I'm back...

[paflytyer]

I appreciate the recommendation. I looked on their website last Wednesday and saw that they had a used 2006-2007 grille for $100 + shipping, so I called. The guy I got on the phone was very nice and helpful. I asked if they still had it. Reply was "sure, if it's listed, then we have it". I asked on condition - to verify that it was in great shape with no cracks, etc. He confirmed that whatever it said on the website, then it was accurate and true on description. I explained that I needed it shipped Priority Mail and that I had hoped to have it in-hand on Saturday, but at the latest Monday the 6th. I was told that shipping would be "about $25" so I needed to add additional shipping when I paid via Paypal above the "standard" rate that it charges.

I promptly paid via Paypal, included more than the requested $25 in shipping with my total, and put directions in the comment box that I needed it to go out as soon as possible - as per my phone conversation with the guy at the shop.

Well, Saturday comes and goes, and no Grille.

Monday comes and goes with no Grille.

I planned to call this morning since it was after-hours by the time I got home last night.

[rant on]

At 9:31pm last night, I get an email stating the following:

Needless to say, I am fuming at this point. Not only had they NOT followed through on their promise, but they were attempting a lame bait-and-switch!

I promptly told them that I was NOT interested in "upgrading" and that I wanted the used OEM grille in good condition that I paid for. I also asked why my grille that I called to confirm in their possession had not been shipped even though I had paid extra for shipping and needed it by last Saturday.

Response:

No call to let me know what happened. No call to let me know that it wasn't being shipped last week like promised. No email letting me know that they were looking for a replacement used grille to fill the order. NOTHING, INCLUDING ANY RESEMBLANCE OF GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE. I told them that I would accept a new aftermarket grille as a substitute for the OEM one I paid for as long as there was no additional costs. Their response?

They simply issued a refund on Paypal with no comments, apologies, or explanations, and refuse to provide a grille at the agreed-upon cost. Oh, and that 2006-2007 grille is STILL listed on their website as being available.

Moral of this story: Beware of Cruiser Parts (CruiserParts.net Landcruiser Parts). Just because they list it on their website, confirm that they have it in-stock, confirm it's condition, and confirm that they will expedite shipped that you are willing to pay extra for - DOESN'T MEAN THAT THEY WILL ACTUALLY DO IT!

[rant off]

Nothing like top shelf customer support! This kind of stuff sticks with people and will cause me to think twice about using them for parts. This story isn't so much about the fact that they didn't have the grille like they said, sometimes that happens, but it's all about how it was handled afterwards.

 

[bamachem]

Wow. That was fun...

 

[pfran42]

Looks good! Are the bulbs any different or is the light upgrade more of a cosmetic thing on Toyota's part?

 

[bamachem]

I used 2007 OEM headlights and OEM filler panels below the lights. I reused the subpanel that goes from fender to fender and the grill.

Installation took a few hours as I removed the bumper cover for access and had to do surgery in quite a few places.

The 2004 subpanel is considerably different from the 06/07, and has to be cut in quite a few places to fit the lights into place.

The fender openings at the corner signals have to be trimmed/ground to fit the newer lights.

The 2004 grille does not fit the lights all that great. The 04 grille is too wide at the top and too narrow at the bottom. It "works" for now, but will be replaced.

The lights were used, and once installed, I polished them to look new. Turned out great! I bought the 3M headlight restoration kit and followed the instructions. Easy to do and the results are great! Only thing extra I did was to finish the polish with some meguire's pre-wax cleaning glaze.

 

[bamachem]

Looks good! Are the bulbs any different or is the light upgrade more of a cosmetic thing on Toyota's part?

The bulbs are the same. These housings have a recess with screw holes on the bottom that look like they are for ballast mounting. These lights have a good (not excellent) adequate cutoff for using a xenon HID kit. Output and reduction of hot spots is MUCH improved. Only thing different is you don't use your side-marker (the vertical one) from the old lights. Everything is plug/play on bulbs.

 

[no-pistons]

Does the bumper have to be removed just to replace headlights?

 

[bamachem]

Does the bumper have to be removed just to replace headlights?

For 1998-2005 headlights -no. For 2006/07 headlights -yes.

 

[FullyLitLED]

Glad you got your new parts! Now waiting on the trim that I bought from you so I can do the 04 upgrade

 

[bamachem]

De-flared! Finally! I hate Gulf States Toyota!

Looks OK for the most part after an hour of buffing the scratches. I'll have to touch up some clear as well as a few small spots of base, then wet sand and buff again.

New 07 grille is on the way, finally. I'll post some updated pics once I get it on.

 

[prerunner84]

Hey whatcha goin to do with those headlights?

 

[prerunner84]

The old headlights?

 

[bamachem]

Already sold them in the classifieds here.

 

[prerunner84]

Ok thanks

 

[bamachem]

Got an aftermarket grille. Had to custom paint the center. I used some Duplicolor and clear that was a close match to the OEM color.

 

[BamaHeel]

Andy, that looks really good! The 06-07 headlights are really growing on me. Why did you have to paint the grill? Did you ever paint the bumper?

 

[bamachem]

The aftermarket grilles are all chrome. OEM look like this one with a painted center.

Haven't painted the bumper. I pulled the flares and now I have a LOT more to touch up. I'll do it all at once when it's a little warmer (70's and low humidity)

 

[bamachem]

I thought i had Master Cylinder issues.

I posted about it in this thread: https://forum.ih8mud.com/100-series-cruisers/511581-2004-cruiser-complete-loss-brakes.html


Symptoms were unpredictable braking pressure and the occasional grinding noise during a turn. The brakes would present with a soft pedal with little resistance and a very long pedal stroke combined with very poor stopping performance on the initial press of the pedal, but a release and re-press would present full braking pressure, pedal resistance, and stopping performance.

I thought it was the Master Cylinder going bad.

A loose front passenger wheel bearing was the culprit. The wobbling rotor was contacting the caliper, causing the noise. It was bad enough that it popped the c-clip off the splined shaft which allowed the shaft to retract in the drive flange enough to strip off the retaining groove on the splined shaft. I hit the rotor with sandpaper, cleaned and repacked the bearings, replaced everything an then put 5 tack-welds on the tip of the shaft to retain the c-clip. The driver side was marginally OK on preload. I cleaned and repacked those bearings as well. Three hour job overall, but I went thru 12 nitrile gloves! Pics attached. You can see how bad the retaining ring is eroded, how deep the shaft was when I took the dust cap off, the grinding marks on the caliper, and the inner gap on the cv axle (the thing that tipped me off to the problem).

This all started in 2008 with a CV shaft replacement by the PO at a tire/lube shop and NOT by the dealership that they took the truck to for everything else... The star washer wasn't bent to retain the lock nut, which allowed both the lock nut and the spindle nut to work themselves loose over time. It took nearly 4 years to eventually work its way loose (no previous bearing repack like I thought). However, the truck was at World Toyota in Atlanta in Feb 2011 for a HUGE service at 88k miles that included Timing Belt, Serpentine Belt, Water Pump, Top End Cleaning, Rear Brake Pads, Front Brake Inspection, and 4 new Michelin Tires. Not a single mention anywhere in the service report of a loose wheel bearing then. There was no noise when we bought the truck a few months back, so I have to assume that once the nuts "broke loose", they backed off pretty quickly, making the problem much more evident.

THANK GOD for the drive flange design. The drive flange not only is the point or torque transfer from the CV axle to the wheel hub, but it also retains the spindle nuts so that they cannot back off completely, allowing you to lose a wheel. These nuts had backed all the way out until they were contacting the inner face of the drive flange - i.e. as worse as it can get with the Land Cruiser IFS system as it is designed.

Now that it's back together, all is fine with the brakes and the truck drives like new! The truck has always had a ever-so-slight looseness about it on the highway that I thought was due to an alignment (caster or toe) issue. Everything checked out fine on the machine, so I wasn't sure what could be causing it. It was tolerable, but it just didn't drive as good as either the 2000 UZJ or the 2007 UZJ that I owned previously.

Well, this fixed the road feel as well. Truck is now rock-solid at all speeds, and feels awesome!

 

[bamachem]

Oh, and I also did a oil/filter change last weekend with Mobile 1 0W30 and an oversized K&N filter. I topped off the tire pressure at 34PSIG all the way around, and cut a 3" hole (in prep for the deckplate mod) in the front of my airbox.

MPG's are up from mid-14's to low 17's at 55-60MPH on secondary rural roads here at the coast. BIG difference.

 

[2000UZJ]

^ I wish I had known you were going to do deckplate on this. I would of traded airboxes with you...I want to delete mine in preparation for the snorkel this weekend. Oh well. Rig looks good!

 

[bamachem]

^ I wish I had known you were going to do deckplate on this. I would of traded airboxes with you...I want to delete mine in preparation for the snorkel this weekend. Oh well. Rig looks good!

Run a bead of silicone on the threads of the deckplate blank and then simply screw it in. It will be sealed.