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My 303,000 mile 2004 Tundra is going to need timing belt/water pump service pretty soon, and I’m trying to decide if it’s worth the time and effort to do it myself. Parts alone, only Toyota/Aisin, (including a new radiator, which it needs) would be around $700 and I can get the whole job done at a local Toyota shop for $1650.
Any advice on the timing belt service? I’ve done water pumps and all the other associated work previously (on other vehicles) but this would be my first timing belt. I watched some YouTube vids and it doesn’t look too bad, but I know that can be deceiving.
Timing chain/belt service is one of those jobs I do on project cars, but wouldn’t do on my daily. It’s always a bigger pain than I expected as an amateur, and getting it done in a day isn’t always easy. For the $700 delta, I’d pay a pro if I needed the vehicle running in less than a weekend. It’s fun if you find it fun. Me, I’d already have the thing in pieces before I thought of the question.
“Don’t be like David” feels like evergreen advice.
Yay my idea from like 15 days into this blog (emailed David t!) is happening!!!
Run down from The Evil Shitbox Wrenching Lair (from under that volcano in Wilmngton, NC):
-1997 Ram 1500: For sale for $4200. Waiting on the headliner board to come back from the upholstery shop for install. Nothing but low-ballers and scammers so far.
-2004 Crossfire: Left seat heater still doesn’t work after the Mopar replacement heating element. Will continue to sit in the garage for the time being.
-1994 LeBaron Convertible: in the garage on jack stands currently awaiting surgery. The procedure is a new rack and pinion. New top afterwards, followed by new heads and water pump.
-2002 XK8: Still has a leaking valve cover gasket along with a coolant leak and bad rear shocks. Will sit in the yard until spring.
-1993 Stealth: Window track felt has deteriorated; window regulators are sticking as the glass rubs instead of being guided on felt. Will disassemble doors to replace felt. Meh.
-2003 Durango: Bad radiator. AC Leak. Neither are fun.
-1993 New Yorker: No speedometer. New gauge cluster needs to be installed.
-2013 300C: rand only losing coolant. Suspecting a leak/bad head gasket.
-2003 Stratus Coupe: zero problems. This. Car. Rules.
-1995 Trans Am GT: More problems than I can list in this comment. It’s green though with T-Tops, so all is forgiven.
I’m currently scoping a busted ’95 Park Ave and a busted ’07 Nitro for the next backyard rescues. Stay tuned
Can’t wait to hear more about the Stealth. It’s name is totally apropos as nobody knew about them when they were new, and they’re totally forgotten now. The gauge pods always made me happy.
Not a lot of updates on the LJ, but…
Installed fog lights last weekend. This is the first thing that has actually gone right. When I replaced the headlight stalk, I made sure to get the one with the fog light switch. All TJ/LJ jeeps use the same wiring harness, so the wires and connectors for fog lamps are sitting there unused in the fender wells.
So theoretically, all I had to do was make sure there were 2 fuses and 1 relay in the proper places, plug in the lights, and they should work. (Note: I had to order two pigtails that match the factory harness and splice them on the bare wires of the fog lamps)
Well, it didn’t work – until I sprayed cleaner into the connectors and did a little scrubbing with a skinny file. BINGO, I have fog lamps working on the factory wiring/switch!
Next up is replacing the weatherstrip on the tailgate. That arrived today.
Corrosion is a REAL problem on those connectors. Like, a SEVERE one. They don’t seal worth a damn. And you’re 100% correct – to save money, Chrysler used single PN harnesses for everything they could starting in the early 80’s. Penny-pinching over a few extra feet of 18AWG didn’t save nearly as much money as using a single common part and tooling for everything.
Really wish manufacturers would go back to that.
Apparently, this only applied to the main under-hood harness. My LJ did not come with the factory subwoofer and the interior harness does not have the wiring for it, so I’m going aftermarket and wiring directly to the stereo. Wasted some money on a used factory sub, but the aftermarket one is actually smaller with a bigger speaker and I’m going to make it fit in the console like the factory one.
Next time you are fiddling with them add on some electrical corrosion inhibitor like Burndy P8A Oxide-Inhibiting Joint Compound which is similar to electrical grease but aids in conductivity to the joint while sealing the parts that are connecting. It’s $18 for a 8oz bottle but it will last forever. Ideal sells a similar paste in Home Depot.
Good idea. I did basic connections before I ran out of daylight, and I need to go back in there and put heat-shrink tubing over the butt splices as well. I did add corrugated conduit, but that doesn’t do anything about moisture.
I wonder how many other cars have that hidden upgrade ready to go?
Well, David has I.C.E. cars, so why not ice tools as well?
Be careful on your trip, David. The temperatures over the next few days will be viciously, deadly cold. But luckily you’ll be driving vehicles that are 100% reliable and unlikely to break down… oh wait… Yeah, maybe you should postpone your trip until next Summer?
Today’s project was installing euro tail lights on my Golf Alltrack. Hello to amber turn signals that are independent from the brake lights, and hello to a rear fog lamp.
So, that’s a weird thing that I’ve been wondering about. My 2017 Alltrack came to me with Euro-style taillights. Amber turn signals, LED. Now, I know for a fact that the headlights are aftermarket because the PO said so—you couldn’t get a manual in the SEL trim (except in 2019) and the other trims only came with halogen headlights, so he bought a manual SE and fitted it with Helix LED reproduction headlights. He didn’t say anything about the tails, though. Supposedly the headlights were the sole modification. What gives?
Oh, and there’s no rear fog lamp button anywhere to be found. I definitely have amber turn signals though, I mean I’ve seen ’em.
you typically need to also replace the switch with the euro version abd then do some VCDS coding to make everything work.
I dunno, just looking at part websites, it doesn’t look like 2017s came with LED tails from the factory. Maybe they didn’t consider them mods since the LED tails are an OEM part? Not aftermarket like the Helix headlights?
Project plans are on hold until spring.
Project ‘03 Civic:
Take it to a damn exhaust shop to fix the persistent exhaust leak. It’s gotta be twisted in a way I can’t fix on the ground and I’m sick of taking it off and putting it back on over and over again only to have it leak again in a week.
Install the backup camera I bought with the new radio a year ago.
Fix the horn.
Install the crossovers for the front door components I installed a year ago and never finished.
Project ‘04 Jeep
Remove the tub from the frame and replace the floor pans, and replace all the suspension bushings and body mounts while I’m in there. Verify I don’t have any hidden frame rot. Por-15 everything before reassembly. None of this can start until the snow is gone and I stop driving it.
Unfortunately I am in the process of putting my projects all on hold for a minute while I go in for some spine surgery. I was trying to finish up building a rear axle with a locker for the XJ, but the donor center section had the wrong gears in it and the bolts were all forged onto the ring gear by the last owner at around 1200ft pounds of torque. Selling the engine out of the Super Beetle tomorrow and got it pulled this weekend and ready for pickup.
Going to use my down time to order a butt load of parts for the Jeep to get ready for EJS23 and to order up the adapter and clutch for the Bugaru (EJ22 swapped beetle). Once I am cleared to resume wrenching I will probably focus back on the XJ as it doubles as my daily and overlander and I have a bunch of stuff to throw at it all at once. The Bugaru is more of a long term project so it can wait for now.
The Death Cab (VR swapped cabriolet) needs some love too as it is mechanically perfect, but I need to start knocking out some of the cosmetic stuff and want to upgrade the digital dash. Right now it is using an amazon fire tablet connected to the OBD2 port, but I would like something more configurable and less janky in the future.
Sorry to hear about the burst pipe and glad to see you are taking a more southern route out west DT!
Yeah, my spine also feels like it has the wrong gears and and a bunch of overtorqued bolts. I feel you.
The project itself: I am making a 40-year-old small Japanese bike into an homage to a 50-year-old large[r] British bike.
The item currently in progress: installing a better petcock on the fuel tank.
The fuel tank is a plain-steel eBay special which has more or less the right shape. The threaded bung on the tank has about a 10mm ID, but I did not think the included petcock was going to flow enough fuel to feed the carburetors. The story so far:
– ordered a small piece of thick-walled mild steel tubing with an OD of .75″
– asked a machine shop to do the following:
– turn the outside down to .71″, or 18mm
– use my die to thread the outside of one end at 18x1mm
– cut the piece to about 1.625″ length
Now I can put the machined piece over the existing bung and weld it into place. Once that is done, I can paint the tank and install the beautiful new Pingel petcock and combined 1-into-2 fitting and fuel filter.
In true Autopian fashion, that is a little over $100 in machine work and over $200 in new hardware for an $80 tank, but it will be how I wanted it. 🙂
Okay, I’m going to hazard the first guess – Suzuki GS250 into Bonneville homage?
I appreciate the guess. 🙂
It’s a Kawasaki KZ440B that will (I hope) look something like a small Norton Commando with a Dunstall-type fairing. They’re both air-cooled vertical twins, so what the heck.
Nice. Those bikini fairings are just gorgeous and timeless.
(I guessed Suzuki b/c of the usual issues with petcocks, at least in my experience)
I’ve only ever seen one Commando IRL, with a sidecar.
Good luck and hopefully by the time you’re done, autopia has picture posting capability.
I’ve never actually owned a Suzuki – hmm. Thankfully the tank is just a generic aftermarket item like this one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/391987277863
It’s great: if you search ebay for “2.4 gallon tank” you’ll find a bunch of different new (and quite inexpensive) motorcycle fuel tanks. I just picked one up – painted silver, rather than bare steel – for a single-carb project bike and it was only 50 bucks. *boggle* It’s not show quality but will be more than adequate.
So I guess I’ll start with the non-pun.
About to get hit by that blizzard you’ve been hearing about; they won’t even give us an estimate on snowfall other than “over 4 inches.” Well gee, that’s helpful. And totally doesn’t give Blizzard of ’78 vibes. (Google it if you’re curious; the National Guard described it as comparable to a nuclear attack.) So I’m trying to batten down the hatches in a hurry. Because all of the normal winter prep got derailed.
And it’s just… a clusterfuck.
– Snowblower, check, ready to go
– Shovels, half buried behind tools and toolboxes, but enough accessible.
– Generator, NOPE. Electric start battery toast. No big, it’s a common 12v, AND IT’S ON BACKORDER. I may have to raid the lawnmower. And it hasn’t been tested in 3+ years, so… yeah.
– Saab isn’t in storage and oh hey the problem wasn’t the regulator, it’s the battery! Whew, what a relief. No pro-AND NOBODY HAS ANY H5’s. Oh, and they cost more than the alternator.
– Was going to repair the outside outlet that keeps tripping when there’s wind and rain/snow in November. Yeah. You can guess.
– Didn’t get the poorly sealing windows repaired yet either. The ones that literally whistle in 30MPH winds. So that’s gonna be fun at 50+.
– I had next week blocked off for repairing/rebuilding the home infrastructure including the Shelves of Technology(TM). (It’s shelves. With all my servers and switches on them.)
Question: I’m supposed to drive on Monday afternoon to LA.
How bad will 6 inches of snow be that day if it stops falling on Saturday morning?
That, my friend, is the real question and conundrum. We’re supposed to get snow only through Saturday night. “Oh, so Sunday should be fine, right?”
Saturday night is Christmas Eve. Sunday is Christmas.
And honestly, the big problems here are the wind and flash-freezing. Wind creates insurmountable snowdrifts, and you’ve got a high risk of heavy icing and repeat icing. Which of course, also puts the plows themselves at risk. Especially the wind. Our city has already said they will NOT be plowing in high winds and we already know damn well the power will go out due to the power company’s policy of hostage-taking through deliberate neglect.
Major roads and highways might be ‘okayish’ out there Monday, but depends entirely on if they’re going to run crews Christmas Eve and Christmas day. But that also assumes a short snowfall period and only a few inches. Some models are predicting over a foot (~20-25% chance) and potentially over 2 feet (~6-8% chance) for the Detroit area.
And that’s before you get into Wunderground’s doomsaying around bombogenesis. (Which is where the Blizzard of ’78 or ‘Cleveland Superbomb’ comes in – that remains the all time low pressure record.)
So honest answer is: “hell if anyone knows.” My advice is be prepared to push back to Tuesday, best case subtract 4 hours of travel distance from Monday.
If it’s anything like New England, the interstate will be fine w/in 12 hours… just bring extra wiper fluid because the salt on the road will be CRUNCHY.
Note on wiper fluid. It seems impossible to find the winter version in far Southern California. I stopped in 4 auto stores and may need to special order it or maybe find some sort of trucking supply/interstate gas station.
My problem is that I no longer have a car to wrench on. I made the sad decision to sell my Jeep and it rode off into the sunset last week. Now I need a new project, which is likely to be a 2002 Saab 9-3 Aero (the last year of the hatchback). Or a Mk4 GTI, but I think the Saab will win, mainly because it’s more acceptable to my wife.
Go 9-3 Aero.
Unless you can find a 9-5 Aero. Then go 9-5.
Leave out the part where the 9-5 goes from 40-90MPH faster than literally every contemporary and Saab kinda admitted they sandbagged as much as Buick did on the GNX. Without the overboost.
I am also considering a 2006 9-5 Aero wagon with 165k miles, one owner, “full service history”, and only £2500. The 9-3 has only 64k miles and is about to get a new clutch, a full service, and various cosmetic issues sorted out. It’s twice the price, but the annual car tax is roughly half that of the 9-5. I’ve had two 9-3’s before (a 99 with 150hp and a 2001 with 185hp) and have a soft spot for them.
or you can come out here and work on my junk (phrasing)…
Damn, I had something for this.
Needing that much work at 64k miles is… pretty concerning. My Viggen doesn’t need a clutch (does need internals; bent fork) at “91k.” (Wrong wheels and tires, reading way too high, lol.) I mean, it need(ed) some other work… like a $13k full glass-out restoration 10 years ago, but that was just cosmetics. Other than that, just brakes and a persistent A/C leak that is now fixed.
But what the hell, the 9-5 is not anywhere near that much bigger than the 9-3. And it “only” has the B235R engine, not the B308E! I’m starting to understand where the hell Massachusetts’ utterly insane tax scheme (a 1995 Escort costs hundreds more per year than a brand new Jeep) came from.
I need to correct the tax statement; I was mixing it up with an old Volvo V70. The tax on the 9-5 is the same as the 9-3 at £360 per year. Hmmm, maybe the 9-5 is the way to go.
“It’s an old Saab,” the rookie said. “How fast could it possibly go? Ninety?”
You really didn’t have much of a choice; the good thing is that Jeep built 2.8 million of them, so another XJ could easily be in your future.
I know, converting it into an EV would have been stupidly expensive and required more time and space than I can currently devote. Thank you ULEZ!
My question is more a post Winter thing. Have people found that Ceramic Coating a good alternative?
I don’t mind spending the money if it is worth it. In the long run just doing detailed cleanings works for me and not worry about trying to wax on, wax off.
In my opinion, it’s worthwhile. It holds pretty well for a significant period of time, and it seems to protect well, for the most part.
Thanks. Looking at this for the Caddy and the Toy. May put on the Crosstrek later, even the “beater” should be in good shape.
It depends(TM).
The quality of the ceramic coating itself as well as the skill of the person applying it make an even bigger difference than with wax. If they’re both top notch, then it’s mostly great. If they’re kinda middle of the road, ceramic can easily ruin everything. And unlike wax, it is NOT easy to take off or fix mistakes in.
I am reaching out to friends who have had local shops do it and the results. So far positive feedback.
I will take it to a detailer vs do it in my driveway in the open.
Absolutely the right move to have someone experienced do it.
My understanding is that it’s pretty important to start with really good paint if you want to get the best results out of ceramic coating. Any swirls or scratches will be pretty much baked in once the ceramic goes on, so consider budgeting for some paint correction.
Personally, I don’t mind giving my car the full wash-clay-wax detailing treatment a couple times a year, it gives me a chance to give everything a good looking-over and I enjoy the results afterward. I also get in there with the specialty cleaners for the plastic and rubber trim bits, wheels, tires—the works. In between full details, I’ll spot clean it with quick detailer as needed, or sometimes give it a quick soap-scrub-rinse. That’s not even talking about the interior. Ceramic coating only helps with the paint, and there’s a lot more to detailing a car than that.
In the winter, I try to get it through a touchless car wash once or twice a month, or just give it a good rinse if the weather happens to be warm enough to use the hose—a watering wand with a sprayer attachment will reach underneath to de-salt the undercarriage. Next fall I think I’m gonna get an underbody treatment for the Alltrack. The Miata doesn’t get driven in the winter, so it doesn’t need one.
If everything in the garage is frozen, David will only be able to move at a glacial pace.
I’m sure he’ll get there as long as he keeps chipping away at it.
You can’t just pick up and move after all.
Good thing there was not a jeep in there, half of it would be left behind.
Seriously though that sucks anytime, middle of winter is really bad.