SOLVED! Post 2853 Leaking Injectors, Dealer Techs Rock! Extended Cranking after Engine Swap 3.4L 5vz

you should have the tie rod disconnected to test it, there should be resistance to move on its own and stay where you put it when you let go of it.

also as DP mentioned it can wear in the up and down movement too so lift up and push down and you should not feel it move at all.

they are easy to replace so just wait till you know they are bad, if the FSM test leaves you unsure then they are fine

 

He's got it all reassembled now. He took a bunch of photos and videos of checking it the way DP and the FSM described, so he'll be posting those soon.

But ultimately I got pretty freaked out (imagine that ) thinking of how important those are and how old they are, plus now that I found somewhere to get them for $192 rather than $267, it's seeming much more worthwhile. Especially since he's a lot more confident about taking this stuff apart and putting it back together now! He just drove it around and said it's a lot quieter, can't hear the wheel bearing humming noise anymore.

Planning to order from that Camelback place that was suggested (unless we hear any reason not to from you guys), then just do the LBJs on a weekend sometime after they arrive. Whatcha guys think of that plan?

 

I wouldn't mess with them "just for the hell of it" the ones you have, if no signs of play, should last you another 100k miles.

its one of those things that wear out sooner if you beat the hell out of your truck and conversely last forever if you don't.

if you really feel like spending $400 then get this http://www.ebay.com/itm/Civic-2012-...2989970?fits=Year:2012|Make:Honda|Model:Civic

 

I get most of my parts from Camelback. Most all the online discount Toyota dealers are close in price and many will price match. "Close" is to the point where shipping to your location makes the difference. Once you fit the "free shipping" point, Camelback is hard to beat. Some dealers will "stack" shipping. Example, 1 part has x$ shipping, 2 of the same part have 2x$ shipping and on and on. Camelback slips in a little "handling fee" but still usually work out cheapest to my door. They are also the closest to my location and there is a Southwest distribution warehouse right near them if the part is not in stock.

All years of 1st gen Taco LBJ's are the same but there is a left and right, pay attention to that when ordering.
I have bought at least a dozen LBJ's and they all came with new bolts, castle nut and cotter pin. In the last 2 years folks have occasionally received them with no fasteners. My thought is, it is dealer pilfering and then pawning off the remaining parts to the online market. I have no proof but it might be wise to ask about the hardware. They prefer to communicate by email so that can take a little time.

 

finishing putting everything back together...

 

ball joint test video

 

"welcome to tire country" (video)

 

@keakar , I hear ya. But $192 for both LBJs isn't too bad. Always tough to make decisions on repair expenses, especially after our recent path with the Taco We'll kick it around some more and decide soon.......who knows, you may wind up wishing for us to do the LBJ's, just so you don't have to "hear" me debate about whether to do them or not constantly over the coming weeks/months!!

Oh geeze, just saw Eric's "tire country" video. I keep trying to tell him he's not Les Schwab but apparently he doesn't believe me I think that is his fave tool

Warning, further posts from us this evening could be worthless and mildly idiotic - we moved straight from the Taco stuff into this mode:

Thank you so much for the help today TW!!

 

Yeah I've bought from them before, nothing bad to say....

 

eric, please DONT EVER DO THAT AGAIN with the c-clamp on the brake pad, you can crush the pads and cause it to crack, spider web, or outright shatter on you, it can fall apart soon after or even after some time.

you ONLY want to put the c-clamp on the piston itself or on a piece of flat steel bar but NEVER use anything in direct contact with the pad like that putting uneven angled pressure in only one spot.

I hope those were the old pads you were not reusing

 

Yeah you wanna compress them caliper pistons before putting the pads on. I usually just spread em with a small pry bar...

 

Got it about the brake pads, thanks guys!

This is good to get feedback on this stuff, even if it's after the fact, because there's a really good chance he'll be taking this stuff apart and putting it back together again in the future Better to learn from mistakes than not learn at all, right?

Black Butte Porter and Chicken Alfredo Pasta time. And tonight's movie selection is.............................

is..............................

is..............................

not sure yet. Any suggestions? Anything fabulous that just released on DVD? Got caught up on Hell on Wheels last night, I love that show!! Anyone else watch it?

 

Should we put new brake pads on ya think?

Would still be coming out ahead compared to paying someone to do the work anyway

 

well you could do fast and furious in honor of the new civic lol

if he didn't bare down on them much he is probably ok, if he put some pressure on them then it would be wise not to risk it because even with no visible signs it may have done something to the pads bond to the metal backing, some have rivets holding them on but most are glued on with some type of ceramic or epoxy cement

 

Na it'll be okay..

 

Trying to figure out hinges for the big gate.

Neighbor gave us a bunch of hinges that are used to hang garage doors, and typically his ideas work well, but I'm concerned that these just might not be large enough/strong enough to hold that giant thing up over time.

Thinking we're headed to Coastal soon, to see their selection of gate hinges/hardware. Depot didn't have much!!

Although our shed door is held up by those garage door hinges, and it's huge and heavy and has no issues on those hinges.

Whatcha think everyone?

 

rule is, whatever you think is big and heavy duty enough to work, you buy something twice as big and heavy duty

go here and put in the vin number and it shows you all the part numbers for your make and model truck http://www.toyodiy.com/parts/q.html

 

If it will make you feel better about that lower ball joint, I have 285,000 on mine, only hit a trail once and a while, nothing taxing, just dirt roads, I have replaced all the bushings on the steering rack with the poly units, same for the sway bar and I had to replace the inner and outer tie rods and added bilsteins all the way around, they were toast...still on the original lower balls, 99.5% of my driving is paved roads and freeways....I check them every year right before the annual safety inspection, so far still good, every other year I take her in for an alignment check, and, again she passes their check tests...if you haven't wheeled hard or abused the suspension, you should be okay...not saying you should take them to 285,000, just letting you know I did...replacing the upper and lower balls is somewhere on my list of things to do...

 

Thanks for the input guys!!

Got the big gate up, woo hoo!!Looking good!!!!! Starting to build the smaller gate now, should go pretty fast since we're doing the same thing as we did with the big one design wise. Then if we make enough progress, we'll get the side fence panel done too. Pics coming later..........

@koditten , how's the gazebo coming?

Almost beer time over here. Although we're starting to measure & cut lumber for the small gate........could turn out looking like a Picasso

Truck drove great to pick up hinges this morning, I'm so glad Eric got the wheel bearing done with no major catastrophes!! I knew he could do it, and it was very nice to have TW's help
It's so nice to look out at the driveway and see the new Civ sitting by the Taco. It screams "Ms. Reliable Youngster & her sister, Ms. Fun Adventures" Just how it should be to make us happy.

 

I looked at the pallet if parts today, does that count?

Got side lined. Got talked into doing a WB on the nephews Pontiac. People find out you got tools, you get volunteered to help.