SQOD Squad - Stupid Question Of the Day (5 Viewers)

[LvCruiserNewb]

That engine is cold based on the coolant level. Looks like normal condensation.

Yes it was cold as that's when the FSM says to check it. FSM says if below L when cold then fill to F line. Being that close to L while cold I would have figured the last dealer service would have topped it off to F. I presume they either didn't look or looked when the fluid was warm and thus closer to F line.

 

[yOHda]

Anyone else have sunroof issues. My 08 won't close on its own. I have to push the black air deflector or whatever it is down when the sunroof is halfway and then quickly get my fingers out of there. I'm sure something just needs lubed, but wondered if anyone else experienced this.

 

[linuxgod]

I posted this to the RLC bumper thread but then later realized it's really just a generally stupid question/recommendation I need...

Anyone have a recommendation for a highly durable (and ideally self-sticky) "pad" to put between the "stop" for the arms and the bumper base? I had stuck some UHMW tape in between but vibration from the arms seemed to rub off the top coat of the paint. I tried some (very) sticky foam which compressed but that seems to have mostly rubbed away and taken some of the paint with it. I'll sand and repaint but before doing so I'd like to find a durable solution for this.

(BTW I put rubber feet on the bottom of the arms by the latch to reduce flex, though even there I found the paint slowly wearing away due to the constant rubbing of the rubber. The tire and jerry carrier (when full of water) still vibrate over bumps in the road. I put some UHMW tape in that spot but I assume that will wear pretty quickly. I could try some thicker UHMW I have but being plastic I assume it'll eventually wear regardless)

 

[mep1811]

Are U-Joints known to fail in the 200 Series? I was wondering if I should put a set in my spares box.

 

[Sandroad]

Are U-Joints known to fail in the 200 Series? I was wondering if I should put a set in my spares box.

Certainly not a common thing reported on Mud. And I'll guess that anyone asking that question maintains the joints with regular greasing, so I suspect you can safely travel without those spares

 

[tpgrole]

Time for an oil change so I figured I'd get an analysis done by Blackstone, yet I'm ignorant on this topic. They offer several options.

What level of tests have you experts had done?

 

[OregonLC]

Just the standard.

 

[linuxgod]

Time for an oil change so I figured I'd get an analysis done by Blackstone, yet I'm ignorant on this topic. They offer several options.

What level of tests have you experts had done?

I’ve had them do a TBN analysis as well, which will give you an approximation of how much oil life was left. Unnecessary if you’re doing oil changes every 5k miles but if you run 10k it’s worth doing

 

[HSTexan]

Ultimate SQOD—where are y’all buying your group 31 batteries? I’ve got my Slee tray and terminals ready to go, but every Interstate dealer I’ve called in a 10 mile radius tells me they’ve never heard of a 31P-AGM7 or that they can’t find that in their system or that I’m speaking gibberish and they have no idea what that is. I did not expect it to be this difficult to find one

 

[prwillard2]

Ultimate SQOD—where are y’all buying your group 31 batteries? I’ve got my Slee tray and terminals ready to go, but every Interstate dealer I’ve called in a 10 mile radius tells me they’ve never heard of a 31P-AGM7 or that they can’t find that in their system or that I’m speaking gibberish and they have no idea what that is. I did not expect it to be this difficult to find one

Batteries+

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[CharlieS]

I got my Odyssey batteries from a place that sells to fire departments and ambulances.

 

[montegofd3s]

Ultimate SQOD—where are y’all buying your group 31 batteries? I’ve got my Slee tray and terminals ready to go, but every Interstate dealer I’ve called in a 10 mile radius tells me they’ve never heard of a 31P-AGM7 or that they can’t find that in their system or that I’m speaking gibberish and they have no idea what that is. I did not expect it to be this difficult to find one

Second on batteries plus. If you want something serious I would go with the X2Power group 31. I have run this battery in both my 100 and 200 series and it is a tank. I like the simplicity of running one battery, and this one does great running a fridge, camping lights etc, plus the extra lugs are nice for accessories like winch cables.

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[HSTexan]

Second on batteries plus. If you want something serious I would go with the X2Power group 31. I have run this battery in both my 100 and 200 series and it is a tank. I like the simplicity of running one battery, and this one does great running a fridge, camping lights etc, plus the extra lugs are nice for accessories like winch cables.

X2Power BCI Group 31M 12V 100AH 1150CCA AGM Deep Cycle Marine & RV Battery - SLI31AGMDPM

Buy the exclusive X2Power Group 31 12V AGM marine and RV deep cycle battery with 100 AH capacity from Batteries Plus today. Shop online or pick up in store.

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Thanks for the rec! My local dealer shows 3 in stock so this is probably the route I will go. Do you happen to be running the Slee billet terminals with yours? I know they are extended for the placement on larger batteries so I wasn't sure if having the extra posts shift the position enough that they would be incompatible

 

[lx200inAR]

Thanks for the rec! My local dealer shows 3 in stock so this is probably the route I will go. Do you happen to be running the Slee billet terminals with yours? I know they are extended for the placement on larger batteries so I wasn't sure if having the extra posts shift the position enough that they would be incompatible

Aren’t there other mods necessary to run AGM? I know there has been a lot of talk about the Deka SLA group 31 battery option. Which is possibly rebadged by O’Reillys (Superstart).

Are AGM batteries rated similar to SLA where the rating needs to be halved for actual usage? The Deka SLA is 170ish AH I think. (Edit: the Deka has 175 RC minutes, not AH. Back of the napkin math, the Deka is about 70-75AH real usage)

 

[montegofd3s]

Thanks for the rec! My local dealer shows 3 in stock so this is probably the route I will go. Do you happen to be running the Slee billet terminals with yours? I know they are extended for the placement on larger batteries so I wasn't sure if having the extra posts shift the position enough that they would be incompatible

I am not running their terminals or tray, but I'm sure they will work just fine.

 

[montegofd3s]

Aren’t there other mods necessary to run AGM? I know there has been a lot of talk about the Deka SLA group 31 battery option. Which is possibly rebadged by O’Reillys (Superstart).

Are AGM batteries rated similar to SLA where the rating needs to be halved for actual usage? The Deka SLA is 170ish AH I think.

The only thing I did was add a ford diode part# 4f2z14a604aa in the ALT-S slot of the fuse box to boost the alternator output by 0.5-0.7amps. Starts around 14.4 and settles about 13.8-14.0 when warm. This is a fairly common modification for other toyotas, and there are different options out there if you would rather go another route. The diode is about 10 bucks from the local ford dealer so I didn't mind trying it out. If you search "ford diode" on this forum it will pop up.

 

[CharlieS]

The only thing I did was add a ford diode part# 4f2z14a604aa in the ALT-S slot of the fuse box to boost the alternator output by 0.5-0.7amps. Starts around 14.4 and settles about 13.8-14.0 when warm. This is a fairly common modification for other toyotas, and there are different options out there if you would rather go another route. The diode is about 10 bucks from the local ford dealer so I didn't mind trying it out. If you search "ford diode" on this forum it will pop up.

Keep in mind this mod doesn't work on 2016+ cruisers.

 

[Sandroad]

Aren’t there other mods necessary to run AGM? I know there has been a lot of talk about the Deka SLA group 31 battery option. Which is possibly rebadged by O’Reillys (Superstart).

Are AGM batteries rated similar to SLA where the rating needs to be halved for actual usage? The Deka SLA is 170ish AH I think.

Deep cycle lead acid batteries are happiest being discharged to a maximum of 50%, whether they are flooded or AGM. So yes, the amp-hour rating is about halved in use.

 

[lx200inAR]

Deep cycle lead acid batteries are happiest being discharged to a maximum of 50%, whether they are flooded or AGM. So yes, the amp-hour rating is about halved in use.

Looks like I was conflating ratings. The Deka has an RC of 175min. The AGM listed above is 220min. I was just trying to figure out the reasoning behind paying 4x for the battery.

 

[afgman786]

Anyone else have sunroof issues. My 08 won't close on its own. I have to push the black air deflector or whatever it is down when the sunroof is halfway and then quickly get my fingers out of there. I'm sure something just needs lubed, but wondered if anyone else experienced this.

I've got the same issue. Mine isn't just the deflector but also catching something on passenger side. I did the same thing which was push down to get it to close. Never open it again was my solution