Toyotie – Maintenance & More

New muffler extension and replacement mud flap

Maintenance & repairs are no fun, compared to new additions. But if you want your vehicle to keep working properly, they’ve got to be done. Obviously. With a trip coming up and with things that needed to get done, it was a good time for me to bite the bullet and have several things addressed.

There were several things I was aware of that were due, and a few issues that had come up. The recently broken exhaust was an obvious one, and my starter had intermittently stopped responding on the first try or three. There were a couple of leaks from the engine bay that I had been monitoring, and several other items of maintenance that should be done while Toyotie was in the shop(s).

Here’s the full list of what was done:

1. Oil change.
2. Coolant flush & change.
3. Power steering fluid flush & change.
4. Brake fluid flush & change.
5. Tires rotated & balanced.
6. Rear brake pads replaced & rotors resurfaced.
7. E-brake adjusted.
8. Starter rebuilt, contacts replaced.
9. Engine valve cover gasket replaced.
10. Spark plugs, wires, distributor cap, and rotor replaced.
11. Power steering pump replaced.
12. Exhaust repaired & custom extension added.
13. Right-rear mudflap replaced.
14. General inspection.

That’s a lot of stuff, and my wallet was none too happy about it. But it’s a very good feeling to know that everything on the vehicle is sorted and in good working order.

The situation with the exhaust was pretty funny. Besides the exhaust tube being broken at the front of the muffler at Hollister, the two small bolts for the factory exhaust hanger had broken and been worn smooth. Also, to accommodate the 4×4 Labs rear bumper, the exhaust had been cut back. As a result, the hot exhaust gasses had shot out right at the right-rear mudflap and burned a hole right through it! Having the missing length added back but routed around the bumper and the auxiliary fuel tank corrected that problem. The broken pipe at the muffler was welded and the hanger was also fixed.

I’ve also got the Engel MT45 freezer/fridge mounted on the slider in the back of the Land Cruiser now. The hardwire plug just arrived from Sierra Expeditions so I will try to get that wired over the weekend if I can. I have a dual lighter/power plug I might install as well while I am at it, depending on how much work there is to get access behind the passenger side panel in the back.

I’ve picked up several other items in preparation for the trip to Overland Expo 2012 as well. Those items include a Trasharoo bag; a PETT portable toilet and PUP tent; a pair of lightweight wheel chocks; a Manchester 5lb. propane tank and carrier; and some other small items I am surely forgetting.

5lb propane tank and carrier, just installed.