- Thread starter
- #21
I grew up on the south side, so I went to Holland High School. Great town to grow up in during the 70s - a Norman Rockwell town, really. You could get in trouble and the kind police would take you home to your parents - that kind of thing.
So today, I replaced all brake pads, and bedded them with 10 progressively harder stops. If you've never done this, the difference between the wimpy brakes you have on stops 1-4 and the powerful grabbers you have by stop 10 will amaze. Then air filter and clean the dust cup, bleed the brakes fully (inc the load proportioning bleeder). I put on the winter Michelins. Drain and flush the coolant using the block drain, the radiator drain and pulling a hose from the firewall to back flush the heaters. Refilled with Toyota Red and checked its good to -40. New Bosch spar-type wipers that are great in winter. Spray graphite in all locks and ignition, cruise control arm through its arc a few times. The battery cutoff I got at NAPA was a bust - worthless so I didnt install it. Sprayed the purple corrosion inhibitor on the battery terminals and installed those felt discs.
The JB Weld epoxy on the water valve failed in about 3 minutes. I guess that's way better than a fail after about 3 hours - middle of Montana, right? So I bypassed the valve with a chunk of hose and will use a vice grip across the country to act as a closed heater valve since its summer. Bought her a snow brush that can extend longer, with an ice chipper at one end. That'll come in handy. Drained the PS reservoir and filled with fresh PS fluid. Did the same on the brake fluid before starting the flush part. New cap and rotor.
Ran like a scalded cat! I was amazed at how peppy it now feels. Plugs were perfect color but cap and rotor seemed a little worn so I'm glad I did that. I also cleaned the road grime out of the coolant fins.
Here's how I do it. Cold radiator. Take a sprayer of Simple Green and fire it from the rear into the fins until they are soaked. You want to liquify the oily film that is settled in there over the years and that has grabbed dust as well. This is causing insulation that inhibits the shedding of heat. After the back face is soaked, do the same on the front, again starting from the top. Hit the trans cooler and oil cooler too. When the entire radiator is soaked and the fins are full, turn on a strong hose sprayer and start at the back and blow all those bugs lodged in the fins forward and out. In the process you will clean the fins right down to the paint or bare metal. Liberal rinsing is key. Now you have improved airflow, and the air is directly contacting the hot metal fins, and sucking heat out of them much more efficiently. I once measured A/C output before after and got a 7 degree cooler temp at the dash vents just from this. It's a freebie and I try to remember to do it once a year.
So, Lucy is ready to head out on the journey. I told my wife, I'd head for Mexico and S. American in her right now. It is remarkable how everything is holding up so well. I'm so proud of our tough Cruiser!
So today, I replaced all brake pads, and bedded them with 10 progressively harder stops. If you've never done this, the difference between the wimpy brakes you have on stops 1-4 and the powerful grabbers you have by stop 10 will amaze. Then air filter and clean the dust cup, bleed the brakes fully (inc the load proportioning bleeder). I put on the winter Michelins. Drain and flush the coolant using the block drain, the radiator drain and pulling a hose from the firewall to back flush the heaters. Refilled with Toyota Red and checked its good to -40. New Bosch spar-type wipers that are great in winter. Spray graphite in all locks and ignition, cruise control arm through its arc a few times. The battery cutoff I got at NAPA was a bust - worthless so I didnt install it. Sprayed the purple corrosion inhibitor on the battery terminals and installed those felt discs.
The JB Weld epoxy on the water valve failed in about 3 minutes. I guess that's way better than a fail after about 3 hours - middle of Montana, right? So I bypassed the valve with a chunk of hose and will use a vice grip across the country to act as a closed heater valve since its summer. Bought her a snow brush that can extend longer, with an ice chipper at one end. That'll come in handy. Drained the PS reservoir and filled with fresh PS fluid. Did the same on the brake fluid before starting the flush part. New cap and rotor.
Ran like a scalded cat! I was amazed at how peppy it now feels. Plugs were perfect color but cap and rotor seemed a little worn so I'm glad I did that. I also cleaned the road grime out of the coolant fins.
Here's how I do it. Cold radiator. Take a sprayer of Simple Green and fire it from the rear into the fins until they are soaked. You want to liquify the oily film that is settled in there over the years and that has grabbed dust as well. This is causing insulation that inhibits the shedding of heat. After the back face is soaked, do the same on the front, again starting from the top. Hit the trans cooler and oil cooler too. When the entire radiator is soaked and the fins are full, turn on a strong hose sprayer and start at the back and blow all those bugs lodged in the fins forward and out. In the process you will clean the fins right down to the paint or bare metal. Liberal rinsing is key. Now you have improved airflow, and the air is directly contacting the hot metal fins, and sucking heat out of them much more efficiently. I once measured A/C output before after and got a 7 degree cooler temp at the dash vents just from this. It's a freebie and I try to remember to do it once a year.
So, Lucy is ready to head out on the journey. I told my wife, I'd head for Mexico and S. American in her right now. It is remarkable how everything is holding up so well. I'm so proud of our tough Cruiser!
Last edited:
