition?) and being patient to explain when I misunderstood the tug-planning instructions 😊 @Mario Cornejo sorry for stealing your thunder, but in the end you remained the True Sweeper 😁 I'm just the Recovery Guy they called all the way from Abu Dhabi 🤣 And finally @Frederic I don't know how you do your time-keepings. Even when there's stuck and dead-car-tug, you still finish at 11am! Great Project Management & Leadership skills 👍 Maybe next time decide Ghost Town or Iftar Bowl, one destination to concentrate on 😂

Hi @Frederic after visiting 3 garages and some prayers, noise eliminated. Happy to inform you'll have your Sweeper this morning 😄 Occam's Razor: replaced 2 tires since both rear tires were suspect (see photo below). The Transfer Case Motor issue I posted on Instagram is also solved by cycling the shift lever to TC Neutral (disconnect front & rear diff electronically), engine off 5mins, then to 4Low, drive a bit, engine off 5mins, then back to 4H.

Hi @Frederic i'm at the garage now and the Jeep's Transfer Case is making growling noise. Sad to say I have leave the drive and miss Ghost Town adventure, but looking forward for the next one!

Hi @AlexM there's no embarrassment in getting stuck or crested, sometimes it just happens (usually for people at the back as the people in front left sand churned up 😁 ). Next time, let's position you behind my car, and you'd see sometimes I moved a bit to the left or to the right, just to get fresh sand & traction. To be fair, @Richard Franks was also in similar predicament as yours and I positioned my car ready to tug him, but @Rob S thought us cool trick with the A-Trac system of FJ 👍 . Don't worry though, some Jeep folks said we have the same thing called Brake-Lock-Differential that uses ABS for preventing wheels spinning and redirect power to the wheels with traction. Please refer to below screenshots & links I share. @Frederic it seems the Hill Descent button on Jeep acts like a center diff lock, we should try this next time a Jeeper is stuck 😄 Jeep links to watch when stuck: Using Hill Descent button as Diff Lock Turning off ABS Kill Switch (reset to normal mode) to allow Traction Control to figure out things https://www.instagram.com/reel/CY3udVToeWh/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY= Jeep Brake-Lock Differential Demo

@Frederic refuelling & toilet break at D54, will be 5mins late 🫣

I plugged my OBD Bluetooth after today's drive... and me too will need to buy new battery today (see below screenshot) 🫣 *lucky it happened AFTER the drive and not inside the desert 🙈

Hello fellow Jeeper (yay I get to say this now), when you upsize to bigger/wider tires, the speedometer is not accurate anymore and the transmission shifts is no longer optimum (it was optimized for stock size tires 255). Bring a measuring tape and $20 (for adding new VIN license) and with the magic of OBD + JScan app we can calibrate the TCM so the speedometer & shift timings are calibrated to new tire height 😁 OR you can remain as is, the automatic shifting will be a bit late (high RPM as you said), but since you'll be driving manual, you sir are the Computer and you control the shifting 😊

Mabrook @Imteeaz bro, looking forward to our next drive in same convoy. I might purposely get myself stuck so you can practice your Support skillz 😅

Hi @Frederic added myself to WaitList. Torn between choosing this or go for @Srikumar's Newbie Sweihan just to meet him and pick up my walkie-talkie 😅 , but the promise of high-paced drive from Solar Park to Sweihan maybe better to test my new Cherokee V8. I'm also guessing this high-paced drive will have less chance of shovelling too 🙏 cos I'll be fasting 😊

Well done @MisterPoet for taking the leap and trusting your judgement to change the Front LCAs 👍🏻 In the LC space and others we say "Cry once but extend car's life for another 20yrs" 😁 Only way to check if parts are same is to check VIN. You can WhatsApp me the VIN and I can check if parts are same. I already replaced the Rear Lower Arms when I did the Lift Kit, and changed to IronMan's adjustable ones. But if you haven't done Lift then stay Toyota stock of course 🙂

You're right @Krishna R i might be leaving the LC for longer project in garage... Initially I wanted the Jeep G Cherokee stock with its tiny 29" tires, but @Asif Hussain bhai is right I had to change to thicker sidewalls, so I just took advantage of Ramadan Sale and changed the wheels to Zero Offset (to clear the Upper Arm bolt that was limiting max tire to 29", see pic below) and upgraded tires to 31" Geolandar P265/70/17. Now the car will be ready even for @Srikumar's drives 😅 Pic 1: Zero Offset (avoiding wheel spacer) to move away from suspension and annoying Upper Arm Bolt Pic 2: New 265/70/17 Geolandar tires (downsize from 17" rims)

Ok @MisterPoet now we have a bit more info, I noticed you bought 2013 (10-year old) LandCruiser, and since my part-time job is also fixing my 20-year old LandCruiser 😂, this is how I'd approach it (in this exact order): Note A: The wheel bearings I wouldn't worry at this stage. Wheel bearings will make noise as you accelerate the car more, it's like humming or buzzing sound when you go above 80 km/h. It's good preventative maintenance for 10-year old car, but you can do it after you hear the buzzing sound from outside at high speed _all the time_ (not intermittent / unpredictable). Note B: Yes you can replace just the bushing only without the whole Lower Control Arm (LCA). I did that cos I was being cheap, but felt bad to the mechanics... they spent the whole day hammering because the bottle jack / bush-presser-tool couldn't push them out. It was much easier for them if I just replaced the whole LCA 😂 But it's worth it, the old bushing in the LCA was bad >> see https://www.instagram.com/p/CaFeRpJJuAR/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Things To Do: Replace 2 Motor + 1 Transmission Mount. Because the vibration is under the seat, so this is a cheap fix. And because 10-year old rubbers will wear out in this climate. Do "ROAD FORCE BALANCING" . Stand behind them and make sure they use the Road Force machine and not being lazy and tell you they've done it without proof. Do "Propeller Shaft" Balancing. Propeller Shaft is the drive shaft that connects front axle to rear axle and it's under your seats. If it's a bit bent or unbalanced, it will cause some shuddering/vibration at certain speeds. Of course just like LCA, you can buy a new propeller shaft, but 500dhs of shaft balancing sounds cheaper than 1000+ dhs for new propeller shaft 😁 This is the last option: go to transmission specialist and ask them to Rebuild Torque Converter, but not the whole gearbox/transmission clutches, just the torque converter. My Jeep has this issue, when reaching 80km/h it would shudder/vibrate for 5 seconds before shifting gear, seems the torque converter is slow at locking-up. Last last thing: if 1-4 are done and you still get vibration: live with it and accept it as part of owning an Old LandCruiser 😅 Of course you can still throw money at it by replacing wheel bearings + CV axles, but as I've said before wheel bearings make buzzing sound constantly at high speed and CV axles make noise when making full U-Turns or Climbing upwards in mall & apartment parkings. Good luck!

@MisterPoet you didn't explain if the vibration is from your foot (brake-related) , steering wheel (rack & pinion, bushings), driver seat (suspension-related). To accurately diagnose, you need to find a garage with RuidCar suspension-testing machine like this >> https://www.instagram.com/reel/CpSBXlGKQWD/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= Then they will use stetoschope or long screwdriver + funnel to find the source of vibration by pressing the screwdriver to all metal parts until "not normal" noise is found like here >> Since we can't mention any garage in forums, send me whatsapp on 056-724-2156, my friend recently found a garage who uses this stetoschope method to fix his 4WD not engaging but making noise only (Ford uses actuator at the wheels to automatically switch to 4WD, one of the actuators was stuck and the stetoschope pointed which one)

Wow, XTerra's parts availability is even better than Land Cruiser's 😅 But Leaf Spring has been used since horses carriage times, and its simplicity makes it used in industrial trucks...since Sanaya is industrial area, maybe now you have a truck-grade heavy-duty Leaf Spring now 😁 So now we know how to fix it next time, add extra Leaf Spring and 2 Axle Stands to the cargo as precaution if driving FB+ in Abu Dhabi 😂

hi @Krishna R glad to hear that you made it home safely in the same afternoon.... so did the mechanic removed the wheel, unbolt the 4 U-Bolts, and re-slide the axle back to the center seating? Or did he replace the whole Leaf Spring suspension cos the old one broke the center pin?

Probably something like this >> https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cm1rQ84MFZX/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY= 1. If both rears are locked, there won't be any "stopped wheel" (grabbed by sand) due to power going to the least resistance. Both rear wheels will keep on spinning whether hitting soft or thick sand. 2. The fact he didn't do L-shaped turn / 90 deg to bring the nose down, probably he knew well with rear-locked, the outer wheel cannot spin faster than the inner wheel since they're locked at same speed. Another reason button & technology shouldn't be used until testing in a safe environment 😅

no worries mate, was gonna test my second offroad car for a Fewbie drive, but there's always next time 👍

with @DP1011 , Deepak wrangler & @Looper managing, i thought this was going to be split into 2 nice convoys 😅

well it's now over 48hrs, and I did go to the doctor per @Gaurav & @Srikumar's recommendation. Doc said since no vomitting, no broken ribs, no blurry vision and no pain whatsoever, she declared me fit to drive & work again 🙂 I would rather focus on the positive things and the good lucks, so here they are: alhamdulillah I managed to return home unharmed, thanks to every single one in the convoy, I pray God bless you all for your kindness. thanks to my trip marshal @Srikumar for leading the team during the incident. There were other younger blood he could direct & delegate to, but he chose to unroll his sleeves and in the process hit his head against my rear bumper (luckily it's stock fibre... imagine if it's the Y62 with 4mm steel 😱) it was good luck @Haitham Khattab pushed himself to join the drive eventhough he overslept and started driving at 5:30am. For his presence helped a lot, as we needed an Arabic speaker to translate and bridge the communication with the police. i had a nice recovery driver who shared me his Naan & vegetables lunch in short, eventhough it was an unfortunate incident, I am thankful and happy with the people who surrounded me & helped. Thanks for asking @Tom B @Rob S @ASAD. , not my first rollover with perfect landing on all 4 wheels, so the shocks were subdued a bit 😅, but nevertheless humbles and amazes me how we're given second..eh i mean... fourth chance. My wife reminded to watch the latest Puss in the Boots movie 😂 And this is the finale good news: only Windshield (500dhs second-hand) + Front Right Fender (300dhs second-hand) + Front Right Passenger Door (300dhs second-hand) are badly damaged. According to the Denting Specialist, the roof can be fixed without replacing the whole roof. I'll probably start a thread on the LC 10K bring-to-life restoration project 😄

that's the difference between Torque and Horsepower bro, once your torque is maximized, to move the car faster you need the wheels to spin faster, which can only be done with higher gears. When you're climbing uphill it's best to stay 1st Gear as any upshift will actually slow you down. But when you're on a flatter surface, side-sloping or circling a bowl, it's safe to upshift without losing momentum: this will make your car run faster and u gain more momentum to cross. The balance is to get the right speed... too fast and you may crossed unintentionally (which i'm also guilty of) 😂

Ah that should have been my LC's job, with all 3 gears (transfer case + front + rear diffs) re-geared, it's a towing truck meant to handle these scenarios. I'm bummed I missed the fun, but I'm glad I didn't spoil and steal your day guys 😁👍🏻👍🏻

Please put me at the back, I just want to take photos, learned from others in front, and enjoy the scenery 😂