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Hungary Bill
Hungary Bill GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
4/3/19 1:25 p.m.

Well while I cant work on her yet, I figured we could at least start her sea trials…

First up was a trip to a local castle (or ruins thereof).  I’ve heard different stories on this one (one said the turks destroyed the place) but the one I’m going with is here:  http://kszil.blogspot.com/2012/12/dobronte.html


it basically says the castle fell into ruin when the people who owned it went flat broke.  But it does have a picture of what it looked like, so that’s kind of cool!  Weird thing is, when I open it on my computer it doesn’t work, so you’ll have to settle for a edited screen shot from my phone…

 

Before I get into all that though, I always think it’s important to bring the essential tools with ya wherever you go.  You never know what you’re going to run into, especially with kids…


 

Tissues, baby wipes (swiped from a restaurant), and hand sanitizer... There.  That should cover just about every kid situation imaginable!  On to the castle!

 

Getting there is easy, this place is a 5-minute drive from where we live.  99% of it is station wagon (kombi) accessable via paved roads, but the last little bit is for lazy people in 4-runners (like me!).  It starts off as about 100yds of rocky dirt road, and then turns left up a pretty steep grassy hill.

 


I went as far as the tire tracks went.  It looks like more than one person has tried (and failed) to climb this hill at some point.  We didn’t have any trouble in 2wd though.  I figured the castle probably doesn’t need me driving around inside of it, so I found a spot that was a respectable distance away.  (and then was promptly passed by a kid on a dirtbike.  I think he was sneaking off to the castle for a smoke because he didn’t stay long, and we didn’t see him riding around afterwards.

Anyhoo!  The visit was nice and long.  We reenacted battles (The youngest hungarling decided to play the part of “the cook”), we went bug hunting, we flew a little drone we brought with us, and just enjoyed the view.

 

All in all, not a bad way to spend an afternoon.

 

After the castle trip we went back to the hotel for a nap.  After nap it was down to the town square for some ice cream.

 

So what did I learn from Sea trial #1?  Meh, not much.  Driver’s front tire is rubbing a bit when you hit a bump while turning.  I’m thinking the body lift may have shifted things a bit.  More to follow on that one

 

The tires are cracking pretty bad just outside of the bead circumference.  That sucks.  But it might give me the opportunity to go back to 15’s and pass inspection again.

 

Other than that, it was goooooood times.

 

java230
java230 UltraDork
4/3/19 1:34 p.m.

I've always wanted a Lada Niva....

Hungary Bill
Hungary Bill GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
4/3/19 1:38 p.m.
java230 said:

I've always wanted a Lada Niva....

I can make that happen wink

java230
java230 UltraDork
4/3/19 2:21 p.m.

In reply to Hungary Bill :

Your not helping! I have family in Russia too.... They do exist In Canada somewhat too. I think slammed on the ground with stupid amounts of rubber under it sounds amazingly unpractical! 

Pete Gossett
Pete Gossett GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
4/4/19 4:52 a.m.

In reply to Hungary Bill :

I really shouldn’t have looked at that site... Those Trabants are cheap! Yeah, I know they wouldn’t be by the time one was shipped over. Oh, and some of the weird things on there. Like this:

 

Or cool ones like this!

Slippery
Slippery GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
4/4/19 5:44 a.m.

In reply to Pete Gossett :

Is that blue one a Ford Granada?

mazdeuce - Seth
mazdeuce - Seth Mod Squad
4/4/19 5:59 a.m.
Hungary Bill said:
java230 said:

I've always wanted a Lada Niva....

I can make that happen wink

How many can we fit in one container? 

Hungary Bill
Hungary Bill GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
4/4/19 7:47 a.m.

He he.   I think I found my next project...

 

 

It followed me home, can I keep it?

Hungary Bill
Hungary Bill GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
4/4/19 7:49 a.m.
Pete Gossett said:

In reply to Hungary Bill :

I really shouldn’t have looked at that site... Those Trabants are cheap! Yeah, I know they wouldn’t be by the time one was shipped over. Oh, and some of the weird things on there. Like this:

 

Or cool ones like this!

Whatever you do, do NOT get on mobile.de...  things aren't twice as cheap and there aren't more options available...

Pete Gossett
Pete Gossett GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
4/4/19 10:48 p.m.
Slippery said:

In reply to Pete Gossett :

Is that blue one a Ford Granada?

Yes!

Hungary Bill
Hungary Bill GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
4/11/19 8:49 p.m.

Aplogies for the delay, lost going on.  Here's "The Sea trials" (continued):

 

So after the trip to the castle, a blast down the M-way was in order.  I’ve bought more than one vehicle out here that struggled to keep up on the M-ways and lets face it, the 22R isn’t known as a powerhouse so I did have some concerns.

M-ways are much like our interstates.  Here they’re two lanes in either direction (all you need because people keep right) and most cars do between 110-130kph while most Semis do about 100kph.  (multiply by .6 for a close enough estimation of what that is in ‘murikan).  Speed cameras usually flash at about 155kph, so Mrs Hungary and I usually hold the cruise control just shy of 150kph (about 90mph)

The M-ways seem to have a bit more contour than I-5 back in Washington state, and “contour” in the 4-runner mean shifting out of fifth (where we stop, no one knows!).

The short and long of it?  She did it.  We blasted the 2.5 hours between here and Budapest without much issue.  Well, I say that but the rear pumpkin is leaking juice all over the back of the truck (window included).  I decided it was either very high up on the differential gasket, or the fluid level was too high and it was sending the excess out the breather.

About 20 minutes in, the clutch felt funny (Spongy, and it didnt engage until the pedal was almost to the floor).  When I stopped to check, the master cylinder was dry.  Ugh.  I need to remember to check to see if the carpet is wet…

The exhaust leak is TERRIBLE!!!!  Rolling the windows down has the same effect as putting your lips directly on the tailpipe!

Cruising speed seems to be between 100kph and 120kph.  No real need to go beyond that.  Normally I was cruising at just under 110.

So yeah…

The whole purpose of the trip was to look at a car for Mrs. Hungary

The Saab had some blemishes, but was mechanically sound so I put a deposit on it.

On the way back out of Budapest there was a long incline on the highway and I noticed my temperature gauge, which normally sits just under flat-level, was now sitting at “flat level”.  By the time I reached the top, it had climbed up to “just above flat level”.

I slowed down and it cooled down to normal, but I figured I better stop and see if I was running low  on coolant or if the previous owner had put cardboard or something in front of the radiator for the winter months here.

When I stopped, the rest area that said it had water very much did not have water.  I decided to leave things alone and just watch my temps on the way back (no sense in popping the radiator cap if you've got nothing to put in it).  In doing so I figured out that 100kph keeps things nice and cool, even on the inclines.  And 110kph + tends to make things warm when going uphill.

This went on all the way home, and the next morning I checked the radiator before work thinking for SURE I was going to see low levels of coolant.  But alas!  It was topped up to the top!

Well, THAT's gotta get changed surprise


Then it hit me.  With the body lift under this beast, I’ve got about eleventy billion things obstructing the airflow to the rad…  The stock bumper belts right across the middle, as does the aftermarket bumper, as does the license plate…  Only the bottom 1/8 of the radiator (just above the lower tank) remains unshrouded!

Well heck.  One more reason for that to come off!

 

 


RE: Pumpkin juice,

So the diff’s been marking its territory since I got it.  Small drips, but still.  It’s all too wet to know where it’s coming from but part of my highway sea trials were to see if it’d just go away (thought being it was over filled).  Spoiler alert, it didn’t.

I’ve been pretty busy with the kids and the move, mostly because Mrs. Hungary was still back in Kuwait taking care of the animals while we got settled in here (school, hotel life, work, etc).  And the trip to go get her was going to involve another blast down the M-way to the Budapest airport.  Things went well enough that I really didn’t feel it necessary to check the diff fluid level (even though it was still dripping slightly).  The fluid was coming out so slow... I was sure the fluid was just overfilled...  A fill port nut that wouldnt budge only furthered my belief that someone must have over filled it (I mean, if they couldnt get the nut off, it'd make sense that they'd just remove the breather and pour it in... right?)   

Well, I’m glad I didn't listen to that little voice in my head who was making excuses to be lazy because when I stuck my finger in the fill port, it came out dry!  In all, it took a little over a liter to top that beast up!

Also:  When I say that nut was "stuck on", I mean that fill bolt was STUCK on there!




(for those that have been in this situation:  If you look, you can track our progression by the tools we've cast aside laugh)

Ooh!  This is at Zsolt's house, by the way.  Remember him from the Mercedes thread?  He beat me here by about 6 or 8 months.

 



I was all ready to complaint about how these europeans had no idea how to make a pourable container of pumpkin juice when this happened surprise  I'm in love...

So yeah, I have no idea how long that’s been leaking, or when the last time it was topped up was.  But I’ve now just made the trip to go get Mrs H (to Kuwait and back), and I really need to find a minute to get back under there to check the fluid level again.  Eventually a new gasket is going to be in order.

Good times.

Oh, and the picture REALLY doesnt do it justice, but airport parking is MUCH easier in this beast (hey, I said a station wagon could to 90% of the things this beast can, but if the rest of the 10% is full of things like this I'm calling it a win)



That little hole behind the driver's front tire was deep enough to pick up my rear drive wheel.  I had to lock the hubs (or I could have used a bit of momentum, but this was a public place) to get out of it on the return trip.

 

Also, I think a limited slip might be in order...  I cant go putting it in 4-wheel every time the airport parking gets full devil

NOW, "good times" wink

Hungary Bill
Hungary Bill GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
4/11/19 8:57 p.m.

So we've moved in to our house, Mrs. Hungary is here, and with her came all our animals (we had so many that the EU considers our pets a "commercial shipment" so I had to fly back to Kuwait and take half of them on a separate flight) so of course the city would decide to build a new sidewalk once we got back to delay my garage time a little further...

 

(dear readers of the future:  If that picture is showing upside down, like it is now, I'm sorry.  I have no idea why that happened.   I can promise the camera was not upside down when I took it, I can promise the picture was not upside down when I saved it to my computer, and I can promise it was not upside down when the upload started.  only AFTER the upload was 99% complete did it flip.)

Actually that picture does a much better job of showing how shrouded my radiator is.  Look at that little sliver of air it gets at the top, just above the license plate...

Anyhoo, that's as close as I can get to my garage for now.  

 

Soon...

Mezzanine
Mezzanine Dork
4/12/19 9:12 p.m.

Excellent update Bill! Glad to see you guys are closer to getting settled in. I'm eager to see what projects you drag back to that fine little garage.

Hungary Bill
Hungary Bill GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
4/15/19 8:35 a.m.

No spoilers, but I may or may not currently be in negotiations with Mrs. Hungary as we speak.

I sent her a link, she didn't say "no".  I'm going to stop there for the day (I don't want to overplay my hand ) laugh

 

Good times

Hungary Bill
Hungary Bill GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
4/15/19 8:44 a.m.

The post office sent me a note saying " Visual Diagnostics" sent me a package and could I please state the value of it so they could beat/Tax me accordingly...

 

Except who the heck is "visual diognostics"???

 

It turns out it's 4-Crawler's parent company which means my 0" lift body bushing and hardware set is here!  

 

Now I just need my tool set so we can play:   "why is one wheel a half inch closer to the body than the other?"

 

 

Good times

Dusterbd13-michael
Dusterbd13-michael MegaDork
4/15/19 11:38 a.m.

Bumpers bent.

Hungary Bill
Hungary Bill GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
4/15/19 10:41 p.m.
Dusterbd13-michael said:

Bumpers bent.

Oh man, i would love it if it was, but that's the back side of the tire to the wheel well (Just before the door jam) surprise

Hungary Bill
Hungary Bill GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
4/17/19 3:00 a.m.

My brain is still moving slow, sorry.  So there I was, all quick to blame the body lift for the differences  (0" lift bushing set is still in customs...)  and I hadn't even checked my front measurements with the back!

 

 

There!  Same differences side-to-side, front-to-rear.  Now I can finally say:  "I blame you, body lift"

 

Just say "no" folks.

 

Good times

Hungary Bill
Hungary Bill GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
4/19/19 7:13 a.m.

Easter Sunday means 4-day weekend for us.  I have high hopes:

My garage:

 

My tool inventory:

 

 

Nut strippers, wire cutters, thin an thick pinchers...

 

Various fluids, half-liter bottle of pear palinka (hungarian schnapps)...

Black and white zip ties, electrical tape, and a bundle of mostly severed high tension leads...

I can do this!   devil

Hungary Bill
Hungary Bill GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
4/23/19 4:30 a.m.

Maaaaaaaan, that was a good weekend.  I haven’t had a garage in two stinking years and I forgot how good it feels to get up before the sun does to do some tinkering.  If I could, I’d start every day of the rest of my life like that.

 

 


On the down side, I only have that one bare bulb for lighting.  Might have to fix that…

Anyhoo, with the tool situation being what it is, I figured I wouldn’t get much done but DANG if I didn’t do some damage!

Right off the bat, I broke one of the tailgate cables, just by opening the darn thing!!!  (actually that was a previous owner “fix”.  New cables are on the list of things to order.  Proper length and crimps this time.)

 

Day one started out simple enough, loosen this hose here, remove those wires from there…  Everything was associated with that LPG kit I’m not such a fan of.  The more I unwrapped, the more eager I was to be rid of it and the deeper I dived in.  Duct tape, poorly soldered wires, wires without terminations, split coolant hose as chaffing protection…  All bodges I’m guilty of doing throughout my automotive history, but when there were stickers with the kit providers name and web address all over the place I was expecting better.

 

 

Hmm… I thought I had more pictures than that.  Sorry, you’re just going to have to take my word that it was “bodge, at best”

I tell you what though, that battery disconnect switch thingy is handier than a glove!  Just a flip of a switch and the all the electricimals are off!  And speaking of which, I thought for sure its installation was indicative of a “slow drain” on the battery, but I’ve accidentally left it hooked up enough times that I don’t even bother anymore.  So far, no drains detected.  (win!)

So yeah, glad to be rid of the LPG mess.  The engine bay certainly looks cleaner without all the extra junk installed, and as a bonus I stumbled across my “misfire at idle” that I thought was going to manifest itself as a vacuum leak!


 

That’s the #3 cyl’s HT lead.  And to the previous owner I say:  “Seriously man, you cant tell me you didn’t know about it, you put dag gumm split sleeve and tape over the darned thing!!!”

Lucky for me, a few of the HT leads that came with the truck were still intact so I was able to swap it out with a good one.  (again, Mr. PO:  seriously!!!!!...)

Enough PO griping.  Got it swapped and went for a drive on Monday to go pick up my winter wheels and tires from my buddy Zsolt’s house.  On the way I noticed that with the truck running smooth it was idling ‘round about 1500RPMs.  I had my new swiss army knife with me (speaking of “handier than a glove”  I should have bought one of these YEARS ago…) and turned the idle adjustment almost 4 complete turns in to get her back down ‘round 900rpms or so.  By the looks of it, that idle screw was almost completely at the end of its adjustment range…

 


 

 

(insert grumble about the PO “knowing about the problem, having the part to fix it, and bodging the fix with a screwdriver adjustment anyway” here)

With the “PO tone” now completely set in my head, I began to look at a few other things…

Throttle cable?  Yup, loose as a goose!  I mentioned earlier that the truck felt down on power?  Yeah… not anymore!

Parking brake that barely worked?  Yup.  Adjusted as far as it could possibly go… in the absolute wrong direction.  Works fine now!  (I pulled and released it a handful of times, with the notion that it might click the auto adjusters in the rear drums a few times.  You know… just in case.  I have no idea if it worked or not.)

 

 

 

I’m tellin ya, knocking these things out?  I was in hog heaven!  Call me butter, because I was on a roll!  I even had my helpers come out and join me in their PJs a few mornings.  The eldest did some rowing through the gears for his first time (It’s still kind of weird not having the kids in the front seat.  When I was his age, I used to shift the gears for my parents from the passenger seat…).  The youngest did some ordering through the drive through.  ‘Cept he kind of got it backwards because he kept giving me food from the driver’s seat instead of “receiving” it… ah well, it was fun.  I got French fries, chicken nuggets, and a hamburger.

 

 

 

 

 

I did have one setback though.  My heater control valve (ooh!  Remind me, I need to clean that out.  My heater lever is sticking something fierce!) had an extra port welded on it and I didn’t have a plug.  I suffered a second loss when Saturday rolled around and the auto-parts store didn’t open (Holiday weekend.  Saturday was the only day ANYTHING was going to be open) but I did get lucky when I decided to poke around the hardware store next to it.  The store didn’t have any coolant caps, but there was this gate kickstand stopper thingy that had a rubber tip that looked like it JUST might work.
 


 

 




Which it totally would have (worked, that is), but I didnt grab any dag-gum hose clamps to go with it and scrounging around the removed LPG kit didn’t yield anything that would work either…

So I put that split coolant sleeve and one of the severed HT leads I was complaining about to good use


 

(Dear PO:  There is a correct way and an incorrect way to "bodge".  Now you know)

 

So far so good on that one.  Two short drives and not one drip.
 

Which is more than I can say for the oil.  The rear pumpkin is still dripping a little, but the engine is marking its territory too…  Quick poking around makes me think it’s coming from the back of the valve cover (there’s a little plastic half-moon plug thingy back there that’s the most likely culprit) and from a few of the bolt holes in the oil pan.  Unfortunately I cant touch either without tools.  It’s not so bad that it needs immediate attention, but it might annoy me enough to swing by Zsolt’s place to borrow a couple wrenches should I stumble across the necessary gaskets

 

 



But Zsolt kind of has his hands full at the moment.  He’s reliving his glory days by prepping a Fiat 650 for restoration.  It’s the same make, model, and color of his first car.  The dude drove to Italy to buy it, it was in GREAT condition and running well so, naturally, he started tearing it completely apart as soon as he got it home.
 


 

He’s getting it “rotisserie ready” but needed underfloor access.  I’ve seen pictures of people resting a car on their spare tires before but it’s not a stunt I’ve ever seen in person so naturally I suggested we try it.  Apparently it’s pretty normal around here, and it was soon very apparent that this was not Zsolt's first car-tip.

“You’ve seriously never tipped a car before???” he exclaims, unable to contain his surprise.

“dude, have you SEEN our cars???”


(this was followed by a few “Zsolt war stories” involving tipping a car to gain access to various things that needed fixing on the fly)

 

Good times. 

 

For now, I’ll leave you guys with this picture of a picture that the landlord left hanging in the garage:

 

Hungary Bill
Hungary Bill GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
4/23/19 4:36 a.m.

 

Bonus post!  LPG tank removal from first-gen 4-Runner in 7 easy steps.
 

Step 1: Shore up the tank with fire-wood, using tiles as shims.

 


Step 2:  Using channel locks and both hands, loosen all three bolts (one was finger tight)

 

 

 

Step 3:  Cut the gas lines that are seized in place

 

 


Step 4: Release parking brake and push truck forward, allowing the tank to drop.

 

 

Step 5:  oops!  There were 4 bolts…

 


 

 

Step 6:  Berk that last bolt.  Twist it with those channel locks until it snaps.

 


 


Step 7: Pile it all in the corner.  You know… just in case it’ll come in handy one day.

 

 

 

 

Profit!*

 

(*disclaimer:  I could not get the screws loose from the fill port.  Gonna have to drill them.)

 

 

Good times

(and that darn tank was HEAVY!  If you're by yourself dont try to pick it up.  Drop it on some cardboard and drag it, like I did...)

 

Hungary Bill
Hungary Bill GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
4/26/19 3:45 a.m.

Captain Downshift, this one's for you buddy!
 

 

 

heart Amy

 

 

Hungary Bill
Hungary Bill GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
4/26/19 3:55 a.m.

Not “Runner” related (we did this one in our Saab wagon), but a bit of family adventure time over the previous weekend.  We signed up for an 11km hike on Saturday up an extinct volcano through “Somlo wine country”, to some castle ruins. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Super cool place, but also a reminder of how out of shape I’ve gotten these last few years.  (That hike about killed me!  I almost couldn’t stay awake ‘till bedtime that day…)  We’ll definitely be visiting again and with any luck, next time I wont have to carry the youngest hungarling up the entire durned mountain on my shoulders :D   (eh, who am I kiddin’).  It seems like a popular place, with lots to explore and as a bonus, it’s only about 30-minutes away!


Good times.

(speaking of “next times”:  I think next time some wine sampling is going to have to happen...  too many little vinyards around that area for us not to “explore” a bit.  Unfortunately pictures of Vinyards not included because Bill was too exhausted to hold his phone.  Sorry)

Hungary Bill
Hungary Bill GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
4/26/19 3:56 a.m.

ooh, wait!  I found one!


 

 

just "one" though.  Sorry.

sleepyhead
sleepyhead GRM+ Memberand Mod Squad
4/26/19 5:04 a.m.

In reply to Hungary Bill :

What phone?  Following along, I’m surprised sometimes by how “cool” (i.e. blue/flat) it’s choosing the white balance in direct sunlight shots.

ymmv

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