SQOD Squad - Stupid Question Of the Day (4 Viewers)

[biff44]

The ‘16+ LX factory flush rails come with three sets of holes, I wonder if anyone has tried to install three factory crossbars?

I like the factory rails and crossbars for my occasional needs of Yakima megawarrior; two crossbars work fine but if possible three will be better for added weight support

Yeah i did., it did NOT work at all. AND looks like hell.

DON'T DO IT.

the problem: look at your roof. it is not flat. it has a curve to it. so if you installed three bars, the middle one will be 1 " too high, the front and back will be 1" too low. So you can not lay anything on top, like some lumber!
(I learned this the hard way).

 

[2021 LC200]

I just noticed that a big chunk of my fan shroud has broken off. I'm not sure when or how this happened, but I think it must have happened recently since it is so obvious. I do most of my own work, but in the past year or so have paid a mechanic to replace my alternator, starter and steering rack (not all at the same time!). I replaced the radiator myself a few years ago. None of the fan blades appear damaged.

Any ideas on how I can patch this? Next time I change my oil I will look in the skid plate to see if the piece fell down there. I should note that I am one of these folks who keep most of the engine bay plastic off.

2010 LX570.

Edit: just realized that this is a cheap and (hopefully) easy fix. Ordered a replacement shroud for $106 delivered.

View attachment 3693322

Sad how mechanics break things as they work. During my last oil change from having the dealer do during full warranty period vs doing it myself and switching to 5w30 (itself a success as engine is quieter and oil pressure is slightly up) I notice the dealer monkeys have damaged the drain plug and thread in the pan. Was able to install again and is sealing, bought a valvomax though and during next change will replace/thread it in place once and keep that in place. Still unbelievable we let these 20y old kids work on our vehicles and damage them.

So this shows me I will do most if not all future things on my 200 myself and will take time to do so.

 

[Heckraiser]

Yep, my wife insisted I get the dealer to change my oil back in 2021 because I was having the busiest year of my life at work and had no free time. Next oil change, drain plug is cross threaded and threads are fubar. New oil pan, yay!

 

[biff44]

The ‘16+ LX factory flush rails come with three sets of holes, I wonder if anyone has tried to install three factory crossbars?

I like the factory rails and crossbars for my occasional needs of Yakima megawarrior; two crossbars work fine but if possible three will be better for added weight support

Here is the kit i did for my 2018:

If you do NOT have the satellite antenna shark fin at the back of the roof, you can even go to the longer length caprock

 

[2HundyJTex]

Here is the kit i did for my 2018:

View attachment 3695684

If you do NOT have the satellite antenna shark fin at the back of the roof, you can even go to the longer length caprock

I like this... Pics?

 

[FrazzledHunter]

The ‘16+ LX factory flush rails come with three sets of holes, I wonder if anyone has tried to install three factory crossbars?

I like the factory rails and crossbars for my occasional needs of Yakima megawarrior; two crossbars work fine but if possible three will be better for added weight support

I added two factory OEM crossbars to support my BAJA roof rack. The mounting hardware is extremely stout and had enough play in it to accommodate the roof's slope. I think it looks fine.

EDIT: couldn't find these at first:

 

[isthatalexus]

If you currently have the rear suspension off of your truck, could you please put the calipers to the lower shock mount tube for an exact length measurement? I have a 2008, but I don't think these changed much over the years. Alternatively, if you have taken this measurement in the past, please do share. TYIA.

 

[08URJ200]

Looking for some advice. Left the country for a month. Come back and go to drive the land cruiser, doors wont unlock. Unlock with key and go to start, completely dead, no lights on the start button or dash. Assume battery died while gone plus I also dont drive the truck much right now so it sits alot of the time.

Pull battery and put it on charger. Next day battery shows fully charged and healthy according to the NOCO. Battery is exactly one year old, Its a True Start purchased from Toyota dealership August 1, 23. Throw it back in, fires up and drives no issues. Sits for a couple days, go to drive it third day completely dead again, wont unlock no lights. Take battery back out put it back on charger shows its dead again. Was going to let it charge but instead go to dealer and get a brand new replacement. Throw it in, everything works perfectly. Drive it for the next two days after, multiple starts, multiple trips of various lengths, no issues. Thinking i'm good to go.

Truck sits for two days. Go to run an errand a few hours ago, door wont unlock. Thing is dead again. Have no time so jump in another car and do what I had to do. Come back unlock the door, push brake, no lights completely dead no power. Will not beep or unlock, no lights on days including the 'doors are open' indicator. Absolutely nothing. Thinking I have a parasitic drain of some kind and brainstorming where to start trouble shooting. Pull the 6 day old battery out and look at all the fuses under the box under the hood. All fuses look good. Terminals look good, atleast the parts that are exposed and visible while standing in front of the truck.

Heres where it gets good...Expect brand new battery to be dead, put on Noco, turns green instantly indicating fully charged. I have no idea what to do now.

Guess need to take a better look at the terminals and follow them all the way through to chassis. Any other ideas how the truck would have a healthy charged battery but have absolutely no power inside?

Doesn't make sense how it drove fine for two days with several restarts/trips. Too busy with work to take the time to troubleshoot, will likely have to wait until this weekend to look into it. Any help is appreciated

 

[linuxgod]

Looking for some advice. Left the country for a month. Come back and go to drive the land cruiser, doors wont unlock. Unlock with key and go to start, completely dead, no lights on the start button or dash. Assume battery died while gone plus I also dont drive the truck much right now so it sits alot of the time.

Pull battery and put it on charger. Next day battery shows fully charged and healthy according to the NOCO. Battery is exactly one year old, Its a True Start purchased from Toyota dealership August 1, 23. Throw it back in, fires up and drives no issues. Sits for a couple days, go to drive it third day completely dead again, wont unlock no lights. Take battery back out put it back on charger shows its dead again. Was going to let it charge but instead go to dealer and get a brand new replacement. Throw it in, everything works perfectly. Drive it for the next two days after, multiple starts, multiple trips of various lengths, no issues. Thinking i'm good to go.

Truck sits for two days. Go to run an errand a few hours ago, door wont unlock. Thing is dead again. Have no time so jump in another car and do what I had to do. Come back unlock the door, push brake, no lights completely dead no power. Will not beep or unlock, no lights on days including the 'doors are open' indicator. Absolutely nothing. Thinking I have a parasitic drain of some kind and brainstorming where to start trouble shooting. Pull the 6 day old battery out and look at all the fuses under the box under the hood. All fuses look good. Terminals look good, atleast the parts that are exposed and visible while standing in front of the truck.

Heres where it gets good...Expect brand new battery to be dead, put on Noco, turns green instantly indicating fully charged. I have no idea what to do now.

Guess need to take a better look at the terminals and follow them all the way through to chassis. Any other ideas how the truck would have a healthy charged battery but have absolutely no power inside?

Doesn't make sense how it drove fine for two days with several restarts/trips. Too busy with work to take the time to troubleshoot, will likely have to wait until this weekend to look into it. Any help is appreciated

I’d start with the terminals and ground and make sure everything is tight. Do you have Slee terminals?

You can get a shunt off amazon and temporarily install it to help determine if there’s a parasitic drain. If it shows anything significant start pulling fuses until you find the culprit circuit. That said if the novo decided it was good right away my hunch is a loose terminal or ground.

 

[08URJ200]

I’d start with the terminals and ground and make sure everything is tight. Do you have Slee terminals?

You can get a shunt off amazon and temporarily install it to help determine if there’s a parasitic drain. If it shows anything significant start pulling fuses until you find the culprit circuit. That said if the novo decided it was good right away my hunch is a loose terminal or ground.

Thanks for the reply. I do not have the Slee terminals. Everything is stock. I went ahead and ordered new stock positive and negative terminal ends.

Ive seen numerous suggestions on the board to check the positive and ground cables for corrosion for various reasons. I have never had to do this and going from memory, it looked like the positive cable is wrapped up pretty good, at least close to the battery. Do you know if this is easy to do and/or if checking the actual cables will take cutting into the protective wrap to see if anything is out of order. For additional background, I have never had this issue in the last six years of ownership.

Still having trouble wrapping my head around the fact that truck ran fine and then had zero power. I guess the act of parking may have shook a connection loose? Or loose enough? Surprised this didnt happen while driving around the day before.

I was starting to think alternator until the battery showed fully charged

If I have time later and weather permitting Ill toss the battery back in and see if it gives it any life. Then shake the connections to see if it kills it again?

 

[bloc]

Thanks for the reply. I do not have the Slee terminals. Everything is stock. I went ahead and ordered new stock positive and negative terminal ends.

Ive seen numerous suggestions on the board to check the positive and ground cables for corrosion for various reasons. I have never had to do this and going from memory, it looked like the positive cable is wrapped up pretty good, at least close to the battery. Do you know if this is easy to do and/or if checking the actual cables will take cutting into the protective wrap to see if anything is out of order. For additional background, I have never had this issue in the last six years of ownership.

Still having trouble wrapping my head around the fact that truck ran fine and then had zero power. I guess the act of parking may have shook a connection loose? Or loose enough? Surprised this didnt happen while driving around the day before.

I was starting to think alternator until the battery showed fully charged

If I have time later and weather permitting Ill toss the battery back in and see if it gives it any life. Then shake the connections to see if it kills it again?

I'd still suspect terminals, the new ones will probably help. They don't need much torque on the clamp bolt and many toyotas end up with terminals that are stretched and don't make good contact even with the bolt fully tight. I don't think I've ever read about a main battery cable failure in our rigs in six years here.

And before cutting into wire insulation just use a voltmeter and trace things back. There are terminals within the fuse box under the hood that should show 12v with the battery connected. For the record it's important to check voltage both with ignition off and after turning on. If it is a contact issue there may be enough current for the voltmeter to read when nothing is being powered, but as soon as the vehicle tries to pull a load the circuit can open due to carbon or whatever is going on.

It is also technically possible that the battery shows healthy via the Noco but still isn't. I vaguely recall reading something here a few months back where someone had a bad cell or internal connection.

I'm starting to lose interest in the batteries toyota sells at dealers here. (note that they are not the awesome Panasonic units installed in 200s from the factory in Japan.) A friend got two bad ones in a row for his 4runner. Mine is a few years old but electrolyte is climbing out of it and corroding the new terminals I installed less than a year ago.

Edit: I just had a thought.. battery posts are tapered and the way toyota terminals work sometimes you need to spread the terminal open to get it all the way down on the post. Otherwise the bolt can bottom out before it's truly tight. Your new terminals won't have this issue. But even old ones can be spread with a flat-head screwdriver before install and make a much better connection.

 

[2021 LC200]

Looking for some advice. Left the country for a month. Come back and go to drive the land cruiser, doors wont unlock. Unlock with key and go to start, completely dead, no lights on the start button or dash. Assume battery died while gone plus I also dont drive the truck much right now so it sits alot of the time.

Pull battery and put it on charger. Next day battery shows fully charged and healthy according to the NOCO. Battery is exactly one year old, Its a True Start purchased from Toyota dealership August 1, 23. Throw it back in, fires up and drives no issues. Sits for a couple days, go to drive it third day completely dead again, wont unlock no lights. Take battery back out put it back on charger shows its dead again. Was going to let it charge but instead go to dealer and get a brand new replacement. Throw it in, everything works perfectly. Drive it for the next two days after, multiple starts, multiple trips of various lengths, no issues. Thinking i'm good to go.

Truck sits for two days. Go to run an errand a few hours ago, door wont unlock. Thing is dead again. Have no time so jump in another car and do what I had to do. Come back unlock the door, push brake, no lights completely dead no power. Will not beep or unlock, no lights on days including the 'doors are open' indicator. Absolutely nothing. Thinking I have a parasitic drain of some kind and brainstorming where to start trouble shooting. Pull the 6 day old battery out and look at all the fuses under the box under the hood. All fuses look good. Terminals look good, atleast the parts that are exposed and visible while standing in front of the truck.

Heres where it gets good...Expect brand new battery to be dead, put on Noco, turns green instantly indicating fully charged. I have no idea what to do now.

Guess need to take a better look at the terminals and follow them all the way through to chassis. Any other ideas how the truck would have a healthy charged battery but have absolutely no power inside?

Doesn't make sense how it drove fine for two days with several restarts/trips. Too busy with work to take the time to troubleshoot, will likely have to wait until this weekend to look into it. Any help is appreciated

A couple of thoughts for what they are worth:
- True Start is not Japanese made Lead Acid battery so expect 2 to 3 year of use
- Lead acid batteries do not take well a full discharge so keeping a trickle charger on it when you leave it alone for more than a week is probably a good idea
- If possible check and top of the fluid level with distilled water (Panasonic from factory does, I do this about once a year)

 

[08URJ200]

A couple of thoughts for what they are worth:
- True Start is not Japanese made Lead Acid battery so expect 2 to 3 year of use
- Lead acid batteries do not take well a full discharge so keeping a trickle charger on it when you leave it alone for more than a week is probably a good idea
- If possible check and top of the fluid level with distilled water (Panasonic from factory does, I do this about once a year)

I'd still suspect terminals, the new ones will probably help. They don't need much torque on the clamp bolt and many toyotas end up with terminals that are stretched and don't make good contact even with the bolt fully tight. I don't think I've ever read about a main battery cable failure in our rigs in six years here.

Thanks for the advice/insight. Ill see what a find out and report back

 

[grinchy]

Maybe pull the sill plates by both front doors and see if you have water standing in the sill?

 

[08URJ200]

Maybe pull the sill plates by both front doors and see if you have water standing in the sill?

No water, always been dry. Confirmed as has been pouring rain over twelve hours now from Big Debra.

Put the battery back in last night. Cables look good, they are completely wrapped up in the factory insulation, I decided not to cut into at this point. Recleaned the terminal ends with battery brush just to make sure. Everything looks tight at this point.

I get in and the truck fires right up. Of note, the radio/console turns on every time the battery is disconnected, despite being off before the battery is pulled. Not sure if this is true for every 2008. So I shut down the console and also turn the truck off. Its night time and I keep all the lights in the truck off. Im looking for anything left on, glove box light, any door lights, I have removed all chargers. So I notice the DVD player screen light is illuminating around the edges of the DVD. Sure enough the screen is on even though the truck is off and the console was shut down before killing the engine. Pretty sure that has something to do with my issue. Im thinking I can remember the previous owner mentioning something about the DVD player needing to be turned off at the unit 6 years ago. I have never used it since ive had the truck nor plan to. Im thinking this is not the factory unit. Also is this what the factory 2008 console unit is suppose to look like?

 

[Zill]

No water, always been dry. Confirmed as has been pouring rain over twelve hours now from Big Debra.

Put the battery back in last night. Cables look good, they are completely wrapped up in the factory insulation, I decided not to cut into at this point. Recleaned the terminal ends with battery brush just to make sure. Everything looks tight at this point.

I get in and the truck fires right up. Of note, the radio/console turns on every time the battery is disconnected, despite being off before the battery is pulled. Not sure if this is true for every 2008. So I shut down the console and also turn the truck off. Its night time and I keep all the lights in the truck off. Im looking for anything left on, glove box light, any door lights, I have removed all chargers. So I notice the DVD player screen light is illuminating around the edges of the DVD. Sure enough the screen is on even though the truck is off and the console was shut down before killing the engine. Pretty sure that has something to do with my issue. Im thinking I can remember the previous owner mentioning something about the DVD player needing to be turned off at the unit 6 years ago. I have never used it since ive had the truck nor plan to. Im thinking this is not the factory unit. Also is this what the factory 2008 console unit is suppose to look like?
View attachment 3697242View attachment 3697243

That DVD player is definitely not OEM.

If it were me, I would find a way to unplug that and remove it from the electrical circuitry. You’re probably stuck keeping it in the headliner to avoid a giant hole.

 

[08URJ200]

That DVD player is definitely not OEM.

If it were me, I would find a way to unplug that and remove it from the electrical circuitry. You’re probably stuck keeping it in the headliner to avoid a giant hole.

Thought so, what about the unit in the dash? Definitely going to find a way to cut power to the DVD.

 

[gasman4u]

The DVD in the headliner is definitely sucking your battery dry given what you're dealing with.

Without ripping into your dash and (correctly) installing a different/OEM head unit, you may be stuck with your issue to some extent.

 

[customcruiser]

No water, always been dry. Confirmed as has been pouring rain over twelve hours now from Big Debra.

Put the battery back in last night. Cables look good, they are completely wrapped up in the factory insulation, I decided not to cut into at this point. Recleaned the terminal ends with battery brush just to make sure. Everything looks tight at this point.

I get in and the truck fires right up. Of note, the radio/console turns on every time the battery is disconnected, despite being off before the battery is pulled. Not sure if this is true for every 2008. So I shut down the console and also turn the truck off. Its night time and I keep all the lights in the truck off. Im looking for anything left on, glove box light, any door lights, I have removed all chargers. So I notice the DVD player screen light is illuminating around the edges of the DVD. Sure enough the screen is on even though the truck is off and the console was shut down before killing the engine. Pretty sure that has something to do with my issue. Im thinking I can remember the previous owner mentioning something about the DVD player needing to be turned off at the unit 6 years ago. I have never used it since ive had the truck nor plan to. Im thinking this is not the factory unit. Also is this what the factory 2008 console unit is suppose to look like?
View attachment 3697242View attachment 3697243

This is my screen in my 08

 

[08URJ200]

Very different. May have to do with mine not being a US spec LC though, rather than aftermarket components.