Been on a bit if a shopping spree lately

 

Oh shiny!!!!

 

I got one of those chrome bumpers a few years ago. It still looks great, but the back side got rusty quick. Paint that side and never worry about it again.

 

good to know, will do, thanks!

 

Starter went out in my driveway, relay was shorting out or something shorting out the whole electrical system.
Replaced the starter. 2 bolts took me 20 min. So easy. I love this truck.


2 things now
1. I have a check engine light. Probably from losing power so many times. I'll check the codes for that soon, not too worried.

2. I noticed the slow oil leak at the filter. Went to top it up, noticed a bit of white foam on the cap. inside the head and the dipstick look clean.
This look like anything to worry about? my drive to work is only 10 miles, condensation? Shouldn't be headgasket, I flushed coolant not long ago and it was crystal clear.

here's the same pic with and without flash. circle is where I poked it.

 

Yeah, mine was so easy to change, too. Just needed a foot long ratchet extension.

Was your old starter still the original? When I did mine it did not have the original starter and I bought re-manufactured starter covered by Toyota warranty so store did not take my old one for core.

I would just keep an eye on it. I hope it is not bad HG.
Also try running with radiator cap off? If splashing excessively- more than from vibration or circulation of coolant, I think that would be sign of HG failure.

 

Looks like your cap is missing its seal? If it is then it can draw air in through the pcv system and do that.

 

my father changed the starter on his 04 ford ranger just last weekend, had to remove the wheel, wheel well liner, and struggled with the thing all afternoon. I only turned 2 bolts. Just can't get over how easy these old yotas are to work on

Old starter looked like it may have been original, probably not though, it had an old sticker on it that struck me as aftermarket part but I didn't look too close

They took it as core

Didn't realize there was a seal to look for, I'll check after work, thanks

 

Check engine light was code 12
Knock control Sensor (KS) signal has not reached judgement level in succession
- Defective KS circuit
- Defective KS
- Defective ECU

Checking the wiring, planning to clean up all the grounds anyway, perfect weather today might as well get it done

 

That was easy. Looks like I ripped the wire right off the sensor when changing the starter. Oops.

Took the connector apart, slid the spade out, stripped a few mm of the original wire, clean flux and solder, put back together, like i was never even there.

took it for a test drive and all is good!

 

30 year old brittle wires suck.

 

yup. Chasing intermittent electrical gremlins sucks


Back to the issues I was a chasing before... electrical gremlins...

Once in awhile, when I turn the key to start, I lose all power to everything. Before replacing the starter it was every time, now it's occasional.
Power stays lost until either 1, I wait long enough, 2, I disconnect and reconnect the battery.

If I read the schematic correctly, the solenoid is in the starter assy. and is newly replaced. I don't see anything else that explains this behavior. I'm thinking bad ground/bad battery terminals?

 

That's my main issue right now

Couple side quests:

• regarding the oil cap, there is no seal, I didn't see them on LCEs site but I probably missed it.
• Does anyone sell adapter brackets to lift the bumper 2" to match the body lift? I hate that gap between the grille and bumper.
• Does anyone have any clever ideas for shifting the mud flaps out about an inch to match the fender flares and offset wheels?
• Tire recommendations? Use case: drive 1500 miles from Indiana to Colorado, spend a couple days doing the alpine loop trail, drive 1500 miles back home. Also my DD. So I want something 99% for pavement, as little road noise as possible (current mud terrains shake me all over the road), but still capable of doing easy trails.
  • Current favourite - Nitto terra grapplers reg or G2
  • BFG AT KO or KO2s, but I hear bad things about road noise and handling on wet pavement
  • goodyear silent armor?
  • yokohama geolanders
  • any other recommendations?

 

I drove on 31" bfg at's for 50k miles and I thought they looked perfect on the 4Runner but just had too many drawbacks. Really heavy, hydroplaned all the time, sucked on snow a little too noisy. If you re-gear and live in the desert, go for them they last forever. I just got LT235 Hercules Terra Trac at2's (made by Cooper) and love them. Way quieter, cheaper ($125 per tire, mounted) and far better for rain and snow. Still good on dirt and gravel. Ok in mud. Not sure how well they wear, but all else is good so far.

 

I've never had a seal on my oil caps

check with 4crawler, he might have bumper lift brackets

pull the mud flaps off, drill holes 1 inch inboard and reinstall.

I had yoko geolandars. That are great for highway. Sucked everywhere else. I had BFG AT kos. I loved then and will be going back to them. They aren't great in snow, but they aren't a snow tire. They aren't great in mud, but they aren't a mud tire. Never really had an issue with them in water, but then again, I had them siped which I highly recommend. They give decent traction offroad too.

just my 2 cents.

 

This is the oil cap seal. I got a new one with my engbldr kit

 

Thanks for the tire input, I'll look into those.
Thanks, I'll hit up 4crawler
holes in the body? I'll need to look, not sure that'll work with whyever there is that deep V in the mudflap

Thanks for the tire input. How'd you go about getting them siped?


Thanks, maybe I'll shoot them an email and see if I can get one

 

Most likely just due to poor connections.

Yes, solenoid's piggy-backed on starter motor. It should not cause the issue; If it is shorted, you should lose one of your fuses.

 

Just came across this... Good to see the white sisters of my Ruby Tuesday

 

Haha, thanks
mine doesn't have a name yet tho... Need to get on that
How's yours rolling?

i cleaned the battery terminals and haven't had starting issues fir awhile
I still haven't gotten around to cleaning the grounds, she still likes to sputter on startup