4th Gen V8 dip stick

[RL Lemke]

Maybe it is my age, but I find it hard to see the hole for the dip stick in low light, when checking the oil. So, I added a piece of SOLAS tape to the top of the tube. Now it literally glows in any light.

BTW: SOLAS = Safety Of Life At Sea - The very best reflective tape I have found.

 

[Biff]

Good idea, I might do the same.

 

[rando]

Has your truck ever been out of the garage? Look how clean your engine is! Mine came from the dealer dirtier than that!

 

[RL Lemke]

Has your truck ever been out of the garage? Look how clean your engine is! Mine came from the dealer dirtier than that!

Garage Queen :bigok:

Even though I have been driving in the rain for the last few days, the engine is staying clean. The muddy off-roading at work has not even gotten up there yet. Only 350 miles so far. Give me some time.

I did coat all the trim, door seals, rubber and plastic with a good coat of Zaino Bros vinyl & rubber stuff when I got it home the first time. Water really beads-up on all the trim and under hood parts now.

 

[RL Lemke]

WOW!!! I did not notice it until I posted the above reply. This photo really shows how the SOLAS tape shines, the same way my eyes see it.

 

[T4R04LTD]

Nice!

By the way, where did you buy that tape. Just curious. Thanks.

Nick

 

[RL Lemke]

Nice!

By the way, where did you buy that tape. Just curious. Thanks.

Nick

http://www.landfallnavigation.com/

 

[RL Lemke]

Nice!

By the way, where did you buy that tape. Just curious. Thanks.

Nick

More spacifically: http://store.yahoo.com/landfallnav/-spfdt.html

I had some extra of the patch that I wrapped around the tube. I have a stripe or two of the tape on the back of all my vehicles, as I like to be seen if parked on the dark trail or on the side of the road at night. When I come up with an appropriate place to use the tape on the 4Runner, I will post photos - night photos.

 

[rando]

damn that looks nice and clean. I gotta do that to mine. You just coated all the engine parts in Zaino?

 

[momo.75]

that's a pretty good idea. Thanks for the link.

 

[RL Lemke]

damn that looks nice and clean. I gotta do that to mine. You just coated all the engine parts in Zaino?

A coat or two of Z-16 on all the surfaces I could get to, like hoses, trim, door & window seals, battery, heck everywhere I could reach under the hood. We will see how long it lasts. I was really suprised though, to see huge beads of water standing on the black plastic seal between the engine and the windshield. Normally water just kind of lays there on its way to and out the drain. Now it stands tall and rolls toward the couple of drains. I guess that Zaino Bros stuff really does what they say.

Oh yea, everything under the hood was dusty when I received it. The Z-16 did a good job of lifting the dust as it protected the finish.

 

[RL Lemke]

RL, Yeah dude, your engine is WAY clean. Mine looks like the 4Runner slum compared to yours!

The guys I ride off-road with have showed me how to ride in the mud all day and yet get the bike looking great before it is put to bed. I will tell you though, the Zaino Bros products are indeed all they are cracked-up to be. The plastic polish did a great job on the hard plastic on the KTM. The Zaino for plain paint gave the BMW a mirror finish. I am hooked for life. It is also the easiest stuff I have ever used. Compared to the 4Runner, motorcycles have a lot of nooks and crannies.

Here is another tip. I wash my engines when I wash the vehicle. Then I use my electric leaf blower to dry everything. I use the custom molded earplug speakers for my iPob when I do this as it is LOUD. But the blower makes fast work of drying.

 

[Thai]

Here is another tip. I wash my engines when I wash the vehicle. Then I use my electric leaf blower to dry everything. I use the custom molded earplug speakers for my iPob when I do this as it is LOUD. But the blower makes fast work of drying.

You've got "issues".......but in a good way!

 

[RL Lemke]

You've got "issues".......but in a good way!

Before I left for work I saw the subscribed post email saying that Thai had commented on the thread. My first thought was Oh Boy, I am going to get spanked again and probably thrown off the list this time. But alas, Thai recognizes what all my friends keep telling me.... However, calling them issues is a lot nicer than what my friends say.

Really though, the $34k I spent on this rig (inc. TTL) is the most I have ever spent on a vehicle. I want to get more use of it than the 500,000 miles on my old car, so I plan on taking good care of it. The 4Runner will be the favorite rig to get me and my trailer to the Sierras where I will abuse the motorcycles over the Rubicon Trail a few more times.

 

[jharris2]

I want to get more use of it than the 500,000 miles on my old car, so I plan on taking good care of it.

WOW! :eek2: My target is 100,000 miles on each vehicle. How long does it take you to get to a half million miles?

As far as the leaf blower is concerned, it's also a great way to get the water out of the nooks and crannies on the outside, too -- things like behind the mirrors, the door handles, etc. Was a hint from the detailer's manual I've had for several years.

 

[momo.75]

Before I left for work I saw the subscribed post email saying that Thai had commented on the thread. My first thought was Oh Boy, I am going to get spanked again and probably thrown off the list this time. But alas, Thai recognizes what all my friends keep telling me.... However, calling them issues is a lot nicer than what my friends say.

Really though, the $34k I spent on this rig (inc. TTL) is the most I have ever spent on a vehicle. I want to get more use of it than the 500,000 miles on my old car, so I plan on taking good care of it. The 4Runner will be the favorite rig to get me and my trailer to the Sierras where I will abuse the motorcycles over the Rubicon Trail a few more times.

I am with you. People give me a hard time because I bought my 4Runner and will never take it off anything more than a dirt road. I work out of my house and if it is raining, I just don't go out. Sometimes if it is raining and my wife is here I will take her car. I just love having a spanking clean car. You are not alone.

 

[Thai]

Damn, i am way different from you guys! I am the opposite end...i am just too damn lazy to clean my cars after getting home from work. And i realize that i am abusing them, but i can't help it...toooooo lazy!

 

[Biff]

Before I left for work I saw the subscribed post email saying that Thai had commented on the thread. My first thought was Oh Boy, I am going to get spanked again and probably thrown off the list this time. But alas, Thai recognizes what all my friends keep telling me.... However, calling them issues is a lot nicer than what my friends say.

Really though, the $34k I spent on this rig (inc. TTL) is the most I have ever spent on a vehicle. I want to get more use of it than the 500,000 miles on my old car, so I plan on taking good care of it. The 4Runner will be the favorite rig to get me and my trailer to the Sierras where I will abuse the motorcycles over the Rubicon Trail a few more times.

WOW!! can you really pump out 500,000 miles out of a car. Most I've gotten out of a new car is 190,000 and than sold it. If I can get 200,000 out of this rig I'm happy.

 

[RL Lemke]

WOW!! can you really pump out 500,000 miles out of a car. Most I've gotten out of a new car is 190,000 and than sold it. If I can get 200,000 out of this rig I'm happy.

The Subaru I am giving my 15 year old son has nearly a quarter million miles, and is still running strong. I decided to go ahead and get the 4Runner when he suggested that I get him a new car for his 16th birthday. One micro-second later I decided to get a new car for myself and give him the old one.

The old Mercedes diesel still amazes me. Half million miles and still runs like a champ. I start it up every couple months to move it to the garage for a battery charge, then back. We keep it as a buddy car for guests that visit.

The vehicles that have disapointed me have been the two Dodge minivans I have bought for my wife. They eat brake pads, tires, shocks, transmissions, etc... We won't make that mistake again. Only 175,000 miles on the first one and 130,000 miles on the second.

One might get the idea that I drive a lot. The way I see it is that there is a lot of country to see here in the US, and I am taking it all in. Both on 4 wheels and two wheels. Shortly I will be in the Ozarks every weekend working on my project there, as well as my annual motorcycle ride. Expect full reports regarding the Forest Service roads. Photos of the roads (not the trails though) I will take the 4Runner on are here: http://www.dualsportmagazine.com/2004FCT.html

Below is a photo of one of the county roads in the Ozarks.

I just received my latest shipment from Griot's Garage tonight. Now the interior of the 4Runner is getting some special attention.

BTW: I had to check out the construction project at my main project. The 4Runner did a great in the mud. The mud flaps and running board did a great job of keeping the sides of the 4Runner clean. Huge chunks kept hitting the underside of the floor, as I could feel it through my shoe. But very few bits flew up onto the top of the rig. Next I will try some of the waterlogged areas to see how it does. I always have a dozer out there to give me a nudge should I get stuck.

 

[jharris2]

The Subaru I am giving my 15 year old son has nearly a quarter million miles, and is still running strong.

Now, I thought it was against the laws of nature for a Subaru to go that long! Actually, my Dad had a 62 Econoline pickup (144 cubic inch engine, in-line 6) that went about that long before we sold it. He drove it to work every day for about 20 years, and he never drove it away without it bringing him back home. Only major repir work was a short block at about 150K miles.

I decided to go ahead and get the 4Runner when he suggested that I get him a new car for his 16th birthday. One micro-second later I decided to get a new car for myself and give him the old one.

Smart move -- that's why you're the Dad.

The vehicles that have disapointed me have been the two Dodge minivans I have bought for my wife. They eat brake pads, tires, shocks, transmissions, etc... We won't make that mistake again. Only 175,000 miles on the first one and 130,000 miles on the second.

Seriously, I'm surprised they lasted that long. I completely lost condifence in our Concorde when the infamous electronic transmission problem hit without warning at about 60K miles while my wife was out running errands. After that, no way would I trust it on a long trip.

Great picture, and enjoy the Ozarks -- they are not far from here.