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Anybody got an extra one of those rubber distributor boots lying around?
I'd like to have one.
I used to have one on my truck, but the last repair shop I had my truck to (~6 years ago, now) forgot to put it back on and it got tossed in the garbage....
My '89 doesn't have the cool Toyoda PS reservoir cap. I wonder if that was the year they stopped or if it's (gasp) aftermarket.
I think you should check with some boat curtain makers before you dye your Kayline. They are used to making waterproof curtain windows.
yeah, there is a guy i need to check with. I think he would have to disassemble the top in order to recreate it. Then i might be stuck because i cant resell the original one. This could get expensive.
Drove the 4runner in to the office yesterday, 100 miles r/t. I was thinking about those threads where people are saying their trucks are gutless and don't keep up with traffic so I observed my truck's highway behavior with the intention of reporting back.
Bottom line, 22re on 31's with 4.10's will keep up with highway traffic at 65-70 mph and accelerate uphills in 4rth gear. 3rd gear is where you do all your serious work, though passing around trailer trucks or buses. This truck is basically geared like a school bus and you need to drive it that way. With 31's the speedo is 4 mph off from my iphone's gps app.
I also opened it up to see what it would do and it will do 85mph for sure...I let out of it there because it wasn't the most comfortable care-free 85mph. Remember, the speed limit was 55 mph when this was built and it was intended to run at that speed in 5th for best fuel economy.
There is one long uphill on ramp to the highway on my homeward ride and I pull 3rd gear up to 65 mph accelerating there. I don't have a tach but I recon it to be about 5k rpms. The rings are tired in my engine with about 130-145 psi on the comp test so not really at it's strongest. I will definitely have this engine balanced when I get around to rebuilding it. Just bought an engine crane at a deal too good to pass up, so maybe next winter.
I am thinking about repurposing the rear window defrost on/off controls to turn on/off my power amps' sense lines.
First, my back window defroster grid is mysteriously not hooked up to the circuit. I discovered this during bodywork. Second, I don't drive it in the winter and all summer it has the soft top on so I don't really need a rear defroster anyhow.
I can hear a relay clicking on the drivers side behind an interior panel when I push the button to turn it on so it seems to be working. It doesn't work/latch with the rear window rolled down, though. So I will have to solve that.
I need to take a look at this circuit and figure out what tells it not to operate when the window is down. I bet the limit switch that kills the window motor also lifts ground to the defroster.
Last edited by Melrose 4r; 04-01-2019 at 11:54 AM.
Got in some good truck miles this weekend from Boston to Mystic CT and back by a different route. Mostly interstate driving, maybe 10% secondary roads. About 250 miles r/t.
calculated the gas mileage with compensation of 10 miles for every hundred and the mileage came out to a surprising 24.1mpg!
Truck ran great, only thing bothering me is truck is sufferring low voltage to the starter solenoid periodically. So Rad4runner’s starter relay rewire is coming soon!
Last edited by Melrose 4r; 03-10-2020 at 06:27 PM.
I had been smelling antifreeze every time i drove the truck but not smelling it inside and not losing it. I could smell it under the hood but could not find a leak.
i bought a kit that includes glasses and a UV penlight and some dye that you add to the antifreeze. It worked really well and i can see that my radiator which has plastic top and bottom tanks is seeping at the juctions between the tanks and the core. I see a lot of radiators at Rock Auto...What radiator do you guys recommend?
I've got an OSC on my 3rd gen. Keeps it very cool (never see over 190 degrees in the heat of summer and hammering it) and is very well made. Only had it for 2 or 3 years. Their promotional video is what sold me on it. It was a perfect fit in the 3rd gen and even came with new brackets.
Did the starter relay wiring mod today and i can say its a very noticeable improvement. The starter sounds very strong every time now.
Also added a new valve cover sticker and washed the whole truck to get all the RI and CT highway scum and bugs off it.
Behold, the new sticker! Oooooooo.
Last edited by Melrose 4r; 04-17-2019 at 05:43 AM.
Ive decided to ignore the radiator leak for now, and in fact i wonder if the dye i put in the coolant doesn’t have some leak-sealing side effect because it doesn’t smell any more.
Next up, fix spkr connection on the radio and add a USB charging socket in place of the cup holder tray that i dont use.
Did the starter relay wiring mod today and i can say its a very noticeable improvement. The starter sounds very strong every time now.
Also added a new valve cover sticker and washed the whole truck to get all the RI and CT highway scum and bugs off it.
Just picked up a buffer at my happy place, the autobody supply store. So this weekend I hope to actually get around to buffing the paint! ... or some of the paint...or maybe just the spare hood at least.
I also got a can of SEM Pacific Blue vinyl dye that I will experiment with to see if dying the convertible top blue is a viable option.
I've also spent the last few nights working on the chrome wheel well trim, straightening a few more dents, sanding and wetsanding with 320, 600, 800, 1000, 2000 grit. The mouldings may not be perfect but they are much, much better now and I'm about done spending time on this.
Also on the horizon, I've ordered some windshield trim clips, will have to figure out how to install them and get the windshield chrome back on. And I bought a 2" receiver hitch that is going to need to be modified because of my rear bumper, but that should be OK. I don't intend to tow anything, just need it for bike rack.
Some progress today.
i tried using a chrome tape stripe as a substitute for my deteriorated chrome gutter trims. The result was decent.
i cleaned the gutter edges with lacquer thinner first. The roll of chrome stripe is only about $8 on ebay. You need a really sharp single edge razor blade to cut off the excess. The adhesive is not super strong so peeling back and reattaching the tape is possible.
Last edited by Melrose 4r; 04-27-2019 at 05:44 PM.
Oh! It looks perfect! The gutter trims in my 4R are made of plastic, painted in chrome/silver, I really don't know.
You could try that tape in the wheel well instead of the chrome trim to see how it looks.
Oh! It looks perfect! The gutter trims in my 4R are made of plastic, painted in chrome/silver, I really don't know.
You could try that tape in the wheel well instead of the chrome trim to see how it looks.
yes, i originally had the same but they could not be saved. I also thought about using the chrome stripe tape around the wheel well. It would work, but it doesnt make bends well so multiple pieces would be required. But for some, its probably a good alternative to finding/restoring wheel well trim. My wheel well trim are almost ready to go back on...
Last edited by Melrose 4r; 04-29-2019 at 08:46 AM.
Got in some more hours today on the truck.
*Tuned the power amps.
*Touched up some small paint imperfections and details.
*Buffed the practice hood. Results were mixed. While the wetsanding and buffing did take out the orange peel AND all the dirt that was in the clearcoat, it did leave lots of small scratches. Back to the auto body videos to understand what i am doing wrong.
*Tested out SEM vinyl dye on a sleeve that covers one of my convertible top bows. The product works great but it’s too Ford blue. Will have to try another blue before deciding if I’m going to dye the entire top.
*Built a panel below the radio to mount a USB socket. Stole power from the cig lighter circuit...i don’t smoke.
Last edited by Melrose 4r; 04-28-2019 at 04:28 PM.
01-23-2019, 08:38 AM
