Recent content by dealmaker

Weirdly, I'm on my 3rd alternator. 2006 LX, currently at 156,xxx miles. I'm 2nd owner as of 2009, bought out a friend's lease, who got it new. Pampered So Cal SoccerMom LX that to this day looks new underneath. 1st alternator replaced with OEM June 2012 at 61,7xx miles, by independent Lexus...

^^ So I "topped up" the TC fluid today. The weird thing is, like most of the time when I remove the fill plug to top it up, gear oil trickles out and eventually slowed to a slow trickel, then a drip. This was after it sat for a couple of hrs in the garage before I removed the fill plug there in...

Ugh. That's an hour each way, but I'll call them. Used to be very slow, maybe a few drops over the course of awhile. I have a bunch of Fill Plug gaskets and check it every few months and never even had to top it up despite the very small amount leaking. In fact, it even stopped leaking for...

Thanks for this, I'll read thru it. Was hoping to just be able to buy something, but love the idea that these are alum and not powder-coated steel. I don't like the idea of fuel on the roof either, or hanging off the back as I've been rear-ended a few times, but nowhere else to put a 5 gallon...

Anyone else with these FalkenWildpeak A/T4WLT285 /70 R18 117S C1 BSW ? Considering buying five of them, as a C-rated tire in this size is appealing to me if it doesn't rub and also fits in the spare location, vs. five BFG KO3s at 275/70/18s that are E-rated. What is not appealing is dropping...

Very nice! This caught my eye as I'll going to repo my wife's 2006 LX and start converting it to offroad use, and was going to mostly limit mods to larger tires on OEM wheels, and step/sliders, so a few questions: 1. It looks like you're still using AHC and it's still unaltered? No issues when...

My 2004 2UZ-FE 4WD has the leaking seals issue at the actuator/transfer case, very common with the V8 4WD 4Runners and GX470s. I can't find any competent repair people who wants to do the repair. I already have the (OEM) o-ring (part #90301-56009) and the seals from Rocket Seals, plus extras...

Is anyone aware of a crossbar kit that utilizes existing OEM roof rails, like this one from LFD Offroad? Ruggedized Crossbar Kit - 4th Gen 4Runner - https://lfdoffroad.com/products/ruggedized-crossbar-bundle-4th-gen-4runner?_pos=11&_fid=fb30b254e&_ss=c ? I've searched and searched but haven't...

LOt's of youtubes on doing this with 4th gen 4Runners. Maybe start there if their intermediate shafts resemble yours?

Thanks for this. Very close to getting new 275/70/18 tires on OEM 18" wheels, and am overwhelmed by the choices and hesitant to pull the trigger as everything I see is E range, was hping to get C range.

I bought the Monroe #901658 hood struts from Rockauto back in Sept 2019, $30 for two of them. They started going out a few months ago. So...$30 for < 6 yrs worth of use. Not sure which direction to go from here, but leaming towards the same Monroes. EDIT: looks like these are not being...

Got a new 27F at Costco this AM. Made this month and it tested at 12.58V and is on a 2AMP trickle charge for a few hours and will put it in later today. The LX is driven by my wife, and yes it does sit a lot. She works part time so it gets driven three days a week about 20 miles round-trip in...

I agree that being on my 3rd alternator (all OEM) on a mall cruiser LX is weird. Could very well be that the local trusted independent Toyota / Lexus shop where used to go operates a little too quick and dirty for my likes. I think he got spoiled with all the rich beach people (which I'm not)...

2006 LX with 160k 156k miles on it. Noticed there's a spate of electrical issue posts here lately, including mine, which I'm hoping is a battery at the end of its useful life. If it is the battery, 1. Is this normal battery life expectancy (see notes below). 2. What battery does the Hive...

Just went thru this on my kid's 4Runner. Search is your friend. IIRC there was a change in serpentine belt gizmos, and the newer one (?) uses a smaller pulley than the old one, and they are not transferable. Also, the OEM pulley has two sets of bearings whereas all aftermarket pulleys only have...