First Time Post: "General" 1st Gen. Q's

There may be a thread for this but I'm new and sure you'll straighten me out.
I just have some general questions about a few things going on with my pickup
I have a 2003 Ext. Cab Manual 5Speed 3.4L V6

1.) I replace the rear quarter window plastic latch hinge with a billet one. after installing them it seemed like they didn't close as tightly as i remember, but my passenger side quarter window seems to hold fine but in the past week my driver side has sum how popped open 4 times. is there anything i can do to fix this?

2.) I got try truck 4 yrs ago and there has always been a high pitch "squeak" or wind that quiets when the clutch is pushed in but it is still there.
(I have a buddy who has an auto with the same noise but has an auto who said it was a belt) just wanted to see what TW has to say before i replace the belts.

any advice or info is appreciated. thank you in advance

 

Check the belts look for cracks and general wear... replace if need be.

As for the window latch thing I need to fix mine they are both toast...so I am of no help there

 

Try bending very carefully the metal bracket that is bolted to truck behind the plastic, that you installed the new billet hinge to,bend it carefully towards the inside of the truck this should make your latch tighter. I had to do this on my 02 taco after replacing the plastic hinge pieces to the billet replacements. Note you should disconnect the hinges when you bend the metal latch to avoid breaking the assembly this worked on my taco both quarter windows shut tight hope the helps. What I meant by disconnecting the hinges is remove the roll pins that connect the billet hinges to the latch assembly then carefully bend the metal bracket. Good luck.

 

Pakrat.. i finally got around to jacking with my windows @ 11:30PM i disconnected everything, window still doesn't "latch" shut like it did before. i cant even remember how tight it was before but the outer cover doesn't make a full travel to pull the window all the way in. not sure what else to do. is a real PITA driving down the hight way or the pressure inside the cab change and have this thing randomly open up on me. thanks for the reply any other ideas or corrections to what i did is appreciated

604Yota.. I haven't got a chance to look under the hood but ill look at my belt next weekend thanks for the info

 

here is as far as the cover will travel

 

HAHA never mind i was being a real puss when it came to bending that sucker back. i pulled it all the way back till it touched the top of the plastic hole it protrudes out of and now that thing really POPS when it locks. scared the crap out of me the first time thought i broke it!
Thanks again!

 

i doubt your friends similar squeak from the belts are your culprit. you need to get under the truck while its squeaking and listen to narrow down the sound's location. it should be fairly easy to determine if its coming from the front of the engine or rear. my guess would be clutch related, specifically throw out bearing.

 

its definitely coming from the front it may be two different noises. could be the timing belt and clutch related. real high pitched when the cloth is not pressed in and then not quit as loud with it in but a weird noise is still present. school is reaming me this semester so hopefully i can take a look over the weekend. thanks for the advice

 

I had to take a grinder to my billet piece. Reference with the original one or the one the fits. Take your time. Go slow and keep trying until it shuts.

 

I had a high pitch whine in the transmission in my '04 3.4 MT Taco. It was loudest with the clutch out and when driving in first through third gear. Fourth was completely quiet and fifth had just a bit of whine.

I had the bearings replaced - to the tune of over $1k - and that didn't fix it. I finally ended up replacing the transmission. Now it's quiet.

Good luck.