Builds Buster Brown-Slow maintenance, slow owner, slowing my roll way down. (1 Viewer)

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So yesterday and today I attempted to get Buster running well enough to get to the Dealership. I am still hopeful that they will follow through on the gas tank replacement. I have replaced all the coolant hoses and the rubber fuel lines. The gas tank has been bypassed by running rubber fuel line from the back of the supply and return hard lines near the rear axle, over the fuel tank, and through the passage created by removing the cover for the fuel sending unit. The lines terminate in a five gallon jerry can ratchet strapped to the floor. Buster starts, runs, and stops. Now to get him downtown. I feel like such a hack using my approach but sometimes you just gotta do something.
 
Impatient Sausage Fingers. Duplicate
 
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Yep. Don't like it either.
 
So my trip yesterday didn't make local news for a giant fireball on the city streets. YEAH! Dropped off at the dealership. My son followed me in his 1988 Isuzu Trooper so I could get a ride home. Pulled up to the service area and parked in the lot. Shut it down and heard the sweet sound of a now functioning carb cooling fan (temporarily grounded to the frame rather than messing with the switch). The service adviser was excited when I mentioned year and make. He went out, took a lot of pictures, and then I threw him in the drivers seat and took his picture. Apparently his family was looking through old family photos a few nights back and a family member had a similar rig. Good memories by the smile on his face. My son overheard a technician call for one of the other guys in the shop to come look at this bad @ss rig out front. I now understand from personal experience what the PO Jonathan was referring to when someone compliments your vehicle :). The amount of work that has been done to get to this point is infinitesimally small compared to what lays ahead (grammar police notified). My cost per mile keeps coming down...:bounce:
 
Good stuff, @Comet ! Good to have the Toyota team behind you, excited to hear about it once they get it finished!! Did they tell you when it might be finished?

I dropped mine the evening before, about 3PM the next day the service adviser called me to tell me it was finished but asked to keep it for the night and install the seat belt parts the next day. No problem!

I wasn't as lucky as you, mine didn't run, the carb was on my work bench in 300 pieces... There were pi$$ed they had to push it in and out of the service bay. - haha
 
The truck was pulled into the service area this morning, the technician inspected the gas tank, and parts are on order. I will be holding my breath until they call and say it's done. May take a few days/weeks to be complete.

@Ian Crawford I just threw a bunch of money at new parts. No luck, yet.....
 
Good stuff, @Comet ! Good to have the Toyota team behind you, excited to hear about it once they get it finished!! Did they tell you when it might be finished?

I dropped mine the evening before, about 3PM the next day the service adviser called me to tell me it was finished but asked to keep it for the night and install the seat belt parts the next day. No problem!

I wasn't as lucky as you, mine didn't run, the carb was on my work bench in 300 pieces... There were pi$$ed they had to push it in and out of the service bay. - haha
Dude, I would have to say you are very much an exception to this ages old fuel tank recall. If only we could all have that service advisers name so others could contact him about how to get the right words to get it done as easily and seamlessly as you did. Really my kudos to you.
 
I wonder if this service advisors contact info could be added to the fuel tank recall sticky? @Cruiser Jimmy? Would that be wise or not so much?
 
Hopefully mine too. :)
 
Service Advisor Mary from Haley Toyota called me this afternoon. Apparently the technician found a bunch of new parts in the back of the truck and wondered if they were there to install in the new tank. Lets see, old rusty tank with seized sender and compromised pickup tubes vs brand new OEM pick up and sender with screws and the gasket fresh from @beno? Yes, please use the new ones! I asked if all the parts came with the kit and I could hear the tech in the background saying he would have to fabricate up something. I asked Mary to relay to the tech that the ten feet of brand new gas line in the cargo area is there to take the place of the two parts no longer made by Toyota. I honestly can't believe this may be happening.....somebody pinch me! Hey, I said pinch! More as the situation unfolds. Wouldn't it be cool if Buster made it to Logan's Run?
 
Success. Haley Toyota was able to source all the parts for the replacement of the gas tank except for the fuel line I provided. Drove Buster home on Friday, to a middle school gala on Saturday, and around the neighborhood today. Whew, hard to believe just a little over two months ago Buster was sitting under a couple pine trees slowly returning to the earth. Glad to have some of the major hurdles behind me now.

Finished up some base lining yesterday with fresh gear oil in the axles, transfer case, and transmission. That stuff smells like a dead gorilla! Items still outstanding are the rear heater delete, EGR removal and modification, smog pump pulley delete, figuring out how to trip the reverse light from the stick shift rather than a switch, learn how the foreign A/C functions so I can modify it to work with the A/C button on the heater control, stereo and CB install, and then run him for awhile to see what breaks.

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Looks like that might be the wrong belt for the alternator...the adjustment is all the way as far as it will go.

Corrected with a 3/8" 61" cogged v-belt! It looks like I need a fatter belt.
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Drove around all weekend with a new sway bar (Thanks @mel lowe) and drop links from Man-A-Fre installed. HUGE difference in road manners. There's also a desmog kit from @FJ40Jim sitting on my night stand for next weekend. Dropped Buster off at my exhaust guys place last night and got the call that its finished. Cat delete, new muffler, and tail pipe routed out the rear side. Guess I will be last in line so I don't stink everyone out! Scrubbed the inside of the windows to get the last of the window tint glue and finalized my radio location. I will be placing the radio in the Tuffy center console box. Call me lazy but reaching all the way up to the dash seems too far. It is bad enough the 5 speed stick isn't bent close enough to me so the radio will make up for that. First world problems, I know! Started on the door cards also. Got the fronts cut out and started on the hole placement for the handle, pull, speakers, and push locks. No real pictures of the progress. But there is this...

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Rail Road Poser instead of Mall Crawler. I'm getting closer to mud every day!
 
Oh and the drivers side "Snake Blinder" had to go. Anyone need it?
 
Forgot about the fuel pump. It was spitting fuel all over the place Saturday morning so NAPA to the rescue. I had a Japanese made fuel pump installed in about ten minutes. Getting the fuel line over everything was another story. Wife went inside with all the cursing.
 
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Dang nab it. I believe I have followed in your footsteps as far as baselining. Next months paycheck should go towards a water pump and thermostat. Just let me know what breaks next on yours so I will have the parts on the shelf for mine.
 

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