PennSilverTaco's "Perfect 5-Lug Regular Cab" Build, Aspergers, and General BS MegaThread!

I wish I could say that this was the first time something like this happened, but it's not...

I encounter people like this on a fairly regular basis; About eight years ago, a middle aged man in a utility truck decided it was place to lecture me about not putting the shopping cart back in the designated "corral"...

On at least two occasions while walking my boss's dog in Doylestown on a hot day, people have decided to lecture me about walking a dog on a hot day; Am
I really supposed to let the dog shit in the air-conditioned comfort of the house just because it's in the 90s?!?!

 

Sounds like you manage to run into more than your fair share of Karen Types of people, lol.

 

And then this year, there were two noteworthy incidents that actually occurred while driving; A drunk fat redneck decided to walk up to my truck at the Carlisle Truck Nationals this past August, call me a "commie", and say all sorts of obscene shit because I dared to drive a Toyota truck with an American flag license plate on the front...

Then, last September right before 9/11, an old lady flipped me off for having an American flag attached to my hitch receiver; I can only assume that this is why she flipped off, but she denied flipping me off when I turned around and asked her why she'd done it. My dashcam clearly shows her flipping me off

 

I’ve seen battery terminals and posts in need of cleaning or loose cause symptoms similar to yours.

A bad ground can definitely cause all kinds of oddball symptoms. I had one with an intermittent sputtering engine. First 2 guy’s found nothing. I test drove it, seemed ok until I hit a bump, engine sputtered and stalled. Crank no start. Opened the hood, looking around, then it started like nothing wrong again. Found a ground wire, harness to frame, was loose due to a loose bolt, bolt hole had sand blast media in it, bolt wouldn’t tighten. Relocated ground wire, problem solved.

Your Karen situation. The white line you had to cross to make a left towards the road, is there a stop sign? Guessing no because usually the word stop is painted before the line. Depending on where she was when you made that left. If she had already turned right, I would have stopped for her. That is unless she was going super slow or on the phone. People who talk on the phone while driving are invisible to me and they don’t count. If you get in an accident, and she’s on the phone, even if it’s really considered your fault, the fault automatically goes to her for being on the phone. Something my nephew learned the hard way.

Hopefully a new alternator will solve your issues. Good luck with the autozone alternator, I didn’t.

 

This thread is supposed to be not only about my truck, but about living with an autism spectrum disorder, so here goes...

I have been talking about this with my therapist recently; One of my biggest triggers is when people, especially strangers, rush to judgment without really getting to know me. My anger is amplified when they start criticizing me without knowing the whole story, like this Karen in the blue SUV today who decided it was her duty to bitch at me about talking on a cell phone while driving...


@ColoradoTJ
@shakerhood
@Taco critter

You all remember the incident in the Mission BBQ back in June 2020; I took my mask down below my nose to stop my glasses from fogging up while talking to the cashier. Some guy in his early 20s thought it was a good idea to not only lecture me about proper mask wearing, which is annoying enough, but violated my "bubble" (something that it is very ill-advised to do to an Aspie, pandemic or no pandemic); He literally got right in my face, words were exchanged, and I was seconds away from decking the guy when the manager stepped in and deescalated the situation.

 

Well....there's a big quality difference between an OEM alternator and the junk at auto stores. That said....sometimes you get a good one and they usually have a decent warranty on them

 

Tl;dr

This guy spends more time posting about driving from Autozone than actually troubleshooting his problem.

Good luck. I hope the alternator is indeed your problem.

 

Going super slow, and nothing saying "stop" (no stop sign or white paint on road saying "stop")...

 

Those weren't "accidents"; Those were third party interlopers who couldn't keep their nose out of my business and/or otherwise keep their mouths shut...

 

I know this, but roughly $235 is a big price difference ($295 once I give the old alternator to the AutoZone and get sixty bucks back); Also, if this new alternator turns out to be a turd and it craps out within the warranty period, I'll get my money back and buy an OEM one through my mechanic (who is considerably cheaper than the dealer). After watching my mechanic friend install the new one tomorrow, I should have absolutely no problem installing one myself if the need arises again

 

That's what everything is pointing to...

 

Depending on how long you have the alternator it's likely you won't be able to return it for a refund. Typically they just issue you another.

That said...I've seen people have good luck right out of the box with no issues years later. But I’ve seen people get 2 or 3 bad ones in a row pulled right from the box and/or have them crap out a few weeks or months down the road.

There's something about alternators that make them hit or miss when it comes to remans from part stores

 

You always know just to say to make me feel better, my friend...




There were three shootings in Denver today?!?!

 

I am very picky about using OEM mechanical parts, but over $500 for an alternator is not worth it in my opinion; That is just obscene dealer markup...

 

It's more than just dealer markup. Their cost for one is much higher.

 

Yeah, but $515 or $570 or whatever it was? Who makes Tacoma alternators? Denso?

 

I put an auto zone alternator in a truck once. Never again. Always stay OEM and rebuild them for peanuts, usually just new brushes. If you like swapping alternators get a rebuilt one and you can do it every year...

 

Maybe I'll get the old one rebuilt instead of giving it back to the dealer for a rebate; That sound like a good idea? I just can't have my truck being out of commission for DAYS during the holiday season, which is why my buddy is going to help me replace the alternator tomorrow...