And ya'll thought you got rid of me!!

I'm BACK!!     


Any how, I had to distance myself from the forums a bit for a while so that I could get my life in order. It was frustrating to come on here everyday and not be able to post. It was even more frustrating to be w/out an FJ for 2 1/2 months.

So the low down:

Phase 1: THANKSGIVING NOT! A few of us decided to do a Turkey Trot in Hollister Hills. Some decided to do White Rock. As usual, it was very rutted out. 2 FJCs made it up with some struggle, but did a great job. Having done this trail before I opted to be last to help and guide some people. Next went Motor Drive. It took him many chances over and over but made it after trying 7-10 times he too made it up. This obviously caused the ruts to open up. Next went a Taco. He too had some difficulties but after a few tries he too made it up. Last was I. I tried several times with no luck, only to get stuck in rut after rut. My rear end was spinning out like crazy so I decided to try the Locker. Did this several times with no luck. I backed off and decided to try the Taco way. I backed up several feet and stepped on it. I didn't get much above 10 MPH but that and some bouncing and OH SHIT....the LOCKER.... I made it to the top.. only to hear a CLUNK CLUNK CLUNK from my rear end. I blew it. Literally.

Phase 2: NOW WHAT? I knew that I was going to need mechanical work done, and originally thought that the Ring and Pinion busted because it was one of the weak models that is known with early model FJCs. I rolled down from white rock hearing it CLUNK CLUNK CLUNK.  I thought to get it to town where I could rinse the mud and dirt off before calling a Tow Truck to take it to the Dealership. It did not make it that far. I got on the phone with AAA which informed me that my policy included towing and that I could go as far as Sunnyvale, mind you I am on the outskirts of Hollister. (I Love AAA) Through all this, I waited quite a bit for a tow truck, and through almost 2 hours of waiting TATER waited with me to ensure everything was okay. Thanks TATER!

Phase 3:WHAT IS WRONG? Long story short, the Dealer inspected it and obviously denied warranty. After they showed me why I understood. Photo #1 was the cause of it. I must have hit a rock while bouncing around and bent my Rear Left LCA significantly. This caused the rear end to move forward, then causing the spider gears to go out of sync and with the momentum and  bouncing, the whole insides got torn up. Some of the left overs are shown in pictures 2.

Phase 4: HOW DO I FIX THIS? The dealership quoted me at about 3-4 Grand and possibly more. I did not have that type of money. Op1: Apply for a personal loan to repair this. Op2: Take it from the dealership and put it in storage until I have enough money to repair it. Op3: Report it to AAA as an At Fault Accident and hope that they will repair it. Option 3 it was. And AAA did pay for the repairs. I of course will have rates rise and will have an accident against me, but this was better than paying 3-4 Grand out of pocket. Little did I know 4 Grand was a really low estimate.

Phase 5: REPAIR? Again the dealership could have, but if the insurance was going to pay for this then why put the same junk back in that would eventually break again? I opted to get a quote from a shop that would then use the money from the quote to install aftermarket beefier parts. I searched for a bit and was recommended to check out Toy Connections in Santa Clara. (Learning Lesson #1: I should have driven to this spot before I gave them my business). I called them up and told me that they came highly recommended. They ensured me that they could take care of me and work with my "Beefier" option.

Phase 6: MOVING, AGAIN. I now needed to get it from the dealership to the shop, which was only a few miles away. Since AAA was handling my repair. They also got my vehicle moved again! (I love AAA). When Pulling up to the shop I was like WTF have I done? It was surrounded by wreckers. lol... I was like: The fuck if I am wrecking the FJC! The shop was located behind another shop, down an alley that had FJ40s, 60s and 80s on both sides. Parts galore for those series FJs. I was immediatly scared. But after seeing several built up 4runners, tacos, 40s and one LT front and rear Taco...I then settled down a bit. (Learning lesson 2: I should have taken into account the location and cleanliness of the shop).

Phase 7: THE PROCESS: (Learning Lesson 3: If it is too good to be true, it probably is!) The FJC sat for nearly 3 weeks before anyone got to it. First the Insurance guy had to look at it, then he had to look at it again after it was torn down. Then parts had to be ordered. Then a plan had to be made. In my opinion Toy Connections lacked a huge part that every shop need to have, ORGANIZATION!      IMO the shop should have sat down with me to see what I wanted out of this repair. Taken a list of the parts needed. Done some research. Then put a plan together. Order the parts and according to when the parts arrive, give me a date to when the repairs would be finished. I constantly heard, tommarrow, I forgot this, we are having problems with this. The parts guy is an idiot. Though I understand all these things happen. These are not things that a CUSTOMER should have to hear. The shop had issues with locating parts, installing parts, replacing personnel. Too many issues. My patience was truely tested. Pic 3 shows what replaced the rear end.


Final Phase: I finally got my FJC back 2 weeks ago. With still some things to tie up. I had to return because the front left axle was leaking, I had lgihts on in the Dash. and my speedometer was off by 15mph. It is reading faster than I am going. Everthing was tied up excpet for the speedometer. They told me that it could not be fixed becasue my gears were ment for 35s. Now I have an FJC that reads 15mph faster and a new arrived issue which the shop claims to be coming from the tranny.I hear a whine coming from somewhere but could not pin point it, until yesterday. I got I had 2 other shops give me a 2nd and 3rd opinion. They both say it is coming from the rear end. I will have Toy Connections take a look at it once more before I pay what i owe.

All in all this was a HEADACHE!

So now my FJC has:
-4.88 Gears front and rear
-ARB rear Locker with compressor and in cab switches
-Dana 60 Rock Jock compatible with the ABS
-Anti-Rock Sway bar
-soon a Dakota Digital Speed o Corrector.
-Bilistien 5100 Rear Shocks

The FJC feels a lot stronger, with lots of torque and its nice to be able to turn on the locker with out having to go into 4Low or HL. I now only have to take care of that whine in the rear and will soon be posting the FJC for sale once more. Total price for this repair?  Aprox. $7 Grand! w/ $900 out of pocket!

Toy Connection. This place is great for 40s,60s and 80s parts...but will never give them mechanical or Fab business again. They could be so much more efficient if they organized themselves. In order for them to do this they must take a big hit for 2 weeks and focus only on organization. Once everything is said and done, I will sit down with Jeff, Toy Connection's owner and give him my constructive criticism. I believe I have earned the right to give him a piece.