What have you done to your Tacoma today? 1st Gen Edition

Bizarre.

 

It's a very odd choice because it's supposed to go in the hydraulic suspension for those little French cars

 

I looked it up and it's not recommended to use mineral oil in a system designed for DOT.
Could destroy the elastomers in the brake system.

Not sure why the previous owner wanted to deviate from OEM?

 

Previous owner…

 

Washed it just to better assess the paint.. not terrible but it needs a fair bit of work.

 

im thinking this...... ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

nice young guy, but was very eco friendly/aware/woke.

now as to its effectiveness? dunno. brakes seem good & ive had it a while now & he said he put the brakes on it at 200k. its got 235k on it now, so they lasted 35K on the front.

its stopping the best it has since purchased. no pulls, better pedal, nice & even.

but hey you heard it here first: non corrosive, eco friendly brake fluid! what will they think of next?

 

Truck is looking good.

 

Mineral oil vs DOT has been a big thing in mountain bikes lately. Both types of brakes exist and work plenty well enough for most people, but you can't mix and match. Like you say, the wrong fluid can compromise the seals.

Mineral oil fans like it because it's less toxic and corrosive and not hygroscopic.
DOT fans cite better performance, especially at extreme temperatures.

https://www.bikeradar.com/advice/buyers-guides/brake-fluid-mineral-oil-vs-dot/

 

I have been running Motul 5.1 DOT 5 synthetic for over a decade in all my vehicles.

It has a higher boiling point than conventional DOT 3 or DOT 4 and is much less hydroscopic than the conventional fluids.

Works nicely for me and my vehicles and is compatible with DOT 3 and DOT 4 fluids and ABS systems.

Mike

 

Just to clarify so others are not misled, you mean you are using DOT 5.1 (glycol based) brake fluid instead of DOT 3 or 4, correct? DOT 5.1 is compatible, actual DOT 5 (silicone based) is not and should never be used in a system designed for 3 or 4.

 

ok you guys are giving great info here!!

so give some advice: should i take this woke fluid out of there & switch it to good ole Dot3 stuff?

(this could explain the soft pedal it had & the ABS light coming on randomly for a couple seconds)

 

Without knowing the compatibility of that type of fluid, I would flush it out and replace with DOT 3 or 4. And by flush it out I mean completely drain it from the brake lines and calipers by opening all of the bleeder valves after refilling the master cylinder reservoir until clean fluid is coming out. I’d probably do that again in a thousand miles or so to get anything that stayed in the system the first time around.
I’m not trying to mess around with a brake system failure while on the highway coming down a mountain pass.

 

@eimkeith Fuel Tank Lift Kit and Evap Lift Kit ordered.

https://eimkeith.com/buystuff/ftm/

I guess I'm going to find out how much of a pain in the ass it is to do to a Double Cab. (I do have a 1 inch body lift going for me, we'll see)

 

Yes, my error 5.1 is what I use. I erroneously cited it as silicone based.

Thanks for clarifying that.

Mike

 

Snagged a headlight stalk from a '06 Solara w/ fog, auto, and DRL off settings. I haven't wired any of those up yet, but I got my multimeter out to figure out the pinout. it's plug and play for everything else.

 

How do you plan on using the extra switch positions?

 

Exactly as they're described, lol. Gonna wire up the DRLs on my Spyder headlights to turn on with either the "Auto" or corner marker lights, then down the road I'm going to get a set of 3" SAE fog lights and somehow mount them where the blinkers currently are. I'm also going to try my luck with one of those cheap auto headlight kits from Amazon.

 

I am new to this forum, so forgive the intrusion. I have had my Tacoma since 2007. Its a 2004 Desert Sand xtra cab 4x4. I thought I would give some honor before it isn't drivable for me anymore. I am not a mechanic and the truck needs some work. It has been all over the eastern half of the US. It just rolled over 300,000 miles. It has never given me any trouble. I love that truck! Now they say it isn't safe to drive. A couple years ago they said it and I still drove it. But now i can see it. But it still runs like a dream. It has been a good vehicle.

 

Put a few kegs in it.

 

You're in Milwaukee, that's the large production beer capital. Please tell me it's something good.