Montana Tacomas

Also we have an average of 400k home too. I don’t understand the cost other then demand. Nothing but service industry and blue collar jobs.

I remember in HS when Shilo (where scheels is) was a dirt road. Now it’s where the uppity people live and make a point to tell you they live out on Shilo.

 

I'm listening....

 

Yeah pretty nuts. I don't live there. But spent my whole life going there as it was the only major town around. So went shopping there here and there and Fly out of there. I live closer now in the stillwater valley. Same problem. But the Mine pays really freaking well and so does Oil which is the two big things in this area. Hard to compete. I can't even do a 300k house...

 

Money in this area def has a different meaning then other places. I think we appreciate what we have more then people do in other places though. At least people that do ok for theirselves. The meth heads and other trash are a whole other story.

 

Where in Montana are you? The bumper and I are in Bozeman.

I think I paid $1,060 for it brand new (plus freight). It's obviously in amazingly mint condition. So, was thinking I might sell it for $300. Could use the money to continue fighting my ex in court. LoL

 

That’s a great deal for somebody!

 

That’s a hell of a deal! And sorry about the back half of that conversation.

 

Shopping for an alternator... the code popped up a few months ago and I want to get something good for Montana winters. I will be looking around until November, want to get it installed before the snow and super cold weather hits so I'm not doing it on the street in the middle of a snowstorm. Please send your input.

 

No input there. Other than maybe oem?

Might be a good time for a new belt too since you're down there.

 

Mechman.com is a reputable company. I haven’t gotten their taco higher output one but it’s on my to do list. Otherwise can’t go wrong with oem

 

Belt has been changed 3 times in 2 years, I think the third time is the charm since I've had no issues since the 3rd belt was installed... knock on wood...

 

Did you check the pulley? Something here doesn’t seem right if it’s gone out an average of once a year. My 08’ went 117k and never had to change it.

 

Get new pulleys. It’s not that bad a job to do. Gates brand does pretty good. If you have other “go fast” mods consider NST for their bling factor. https://www.shopnonstoptuning.com/store/p90/2005-2015ToyotaFJTacomaXRunnerPulleyKitNST06150K.html

 

Okay. So. My front diff is due for an oil change. Might as well do the rear at the same time. And I don't trust dealers so I was gonna do my Transfer Case, even though they did it in October/November 2018.

Flash forward to tonight. Bought a nice new 10mm Hex Socket. Got the Lexus drain plug for front diff. Got several quarts of Lucas

$26 75W-90 Synthetic Gear Lube - 1 Quart (Pack of 2)

75W-90 Synthetic Gear Oil. Even bought a pump to put on the bottles to pump it back in.

Guess what I can't get loose? The Fill hole on my front diff. Thank God I'm smart enough to do that before the drain plug. I cannot get the fill plug off to save my life.

So I move on to my Tcase. 24mm bolts should be easy. Find my handy dandy 24mm socket, ratchet, oil catch can. Here we go! Oh. Wait. The cross member for my skid plates blocks the drain bolt.

So I get out a 12mm and 1/2" socket, because the bolts on both ends of the cross member are different sizes. Remove that. Kind of a PITA actually. Set that aside. Sweet. Let's do this.

Open the fill hole. Oil some gushing out. Well shit. I parked my front end on ramps so I had more room to crawl under. Fill hole is on the down hill side. Oil on my floor. And it's mostly clear. So, I guess the dealer did do it after all. Anyhow, get the Tcase drained out. Put the drain bolt back in. Put my new pump on an oil bottle. Begin pumping. Damn pump works, but half the oil pumps out the neck all over your hand, down the bottle, onto the floor. Damnit.

Filled the Tcase until the fill hole was leaking out. Granted I'm on ramps up front. So hopefully it's still good enough. Close it up. Snug down both bolts. Then I spent 20 minutes putting TWO bolts in the cross member to get it back in place. Royal PITA. At this point it's dark outside. I haven't had dinner. And I'm pissed off. So I cleaned up my mess.

Diff fluid changes will happen another day. I'm over it.

 

Sorry you're having a rough night. That diff plug is a PITA. Did mine earlier this year.

 

Yep! I have all the stuff to do mine. Give that fill plug a couple of hits with a hammer on the head to break it free.

 

Sprayed down both plugs on the front diff with PB blaster for now. I seriously don't have time for this shit right now. LOL Maybe in a couple days I'll feel less pissed off.

Also, this is the second time I wished I had a really long ratchet handle or cheater bar.

Also, Toyota is freaking STUUUUUUPID. A hex head? Seriously? And the bolts are recessed. What did they really think was gonna happen? LOL

Meanwhile, the Tcase and Rear diff are both 24MM bolt heads. Super easy.

 

Anybody tagging out yet in the archery season?

Gotten close on a few big bucks, but haven't been able to notch my tags yet.

 

Got that thar diff fluid changed.

When in doubt, a torque wrench (when removing) is basically a cheater bar...

Front and Rear diffs and Transfer Case fluids good for another 30k. Lucas

$26 75w-90 Synthetic Gear Lube - 1 Quart (Pack of 2)

75w-90 Synthetic in there.

 

I need to do my transmission. I don't want to remove my skids ...