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What did you do to your truck today?

Discussion in 'General Truck Info' started by Coast Steve, Aug 25, 2010.

  1. ttc

    ttc Active Member

    Hauled over a cord of wood today off my woodlot.
     
  2. Psycho Mike

    Psycho Mike Member

    Well, I got rid of the "awooga" horn and now have a nice, new cargo light. All need now is to get the appropriate fuse for the in-line holder (20A in there, should have a 2A one for this LED light).

    I also think I fouled a plug tonight...no "scary" sounds, but one of the cylinders dropped out. It limped home, but if you think the trucks have fairly low power with 3 cyclinds going, you should try it on two! I'll have to pull them tomorrow or Monday, but with the previous rough idle, I think I have some sleuthing to do.

    Considering how little use this truck has seen in the last ~7 years, I suspect I may have a few issues until it gets used to being run regularly again....probably a few deposits need to be cleaned out (I'm just hoping it's not a bad valve seal, or worse). May also be the plugs and fuel they were using...I think the proper NGK replacement plugs run a hair hotter than the generic ones in it and I think I should probably be using premium gas (more like Japanese regular and without the ethanol).
     
    Last edited: Oct 26, 2015
  3. ttc

    ttc Active Member

    I only run NGK iridium plugs in all my engines and rotella t6 oil.
     
  4. Psycho Mike

    Psycho Mike Member

    Thanks ttc....I went to a synthetic 10W30 (Motomaster Formula 1) here with the last oil change and it seems to be doing well.....I'm not noticing any significant drop in the oil level. I may try the iridium plugs then.
     
  5. Psycho Mike

    Psycho Mike Member

    Well, I dropped in a set of iridium plugs (they say not to gap them, so I didn't) and I'm not getting any better result....if anything, it feels like I've only got one cylinder now. Definitely getting enough gas. Just wondering how long wires, rotor, distributor cap, coil and such are supposed to last and if one of them might be an issue. Anyone have any thoughts?
     
  6. Psycho Mike

    Psycho Mike Member

    Got my 2A fuse in the light and did some more fiddling. I tried re-gapping the other plugs I had...which seemed in not too bad shape....one was a little fouled, but not bad....and tried dropping them in again. Sounds like I am only getting spark to one cylinder now. :(

    So, I talked with Paul over at Westernminitrucks.com (he's local to me and deals with Carrys on a regular basis)...considering it seemed to get worse after I played with the plugs, I'm starting to think he's on the money that the plug wires are probably toast. I'll order up a new set from our gold sponsor minitruck.ca and see if I can get my little Kaiju running again ;)
     
  7. Psycho Mike

    Psycho Mike Member

    It's alive! ALIVE!!!

    New distributor, rotor and wires received and installed, iridium plugs in and, as before, first turn of the key she fired right up.

    In looking at the new parts vs. the old, the rotor was quite worn, the contacts in the distributor cap were heavily oxidized and the plug wires were most certainly shot.

    Took it for a little run to get it up to temp...it seems to pull harder and the low idle issue is gone too. Not going to be winning any drag races, but it does accelerate a bit better and I would expect a bit better fuel economy now.

    Man, these are pretty solid little trucks. Thanks for all the ideas, folks :)
     
  8. ttc

    ttc Active Member

    ya but still will do 80kph in a 60 ;0
     
  9. Psycho Mike

    Psycho Mike Member

    Hit "the strip" tonight... With the standing joke: It's not a mini truck, it's a F150 in a kick-butt Halloween costume ;)
     
  10. allen0288

    allen0288 Member

    image.jpeg It was time for a new start. Stripped my 1995 Hijet S110v to metal and sprayed bed liner kit. New Maxxis Ceros tires, 24" LED light bar in front, LED quad on back hatch, LED remote controlled spotlight on top. image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg
     
  11. Tuskano

    Tuskano Member

    Havn't been on here in awhile like the usual... but two days ago I finished cutting into my front fender flares. They were like an inch from the front tires and on bad bumps would hit the carbon fenders. I was afraid they would crack, so I cut some of the inner structure from their insides out. Now the front tires have more vertical clearance without hitting them. If it happens more, I might measure my shocks and see if I can go stiffer then what I have.

    Those are some bright lights Allen :D. Are those LEDs hooked up directly to the battery? I've had some friends who are into the Japanese car scene want to give mine some underglow the past weeks lol.
     
  12. allen0288

    allen0288 Member

    The light bar is tied in on ignition side with toggle switch. Quad light is wired into back glass heater wireing and switch. Spotlight plugs into cigarette lighter.
     
  13. Tuskano

    Tuskano Member

    Ah, nice. I forgot vans have more spots to connect to. I've always used my cigarette lighter to charge my phone.
     
  14. Psycho Mike

    Psycho Mike Member

    Well, after a bit of a odd feel this morning (intermittent poor idle and poor mid-range power) I did some searching on the forum. Seems like vacuum lines needed to go higher up the priority list.

    So, got some line from the local motor sports shop and did about half of it before I lost my light this evening. Considering the state of some of what I pulled off....um...yeah...probably hadn't been done in a decade. Slow and steady, one line at a time...and so far so good.

    It may end up being a fair bit of work to get this truck back into daily use form...especially considering it all but sat for close to a decade...but it is coming along. Besides, I like to tinker and the truck hasn't left me stranded yet *knock on wood*.
     
  15. ttc

    ttc Active Member

    I use the power from the cigarette lighter to power a relay that controls the park lights so I get park lights with the ignition on. For day time running lights. Also put 4 round led in the bumper to make the truck more noticeable with out turning on the head lights. Headlight draw loads up the alternator a bit. I have yet to swap all the markers to led to reduce the light draw. I will weld up a front bumper guard and winch mount over the winter so I can mount a superwich tr35.
     
  16. Tuskano

    Tuskano Member

    These trucks are good for that haha. So much room for custom work.
    Someday I'll get around to getting some fog lights. I just got the stock lights on it for now. Not in a heavy rush.

    I got a new Sony am/fm radio installed today. Was tired of killing portable CD players from bumps in the roads, ect.

    Also, lately I have been going to more car meets/shows. Planning on going to one in the next 20 minutes at a burger place. Should be fun.
     
  17. Psycho Mike

    Psycho Mike Member

    Well, today was a good day working on the truck (after work, of course).

    I finished off replacing all the vacuum lines associated with the engine...all the ones tied into the carb, block, distributor and immediately attached bits ...and then stared chasing some of the other lines on the truck that were of the same material and started near the engine. Got as far as the front diff (had to remove the underside guard first) before I got to the point of having to either get a hoist or remove the radiator to continue tracing lines. Good enough for tonight.

    Still, it looks and feels like I got the ones I needed to for now. When I drove home, I was certainly impressed...these little trucks purr like kittens when you make them happy (both ways of looking at that statement....happy kittens and happy trucks!) It also seemed to have a bit more oomph and smoother power delivery overall.

    Seeing as the Mrs. had company (girls night), I stuck around the office shop and finished getting off the stripes and decals associated with my truck's former life as a parade vehicle. Don't get me wrong here....a good stripe job can compliment a truck nicely. This, well... this was not a good stripe job and the left-overs were driving me nuts. Basic white looks good for the moment...at least until my little Kaiju gets a fresh coat of paint.

    Overall, a good bit of work for today :)
     
  18. Psycho Mike

    Psycho Mike Member

    Well, today it was mini to the rescue day. We had our fridge die last night and had to get a new one today. It was less than ideal weather, but in spite of taking the freeway home with a lot of extra frontal area, it did the job just fine...

    IMG_20151108_163854.jpg IMG_20151108_163911.jpg IMG_20151108_163839.jpg
     
  19. Mylanman

    Mylanman New Member

    Today I tried out some 24-8-12" ATV tires I got for free. They fit well with no lift. No rubbing at all.
     

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  20. Psycho Mike

    Psycho Mike Member

    Last of the vac lines got done yesterday. Today, the old fridge is in the back for hauling to the recycler :)
     
  21. Psycho Mike

    Psycho Mike Member

    Today was replace bulbs day...all the incandescent 1156 (single contact, larger bayonet base ones) have been replaced with LED bulbs. 200 lm is almost a bit much in a cool white, but they are a bit brighter than stock while drawing far, far less power (5W vs stock 24W). In fact, the signal relay acts a bit like it has an out bulb (faster cycle time) as the draw is so much less.

    Just waiting on the 1157's to do the running / brake lights on the rear...ordered them in a warmer white.
     
  22. Psycho Mike

    Psycho Mike Member

    Today was the first commute with snowy/icy roads.

    The little truck handled the cold just fine and is sure-footed in 4wd...but I think I will need a little weight in the back for 2wd driving around...too many folks put a shine on the intersections and even with only ~50 hp, I was cutting loose the back end.

    Still, I made it to the office before a lot of my co-workers....yay kei trucks :)
     
  23. ttc

    ttc Active Member

    the other week i moved the upper cupboards from a friends house.. he teased me at first about fitting it on my little truck. he was amazed how much the truck held

    [​IMG]
     
  24. ttc

    ttc Active Member

    today my wife got her first deer so i took the mini truck into our wood lot to pick it up with her. we field dressed it on the box of the truck. lifting the dump up as we needed and when we got home lifting it right up so we could wash it all out and off.

    [​IMG]

    looks like a murder scene.
     
  25. Akbillybow

    Akbillybow Member

    I added tracks to my mini !!!

    R 1.jpg R 2.jpg
     
  26. Psycho Mike

    Psycho Mike Member

    Akbillybow: nice looking little unit. Where did you get the canopy?

    ttc: Yay...venison steaks this winter!! :)

    Myself, in the last 24 hrs we've been hammered by the snow. I added ~200 lbs of sandbags in the back of the box so I'm not in 4x4 all the time until the plows come through. So far, though, in 4x4, it has been clawing its way through everything that's been thrown at it :)
     
  27. ttc

    ttc Active Member

    One problem with the minis being so light. Sometimes they can't get traction
     
  28. ttc

    ttc Active Member

    I would love to do tracks if they where only cheaper.
     
  29. Psycho Mike

    Psycho Mike Member

    Well, today I roused my sleeping beauty from -20C and drove to work. A little harder to start, but it got going. Glad I went with synthetic oil!
     
  30. ttc

    ttc Active Member

    -20 c chilly not that cold here yet on the east coast thankfully!
     

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