Be prepared for a long post!
Put the new fridge slide to good use hauling some heavier Jeep parts to their new owner. Made for an easy haul.
Added a solid rear recovery point from Factor55. Little did I know this would come in handy on the night of a good friends wedding when one of the attendee's VW bus broke down about 10 miles away from the venue. hooked it up to this using a tow strap and a D ring and made the drive slowly back, so it already paid for itself.
After adding in some 30mm spacers on the rear springs to offset the added weight, I wanted to look at cranking the torsion bars to offset the increased rake. I took the rig into my trusted suspension/alignment tech to make sure this could be done without issues down the road. He pointed out that this passenger side knuckle appears to be bent a little at the top, which makes sense given the fog lens on that side is newer. Aside from replacing that, he suggested I go ahead and replace all the ball joints and tie rod end outers as they're on their way out. After a quick call to Cruiser Outfitters for some ball joints and tie rod end outers, I quickly sourced a used knuckle on eBay and ordered the necessary rebuild parts from Cruiser Outfitters as well. This would have to wait until after the Montana trip to tackle.
I started tackling some more maintenance that I wanted to get done before tacking on 3k miles to Montana and back, so first thing was re-torquing the valve cover bolts since I had this nasty burning oil smell after the engine was and full operating temp. This unfortunately is a temporary fix as I now need to do this again or replace the gaskets. So gaskets are on the list to order and replace. While I was doing this, I decided to go ahead and replace the spark plugs. I was able to inspect the old ones to check for any signs of trouble, as well as inspect the coils. I did manage to find one busted coil that still worked ok. I picked up a Denso replacement from my local auto parts store and kept the broken one for a spare should I need it in a pinch.
Here is the broken coil. Surprised it held up, but it'll work as a quick replacement on the trail.
Next on the list was the timing belt replacement. I never found a record of it ever being done, so I assumed it was the original one. Boy was I right. This belt looked original and was not far from failure. Not bad for 230k miles. I was initially held up on starting this job for a few months while I waited on a replacement alternator since the one in the rig was beginning to fail. While I had the whole front end apart, I went ahead and took the time to replace parts as I was sure a lot of it was original or needing replacement in the near future. Made for an easier job all around. Aside from the new timing belt and alternator, I threw in a water pump, pulleys/bearings and gaskets as they came with the kit. I also replaced the radiator as it was turning brown on the plastic, a new thermostat, and a new serp belt. Coupled with all new Toyota red coolant, this rig was nearly ready for the trip. MY friends enjoyed watching me wrench on the rig, but thankfully they weren't around for the frustrating moments as I had plenty with this job. While waiting on the anaerobic gasket maker to set up and waiting on parts to be delivered, I went ahead and tackled repacking the front hubs since I never saw record of it being done. Figured if the bearings were toast, I'd just order the new ones and wait since I had time before other parts came in. Luckily the bearings were good for another interval and looks like they had been replaced before. New seals, gaskets, and some fresh grease was all it needed. I did have to replace a flange stud but luckily my local Toyota dealer got them in the next day for me. I am really thankful for the FSM for this rig, as well as plenty of online and in-person resources. These jobs would have been impossible without having all of them.
While it wasn't a full on need, I went ahead and replaced the worn out plastic key fob with one from YotaMD. Boy was it worth it! No more lost screws or wobbly key.
The rig was ready for the trip. When the time came to head out, we loaded up and off we went for a week.