Recent content by Too Stroked

The only thing of any significance I'd change is the operation of the cruise control. Whoever wrote the code for the current system must have been high on mushrooms or something. It shifts down if you sneeze, then holds the lower gear for five miles regardless of terrain. To deal with this one...

It's actually a very long story - that I won't get into here. In short, parts made for Toyota by Toyota OE suppliers are made to Toyota specifications and sometimes using tooling owned by Toyota. That said, tooling owned by Toyota cannot be used for anything - or anybody - else. On the plus...

Have you checked the intermediate steering shaft universal joint? The joint tends to corrode and freeze up over time causing stiff steering. And since it's a universal joint, the steering will kind of feel stiff - lose - stiff - lose as you turn the wheel if that's it.

As has already been stated, the quality of the parts you use will have a dramatic effect on both the price and the longevity of the repair. Said another way, if you use cheap aftermarket parts, your repair bill will be low - as will how long the repairs last.

OP, sorry to hear that. It sucks, but it happens all the time. That's why if I ever have a vehicle towed after a wreck, it's getting towed to my house. Most people never think of this.

Just because Bando is the OE supplier to Toyota does not mean that the belts they sell under their own brand name are the same as the ones they supply to Toyota. Same goes for Denso (and other) OE and aftermarket parts. How do I know this? I might just work in a Toyota Parts department.

Did you use OEM Toyota caliper rebuild parts from a Toyota dealership or aftermarket / parts store junk? Same question for the calipers themselves. Trust me, there is a big difference in quality between OE / OEM and aftermarket parts.

All you need is the Paint Code listed on the sticker on your driver's side door jamb. That's what any body shop would use to determine what color to mix up - no matter what paint system / manufacturer they use. Will this lead to a perfect match? Generally speaking, yes, but with some...

The "cutoff" feature of many new LED (and older HID) headlights can be a mixed blessing. On the plus side, it allows engineers to concentrate light exactly where they want it and avoid blinding oncoming drivers. On the minus side, too harsh of a cutoff can be distracting as one drives -...

The first thing I'd look at are the calipers and the possibility that they're hanging up. Why you say? Because parts store rebuilt / remanufactured parts are notorious for poor quality right out of the box. I can't begin to tell you how many I've seen problems with. And the sliders are not the...

OP, I think you might want to differentiate between "steering feel" and "self-centering." I believe what you're looking for is more of the latter and that can be improved (somewhat) by an alignment with 3.5 - 4.0 degrees of caster. The "feel" is somewhat baked into the steering system components...

How do you know that? Just because a digital readout says something doesn't mean that's the actual value. Without calibration against a known reference, you never know for sure.

Many people don't know it, but you can actually buy just the rubber part of the wiper (sometimes called a wiper refill) from your Toyota dealership parts department. And they have these for the windshield and the rear wiper positions. You do need to still have the original equipment Toyota wiper...

How did you verify that the fuse was indeed good? If you just looked at it (visual check), you really didn't go far enough. You need to use a test light or continuity tester. I've had more fuses than I can count look good, but flunk that test.

That's actually a very common place for 4Runners and Tacomas to rust, The bottom edge of the plastic rocker panel cover is actually sharp and eventually wears through the paint on the steel rocker panel. If you happen to live where they use road salt, it can get under the plastic panel and start...