Recent content by Monkey Wrench

Does the 4Runner start and run OK? Bakes feel normal and stop OK? If so have him take the 4Runner to an autoparts store to have them run the codes for free. My dash looked like a Christmas tree over a bad gas cap- hopefully its a cheap and easy repair!

I got my spacer from a forum member, but cornfed will sell single 1” spacers for $60ish. It’s well worth it to get rid of the lean!

Go with a 25mm spacer, I ran a 10mm spacer and it didn't take care of the lean. The 25mm spacer evened out the back.

The seal between the CV and knuckle is SOMETIMES included with the CV axle, and some wheel bearing assemblies offer it as an "add on". The seals between the CV and front diff are sold separately. Get those from Toyota and they are easy to replace- I used a socket (same outer diameter as the...

That seal typically comes with the CV axle, and it looks more like a dust shield than an oil seal. Be sure to put a new O-ring between the wheel bearing assembly and the knuckle, too.

Pass on it since you’re not in a rush. Look at the rusted bolts on the transfer case- every repair and mod will be a battle with seized bolts/broken bolts as you try to remove parts. Hold off for a 4Runner that didn’t spend any time in the northeast and other rust belt areas. Unless you enjoy...

The JB Weld patch turned out better than expected and the bed liner covered it up perfectly. The plan was to paint the bedliner with color matched spray paint, but I might leave it black for a while. Has anyone used Rustoleum bed liner? Does it turn chalky right away?

The frame looks OK, but the bolts look like they will be a pain to work on. My dad’s truck came from the northeast and it gives my impact wrench a good test whenever we work on it. Also look at the radiator cross member, those tend to rust out.

Bluesky 07 Yours looked about the same as mine did 6 months ago when I first noticed the rust bubbles on the outside- mine looked like simple rock chips. Its up to you if you want to start scraping now. The benefit is that you can use a rust converter and possibly save your hatch other than a...

Pull off the trim and plastic sheet that covers the inside of the hatch- its only one screw and very easy to pop the tabs with a plastic trim tool. Well worth the 5 minutes to check since its a known issue with the hatch! Yours doesn't look too bad so maybe you caught it in time. Let us know...

At least its quick and easy to take off the plastic trim to take a look at the inside of the hatch. A screw driver easily scrapes off the "sticker" so you can look for rust. It looks like a replacement hatch is the best option, but at this point I don't want to spend $1,000 for a hatch. I'll...

I started scraping the “sticker” with a screw driver before finishing with a flap disc on an angle grinder. Looks like I’ll have to cut out part of the metal and patch it. Damn Toyota for not painting the inside of the gate before putting the sound deadening piece on! I can’t believe how rusted...

This is where the hatch was rusting through, didn’t look bad till I started scraping the “sticker”...

I’m in the process of scraping off the sticker and rust. The plan is to patch the small rust holes and grind the inside down to clean metal. I’ll post pictures once I’m back at my computer

What looked like small rust spots on the outside of the hatch/tailgate turned out to be much worse than I could have imagined. The hatch is rusting from the inside out, thanks to Toyota putting a sound deadening “sticker” on before they painted the inside of the hatch! Water was able to enter...