Episode Details

This week, Jimmy and Tyler catch up on two very different 4Runner projects — and somehow both of them involve things that were bent, broken, or seized in ways nobody’s seen before.

Jimmy’s 4Runner “Samantha” is making progress. He spent the week fabricating temporary shock towers out of scrap steel, getting the shocks roughly mounted, and articulating the suspension to figure out how much travel he’s actually working with. The verdict: he needs to raise the shocks about a half inch, the bump stops are in the right ballpark, and the Panhard bar collision he was worried about looks like it won’t be an issue once the setup is dialed. He also talks through the surprisingly useful difference between working with metal vs. wood — and why metal scrap is genuinely hard to throw away.

Tyler’s 4Runner “The Mule” went to Jason at OCD Innovations for a full teardown, and what they found was wild. The pinion bearing had seized and welded itself to the housing — which is what caused the axle lockup and the subsequent catastrophic failure. The good news: the Mile Marker hubs actually survived and held. The not-so-good news: basically everything else needed replacing — lower links (bent aluminum), upper link bracket, CV joints (Metal Cloak), steering kit (Sidetrack Off Road), DOM tubing for the track link and Panhard bar, and a driveshaft joint that exploded and saved the front diff case in the process. The one remaining unknown is the rear diff. Jason is being thorough — almost comically so — and the mule is back on four wheels, running under its own power. Registration still has to happen, which means blinkers, safety inspection, and a Switch-Pros wiring job are all still on the list.

They also get into a deep conversation on lithium battery setups — starter battery vs. auxiliary battery, how alternators interact with lithium BMS shutoffs, and why Tyler is landing on a Dakota Lithium battery with a DC charger as his power management strategy.

Off the trail: Jimmy went and saw *Project Hail Mary* in theaters and loved it (verdict: great home watch, doesn’t require the big screen). He ran a 10K at the Run Rockland event and surprised himself with a 9:45/mile average. And both Jimmy and Tyler took a moment to geek out over the Big Boy steam locomotive #4014 rolling through Roseville — 1.2 million pounds, 133 feet long, 7,000 horsepower, and apparently enough to stop traffic and make kids forget trains exist in favor of radio towers.

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