TimCFJ40

Mine was a mint 1 owner mall crawler rig. First 2 months CDL and 4lo super sticky. Luckily having been offoroading it almost weekly, and using CDL and 4lo, it is completely back to normal. Hope yours get "free" soon.

Machined out of black UHMW might be the sweet spot for price, function and weight. Also won't look as bad once scraped up. Machining time might be slightly less than Aluminum depending on who is machining them and how hard they push.

Bought my 08 with 200k miles on it 6 years ago. Now has 278k with normal maintenance under my care, and unknown maintenance prior. No unexpected issues that would imply a need for more maintenance. The only thing I wish had been done earlier...

On the AT3 specifically, the tread pattern on the SLs is less aggressive than the LTs for what that is worth. When I think overland build, I think of carrying a lot of stuff over rough roads and uncertain conditions. Personally on the LC that...

Bummer. It sounds like you have a good shop there willing to do the work, so I'd quote #1 and #2 if they are willing, and make your choice there. I think you'll get buyers at $10-15k for a complete truck with a blown motor, but if you're going...

At $50k, it's a no from me. KBB for good condition shows private party at $43-48k. If you're planning to keep it for a long time and can get it at a steal (Say $30-35K) then it might be worth taking a hard look at it all over and taking a...

I'd try a good aluminum polish with an orbital buffer, and you could make them look much better. You might even start with some fine grit sandpaper first. You won't get the curb/rock damage, but you could clean up the white spidery looking...

Quick little update that saves the paint of the rear tailgate edge from being damaged. I added a Door Edge Guard on top edge of the tailgate. The door edge of my rear tailgate on our 100s have been abused over the years and I wanted to protect...

Sure, they're just a piece of machined then polished aluminum. You could attempt to buff/sand out any scratches and polish back to new (if they're not too deep), you could sand and paint them, or have them powder coated. It's also possible...

Hate everything about the KO2 on my Tacoma except the look. I’ll probably replace with Michelin Defender MS2 for my next set on that truck as it sees a lot of highway for work. The cruiser runs Firestone Destination XT and they ride better and...

Draw as much out of the reservoir as you can. Then replace with clean fluid. Flush at each wheel until you get clean fluid at the brake. Don't let the level in the master cylinder go low enough to draw air into the master cylinder. You can go...

I have a coworker who worked for a number of years at Michelin, and he worked with a number of OEMs on OEM tires. We talked about this at length a number of times. The takeaways match most of what has been said, but in general, OEM tires have...

One thing to remember - whatever they put on the vehicle at the factory is the absolute cheapest version of the tire, even if something is named the same at a tire dealer, it is very rarely the same tire.

Not for the OEMs. They are expensive to buy in the replacement tire world because there is an inefficient supply chain to the secondary distributors.

The valley plate gasket seems to almost always last WAY past the 6/60 powertrain warranty. Many have lasted WAY WAY beyond that. (Mine's at 16 years and 276k miles). IMO, some people expect way too much out of these trucks just because they...

They're basically an US Nissan Patrol, which has decent following globally but doesn't have the reputation the Land Cruiser does for reliability and longevity. There's a reason they're a lot cheaper than a Land Cruiser. If you want a real...

I actually really like the look of those wheels, but the extra poke is not for everyone. You'd probably be very happy with +35 methods, and they may improve handling as scrub radius is closer to stock. Too bad you aren't closer I might take...

It's only been less than a week, but these tires are incredible. We've done a few short road trips this weekend around Texas Hill Country and I've been really impressed. They are very quiet, it seems they soak up a lot of the road, and they feel...

ET Style lug nuts should fix your thread engagement. Something like this...

Unless you buy a TPMS Tool like the Autel or Carista (or Techstream) options, the potentially expensive part isn't the sensors, it's the labor that may be charged to program them. Unless you're going to buy a way to program them, saving $20 ea...

Lowest possible price drives the vast majority of the RV market, and Dometic has figured out how to meet that need, quality or not. As I am sure you have seen, everything that goes into most RVs is lower quality than even builder's spec...

There are a lot of options, and most of them these days are at least somewhat decent. Everyone will have a favorite, but there isn't as much separation as people will suggest. Also, in my experience, the 200 tolerates the poor traits of some...

My way overdue original starter (276k miles on an 08) just ghosted me on a start, (but did start the next time) so I'm ordering parts to get after this job soon... Thanks to all for the helpful shared videos.

I recently ordered a RigD Rambleswing to use with our 4 bike 1up rack, and I wanted to post my initial observations for anyone considering one, or looking for what seems to be the most rigid swing away available that will fit on the 200 series...