All posts by Last Great Road Trip (LGRT)

fj cruiser driverside spark plug location
how to maintenance

Time For A Change Sparky

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fj cruiser used spark plugOne of the best ways to avoid trouble on an off-road adventure is to know your rig… inside and out.  One of the best ways to get to know your rig is through regular maintenance.  Toyota recommends changing your spark plugs every 30,000 miles.  Changing the spark plugs on a Toyota FJ Cruiser is a simple activity for any backyard mechanic and a good way to get to know your rig.

A couple of things you’ll need in order to change out the spark plugs includes:

  • 6 spark plugs
  • 12 mm and 10 mm socket
  • spark plug socket
  • spark plug gapper
  • couple of 10″ extensions
  • socket wrench
  • torque wrench
  • 2 flat head screw drivers (very helpful)
  • anti-seize (optional)
  • silicon grease (optional)
  • gloves (sure this is optional but Hula Betty wants to protect her manicure. Mechanic or latex gloves work great)

Spark plugs are the business end of your engine’s ignition system.  Its the spark plugs that delivers the spark needed to ignite the air/fuel mixture.  No spark means no combustion!  Combustion occurs when high voltage supplied by the ignition coil jumps across a small gap between the spark plug electrodes. The high voltage surge from the coil goes down the spark plug’s center electrode and forms an arc as it jumps across the gap. The voltage required to form the spark ranges from 4,000 up to 28,000 volts depending on the spark plug gap, engine load and compression. The spark only lasts a tiny millisecond, but it is long enough to start the burn.  And lets face it, a millisecond is a lot longer than you think about the answer to “would you like another beer”.

Never take for granted that your new spark plugs are properly gapped.  Before you tear into the engine check the spark plug gaps and set them to the factory spec.  For our 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser the gap needs to be .039″ to .043″.  After you have ensured the gaps are correct it is the time to apply a little (it doesn’t take much) anti-seize to the spark plug threads, if you want.

You will want the engine to be cold before you start so the metal in the heads is not expanded. To begin, disconnect the negative battery terminal cable.  I know lots of folks balk at this step but resetting the stereo and compass after it is all done is a small price to pay for avoiding an electrical short and chasing down a burned fuse.  After all you will be disconnecting the ignition coils on your rig.

Before starting you may want to take a look at this fj cruiser Ignition coil component replacement Toyota bulletin showing you how to remove the ignition coils.  Getting to the spark plugs on your rig will require that you pull a few bits from the engine including the:

  • V-Bank cover
  • Air cleaner assembly
  • Surge tank stay and oil stay plate (little brackets)

You will also need to unplug the hoses and electrical connections to the air cleaner assembly.  Once you have everything removed, the passenger side coils will be clearly visible.  The driver side coils are visible too, once you look past the tangle of hoses.  These hoses can be moved aside when you need.

If this is your first time…  changing spark plugs… get your mind out of the gutter and back on task…  start on the passenger side.  Trust me you’ll thank me later.

fj cruiser engine head ignition coilThe Toyota FJ Cruiser has an individual ignition coil attached to each spark plug.   Disconnect the electrical connector to the ignition coil followed by removing the bolt holding the ignition coil to the engine.  With the connector and bolt removed, lift the coil out.  This is a good time to take a look at the ignition coil and check for cracks in the housing or tears in the terminal boots.

To remove the plug from its hole you will need your ratchet, spark plug socket and an extension.  When you are on the driver’s side you’ll need two extensions connected together to reach in through the hoses you didn’t remove.  It may take a little muscle but the plugs will release their grip and can be lifted out once they are unscrewed.

Now grab one of the new spark plugs you prepared earlier. The spark plug socket has a rubber insert designed to hold the spark plug while you lower it into the hole and thread it.  You will want to carefully thread the spark plug by hand so not to cross thread it.  Once the spark plug is hand tightened, brake out the torque wrench and tighten the plug down to 15 ft/lbs (factory spec for our 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser).fj cruiser ignition coil

Before placing the ignition coil back into place over the spark plug, add a bit of silicone grease to the terminal boots to keep them conditioned and help form a tight dust seal.  Replace the bolt holding the ignition coil in place.  Remember this is a plastic housing so only torque down the bolt to its factory spec of 7.5 ft/lbs.  Reattach the electrical connector to the ignition coil and your done.  Now rinse and repeat with the other five spark plugs.

Before starting on the drivers side you may want to practice a little yoga and limber up. The driver’s side plug procedure is the same but there are a few helpful hints.

  • Small hands are a benefit.
  • Two screwdrivers may be needed to release the connector from the ignition coil.  One screwdriver holds down the clip while the other gently pushes the connector off the ignition coil.
  • Two ratchet extensions will improve the access to the spark plug allowing you better leverage.

Once you have all the spark plugs replaced, the ignition coils in and the connectors reattached, it is time to button it back up.  This is a good time to wipe down all the parts and remove the trail dirt and grim before reassembly.

Start by replacing the surge tank and oil stay followed by any hoses and electrical clips you may have undone on the drivers side to ease access.  Next place the air cleaner assembly back where it belongs and connect the hoses and electrical connector.  Don’t forget the little vacuum tube in the rear.  Cover it all up with the V-Bank cover and reattach the negative ground to the battery.

Turn the key, listen to your engine come to life and enjoy your success!

New spark plugs about $45, time involved about 30 minutes, the feeling that you get from knowing your rig a little better…

fj cuirsers 4x4 trail green water washington
Overland & Trails

Should Have Taken That Left Turn At Albuquerque…

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men examining the mapThe best navigators are never really sure where they are going until they get there…

6:45 a.m. and the sun is screaming at me through the blinds, yelling to get up and go on this off-road adventure…  We were already late if we were going to be in Enumclaw by 8:30 a.m.  The drive to a trail run meetup for us is always a combination of caffeine, anticipation,  iPod shuffling and mental spring cleaning.  This was no exception.four fj cruisers on 4x4 trail

It has been awhile since we’d run with the NWFJCC…  with anyone for that matter… and this was going to be and easy day of exploring forest roads with several new folks who’d be making their maiden run with the club.

The plan was to head up forest road 70 and than see what happens.  Maybe take a side road that looks interesting or head up to a lookout station or two.  What wasn’t planned for was snow!  After all this is June and we were only at 2,500 ft.  But the snow was there and it marked the end of exploring 70.  Now we were going off the map.

voodoo blue fj cruiser rocky hill climbOff-road exploring is fun…  lots of stops and starts, heading down a trail spur only to find out it dead ends 100 yards from where it starts and turning around a parade of FJ Cruiser on a two track.  The poking around paid off as we found some hills, great views and a little mud.  It also let us spend time with everyone comparing rigs, discussing the merits of this mod or that one, hearing stories of ex-wives, kids, family dogs and the tails that are on each persons must run check list.black trd fj cruiser mud

If you follow the blog (and I hope you do) you may remember the Greenwater area from our winter dog sled adventure.  It rests in the shadow of Mount Rainer offering post card photo ops of the snow covered mountain with swaths of green filling the hills and blue sky above.  The Naches trail cuts through the hills but remains closed until mid-July leaving us to only dream as we crossed it several times during the day.

Even though we spent all day on the back roads exploring, club runs always seem too short.  With the sun still warming the hoods of our FJ Cruisers, we said good bye to our old and new friends as everyone realized dinner time was approaching.voodoo blue fj cruiser driving through snow 4x4 trail  The drive home gave us time to reflected on how lucky we are to be a part of this club and also start planning to attend the next club run of the Naches trail.

Want to see more pictures… Greenwater off-road adventure pictures

olympic peninsula map
my life

Getting Back In The Saddle

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olympic peninsula trail map2009 was incredible for off-road adventures… Tahuya OVR Park,  Bill Burke training, Tillamook State Forest and of course the Rubicon Trail off-road adventure.   It wasn’t so good for economic adventures.  Without much work we had lots of time to hit the 4×4 trails…  A little too much time.  Fast forward to today, 2010 and economic times have improved.  Good news for business…  not so good news for wheeling.  Over the last six months we’ve racked up more air miles than trail hours, flying back and forth to Texas, Montana, Oregon, and around Washington.   But all that is about to change…  at least a little.

The good thing about nights on the road and working out of hotel rooms is you have lots of time to Google trails and research you next off-road adventure.  This time we were looking for a multi-day solo run to wash off the stress and airport grunge.

Turns out the Olympic Mountain Range is the wettest place in the lower 48 states…  If you live in northwest you may think your back yard is the wettest place on earth this year but really the Olympics are it.

It also turns out that there are forest and old logging road encircling the majority of the mountain range.  While not the gnarly boulder filled “roads” of Rubicon, the back roads of the Olympics offer seclusion in one of the most beautiful places in the northwest.

At just under 8,000 feet high, Mount Olympus is the big boy in the range which includes Mt. Deception, Constance, The Brothers, Warrior, Eleanor and a host of others.  The range is filled with rain forest, beach, alpine meadows, rain shadows, clear cuts and some of the world’s largest trees.

This off-road adventure is not going to be about raising our testosterone level with gnarly terrain or testing the limits of our suspension.  This adventure is about getting back in the saddle, connecting with the soul of the open road and freeing the demons in our head through quiet reflection alone in the middle of nowhere.

We’ve printed the maps and loaded 500 miles of GPS way points.  Now to finish up a little rig maintenance and wait for the sun to warm up the trail…  or at least the rain to stop for a bit.  We haven’t figured it all out but looks like we have a plan…  And a good plan today is better than a perfect plan a year from now.

fourtreks hi-lift Jack mounted fj cruiser
gear review

Mounting Your Off-Road Adventure Stuff

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fourtrek tube mounting componentsLong off-road adventures are all about having the stuff you need to get unstuck, stay safe and remain comfortable.  Some of the most import safety equipment on a 4×4 adventure, a shovel and Hi-lift jack, or fire extinguisher are also the most cumbersome and difficult to store.  And like a teenager reaching for the Clearasil on prom night, you want immediate access to this stuff when you need it.

Solving the storage problem, Fourtreks has come up with an versatile solution for  easily mounting much of your off-road equipment in places that keep it out of the way and easily accessible.  By taking advantage of the tubing on most 4×4 rigs (bumpers, roof racks, roll cages…) Fourtreks has developed a versatile modular system of tube clamp rings and accessory mounts that attach to their clamp rings holding all sorts of off-road equipment.

Made from T-6061 aluminum, the system components are light weight yet very strong.  The different accessory mounts are designed to hold such things as:

  • Hi-lift jack
  • Shovel
  • Axe
  • Fire Extinguisher
  • CO2 tank
  • Jerry can
  • Maglite flashlight
  • GPS
  • … you get the idea

Keeping in mind that one size does not fill all, the clamp rings are available for 1″, 1-1/8″, 1-1/4″, 1-1/2”, 1-5/8”, 1-3/4”, 1-7/8”, 2”, 2-1/4” and 2-3/8″ diameter tubing. All of the accessory mounts bolt to any of the clamp rings allowing you to mix and match storage locations for quick access to all your important 4×4 accessories.

Using Fourtreks mounts, we’ve been storing our Hi-lift jack and shovel on the roof for over three years now.  Knowing these items are safely stored out of the way and easily available has allowed us to explore the roads less traveled with piece of mind.

durango drifters
everything else

1 Truck, 4 Freinds and 9,500 Miles

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Sound familiar…

Four college students, The Durango Drifters: Amy, Billy, Tricia, and Kristina are readying for their cross country adventure.  On May, 26th 2010 the friends plan on piling into a Dodge Durango for 37 days to drive from from one end of the country to the other and back again. Along the way they will cover 19 state, camp in nine national parks, shoot rapids, scale mountains and attend a couple of big league games. At least that is their plan.

Anyone who has taken a major road trip knows these guys are in for the time of their lives. Sure they will see the country… but the epic side of this journey will come from the experiences they have, the people they meet and finding out more about themselves.  You know you really can’t help but uncover  little truths about yourself when you are ass to elbows in a truck for weeks on end and no one is bathing on a regular basis.

But if everything goes as planned, these guys from the east coast will have experiences to last a lifetime.  They will cruise below sea level across Death Valley, sore over Pikes Peak, cross the great divide and maybe  find the worlds largest ball of twine.  They also plan on sharing their adventure with friends and family by posting their journey on their website The Durango Drifters so that everyone can participate in their joy ride.

Life is pretty simple, you do some stuff that works and some stuff that doesn’t.  The trick is to find what stuff works that is different than what everyone else does.  Helen Keller said “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.”   These guys definitely have the Hula Betty spirit and we hope they have a daring adventure of a life time…  Be sure to stop by their site and wish them well.

toyota fj80 and fj cruiser rubicon trail
everything else

And They Call It Vendor Love…

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thanks for the off road adventuresWith all the mods on the rig we’ve had to work with a number of 4×4 off-road shops and after market vendors. And as you know, some of them are better than others. So what makes one vendor better than another?

Certainly some vendors produce higher quality gear than others, but not everyone wants or needs the top of the line equipment. Some shops have lower prices than others. But what is it that really separates the great vendors for the not so good and down right awful.

For us, its service. There are all kinds of ways to define service but ultimately we break it down into two categories:

  • Service before and after the sale
  • Service when things go bad

But working with a good shop or vendor is a two way street.  We have responsibility in all this as well:

  • Support a good shop with your loyalty
  • Don’t expect something for nothing

Any time someone asks me a question my usual response is “It depends”.  A good shop will happily talk to you about your project, get to know your needs and what type of wheeling you enjoy so they can give you the right information and help you make good choices.  Good shops and vendors know a well informed customer will make better choices, be much happier with any purchase and hopefully will become a loyal customer.  Don’t take advantage of this by asking for truck loads of information, advice or install support only to turn around and surf the Internet for the lowest price on all the parts they have helped you select for your project.

No matter how tight the quality controls, once in awhile a bad supply of raw materials sneaks in and a bad product gets out the door. Whats important is how the vendor or shop deals with it.  Good vendors and shops want to make it right.  Sometimes it means replacing or fixing a part.  Sometimes it means working with you to try other options.  Work with your vendor honestly when things go sideways and be open to options.  Good shops want to make it right and you have to work with them so they can.

Most of the really great shops and vendors I know are small business owned by individuals who have a real love for what they do and believe in their product.  They are small enough to know each of their good customers (good doesn’t mean spends a lot) personally.  They care about their business’ reputation and want to do what is right for their customers.  But they don’t have deep pockets and can’t give away the store.  These are folks trying to put out a good product or service at a fair price.

So why am I feeling the love for vendors?  The last couple of weeks I been trying to run down parts for a project I started and I turned to Baja Designs, Fourtreks and Plus 1 Accessories for help.   They all were great! They worked with me to understand what I needed and did what they could to help.

Luke over at Fourtreks had a few custom parts made up so that my original designs would still work.  This, while he was trying to get his house, family and business packed up to move.  I’ve moved… a lot!  And Helping others during that time was not my first priority.  I could take a lesson there…  the man deserves a medal.

Plus 1 Accessories found some raw tubing they could send my way that is going to work out and Baja Designs didn’t hesitate to toss in some extra clips, connectors and light buckets I needed.

We’ve all dealt with bad vendors (lord knows I’ve had my share) and the hassles they cause you can feel like nails on a blackboard.  But I’ve been lucky to work with a number of good ones too.  These days when I need help I know I have a good base to turn too.  Even when they can not help, they usually know who can and send me to someone they trust and that says a lot.

hula bettys man
everything else

Reflecting On The Detours…

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dashboard hula bobble dollI can’t believe another year has passed on this wild off-road adventure.  Thanks to all of you, the Last Great Road Trip continues to be the web site destination for those who take the wheel and driver rather than letting life pass them by.

Looking back over the three years, I have to smile when I think about the adventures Hula Betty and I have taken.  Sure the Arctic Off-Road Adventure was amazing… and driving the Rubicon Trail was filled with great ass puckering moments… but the time spent with family and friends on the trails is undeniably the most rewarding part of the adventure for us.  Who can forget spending time at the swimming hole with Boy…  the friendships made on the all girls 4×4 trail run in the Tahuya Forest…  or the look on a friend’s face as we introduced her to off-road adventures in Tillamook State Forest.

146,000 visitors last year can’t be wrong so we hope you continue to enjoy reading the stories and watching the videos (Vimeo Off-Road Adventure Channel) we post. But what does next year hold?  We’re currently researching a solo loop around the Olympic Mountains, looking at a couple of the Oregon Back Country Discovery Routes with a buddy and with any luck we’ll make another Rubicon or Moab trip.   Of course we still have Twin Lakes on the list and there will be a number of weekend outing with the 4×4 clubs throughout the northwest.

When it is all said and done the mile markers fade, scratches buff out and chicks dig dents, but the road less traveled will always call to the soul of adventurers looking to see what is around the bend.  Where are you going to explore in new near?

fj cruiser brian woody Swearingen
Rubicon Trail

Rubicon Trail The Ultimate Challenge

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If you want to know the emotional turmoil that is the Rubicon Trail…  This is it.  In 2009 and 2013 we made off-road trips down the Rubicon Trail with completely different experiences.

The Rubicon Trail is famous the world around as one of the most challenging off-road adventures.  Every time you drive this “county road” (really it is a county road) it is different.  With snow, ice, wind and rain, Mother nature is constantly moving the boulders, creating new ruts and turning the Rubicon Trail into a completely new challenge.

2013 – The 25th Rubithon celebration brought us back to the Rubicon Trail

2009 – Our first Rubicon Trail off-road adventure joining the Metal Tech 4×4 Invitational.

toyota fj cruisers and toyota fj80 rubicon trail
2009 Rubicon Off Road Adventure

We’re Big In Japan

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Japanese land cruiser magazine indexRemember our Rubicon Trail off-road adventure, the “2009 Metal Tech Invitational”?  I know you do…  Cause I don’t want to hear we do all this for nothing…  Ok maybe not for nothing… We do have a blast!

Well one of the members of the team on that off-road adventure was Yoshi, a photographer and writer for Japanese Land Cruiser Magazine.  Yoshi’s pictures and story hit news stands in Japan and sure enough Hula Betty and the Blue Bunny made the cut.

Turns out Japanese readers love seeing all the great places there are in the USA to drive off-road and reading about the Toyota trucks we build to make take on those off-road adventures.

Now if we only read Japanese…  I hope they spelled Hula Betty correctly.

2007 toyota fj cruiser arb bumper
trail talk

From A Land Down Under

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arb 4x4action summer 2010 coverCan I get a hot shower in the bush…  Who is behind 4WD TV…  How did the “Drive 4 Life” turn out…  Is there a good one woman tent out there…  Can a pig really drink beer… And what else are the crazy Aussies up too…

The new ARB 4x4action newsletter summer 2010 showed up in our in box.  As we’ve told you before, this news letter comes from the Australia head quarters so there is a big down under influence on the articles which give you a new point of view.

This quarters publication offers an opportunity to win an ARB recovery kit as well as an ARB air compressor.  Of course if you don’t win you can still read about the Aussies trekking across Africa.

If you’re not on the ARB list to receive your own free issue, we highly recommend it. Yes it is an on-line infomercial but it is also filled with great off-road adventure information.