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I'm wrapping on an edit this Wednesday so trying to take some afternoons off leading up to the weekend. If I can, I'm going to swap out the PanHard bar, then go get an alignment and report back. All the shocks I took off were in 100% shape, so thinking the stock damper will be as well.
But again, the truck is night and day. Now I'm just getting in my head to make it perfect.
Larger Hood Stops
Larger Hood stop part number: 000 998 44 40
Takes some fine tuning to get the hood stops to close the hood properly without putting too much tension on the hood pins. Just need a 10mm wrench and some patience.
Now to get my squeaking glove box handle under control and a random squeak in the rear and we are OCD compliant in the noise department.
Last edited by almostordinary; 05-19-2020 at 05:56 PM.
Yep, that's a pretty well-known issue with the hood squeaking. It's a pretty lightweight hood that tends to move around a lot when driving.
This solution will work, to lengthen those hood stops so the hood is more tightly held down, and maybe add a little grease as well. I like the idea of the larger stops, may get a pair myself, cheers!
Thanks man! Love hopping in this truck and taking it for quick cruises. Hoping my weekend opens up so I can get it on some fire trails around LA this weekend!
Squeaking glove box handle:
I had that as well and it bothered the heck outta me, so the solution is a small piece of window insulation-type foam tape inserted from the back of the door just to the left of the handle. There’s a small gap there. No more squeak....
Went for a quick drive this morning to grab some supplies for the day in front of my laptop up in Beachwood Canyon... had to snap a shot as I walked out.
Also saw a really nice 2000 G built for overlanding and exchanged waves as we passed. Glad to see there's a community here in LA!
There are so many G-Wagons here in LA. The ones that have a bit of modification to them are usually the guys that wave. The ones that are stock usually just look at me in the truck and the fact that its jacked up with bigger tires and do a double take.
Moving to Seattle in a couple of months, not sure what the scene is up there but looking forward to getting off the grid more with all the wilderness in the PNW and some road trips to Vancouver and Portland on the regular.
I've seen around 5 G Wagons in the North Dallas area this year so far, and none have waived or flashed back, or even seem to look over at me....
This boils down to the 2 types of Gwagon owners. 1) the type who drives it around mostly concerned with being seen in it. 2) those who drive it because it is an off road vehicle (Galandawagan) that suits their needs. The later are the type that usually seeks community with other like minded off-roaders/overlanders.
I, for one, would more likely be driving a diesel Rubicon if it was safer (Rear airbags, full time all wheel drive) or the new Defender if it had 3 real locking diffs, but the Gwagon is the only vehicle that meets all my needs.
This boils down to the 2 types of Gwagon owners. 1) the type who drives it around mostly concerned with being seen in it. 2) those who drive it because it is an off road vehicle (Galandawagan) that suits their needs. The later are the type that usually seeks community with other like minded off-roaders/overlanders.
I, for one, would more likely be driving a diesel Rubicon if it was safer (Rear airbags, full time all wheel drive) or the new Defender if it had 3 real locking diffs, but the Gwagon is the only vehicle that meets all my needs.
Totally agreed on the new Defender. I was looking at a D130 and D110 before I really landed on the G-Wagon. With the older defenders I was making two sacrifices.... 1.) Getting back into British vehicles... 2.) Older tech. I was excited for a while w the new Defender, but quickly fell out of that...
I know I made the right choice. Love this truck.
Next on the docket:
Regreasing the Swivel joints this weekend.
Installing the panhard bar.
Alignment.
New black faux suede headliner and b-pillars. Then looking to swap out the rest of the beige/tan components.
Then going to relax w mods for a while and just enjoy the truck and find weekend excursions.
The panhard bar supplied by Viking offroad is definitely more beefy than the stock unit.
You want to do this with the truck on level ground, not jacked up, as this acts to keep the car centered left and right, if you jack the car up your truck's geometry will be off when re-installed.
I felt a bit of bump steer this morning when driving and hitting some uneven road while turning, hoping this corrects that. Also going in for an alignment this afternoon.
Also found a pretty easy trail to take the truck on tomorrow morning
Well, took the truck for a quick shake down, and first it feels amazing zero bump steer. But with the new panhard bar being a bit larger my steering wheel's 12 o'clock turned to 2 o'clock.
Went under the truck and adjusted the steering linkage and we are all back to 12''
Tools:
- 2 x16mm wratchet wrenches
- 22mm wrench
DRIVE YOUR TRUCK BACKWARD AND FORWARD TO SEE WHERE THE WHEEL IS TRACKING.
Takes a couple tries, but you can see if you need to turn the bolt below clockwise or counter clockwise based on where your wheel goes.
I had to turn mine almost 2 inches from the inner wheel going to the passenger side.
Now that's straightened out looking forward to getting it in the desert tomorrow morning.
Had an amazing time with the misses, didn't take as many photos as I hoped, nor did I use my pro-camera I brought with me... it was way too much fun taking these trails, high inclines and steep descents.
The truck handled everything with ease. There was rubbing when I had full articulation and tried to turn sharply, but only had to do this twice.
This was on the Rattler Trail at Hungry Valley Valley SVRA, also hit some of the higher elevation trails and ended it off on Pipeline Trail before heading back to LA.
Lots of thumbs ups from ATV's, Jeeps and other trucks.... also a lot of head scratching.
Didn't have to put the truck in Low gear at any point, nor did I use the diffs.
There were some really steep climbs that I just let my right foot get me up w/ ease, esp w the supercharger.
Definitely going back here a few more times before moving to the PNW, only 1hr away from LA, so close!
There was a lot of rocky and soft sand terrain, didn't stop to take photos of most of the ride as it was so damn fun. All in was about 2hrs of smiles. Although my wife hated the higher altitude trails... can't blame her as her seat is on the edges of the drop off.
Nice! Looks like you had a great time with some great weather...
Guess you can imagine now what she'll do in Low gear and with diffs locked... like a tractor that ploughs through almost anything.
Nice! Looks like you had a great time with some great weather...
Guess you can imagine now what she'll do in Low gear and with diffs locked... like a tractor that ploughs through almost anything.
100%! I think all owners should take these trucks out at least once during their ownership and see what they are capable of. Can't wait to get back out there again.
The rest of the weekend is going to be spent taking out the headliner and prepping it for a new suede top next weekend.
Might even get her back ofroad the following weekend to get some more practice in.
Epic! With the new tires and lift, the truck looks like it belongs out there on the trails. Any close calls with the exhaust scraping on sharp breakovers?
The exhaust cleared every obstacle, there were some pretty steep peaks and I also found myself on an ATV slalom, and the exhaust never as much touched the ground.
The tires were amazing, found myself in a v-grove coming down a steep decline which I tried to avoid, and the tire's outter design gripped and helped me get out of a tricky spot.
One of the park rangers that cruises around got behind me in an older two-door jeep as I was approaching one of the more technical inclines, I got 80% up with minimal throttle. gave it a bit of a blip at the top and was up no problem. The jeep had to back up get a running start and just made it to the top.
Can not wait to get back out there. Would be great to go w anyone here on the forums.
Just hopped under the truck to re-grease the swivel joints and give everything a full once over after taking it offroad the first time. Swivel joints are fully regreased, the passenger side took a bit more than the driver's side, so going to keep an eye on that once I get the truck back on the road and put some miles on it.
Wanted to give the steering a full once over since I was down there, and found that the boots on both the steering tie-rod and the front drag links were toast. Ordering both now from FCP Euro, and going to keep the truck parked until they arrive and I can get an appointment at the alignment shop, and have them install these two parts so it's a one stop deal.
Guess I'll be getting some more use out of my E63 next week. Which I can say I have been missing.
More to come, headliner should be here for me to tackle next weekend!
Suede headliner material came in a week earlier so I figured I'd use some down time in the day to remove the headliner...
Holy **** is it a pain in the ***. Once I have it covered and back in I will do a proper write up. But the front passenger and passenger rear need to come out along with everything in the back.
My headliner was "fine" it would wave with the windows down, but I really wanted black suede and couldn't live with it. And while the truck is down waiting for steering components this is the perfect time to tackle this.
The moment I relieved any pressure holding the headliner on the cloth immediately came loose. The old glue and foam backing is everywhere, so before I place the suede down, I'm going to go through and thoroughly clean the interior back to its pristine state tomorrow.
It was a Florida truck, and I can tell it's been replaced before. Now that I'm in Cali and there's almost no humidity, and then moving to the PNW where it's likely to spend the rest of its life, I am hoping to never have to do this again. Had to get the misses to help me get the bugger out.
Going to wrap the A-pillars and sun visors as well. The grab handles will likely stay grey until I can find an affordable replacement set.
05-18-2020, 06:16 PM
