What Did You Do To Your 3rd Gen Today?

[ToyotaBrah]

Can't stress enough how helpful Tim's videos have been for me. His videos provide the same depth and clarity as Ericthecarguy's channel.

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate and a Happy Holidays.

IMG_2459 by FaheemBB6, on Flickr

 

[fourfive]

Replacing those rear lowers I'd suggest being extra extra sure it is tightened down properly, perhaps even with locktight. When they come off it can be catastrophic. Most folks (like me) are running factory still after all these years. Never removed and little chance they'll come loose. But I have seen here on T4R the aftermath of one coming loose and it basically totalled the whole rear suspension.

I do agree that any suspension or steering part coming loose can lead to bad things but my opinion is if fsm guidelines are followed & parts are properly torqued then checked after driving a few hundred miles it wouldn’t be any more risky than rotating tires or changing other suspension parts. I’m not sure making things extra tight, as in above the recommended torque specs, would be wise due to potentially damaging parts or threads.

Any reason to proactively replace rear control arm bushings?

I see it two ways, if the goal is to keep a DD in just “good running condition” I don’t see a need if there aren’t signs of wear but if the goal is to give the suspension an overhaul to improve ride quality than I do see a benefit in replacing old bushings. Replacing one set of bushings only made a subtle difference for me but made a noticeable impact as I made my way through slowly changing out 16 year old parts. As always, maintenance priorities, budget & time should be factored in.

 

[StreetCreeper]

OK, so I see one just like mine in the same spot as mine - is that what you use for your phone mount? Or do you mean something else where the Garmin is?? Inquiring minds want to know!

Yeah same exact mount in the same exact "taint" spot. It's also where Habanero hangs her cb mic...

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[StreetCreeper]

Is that a dual band ham radio sitting on the steering column?

No that's just my ScanGauge that I mounted counter-sunk into the column, so the wire to the obd port is hidden and clean looking. Hate having wires and cords all over...

Some old pics. You can see the back a little in the last pic with the GPS mount in it.

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[2ndhandyotaman]

Between trips to different places today, I stopped by my house to grab something I took 15 minutes and programmed my used key-less transmitter that I got from fleabay. It took 2 attempts but it finally worked.

 

[habanero]

Yeah same exact mount in the same exact "taint" spot. It's also where Habanero hangs her cb mic...

Hahahaha oh no not again! :tongue1:

and cell here; low enough for the phone to barely block the vent and not in front of the air bag.

and no Mr. Creeper I do NOT want to know what you call the phone holder spot.




Okay, maybe I do, but only a little bit.

 

[jbrentd]

Loaded her up for a trip to Grandma’s house. Merry Christmas!

 

[4Runner4Leon]

Yeah same exact mount in the same exact "taint" spot. It's also where Habanero hangs her cb mic...

Awesome, good to know! Great minds!

 

[StreetCreeper]

Hahahaha oh no not again! :tongue1: ...

and no Mr. Creeper I do NOT want to know what you call the phone holder spot.




Okay, maybe I do, but only a little bit.

I'd probably get banned if I did....:ban:

 

[thecole1098]

Re painted my wiper blade arms. They needed it badly.

 

[4Runner4Leon]

Well, these stickers are now on 3 sides of my 3rd Gen to promote our channel. Another gift Sean made me is a Timmy the Toolman t-shirt and he made us business cards. When we're walking or driving and see a 3rd Gen parked (we see tons of them in the California Bay Area), we will put a business card on their windshield so they will know our channel exists. The more 3rd Gen owners we can help with our videos, the better.

Merry Christmas Fellers!

Love the stickers Tim, and love your videos! The attention to detail, the spelling out of every torque, every step, every part number, and every possible "gotcha" make the videos a joy to watch and give me comfort to know that I'll have all the info I need to do the job (even though I do occasionally double check with my FSM ).

As perhaps a small nit, I personally would not be super happy with folks leaving cards on my vehicles, but that's just me. Keep up the good work buddy!

 

[cosmk]

ha, packed mine full of surf boards today!

 

[mtbtim]

Love the stickers Tim, and love your videos! The attention to detail, the spelling out of every torque, every step, every part number, and every possible "gotcha" make the videos a joy to watch and give me comfort to know that I'll have all the info I need to do the job (even though I do occasionally double check with my FSM ).

As perhaps a small nit, I personally would not be super happy with folks leaving cards on my vehicles, but that's just me. Keep up the good work buddy!

Yeah, you make a valid insight about the cards. I could see how some people might be annoyed by this. We'll have to give this idea more thought.

 

[Longhorn425]

Re painted my wiper blade arms. They needed it badly.

Looks good man!

 

[FiXXXerX]

Plastidipped the stock wheels that were HAGGARD. I also took that time to add on some 1.25" spacers. It sits and looks exactly how I wanted, there was some rubbing, but nothing a little cutting and filing couldn't fix

 

[4Runner4Leon]

Yeah same exact mount in the same exact "taint" spot. It's also where Habanero hangs her cb mic...

OK, I see where we differ. You mounted yours solidly to the plastic part of the dash (right side); I wanted to do that too, but found that then I could not tilt the phone up high enough to point at my face, so I had to nudge the mount forward a bit to allow the tilt, even though I realized that a part of the mount will not be attached to anything solid (left side).




As expected, my mount is wimpier and allows the phone to wiggle too much. Time for the updated bracket design!

 

[4Runner4Leon]

Getting closer to prime time!

 

[StreetCreeper]

Getting closer to prime time!

That looks pretty solid. I assume you will use some type of adhesive pad to bond it to the dash?

If you want something completely solid, you might be able to pull the center bezel back and locate a mounting point (bolt/screw hole or whatever) and possibly make a mount that attaches to that – then bends around the bezel (probably need to shave an 8th off the back of the bezel right where the mount is so it will close over the bracket cleanly.

Similar to the way Hab has hers set up in the pic below – but on the side you want and attached behind the bezel.

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I would do this myself but I'm way too lazy. But looks like you know how to design things of this nature so shouldn't be anything for you and might provide you with a very solid mount with plenty of flexibility in terms of viewing angles. Would also leave a smaller footprint on your dash.

You could even run a power cord for your phone through the back similar to how I ran my GPS in the pics below. It makes for a clean install without cords running all over.

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Or better yet, if you can do wireless charging with you phone, you could make the bracket and then mount a wireless magnetic charger and run the power cord through the bezel. Then you just slap your phone up there and not screw with any charging cables at all.

Just a thought though. Your design looks really solid as well with two attachment points!

 

[jbrentd]

This one I got for Christmas is pretty solid. Installed it today. I still need to hide the chord though.

 

[Son-Uva-Driller]

My Savage Offroad swingout showed up just before Christmas. Now to get it powdercoated before the end of the year so i can imstall it.