NachoPitt's 1999 Build/Maintenance Thread
- Thread starter NachoPitt
- Start date
BigFishAllDay
New member
Dang man! Do you know who (which guy) worked on your rig over there? It sounds like they didn't spend a whole lot of time on burping the cooling system. I should have warned you about their coolant of choice as well, but I completely spaced it. I asked them about that one time and they explained that the Prestone they use meets Toyota specs as far as chemical composition, silicate content, etc and that they use it because it's less expensive. That seems to be their common practice with fluids. Sorry you had a bad experience over there, they've always treated me right in the past.
Like the other guys said RE the higher operating temps, it probably needs to be burped again, and I'd also inquire about the rating on the t-stat if they replaced it.
Like the other guys said RE the higher operating temps, it probably needs to be burped again, and I'd also inquire about the rating on the t-stat if they replaced it.
I have never heard that they were a single use part - dang. Had I known, I would have bought new ones. I have never seen an old one fail until this one.
I am glad to know that this belt should last a long time. I am pretty sure the temps would be higher with an upside down t-stat. It seems to be running fine now.
Temps have stayed down since my last post - I will still burp it again when I am done moving early next week - just no time right now. I am keeping a close eye on them. Harlen did the service. He told me about the Prestone when I went to pick it up. The red in there now seems to be working pretty well. Otherwise I am happy with the service.
I am temped to get a new hose clamp and put it on the hose, then burp the system again. Toyota didn't use worm clamps for a reason. On my Supras, I always reused them and even in applications way beyond stock, they worked just fine.
No rubbing, even at full lock. I swapped some of the bolts for low profile screws and it works just fine.
Incremental Update
Time for a small update. I purged the air from the cooling system and that helped stabilize temperatures. It has taken me another 3k miles both around town and hunting trips.
About a month ago, I was involved in a small accident. I was sitting on the interstate at a backed up off ramp when a young girl on a cellphone swerved to miss the car in front of her and made a direct hit in the middle of my driver's rear tire and bumper. She thinks she was going about 15 mph. She popped the the tire and pushed the rear mud guard into the wheel well. We did all the insurance stuff, police showed up, etc and then I pulled out the spare and changed the tire (the cop was impressed I did it in a suit in under 5 minutes and managed to stay clean.
In the end, I needed a new tire, fixed the rest myself and saved for future mods. I had purchased warranty certificates from Discount Tire when I bought my tires. This time around, they only charged me for the balance (road force due to the FJZ80 wheels) - $50 out the door for a new Duratrac. I was very impressed on how the wheel held up.
Blown tire, axle wasn't bent and the wheel held up fine.
Can't say the same for the Infinity (Sorry for the lens flair).
Time for a small update. I purged the air from the cooling system and that helped stabilize temperatures. It has taken me another 3k miles both around town and hunting trips.
About a month ago, I was involved in a small accident. I was sitting on the interstate at a backed up off ramp when a young girl on a cellphone swerved to miss the car in front of her and made a direct hit in the middle of my driver's rear tire and bumper. She thinks she was going about 15 mph. She popped the the tire and pushed the rear mud guard into the wheel well. We did all the insurance stuff, police showed up, etc and then I pulled out the spare and changed the tire (the cop was impressed I did it in a suit in under 5 minutes and managed to stay clean.
In the end, I needed a new tire, fixed the rest myself and saved for future mods. I had purchased warranty certificates from Discount Tire when I bought my tires. This time around, they only charged me for the balance (road force due to the FJZ80 wheels) - $50 out the door for a new Duratrac. I was very impressed on how the wheel held up.
Blown tire, axle wasn't bent and the wheel held up fine.
Can't say the same for the Infinity (Sorry for the lens flair).
Another small update. I am currently pushing 212k miles and I am still constantly amazed by how smooth the 4runner runs and drives. Still not burning any oil. I am getting ready for nearly 2000 miles of driving in the next few weeks so I had the weekend to get things cleaned up for my upcoming trips.
You can see the jiggle valve at 12 (the little nub on the thermostat); it was easy enough to rotate at to 6. Temps dropped from 206 to 190 and have been steady between 190-193 ever since. I am much happier with this.
Found this purge kit at Napa. Makes bleeding the system super easy and never spills a drop of coolant. I added half a bottle of Redline Water Wetter and used fresh Zerex Asian. I replaced the worm clamp with a new Toyota clamp and a tossed in a new OEM radiator cap for good measure.
Dakota Digitial SGI-5Since installing the 285s my speedometer has been off by about 3 mph. Most people use a scanguage or GPS to keep track of their speed (or just ignore it all together). It drove me nuts. I found a Dakota Digital SGI-5 (Rev B) for cheap on ebay. It was very easy to install (Shoutout to [MENTION=60500]Urb[/MENTION]anassault for the easy guide and the super detailed instructions). I tapped the VSS from the transfercase, power from the ABS module and signal out to the cluster. I calibrated it on the fly using GPS to drive at 60 and my step-daughter sitting in the passenger footwell making adjustments to the unit. Installation and calibration was so easy I wish I would have done it earlier. Needle sweep is OEM smooth and it is spot-on accurate at all speeds.
The Dakota Digital module fits neatly in the passenger footwell where it has easy access to all of the necessary wires. After I took this pic, all the writing was cleaned up, wrapped and the unit was mounted to the top of the ABS ECU with velcro (in case of adjustment later).
I also took a few minutes to replace the worn swaybar mounts and bushings on the front swaybar. They were getting trashed and making all sorts of horrible noises when it got cold. Picked these rubber units up for cheap from Rockauto.com - They were very cheap and seem to wear the same as toyota OEM (This is my third pair). Other than the bushings being blue, they are just fine.
Cooling Issues Resolved
My weird cooling problem returned. I was seeing temps between 202-207. I thought I had fixed it with a purge but some googling suggested otherwise. I suspected that the jiggle valve in was installed in the 12 O'clock position when I had my timing belt/water pump done. I finally got some time this past weekend to pull the thermostat and sure enough the jiggle valve was at 12. I rotated it to 6, purged the system and have been enjoying temps between 190-193 (with the OEM 180 degree thermostat).You can see the jiggle valve at 12 (the little nub on the thermostat); it was easy enough to rotate at to 6. Temps dropped from 206 to 190 and have been steady between 190-193 ever since. I am much happier with this.
Found this purge kit at Napa. Makes bleeding the system super easy and never spills a drop of coolant. I added half a bottle of Redline Water Wetter and used fresh Zerex Asian. I replaced the worm clamp with a new Toyota clamp and a tossed in a new OEM radiator cap for good measure.
Dakota Digitial SGI-5
The Dakota Digital module fits neatly in the passenger footwell where it has easy access to all of the necessary wires. After I took this pic, all the writing was cleaned up, wrapped and the unit was mounted to the top of the ABS ECU with velcro (in case of adjustment later).
Front Sway Bar Bushings
I also took a few minutes to replace the worn swaybar mounts and bushings on the front swaybar. They were getting trashed and making all sorts of horrible noises when it got cold. Picked these rubber units up for cheap from Rockauto.com - They were very cheap and seem to wear the same as toyota OEM (This is my third pair). Other than the bushings being blue, they are just fine.
Thanks! Glad you have liked things so far! I installed a transcooler less than 15 minutes after owning it - I literally drove it from the POs house to my house and installed the transcooler and TBU, along with my scanguage, etc.
I just purchased a nearly mint set of seats out of a 1998 4runner and am planning a small R & R of the interior. It isn't that it is horrible now but after 214k, it is tired.
Great to catch up with you. Your truck looks great as usual - that rear bumper is perfect. The bad weather here is always like Russian roulette - the first flakes fall and every driver on the road reverts back to age 7- I always think I am about 5 seconds from having someone plow into me!
