[ElectroBoy]

So sorry for you to lose a long time friend. I lost my 14 year old lab/golden mix a few years ago. Good memories and sad memories remain.

[Friggin Idiot]

21Jan21 102,583mi
Trying to keep busy as a way of avoidance, and it was a 44F degree day in January. So I gave the truck a quick wash and added the GOAT TruckArmor panels that I grabbed on Black Friday. It was nice to get them off of the living floor where I had them trying to unfurl from the shipping container, but they look great on the truck.



I've had a couple issues. The front of the fender pieces don't stay in place because the magnets don't have the strength to hold to the steel over the thickness of the 3M PPF. I ended up having to cut off some of these panels.
The driver's side door panels took some adjustment to get the upper part above the door handle to lay flat. I ended up having to put small neodymium magnets on top of the GOAT armor to hold it in place. After a few days it started to lay flat against the door. I also all but lost the driver's side C-pillar on the first drive because it wasn't laying flat either.
The last issue was communication. There were no instructions at all included in the package. Ok well it's a magnet, it can't be that hard right? But getting a hold of the company GOAT TruckArmor was slow at best. When I realized there were issues, I tried calling, emailing, and sending a FB message. I never got a phone call back from my phone messages, the email wasn't replied to, but after about a day and a half I got a response on FB. It didn't include any answers to my questions, just a status check. I replied with more questions and still have had no response.

EDIT: About 2 weeks after installing this I was trying to figure out more about it and found a install instructions and care buried on their website under FAQ. For the life of me I don't understand why this single sheet print out wasn't included with the order. It would have saved a ton of questions and frustration.

[Friggin Idiot]

11Feb21 102,97? mi
Driving home from work the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree. I had CEL, Parking Brake, Seatbelt, Traction control, & Multi-Terrain all came on solid with flashing 4WD and Crawl Control. Obviously these are not all connected to the same ECU so the issue was more complicated than just a bad sensor. After a few restarts I just drove it the 7 miles back to the house and parked it.

12Feb - I checked under the hood looking for obvious issues or blow fuses and immediately noticed the X2Power AGM battery leaking. Well that's not good, so I pulled and replaced it with a flooded type. Truck started, but still had all the lights on the dash. I had to get to work so drove the car instead.

13Feb - Get off morning shift and drive truck to O'Reilly's. They check the alternator, confirm it's bad. It's putting out 19V!!!! They read the codes, and they're all over the place, but mostly voltage issue related, and primarily to the ABS/speed sensors. Drive truck home and devise plan. I still have the OEM alternator somewhere in the garage, and it tested good, so I'll throw that in. Make a deal with my buddy for his help, standard beer & pizza, with promise to get truck in the garage and warm it up some.

15Feb - Try to start truck, battery dead. Try to use car to jump truck, not enough juice. Use car and jumper cables to charge up the battery some, enough for it to take the jump charge feature on the smart wall charger. Try to start truck, starts, then immediately dies. Repeated attempts to restart, the engine turns but won't catch. Still have the bad alternator in at this point, so I figure I overvolted something and killed it. Remove new battery I just killed. Tempted to arrange tow to dealership, but buddy is insistent with his help we can start it.

16Feb - Buddy & I remove 270A bad alternator, and install OEM alternator in 20F before the windchill. Involved several trips to hardware store for bolts as the 270A mounted slightly differently. He brought a fresh battery too. Engine turns but won't start. He tests lots of fuses under hood and dash, and we come up blank. It's obviously a no-spark or no-fuel issue, though we can't figure which or what's causing it. Still has all the dashboard lights, but is now throwing codes for ignition coils too. Arrange tow to dealer for next day.

17Feb - Truck was towed to dealer. I swapped the bad battery for a new one. When I turned in the bad battery they noticed it was now leaking through overflow port where it wasn't previously. But they swapped it out still (Thanks Batteries+Bulbs!). Took good battery to dealer, give service rep the story.

18Feb - Dealer calls. The installed the new battery and finished cleaning up the alternator install (we only connected it enough to work, not mount all the cables cleanly). They spent a couple hours troubleshooting a no-spark issue which turned out to be the fuel injector fuse. That's it, a blown fuse was all that my buddy and I had missed.

20Feb - Got a buddy to give me a ride to dealer after work for pick up. Service guy was thrilled about my ATREIDZ license plate and Muad'Dib hitch cover, though missed on the Klingon front license plate. I hated to pay them a few hundred to change a damn fuse, but diagnostic time and all.... at least I had a general labor & parts coupon that saved a few bucks.
I emailed DC Power about the alternator issue and asked about a rebuild. They're happy to rebuild it for me, and it should cost about 1/3 the cost of a new one. Given that's still less than cost of a new aftermarket OEM spec one, I'm going to do it. I probably just won't mess with putting it in until the OEM one dies (if it does).

Thoughts and musings given this saga:
1) Anything below 45F is too cold, especially for holding metal tools and removing metal parts. Swearing and tool fitment issues increase the lower the temperature goes.
2) I should have parked the 4Runner in the garage when I had the chance after having the alternator tested. Never assume because something started once that it will do so again until you've remedied the issue.
3) I caused this. Seriously, it took some thought and figuring, but it was me. 2 years ago when I put in the AGM battery I remember reading many threads about the required higher charging voltage for the AGM batteries and I added the GM diode to the under hood fuse block. Except I didn't need to do this with the DC Power 270A alternator as it already uses 14v instead of lower OEM voltages. I removed the GM Diode before I had the alternator tested and put the factory 7.5A fuse back in. Not sure I'll bother with the GM Diode even with the stock alternator now that I'm back to flooded type.

EDIT: Apr21. DC Power & Engineering were able to repair the alternator for a minimal cost compared to a new one, OEM or aftermarket. It's been reinstalled in the truck and the GM Diode removed.

[TRD PANTHER]

Originally Posted by Friggin Idiot

21Jan21 102,583mi
Trying to keep busy as a way of avoidance, and it was a 44F degree day in January. So I gave the truck a quick wash and added the GOAT TruckArmor panels that I grabbed on Black Friday. It was nice to get them off of the living floor where I had them trying to unfurl from the shipping container, but they look great on the truck.

Attachment 375951

I've had a couple issues. The front of the fender pieces don't stay in place because the magnets don't have the strength to hold to the steel over the thickness of the 3M PPF. I ended up having to cut off some of these panels.
The driver's side door panels took some adjustment to get the upper part above the door handle to lay flat. I ended up having to put small neodymium magnets on top of the GOAT armor to hold it in place. After a few days it started to lay flat against the door. I also all but lost the driver's side C-pillar on the first drive because it wasn't laying flat either.
The last issue was communication. There were no instructions at all included in the package. Ok well it's a magnet, it can't be that hard right? But getting a hold of the company GOAT TruckArmor was slow at best. When I realized there were issues, I tried calling, emailing, and sending a FB message. I never got a phone call back from my phone messages, the email wasn't replied to, but after about a day and a half I got a response on FB. It didn't include any answers to my questions, just a status check. I replied with more questions and still have had no response.

EDIT: About 2 weeks after installing this I was trying to figure out more about it and found a install instructions and care buried on their website under FAQ. For the life of me I don't understand why this single sheet print out wasn't included with the order. It would have saved a ton of questions and frustration.

Wow! This does sound frustrating. I was thinking about buying on BF too as they said that there was no monetary discount, but this was their new revised armor. Better, could stay on longer, etc. before their price increase. I passed at the time and now see that it is $595 for a set. I can see the possibilities of adherence issues over the PPF but I thought they said the magnet was improved also. Hope you get this squared away.
Also, sorry on the loss of your dog. They are like family.

[MaddoxPics]

Originally Posted by Friggin Idiot

Except I didn't need to do this with the DC Power 270A alternator as it already uses 14v instead of lower OEM voltages. I removed the GM Diode before I had the alternator tested and put the factory 7.5A fuse back in. Not sure I'll bother with the GM Diode even with the stock alternator now that I'm back to flooded type.

So you think it was something to do with running the booster with the alternator that already put out enough power as is? I run a booster (not GM Diode) kind, but a booster nontheless. However alternator is still stock. Wondering if I'll have issues. Mine has been in for about 3 years now.

[Friggin Idiot]

Originally Posted by TRD PANTHER

Wow! This does sound frustrating. I was thinking about buying on BF too as they said that there was no monetary discount, but this was their new revised armor. Better, could stay on longer, etc. before their price increase. I passed at the time and now see that it is $595 for a set. I can see the possibilities of adherence issues over the PPF but I thought they said the magnet was improved also. Hope you get this squared away.
Also, sorry on the loss of your dog. They are like family.

When it lays flat, I have no trouble with it staying on the vehicle. I guess you're supposed to use a heat gun sparingly to form it to the vehicle. But without the instructions to tell me that, I didn't know. I'll have to go back and do it later.
I had considered it a few years back when they first came out and had limited designs, but never got around to it. I already have some trail pin-striping so I'd only be hiding it and protecting it from more. It has done a great job of keeping road salt and grime off the paint in the areas that it covers though.

Thank you, and to everyone, for the support on my copilot.

Originally Posted by MaddoxPics

So you think it was something to do with running the booster with the alternator that already put out enough power as is? I run a booster (not GM Diode) kind, but a booster nontheless. However alternator is still stock. Wondering if I'll have issues. Mine has been in for about 3 years now.

Honestly I don't know the specs for the rectifier and regulator on the OEM alternator. You may be just fine with the booster. IIRC the booster or diode only look to add 0.8v output (so 1.6v for the Arclight 2x mode). Running single boost long term may be perfectly within the limits set by the alternator manufacturer. I don't recall of people having issues in the Voltage Booster Thread, but I pretty much stopped reading it after I did it.
The GM Diode may have nothing to do with my issue. However, it seemed a plausible and logical answer, though I cannot prove it without risking another alternator. I'm not willing to test it, replacing or swapping the alternator is a PITA, more so when you're freezing.

[MaddoxPics]

Originally Posted by Friggin Idiot

Honestly I don't know the specs for the rectifier and regulator on the OEM alternator. You may be just fine with the booster. IIRC the booster or diode only look to add 0.8v output (so 1.6v for the Arclight 2x mode). Running single boost long term may be perfectly within the limits set by the alternator manufacturer. I don't recall of people having issues in the Voltage Booster Thread, but I pretty much stopped reading it after I did it.
The GM Diode may have nothing to do with my issue. However, it seemed a plausible and logical answer, though I cannot prove it without risking another alternator. I'm not willing to test it, replacing or swapping the alternator is a PITA, more so when you're freezing.

Gotcha that makes sense. Makes me feel a little better.

[Friggin Idiot]

08May2021 104,908 mi

I sold off the GOAT Armor the other week to another user. I did finally get some areas to lay flat after using the heat gun. Other areas where I had used the magnets never really did. One of my issues with it were water and dirt getting behind the panels and staying there, as seen in a small amount on every single panel when I removed the armor. The other issue was the attention, everybody noticed the truck. While most have no issue with this or encourage it, I'm a little more subtle. What's the proverb, "The nail who sticks out gets hammered." Between the supercharger any my leadfoot, speed limits are more of a suggestion, no need to draw further attention to my truck as it goes whizzing by radar guns! Honestly I didn't really need the armor because I already had some trail pinstriping and don't go off-road much because of my horrible work schedule. But I did like the look, I just wish that the top grey had matched the silver of the truck a little better. It went onto a 2020 MGM TRD OR and honestly I think it looked a little better than on my truck. The grey sky provided a nice contrast and it looked more like a mural than something that was badly trying to blend into the OEM paint color. FWIW, after I removed the armor and washed the truck, the areas that were covered by armor had better water beading probably still had some of the wax coat on it.

Today I finally got around to trying to fix the intermittent rear view camera issue I've been having. I knew the problem had to be in the hatch because opening and closing the hatch would temporarily solve the problem. The trouble was finding where. This post was extremely helpful and hopefully the solution to my issue. This annoyed me all winter when it was cold and I didn't want to get out of the truck to open and close the rear hatch. Of course potholes in the salt belt hit hard enough to jar the connection, so I was having to do it multiple times a day at some points. It's not been as much of an issue in the warmer weather, but I don't want to go pulling on cold plastic to take off the rear panel.

[007Tacoma]

Originally Posted by Friggin Idiot

Today I finally got around to trying to fix the intermittent rear view camera issue I've been having. I knew the problem had to be in the hatch because opening and closing the hatch would temporarily solve the problem. The trouble was finding where. This post was extremely helpful and hopefully the solution to my issue.

Yeah... mine was doing that for a little over a year. Then I installed the rear bumper. Now I have a camera in the spoiler for ridiculous angle.

[Friggin Idiot]

28Nov2022 116,xxx mi
Delayed posting, but loaded up and moved back west! Traded Central City OH for Central City OK instead. I didn't have to shovel snow at all this winter. Yesterday I mowed the yard for the 2nd time and Saturday it will be 80F.
I also swapped my 6-day work weeks for a normal schedule with weekends off for off-roading and other adventures.
While most of my mod ideas at the minute are centered around the BMW, the 4Runner is the vehicle for adventures still! My new neighbor is a Taco guy and he's already tasked me for help with his Icon Stage 2 lift after seeing mine.

[Sarge61]

Don't forget Space 1999.

[CutthroatSlam]

Originally Posted by Friggin Idiot

11Feb21 102,97? mi
Driving home from work the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree. I had CEL, Parking Brake, Seatbelt, Traction control, & Multi-Terrain all came on solid with flashing 4WD and Crawl Control. Obviously these are not all connected to the same ECU so the issue was more complicated than just a bad sensor. After a few restarts I just drove it the 7 miles back to the house and parked it.

12Feb - I checked under the hood looking for obvious issues or blow fuses and immediately noticed the X2Power AGM battery leaking. Well that's not good, so I pulled and replaced it with a flooded type. Truck started, but still had all the lights on the dash. I had to get to work so drove the car instead.

13Feb - Get off morning shift and drive truck to O'Reilly's. They check the alternator, confirm it's bad. It's putting out 19V!!!! They read the codes, and they're all over the place, but mostly voltage issue related, and primarily to the ABS/speed sensors. Drive truck home and devise plan. I still have the OEM alternator somewhere in the garage, and it tested good, so I'll throw that in. Make a deal with my buddy for his help, standard beer & pizza, with promise to get truck in the garage and warm it up some.

15Feb - Try to start truck, battery dead. Try to use car to jump truck, not enough juice. Use car and jumper cables to charge up the battery some, enough for it to take the jump charge feature on the smart wall charger. Try to start truck, starts, then immediately dies. Repeated attempts to restart, the engine turns but won't catch. Still have the bad alternator in at this point, so I figure I overvolted something and killed it. Remove new battery I just killed. Tempted to arrange tow to dealership, but buddy is insistent with his help we can start it.

16Feb - Buddy & I remove 270A bad alternator, and install OEM alternator in 20F before the windchill. Involved several trips to hardware store for bolts as the 270A mounted slightly differently. He brought a fresh battery too. Engine turns but won't start. He tests lots of fuses under hood and dash, and we come up blank. It's obviously a no-spark or no-fuel issue, though we can't figure which or what's causing it. Still has all the dashboard lights, but is now throwing codes for ignition coils too. Arrange tow to dealer for next day.

17Feb - Truck was towed to dealer. I swapped the bad battery for a new one. When I turned in the bad battery they noticed it was now leaking through overflow port where it wasn't previously. But they swapped it out still (Thanks Batteries+Bulbs!). Took good battery to dealer, give service rep the story.

18Feb - Dealer calls. The installed the new battery and finished cleaning up the alternator install (we only connected it enough to work, not mount all the cables cleanly). They spent a couple hours troubleshooting a no-spark issue which turned out to be the fuel injector fuse. That's it, a blown fuse was all that my buddy and I had missed.

20Feb - Got a buddy to give me a ride to dealer after work for pick up. Service guy was thrilled about my ATREIDZ license plate and Muad'Dib hitch cover, though missed on the Klingon front license plate. I hated to pay them a few hundred to change a damn fuse, but diagnostic time and all.... at least I had a general labor & parts coupon that saved a few bucks.
I emailed DC Power about the alternator issue and asked about a rebuild. They're happy to rebuild it for me, and it should cost about 1/3 the cost of a new one. Given that's still less than cost of a new aftermarket OEM spec one, I'm going to do it. I probably just won't mess with putting it in until the OEM one dies (if it does).

Thoughts and musings given this saga:
1) Anything below 45F is too cold, especially for holding metal tools and removing metal parts. Swearing and tool fitment issues increase the lower the temperature goes.
2) I should have parked the 4Runner in the garage when I had the chance after having the alternator tested. Never assume because something started once that it will do so again until you've remedied the issue.
3) I caused this. Seriously, it took some thought and figuring, but it was me. 2 years ago when I put in the AGM battery I remember reading many threads about the required higher charging voltage for the AGM batteries and I added the GM diode to the under hood fuse block. Except I didn't need to do this with the DC Power 270A alternator as it already uses 14v instead of lower OEM voltages. I removed the GM Diode before I had the alternator tested and put the factory 7.5A fuse back in. Not sure I'll bother with the GM Diode even with the stock alternator now that I'm back to flooded type.

EDIT: Apr21. DC Power & Engineering were able to repair the alternator for a minimal cost compared to a new one, OEM or aftermarket. It's been reinstalled in the truck and the GM Diode removed.

I replaced the alternator on my wife’s 2014 SR 5 back on December 10, 2022 in Stevensville, Montana. I checked the temp history and it was 24 when I started and 33 when I finished. Glad I did it then because temps dropped below zero the following week. Hardest part was figuring out how the harness plug comes undone.

I generally do not like working on cars when it’s below freezing, but sometimes you have no choice.

[Friggin Idiot]

02-08Apr23 ~118,xxx mi

Grand Lake OK, Eureka Springs AR, New Home
As previously stated, I traded OH for OK as a base of operations. The move was an adventure, and cost me a relaxing vacation at the family retreat in TN over the holidays as well. I forced myself to take a week of vacation at a random time in Apr because I needed to stop working on everything and try to relax a bit. My mom flew out for it, because we both knew if she didn't, that my new house wouldn't acquire any landscaping at all!
We started by hitting up Lowe's for some plants and started putting them in the ground. We got about half of them in and stopped for the vacation/relaxation week.
We booked with the Shangri-La resort at Grand Lake o' the Cherokees NE of Tulsa, it wasn't forever away, but just far enough to not want to run home. Most of the days were just relaxing at the resort, or some of the parks around the lake. We didn't hit up the off-road park down in Disney, but it was on my list.

We did take the truck over to Eureka Springs AR for a day. There we walked around the serene Thorncrown Chapel, drove US-62 through the town, had a rather tasty lunch at Myrtie Mae's, then went up to Pivot Rock for a short hike before heading back to the resort. The attendant at Pivot Rock got a kick out of my parking job and took a picture to send on to his 4Runner friend.









It was Mom's birthday week as well, so we went out to a fancy dinner at The Shebang. Neither of us realized the heavy influence Monkey Island has on the local decor, but it was kind of fun to see monkeys everywhere in odd places.

[Friggin Idiot]

(Continued....)

On the way home at the end of the week, we hit up Ed Galloway's Totem Pole Park, which had been on my list since last time I lived this area. The totem poles were interesting, considering they were made on site with lots of local sand and stone. But more interesting was the man's whittling hobby. There were 100 different fiddles all in different woods inside the gift shop for viewing. If you go, don't skip the gift shop!




We also met up with an old friend at my favorite German restaurant in Tulsa, Margaret's German Restaurant. The food and beer were good like they always are.





Of course once home there were still the flowerbeds to build and mulch. Immediately after unloading the 4Runner, we hitched up the trailer and ran out for mulch since Sunday was Easter and nobody was going to be open. All of Easter Sunday was just yardwork for us, but the finished product is a nice improvement over the meager empty flowerbed that the builder left. Rubber mulch is a new favorite item for me. The lower (or no) maintenance, the better!

[Friggin Idiot]

14Feb2024 128,438mi

After years of fighting with the OEM engine bay splash guards I finally threw them out. I bought this vehicle new, and was on my 2nd set of engine splash guards. At the last road trip, I resorted to some twist ties from bread bags to hold the things in place after losing more connectors and having the guards flapping around. But being thin wire with a paper wrap, I didn't expect the twist ties to stand up to any off-road adventures, mud, or brush very well, or last long.
I'd seen the advertisements and other threads on this forum heralding the difference between OEM engine splash guards and the Rad Rubber Design option. I knew there would be a difference, but honestly you could stack 4 of the OEM guards up and not get to the thickness of a single guard from Rad Rubber. It gets better though.
The OEM plastic retainers are little more than a cylinder with a 2 small nubs to keep them from popping back out, they break, get lost, and fail frequently. I ordered 15 extra of the things when I replaced the original set. They lasted about 3 years before I ran out of replacements. The kicker is that I wasn't even driving through deep brush, running through mud holes, or even doing serious off-roading for the last several years owing to too much overtime to work and a cross country move. Rad Rubber provides two-piece plastic rivets that are serrated on the shaft to hold the rubber down. The expand plenty big enough inside the retaining holes to hold firm too. I messed up and had to remove one from the passenger side. It took me 5 minutes trying not to destroy it, and 2 more to destroy it once I realized they sent a spare for each side. Once installed, these stay well put.
Installation was easy, dirty given the location, but easy. I highly suggest just removing the front wheels instead of trying to reach around them. Overall, one of the better $50 upgrades for the truck out there. I wish I had done this the first time!