Buyer's Remorse

D

ddach

New member
Okay, just bought a 2000 4Runner Limited a couple days ago, I'm having the following issues, looking for your thoughts & opinions:

-When I put the petal to the floor while going uphill @ 60+mph, and it kicks into passing gear, there is a loud vibration until I let off the gas and it goes back out of pg. Also, when I did this with the rear window open, I noticed a sulfur-like smell, but no smoke. Any ideas?

-First time I filled it up, the gauge showed a little below 1/4 tank, it only took 9 gallons to fill it up (18 gal tank). After filling it up, the guage drops VERY quickly from full to 3/4, then seems to drop at a more realistic rate. Also, even when topped off, the guage will only go to just barely touch the bottom edge of the thick white full line. If I'm looking @ getting the sending unit replaced in the tank, anyone have any idea as to the cost to have that done?

-Okay, here's my dumbest question: does dry ice really work to remove small minor non-creased dents like minor dings or minor hail dents?


Thanks!
 
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Fuel gauge issue common on all 4 Runners reset your trip meter and use that to judge fuel left. A little research and you would have known ahead of time.

I know the sulfur smell was more an issue with the 4th Gens. I can't remember if it is catalytic converter issue(clogged) or an O2 sensor issue.

The shudder I am not sure of but suggest checking the fluid level and color.
 
Pikeman said:
Fuel gauge issue common on all 4 Runners reset your trip meter and use that to judge fuel left. A little research and you would have known ahead of time.

I know the sulfur smell was more an issue with the 4th Gens. I can't remember if it is catalytic converter issue(clogged) or an O2 sensor issue.

The shudder I am not sure of but suggest checking the fluid level and color.
Click to expand...



For the dent. YES, but it must be done almost immediately after. Metal has a memory, and if you dent your car in a place where the metal is stressed in such a way to help develop memory (think the slight curve of a body panel)... cold/heat cycles cause the metal to constrict and expand and can be used to help the metal bounce back. It is some miracle cure and it usually needs to be done pretty soon after. Once the dent is there for a bit, it is there.
 
ddach said:
Okay, just bought a 2000 4Runner Limited a couple days ago, I'm having the following issues, looking for your thoughts & opinions:

-When I put the petal to the floor while going uphill @ 60+mph, and it kicks into passing gear, there is a loud vibration until I let off the gas and it goes back out of pg. Also, when I did this with the rear window open, I noticed a sulfur-like smell, but no smoke. Any ideas?



-First time I filled it up, the gauge showed a little below 1/4 tank, it only took 9 gallons to fill it up (18 gal tank). After filling it up, the guage drops VERY quickly from full to 3/4, then seems to drop at a more realistic rate. Also, even when topped off, the guage will only go to just barely touch the bottom edge of the thick white full line. If I'm looking @ getting the sending unit replaced in the tank, anyone have any idea as to the cost to have that done?

-Okay, here's my dumbest question: does dry ice really work to remove small minor non-creased dents like minor dings or minor hail dents?


Thanks!
Click to expand...

ok i'll take a stab

-what is passing gear? sounds like bad shifts which is a problem but can also be that your drive line needs to be greased, which is simple and cheap.
the smell of sulfur? sounds like the devils chasing ya....

- do a search on the forum for gas tank calibration and fix, this is a very common issue on these trucks and gets brought up ever 3-4 days......

- yes and no, metal does have a memory and will pop back into place but it really depends on the dent it's self it will not work if thre is any sort of crease but will work nicely on shallow round hail type dents, that said don't expect it to be dome miracle either, it's hit and miss and even when it hits it's not going to be a 100%, if your going to do this get a heat gun or something of the sort and heat the surface up really well before applying the dry ice.....personally i'd just fix it right, if this was some $300 vw bus i was rallying around i'd say go for it and buy 20 lbs of the stuff and have fun but there is a potential to damage the paint and make the dents look worse buy not pulling them out all of the way.....
 
If the cat's bad or partially plugged, could that cause the vibration? If I gut the cat, how will that effect mpg?
 
theizzardking said:
what is passing gear? sounds like bad shifts which is a problem but can also be that your drive line needs to be greased, which is simple and cheap.
Click to expand...

I think he means when the torque converter locks up and gives you that extra 3 or 400 rpms when you push the gas pedal down a little bit (before you push it enough to do a full downshift). I agree that it could just be a dry driveshaft and/or a bad u-joint. Check the tranny fluid level and condition like Pikeman suggested also.

Yeah, the gas gauge problem is pretty common. Mine won't read totally full ever since I changed out my rear coils and my truck got a little more rake. I get ~40% more miles out of my last "1/2 tank" than the 1st "1/2" (according to my fuel gauge). I never bothered to fix it, I just go by tripmeter and my fuel light (which usually starts flickering at 14 gallons used).

I don't know anything about dry ice and taking dents out but it sounds cool!
 
You guys that gutted your catalytic converter, what exactly did you do? Mine is still good for now but I'd rather gut it than replace it later.
 
Think I found the issue...

Okay, so I haven't driven it since I brought it home. Today I'm looking under the hood, and I notice that EVERY blade on the fan is broken. Taking a closer look, I see a piece of a belt laying in the bottom of the engine bay, looking even closer @ the belts, I find that the ac compressor belt split and lost a piece the whole way around, so it's now narrower than it should be. My guess is, when I put the pedal to the floor, the belt split, and the part that came off hit the fan, braking the blades. That would probably explain the vibration at higher RPMs too.

So, looks like I'm replacing the ac belt, and I'll do the alternator and fan belts too, when I replace the fan. Any of you had any experience with this belt tension gauge ??? Is there another way to measure the tension without spending tons of $$$ on an expensive gauge?
 
Since I'm replacing my fan anyway, would there be any advantage/disadvantage to replacing it with an electric fan?
 
Wow. what the heck happened under that hood? Sounds like a bomb went off in there or something..

But yes, electric fans are nice becuase they remove the load of the fan from the engine. Results in more power and efficiency. Downside is the cost, but if you have to replace the fan anyway, might be wise to spend the little extra and go electric.

Granted, my knowledge of the electric fans are limited. It is something I would like to do though.
 
But then you loose the cool fan noise when you start it up and it sounds like theres a jet engine under the hood!
 
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