Chris(NJ); Slowly but surely, a build journal

Got the rear diff and transmission fluid changed today.

$29 75w-90 Synthetic Gear Lube - 1 Quart (Pack of 2)

75w-90 and MT-90. OEM washers. magnets looked Great. Nothing weird on them.

Probably gonna knock out the passenger side CV tomorrow




203,768 miles and counting!

 

Damn today was busy. Amongst everything else, I did get the passenger side axle changed to a CVJ high lift axle (red boot). The driver side has lasted many years, so I'm hoping for the same out of this one.

Everything was pretty smooth. The old axle didn't want to pop out of the wheel bearing as easily as it has in the past. A couple whacks w/ the rubber mallet and it was as free as a bird.

In total, I spent 3 hours on this. Worked solo for 99% of it. My neighbor came out in time to smack the new axle in place while I held it. 4 hands are better than 2, as they say!


Old boot was kinda torn up......



Which made removing (most of it) very easy!....



The crime scene......




The other half never slides out as smoothly but alas.......



And we're back in business........



Other neighbor snapped a pic of us idiots, for good measure......

 

I was just checking mileage on these tires. I can't believe it but I'm at 65k already and these things still have plenty of life left.

 

Not sure why I took so long to do the cabin intake screen mod. Took like 15 minutes. I opted for zip ties instead of bolting it down, which seemed like overkill. Also pinched it around the lip of the opening. It's not going anywhere!

I might pull the cowl off all together later this season and add some sound deadening in there to try and quiet down the interior even more. Not sure how much of an effect it would have on engine and wind noise entering the cabin.


Anyway..... results!

 

Oh and if anyone local sees this and wants to do the same thing, I have leftover mesh screen. One piece of it can make 2 or 3, easily.

 

Wires!

A day spent at @6 gearT444E 's shop is a good day. We knocked out some...but not all... pretty beat up battery wires.

After trying to chase the loom and harness for way too long, we decided to abandon the old wires for the starter/alternator and run new ones parallel to them. Although I'd like to clean that up one day, yesterday wasn't the day to do it.

@Coupe 's battery tie down is awesome. Looks right at home. Highly recommend it.

@sdhq terminal kit is a thing of beauty. Still love looking at them and hate hiding them beneath the terminal covers.

Main ground still needs to be replaced. But I want to look at some pics or find a writeup showing what else is grounded in place with it. I assume the small wire is crimped to the main ground?
Otherwise, I replaced all wires w/ the same or larger gauge. Basically all 2 or 4ga now.

 

Boring post. Just an oil change and new air filter at 209,600 miles. Also rotated tires.

When it's not so windy and chilly outside I'll do a new gallon of anti-freeze since I like to put a fresh one in at each oil change.

 

Antifreeze or washer fluid?

 

lol coolant. Not really “adding” I guess haha. But a radiator drain and refill

 

Every oil change? Seems excessive and expensive

 

Yea, it probably is excessive and it's definitely expensive lol. But I'm also not going to ever crack open the rest of the coolant system so I like to keep as much fresh fluid in there as possible. I also do anywhere from 8,500-10k mile oil change intervals. So it's not like I'm doing 3 gallons of anti-freeze each year. I only change the oil once, maybe twice a year if I do big road trips or whatever.

 

Ah ok. I thought you were doing oil changes every 3k miles. And coolant change at the same time

 

Drive down to GA for training for the job. 60 miles out I got an intermittent battery light and scangauge showed 12.0v. Stayed there for an uncomfortable amount of time but it did jump back up to 13.7 eventually.
Knowing I am heading to Jax for a few days then back up 95 over the holiday weekend I thought it’d be best to swap the alternator. This happened once before back in December but it’s been fine ever since.
I can only assume it’s the alternator. It’s original to the truck.
That being said, I replaced it before it left me stranded.
First time paying a shop to work on my truck. Hate it. But it is what it is.

OEM Toyota reman installed….

214,046 miles

 

Sticker showed up today!

 

Any future plans for a new truck or you gonna run this one as long as you can? Love the maintenance updates

 

Thanks @RadRed06

A lot of memories with this truck and still runs like new so I have no immediate plans to get rid of it. I’ll probably keep it til it rusts out. And if anything just add an SUV to the fleet for some modern comfort.

 

Ok, another short but successful road trip. This time up to New Hampshire and Maine (Acadia).

During the drive home I noticed a strange brake pedal feel. Lunch stop gave me time to take a look and sure enough, a leaking passenger line. I felt confident I could make the remaining 200 mile drive without a roadside repair. A lot of space between me and the next car, some downshifting and a few prayers got me home in one piece.

Both lines were broken at the caliper end.








To get me rolling again, I dug out the OEM brake lines. Installed the passenger side and while my buddy was pumping the brakes to bleed the line.....the driver side blew! It was like a geyser lol. Look at that spray pattern!!




Attempted to install the other oem line but turns out the threads were stripped. No idea how that ever happened or why I would've saved the line knowing they were stripped. But whatever. An Autozone run for another new line and now I'm back in business.

 

Fwiw, those Goodridge lines were probably 13 or so years old.

I also took the time yesterday to change the oil. 8k miles on the oil.

Today I'll rotate tires and throw in some new coolant and get ready for the next road trip in 2 weeks.

217,602 miles when all this went down.

 

Think my clutch fluid was a little beyond overdue? 217,630 miles

 

Driver side caliper is sticking too. Of course, 2 days before another road trip. NAPA calipers here I come.