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

To become an HVAC technician

 

I've been changing the oil in my 2004 2.7 4X4 RC every 7500-8500 miles for the last three changes. I'm running Amsoil Signature 10-30 which really is a full synthetic. Blackstone Labs says I can take it further than 8500 miles but I haven't yet. If you're going to really stretch you're intervals then it is necessary to get oil analysis done which I do. I also run a Mobil 1 oil filter which are supposedly good for up to 15,000 miles. So far, so good. I may try 10,000 with a filter change every 5000 miles and see how that goes but I haven't had the balls to try that yet. I could go back to standard Toyota filters if I did that and save some money there. The problem is the filter is what makes changing my oil such a PIA. There is an entire thread dedicated to this on this forum.

One thing everyone needs to understand is that many of the "synthetic" oils are "not" full synthetics. They are "blends" which is what Mobil 1 is. Pennzoil Platinum is the "only" full synthetic I know of as far as store bought brands are concerned. You have to go "boutique" such as Redline, Amsoil etc., etc. to get a true full synthetic. That being said, any synthetic oil is far superior to a dino oil if you're using your vehicle in extreme conditions such as extreme cold, extreme heat, lots of towing in extreme heat, serious off roading or long term change intervals.

I do what I do because I hate getting under there and changing oil since I have to do it outside. As a matter of fact I wouldn't even want to do it inside in a heated garage. Even with a lift. Yep, once you get older you have better things to do than change oil and I don't trust shops so I do it myself.

There really is no "need" for a synthetic under normal conditions and factory required change intervals. The new dino oils from pretty much any brand name are vastly superior to the dino's even 10 years ago. As a matter of fact, synthetic is a waste of money unless the drain intervals are extended or your using your vehicle in very extreme climates, towing all the time or just basically abusing the vehicle.

Switching back and forth from dino to synthetic won't hurt a thing as long as the engine is in good shape but I can't see the point. I'd just stick with one brand and either dino or sythetic. There are many out there who just buy whatever is on sale and switch from brand to brand but most stick with either dino or synthetic.

 

Original battery was replaced sometime in 2015, with an Interstate Mega-Tron...

 

That is what I got out of my last Toyota battery and I just had an Interstate Megatron installed about 4 months ago. I guess we are on the same page. I was going to go for a Northstar AGM for almost 3X the price when I thought, "why"? I got 6+ years out of the last Toyota battery and Interstate has a solid reputation. I've owned their batteries before.

Maybe it'll be a Northstar next time just to try one out.

 

I was just like you. My Taco always started. It sits outside and it has gotten down to -20 here in WY. I installed the Wolverine battery heater and the pan heater because I figured why strain the battery and starter when I don't need to. The Wolverine heaters are very affordable and so far, they seem to be working quite well. I have noticed a huge improvement when it has gotten down into the single digits so far.

They were both easy to install as well. The hardest part was getting the "paint" off of the oil pan on my 2.7. I don't know what they put on there at Toyota but that stuff was tough. It's a shame they don't coat their frames with that same coating because future generations would be finding Taco's with pristine frames buried under 100 ft of dirt 100 years from now.

They would never have another rust recall. I'd pay an extra $2000 for a new Taco if it had the same coating on the frame. If I was in the market for a new Taco that is. It should be an option.

 

If you are a good HVAC tech, you will always have a job. Downside is repairing a roof top unit in very cold weather. The day I posted the screenshot of -13, a roof top unit needed repaired.

 

Was it a gas-pack?

 

How come AC 2nd gens have the key-operated airbag cutoff switch, but RCs don't? My cousin won't let her kids (ages 8, 6, and not even a year respectively) ride in my truck because of it...

My truck does have a sensor in the seat that supposedly shuts off the airbag when someones under 60 pounds is sitting in it.

When I was 1-2 years old, I rode in my booster seat in my dad's 1986 Mazda B2000 all the time!

I live in Pennsylvania, but my cousin lives in California. Apparently, Commiefornia has a law saying kids under 12 can't ride shotgun, even if the vehicle is older and/or doesn't have airbags. I never really bought into that "the backseat is the safest place for kids" thing...

 

I regularly threw fits and got into arguments with my parents (and other adults) over riding in the front seat.

I was born in 1989. When I was born, my dad had a 1983 Toyota Celica GT and my mom had a 1985 Ford Escort. My dad also had a 1983 Datsun 280ZX and a 1978 MGB. Obviously, none of those had airbags. When we moved to Pennsylvania in 1990, my parents bought a brand new 1990 Toyota Camry LE V6, and my dad bought a 1986 Mazda B2000 pickup to drive to work.

Since the Mazda didn't have a backseat, I always by default rode in the front, in my car seat. My mom typically put me in the back of the Camry, but I started riding in the front seat of the Camry when I was 3 or 4.

In 1992, my dad traded the 1986 Mazda for a brand new 1992 Dodge Dakota LE supercab. The primary reason for this was that the Mazda did not have air-conditioning and it would have cost about a grand to install it. The Dakota obviously did have A/C, and a backseat. I always rode in the front seat of the Dodge unless both of my parents were along for the ride.

In June 1993, my dad traded the Dakota for a new S-10 Blazer after a barely a year of ownership because he decided he wanted a 4x4. Again, I always rode in the front seat in the Blazer unless both of my parents were present. By 1993, I always rode in front of the Camry unless both parents were present...

My dad traded the S-10 Blazer for a new Nissan Pathfinder in 1996, and the Pathfinder had dual airbags. I rode in the front seat of the Pathfinder until late 1996-early 1997, when all these stories came out about kids getting killed and even decapitated by deploying airbags in vehicle accidents...

I was not allowed to ride shotgun in vehicles with airbags until 2001, when I turned 12 years old and began asserting what I saw as my right to ride in the front seat...

My aunt and uncle were extra obnoxious and didn't let me or my cousin ride in the front until we were 15-16, regardless of whether or not the vehicle had airbags...

 

I know VERY little about HVAC. The unit is natural gas heat and 480VAC for the A/C. I was just helping because it was sooooo cold. We replaced the heat exchanger tubes. Actually it was two roof top units that needed the tubes replaced. They had rusted and had holes.

 

A gas-pack is combined air-conditioner and gas furnace, often installed on a rooftop...

 

In MA and RI, children under 8 can't ride shotgun.

Things are more strict now than back then. When I was a few years old, my dad let me sit in his lap and steer on the highway. No big deal. Today, most people would be shocked to see that.

I too, would be interested in why an access cab doesn't have the air bag shut off

 

I hate the Nanny States of America...

I say if my kid wants to ride shotgun and the vehicle doesn't have airbags (or has a cutoff switch), then they can ride shotgun!

AC's do have it. RC's don't...

 

@Plain Jane Taco

 

That's what I meant to say lol. I have an AC, and mine is shut off

 

Either way, I hate the Nanny States...

 

My access cab doesn't have a switch.

 

@Jamesboy2233
@Salty_Dog
@Plain Jane Taco
@Iamraiderpower
@ChadsPride
@LocoLocal
@98tacoma27

My dad looked out one of the upstairs windows and saw what appeared to be a dog in the catch basin behind our house. I caught a glimpse of the dog and believed it to be an English Bulldog. I ran out the back door and immediately began calling and whistling. My neighbor's dog started barking, but the Bulldog ignored him and ran to me. The dog had a harness, but no ID tags. At this point, I didn't even know if it was a he or a she, but the dog willingly followed me up the back steps. Like me, my dad pretty much fell in love with the dog on sight, and it was at that point we discovered he was a male...

These are the pictures I took in our screened-in porch, with the intention of posting them to Facebook in an attempt to find the owner...

 

Good looking pup! Call local vet and get it checked to see if it has a Chip

 

@Iamraiderpower

My dad was driving his company truck today since the Pilot is in the shop, and the dog was very eager to get in the truck. He'd been out in the cold for a while, so while we were driving around trying to see if we could find anybody who looked like they were looking for a dog, he positioned himself on the floor of the truck where the heat was blowing on him...



A short time later, he decided he wanted to ride between my dad and me...