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I have seen the ScanGaugeII is a very popular monitoring system. I always wanted one to better monitor coolant temps, volts, and fuel mileage (I thought they did trans temp too but I was wrong). So as a late Christmas present to the Yota, I cashed in some speed perks and got one for a discount.
I installed in on top of the column between the tach and the speedo, it blocks the indicator for park and reverse and high beams. It’s not too intrusive in the dark. And I recently managed an trip average of 23mpg and 275 miles to the fillup. (Granted that was very disciplined highway driving)
Last edited by fierohink; Mar 21, 2022 at 05:51 PM.
On my way to work I got boxed in and couldn’t straddle the lanes like I normally do around a pothole about the size of a 5 gallon bucket and so hit it doing 75-80mph. Immediately after my steering wheel was clocked by about 45* and there were about a dozen cars on the shoulder with flats. At least huge sidewall 16” tires have some benefit.
Alignment indicating damage After my driveway alignment after new inner and outer tie rods on both sides Professionally done alignment 😎
I took the truck to my alignment guy with tie rods for the passenger side. He said he couldn’t get the drivers loose to adjust and they had a little play, so I ended up replacing inner and outers on both sides, did my best to align it to drive back to the shop and then had professionals put it spot on.
she drives like a champ again. Plus I have a claim in to SHA of MD. I learned the state has insurance for some roadway related vehicle damage. I’m hoping for the best and expecting the worst, but that morning by the time I finished my commute the traffic reports were saying the lane of travel I hit the pothole in was now closed for “emergency repairs” so… 🤞🏼
Last edited by fierohink; May 17, 2022 at 11:30 AM.
Reason: spelling
Now just some basic maintenance. D3 Oil filter and change with valvoline high mileage. Checked fluid levels on the rear diff, and transfer case, and greased the front and rear u-joints and double cardone. 5 tire rotation.
i have some road trips planned this summer and really want things to go smoothly.
Last edited by fierohink; Mar 21, 2022 at 06:02 PM.
Replace o2 sensors (these have been in my toolbox for like 4 years)
Taco Whip Antenna mod (my power antenna finally gave up the ghost) (5/23)
Full Fluid Swap
Trans Flush (5/19)
Coolant (5/18)
Front Diff (5/18)
Rear Diff(5/18)
Transfer Case(5/18)
Brake Fluid
Poly Body Mounts (Finally finish the complete kit)
Replace Passenger Fog Light housing
Valve cover gaskets
Investigate and repair/replace the crackling left rear door speaker
If a couple years of on again off again quarantine have taught me anything, it's that everything needs some maintenance and self care. So this years list isn't about big upgrades, it's all about the self care. Like signing up for the car wash subscription and getting a wash after every workday.
Last edited by fierohink; May 24, 2022 at 08:53 AM.
So I got more done on my days off than I thought I was going to. I was able to drain and change the Front and Rear diffs, and the Transfer case with some Valvoline SynPower 75W-90 gear lube. I also ran 5 gallons of Dex 3 thru the transmission and replaced the inline filter. Fresh Fluid 1st Drain 2nd drain 3rd drain 4th drain 5th drain 6th drain 7th drain 8th drain 9th drain final drain
Just like the last time I flushed the trans, I used a gallon jug that I marked off in 1/2QT increments. I ran the line from the trans to the cooler into the jug. Started the truck, cycled thru Park -> Reverse ->Neutral -> Drive -> 2 -> L and back over the course of about 17 seconds, and shut the truck off. That pretty closely equaled 2 QTs of fluid into the jug. Refilled thru the dipstick with clean fluid, emptied the dirty fluid jug, and repeat. I was able to do 10 passes of about 2QTs each. The fluid looks really good now, and with my refills I ended up being about 1/2QT short from between the hash marks on the dipstick.
I also replaced my headlight bulbs. One burned out driving home from a road trip, so I swapped out both and put the good one in the glove box as an emergency spare.
And I drained the coolant and replaced with fresh Zerex Asian Red premix and a bottle of Water Wetter. Hopefully that will keep things cool on the highway.
Last edited by fierohink; May 19, 2022 at 10:09 AM.
Knocked out the Taco Whip mod. You need to pull the radio to unplug the antenna, the glove box, and the plastic shield above the glove box and below the airbag. Outside you need to unbolt the inner fender liner then there is 1 10mm bolt that holds the base of the antenna mast.
Open up the center console and unplug the bigger antenna feed into the stock radio. Remove the glove box and plastic shield above it. Unclip the antenna cable along the dash support. Outside undo the inner fender liner and start to feed the wire out. Once you get about 2’ of loose old antenna wire out, tape the new antenna plug to the old wire and credit back thru the fender. Inside pull the old wire up until you get to the taped section of the new wire and separate the two. Now you can pull the new wire in, and old wire out. Unbolt the old mast, remove the fender cover screw, pull the old mast out. Feed the new Taco mast up the inner fender and out the hole. Loosely thread the beauty mount to hold the mast, bolt the bottom of the mast, feed remainder of wire into the cab and replace the grommet. Reattach screws for inner fender. Tighten fender beauty guard. Pull wire the remainder of the way to the radio and plug in. Reinstall radio, glove box shield, glove box, and thread antenna into mast.
The A/C and defrost just haven't been as cold as they once were. I hooked up the manifold gauges and found my low side was only around 10psi. FSM states lowside reading around 30psi at 1000 rpm. I added about 1/2-3/4 of a pound of r-134A and I'm back to 30# on the low side. When I took the plastic caps off the access ports, the high side cap definitely had a pop of pressure underneath. When I buttoned everything after removing the manifold set I added new o-rings to the plastic caps and hopeful that will help keep that in check. I didn't try messing with the actual schrader valve, because I really didn't want cause more complications.
I'm a bit delayed in some of my updates, it has been a busy summer and still hasn't quieted down yet.
mileage: 181,xxx
This summer I had planned several roadtrips. These would range anywhere from 600 miles roundtrip to 2100 miles roundtrip. With that in mind I wanted to replace all the fluids and get as much maintenance up to date. I replaced all my fluids except the brakes back in May, and I thought, man I should probably replace the radiator. There have been 2 schools of thought on our rads; 1) bypass the trans line to avoid milkshakes or 2) replace the rad every few years to prevent internal failure and milkshakes. I have been in the bypass camp. But I started thinking, that means my rad has been riding around getting scaled up and fins crumped and corrosion building for 20+ years. Plus a different thread pointed out that Daytona Toyota was shipping rads for about $100... thanks @aowRS. So I installed a new rad and upper and lower hoses. I also added some water wetter in with my coolant. I used it for years in my race motorcycle and liked its performance. I don't know if I'll see any benefit from the radiator, but that and the new hoses are some peace of mind.
An oil and filter change were slightly overdue, so those got knocked out. Plus a 5 tire rotation.
I have noticed a creek and groan in the front end while turning the wheel while stopped like while parking, or coming off a curb like when backing out of my drive. I noticed I had some grease spray from my inner front CVs. This might be the cause, I haven't ruled it out. I think I need to do more investigation...
I’ve noticed a handful of times in sweltering heat and humidity with the a/c running my coolant temp would creep up. Prior to the Scangauge I only recognized when the needle would go from the middle to 3/4. I had no numeric data to go with, but I knew this wasn’t great. Now with the Scangauge I’ve not had the needle move but I have recorded some high temps.
Shortly after I snapped this it continued to 227*!!! And I switched to no a/c and full heat.
questioning this in another thread, someone suggested my fan clutch. So while it was hot, I killed the motor and checked the fan and it just free spun. So in 95* midday sun and heat I swapped out the fan clutch in the Advance Auto parking lot.
fortunately I travel prepared. 30 minutes from hood up to hood down. Sitting in traffic with the a/c running I would float between 188* and 191*. I’m calling this fixed… for now.
@fierohink - I've been loving your thread. I was sure when I first started reading posts from 2015? that you were long gone. Now that I'm up-to-date on your journey it seems you may still be around?
I just started my journey in Nov '22 w/ a '99 4Runner LTD w/ 147K!! Our plan is to make it our camping and adventuring rig. Looking forward to learning and sharing more.
@corrupt3db0x I'm not too far away and there's another Yotatech member in Ellicot City with half a million miles on his '02. So if you ever get into a bind we can probably help out.
Oil and filter change, 5.5qts of high mileage valvoline and a D3 filter. 5 tire rotation. Replaced all 3 wiper blades. Replaced a section of transmission hose on the return side from the aux cooler that had chafed and was leaking.
And the coup de grace…
Passenger inner CV boot split and flung grease all over the suspension🤦🏽 So a set of half shafts are in my future whenever we get a nice warm stretch and I feel like tearing my front end apart.
@habanero I’m just going to replace the 2 half shafts. A) I don’t know when this split in the last couple of months. B) I’m going to do the set because the drivers side one has the same 192k miles and 24 years of decay. C) I’m a glutton for punishment.
@habanero I’m just going to replace the 2 half shafts. A) I don’t know when this split in the last couple of months. B) I’m going to do the set because the drivers side one has the same 192k miles and 24 years of decay. C) I’m a glutton for punishment.
oil change and filter, tire rotation, and assessing damage from the car wash AGAIN!!!
looking at the thread, I missed adding a message from about 2 months ago when I got a car wash and it snapped my newish antenna mast off at the threads. Fortunately they bought me a new mast, although while I was waiting for their response I found a company that sells a 17” flexible mast so I won’t have car wash issues again. Well, at least not with snapping my antenna mast.
Last edited by fierohink; Jul 23, 2023 at 01:36 PM.
Mar 19, 2022 | 06:37 AM
