JBurt

So it only took about 3 and a half months but the AC blows cold! Driving around in 110* and the air coming out of the vents was 46*. So much better. Both the old expansion valve and receiver drier were replaced, and the evaporator cleaned.

The old parts didn't look too bad and my mechanic buddy said the drier didn't look like it had failed, and we disected the valve and couldn't find any clogs, but check out the evaporator coil:



Maybe this was most of my problem but whatever it was it's gone. I was always intimidated by AC work but it was really easy. The hard part is getting the gauges and the vacuum. I called around and the cheapest I could find to vacuum and recharge my system locally was $150. All in all I spend $43 and $15 on refrigerant. Took about 1.5 hours for everything and was definitely in anyone's mechanical ability.

JBurt

In other news I got this in the mail today!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ls_o00_s00_i00

It's a bluetooth obd ii adapter. I downloaded the torque app on my droid and it is very cool. Real time readings for lots of sensors. Thought about getting a scangauge but for 30 bucks I thought I'd give this a shot. So far I'm happy with it. Anyone else have any opinions?

JBurt

Update: The AC works great, but (always with the but) occasionally when I turn on the compressor it gives out a loud moan. I mean loud. It used to be much louder but now it's consistent. Not sure if it's coming from the compressor but it goes every once in a while when I shut the car off or the compressor off. Do these compressors have blow off valves when there is too much pressure. Did my AC guy overcharge?

JBurt

Wow this semester has gone by fast. No time for the rig. I took it out goofing around and shooting this morning. Nothing major.

Recent issue though, the cel comes on and says there is a misfire, but the engine seems to be running fine. Dirty injectors? Bad injectors? I replaced the plugs a while ago and always meant to order new wires so those are now on the way. Any other ideas? I've reset it and it comes back. Still runs great but no symptoms.

jason in tn

miss fire code could be any number of things, get your new plug wires and go from there I bet that fixes it. Oh and I would love to wheel in your part of the country.

ReptarSmash

I did the same two inch lift and have been looking at the same tires. How long have you been running them and you mentioned early the tires were rubbing. Where do they rub and what did you do to fix them?

JBurt

Well it's been about a month and I guess it's about time for an update.

Jason - I would love to wheel in this part of the country too! My last post on this thread was 11/12 and on the 15th my wife gave birth to a healthy baby boy!



Between our first baby, thanksgiving, and a semester of school wrapping up I haven't gotten out once. Hopefully over Christmas. Maybe by then too I'll have our new to us camper ready to take on a short trip

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f5/j...thread-259375/

I went ahead and put in NGK plug wires a while ago and no more codes. Always good when it's an easy fix. Much better than new front diff gears, but new gears would be nice. How's that going by the way? 4.88's?

Reptar - I've been running the tires for about a year. I've been really happy with them, they've only got about 5,000 miles on them. I think for the amout of wheeling I do if I had it all to do over again I'd go with the Warden AT (BFG AT clones) only because I hear they have less road noise with pretty good performance. I really do like the ones I've got though. They only rubbed on the plastic shield around the wheel well and I just trimmed it with a pair of shears. No big deal. No pounding or metal work involved. Easy peasy.

habanero

That's a funny looking truck....
but a very cute baby!
Congrats!

jason in tn

Congrats on the new addition man. He will be way more exciting than wheeling anyway. Just checked out your camper build, I would love to an old pop up but man my plate is full to over flowing now. My gear install is well progressing I guess the runners on jack stand and parts scattered all over. Glad to see life seems to be going good for ya.

JBurt

Thanks guys! We really like him. Has completely changed our lives. Haha. It's good though. I find my spare time is spent sleeping more than anything else these day. Or what little of it I have anyways.

I must have jinxed myself though. My cel came back on today. Now I need to check codes but I'd put money on it that it's p0301. Oh well. It seems to be running well enough, just need to hunt down whatever's setting it off.

stockwell45

iTrader: (1)

Congrats on your new son! And sorry to hear about the CEL, mine just came on too. That dang p0301 will get us all at some point

X88&94GT

Congrats on the son. Kids will certainly change your life! I understand when your wife takes your rig too. My wife took my 80 series from me and then she took my 3rd gen. Its all good though, she drives less than I do.

UnderFire

Wow that color is bright, not sure if I like it or not.

JBurt

Well we had a good week for wheeling. We got out to the desert 3 times! Not any big trips but it was still good. I think the baby likes it too!

While it was fun I noticed several things. First off my front drivers tire is wearing very unevenly. So I ordered a new tire (the passenger side is fine and almost has full tread). I figure the worn one will make a much better spare than the 7 year old bald one that is under there. When it gets in I'll get an alignment. But that brings up something else.

When I got the truck it had been in a front end collision on the passenger side. The shop I bought it from went through and redid the passenger side suspension and it seems ok and most of the suspension components look to be in great shape (boots and bushings).

However on the drivers side the upper ball joint boot is torn and the lower a arm bushings look like they aren't in the best shape. That coupled with the fact that on bumpy roads (especially bad washboard roads) I hear a clunking that is transferred into the steering wheel.

I had some money set aside for the truck after Christmas so I figured I could replace most of the stuff on the drivers side. I'd like to do the passenger side also but I don't think funds allow it right now. Maybe when I get done with school in August and get a real job.

So what I'm thinking is new upper and lower ball joints, new inner and outer tie rod ends, and new upper and lower a arm bushings. I know these can be hard to find part numbers for but I haven't started looking yet. Anything else I should inspect or replace while I'm in there? Haven't done any of this before but it doesn't intimidate me. If anyone knows of any good write ups or places with cheap oem parts I don't mind looking at them. Google usually helps me out there . I'd like to get it all done at the same time that way I only need an alignment once.

Then with the p0301 I'm kind of at a loss. I need to check the resistance on the fuel injector. I guess I could switch ignition packs too to see if the code moves with the pack. When I reset the cel the light stays off for a long time. 100+ miles or so but then comes back. I haven't ever noticed a symptom (runs really smooth and no stumbling, hot or cold).

While I'm at it I'll also change the rear diff fluid, t-case fluid, and maybe the front diff fluid (never looked at how hard it is). I'd also like to do the tranny but that depends on how busy my wife's uncle with a shop and fluid exchanger is.

The last funny thing to come from our trips is the low fuel light. It has always been anemic. When the fuel is low it would barely come on or flicker, but the needle works good so I never really cared. On the way back from the last trip the low fuel indicator came on with over 3/4 of a tank. Seems to have happened to quite a few people. Seems they drop the tank replace the whole sending unit. I think that's more effort than it's worth. If the light really bugs me I can take out the bulb.

Sorry for the encyclopedia entry, but it helps me keep track of what I need to do and I always appreciate any insight or advice. Anyways I'll post up how it goes along the way.

habanero

Per experience go with Toyota control arm bushings except maybe if you're gonna go poly (?). They're expensive but it's not the most fun part to deal with twice in something like....A YEAR (went aftermarket first when the dealership said I couldn't get the bushings by themselves. You can.). Go with Toyota ball joints, based on posts over the years. Pick up new bolts for the lowers while you're at it. Some people look for ball joints with '555' on them but that's experience I don't have. I also went OE on the outer tie rods because they cost almost the same as aftermarket for me, my inners came with the A1Cardone rack and pinion.
To deal with the lower control arm bushings you'll be unbolting the lower ball joints, the shocks at the bottom, the outer tie-rods and the sway bar links if you've got 'em. You'll also be unbolting the front diff if you have a diff drop so you can lift it to get the rack loose to remove the rear a-arm bolts (take pics of the eccentrics so you can put it back in some semblance of alignment to make it easier to get to the alignment shop) so a rack and pinion bushing kit is another possibility (center bolt unscrews from above, nut is welded on). Time to inspect cv boots too. To check my lower control arm bushings I had my son turn the wheel for me while I watched the a-arms. The right side was BAD. LOTS of movement. Of course I made triple sure the kiddo couldn't roll over me while he was at it.
Front diff fluid... you'll need a 10mm hex socket to get the fill open. It's on the front and usually filled with dirt, but it's there. With the skid off it's not bad to deal with.

There's some comments on my build thread about this stuff, post 2 has a table of contents of sorts. Might help you a little. I had someone else deal with getting the a-arm bushings out and new in and glad I did though I know others have done it on their own. I think others have used poly bushings in this application. Yet another thing I haven't lived and learned through. Yet.

JBurt

Thanks Hab! That's great info. I really have gotten a lot from your build thread. I read at one point in there where you wanted it to be called your maintenance thread. It's a great reference, especially the contents at the beginning.

Sorry you had to go through the bushings twice, but thanks for sharing what you learned.

With the a arm bushings did you do upper and lower? When your son helped you check was it up on jacks or on the ground? Am I just looking for any movement or something magical I don't understand yet?

What about inner tie rod ends? Napa are about $30 and toyota are about $130. How often do they fail? If I'm already in there should I just replace it with 190K on the odo and no clue if it's ever been replaced?

Last question: with the steering rack bushings, how do you know when to replace? What symptoms would I look for? Is it another thing that's just best to do while I'm in there?

Thanks for the info on the front diff. No skid plates for me so I guess that's the silver lining of no armor. Maybe someday...

JBurt

FPart numbers for my reference:

Upper ball joint: 43340
Lower ball joint: 43360a
Inner tie rod end: 45503
outer tie rod end: 45047
Lower a arm bushing: 48654f
Upper a arm bushing: 48632b

If I'm wrong on any of those please let me know.

JBurt

Funny I think Hab answered most of my questions in this thread:

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/9...-sound-249134/

Thanks.

habanero

Thanks for the compliment on my thread and your link is an excellent thread find. To answer your questions anyway:

With the a arm bushings did you do upper and lower? When your son helped you check was it up on jacks or on the ground? Am I just looking for any movement or something magical I don't understand yet?

I have only done lower a-arm bushings and am at 246,000ish miles. I have seen people do the uppers and when you've got the truck that far apart, especially with your also doing the upper ball joints, the worst parts of that job would be the long bolt that holds the upper a-arm and the bushings themselves. All the 'got a problem' threads I've seen have ended up being lower bushings, if that matters.
If you loosen the upper a-arm bolt to get more droop while you're doing various things tighten it back up after the truck is back on the ground.

The truck was on the ground, on so I had power steering. Make sure you can't get accidentally squished. The second time the a-arm was so bad it was moving all over the place when the wheel was turning and making popping and clunking noises. The rubber bushing allows for some movement but not the boogie woogie. The first time it was making a deep clunk on some bumps and moved easily with the crowbar (kid was at school). Both times it was the right (passenger) side that was the worst so it was easy to compare the movement of both a-arms.

What about inner tie rod ends? Napa are about $30 and toyota are about $130. How often do they fail? If I'm already in there should I just replace it with 190K on the odo and no clue if it's ever been replaced?

I haven't had to do inner tie-rods on either truck. I replaced the r&p in the 96 and they came with. Info: The rack was an aftermarket reman and I'm reasonably sure they wouldn't have used oem, no way could I afford a Toyota rack. So far no problem. I would have done both as a matter of maintenance if not for that. The oe parts have served me so well considering the age and mileage of both trucks that I'll stick to oe whenever possible. Sometimes I can't afford it or the extra expense doesn't make sense (like sway bar links). Sometimes there's something better. I may have looked for those '555' parts that others have recommended for the inner tie rod ends. Guess I'll eventually find out when I do the '99!
Sway bar bushings are 46mm if you decide to replace those. Taco bushings are 47mm. I went poly after destroying the right side in Utah in July so we'll see how that works out.

Last question: with the steering rack bushings, how do you know when to replace? What symptoms would I look for? Is it another thing that's just best to do while I'm in there?

As you found out, have someone steer while the truck is on the ground. A little movement is one thing, more than a little and consider getting the bushings. You'll have the rack loose anyway, for the a-arm bushings. http://www.wheelersoffroad.com/4runnerrackbushkit.htm

And good morning!

JBurt

Wow. Thanks for the info Habanero. I guess now its time to clean out the garage and pull in the rig and start testing and taking apart. We'll see if I can get it done before the 17th. That's when I start back up at school and we'll need two cars again.