I've been using the Valvoline Maxlife without much thought too. The Zerex Asian coolant I used last time I'm not sure about... it's starting to leave some pink crusty stuff I never got with the Toyota coolant. Although I always used the old Toyota red in the 5VZ not the pink super long life (which is supposedly compatible?) which this Zerex stuff approximates.
What Did You Do To Your 3rd Gen Today?
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I've been using the Valvoline Maxlife without much thought too. The Zerex Asian coolant I used last time I'm not sure about... it's starting to leave some pink crusty stuff I never got with the Toyota coolant. Although I always used the old Toyota red in the 5VZ not the pink super long life (which is supposedly compatible?) which this Zerex stuff approximates.
I was just about to ask about this. It occurred to me I could just swap the foam over from the passenger seat. It's only the upright foam I need, it's been wrecking my back.
octanejunkie
Elite Member
Didn't do/get this today but it's my new favorite rock star of a tool and it lives in my 4runner:
K I M O. 20V Cordless Impact Wrench 1/2 inch, Brushless High Torque Impact Wrench Kit 250 Ft-lb 3000 RPM, Li-ion Battery Fast Charger 7 Sockets 3 Extension Bars
Small enough to fight in tight places, powerful enough to break any torqued fastener on my truck. I love this little guy.
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K I M O. 20V Cordless Impact Wrench 1/2 inch, Brushless High Torque Impact Wrench Kit 250 Ft-lb 3000 RPM, Li-ion Battery Fast Charger 7 Sockets 3 Extension Bars
Small enough to fight in tight places, powerful enough to break any torqued fastener on my truck. I love this little guy.
Sorry! Something went wrong!
I am not affiliated with nor compensated for this post in any way, just sharing
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They blend that oil right here in Omaha. I've been using it too because the price is so good and I have a quasi-religious faith in the Kirkland brand. From what I've read the oil analysis is almost identical to Walmart SuperTech synthetic, which I would typically avoid but I do regular oil changes and trust Costco did some sort of due diligence in oil blend research. I use it in the 5th gen too.
Swapping foams would be the safer route. I've been trying to figure out the exact difference, but haven't found anyone that knows exactly besides the usual "The bolsters are different". I have an extra set of cloth seats that I bought to swap into my Limited, but I think I'll swap the passenger seat foam from that set with my current driver seat since I sold my Limited.
JBurt
Senior Member
I just replaced the foam from a donor drivers seat. The only think I can think of would be a hole for the lumbar support, but you could always cut one. There's pictures of the foam in my build thread. You'll also need some hog ring pliers and some hog rings. It's not a bad job at all.
jefferson95
New member
Costco's Oil has been dependable and problem-free for me for as long as I've been doing oil changes.
JoeT4R
Senior Member
So here’s an email I received from Blackstone pertaining to my question about any data they have on the use of Costco oil. Here it goes:
Joe,
Good question.
As you may guess, Costco isn't in the business of making oil. Much like other Kirkland products, they probably use another existing manufacturer and rebrand their product as Kirkland to sell to their customers at a lower price. Honestly, this is true of most store brand oils on the market. In testing, the oil is very similar to most other oils we test, so feel free to make the switch for your 4Runner.
Brands/formulas use different additive packages, so Pennzoil Ultra Platinum looks different from Valvoline, for example, but different additive packages alone doesn't make one oil better than another, and neither does more (or less) additive. In our experience, the amount of metal we find is often related to the way the engine is used and how internal parts are working together. Hard use will result in excess wear, and so will internal problems (obviously). We don't see a change in wear based on the oil type alone, so feel free to experiment.
I use Super Tech (Wal Mart) oil in my Tundra TRD Pro and my wife's 4Runner and it does a good job, so I won't be surprised if Kirkland oil works well in your 4Runner. In my personal experience, I have noticed some oils may make the engine quieter or consume more/less oil, so you may notice differences on our end based on the oil type that may help you make your decision, but I wouldn't expect big changes in wear levels in analysis.
Thanks for contacting Blackstone!
Samir Kharbas
Blackstone Laboratories
Brian.
Member
Ahhh... if only Blackstone existed 30 years ago during the major oil flamewars of the internet. To have a simple "brand/type alone doesn't matter" from a trusted source would have been invaluable in shutting down that decade-long irritation.
Thanks for thinking about sending them an email to ask. I never would have thought about it, despite using their testing on occasion.
Interesting and good to read. Also interesting (and not too surprising) the guy at Blackstone owns Toyota trucks if I read that correctly haha.
Whenever I catch myself getting too neurotic or snobby about this kind of stuff I stop and visualize all the 5vz that are still rocking in remote African villages with whatever cheap oil they probably put in them. I watched a video the other day of professional mechanics in rural Pakistan doing the most ghetto engine rebuild on a diesel engine you could possibly imagine. You know outdoors in the dirt wearing flipflops with some very inventive repurposing of various tools and things. It was pretty cool and apparantly works out ok for them.
One thing I dont like on those Kirkland oil jugs is they have foil seals and having fragments possible fall in the oil.
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Brian.
Member
I've poured a ton of those into various engines over the years. It's both soft enough that it doesn't really do any damage and can clear oil passages, and yet firm enough to not Completely break down and stay suspended in the oil. I have well over a half million milled between 2 vehicles that I know, for sure, had foil from oil jugs poured into them several times. Don't sweat it.
The hours I have wasted meticulously picking those seals off... good to know. Can I still at least worry about the foil on the Techron fuel cleaner bottles?
octanejunkie
Elite Member
Is this a real concern for anybody?
Does someone need to create a post of how to open a foil seal without getting shit falling into your engine?
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It's a joke man. I have had foil go on the funnel after stabbing it open in a hurry with my overly sharp benchmade i carry. Didnt go in the engine but I've wondered if it would clog something or get smashed up.
They are annoying just let me hate them. Dont even want them on vitamin bottles.
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octanejunkie
Elite Member
Dang, I bet you go off on that cotton they put in the vitamin jars too, like will you eventually shit it out if you swallow it by accident or will you need surgery?
Thanks for the laugh [emoji23]
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Do not get me started on the cotton ball thing. Or Costco's heavy duty foil milk jug seals. Or my thoughts on microplastics. You may have just uncovered a legit deep phobia I didn't realize I had :Cry:
Just returned home from a 500 mile road trip around the Olympic Peninsula in WA state! The runner performed great! Mostly highway, a little sand and some FS roads. We hit Ocean Shores, Forks, the Dungeness Spit, Lake Quinault, Lake Cresent and Port Townsend. Averaged about 19-20 mpg for the trip. About a tank and a half of gas. Love using this truck/car/suv for what it's meant for which is UTILITY! We slept in it two nights, had the seat bottoms out so had plenty of room to stretch out. Also hit 250k miles which was big for me! Owned the truck for 4 1/2 years, got it at 219k. Love this vehicle even more after a great trip!
Also replaced my battery right before we left last week. Woke up one morning and car was dead as dead can be. Battery registered 4.6 volts. Crazy low. I got a jump (I'm surprised it even held a charge to be honest) and went to get it tested at auto zone. They said it was bad so I drove up to walmart where i bought it. This is the second time i replaced this battery. It died in 2020 and got a replacement for free, now it died two years later. They gave me another free one even though they have a 90 day return policy for batteries!?!? Kind of ridiculous since the batter has a sticker that says 3 year warranty but apparently thats through the "manufacturer".
Also replaced my battery right before we left last week. Woke up one morning and car was dead as dead can be. Battery registered 4.6 volts. Crazy low. I got a jump (I'm surprised it even held a charge to be honest) and went to get it tested at auto zone. They said it was bad so I drove up to walmart where i bought it. This is the second time i replaced this battery. It died in 2020 and got a replacement for free, now it died two years later. They gave me another free one even though they have a 90 day return policy for batteries!?!? Kind of ridiculous since the batter has a sticker that says 3 year warranty but apparently thats through the "manufacturer".
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Alright guys, i made a comment a few weeks ago with soft brakes. Thought I fixed it but just drove another 3rd gen and my brakes are nothing like them. Brakes are still insanely soft. I believe my ABS pump has air in it. Driving my buddies I notice their ABS pump makes a buzz noise on startup, mine doesn't. Pulled ABS codes and got nothing. Cant get the ABS to activate on dirt roads either. Totally lost now. I have adjusted the rear drums, installed a bench bled master cylinder, have gone through an entire bottle and a half of brake fluid and still have a soft pedal. Any help would be super appreciated. Mine is a 1999 Limited, buddies was a 1997 Limited.
Toyota Techstream can activate the ABS pump. The Toyota dealership will have Toyota Techstream, or you can buy a pirated copy from China and install it on a laptop with a cd drive and usb drive and do it yourself.
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