^^^ Haha I Wish! I was hoping for a road trip like in the movie, Sex Drive but nope, darn. Anyways, my truck did great! It began to have a hard start, nothing unbearable but kind of annoying, just started to crank more. No over heating issues, I did however burn a quart of oil, don't know what to think of that. .

Anyways we headed from Reno ---> Susanville ---> Redding ---> Arcata. We left Truckee @ 5:15 P.M and arrived @ 3:00 A.M Lots of stopping. We were in Redding at roughly 12 and we had to use a restroom and NOTHING was open soooo we ended up using the restroom at the Hospital E.R

Lots of firsts on this trip, I got to a new top speed AND passed a BMW going UPHILL! That's right, uphill He obvioulsy wasn't trying though. .

Monday morning we went to a Cafe for breakfast, can't remember the name. Great breakfast, expected prices and the bathroom was rather cool. It had mirrors on all walls with signatures, almost like famous people do at restaurants, recording studios etc. Nope, it was all gangs, kids etc. Haha it still looked cool.

We then headed north to check out the coast, it was killer. I always get a kick out of running around on the rocks that are out there or running up and down the cliff areas so that was fun.

Then off to the campus, the original reason we were there. We parked, walked around and to be honest? Everyone seemed miserable to be there. It was quiet and inactive, granted it was a Monday and the weather is depressing but I was surprised. I love the coast and the cold weather so I was totally fine with the chill but it seemed no one else was? I don't know. We then ended up taking an incredibly boring tour! No classroom/dorm/cafeteria visits, just looking at the buildings, kind of a bummer. After the tour, we left and I decided that I might not do so well here for a few reasons:

1. It does not seem like the best school for business. The popular area of study was art or environmental stuff, both I am not interested in.

2. A vehicle seemed almost needed. I was planning on spending time in the water Ab Diving. fishing etc. which seemed like a 15 mile drive every time. I probably did not try hard enough to look for spots though.

3. To far from the snow.

Later that night we went to Eureka for dinner, I'll never do that again. No, it was not THAT bad but I personally did not like it, just not my taste. As we were sitting down for dinner I decided that I did not want to go to Humboldt State and my friend said that there is not much more to the area. I know that that statement was complete balogne but I was kind of bummed about the whole thing. . . So I brought forth the idea of driving south to Fort Bragg, a small tourist town that I have been going to all my life. 8 A.M the next morning, we leave Arcata and head to warmer weather. I was actually bummed that I did not spend another day there just to make sure that my choice was final, but i'll definitely be back. It was not what I was expecting, darn, there goes In-State-Tuition

Fort Bragg was great, as always. We visited a few beaches, hoped around on some rocks and at the end of the day, had a fire at the beach. Not much to say, we just played tourist.

Anyways, I am bored of typing, you're most likely bored of reading so here are the pics























That is it for this moment, my internet is acting up, hopefully more later!

 

Sorry the trip wasn't as expected, but I'm sure it was nice to get away.
Looks like crappy weather at the beach.
I think I also saw my signature on the bathroom wall, HaHa
My son's band toured Humboldt and Eureka counties last year.
He loves that area up there.

He's Leaving for east coast and Canada next week for 60 days, lucky dude.
Glad you had a safe trip.

You took some nice pics of what looks like forest area.
Did you camp at all?

That's great the rig was running good on trip.

 

Sorry bout the trip/expectations being deflated. You can do better, bud! Just a word of advice, in regards to these 4 years..... BE WILLING TO RELOCATE! lol..... Honestly? I finally ended up having to leave CA and wound up at ASU and AIPX(Art Institute of PHX the Associates Part of my Degree in Food Science).... Not saying you would want to do PHX for 4 years, lol.... I LOVED IT, ..but it's not for everyone. BUT, .... there are so many institutions that would encourage your independent spirit, ya know?????? Keep searching, you'll find the perfect place!

 

Well nothing new to add. . I still need to upload the rest of the pics from the trip.

I planned on purchasing a rear 3rd with a Detroit LS that I was going to use buuuuuuuut my laptop took a dump so I need to buy a new one, darn. Also, since I've ruled out Humboldt State, I need to start saving every penny I've got for the wonderful out-of-state tuition I need to pay next year. I am narrowing the school choice down to Colorado State and Boise State. Both seem killer with plenty of snow however Colorado is a bit less expensive.

Now a car related issue. . I'm hearing a squawk from the front/driver side when I hit a crack in the road. I had the same exact sound before I replaced the CVs and BJs last October and I had originally thought that with the torn boot, I was hearing the tripod joint bouncing around. This time, no boots are torn so i'm wondering if my $80 EACH OEM BJs are crapping out. I'm going to pull them out and checking for any visible damage and check for binding as well.

Another sound I am hearing, front/driver as well is a sort of squeaking when coasting, not on the brake. This sound started when I replaced the pads/rotors so it's got to be something along those lines. I've put 1,500 miles on them already so I would imagine any oils and sand would be gone by now. They are Marlin Pads and Vang was saying they produce a lot of dust, could dust cause a sound? The brakes do occasionally squeal so I think i'll spray some brake cleaner on the rotors and see what happens, any other suggestions?

 

Squawk? Haha... I like that word! Lol

Could be a tie rod or other component beside the bj's? Not usually common... I beat mine up pretty well as you've seen, right? They're like new still/13k as they should be. Had a bad pair of CA bushings causing some keplunking!... another good word, right? haha

My Carbon ceramic pads produce low dust and make noooo noise. My rears? Yeah, lil squeaky when cold... but pretty much silent (those are BWD or OEM, cant remember) DID YA LUBE EM REALLY WELL? ANYTHING AS DIRECTED MISSED?

 

Stew,
Brake clean will stop squeaking briefly and it will return.
Did you replace caliper and pad hardware?
I replaced my pads with OEM and all necessary hardware including new shim kit, all from Toyota and turned the rotors and they still squeak, not bad but its there.

My next brake job will be carbon,s.

 

Hey Chef! I'm jealous of your new OME kit, hope you get your vibration situation squared up!

My tie rods are shot so maybe, i'll have to look into all of that. When you say, did I lube 'em, did I lube what? Spindles, BJs?

Hey KSTI! I did not replace the hardware. The marlin Pads had a different number of shims on the pads than the previous ones did so I pulled the shim off the new pad and put the old ones on. I reused the bolts etc.

So it's not the squeaking brakes i'm worried about, it's something else. When I am coasting at low speeds I hear a whistling coming from the front end. It sounds like I have a little bird in there. That started when I did the brake job so i'm wondering if it is brake related (I AM NOT touching the brakes when I hear this) or I did not grease the spindles enough, or greased I greased them too much. My transmission whistles when I shift but it is a completely different sound/location under the truck.

 

hey buddy, I actually was referring to greasing all, every single piece that it calls for, of the brake hardware. Obviously they give you a little packet of lube, but I always end up using more then that which they give you for a set of 2 pairs of pads, shoes, etcetera. My disc brakes are always Lubed very well on the backing plate of the pads, on all the contacts of the pads hanging hooks, pins, even the pins keeper spring pins, etcetera, et cetera, etcetera. As well, when dealing with drums, you obviously, as with the front, need to be very careful not to get grease on the drums like with the rotors, but you need to make sure you use plenty on the backs of the shoes where they Touch the backing plate, all the little parts where things hang or where hardware you are adding/ cleaning up is touching stationary things or even the adjusting screws, and the push pins, etcetera. Yes, excessive dust can cause some of the noise, but I think I've found improperly greasing things to cause more noise than anything. That stuff is very heavy duty and is meant to last quite a while. So did you grease everything really well?

 

Can you roll the rig without engine running to eliminate any motor problems?

 

Sup mang? Howzit?

 

Hey man!

The only thing we did was spray some brake cleaner on the rotors and pads to get the oil and grease off. My friend actually did that and I do not think he did a thorough enough job, kid doesn't even use a torque wrench . We did not lube a single thing so what you are saying, that failure to lube it all might make some noise, definitely makes sense! So I could just buy some "brake lube" and lube everything from the caliper bolts/studs to the plates on the back of the pads?

 

Do you have a Haynes or sumpin? FSM? It has visuals of everything needed to be lubed.. Dont wanna miss something for ya, ya know? ..... Helps to go over that before each brake works job I've done.

 

PS> back of pads(especially where the Pistons contact. ...., on the backing plates, on the pins, where the pad bottoms rest as u slide them in. Yep, its called "Brake Quiet Lube" for good reason. U can shoot some of that quieting spray in there if u want.... Never tried it.

 

Hey thanks for the tip Chef! I'll look into that as well as purchase some "lube"
One thing I did notice is that my brake fluid is WAY ABOVE the max line, i'll be taking some of that out of there. Could that cause any noises as well? I know, I know, you already told me what the problem most likely is. .

Hey man, I just did that and yes it still squealed. . good tip though

 

Sup stew. Did you find the problem yet? The overfill fluid can't cause the squeal. I was thinking maybe the dust plate is in contact with the rotor. Does it make noises on both side or just one?

 

Alright well I am going over to my buddies tomorrow to see about getting rid of this noise. I think we are just going to pull the calipers apart and grease everything that needs to be so i'll be purchasing some "disc brake grease" before hand. Just for giggles, I locked the hub to see if that could be the culprit and no it's not, didn't expect it to be though. It is definitely coming from the driver side however I will be greasing both sides but here is a video of the sound, hopefully it works. . .
http://s1227.photobucket.com/user/mR...09551.mp4.html

 

Anyways, I went wheelin the other day. . . Something different than "muddin." It was a start to finish trail which is what I really enjoy.

 

One quick question, hopefully someone can answer. In the FSM it says to replace 4 shimes, two on each side. The pads I got from Marlin had only ONE shim on each side. I took that one off and reused the old ones. Is one shim going to be enough or should I go ahead and buy some new shims to throw on there? I still have the Marlin shims though. .

 

Not sure which manual you're looking at mine says to replace all those little bits. Dealer or online parts places will sell you the full hardware kit, it's not included with the pad sets. They're kind of pricey from toyomotorparts I'd go with rockauto.

My pad shims are a two piece unit, so no sure what you are looking at exactly.

 

Okay well I tore into it yesterday. I pulled the caliper and spun the hub/rotor and the squeal was coming from within I pulled the hub and out dripped water So I pulled everything off and re-greased it all. The spindles and bearings were almost bone dry. . What really confuses me is that the squeal had been occurring for maybe a week and a half now and I do remember driving through a puddle only a couple of days ago? So it is not the brakes, maybe a bad bearing? After I removed the second spindle nut the squealing stopped so I don't know. Everything is all good, no squeal, hopefully it stays that way. I now need to do the passenger side.

About lubing the brakes, I did not. I bought the grease but ran out of time pretty quick so I think i'm going to do that another day. Co-94 said that I could buy an entire hardware pack so maybe I will and install it all at once. . Thanks guys!