Destination Unknown - 2022 JTR journal

[Turnswrench]

Really great details in here! Nice work!

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[chorky]

A little more progress today although not as much as I wanted due to a few complications.

First order of business was drilling and painting. The center cross member (where the carrier bearing is) needs to be drilled out on the top side using an existing hole on the bottom side.

Be sure to use a block of wood so you don't puncture a hole through thin metal of the body!! Then paint, and let dry.

Then I drilled some holes in the plate for the fuel transfer pump. Why is this not drilled already? The other bits of steel received some paint as well to cover up a few cracks in the powder coating (I hate power coat) so it doesn't rust. Everything will receive a nice thick coat or two of Amsoil HD Metal Protect once installed. Paint and let dry, surprisingly fast in 14 degree temps.

For all the paint on the JT so far I have been using rustoleum hammerhead paint. So far it appears to be a good product. It does dry super hard, so hopefully it's not easy to crack, but nothing has revealed any problems yet.

Learning from @Turnswrench mistake, I opted to drill out the oval hole that is a pass through for the cross member bolt now. I used a step bit, up to 3/4". Being as a hole already existed, if you place it on a block of wood or something, clamp it down, then start drilling through the wood first, it will easily open up the hole rather than allow the bit to catch on the steel and snap your wrist.

Next up is the exhaust. The point of no return. My main goal for today was to at least get the new exhaust in and bolted down so I could have a drivable vehicle. Well...tomorrow I will be woking on this all day as that didnt happen. But, make some measurements and marks. Instructions call for 2" from the back of the resonator.

And 2.3" from the back of the muffler.

I used a sazall for the cuts. If you work from the drivers side, inward to the center of the truck, you can fulcrum off of the frame which makes it way easier. Using a 6" blade, you can push the sazall flush to the pipe without hitting the underside of the body. But...My second cut was not very straight.

Also note, that I used the end of the weld to make my 2 and 2.3 inch measurements. In hindsight, just use the little pinched area on the exhaust for your marks.

With the exhaust out, it was time for a very annoying task - removing the skid plates. I really want to minimize removing these bolts as much as possible because if they break, I might not be able to find replacements.

I also had to reluctantly remove the resonator. Fortunately for me it was not rusted on terribly bad just yet - I was pretty worried. Instead of struggling with trying to get things centered up, I reinstalled partially the bolt for the center cross member. This way the tank bracket can be centered a little easier.

Now was the first frustration. This bracket is not easy to get in place. The steel included with the kit is bent ok, but not perfect. And the holes don't match exactly either. Thankfully they included grade 8.8 bolts so I wasn't too concerned with breaking them - and lock nuts as well. As you can see, I definitely have clearance issues. Frustrating as it took almost an hour to get this bracket in place and the bolts in.

So, out it came, and for the bolts to go in from this side, and the nuts on the back side. This offered significantly more clearance, and was WAY easier to get lined up as well.

From here, the resonator went back on loosely as well as the new exhaust. But, this is where it ends. I ended up removing the rear exhaust section as well as the two hangers. But, just like @Turnswrench experienced, things are not signing up great. The biggest issue currently is I cannot get the exhaust inlet pushed onto the resonator far enough. I have an inch more to go for the new hanger to line up. I did bang on the back of the new hanger bracket a lot, hard - which was before I realized there is no flex joint in this exhaust, anywhere.... So hopefully I didn't just screw up the header and cause a leak or break a bolt. Most likely, tomorrow I will mark the resonator and exhaust for where it needs to line up, remove the assembly and try pounding it on out of the truck. Crossing fingers!!! But, instead of fighting with the exhaust weight - I suggest using some 550 cord or bunnies to hold things in place.

With temperatures dropping fast, I called it a day. But, while cooking dinner I made a few more wiring harnesses for the pump to plug into the wires I ran previously, and for the sending unit. The electrical components included with the kit are terrible. I'm honestly shocked, at this price point, the things that come with the kit. So I took everything off and used heat shrink style options. Unfortunately the eyelets I have were a tad large for the sending unit so hopefully theres no issues here in the future. I also am not a big fan of how the two little bolts on the top of the sending unit are exposed. So taking one of the plastic cups used as a protector during shipping, I just cut a hole and covered the sending unit. This will by no means protect it fully, but it should keep 90% of the road spray and grime off of things - and should it be fully submerged, there is enough of a gap for water escape. I doubt it will stay on forever as electrical tape isn't the best bonding material.

Hopefully all goes smooth tomorrow!

 

[Turnswrench]

This is a noble cause and the effort is worth it. Nice job fighting thru! I hope tmrw it all just falls into place! Merry Christmas!

 

[chorky]

Hopefully all goes smooth tomorrow!

Well tomorrow did not go smooth. On Christmas Day I struggled another 5 or so hours before throwing in the towel. It was not something I could accomplish on the ground on my own. Fair warning to anyone looking at this kit, the exhaust with the kit is put together really bad. It functions fine, but getting it lined up is a nightmare.

One 'well known' shop in Idaho that appeared interested in doing the install failed to respond after initial contact. 2 phone calls and an email later and it was time to move on - they just weren't reliable, hence the attempt to install myself. Another shop in town an hour away is very competent but it would mean towing the JT an hour, and that would be costly. But a local shop that does ok was willing to work on the exhaust. So, Wednesday afternoon I took it over for them to work. Thursday morning, after most the day had passed I got a call about the exhaust being a major pain and they asked if I wanted to assist. Of course, so headed on over. They also knew my requirement for a high level of accuracy and quality and thought it would be best for me to be present as things got bent and rearranged. After about 2 hours of fitting, unfitting, bending, prying, cutting, welding, more bending, it was closing time - but we had a plan for getting things together the next day.

Today comes along and it took another 3 hours to get the exhaust fitted. Because this was a paid job, I did not take a whole lot of time taking quality photos to document. With myself, the main tech, and the shop owner. The main locations of issue were the exhaust and new hanger pushing against the frame, resonator angled against the frame, rear exhaust section pushing against the spare tire flange as well as the angle of the rear exhaust section not lining up to allow for easy fitment of factory hangers due to the poor bend angles of the new exhaust. So we heated and bent more things and it finally got to a point where things weren't impacting. However, tolerances were very tight and it still required cutting out a section of the drivers side rear rockblokz mud flap bracket.

Note the angle of the bolt in the front of the resonator. This angle was necessary as it put the resonator at the proper output angle for the exhaust to require the least amount of bending, and offer clearance so it would not be impacting the frame.

With the exhaust in place, finally, after the better part of 6 more hours. Unlike @Turnswrench we were able to get both rear factory hangers in place, as well as the new exhaust hanger bolted up, without any binding. Keeping in mind this required significant work, heating, bending, pounding, and doing it all over again. I do not see any way this could have gone together without a lift, touch, welder, and extra hands.

After bolting in the tank, the rest of the install went decent. Note that the tank does come with an extra piece of metal with a weird angled block on it. This is designed to help straighten out the bolt on the angled portion (left rear bolt). However, since the frame is also angled, it is not needed at all. And I'm not really sure why it is even included other than causing confusion.

The filler neck is fairly easy to install. The hardest part is cutting a portion of the old neck off. I ended up using an air version of a reciprocating saw, since it doesn't make sparks and is relatively fast. This proved to be a good decision as the metal tube is quite hard to cut. But, make sure you disconnect the hose from the factory tank, and cover it with a towel or cloth to prevent any metal shavings from entering the tank. After cutting, be sure to clean out any metal burs and shavings from inside the tube portion that will remain.

Replacing the EVAP tubing was challenging but not overly difficult. Notice the angle of the factory connector here. I routed the hose up above the crossmember, then back down to the charcoal canister. The other side routed back to the aux tank. I strongly recommend using a highly abrasive resistant cover for all portions of the evap hosing as it will be rubbing against sharp points such as the body seam - theres just no way around that unless you procure a longer (or smaller) piece of hose.

Be careful with these clips as they are fragile. And be sure to clean them out as they retain dust and dirt like crazy. Even better would be to blow them out with air prior to disassembly. This connector on the tank has two clips. Press them together hard, between your thumb and pointer finger, to release.

Very poorly pictured here, and in fact hidden, is the connector going back into the EVAP canister. This one has a lock on one side that needs to be released by first slightly opening the locking tabs on opposite sides. Once the lock is removed, the tab on the back side can be depressed to pull the connector off. Be careful here, this plastic feels very brittle and soft. Also be cautious when pressing back on as the 'click' is not super obvious.

After finishing the electrical connectors, the install is complete. Oh, and cut off about 2-3" from the included fuel pickup hose line as it is too long otherwise and will either kink or be pressed into the muffler shield cutting it over time.

And here is the tank installed. I will try and get a few more pictures this weekend. It sits about flush with the factory tank. Unfortunately it does not have a skid plate - but I think one could be made easily. If you did hit the tank hard enough to cause some real damage, you will have bigger issues as likely one or both of your headers along with other exhaust components will be cracked and broken.

All that would be left is plugging the pre-wired switch, filling up, and taking it for a test.

 

[Turnswrench]

A hard fought success. The install looks great. Hopefully you can go back to normal life stress ?

 

[chorky]

A hard fought success. The install looks great. Hopefully you can go back to normal life stress ?

Yeah definitely more work than it should have been but hopefully in the coming days all the tests function well. It will be really nice having a full spare tank in this summers adventures, and excess work aside it is definitely worth it for my lifestyle type.

 

[chorky]

Yesterday afternoon I filled up my fuel and went for a hour long drive mixing between interstate, county, and FS roads for a nice variety to check operation and any leaks. I am happy to report there are no leaks. The aux tank with the relatively cheap pump they include actually fills the main tank faster than expected. Although the main tank sensor lags significantly compared to the aux tank. I find it nice that the aux tank sensor reflects fuel level quickly, and as long as the engine is on the sensor is active so as you go up and down hills you can see how the angle is affecting fuel access and compare that with the factory gas siphon inlet and if you might have a no gas stall issue if climbing or descending a steep hill. I did forget to mention yesterday one important aspect of the install. The instructions call for drilling a hole in the body somewhere for a ground for the pump, stating the pump is 'very sensitive to a good ground'. I was not willing to do this and cause pre-mature rusting of the body. Instead I ran two ground wires to the in bed negative buss, which feeds directly back to the battery negative via 4ga cable. This seems to have worked plenty well as the pump functions. Of course time will tell if the pump ends up burning out early.

Ok, so Here is a better photo of the tank clearance to the body when installed. You can see it is close but nothing touches.

Here you can see the routing of the hoses up and over the upper crossmember. The hoses do fit, although it is tight, which is par for the course of these modern vehicles. But everything has enough room to not create a problem. I see only one spot, in yesterdays' photos of the plastic T, where there is possible rubbing concerns. ButI think it is going to be ok.

Here is the siphon (small) and evap (larger) hoses from the top of the tank.

I wish I would have taped the end of the EVAP hose better so it doesn't unravel. Hopefully it will all be ok. These hoses are accessible, barely. So if something should leak, it might be fixable without removing the tank - which would be a royal pain. Also note that it does look like one of those screw heads is leaking, but I just inspected with a mirror and everything is dry so it is a lighting problem apparently.

With the switch being so small, I decided the perfect location for it would be near the transfer case shifter. From here it is easily visible, but it is not annoying. Those level indicator LED's are pretty bright for how small it is so I didn't want any blinding effects at night. Plus the switch is long, so unless you put it where the 12v power source goes, there really isn't any other decent locations unless you made a plastic part for it. I sorta wish it was overhead next to the Genesis G-screen, but I dont think it will fit there. Also, in any case someone is wondering, when filling, the factory tank fills first, and then the aux tank. I previously thought the aux tank would fill first being it is 'first in line' for the gas flow, but since it has a restriction valve on the tank inlet, and is smaller than the factory tank fill, the factory tank is first. The nice thing about this is you can put just a couple gallons in the main tank if needed, without having to fully fill the aux first and then pump into the main. I was expecting that to be the case, which would be a little annoying. So I am happy to report the aux is second in line for fill.

It is easy to see and reach in this location.

The only real downfall of this spot is the switch is at an angle which makes seeing the amber indicator light difficult unless you tip your body forward. So I may try to angle back to 20 or 40 degrees, but that of course depends on if I can find a plastic bezel to fit and look good.

Anyone out there want to 3D print some stuff for me?

Of course here is a photo of a new friend. Although I haven't seen Lilly and Scarface, two that I have been medicating to rehab, in over a week thanks to a new neighbor and their free roaming cat - which just decimates native bird populations. :-/

So, overall I am still happy with the tank. The only problem is the exhaust. So if you have the ability to resolve that situation easily, then it's really not an issue. Or, if you plan to have the kit installed by a shop, expect a $800 to $1,200 charge just for the exhaust... Hopefully the tank, being all steel and uncoated internally for anti-rust, will last the lifetime of the vehicle for my ownership. I do suspect it will begin to rust quickly due to the salt they are apparently using here and the fact that it will undoubtedly see some scratches soon. Maybe one of the skid plate manufacturers (like @Artec @Metalcloak @Quadratec) will consider making a skid plate for one of these. In the mean time, I sprayed some HD Metal Protect super thick on all sides including brackets and bolts. The only major concern I have is the frame where I had to drill 2 holes and could not gain access to clean up burs. So I painted heavy, and sprayed metal protect heavy. The Warn front bumper is already rusting where I did the same, and it has been on less than a year. Salt sucks. Maybe I'll send the DOT a hefty bill for repair and replacement.

I did have to cut the Quadratec aluminum transfer case skid plate by 3/4 of an inch as it was impacting, just barely, the fuel tank.

LRA also includes a drain feature. I'm sure it is just about welded in place with how much goop is on the threads, but this is a super nice feature in case the tank needs to be dropped and is full and the aux pump has failed. I doubt this will ever be needed, but this is one feature I wish was still included on all tanks, including factory tanks.

Everything looks buttoned up nice, and darn near factory.

I am not really a promotional sticker guy, but if this truck ever is serviced in a capacity where a technician needs to be near the rear of the vehicle, I want to make sure they are aware it is a auxiliary tank and who makes it so they can reference if need be. Plus, this is one of the more important aftermarket components to me and it seems fitting.

Then there is this I saw the other day.

 

[Turnswrench]

Congratulations! Great information and a nice looking installation ?

 

[Rusty PW]

What you could have done to protect the tank from salt. Is to use bed liner spray in a rattle can. Wipe the tank down with thinner. Then scuff up up the tank. Wipe down with thinner again. Then spray the bed liner on. If you scuff up the bed liner in your travels. It's easy to touch up. I've been doing this with my rock rails.

 

[chorky]

What you could have done to protect the tank from salt. Is to use bed liner spray in a rattle can. Wipe the tank down with thinner. Then scuff up up the tank. Wipe down with thinner again. Then spray the bed liner on. If you scuff up the bed liner in your travels. It's easy to touch up. I've been doing this with my rock rails.

I actually saw an example of someone who had done that on a LRA tank install in a Toyota. It looked pretty cool. But I would worry about a gash happening in the liner, then salt and water continue to get underneath it. I wonder if the liner would adhere to the metal protectant any. So far it has worked really well on the frame, and when it gets dinged or scratched I just spray over it again, so quite simple. I am hoping that I can come up with a solution for a skid plate. But if not I might just go with that bed liner option. Which one do you use?

 

[Rusty PW]

I actually saw an example of someone who had done that on a LRA tank install in a Toyota. It looked pretty cool. But I would worry about a gash happening in the liner, then salt and water continue to get underneath it. I wonder if the liner would adhere to the metal protectant any. So far it has worked really well on the frame, and when it gets dinged or scratched I just spray over it again, so quite simple. I am hoping that I can come up with a solution for a skid plate. But if not I might just go with that bed liner option. Which one do you use?

If you got a gash in the bed liner. All you would have to do is. Take a 36 grit sanding disc on a die grinder and scuff up the gash and respray the area again.

 

[Rusty PW]

My rock rails where I removed the LineX bedliner on the rocks. I touched it up like I described earlier.

 

[Jaxmax]

Hey just for Giggles check out Next Venture belly skids, aluminum, but the neat thing is they have diesel and gas and the tanks are on opposite sides on those, almost looks like a Gas skid with a tank section of diesel skid might work after a few beers. They do now offer modular skids instead of the one piece and I have a oil pan one coming that can be added to later, but they ain't cheap.....Jack

 

[chorky]

Hey just for Giggles check out Next Venture belly skids, aluminum, but the neat thing is they have diesel and gas and the tanks are on opposite sides on those, almost looks like a Gas skid with a tank section of diesel skid might work after a few beers. They do now offer modular skids instead of the one piece and I have a oil pan one coming that can be added to later, but they ain't cheap.....Jack

Oh that's a great idea!

 

[chorky]

Just a quick functional update on the LRA tank. Everything has been functioning well. It was nice to do a tank transfer while cruising on the interstate to town today and not having to worry about getting gas before appointments. On the way home the aux was empty and the main was about half. I guesstimated it would take just under 25 gallons. It was 25.5 gallons or something like that. but just over $80 - ouch!

Despite the troubles with the exhaust, and some questionable included parts, overall having an aux tank under the body is VERY nice. Highly recommended. So much better than jerry cans or rotopax and dealing with all that mess. Not to mention it will help offset top weight from the canopy and RTT.

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