Caveat- Should be in 5th Gen section but hope this give everyone some ideas!

Recently installed Finn Fab rear window molle panels and was looking for some illumination ideas for the rear cargo area in general. Wanted something I could hook up to the future powerport. Not much out there I liked, and about broke the “budget” with the panel purchase. So cheap solution?

Rechargeable Gooseneck book lamp...$8.00






Temporarily set up and plugged into usb at the rear. (OEM cig lighter plug)


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Seller did get back to me and agreed he sent the wrong ones.

Replaced interior lights with LED’s on wife’s 4R.

Your build and skills are top notch. Can’t wait to see what else you come up with.

I picked up a set on Etsy, seller said his were universal. Basically you just center the decal on the window, trim all around.

It’s a Sequoia, but this same decal would work for a 4R as well.

Thanks! Very much appreciated! I have endless plans lol... I'm afraid I won't ever be done with it. Really wanting to tackle a custom carbon fiber snorkel build to integrate into my fiberglass wide fenders but have't decided if I want to cut the fender just yet.. lol

Drained & refilled the coolant. Loving Cobb County Toyota‘s online parts department. Got OEM Toyota coolant for the same cost as aftermarket.

Only way to go for coolant, how bad did you think getting to the driver side block draincock was?


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For me it's impossible unless you jack the truck up just enough to remove the left front wheel. I decided to use the passenger side only yesterday for a couple of reasons.

First, I hadn't written that part down so I forgot until it was time to get to that draincock. I didn't want to jack the truck up so I went back to a few threads on coolant replacement. In one, the OP went through draining from the block but the venerable @BlackWorksInc commented that draining from the radiator was fine and you can use the draincocks if you wanted to get "the last little bit."

That OP who used both draincocks said he got a total of ~7 liters, which is 7.4 quarts, almost exactly what was in my marked bucket. (Seems low since the capacity is 10.4, but that's what he wrote.) My old coolant was also clear pink like what was coming out of the new bottle I bought. All things considered, I decided to let it go until next time.

For anyone DIYing this service, the Lisle 24680 no-spill funnel system for adding coolant, also helpfully recommended by @BlackWorksInc , is a must.

I replaced my water pump just the other weekend. From the radiator I got probably 3 quarts. The passenger side I got about 4 quarts. The driver side wasn't bad to get to after removing the wheel. Taking the wheel off only takes a few minutes and then it's easy to get to. I lowered that side of the truck farther then to get the last bit out since the wheel was off. I got probably a quart out of the driver side, and another quart out of the radiator then. Plus what spilled out when I took off the water pump I probably got close to 9.5 quarts out of the system.

Since you don't do it very often I recommend opening all the drain cocks. It only adds a few minutes and helps get the old stuff out.

Here's the water pump that was leaking on my 08 V6 too. Supposedly the Toyota dealer replaced this 5 years and only 15k miles ago for the previous owner per the Toyota records when I bought the vehicle.

It didn't look like anything had been touched in there based on the dirt/coloring on the timing cover behind the water pump. The bolts also had some goop on them and they seemed to be in 'strategic' locations, as if they were installed by the factory that way. So unless the tech who did it put all the bolts back where they go it seems like it was never actually done despite what the records show.

That does make me feel better that the pump actually lasted probably 83k miles instead of only 15k miles. Hopefully this one lasts a long time. Went with an Aisin pump, Toyota Thermostat and belt.

20210917_160930 by Unner Unner, on Flickr

New Aisin Pump, with the Toyota name ground off.

20210917_195010 by Unner Unner, on Flickr

Woolwax'd the frame over the weekend. Along with installing new 2 new axles, 2 new front calipers and 2 new endlinks. Still more to do.... ugh.

I agree. I'll be ready next time and it will be fine until then.

ATF fluid exchange to Valvoline synthetic. Installed Magnefine filter. Also serviced the driveline.

I’m sure it will be fine, the point is to change it lol. Mine at 150k was still pink. My truck had zero records from the dealership so I have no idea if it was ever changed. I changed the radiator hoses while I had it empty also, used Gates hoses from rockauto.


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