IdahoDoug

Ack - really? Remind me never to try that. So today, I got a fresh right window to very close to it's final size. Hoping to finish that process tomorrow and be ready to try installing them on Sunday. I will need to fully sand the edges so they're smooth and rounded to pry into the seal without catching or cutting it.

Interesting - thanks for the input. Mines definitely the flange gasket. Funny how a pedestrian part like that can be an issue even with a world class company. I had an 89 Mitsubishi Van Wagon, which was a 4 cylinder built for the world market in huge volumes by a world class engine builder. It cracked exhaust manifolds to the point I'd yank them at the U Pull even when there for another vehicle. Felt bad that after I sold it a couple years ago, I later found a small pile of manifolds I had forgotten about.

Yeah, OK. I'm going to pass on it. For anyone interested, it's near San Diego and the guy says it's never been mounted. Still available for $286 new including shipping and he's selling it for $100 obviously with no shipping. I know someone down there and get to SoCal regularly so shipping would have been "free". PM me for details if you are interested. I will just install a new gasket (it's actually the flange gasket leaking, not the block gasket), and as Extech says, avoid having any issues with the O2 sensor. Plus the original manifold heat shield is in great shape, and that also has the original heated air tube that helps warmup, both of which will not fit the header. Plus I won't need expensive exhaust work to mate to the header. All that for a few HP doesn't have the bang for the buck. I've been trying to talk myself out of it and Extech helped me!! Curious how the Weber conversion went, Extech? My Sunrader has super low miles at 32k, and it runs well. My understanding is the original Toyota carbs eventually have wear issues, but otherwise are reliable. There's a guy on YouTube with a stone grey Sunrader that really likes his Weber conversion. Did you do yours yourself, or..?

I am thinking of buying a Hedman "shorty" header for more power since I have a leaky exhaust gasket. However, my exhaust (likely original at 32k miles) is dual exhausts from the factory cast iron exhaust manifold, which I did not expect until I crawled under this morning. It connects to a larger single pipe about 6" behind the cab door hinge. Two questions for you: Is that stock? Has anyone else any experience with the shorty header (less added power than the full header which is some 4 feet long)? Also, I was surprised to find my carb 22R has an oxygen sensor in its factory manifold, which I'd have to have installed in the Hedman. Any comments about that? Eliminate it (Idaho has no classic car exhaust requirements)? Input welcome - good, bad and ugly. Thanks.

Wraparound windows making me insane. The right window was the first one I made. At the end of the day it turned out to be 1/8" too short when I turned to it to do final trim to size. So, had to buy an entire 2nd 4X8 sheet of plexi and start over on the right window. Cut first one and promptly bent it the wrong direction and made a left one instead. Cut second one and now it's ready to start the trimming process. Glad I checked my sanity at the door upon beginning this Sunrader project in October!

Others with stock ceiling height may be better qualified. I am in midst of a full renovation and took the time to arch my ceiling with 14 curved aluminum spars and guess I have 6'1" headroom (I'm 5'10"). I dont know what stock height is but perhaps someone will grab a tape measure and tell you?

Welcome! Not sure what you are asking. You say you have seen Sunraders that solve the 4wd and height issues, meaning you'd be happy with those. Then seem to ask if that height would work for you two? More clarity?

Jason, would love to see your source/order when it pans out. I am renewing rear bushings as well and would just duplicate your order for convenience if you dont mind posting. Thanks in advance.

Well, I got one window ready to install - the pesky left window. Now, just need to prep the opening with some thin strips of rubber to thicken the edge to a quarter inch. Also needed to grind down the sharp curved area on the lower lip of the opening. It was abnormally thick right on the curve - over a quarter inch. So the seal simply would not sit there properly. Did the same on the right side while I had the Dremel out - but a very light touch. I got better at trimming and marking the window as I brought it smaller and smaller to the right size with a quarter inch gap all around. I stopped marking it by hand, and instead made a simple jig with a Sharpie and popsicle stick such that once it's smaller than the opening by a fraction if an inch (at least a popsicle stick), then I could slide the stick along the opening and it would draw the correct matching line on the still-too-large window. The line follows the slight wavers of these openings, which are crazily hand cut (vs using a template. That would have been so simple at the Sunrader factory). I've decided I am going to glue them in. I looked at old threads of people who reused the old windows and installed new seals and had leaks, and I don't want to be that guy. It's risky in that once the stuff is applied, it's gotta fit and I wont know if they're too tight until I'm half done with the install and then it will be a tremendous mess if I have to pull it apart before it fully cures. But if I'm successfull, these things probably will be water tight to 10 feet underwater, or something. This week, I'll get the right window also trimmed to size so that next weekend my son can help me. I'm definitely going to need an extra set of strong hands.

Thank you for the kind words. Sometimes when it's tough going, the lack of responses and help sting a bit, so that helps. So, would you consider cutting and bending new windows? I've suffered through the learning curve and reduced it to a "follow these steps" task now. I head to Dallas now for a short business trip. Hope to spend Sunday on the wraparounds - possibly installing both this weekend.

Well, I really, really hit a low point here. Every sizable project has these ups and downs. Thankfully the ups typically outnumber the downs by 100 to 1. No idea how I did this, but I cut the NEW window off by an inch, not paying attention to the angle it will be once bent. So, I have some happy news. Yes, you can do all THAT and still have enough plexiglas to cut a fourth wraparound window from a single sheet. Whew. And, BTW, still enough left to replace the door window. I bent the new left window today, and also fixed a wobble in the right window we left out of not knowing what to do with it since it was our first attempt at bending. So, I now have two rough cut, properly bent windows and will restart the "trim-trial fit-trim" cycle all over again but with a better technique I developed. Whew. I'm also going to sell a pattern and instructions for $25 for others who want to give this a go. Two hard-fought items in this will be the proper rough outline of the part, and the critical angle to bend the part. That angle is the franchise, as you'll notice your front portion leans backward, while the side portion is perfectly vertical. Onward and upward.

Ah, gotcha. Is there a zirc fitting on the bottom to squirt grease into the fitting? If yes, you might do the following. Clean the outside. Put the part at the middle of its travel (wheels straight ahead most likely). Wrap it with Rescue Tape, or the tape used to patch RV rubber roofs (incredibly tenacious n stretchy). Squirt a bunch of grease into it. I've also successfully used beads of silicone caulk around the boot to "seal" it against dust last for a long while. The grease is there to lubricate a ball and socket joint in the bottom drum shaped portion, and the boot is there just to allow for somewhere for the old grease to go after it's pushed through the joint, and of course to keep dirt out. If there is no zirc fitting to add grease, put it on your "to do list" to replace the ball joint/arm it's attached to. It's probably STILL going to last for 10 years of use though. You can periodically have someone move the steering wheel back and forth tiny amounts while you firmly grip it with a hand to feel if it's wearing some slack in there. Probably a $30 part on Rock Auto and an hour's work to replace if you have a ball joint tool.

You might slider under and find the actual part number stamped on the case. Toyota made a lot of stout automatics in the day and they'll have different filter strategies. Purely from my own curiosity, is yours an external filter?

Well, disaster again. Yesterday, I went out to finish one of the wraparound windows. It's turned out to be a process of cutting it "close" and bending it. Then trimming 1/6 off here, then there. Each trim actually causes the part to change orientation in the Sunrader opening if you think about it. One end rises, the other end drops, and so on. I'm using small chunks of the rubber seal to hold it in place and see where it's still too tight. Anyhow, I was just a bit of trimming away from a finished piece to try putting it in tomorrow when calamity struck. I moved my work table out next to the Sunrader for this fast cycle "trim/check fit" stage. Slightly irritated that it started sprinkling and I wasn't finished (lots of delays), I shoved a couple tools around my work surface and hurriedly moved the piece of foam I was cutting on to protect the table. Window laying on the ground for the adjustment. A screwdriver fell off, bounced once and landed in a perfect gymnastic "10" point down on the window and broke it. Man, this is really testing my patience. I soberly came inside, pulled the remainder of my 4X8 plexi sheet out and cut a new one. Will bend it tomorrow and as it's supposed to snow I will just do other things. Linda's rubber strips arrived and I think they're exactly what I needed, so I'll trim about 10 feet of each thickness into 1/4" strips to match the lips of the seal. Sadly, I also need to pull the trim back around the windows on the inside. I put it there when I first found the seal's gap was too wide, thinking it would help fill the gap. Should have thought that through - it's not firm enough to keep the seal oriented and just crushes. Now its just in the way and freshly glued in my way to boot. More as the story develops - film at 11.......

And therein lies my confusion. Several photos showing several items without showing a broken fastener or an empty hole, or two surfaces previously connected that now are not. And then the one above with a bracket askew and the bolt still in place. If it's just the bracket, it seems too obvious what to do for you to even ask "what should I do?". Clearly put a nut on and tighten it. Yet you seem distressed that something else is wrong. Honestly, I cannot figure out what the issue is. Happy to help when I can, though.