What have I done on my Cruiser this week? I'm making a list of tasks to bring this new-to-me rig up to snuff. Here are some things that I've learned.
(1) I hired a well regarded LC mechanic to take a look at the truck for me before I agreed to buy the rig. It's a stock 2004. The mechanic said it's overdue for a new timing belt (last done at 90k, now the rig is at 214k). Also said the transfer case needs maintenance. And the left front axle is leaking a bit. There were a couple other small things, but the mechanic said the rig is in great shape.
(2) The mechanic missed a couple things. First, the CD player/changer does not work. The cassette doesn't eject from its slot in the center console. Second, the windshield wiper fluid system doesn't work. You can hear a pump working when you hit the trigger, and the wipers do their thing, but zero fluid comes out of the nozzles. What else did he miss? Time will tell.
(3) I learned that the stock navigation system and stereo do not meet my standards. My family enjoys listening to music, and there's no way for us to play our music through the LC's stereo. There's no AUX connection, no BT connection, and no way to play CDs (see above). The stereo's sound seems decent, though I did here some buzzing yesterday afternoon while listening to NPR in the driveway while grilling. This all means that there's a stereo upgrade (with speakers, maybe) in my future.
What have I actually done this week? Yesterday, I started trying to fix the windshield wiper fluid system problem. When I poured fluid into the resevoir, I felt my toes get wet as the fluid seemed to flow straight out of the resevoir onto the ground. A look under the bumper revealed a hole in a hose that must run from the fluid resevoir.
Today, I took a closer look at the system. I verified that I could find the hose with the hole. Then I worked backward from the nozzles on the hood, following the hoses back toward the resevoir. To my surprise, about 6" back from the firewall, the fluid hose was neatly cut. I found its other end and tested the windshield wiper fluid pump - a splash of wiper fluid on the firewall told me that the pump works fine, and I probably only need to fix the hoses. So a trip to AutoZone later, I have replacement hoses. (Are they called vaccuum hoses?) I cannot find the small nylon splices to use to put the hoses together, though. So the repair will have to wait until I can find a couple of those.
Other things on my 'task' list are:
- address some upholstery problems (holes and small rips) to stop them from becoming a bigger problem,
- looking for salvage yards that might have compatible rigs with some plastic parts I need to replace (e.g., lid to fusebox under the hood, cover for compartment on passenger side of the 3rd row seating, tie-down 'wingnut' piece that covers a screw in the cargo area)
- working up the courage (and saving the money) for stereo upgrade
- adding a simple aux battery to the rig; running some outlets for USB chargers
- converting some interior lights to LEDs
A task that's not quite in the same vein as the above is to find some folks in my local area (Ventura County) who are interested in some day trips to trails in the Los Padres Wilderness or surrounding areas. I want to meet some people and strengthen some trail driving skills so I can overland camp with confidence with my rig.