Death Valley
Drybone Canyon Through from the Top - Printable Version

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RE: Drybone Canyon Through from the Top - TacoLand - 2022-02-28

This through hike has been on my list for years ... one day .... sigh.

You're going to love your FJ80 when it's done – solid axle FTW. I miss my FJ62, though I'm perfectly content with my (untested) 1st Gen Taco. Too many hard miles on me to sleep in the back of a Landcruiser or 4Runner these days.

For Toyota LBJs I personally wouldn't use anything but OEM. But, anything and everything can and will fail. Eventually.

RE: Drybone Canyon Through from the Top - Beardilocks - 2022-02-28

(2022-02-28, 03:59 PM)Kauri Wrote: Wow, sounds like quite an adventure getting it fixed! 

I can't remember if I asked you this earlier, but what company's LBJ did you end up replacing it with? Our local 4WD shop replaced the OEM Toyota LBJs on my 4Runner with Centric parts (280k miles on the original LBJs, it was a miracle they didn't fail before they were replaced since I didn't know they were prone to failure until the shop told me; I have the old ones and they feel quite bad). I've thought about looking into upgrades (and have been reading about uniball conversions) since I'm planning to keep my 4Runner forever. 

Also, off-topic again, have you heard of the Toyota Land Cruiser Association, now that you have a cruiser? They welcome all Toyota folks, and I've been told by members of our local chapter that they have a good network and there's often someone willing to lend a hand if you're traveling and have issues with your classic Toyota.

My recommendation is OEM ONLY on LBJs.  I researched the heck out of it after mine failed the second time.  Mine had ~370k miles on them when they failed in DV (one owner before me and I have and 18" tall stack of everything that ever happened to the truck).  I put in whatever I could get under the circumstances, which was Moogs.  8 months & ~8k miles later it failed again.  I replaced with OEM as soon as I could and things have been hunky dory since then.  

Oddly I have not heard of the TLCA.  I'm a member on IH8MUD and they have quite a worldwide network of Toyota lunatics...uh I mean enthusiasts. Lol.  Never hurts to have more friends out there tho.  Thanks.

RE: Drybone Canyon Through from the Top - Beardilocks - 2022-02-28

(2022-02-28, 05:22 PM)MojaveGeek Wrote: Wow, what an awesome truck repair saga.  You're skilled and must have had or borrowed tools to be able to fix it out there at the campground.  Quite the story.  But yes, better to have failure there than out on the White Rim.  You could have walked back to SPW if you'd needed but out on the Rim you are a long long ways from anyone.  Both roads have some traffic though.

Must have felt pretty intense when that joint failed.  Ouch!  Thanks for the story!

They give VERY little warning before failure.  Kinda thing that makes you paranoid after a while.  I do all my own truck repair, so I'm always armed with just about every tool I could need.  It's a lot of weight to carry, but sometimes self-rescue is your only option.  Especially if you don't want to spend 6mo gas money fixing a relatively simple thing because you're just a "tourist" who broke down.

This failure was ... interesting.  I was going about 25-30mph over the gentle up & down sand dunes out there after that big blow seen in my images loosened it all up.  Luckily it was soft sand to ride it out about 50yrds after it went.  

Second time in White Rim I was crawling down a step at about 1/2mph and it just barely popped out.  I only had to replace the LBJ because it wasn't the yard sale that I had in DV.  All the bolts were fresh too!  Lol.

RE: Drybone Canyon Through from the Top - Beardilocks - 2022-02-28

(2022-02-28, 06:29 PM)TacoLand Wrote: This through hike has been on my list for years ... one day .... sigh.

You're going to love your FJ80 when it's done – solid axle FTW. I miss my FJ62, though I'm perfectly content with my (untested) 1st Gen Taco. Too many hard miles on me to sleep in the back of a Landcruiser or 4Runner these days.

For Toyota LBJs I personally wouldn't use anything but OEM. But, anything and everything can and will fail. Eventually.

Honestly, it was not a super hard hike.  I'd say it was easier than the Aguereberry to Furnace hike.  That or the vehicle failure wiped the pain from my memory.  

I already love my 80 even with only about ~1000mi on the shakedown after rebuild.  I swapped in a 1HDT diesel and 5spd manual.  New ... well mostly everything.  Lol.  Added a pop-top and troopy style build out.  Sleeping in the back of this is a LOT more comfortable than my 1st Gen with a bed topper on it.  And I did that for over 3yrs.  


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RE: Drybone Canyon Through from the Top - Daymoth - 2022-02-28

OMG getting out was more than an adventure than the canyon itself! I loved the story, must have been type 3 fun but it was a great read!