What have you done to your 100 Series this week? (44 Viewers)

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Rear hatch lift supports -15min.

Had the truck for 4 years now (2001) lift supports always weak during winter (Dallas TX).

New ones are great! Almost too strong, my wife might not be able to reach the lid to close it.
Did you replace the bolt on the truck side? (not the hatch side)

If not, how did you get the strut off? I tried prying mine off but to no avail. The replacement bolt is not the right size, so I was hoping to reuse the original.
 
I'm right behind you here with the same set for an installation. I think the current gaskets are original and leak like crazy. I've been using Fel-Pro PermaDry gaskets to fix chronic oil leaking valve covers on other Japanese engines for almost a decade. Old successful habits are sometimes hard to break. I could be in for a surprise with the 4.7L. So I'm keeping an open mind.

TIP: I put the seals in the freezer the night before installation. Freezing seals before installation and rubbing them with a very thin layer of silicone lubricant or oil lets them slide into place without damage. Also I will buff down any sharp edges on the upper part of the spark plug tube that might tear the seal during installation.
I've never had a bad experience using that approach.

Here's an interesting article about seal installation in the link below.


Did you receive a small package of o-rings with the gasket kit? I did and I can't see how I will use them.

I think I see you using Permatex Black in the corners to provide a tight seals.

I just noticed that Advance Auto sells individual spark plug tube seals.



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I install VC gaskets and tube seals very much like the guy in this video. with good results.



For bending up the tabs I was able to use locking Needle nose pliers to make a clean crease. then from the top side of the covers I was able to gently use a flat head screw driver to wedge between the gasket and the top lip of the valve cover and rotate the driver to apply pressure and continued that in a circular pattern until the old seals popped out. Seemed a lot easier and less chance of damaging the valve covers than other ways I’ve seen.

for removing the old bolt washers off the bolts I used a ratchet on the bolt and a pair of small channel locks on the washer and unthreaded the washers off. My old bolt washers were dry, brittle, and wouldn’t budge with separating them until I went about it this way.

When I got to cylinder 7 I needed to use a swivel or universal joint to get to the spark plug with a short extension.. got It loose but for the life of me I couldn’t get my spark plug socket to grip the plug in order to pull the plug out. Went at it for about 30 mins.. didn’t have skinny enough pliers to grip the plug. Couldn’t find my handy telescoping magnet.. finally looked at cylinder 5 and noticed the rubber boot had come off my socket when installing that one 😒. Never had that happen before. Luckily I had a second spark plug socket. Hahaha.

i did use Permatex Black for the corners.

next up will be the drivers side. Probably won’t get to that till Thursday though after the kiddos are in bed.
 
Exhaust manifolds are a totla bitch, glad you didn't have to deal with broken bolts. And yes Toyota sells individual spark plug tube seals.
Best of luck with the Felpro gasket. Mine leaked profusely upon installation and I had to redo with the OEM gasket almost immediately.

ya I’ll keep a close eye on them. Haven’t had an issue in the past with Felpro, but there’s always a first. That or the possibility that I messed something up. Shh don’t tell the wife that, wouldn’t want to ruin my reputation! Hahahaha.
 
Did you replace the bolt on the truck side? (not the hatch side)

If not, how did you get the strut off? I tried prying mine off but to no avail. The replacement bolt is not the right size, so I was hoping to reuse the original.

I bought OEM supports, each one came with a new ball-socket bolt. I didn't bother even trying to free the old sockets from bolt, i just removed it using 12mm open end wrench.

Re-installing, start at the top, install the ball end bolt and the new socket end easily snaps into place.

If you need to somehow salvage the old ball bolt I would recommend completely removing and figuring out how to do that at your workbench (avoid scratching your paint).
 
So I replaced my recently painted 5 spoke 16"s earlier than expected. Got these 20" tundra platinums wrapped with bridgestone duelers super cheap. Went from 265/70R16s to 275/55R20s.
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New LX theme song:
 
Added BF Goodrich floor mats. I found them at Walmart on clearance for $21. I figured for that price I couldn't go wrong. I found the model for Ford pickups to be the closest fit. The driver side required quite a bit of trimming, but came out well. The passenger side fit so well I decided not to trim at all. Now my floor mats match my tires... :hillbilly:

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Good news and bad news. Finally discovered some semiprecious metal here in Utah. Problem is, it was hanging out in my front diff.- so now I also know the cause of all that racket... I missed out on a brand new OEM front diff. shipped from a Lexus dealer for $1300 last week, but is there a rebuild kit for the spur and pinion? I hate tearing out all the bearings and seals and hoping I get it all back in right; and I have only seen a seal/ bearing rebuild kit, not the spur/ pinion. New OEM CVs arrived a couple days ago, too.

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@CatskillsRunner did her first oil change on the 2UZ-FE.

Used a different oil filter too. Can’t stand the Thai manufactured -YZZD3. Decided to use the Supra 7M-GTE Japan-made Denso filter instead. Perfect fit.

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Wow, that filter is massive compared to stock. It clears the drip deflector ok? Wish i had known this, just bought a case of 90915-YZZD3 off of ebay last week. I see that there's a case of these available now for 40 bucks.



How much more oil do you end up putting in?
 
Good news and bad news. Finally discovered some semiprecious metal here in Utah. Problem is, it was hanging out in my front diff.- so now I also know the cause of all that racket... I missed out on a brand new OEM front diff. shipped from a Lexus dealer for $1300 last week, but is there a rebuild kit for the spur and pinion? I hate tearing out all the bearings and seals and hoping I get it all back in right; and I have only seen a seal/ bearing rebuild kit, not the spur/ pinion. New OEM CVs arrived a couple days ago, too.

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You can source a master rebuild kit from just differentials, cruiser outfitters,l or cruiser brothers, most of it comes from just differentials/nitro gear though unless you source oem stuff from Toyota. I would recommend getting a solid pinion spacer when you do it and a locker of some type.
 
Here's a pic of the buggered wheel lugs a couple of projects back:

My impression is there are three causes for the damaged threads; stretching with an impact gun, grit getting into and staying undetected in the closed lug-nuts, and the wheel dropping onto a lug/lugs during removal and installation.

Just Wednesday I replaced my ECU with an exchange from @Mauser -great service and very helpful.

Now relieved to have six master keys and a valet.

Also did upper ball joint boots, super easy on one side, a little heat popped the other off without drama.
 
Wow, that filter is massive compared to stock. It clears the drip deflector ok? Wish i had known this, just bought a case of 90915-YZZD3 off of ebay last week. I see that there's a case of these available now for 40 bucks.



How much more oil do you end up putting in?

15601-44011 aren’t available from your Toyota dealer here in the states. They have to come from Japan. They are only available in Japan.

Oil capacity is 7.2qts for the 2UZ-FE... I went with 7.5 roughly.
 
You can source a master rebuild kit from just differentials, cruiser outfitters,l or cruiser brothers, most of it comes from just differentials/nitro gear though unless you source oem stuff from Toyota. I would recommend getting a solid pinion spacer when you do it and a locker of some type.
Thanks!! Just differentials is on the pricy side for me, and only seem to sell a double master f and r. Cruiser outfitters looks like they might have it, and are only 2 hours away or so. I had never heard of them. I’ll reach out them them, since I noticed further damage. This chunk is wedged into the metal, and has split it, a bit.

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Here's a pic of the buggered wheel lugs a couple of projects back:

My impression is there are three causes for the damaged threads; stretching with an impact gun, grit getting into and staying undetected in the closed lug-nuts, and the wheel dropping onto a lug/lugs during removal and installation.

Just Wednesday I replaced my ECU with an exchange from @Mauser -great service and very helpful.

Now relieved to have six master keys and a valet.

Also did upper ball joint boots, super easy on one side, a little heat popped the other off without drama.
I hope your wheel studs come out easy. Mine refused (twisted off near the flange), so I tried to drill them out, but even the thin metal left isn’t budging...
 
I hope your wheel studs come out easy. Mine refused (twisted off near the flange), so I tried to drill them out, but even the thin metal left isn’t budging...

Medium Friendly Hammer on a long handle. Not too firm a hit, but not shy either.

Put a smidge of grease on the head before pulling them into place with a 3/4 nut spacer and washers and one of the already so-so nuts.

Edit to add:
That washer under the nut is a bad idea -just a tad too small for the bit of head that comes through the flange.
 
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I set up some switches for aftermarket goodies in my 100. I have plans for all of the switches but it may take years to get there. 2 are dual-position and the other 4 are single position. The relay box I found on Amazon it was cheap and functional.

Blue Sea Systems-
Bezel: https://amzn.to/2SMKdXO
On-Off-On Switches: https://amzn.to/2uderd8
On-Off Switches: https://amzn.to/2HJAPOp

Fuse and Relay Box: https://amzn.to/2uiavIj

Dual USB 4.8 amp charger: https://amzn.to/2Vg6w9Y
12v and USB switched panel: https://amzn.to/39QJnz3

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