Recent content by Synister

Ill have to think about that, Ill be out of town this weekend but Ill get back to you

Brand new in the box never installed adjustable upper control arms from SPC, part # 25480. These are listed to fit 2003-2024 Toyota 4Runner, 2006-2017 Toyota FJ Cruiser, 2003-2009 Lexus GX470, 2010-2023 Lexus GX460 but you are ultimately responsible for ensuring these work for your vehicle...

2.5/1.5 spacer lift on factory Bilstein coilovers off of an '09 Trail Edition. Shocks have ~60k mi on them, rear top out spacer just gets installed above the coils. Local pickup Payson AZ.

I just did the fluid exchange yesterday using the coolant return line method described earlier. Original fluid was dark of course but still had some good color with the light shining through it, 109k no towing. I very much doubt you can tell the status of the fluid by simply looking at its...

Busy maintenance day. Full ATF exchange using the cooler return line method described on this site. 13 qts., pretty messy, about on par with a diff fill. The original fluid was dark of course but it looked pretty good, the light shined through it with decent color so I think Ill just do it every...

2009 Trail Edition, bought "new" as a dealer vehicle in 2010 with 11.5k, now have 109k. Only mx item covered under warranty was a leaking crank seal after a trip to -17 Wyoming. Other than that, no issues.

I have a 4th gen and this discussion has raged over there for a while. I have always been fascinated with the inner workings of our drive systems regardless of generation. I found this video while cruising around on youtube, its a looonnng watch (41min) but I have yet to find anything that...

With all of the 4wd 4th gens, you need to make sure that none of the actuators are stuck from disuse. Lots of 4wd owners never really use their system and the electric actuator can seize up. For the V8, this will affect the ability to go into 4LO or to lock the center diff so make sure you test...

I haven't been on this site actively in over a year...workups, deployment..bleh. I have also been considering selling my truck and getting a 5th gen but I really don't see that move as an "upgrade" given how much capability my TE has. So, Ive been doing a lot of little upgrades lately to refresh...

Lots of confusion here and some misinformation too. There are 3 systems on the truck: TRAC, VSC, and ATRAC. You could include ABS here as well but for our purposes, we'll omit. TRAC is "traction control", if a wheel spins, it will apply the brakes to that wheel AND ALSO cut engine power until...

A-TRAC engages only in 4Lo with the center diff locked below 5mph I believe. The system needs a few revs to work best, most people find success at about 2k RPM with some slippage at first until ATRAC kicks in.

You can get pretty good deals on Toyota engine air filters on ebay or Amazon. My second choice and one that I currently have in now is a Wix.

I think the answer the OP is looking for is "its only as accurate as the person making the entrys". I use the service tracker to self report ALL of my own maintenance and the dealer entries that are there are pretty accurate.

Front lockers can often get you in trouble on off camber or slippery (icy) surfaces if you don't know what you are doing. This is why Toyota hasn't offered a factory front locker on any vehicle since the 90's Land Cruiser. ATRAC is also a helluva lot cheaper and being a passive software system...

I was reluctant to remove my sway bar after my Icon install but I pulled it anyway just to see how it felt. That was ~20k mi ago and it hasn't been back it. I live in So Cal with high speed curved on ramps and off ramps and its not a problem. Just recognize your truck isn't a Porsche and you'll...