What Have You Done To Your 3rd Gen Today?

@bjmusico How was the shipping time, customer service etc? Reading the forums. It sounds like there were issues at one point. Interested to know if that's been resolved.

 

I don't recall having any issues when I got it last year. Looking at my e-mails, I placed order on 9/25/23 and bumper was shipped on 10/17/23. I also ordered some interior console molle panels, but those shipped within a couple days. Pretty sure the bumpers are made-to-order and I was expecting about 30-day lead time. Customer service seemed fine, but I also didn't need to contact them for anything. Note that the only e-mails I received were order confirmation and notice when shipped (with tracking number). I'm a few hours away from Victory 4x4 in Michigan, so your actual shipping time may be a bit longer.

I also ordered a set of bed molle panels more recently. Ordered on 5/14/24 and were shipped on 5/31/24. Not sure if those are made-to-order or in batches.

 

Thanks man! Sounds like they went through a hiccup.
Anyone else out there who have ordered from victory with no problems?

 

I have their sliders that I ordered back in 2020. Ordered in June and arrived in September. It seems like those days are over.

 

I tested out the TSS today with no problems. It was just a short trip/test but if I experience any problems I'll update.

I have ordered from Victory 4x4 several times with no problems or significant delays. I ordered my bumper early last December and had it in less than the 3 week lead time they quoted. I was very impressed with how well packed/protected it was.

 

Lol. This was 20+ years ago... Point was that I have learned my lesson. You really shouldn't have to worry about gently cleaning the instrument cluster. Every other vehicle (besides Toyota/Scion) I could spray brake fluid on the gauge cluster and it would look better than whatever material Toyota uses.

I feel like every new Toyota owner gets SNAFU'd by this before they learn

 

OEM is always the best...i just ordered a 2nd set. I replaced at 35k just before winter and now I'm at 75k and I'm gonna do it again just before winter... Always get that one icy/snowy day where one gets boogered up because it's at the end of its life.... I don't wanna replace them in the freezing cold when I'm on a travel hockey trip in Boston.....

 

Let's just say, I'M JEALOUS. Sorry for yelling,lol. What beautiful country

 

Good luck with the scratches, in the future a great way to loosen stubborn bug guts is to soak an old towel in hot water, and lay it over the bug guts for a while, they'll come right off.

 

Well, I thought that I really screwed up.
Fortunately, after lots of thinking, the truck is ready to go back together.
Some would say you don't try and fix something that ain't broke.
The rear fender bolts inside the wheel well were bugging me. They had a rusty patina on the head of every bolt and the threads on the backside were rusting. Each rear fender has 6- M6x25mm bolts that support the outer fender to the braces. These braces run back to 4 more M6x25mm and 2 M6x10 bolts that hold the braces to the plastic bed. Well, thought I would pull out one bolt to measure as I didn't know the size at the time. It snapped right away. Yes I used penetrant oil on the back side. A M6, non grade marked bolt, isn't very strong. Add some rust and they snap with very little effort.

I finally removed all these bolts and have the 6 fender support brackets out, 3 brackets on each side . I was able to get the bolts out by grabbing the threads on the back side of the nut with vise grips.

Now the problem. 2 bolts on each side of the upper fender support are extremely short. About M6x10. Why so short? They thread into the upper part of the wheel well. The drivers side came out. The passenger side bolts both broke In the blind hole in the bed. The nut that is molded into the bed is brass. How do you drill a steel bolt out without walking into the soft brass.
Below should explain what I did. I made a tool in the lathe to center the drill to the molded in brass nut. The main body of the tool is drilled to 6.7mm to support the tap size drill bit. The end is drilled to 17/32 to go over the brass nut and hold the bit centered.
Everything worked out. I just need to drill the upper support bracket for the slightly larger M8X1.25x12mm bolt. All the new bolts will have antiseize on the threads. I am not going through this again.

 

Roof velcro!

 

I usually wash mine at home too, except mid winter when all my outdoor water is off. Even then, I usually go to the car wash bay and wash it myself.
I put the kayak on today, worked out as I had envisioned with the backrack. The front cradle is redundant now. I thought of putting it on the top of the backrack, but honestly it sits there well on the pool noodle. I could put the other cradle at the back and carry a friend's kayak too.
the tool box opens and the kayak isn't even sitting on the tailgate. Before with just putting it flat, it stuck over by 5 feet and wasn't well supported.

 

Had a body mount chop done. The shop did a beautiful job!

 

I keep some window cleaning supplies in the door pocket. Dawn soap, cellulose sponge, magic eraser sponge, blue scotchbrite pad and Rain-X.

(Green scotchbrite is abrasive, blue is not.)

Not sure about removing scratches, but for once, TW advice is in agreement: It’ll buff out!

 

Excellent solution! Thanks for posting.

 

Welp @RichochetRabbit I indeed did not make it 6 months. I am however giving myself a pass as I felt it was needed to have more light in the back for a trip to Moab this weekend so installed some LED lights. Was an unexpected pain.

 

That will teach you!

 

Threw away my Mobile jump pack last weekend and bought a new one from Amazon should be arriving at the end of the week. Got in my truck to leave monday for the airport and click click. Jumped it from my charger at the house and ran over to Walmart for a replacement battery (i installed it, i wouldnt let anyone from walmart touch my truck). Strange how things happen.

 

Its such garbage plastics they used especially the cluster, you could scratch it by looking at it. Order a new one and get a screen protector, mine still looks brand new i wipe it weekly always drive with the windows open so it gets dusty often.

 

Another vote for a random orbital polisher, light pressure and moving around frequently on the surface. Too much pressure and staying in one spot builds heat; potential for cracked glass.

Lots of different glass specific compounds are available. Cerium Oxide is designed for deep scratches on glass.

I'd try carpro ceriglass with yellow (fine) or white (super fine) rupes pads. Polisher brand doesn't matter as long as it's a random orbital. 2-3 50% overlap horizontal passes, 2-3 50% overlap vertical passes, then clean and inspect. Glass is one of the hardest surfaces to polish. Might be easier to replace the windshield.

https://theragcompany.com/collections/rupes-pads

https://www.carpro-us.com/glass/carpro-ceriglass-polish-150ml-5oz/