What's new
By:
Filters

Sidekick family crawler

I had a few problems I killed another alternator and my breaks are locking up. I figured out the alternator problem. The breaks I’m not sure what’s going on with them but it’s locking all 4 tires up. I’m not sure how to unlock them for sure but if I pump the breaks hard to the floor a few times they seam to unlock. My guess is the master cylinder is locking up
 
Sidekicktodd said:
I had a few problems I killed another alternator and my breaks are locking up. I figured out the alternator problem. The breaks I’m not sure what’s going on with them but it’s locking all 4 tires up. I’m not sure how to unlock them for sure but if I pump the breaks hard to the floor a few times they seam to unlock. My guess is the master cylinder is locking up
Click to expand...

It could also be calipers or slides potentially hanging up.

I went out with a buddy one winter off roading. He would lightly touch his brakes and they would just lock up, sending him down declines sideways.

He replaced his calipers and it solved the problem. That was also on an ABS vehicle. I feel like if you had master cylinder or booster issues you would have problems more common to those than just brakes locking up.
 
FleshEater said:
He replaced his calipers and it solved the problem. That was also on an ABS vehicle. I feel like if you had master cylinder or booster issues you would have problems more common to those than just brakes locking up.
Click to expand...
I just put 1 new caliper on the front before this trip. Maybe that’s it but I don’t see how one bad caliper can stop all 4 side’s because the master cylinder has front and back lines separated
 
201FF88B-9BF4-4E3A-A2CE-2DDD7D3E44D7.jpeg
I’m finally fixing my alternator problem. The old cross bar was too close and was breaking the brushes in the alternator from vibratio.
 
The next thing I need to do is fix my breaks. I want to put a 1 1/16 Subaru master cylinder in it but I’m getting conflicting information about whether it fits or not. I heard somewhere that it won’t fit my 4rood sidekick break booster. Does anyone know
 
FleshEater said:
It could also be calipers or slides potentially hanging up.

I went out with a buddy one winter off roading. He would lightly touch his brakes and they would just lock up, sending him down declines sideways.

He replaced his calipers and it solved the problem. That was also on an ABS vehicle. I feel like if you had master cylinder or booster issues you would have problems more common to those than just brakes locking up.
Click to expand...
It ended up being a bad break booster. I ended up having to run my dad’s single booster out of his because they don’t make boosters anymore and I had a zukicon trip to go to. I ended up running a 1 1/16 Subaru master. Breaks still suck though. I think the dual booster with 1 inch bore was better
 
I did zukicon Rig did good but started smoking a little bit. I took it out the next weekend and it was smoking bad. It started after my fan switch failed and i got to 280 before I noticed it. I did a compression check and got 175 psi in all cylinders so I figured it was a valve seal.
Ended up being a bad valve seal apparently they don’t like high temps. I got some high temp ones 450 vs 300 factory
 
This thing is turning out really good. What did the wheelbase end up at?
 
IMG_5677.jpeg
Built an ice chest holder out of .75 tube in a 1 inch tie and it actually turned out good. We’ll see how long it lasts till I back into a tree or rock. It’s mainly for rubicon and trails were I’m camping there’s not much room in the rig with all the family.
 
IMG_5699.jpeg
IMG_5701.jpeg
IMG_5703.jpeg
I’m finishing up some things before KOH. The grill didn’t have any protection or a good way to sicure it and it’s always getting broken by trees.
I’m making a metal grill and getting better lights while I do it. These are way brighter than my old ones and the have high/low beams also. My old lights had hi/low but they would still point in the same location on both because of the magnification and I was always blinding people. These new ones are a little bigger that I wanted but they fill the grill out now with no voids but the stick out a bit.
 
Nilight 7Inch Round Offroad Lights 2PCS 120W High Low Beam IP68 LED Driving Lights Pods Built-in EMC with 14AWG DT Connector Wiring Harness Kit for Truck ATV UTV SUV, 5 Years Warranty Amazon.com
 
YotaAtieToo said:
Link to the lights?
Click to expand...
Nilight 7Inch Round Offroad Lights 2PCS 120W High Low Beam IP68 LED Driving Lights Pods Amazon.com

There pods and there waterproof with a rubber seal I pulled the lenses and checked. They seemed good.

They come with a fancy wiring harness with switches and relays. But the lights themselves are 3 wires
Black- ground
Yellow- low
Red- high it turned on top and bottom led.

The Amazon link has a discrepancy in lumen information. In a pic it says 7000lm but in the information it says 3300lm. And when I got my manual it says 3300lm.
They seam bright and have a clean pattern but I won’t know for sure till the other set comes and when they’re fully mounted. I’ll let you know how they turn out.
 
Ok these things are really nice for the price. If you get them used on Amazon they’re $110 a pair. The video actually shows an accurate view of how they work. The low beam has a nice cut off line so it doesn’t blind people too bad. No one has flashed there lights at me yet so it must not be to bad. These lights will be perfect if they can keep the moisture out but only time will tell.
 
KOH 2024 was a blast. Kids first time and they loved it. Made it a full week.
IMG_9017.jpeg

It’s crazy how fast a week flies by in the desert. We barely had time to do anything.
We had a killer setup at turkey claw in the rain. I think we were the only people with an easy up. Next year I’ll bring a propane fire pit so we don’t smoke people out and easier setup.
 

Attachments

  • Resized_20240131_133855.jpeg
    Resized_20240131_133855.jpeg
    271.3 KB · Views: 15
  • IMG_5844.jpeg
    IMG_5844.jpeg
    5.7 MB · Views: 15
So now that I was in the desert again I want to mess with my suspension some more. The deavers work really good on fire roads but my truck is worse in the desert. So I’m messing with things again. I’m putting some nissan leafs in the pack to get some arc in the springs and running a short shackle. Also I’m going to mess with my coilover spring rate a little. I’m running 150/200(86lbs) now but I think I’m going to run 150/250(94 lbs) and tune the spring stops. I think I’m run on the bump stops to muck. Also the rear shock are angled a lot so I think that is part of the problem.
 
Last edited:
I dig this little rig! If I ever built something again, it would be a Sidekick/Tracker.

I hadn't seen those particular Nilight LEDs before. I really like them. I've ran many other Nilight products, and out of all the Amazon China lights they seem to be one of the best. I've had zero issues with any of their bars, pods, or round lights, even in PNW moisture.
 
Sidekicktodd said:
Ok these things are really nice for the price. If you get them used on Amazon they’re $110 a pair. The video actually shows an accurate view of how they work. The low beam has a nice cut off line so it doesn’t blind people too bad. No one has flashed there lights at me yet so it must not be to bad. These lights will be perfect if they can keep the moisture out but only time will tell.
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting that, I've gone through a bunch of different lights over the years and it's definitely a crap shoot. :laughing:

The last ones claimed to be a high low beam with the low beam being amber, which I like a lot for snow or dust. The low beams work well with a wide low pattern. However, the "high beams" are basically a cartoon spot light :homer: like at 100 feet it's a 1' circle :lmao:

I'm planning on replacing everything firewall forward with tube on my 81 Toyota, and I think I'll give these head lights a try. :grinpimp:
 
Yotota said:
I dig this little rig! If I ever built something again, it would be a Sidekick/Tracker.

I hadn't seen those particular Nilight LEDs before. I really like them. I've ran many other Nilight products, and out of all the Amazon China lights they seem to be one of the best. I've had zero issues with any of their bars, pods, or round lights, even in PNW moisture.
Click to expand...

Nilight and mictunning are my favorite, they also seem to have actually been around a while now, unlike the other brands that pop up and fade away.
 
YotaAtieToo said:
Nilight and mictunning are my favorite, they also seem to have actually been around a while now, unlike the other brands that pop up and fade away.
Click to expand...

Yeah, Nilight has a good website and halfway decent customer service (just have to be patient with their Engrish skills).

I've seen Mictuning but never bought their stuff. Glad to hear they are another good brand.
 
YotaAtieToo said:
Thanks for posting that, I've gone through a bunch of different lights over the years and it's definitely a crap shoot. :laughing:

The last ones claimed to be a high low beam with the low beam being amber, which I like a lot for snow or dust. The low beams work well with a wide low pattern. However, the "high beams" are basically a cartoon spot light :homer: like at 100 feet it's a 1' circle :lmao:

I'm planning on replacing everything firewall forward with tube on my 81 Toyota, and I think I'll give these head lights a try. :grinpimp:
Click to expand...
Now that I’ve actually used them off-road I’m 100% happy with them and completely recommend them. The lake bed got all my shit rusty from the salt and these held up good.
 
IMG_6021.jpeg
IMG_5957.jpeg
I made a sway bar from a Nissan frontier tortion bar and put it in the rear. It made a huge difference. I thought I was compromising putting it in the back because it would fit up front but it’s working exactly how I wanted it to.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Back Refresh