Zed

44 minutes ago, DP1011 , Deepak wrangler said:

@Frederic - As much as I am looking forward to this one, I have recently upgraded on tyres ( from 255 to 285) for mine, warranting Calibration to be done ( Never knew about this hole to pocket! ) , I was told by Showroom guys, without calibration, the warranty gets void, and apparently they receive code/software, which is still not received - hopefully its done by Satday latest. 

Can the experts here throw some light / confirm for my academic knowledge - how risky or safe is it to drive without calibration done ? ( I already feel the RPM going high even on-road drive, in automode, and am hence driving in M mode !) Just being extra cautious to not to go for FB+ Drive without calibration done ! 

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 😊

1 hour ago, MisterPoet said:

I read that LC200 rear suspension parts are same as that of LC100.

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 🙂

On 3/20/2023 at 11:47 AM, Krishna R said:

 @Zedwith his new beast took care of music for me. The hemi sounds too good bro. A couple of more drives with the jeep and you're gonna leave the LC in the garage itself.
 

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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 😁
4. 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.
5. 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)

5 minutes ago, Krishna R said:

Hey @Zed They did not remove the wheel. Took off the suspension, unlocked the u bolts, took out the broken leaf spring assembly and fixed a new one. The old leaf spring isn't safe to be repaired and used but i bet he will fix it and sell it to another unsuspecting guy  

 

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 😂

5 hours ago, Krishna R said:

Once out, I literally had no idea on what to do and  @Abdul Basit Khan was my knight in sining armour. We booked a recovery and @Abdul Basit Khan took me to Sanaya and got a mechanic that replaced the part in 10mins flat. We had a hearty lunch and sped back to Dubai (Or atleast i did, I had to ditch him on the highway and sped off as I was late for a family commitment). Blacked out at 8 pm and woke up at 7 am . The sleep wasn't enough . Taking the car to the garage today to check for any other possible damage.

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? 

2 hours ago, Varun Mehndiratta said:

While trying to go up a climb, will surely always have in back of mind, possibility to steer down in case one loses momentum. At that ninety degree turn with rear lock, how will the vehicle behave is another element to check.

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 😅

7 minutes ago, Varun Mehndiratta said:

Just some more weeks and we might be able to do that 😀😀.. @Zed tough to not being able to find spot for my DCT partner, hopefully we plan another one sometime soon, specially designed for Zeddy.. 👍

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

32 minutes ago, Varun Mehndiratta said:

We still have 6 WL, anyone who drops out now will owe a nice treat to waitlisted drivers. All drivers in convoy above, please in case you have change of plans, announce it on forum marking the ppl below, so that they can assess if they can still join in. 

 WL in order

 @Mahmoud Taha

 @Jessica Lambert

 @Julian Patterson

 @Zed

 @Beide Worku

 @Ahmad Nerat

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

37 minutes ago, Sunil Mathew said:

as i started the run on first gear and kept hitting the rev limiter and losing the line on my first round and continued without crossing over, when Sri prompted me to upshift ,  i felt the strong lurch forward and improved momentum with which i could easily cross over and exit. I always though that an upshift would only slow me down due to reduced torque, so it was a good learning experience/paradigm shift. 

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) 😂

1 hour ago, Foxtrot Oscar said:

Nothing says Team Carnity like a Prado towing a Prado through the dunes under the watchful eye of the Crew and support team 👏

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 😁👍🏻👍🏻

11 minutes ago, Srikumar said:

@Zed you would have the opportunity to re enact the entire scene this weekend where you can bring a black board and explain the entire geometry at site...

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

On 1/10/2023 at 7:34 AM, M.Seidam said:

@Imteeaz @MMansoor@Ranjan Das and @Zed 
From the dash cam ( the part what no one sow when I crossed the ridge ) 

please share your comments and query. This is the way how we learn it better for us and others . 

Hi Doc @M.Seidam, the good thing is it was an Intermediate Drive with every driver having more than 10 IM drives, so even though each driver has a different moment, everyone had that muscle & memory reflect on what to do to overcome that split-seconds situation. My notes on your 2 videos are:

At time-mark 3:15:19 >> you hit the bush and started bumping up & down, though amazingly maintained 54 km/h speed to keep the momentum and correctly calculated you can still make it to the top instead of going down and re-trying.

At time-mark 3:15:27 >> you started switching and the 2 photos below explain yours & @Ranjan Das's different approaches:

To explain this, I will borrow from @Frederic's great article here >> https://carnity.com/forums/topic/15114-how-to-read-sand-dunes-formation-and-texture/ 

I've annotated Fred's diagram here:

Doc @M.Seidam like he explained "there's a bit of turn when you go up" as he exited when the lip is at the start of Concave, while second lead @Ranjan Das corrected the example by going a bit further then exiting for a smoother switching. However, since the Convex side is harder than the Concave like Fred explained in his article, exiting down on the Convex side provides more traction and easier to control, just like Doc said that he made it out ok.

I wish I still have my drone cos this would be an awesome footage of exiting bowl 😁

3 minutes ago, Vaibhav said:

@Zedonce again? 

i just changed to 15W-50 oil last week, it's too quiet now so the only way to hear the V8 sound and lubricate the engine is to rev it 5000rpm by climbing dunes 😂

14 hours ago, ASAD. said:

what a wonderful report doc, im sure you guys had super fun. Too bad i couldnt join this time but pajero bowl will remain in the bucket list for sure. 

@ASAD.  14-Jan Bowls of Wagan, not sure if Pajero Bowl is included though, gotta wait for @Srikumar 7pm announcement 🔥🔥😄

12 minutes ago, Imteeaz said:

@Zed  thanks bro for sharing your report and the videos.
If i am not asking too much, could you please share the vids with me via whatsapp (055 897 0942)?

Thanks

Done bro,   cc @Vaibhav i have commentary for Imteeaz's first & second attempts,  on the third video I kept silent as not to jinx him for looping the 4th time 😂😂😂

2 hours ago, M.Seidam said:

@Imteeaz @Ranjan Das @MMansoor and @Zed 

Dear friends 

what a lovely short convoy in a lovely such weather . This is to confirm that the plan stays the same with one  change of the meeting time from 7:45 to 8:00 

Please be careful while driving on the tarmac from hidden side water ponds ( best drive on the mid lane ) . 

Take in account an extra hour due to the less than normal speed in some areas especially in Abudhabi and across Alain city . 
 

I will be leaving home by 4 am personally. 
 

my cell is 0554045278 in case of any emergency. 
 

can’t wait to see you all inshallah tomorrow sharp by 8:00 am 

rest well and cheers 🌺

Thanks Doc @M.Seidam , see you tomorrow inshAllah , thanks for confirming 👍

@Warren Flay sad to see the cat-less Gajero leaving, but wish you all the best bro!

Man, I wish I could drive that 6.2 Hellcat SRT engine, but hopefully you'll find a suitable buyer for both cars 🤞

@Arsalan Ehsan you need to trace the end of the sensor cable I highlighted in Yellow Circle Red below. Just choose one: Front Left, Front Right, Rear Left, Rear Right, no need to disconnect all 4. All ABS systems use wheel speed sensors, and if one is disconnected, the ABS error light will turn on (signaling that ABS cannot function properly.

What @Lawrence_Chehimi and @Rawad may be correct too, when my Y62 rolled-over, no air bags (front or side) were deployed... although that made me think whether my Y62 was made in DragonMart.. ( @Srikumar's poke at my fake Patrol 😂 )

@Alphin Aloor my friend installed it for his Land Cruiser, and I quote his feedback verbatim "no performance, no grip, more popouts"  +  "it's only for the looks" 😂  You can see his Instagram post and message him for more feedbacks. At the end of video, you can see the tires are being subjected to some funky machineries that he said "removed vibrations above 100km/h" 😅 >> https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cm3cuXIhQsK/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link