Recent content by rytard

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I do know I have more options than the two I mentioned previously. A third option would be to buy it back with a salvage title. I'd get more $ than if I signed the property damage release and kept a clean title. However, at this point, with 200k miles, it's only...

Believe it or not, the damage is so close to the threshold, the insurance company says I get to choose whether it's totaled or not. <b>Option 1</b>: I accept the total loss and take a check for $6k-ish <b>Option 2</b>: I sign a property damage release (saying the insurance company is off the...

Thanks for the replies. Hopefully today or tomorrow I'll hear from the ins. company. The woman who hit me was driving a 2002 Camry. She pulled out of a parking lot and, remember back when you were 3 years old and your parents taught you to look both right <i>and</i> left before crossing the...

A few days ago I was in an accident. Everyone is fine, but my 1997 Limited 4WD is not. The woman T-boned me directly in the passenger-side rear wheel. She hit me hard enough that my tail end swung around front so I ended up facing the opposite direction, but when I got out to inspect the damage...

Here's what I did: Find the siren under your hood. It's probably mounted very close to the alarm's brain on the other side of the dash. Snip the wire that leads from the brain to the siren. Disconnect the battery and do whatever you need to do. The alarm will go off (lights will flash and...

It's funny that I've never noticed this before, but since my keyless entry remote stopped working a few days ago, I've discovered some things about my key. The key I use in the ignition only works in the passenger door. It does not unlock the driver side door or trunk. Until the new remote comes...

Can anyone tell me the meaning of diagnostic code 33 coming from the ABS computer? I've searched this forum and YotaTech and can't find that number. This stems from me growing tired of my wife asking how long I'm going to drive with the ABS light on my dash. Time for me to finally give in and...

My experience is that it's a problem you should fix sooner rather than later. The longer you wait, the greater the likelihood oil from the rear axle will contaminate your rear brakes. That is when your current problem becomes an even bigger and even more costly problem. Make sure you take it...

this won't help protect them, but as an FYI, I've had similar problems with cracked headlights. The guy doing my inspection claims they're BB holes, but I can't imagine someone taking target practice at my headlights. Wherever they came from, I was able to repair them with a $5 tube of clear...

Thanks for the advice. I have a 1997 3.4 liter 4wd limited with 190,000 miles. I've had it since 97,000 and I've never changed the coolant so I figure it's about time.

I'm planning on flushing my radiator fluid this weekend and I've never done this myself before. I know this is a pretty basic procedure, but since I'm new at it, can anyone offer some pointers or things to watch out for? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

http://blog.toyota.com/2008/03/living-up-to-ou.html?no_prefetch=1 Did anybody else see this about Tacomas and hope that it also applied to 4Runners from the same years? A commenter inquired about it and was informed, "The Toyota 4Runner and Toyota Tacoma are built at different plants (Tacoma is...

Your situation is extremely similar to mine. I have a 1997 V6 that I used to tow a 1990 honda accord a distance of about 130 miles. I rented a tow dolly from uhaul which required only the honda's front wheels off the ground. Plan for a long trip. The trailer I rented had a warning on it that...

Thanks for the opinions. You're right...16" wheels. I've done the brakes myself in the past so I know how easy they are to do, but I don't have the time now to do this myself so I figure I'll just pay someone to do it all at once. I believe these are the rotors he's planning on using...

This is a scan of a repair quote I got from a mechanic I've never been to before, but he drives a 4Runner so I'm hoping he knows enough about them to fix my brake issues once and for all. Do the prices listed look reasonable? He seems trustworthy to me and he definitely seems to know a lot about...