I'm Jeff. I live in Richmond, TX, just south of Katy.
My last car was a 1998 4Runner that I got up to 212,000 miles before T-boning a guy who ran a read light and totaling it. With my pregnant wife in the car. Everybody's fine, thankfully.
My new car is a 1999 4Runner, SR5, 2WD auto V6. White. With a front bumper guard. And much improved cup holders. I got it with 171K miles for $3200 off craigslist (within an hour of the ad being posted), as is. The first owner (I bought the car from the second owner) had let the car overheat when a hose came disconnected from the radiator. Knowing this, I took it to the local shop to get it inspected and checked out, and $1000 later, I have a state inspection, a repaired leaky valve gasket, and a new set of shocks all around.
I also have a P0441 code that likes to pop up every 5 days or so, which causes me to sigh, grumble, and clear with my ODBII reader. I believe my VSV for EVAP to be stuck open. At least, I can blow in one pipe with the car stopped and air comes right out the other pipe. So I'm searching for a charcoal canister/VSV assembly. Hoping not to shell out the $318 the stealership wants for the part, and hoping to change 'em out myself.
I've also noticed that I'm getting just under 18mpg, which is lower than my '98 got (19-22). I suspect the O2 sensor, which I had replaced on my '98 when the CEL/MIL came on. This one's not throwing an error code (yet) to tell me for sure, but my '98's mileage got pretty bad before I replaced the O2 sensor on that. Hope I'm on the right track here; it could be anything.
I also notice a little shaking when I get her up to 65 mph. I'm hoping a tire balance, rotation, and alignment will fix the problem. Also probably need to do an oil change. Not sure if I'll do high mileage, regular oil, or synthetic.
I'm also planning to install a Yakima kayak rack to carry my fishin' 'yak. I had it on my '98, and I'd taken off the factory rack on it. After looking at it, though, I think I had enough clearance to leave the factory rack on as well. I may try keeping both installed on this one. If anybody's interested in how that works out, I'd be happy to post pics with the boat on, once it's all done. Assuming it works, of course...
Thanks to all of you. This site has provided me with a wealth of information, as well as enough confidence to try doing some things on my own. I'm not much of a shadetree mechanic, but with the Internets behind me, I feel like there are some things I can tackle.
Thanks!
-j
My last car was a 1998 4Runner that I got up to 212,000 miles before T-boning a guy who ran a read light and totaling it. With my pregnant wife in the car. Everybody's fine, thankfully.
My new car is a 1999 4Runner, SR5, 2WD auto V6. White. With a front bumper guard. And much improved cup holders. I got it with 171K miles for $3200 off craigslist (within an hour of the ad being posted), as is. The first owner (I bought the car from the second owner) had let the car overheat when a hose came disconnected from the radiator. Knowing this, I took it to the local shop to get it inspected and checked out, and $1000 later, I have a state inspection, a repaired leaky valve gasket, and a new set of shocks all around.
I also have a P0441 code that likes to pop up every 5 days or so, which causes me to sigh, grumble, and clear with my ODBII reader. I believe my VSV for EVAP to be stuck open. At least, I can blow in one pipe with the car stopped and air comes right out the other pipe. So I'm searching for a charcoal canister/VSV assembly. Hoping not to shell out the $318 the stealership wants for the part, and hoping to change 'em out myself.
I've also noticed that I'm getting just under 18mpg, which is lower than my '98 got (19-22). I suspect the O2 sensor, which I had replaced on my '98 when the CEL/MIL came on. This one's not throwing an error code (yet) to tell me for sure, but my '98's mileage got pretty bad before I replaced the O2 sensor on that. Hope I'm on the right track here; it could be anything.
I also notice a little shaking when I get her up to 65 mph. I'm hoping a tire balance, rotation, and alignment will fix the problem. Also probably need to do an oil change. Not sure if I'll do high mileage, regular oil, or synthetic.
I'm also planning to install a Yakima kayak rack to carry my fishin' 'yak. I had it on my '98, and I'd taken off the factory rack on it. After looking at it, though, I think I had enough clearance to leave the factory rack on as well. I may try keeping both installed on this one. If anybody's interested in how that works out, I'd be happy to post pics with the boat on, once it's all done. Assuming it works, of course...
Thanks to all of you. This site has provided me with a wealth of information, as well as enough confidence to try doing some things on my own. I'm not much of a shadetree mechanic, but with the Internets behind me, I feel like there are some things I can tackle.
Thanks!
-j
