Recent content by tom4416

I recently sold my 2003 SR5 Runner, V6, 4WD with 140,000 miles. Owned since new, meticulous maintenance and nothing deferred. No rust on frame or undercarriage, paint 9/10, interior 9/10. KBB high book was around $6,500, Toyota dealer offered $4,000 on trade for a 2025 Camry. Just for the...

I can't speak to your area of the country but here in Arizona, I could easily get $7,000 for my 03 w/140K miles. I'm the original owner so have all the maintenance paperwork, never in any accident, garage kept whole life, frame perfect, etc..

If the battery is disconnected for too long (no idea how long too long is), it will set those error lights on the dashboard. I know from the time it takes me to run to Wally World with my trade in and get the new one home and installed, it sets those lights. It just needs a zero point...

Invest the $30 in a Harbor Freight torque wrench and the proper socket and then as soon as you get home after having tire work done, retighten everything to spec with your torque wrench. Costco is the only tire shop I've seen that regularly uses a calibrated torque wrench to install lug nuts...

I towed a race car on a dual axle trailer all over the US with the V6 version and the early 4 speed automatic. 4200lbs all up with 485 on the tongue. My SR5 actually came with the bigger brakes as well. Two biggest issues to me are a dual axle trailer for almost any weight over a utility...

I towed a race car (Miata) on a dual axle trailer with brakes on both axles (kind of critical) all over the US from Virginia to California and everywhere in between. Monitored trans temps through a ScanGauge II and special programming for it (on their website if not standard by now). Synthetic...

Sometimes you just have to put your vehicle in the hands of quick lube places like if you're traveling and overdue for an oil change and dealer appointments are a couple of days out. If that happens to me, I generally go to Wally World simply because they are a big corporation and have the...

I'm one of those nerds that does get an analysis about every 4th oil change. At one time, you could buy the kits in bulk from Blackstone at a very reasonable price, especially if you did a group buy so it wasn't expensive to have the analysis performed. I like them for early detection of...

I think it's the caliper pins that your mechanic is lubricating as that is a fairly common practice and a fairly common point of failure, especially in northern climates where chemicals on the winter roads create lots of corrosion. As to lubricating the actual caliper pistons, I don't believe...

Anyone thinking about converting halogen to LED should read this from Daniel Stern Lighting: Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply Given all the LED junk that is coming from China, even if you get them to play nicely with the systems in the vehicle, they are not the upgrade everyone...

At 125k, I did the radiator, hoses, water pump, t-stat, idler and tensioner pulleys, serpentine belt and radiator cap. None of it was leaking or giving any unusual sounds but I've owned this since new and plan on keeping it another 15 years so for the relatively small amount of money for me to...

Doesn't Costco double the manufacturers warranty, up to two additional years, if you charge the item on your Costco card? Or are automotive parts specifically exempt? Costco used to have a Kirkland brand of batteries that were significantly cheaper than the Interstate and were made by Johnson...

Funny this question came up just now. Used car values are through the roof and I'm tempted to consider getting rid of my 03 with only 130K miles on it. I'm the original owner, maintenance is absolutely anal with me, runs and drives flawlessly and I only use it to tote model airplanes back and...

This is one of the few times that declaring the car a total might be to your benefit. I've seen the entire stock of a new car dealer totaled by hail and then repaired by a quality PDR guy and sold at a substantial discount with factory warranty. That's a nasty dent and I suspect they will...

Don't know about the odometer but the cheapest replacement route is always a junkyard, never the dealer. Suspect there are quite a few 4th gen 4WD models in boneyards and doubt that the instrument cluster is an often taken part so you should be golden.