I'm due for my oil change and inspection next week. If the dealer asks should you tell them you've been offroad? Does this void warantee? She (the fj is a girl) only has 15,000 miles.
Ed, I am still getting info about a lift. I pm bonzo_player for some info about the Rough Country. I really would like to keep my bilstiens all around if I can, but I have been reading another thread that the rear would not have enough articulation with my stock shocks and lift. I also want to do an bumper and winch so I want to make sure it will be stiff enough to support it and be level.
I am VERY happy with my OME 885/Toytech lift. It's the "most popular lift" on toytech's site. I left the stock front shocks, but opted for the procomp nitrogen shocks for back. They supposedly allow 2" more droop. The thing about the back shocks is you can replace them easy at anytime, so you could try your stockers for a while first. If you do go with toytech, call and place your order and tell them you are off the forum, you get a discount.
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08' Sandstorm 6mt FJ blacked out with 3" OME lift, BFG m/t KM2's, All Pro front bumper and skid, smittybilt winch, homemade sliders, homemade skids, trail damaged rear bumper.
07' Kawasaki Ninja zx-6r
73' VW Thing
Hey Scott, you will love this one. I went to Hoover toyota today and was talking to the service guys and they asked me if I took mine offroad. After they opened the hood they just looked at me. I nevered answered the question. Then the guy starts to tell me about on FJ that comes in with a lift kit on it. He tells me that this is one of the meanest looking FJs that he has seen. Then he tells me that the guy add bars under it and that he need them because they could see where it had been banged up. So I said that one of the guys we ride with has a yellow FJ that is lifted and his name is Scott. Then he tells me that we were talking about the same guy because he rembered the guys name was Scott.So I told him that if you ever come in for service that you probably did it in the woods and not to replace it for free. Just kidding about the last part.
That's funny.
The last time I was there I was on my way out the door to take my FJ home and I could hear this from someone behind me. " Thats the guy. You should see underneath that FJ he has beat the sh1t out of it!" followed by " cool......" I just kept walking and smiling to myself.
We should all get together again, go muddin, and take like 15 FJs (covered in mud) to the same dealership at the same time and tell em "we all need pulleys". You reckon that would freak out the service dept?
I'm due for my oil change and inspection next week. If the dealer asks should you tell them you've been offroad? Does this void warantee? She (the fj is a girl) only has 15,000 miles.
Going offroad should not void your warranty. A part that was obviously broken offroad, well you might have to dig in and stand your ground to get it covered. It is, afterall, a 4x4. What they won't cover is anything they consider "owner abuse", flat out beating the sh1t out of it, Scott. Some of us already fall into that category but you're not beating it that hard yet.
If you know someone at the dealership, become good friends. You would be amazed what can be covered under warranty when you know someone there. At 40,000 miles, this 4th set of pulleys is the first repair I've had to pay for and I've broke alot of crap (2 tie rods, lower control arm, 3 sets of pulleys, coils, power steering pump from doughnuts in the mud, front control arm, I'll stop now as I'm just telling on myself).
The "sealed" bearings on the idler pulleys get grit in them from going thru muddy water and then start squealing. You'll definitely notice if they start making noise. Worst case scenario is you ignore it and the dirt/grit accumulates with more and more muddin' trips, then it locks up on you and you break a serpentine belt.
I changed mine out a couple months ago and the silence (from my engine compartment) is golden. I kept the old pulleys and cleaned them out using Dragon's tech article as a guide. One was really bad, you could see visible pits and gouges in the ball bearings so it got thrown out, but the second one I kept cleaned up pretty well and serves as a trail replacement in my kit of spares.
__________________ Rick C ~ ~ I aim to misbehave. 2007 GSJ15//Ti Ag//4WD AT All-Pro bumper, USB links, IFS skid, Extreme LCA links, LCA skids & Bandi mount Bud Built trans skid/crossmember/gas skid Metal-Tech red sliders OME 886/895 springs & shocks Super Swamper 34" LTBs Warn 9.5xp/Masterpull line Demello rear bumper
The "sealed" bearings on the idler pulleys get grit in them from going thru muddy water and then start squealing. You'll definitely notice if they start making noise. Worst case scenario is you ignore it and the dirt/grit accumulates with more and more muddin' trips, then it locks up on you and you break a serpentine belt.
I changed mine out a couple months ago and the silence (from my engine compartment) is golden. I kept the old pulleys and cleaned them out using Dragon's tech article as a guide. One was really bad, you could see visible pits and gouges in the ball bearings so it got thrown out, but the second one I kept cleaned up pretty well and serves as a trail replacement in my kit of spares.
Can the OEM bearings be pressed out and a high quality sealed bearing be pressed back? If Toyoto won't do it looks like we should do it on our own.
I have never been a huge fan of mud so the odds of it happening to me are slimer than many others. I think it would be a good idea to put better bearings in simply as a preventative measure.
__________________ "Life is a full contact, participation sport. Get in there and play "
Seems plausible, but like you said, just avoid muddy splashes whenever there's not a monthly photo contest going on
Popping the top seal off was easy enough. Getting to the back off seems a bit more difficult and based on Dragon's experience, I didn't try it either. I guess you could use a small press and push the whole assembly out, but it's really not necessary to clean them. I wouldn't know where to begin looking for better sealed bearings that fit these pulleys.
These pulleys are not that hard to get off and if you tend to hit mud frequently, I'd just get into the habit of cleaning them after each splash-fest. Hitting the engine compartment with a hose or pressure washer is not going to keep dirt out of these, but it may delay time between servicing the pulleys.
__________________ Rick C ~ ~ I aim to misbehave. 2007 GSJ15//Ti Ag//4WD AT All-Pro bumper, USB links, IFS skid, Extreme LCA links, LCA skids & Bandi mount Bud Built trans skid/crossmember/gas skid Metal-Tech red sliders OME 886/895 springs & shocks Super Swamper 34" LTBs Warn 9.5xp/Masterpull line Demello rear bumper
Just kidding about the last part.
"Life is a full contact, participation sport. Get in there and play " 
but you're not beating it that hard yet.
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