Builds 60 guy does a 100 series LC...

[gregnash]

I think it is 3mm ID.

If so I think I might still have a little bit left over from my desmog of my 60!

 

[txnight]

Desmogging my 60 brings back nightmares. Welcome to the 100 club!

 

[gregnash]

Desmogging my 60 brings back nightmares. Welcome to the 100 club!

Eh it wasn't all that bad. I mean yeah there was lots and lots of spaghetti to be removed and whatnot but all-in-all I didn't think it was an overly complicated job. Just tedious and time consumptive.

 

[gregnash]

So a little oddity that I have noticed since I had the locksmith make me new keys. On occasion (not all the time but most of the time now) when I get into the truck and start the engine, all doors lock. This was something that never happened before the locksmith programmed the new keys last Friday.

Question is, is this normal function or something that randomly got turned on while he was programming the transponders?
Also, the doors do not UNLOCK when shifted into park or the truck is turned off. I am assuming this is a setting that can be changed through the Toyota TechStream software? Seriously contemplating getting a cheap, used laptop off ebay (like a Thinkpad T420) and the techstream cable from Amazon (think this is the one everyone recommends) so I can mess with this stuff and do any troubleshooting in the future.

 

[gregnash]

Gotta love the random acts of this truck sometimes. I think I have an electrical gremlin somewhere.
Twice since I have owned it I have gone out, unlocked the doors with the fob, opened the drivers door only to have the alarm go off. Normally I could just press the unlock button again and it would cancel the alarm.

However, today that alarm would not shut off not matter what button I pushed. I ended up having to put the key in the ignition and turn the ignition to the ACC position for the alarm to stop. Anyone have this happen to them??

Tuesday night I went down with this damn sinus cold thing that has been going around so I haven't driven the truck in a couple days as I have been in bed since. Yesterday morning, around 11am, I get up to go grab some more daytime cough/sinus stuff and look outside to see a massive sheet of white? WTF, ok all that wind we have been having was signifying a storm coming. Literally got a good 4" of snow yesterday, and it was a low of about 39* during that day. So that was WITH the stuff that melted off. Of course, this morning as I get up to go to the DR office to get some meds the streets are covered with ice and snow. This was my first time driving Alita in anything other than a small dusting.

Needless to say she handled the weather and idiots great. Felt like there was nothing on the ground at all. I was actually really surprised at how surefooted she felt. Saw plenty of cars spinning their tires at stop signs where there was ice, plenty of small slides from people not negotiating turns properly. Nothing major, no accidents, just the normal stuff. But being used to driving in an FJ60 in this stuff, there is definitely a HUGE difference in the feel when in the snow. Part of that I am sure is the tires, but really it is kinda nice how surefooted she felt. It was something I was wondering about.

Got some more parts the last couple days so hopefully if I can kick this bug I will be able to finish greasing the drive shaft, change diff oil, replace brake pads and install the dash cluster bulbs that are burnt out.

 

[gregnash]

Ok after some research on the above issue it looks like I have fallen prey to the dread lock sensor issue. Looks like when one of the lock sensors has issues telling what position the lock cylinder is in it will wig out and start locking unlocking. I know that the lock actuator is a bit weak on the drivers side (noticed while programming main key fob). So looks like I will be doing some reconditioning of the lock on the drivers side, plus passenger will not UNLOCK with the key, almost as thought he lock cylinder is frozen. So that one will be getting inspected and see what is going on with that.

Yeah more money to spend on a "mint" rig.

 

[2020 Rocks]

Gotta love the random acts of this truck sometimes. I think I have an electrical gremlin somewhere.
Twice since I have owned it I have gone out, unlocked the doors with the fob, opened the drivers door only to have the alarm go off. Normally I could just press the unlock button again and it would cancel the alarm.

However, today that alarm would not shut off not matter what button I pushed. I ended up having to put the key in the ignition and turn the ignition to the ACC position for the alarm to stop. Anyone have this happen to them??

Tuesday night I went down with this damn sinus cold thing that has been going around so I haven't driven the truck in a couple days as I have been in bed since. Yesterday morning, around 11am, I get up to go grab some more daytime cough/sinus stuff and look outside to see a massive sheet of white? WTF, ok all that wind we have been having was signifying a storm coming. Literally got a good 4" of snow yesterday, and it was a low of about 39* during that day. So that was WITH the stuff that melted off. Of course, this morning as I get up to go to the DR office to get some meds the streets are covered with ice and snow. This was my first time driving Alita in anything other than a small dusting.

Needless to say she handled the weather and idiots great. Felt like there was nothing on the ground at all. I was actually really surprised at how surefooted she felt. Saw plenty of cars spinning their tires at stop signs where there was ice, plenty of small slides from people not negotiating turns properly. Nothing major, no accidents, just the normal stuff. But being used to driving in an FJ60 in this stuff, there is definitely a HUGE difference in the feel when in the snow. Part of that I am sure is the tires, but really it is kinda nice how surefooted she felt. It was something I was wondering about.

Got some more parts the last couple days so hopefully if I can kick this bug I will be able to finish greasing the drive shaft, change diff oil, replace brake pads and install the dash cluster bulbs that are burnt out.

A few months ago I was having a similar situation with the alarm. At the time my key fob was not working or programmed, but both keys that came with my truck were master keys, indicated by flashy light by the clock. I have a 98. Anywho, the truck decided to stop starting one day, I tried to jump it with no luck. It ended up just being the battery terminals needing a thorough cleaning. Coincidentally, after that and figuring out how to program the key fob, I have not had any issues with the alarm going off randomly. Not sure that they are related, but it may have something to do with the ground?

Edit, prior to addressing battery terminals the alarm going off like once a week.

 

[gregnash]

A few months ago I was having a similar situation with the alarm. At the time my key fob was not working or programmed, but both keys that came with my truck were master keys, indicated by flashy light by the clock. I have a 98. Anywho, the truck decided to stop starting one day, I tried to jump it with no luck. It ended up just being the battery terminals needing a thorough cleaning. Coincidentally, after that and figuring out how to program the key fob, I have not had any issues with the alarm going off randomly. Not sure that they are related, but it may have something to do with the ground?

Edit, prior to addressing battery terminals the alarm going off like once a week.

Yeah this almost a daily occurrence now. I know that the drivers side lock actuator is weak and wondering with the sudden drop in temps (snow this week) that the two combined have caused some extra resistance, thus causing the sensor to not be sure as to what is going on. At least that is what I am reading and the symptoms are leading me to believe.

Seems like one of those fun electrical gremlins. But seeing as I was just under the hood and pulled the battery cable I will go check it, clean and reapply some battery grease/dielectric lube and check fuses to see if anything stands out.

 

[txnight]

Dont be mad at your new cruiser. Just part of the getting to know each other process.

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

Dont be mad at your new cruiser. Just part of the getting to know each other process.

Yep its just telling you it needs more attention from you. When we drive one cruiser more than the others... they all gang up on us and all need something fixed.....

J

 

[gregnash]

Yeah I get it... suddenly she is getting attention that she probably hasn't had for years. So NOW she wants to monopolize it. Mind you she doesn't realize that her new owner is a poor state worker... LOL

She will get the same love that BeBe got for sure. Just got to be able to have the money and time... Actually @TRAIL TAILOR J, I am planning to head your way in the near future to grab a diff drop bracket from you. Figure that can't hurt to help prolong the life of the aftermarket axles until I can afford real ones.

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

Yeah I get it... suddenly she is getting attention that she probably hasn't had for years. So NOW she wants to monopolize it. Mind you she doesn't realize that her new owner is a poor state worker... LOL

She will get the same love that BeBe got for sure. Just got to be able to have the money and time... Actually @TRAIL TAILOR J, I am planning to head your way in the near future to grab a diff drop bracket from you. Figure that can't hurt to help prolong the life of the aftermarket axles until I can afford real ones.

I have 30-40 in the stockroom. Come on over.

 

[Kofoed]

Yeah I get it... suddenly she is getting attention that she probably hasn't had for years. So NOW she wants to monopolize it. Mind you she doesn't realize that her new owner is a poor state worker... LOL

She will get the same love that BeBe got for sure. Just got to be able to have the money and time... Actually @TRAIL TAILOR J, I am planning to head your way in the near future to grab a diff drop bracket from you. Figure that can't hurt to help prolong the life of the aftermarket axles until I can afford real ones.

You can refresh the existing axles yourself. There is a guy Pfran that sells rolled edge hose clamps that work better than the crimp clamps. I had a factory new axle leak and sling grease after about 4000 miles. 04427-60120.

 

[gregnash]

You can refresh the existing axles yourself. There is a guy Pfran that sells rolled edge hose clamps that work better than the crimp clamps. I had a factory new axle leak and sling grease after about 4000 miles. 04427-60120.

That's good to know. These are cheap aftermarkets so no plan to rebuild them. Will likely go with something like the CVJ Axles or Toyota OEM when the time comes. Just don't have the scratch to deal with it at the moment. Plus I will want to do other things while I am there like diff seals, bearings, etc. to ensure that everything is done right. I actually have this really odd feeling that when I go to pull the hub flanges (there is lots of backlash so pretty sure they are done as well) that I am going to find that the shop that installed the axles in 2018 used something like RTV or silicone to keep the cone washers in and didn't replace the hub flange gasket let alone tightened the nuts for the axle down to the proper preload.

I have 30-40 in the stockroom. Come on over.

J... before I come over I will hit you up. Maybe see about making a weekend of it and "borrow" the shop to install the diff drop. Also, what kinda beer/whiskey/gin/vodka do you and A like? I can bring you some of our local faire.

 

[gregnash]

So working on changing the brakes. PO told me that one set was ok and other was going to need replacing soon, could never tell where the squeal was coming from so just decided that I would replace all of them.

Just finished PS front wheel and pads were pretty thick, so definitely rears. Pads were actually Toyota Pads which surprised me as the seemed almost brand new however edges of the pads were chipped on the exterior pad and interior had a large pocket in it where something was caught. No gouge that I could see or feel on the rotor, so maybe a bubble/imperfection in the pad material?

 

[gregnash]

Well no dice... all pads were OEM Toyota and in great shape. Still swapped them out but must have been just absolutely dirty as all hell or was just that one that had the pocket in it.
Found some other fun though!!
Passenger side..
Dust cap literally just pulled off by hand. This is what inside looked like. Didn't feel like metal shards thankfully.
Untitled by Greg Fisicaro, on Flickr

But you could tell that it had been in contact with the elements for quite some time. Gotta love the work that 4WheelParts did on this.
Untitled by Greg Fisicaro, on Flickr
Untitled by Greg Fisicaro, on Flickr
C-clip was in OK shape, pretty chewed up on a couple edges from someone smacking it with a chisel but fit the gap. Measured at 2.15MM and was able to slip a .018mm feeler gauge once installed. I regreased everything and called it good until I replace the hub flanges, axles etc.

Here is the sway bar link... yeah those need to be replaced asap too.
Untitled by Greg Fisicaro, on Flickr

But wait looks like new outer TREs are in my future... Didn't get a pick of passenger side, but this is drivers. Can actually see metal there.
Untitled by Greg Fisicaro, on Flickr

 

[gregnash]

Oh and almost forgot... found this FUN from that asshat that did the install on the drivers side axle. Ears on the clip were actually ground down so it would fit the dust cap, bit of maring on the inside of the dust cap too...
Untitled by Greg Fisicaro, on Flickr
Cleaned up around the hub flange and looks like the person actually black RTV'd the flange on... so YEAH for that...

 

[gregnash]

Well and just like that, with the weather warming up a bit (upper 40s to 50s during the day) and I have changed to opening the car via the lock on the drivers side vs. the key fob, my issues with the alarm going off have stopped. Still occasionally will jump in and start the truck to have the doors lock themselves, so the issue is still present but definitely seems to be the lock sensor on the drivers side. This weekend I will pull the door card and inspect to see what is going on. Hopefully just a bit gunked up and need some cleaning (bought a can of electrical contact cleaner), but if need be the new sensor is all of $70 from toyota parts deal.

On to being able to do FUN stuff, wife got me a GC for our friends shop that does truck accessories. They are getting me the parts (didn't have what I wanted in stock) to do a remote starter install on the truck!!! YEAH! Would have been nice this morning when it was all of 30* out and truck had frosted over. Been a pretty dry winter for us so far, kinda scary as looking like a drought year if this keeps up, so the "need" for it is not really there but will be nice. Getting on of the units that is 2-way communication and has the ability to add the DRONE Mobile in the future so I can start Alita via their app.

So looking at the front axle stuff, which will likely be the next big ticket item, I am looking at over $300 in parts (w/ shipping) if I grab everything except new axles. Debating on whether I want to wait until I get new axles as that will be a BIG expense ($400 regardless of CVJ reman'd or OEM) or just get the hub flange stuff taken care of NOW and then go through the process again when I can afford the axles and maybe even handle the ball joints at the same time.

 

[gregnash]

Continuous issue with the alarm and locks finally had me bite the bullet this morning. Ordered the 84903-60020/84903-60010 drivers and passenger side sensors (since it seems there is some confusion as to which is really which regardless of what partsouq or toyodiy tell us) to have this taken care of. Bought from Graham Toyota which had the best price I could find and should be here mid next week.

 

[gregnash]

So after bitching about the slow to retract belts I did something. I purchased one of these little mist compressor gun things. Last night I threw some good cleaner/degreaser in the cannister with lost of water and went to town on the front belts, seeing as both were slow.
While it did help quite a bit, there is still a bit of a drag once the belt gets to almost fully retracted. Don't get me wrong there was LOTS of gunk and I spent a good two hours cleaning the belts (majority of the time on the driver side).

Now to figure out how I can take the B-pillar cover off so that I can get in an clean the mechanism and lube it.

On top of that my TechStream cable should be here today and buddy let me borrow his laptop so I can mess with key programming, locks, etc. after I get the door lock sensors.

Oh and almost forgot, while rummaging through my tools I found my old steering wheel puller, which reminded me that I had gotten new bulbs for the PRNDL2 tree. So spent a bit of time figuring out how to pull the cluster out and found that the D bulb was definitely dead. However, it looks like someone has been in there before because the O/D Off bulb had been removed (and I was missing a screw holding the cluster in).
But question is, there seems to be a few other bulbs missing but not sure if they are normally missing or not...
Mid-bottom area you see the 4WD and IP bulbs missing? Is that normal.
Then, in the blue area right below the far edge bulbs there are two missing just below them as well..
Untitled by Greg Fisicaro, on Flickr

Anyone know if this is standard?