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Out of all of that, I think I’m most jealous of the trailer! Diamond C are some of the best out there
What have you done to your 100 Series this week? (90 Viewers)
- Thread starter SHUSH
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My friend owns a short-haul trucking company, and I get to borrow the trailer. It is an awesome trailer, but all-steel and 2,400 pounds..i think the trailer weighed more than the toys on it.
The switch is wired to a Slee AHC override. It allows you to override the AHC system and stay at whatever height you want at any mph.
In what scenarios do you use this? I've never found myself wishing I could lock it in at high or low in any scenario outside of the Toyota programming.
GTV
SILVER Star
In Death Valley I went through a deep silt bed that would have been better if I had additional front clearance and speed to carry me through. That was the only time.
My guess: 90% of cases is so the rig will “look cooler” when driving?
In all honesty it's rarely if ever used, but nice to have the option.
Spent the weekend swapping in heavy springs, brakes at all 4 corners, lower ball joints, nitro upper control arms, and servicing the wheel bearings. Feels like a new truck again. No more odd creaks or pops when first getting into it, it handles the typical dips around my house much better up front and in the rear, and I have the peace of mind of freshly serviced wheel bearings. Spindle nuts on both sides were finger tight, showing obvious signs that the last person to work on it simply reinstalled them with a flathead and hammer. Sitting at Firestone now getting an alignment.
Not this week but since receiving my JDM 04 LC from Japan, over the last two and half months I have:
1) Replaced heater t's. One broke while I removed it and got most of the crumbs out.
2) Tried to add a block heater because apparently, it doesn't get cold enough in Japan to warrant a block heater Could not get a definitive answer as to which frost plug needed to be removed on a 4.7L, as they seem to be different locations for the 4Runner, Sequoia and LC. Chose poorly and could not get the block heater into the hole because of proximity to the motor mount and internal structure of the block. Had to get it towed to a dealer to fix that. Flushed out any of the remnants of the broken heater tee, I hope. Ended up with an oil pan heater instead.
3) Changed the engine, tsf case, fr and rr diff oils.
4) LED's for all the interior lights and rear taillights.
5) Replaced a band on the LH outer CV boot, as it seemed to weeping a little grease.
6) greased the u joints and slip yokes. Still getting the clunk so not sure whether I need more grease in the slip yoke or if it something else like the drive flange(s)
7) RH valve cover gasket started to weep during a -30C weather stretch so I bought two new ones and replaced them last week. Did the LH side first, since that one was going to be more difficult with all the hoses, harnesses and dipstick tube in way and then smoothly replaced the RH. Also did the spark plugs and tube gaskets at the same time. Well, the LH was spitting up like a baby drinking milk once I did my start up to test my work. Pulled that mofo off again and saw the gasket has come out of the bottom groove and was sliced in half in a couple of spots. Ordered another one and had to wait a couple days for the dealer to get it and replaced it. Took four attempts, though to get it on and realized that those hoses, harnesses and dipstick tube forced me to get the cover too close the top of the valvetrain and it kept pulling it out of the groove. Finally got it back on and torqued and no leaks. Me so happy.
8) Vent hose cracked on the RH valve cover when pulling it off so back to the dealer and wait a couple more days for it to arrive. Gorilla tape to the rescue for the time being.
9) Headlight washer tee cracked so they were inoperable until I was finally able to track one down at Impex. Had to take the front bumper off to get to the hoses but easier than trying to do it from underneath.
10) Installed an FJ40 Hitch receiver from Cool Cruisers to replace the other Hitch receiver assembly I ordered before I received the vehicle in Canada,( mistakenly assuming it had the same rear crossmember as the LX) Now I can use my bike rack again.
11) Second attempt to get a new headunit to replace the stock Toyota one has more or less worked. First Android/Tesla style one, didn't have sound or able to operate any climate control so sent that back. Took a chance after talking to Phoenix Automotive in California and installed it this weekend. Pretty much works except rear defrost and mirror heater. Left side speakers don't work but the right do so I have some sound and everything else on the unit works well. The previous owner installed a TV monitor behind the LH passenger front seat, I assume for kids to watch in the backseat, and there is some kind of control unit under that seat with a bunch of RCA cables in and out so it could be related to that but I will pull that apart in the spring when it warms up. No more Japanese characters on the screen and speaking to me through the speakers.
12) Installed a new backup camera to go along with the headunit, since the factory one stopped working. Electrical stuff is daunting but good ol' YouTube can walk you through just about anything now. Who needs to go to university nowadays with that so readily available?
Rotors, bearings, pads etc are sitting on the work bench in the garage for the next install in the spring. Again, YouTube has shown me all the intricacies of doing the LC brakes and the new tools needed. Oh yeah, also going to do an AHC flush and try to uninstall the aftermarket Japanese suspension module that is in there now, once again, in the spring.
Couple of things I have learned to be true are that even if an older vehicle has low mileage, expect to see degraded plastics and rubber.
Also, be prepared to get EXTRA grimy when working on your vehicle's undercarriage if you have WoolWax coating. My god, that stuff gets everywhere and makes a simple job damn messy.
1) Replaced heater t's. One broke while I removed it and got most of the crumbs out.
2) Tried to add a block heater because apparently, it doesn't get cold enough in Japan to warrant a block heater Could not get a definitive answer as to which frost plug needed to be removed on a 4.7L, as they seem to be different locations for the 4Runner, Sequoia and LC. Chose poorly and could not get the block heater into the hole because of proximity to the motor mount and internal structure of the block. Had to get it towed to a dealer to fix that. Flushed out any of the remnants of the broken heater tee, I hope. Ended up with an oil pan heater instead.
3) Changed the engine, tsf case, fr and rr diff oils.
4) LED's for all the interior lights and rear taillights.
5) Replaced a band on the LH outer CV boot, as it seemed to weeping a little grease.
6) greased the u joints and slip yokes. Still getting the clunk so not sure whether I need more grease in the slip yoke or if it something else like the drive flange(s)
7) RH valve cover gasket started to weep during a -30C weather stretch so I bought two new ones and replaced them last week. Did the LH side first, since that one was going to be more difficult with all the hoses, harnesses and dipstick tube in way and then smoothly replaced the RH. Also did the spark plugs and tube gaskets at the same time. Well, the LH was spitting up like a baby drinking milk once I did my start up to test my work. Pulled that mofo off again and saw the gasket has come out of the bottom groove and was sliced in half in a couple of spots. Ordered another one and had to wait a couple days for the dealer to get it and replaced it. Took four attempts, though to get it on and realized that those hoses, harnesses and dipstick tube forced me to get the cover too close the top of the valvetrain and it kept pulling it out of the groove. Finally got it back on and torqued and no leaks. Me so happy.
8) Vent hose cracked on the RH valve cover when pulling it off so back to the dealer and wait a couple more days for it to arrive. Gorilla tape to the rescue for the time being.
9) Headlight washer tee cracked so they were inoperable until I was finally able to track one down at Impex. Had to take the front bumper off to get to the hoses but easier than trying to do it from underneath.
10) Installed an FJ40 Hitch receiver from Cool Cruisers to replace the other Hitch receiver assembly I ordered before I received the vehicle in Canada,( mistakenly assuming it had the same rear crossmember as the LX) Now I can use my bike rack again.
11) Second attempt to get a new headunit to replace the stock Toyota one has more or less worked. First Android/Tesla style one, didn't have sound or able to operate any climate control so sent that back. Took a chance after talking to Phoenix Automotive in California and installed it this weekend. Pretty much works except rear defrost and mirror heater. Left side speakers don't work but the right do so I have some sound and everything else on the unit works well. The previous owner installed a TV monitor behind the LH passenger front seat, I assume for kids to watch in the backseat, and there is some kind of control unit under that seat with a bunch of RCA cables in and out so it could be related to that but I will pull that apart in the spring when it warms up. No more Japanese characters on the screen and speaking to me through the speakers.
12) Installed a new backup camera to go along with the headunit, since the factory one stopped working. Electrical stuff is daunting but good ol' YouTube can walk you through just about anything now. Who needs to go to university nowadays with that so readily available?
Rotors, bearings, pads etc are sitting on the work bench in the garage for the next install in the spring. Again, YouTube has shown me all the intricacies of doing the LC brakes and the new tools needed. Oh yeah, also going to do an AHC flush and try to uninstall the aftermarket Japanese suspension module that is in there now, once again, in the spring.
Couple of things I have learned to be true are that even if an older vehicle has low mileage, expect to see degraded plastics and rubber.
Also, be prepared to get EXTRA grimy when working on your vehicle's undercarriage if you have WoolWax coating. My god, that stuff gets everywhere and makes a simple job damn messy.
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #35,572
Seat covers from down under.
Crazy there’s 35xxx reply’s to my question!!!!
Crazy there’s 35xxx reply’s to my question!!!!
My kid called, picked him up, limped the 100 series home with the center diff locked.
Now you see me
Now you don’t
Now you don’t
Nice! What kind of latches did you use?
First things first, I DO NOT recommend the latches I used. I had them lying around so I used what I had.
Amazon product ASIN B07P6WNV26
The problem with them is that they are extremely hard to fine tune. In order to get the lid to close firmly, I had to go back and forth and back and forth slowly grinding away at a stopper until the fitment was perfect. There are some flush pull latches that have a little bolt you can adjust to the correct height. Get those instead!
Only other requirement is something that can be locked. My cruiser has been victim of a smash and grab before, so if I want to leave stuff in it, it better be behind a lock. Even then it wouldn't be too hard to break the lid off, hence why I tried to (sort of) conceal it. If you weren't looking for it you probably wouldn't notice it.
I did the same this past weekend, and was able to easily get to the nipples for the 2 slip yokes, and 3 of the 4 u joints. I could not get the grease gun on the u joint nipple at the forward-most position (where you have to go through the small opening in the guard). It almost seemed like it wasn't straight. Any tips for getting the grease gun on that one?
Steering box seal leaked during the recent drive in the desert. Got it replaced and the box serviced / cleaned.
I lift the front, put a chock behind a rear wheel and then put the truck in neutral. Then you can spin the front drive shaft to get it in position.
Then I do the same procedure for the rear: chock behind the front wheel, raise the rear and in neutral, you can spin the driveshaft to get the nipples in the right position
That sounds way easier than my forward (too far), reverse (dang it), forward (ope almost), reverse (got it) method
