In reply to hemihauler20:
It's really the best thing I have found for a glass cleaner, I usually use a microfiber to wipe down. Follow up with damp newspaper if I have some around.
In reply to hemihauler20:
It's really the best thing I have found for a glass cleaner, I usually use a microfiber to wipe down. Follow up with damp newspaper if I have some around.
In reply to LifeIsStout:
Ahh good to know. Unfortunately we have neither of those... We do use Scotts's shop towels and they seem to do a pretty good job. Haven't had a streak in our lobby window yet haha.
LifeIsStout wrote: Another small update. I was getting tired of the SpongeBob tape fix for the side light up front. So I pulled off the light, and used some plastic resin 'fix-it' to glue the mounting hanger back together. The reason it was taped in there in the first place is that shortly before they sold the truck, it had probably hit a pole, so the fender was pushed in, and it broke the bracket. I did need to do a bit of massaging with a rubber hammer and a pry bar, as the light wouldn't go back into place. Eventually I think I will pull off the whole fender and see if I can get it ever better, but for now at least I don't have to have the tape. I also used glue gone to get rid of the residue, and am happy to report that your fingers will still smell like chemical orange after 2 days. On to the pics! Before:Fixing the bracket:
And After (not too many pics, it was lightly raining out):
A little effort, and a huge difference in appearance. Nice job!
Thanks! It's still a bit creased and the bumper is pushed in below there, I really need to take things off to make it any better. I might head down to where my tools are stored this weekend to wrench on things for a bit, get some of the items off my to do list.
I started digging in deep this weekend. I know I have some very leaky valve covers, as evidences by the sometimes smoke and burning oils smells I get when sitting in traffic. So finally decided to do something about it. The last time I did this was on a Miata, so I have a minor level of experience on this, but with a v6 it was a whole different matter. I managed to be half successful.....
First things first, the car is grungy under the hood, so I covered everything in purple degreaser and drove down to the carwash (because pressure washer). A couple of bad pics, but this was an improvement.
Before:
After:
Better Angle:
Off come the Throttle Body and the coil packs on the Passenger side. The Throttle body is one of those ones that has coolant lines running through it. I have seen write ups that have you drain the coolant. If I lost more than 3 tablespoons I would be surprised, so no need to drain the entire system. Air intake box also has been removed here. I have a number of guides that I was following, none of them pointed out all the bolts and hoses you need to remove, so I just have to be methodical about the whole thing.
More pics of the throttle body. I cleaned it out. It had a bunch of oil/carbon buildup in it. Also found a use for a chopstick, helped keep the valve open!
Off with the Intake (Part 1), lots of bolts to play with.
You can see they are kinda grungy inside (lower piece), this is usually due to a bad PVC valve, also on the list for replacement.
Grungy upper piece:
After much messing about, entire intake assembly is removed. It's basically a combo of 12, 10 and some 14mm bolts.
Decided to tackle the passenger side first. It has the PVC to be replaced on it, and was the worst of the two.
Things don't look too bad I guess, this is 280K after all.
Underside of the Valve cover, needed to also replace the sparkplug tube seals. This is actually where I went wrong. The seals got put in backwards, and when I went to put the cover back on it wouldn't slip over the tubes. Now, as I was still on the fist side, I did have 3 extra, so using a seal puller (a lifesaver) I had to destroy the ones I had just put in, and install the new ones correctly. I have more seals on order, they should be here tomorrow. I also took the time to clean up the cover, more purple power and scrubbing.
It was at this point that I realized that Seattle days are not late this time of year (sun sets around 5 right now), so had to put things back together. Mostly went well, I referenced some of my pictures. I did end up with 2 extra bolts, but I know where one of them goes, and since I have to take things apart again when I do the driver's side, I will take care of it then. I did also check the spark plugs while I was in there, they actually looked fine. I have a feeling that they were done recently. I also replaced the cam seal (one more to go) they also tend to be a point of leaks, and they were super easy to do.
My only problem now is that I do have a check engine light. Took it to the local autopepzone, looks like a MAF problem. I checked it again, and I actually never took out the MAF in the first place, so not sure what it is reading wrong. I might have to trace the wiring, as it looks like it feeds into the main loom, not sure if I accidentally screwed something up there.
Did you change the cam plug in the back of the head? I believe that is supposed to be done at the same time. Check for leaking or cracked hoses under the intake manifold too. The spark plug seals from the dealer fit far better so they are pretty easy to put in, aftermarket ones not so much.
I did do the cam plug, used copious amounts of sealant from Toyota on that as well, it was pretty easy once you are that deep. As for the spark plug seals, it wasn't that it didn't go in, it was that it went in backwards, because the ones that were in there looked different than the ones I had, so I made a guess and was wrong. Didn't figure that out until I tried putting the cover back on.
Got under the hood last night, saw what I thought is the issue, I had forgotten to hook up the vacuum hose back up to the new PVC valve. so I did that, I also noticed that some of my spark plug wires had gotten crossed, so fixed that as well. Luckily none of this was too difficult, just had to take off part of the air box. Got all that done, unplugged the battery for 5 minutes. Then headed up to the store to get the new spark plug seals. Truck was behaving much better this time, no problems with the idle and sounded just fine. But on the way back home the check engine light popped again, so I will have to run back up to the store to get the code scanned. I probably should just buy some sort of cheap code reader at some point. But the parts store is only about 1/2 a mile down the road, so that is convenient at least.
In reply to LifeIsStout:
I have this one, it works wonders with the Torque app.
https://www.amazon.com/Veepeak-Bluetooth-Scanner-Automotive-Diagnostic/dp/B011NSX27A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485882978&sr=8-1&keywords=bluetooth+obd
I agree, the veepeak wireless obd scanners are phenomenal value. I have the wifi one since I have an iPhone , it works great with the "OBD Fusion" app. In addition to code reading, it shows live data like AF ratio, coolant temp, oil temp etc. and logs them, also logs fuel maps.
Well, totally just ordered that. ODB scanner on the way! I might even use an old iPhone I have and then can monitor it all the time.....
When you do the driver's side valve cover, keep an eye out for broken bolt hole tabs. I've run across this a couple times. Someone gets in a hurry, and SNAP. Valve cover done. I also initially thought the thread title said "Chasing BEAR.." not beer. Had to do a double take.
In reply to Rickhead:
Ha! I would prefer not to run into a bear. Thanks for the heads up on the bolt hole covers, I will be doing the driver's side this weekend.
In reply to java230:
And ManhattanM (fka NY535iManual):
Got the scanner, hooked it up and used the OBD Fusion app. Found that I had codes for both the driver and passenger side knock sensors. Since I didn't touch either of those during the change up, I figured I had left something unplugged. Low and behold, I was right on that mark. This also served to let me know that I had cleared the codes regarding the vacuum, so I feel awesome about that as well.
So this means I have a fully functioning truck with no codes! Well, at least until I get back in the engine bay and have to do the driver's side (I have the needed seals to do so now).
Awesome! I will have to look at the fusion app, that looks nice, torque is a bit more clunky.
Glad that was an easy fix! Hope the other side goes well. It's kinda nasty out this weekend.
Yeah, no garage so not going to work on it today, have to wait until things clear up a bit more.
So this weekend I made $1.96 the hard way.
I knew that I needed to do some cleaning on the car, especially the interior as it was owned by a teenager before me. But what I found was a nice, disgusting pile of stuff in the passenger side when I went to clean it out. I only got the one side done, so there is probably more to go once I get over to the driver's side. I took some fun pictures, and am uploading them as big as they can be so you can share my feelings of ickyness.
I did remove the seat, 4 bolts, not too hard to do- 14mm for anyone who is counting, there is one wiring bit to unclip, I assume for the airbag sensor. I actually just realized that I didn't clip that back in, so guess I should do that tonight.
Wrenches are mine, everything else, well was not.
First step was vacuum, then attack carpeting with a Bissel Little Green. I used two full tanks of solution, this is after the first one-
And the results after 2 cleaning passes, not by any means perfect, but much much better.
I also have been having issues with a soggy headliner. Appears to be a common thing to have the sunroof drain holes get plugged up. As I don't have an air compressor at the house to blow out the gunk, then next best thing is to get some thick (.095) yard trimmer line (found an open box at Lowes for 2 bucks) and fish the line down through the holes. Did both front drains, and 1 of the rear ones. The Driver's side is obscured because of the fuel filler inlet. So I left that one along. Being Seattle, we have had enough rain to test and it appears that cleaning things out has made a big difference. Happy with that result as well. Looking forward to better weather so I can finish the rest of the engine work. But tax refund should mean new shocks and tires to come shortly.
5% of coupon for Rockauto means that new shocks got ordered yesterday. Now just need a clear weekend to get them done. I also need to pull off the skid plate and take a look to confirm if my steering rack is really the thing leaking all over the bottom of the truck. If so, then I will need to replace that. Should also take a look at the tie rod ends at the same time, as I think that is also contributing to the steering feel being not super great. I can put in that bushing kit at the same time.
I would have NEVER thought of weed eater line! I'm keeping that one 
In reply to Hungary Bill:
Heck, if you need it before you leave, I have no use for it currently! We are in the same area after all.
I appreciate the offer, but the (censored) person that cut the sun roof in my car didn't bother with drains
We may have to make do with using the line for its intended purpose 
Well hello again, it's been awhile.
Working on the truck got delayed last month when I was hit by a car while I was walking across the street. A bit of time in the hospital, healing, and getting things turned back around have been my first priorities. Now, I am not 100% again, but I was able to get something done this week.
First, just before the accident, I got new tires and put them on a second set of rims I had picked up. I think the difference is nice! These are Kumho Road Venture AT51s - P265/75R16 They are the same size tire as I had before, so I knew they would fit with no problem, they are upsized from the factory tires.
Before:
After (I'll get tread pics later):
Then this week I decided to resolve another issue, the old head unit in the car. Now there were a couple of things I didn't like, one was buttons for volume controls, give me a rotary dial anytime. Also, CD only, no other connections. I wanted to have bluetooth if nothing else. The radio doesn't really work, but that's because the antenna is actually broken. I picked up a cheap Pioneer from crutchfield, as I have found them to be super competitive, and include everything needed for installation. This one also has a CD player, which wasn't a requirement, but had everything else I wanted.
Took the dash apart (again), this is the last time the old unit resided here:
It was a bit rainy outside, bu not a ton of pics as I wanted to get things done, also it was getting dark. But here is the first test to make sure my wiring was done correctly:
Installed, and changed the colors (because I could) and I like the blue. Also one pic with the flash, I will get some daytime photos later. I also replaced my floormats (no picture) because, well, just look at them.
If the weather behaves this weekend, I may get some shocks installed, I have the replacements already, just need it to not be raining.
Holy carp! I'm glad you're ok! That's funny about the radio, I upgraded ours for the same reasons, but used the Blaupont (sp) radio from Crutchfield. Nice service and good prices.
BTW, I still have your calipers, whenever you're ready. Hope you heal up fast!
In reply to 4Msfam:
Thanks man, it's been a trying month, lots of life changes. I will still hit you up about the calipers, sorry that the response times have been bad.
I picked out the pioneer since there was already one in there, I was sorta hoping that I could reuse the existing harness, but no go. I do want to go back in and use nicer connectors, plus I forgot to plug in the Mic to use the hands free calling, so I will end up taking everything apart again.
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