alia176
SILVER Star
What did you work on tonight? (13 Viewers)
- Thread starter Dumpolina
- Start date
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GTV
SILVER Star
Well I think I got lucky this time. The boot wasn't torn so I just removed the original clamp and put one of those nice stainless worm clamps on there. I caught it early, very little grease was lost.
GTV
SILVER Star
So happy that’s done. I did have some play in the drivers hub. CV boot leak fixed, rotors turned and I rewarded myself with new Perry Parts bump stops. Still can’t drive it far because of the damn alternator 
GTV
SILVER Star
Day one of tb/wp job. Stripped it down to the belt, swapped in 80 series brass T's and installed fresh Denso plugs.
alia176
SILVER Star
This reminds me, perhaps I should do another TB/WP on my 4.7 
. She's at 428xxx currently.
. She's at 428xxx currently.Like American King said, great price for the work, at least compared to Toyomaster and Toyo Auto. Original quote was around $1300. Toyomaster told me “about $1800 or $1900”. Toyo Auto quoted a little over $2100 including a serpentine and the main bearing support for the fan ($300 part). Sparky’s ended up replacing that bearing support as well as both halves of the thermostat housing due to corrosion (another $250 in parts) for just shy of $1900. That was all great. Two disappointments: it kept taking longer than expected. They said they could fit me in last week if I could leave it a few days. No problem. Then it wasn’t ready on Friday. Monday they called and said it needed the bearing support and thermostat housing and should have it done that day. (Why didn’t they look at the parts on disassembly and order them already?) The parts came too late to finish and it was supposed to be ready first thing Tuesday. Finally they called after 1 pm. 4 days became a week. Not a huge deal, but not what was expected.
Second thing is they have after hours pickup with a key lockbox. We drove across town at 8pm only to find they gave me the wrong code and I couldn’t get my key. I was back at 0630 with my spare key to make another appointment and have to go back again to get my key. All I got for that was an apology.
Definitely not a 5-star experience, but for the money I’d probably use them again.
alia176
SILVER Star
Awesome feedback David, thanks for taking the time to type it all out!
I recently needed to get some service done on my '08 ES350 with 170K and opted to take it to Super 6 Tokyo because the Nguyen brothers that own the shop were Toyota Tech superstars at AmToy 25 years ago. Here's what I know it needed: 1: CV boots were slinging grease, despite me paying $2,700 three years ago at Lexus of ABQ for boots, spark plugs and serpentine belt. That tech turned out to be an incompetent gorilla that broke a lot of things and forced me to take the car back just a day after picking it up. Also, there appeared to be a transmission fluid leak, probably from the axle seals that I told Lexus to replace with the CV boots job but don't see it anywhere on the invoice so it didn't happen. I opted to just go with new axles (NAPA), 2: new axle seals (Toyota) and 3: fill the transmission fluid to the proper level. As expected, I was upsold on things I hadn't planned on but decided they were ok to do as some were obviously needed and others were overdue per normal routine maintenance schedule: Front brake rotors machined and new pads, new serpentine belt, replace coolant, replace brake fluid, replace engine air filter, replace cabin air filter, front end alignment (req'd after axle replacement), fuel system cleaner, detail headlight lenses as they were very cloudy. Total bill for all of this was $2,000.
I have very little faith in repair shops based on many past bad experiences. As soon as I arrived and paid my bill I lifted the hood. All the Lexus plastic covers were missing, a vacuum hose on the airbox was not connected, and there was a screwdriver left on top of the cowl between the hood and the windshield. I have not had a chance to jack up the front of the car and crawl under to see the state of the new parts, condition of grease/fluids, look for damages caused during parts replacement, etc. I'll report back after I can do that tomorrow. Good news: the transmission shifts better with a full level of fluid. The brakes work a LOT better and there is no pulsating anymore. I have no idea if there was any benefit from fuel system clean/flush or if it's just a money maker for them. I know they removed the back seat to access the fuel line to do the flush from the fuel tank because there are new grease smears on the rear seat bottom and it wasn't reinstalled 100% correctly. All the other work was overdue and I would consider necessary per normal maintenance schedules.
I'm not sure if I'll go back to them again. Their prices were reasonable, considering all the work that was done and I didn't spend my weekend doing it. The yard is full of cars. The service bays are full of stuff, detritis, debris, and just lots of clutter. That worries me when I see a repair shop that isn't tidy.
I have very little faith in repair shops based on many past bad experiences. As soon as I arrived and paid my bill I lifted the hood. All the Lexus plastic covers were missing, a vacuum hose on the airbox was not connected, and there was a screwdriver left on top of the cowl between the hood and the windshield. I have not had a chance to jack up the front of the car and crawl under to see the state of the new parts, condition of grease/fluids, look for damages caused during parts replacement, etc. I'll report back after I can do that tomorrow. Good news: the transmission shifts better with a full level of fluid. The brakes work a LOT better and there is no pulsating anymore. I have no idea if there was any benefit from fuel system clean/flush or if it's just a money maker for them. I know they removed the back seat to access the fuel line to do the flush from the fuel tank because there are new grease smears on the rear seat bottom and it wasn't reinstalled 100% correctly. All the other work was overdue and I would consider necessary per normal maintenance schedules.
I'm not sure if I'll go back to them again. Their prices were reasonable, considering all the work that was done and I didn't spend my weekend doing it. The yard is full of cars. The service bays are full of stuff, detritis, debris, and just lots of clutter. That worries me when I see a repair shop that isn't tidy.
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alia176
SILVER Star
My spawn made great progress on her top end rebuild. She had the valve covers on, intake manifold installed and torqued. All hoses on the firewall replaced along with the heater valve, and was fighting the passenger exhaust manifold when she realized she needed to be an octopus. I believe the manifold might've been landed on the neighbor's yard at some point.
So, we installed both manifolds and connected the exhaust system. Both o rings replaced on the oil cooler but she can't find the long hose that I bought so she'll order it next week. Her mom came over and helped so it was a typical Ali family affair like old times.
One thing that I wasn't able to do is clean everything
. It feels dirty to not get everything nice and shiny but her driveway is 25 min from my solvent tank. I might've developed a twitch, and she noticed it too, .
In case you're wondering about the water kettle on the cowl, she used boiling water to soften the hoses before insertion.
So, we installed both manifolds and connected the exhaust system. Both o rings replaced on the oil cooler but she can't find the long hose that I bought so she'll order it next week. Her mom came over and helped so it was a typical Ali family affair like old times.
One thing that I wasn't able to do is clean everything
. It feels dirty to not get everything nice and shiny but her driveway is 25 min from my solvent tank. I might've developed a twitch, and she noticed it too, .In case you're wondering about the water kettle on the cowl, she used boiling water to soften the hoses before insertion.
These are funny pictures, seeing her sitting up on top of the engine bay. But, when you're vertically challenged, you do what you got to do.My spawn made great progress on her top end rebuild. She had the valve covers on, intake manifold installed and torqued. All hoses on the firewall replaced along with the heater valve, and was fighting the passenger exhaust manifold when she realized she needed to be an octopus. I believe the manifold might've been landed on the neighbor's yard at some point.
So, we installed both manifolds and connected the exhaust system. Both o rings replaced on the oil cooler but she can't find the long hose that I bought so she'll order it next week. Her mom came over and helped so it was a typical Ali family affair like old times.
One thing that I wasn't able to do is clean everything
In case you're wondering about the water kettle on the cowl, she used boiling water to soften the hoses before insertion.
View attachment 3867474
View attachment 3867476
alia176
SILVER Star
She's 5'7" and really likes the ergonomics of dealing with firewall stuff that way
.
Hey guys. I went back to the dark side and this is what I'll be working on! Traded in the GX460 for a 24 Bronco. It's a black diamond with Sasquatch package. Basically has the off road bumpers and underbody skids but no front stabilizer disconnect like the Badlands model has. It's very similar size wise to my old 80. Has front and rear lockers.
Well, we still let this Jeep fella hang out ... so I guess this is OK.Hey, I'm still paid up for the year!
I am paid up, too!!!Well, we still let this Jeep fella hang out ... so I guess this is OK.
Says the Jeep fella.......
Lets see.. i installed a modified MBRP catback exhaust with the SLP Loudmouth 1 resonator.. but i dont like the sound so i'll be going back to the Loudmouth 2.. while installing the exhaust i found the passenger side rear upper control arm was disconnected from the axle housing. I have no idea when that bolt broke and surprised nothing catastrophic happened. So this morning my neighbor friend helped me install a temporary bolt until the oem spec bolts ordered through toyota come in. Also found a screw in a tire! And the pinion bearing on my Trans Am failed! The Fun just never ends! Lol
alia176
SILVER Star
The front axle housing is ready for the next phase. She's been heavily fortified and ready for 20year of abuse
GTV
SILVER Star
I f*cked up big time. Likely out for the season, at least until I can find a suitable place to tear it all apart.
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Need Help Diagnosing Misfire :(
Just finished the timing belt job on my '07. I also replaced the alternator with a 180a from DC Power and replaced the spark plugs with new Denso Iridium long life from Rock Auto. Coils are Denso and were replaced by @2001LC about 96k miles ago. Engine fired up easily and I bled the air out of...
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