OlympiaFJ60

Since we have started going to Yakima a few times a month for my wifes work, we have decided Chinook Pass is our favorite route. The road is slower but shorter than either Hwy 12 or Interstate 90. The actually are all about 3.5 hours from our house to Yakima. SR 410 is very scenic and we encounter much less traffic (generally).

From the DOT Flickr page (more…)

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All pictures posted here are courtesy of Steve Bisig at PNW Backroad Adventures. Special thanks to Jerry at Backroads Drivers Northwest for leading this outing. For a detail trip report, visit Steve’s writeup.

It was the hottest day yet this spring and we were headed from Yakima to Kittitas, WA to meet up with the caravan of vehicles heading to the “trail head”. It was suppose to reach 90 deg so I stopped and filled up with cold drinks as well as fuel before heading off the black top. Just as we approached the Old Vantage Highway, I saw a long line of 4wheel drives heading east. We fell quickly in line as the 10th vehicle. Jerry, our intrepid leader turned off onto the Corral Whiskey Dick Road. This is the southern entry point into the Whiskey Dick Road Managment Area, managed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. (more…)

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When driving the back roads of Washington you are likely to encounter all sorts of roads and vehicles. I would like to address “logging roads” through the forests of the Northwest.

Having worked in the woods for a number of years, I have become accustomed to driving logging roads and “dealing with” other logging road users. Weekends are a little easier but during the week logging roads can be down right dangerous to the unaware driver. There can be a wide range of vehicle traffic such as foresters in pickups to fuel and lube trucks servicing the heavy equipment at logging sites to loaded log and dump trucks. While drivers can seem rude at times, remember this is THEIR place of work. Their livelyhood relies on traveling these roads.

A few basic rules to follow while driving these roads are common sense. First of all SLOW DOWN and turn your headlights on. It may seem like you are the only one out there at times but 35 mph on a gravel corner can be really fast when that loaded logger lumbers into view, and according to the “law of gross tonnage” you will not be the winner. Many of the roads are not posted with speed limits, unless it is part of the county road system. 10-15 mph is a good speed for most locations with a narrow 1 or 1 1/2 lane road. Wider roads with long lines of sight and well maintained can be safe at 35 mph. Remember there are spur roads (short dead end roads) all along the way and they are often difficult to see from a distance. Headlights make it a lot easier to been seen as you pass from clearing to timber. If the oncoming car is in the sun and you are in the shadows you will be very difficult to see. (more…)

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I recently replaced the glow plugs on a ‘96 Ford F250 pickup with 7.3l Powerstroke engine. This particular vehicle is also equipped with several Banks upgrades. I found some good articles over at powerstroke.org for replacing the glow plugs as well as a source for an entire “kit” from the powerstrokeshop.com to do the job right.

The drivers side was pretty straight forward but the passenger side was an little more complicated because of the inter-cooler piping and the Banks Brake. I started on the drivers side and removed the air inlet pipe housing from the compressor to the air cleaner. I then removed the brackets and bolts holding down the valve cover. There was enough room to remove the valve cover without removing the inter-cooler piping on this side. I then removed the valve cover gasket and the under valve cover harnesses. I had read several warnings about the glow plugs swelling or becoming carbon encrusted and stuck in the cylinder head during removal. One suggestions was to run some injector cleaner through the system before replacing the glow plugs to clean up the carbon. This truck has been running bio diesel for a while and no problems were encountered during the removal of the plugs. A 10mm thin walled deep socket is needed. The rockers are pretty tight so a thicker wall socket will get stuck. I replaced the glow plugs with the new Ford ones from the kit, as well as replacing the under valve cover harness and valve cover gasket.

As I said, the passenger side was a little more tricky. I had to remove the inter-cooler piping, the alternator and the Banks Brake mounting bolt closest to the valve cover. The back bolts on the valve cover near the A/C evaporator are a little hard to reach as well. With that done I was able to squeeze the valve cover out. Again I removed the valve cover gasket, UVCH and glow plugs replacing them all with new. After reinstalling every thing it was time to test. This truck will no longer need to be plugged in, even on moderate days, to start. (more…)

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I just finished the quick and easy installation of the 60 series tailgate storage lid from Wagongear.com, into my ‘87 FJ60 More information can be found at the original forum thread on Ih8mud.com. This conicals Kevin’s original design to final product as well as installations by many satisfied customers. It is amazing how much space is really hiding in there.

In the case of my installation it even straitened my concave tailgate.  I have an air powered body saw (a little smaller blade than jig saw) that easily cut the center out.  I had purchased it at Harbor Freight years ago.  Had it all installed in about 40 minutes.  I was amazed how badly bent my tailgate was in the center.  It closes a lot better now and the upper gate closes a little tighter to the body. Kevin has attemted to make this lid fit all 60 series tailgates, but the hole spacing differs slightly between different years. I only had to enlarge the four corner holes (on the tailgate not the lid). It comes with stainless steel button head allen screws, washers and locking nuts for a clean finish. I just have to replace a few bolts on the box I have in the back and shim it up 1/4″ or so to keep it from rubbing on the lid.

(more…)

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