tstockma

Proud new owner of my Dad's 1986 New Horizon - got it home just fine with no problems couple weeks ago, but yesterday made the mistake of turning on just the parking lights & using the turn signals. The left turn signal immediately quit working. So, despite my great admiration for Toyota (I've owned 4, earliest was a '70 Corona, so I've had early ones), I'm losing just a bit of it. Owners manual led me to the small fuses behind the driver's kick panel, no turn signal fuses listed there. I think I do see 2 flashers by that box, so I can try swapping those. I found the beefier fuses in the box by the battery. Pulled the glove box, found the heater (and probably A/C) fuse. Sigh .... that kick-panel box in particular seems quite poorly done, removing the kick panel on a dark & stormy night to find fuses seems particularly unfortunate ... None of the labels leads me to think I've found the turn signals. I tried pulling headlight fuses just in case, no luck. Are they wired into some other circuit which aren't obvious in the labeling? The truck owner's manual didn't help find these either... Any help appreciated, thanks!

I just got my dad's '86 New Horizon, porch light cover really, really bad. Turns out "Specialty Recreation" brand makes a replacement, and my porch light & handle is apparently a Barqman brand - the porch light lens part number is SR33101 - search on eBay for RV Barqman Lighted Pull Handle and you should find it.

Right on Fred! Yep I've done that plenty too. BTW Dan, 4 cylinders out of 6 firing would likely give you low power, and that one condition would turn your 2 problems into 1.

Is it possible that both #4 & #5 are out? If you pull both & nothing's different, that'd be quite revealing. Switched wires, maybe at the distributor? My first rebuild was a Toyota 8RC engine, and seemed a failure until I discovered I put the distributor cap on slightly crooked, and it ran like a champ after straightening it out. BTW 4 cylinders out of 6 firiing would likely give you low power, and that one condition would turn your 2 problems into 1. On a different note, you'd hope a long block would have full compression on each cylinder, 10 pounds difference on that #4 is "within tolerance" on a used engine but not a reman or new. Many autopart stores also will slap the diagnosis machine on all plug wires & that might reveal something. I've also heard of coincidences like a bad plug wire in a new kit, showing up exactly when someone's just done major maintenance & confusing the diagnosis - bad plug, bad wires, bad distributor parts, etc. ...if you find out & fix the issue, please do post the resolution! I always find it sad when we never find out the end of the story.

I am NOT enough of a gearhead to have much to offer, but 3 small ideas pop to mind. These might be pretty useless & others will have better input. - Determining injector function - there are cheap stethoscopes which have a solid metal rod as the "pickup", I see them in the big bins of cheap discount tools sometimes at a Napa, more frequently at an Ace hardware store. Put that rod directly against each injector (hopefully you can access them), and listen carefully - should be able to learn the "normal" clicking sound of a working injector vs anything else, especially no discernible sound would be suspicious. Expect challenges in learning which noise is from the injector vs other noises coming thru the injector from the engine. Autozone sometimes has those parts bins - any chain part store should have ability to find & order a stethoscope. Alternative - people who know how to use the engine electrical diagnostic devices possibly can hook up to all injectors or spark plug wires & the tool can tell which injectors give acceptable electric signals - and which plugs are igniting something. Find someone with old diagnostic devices leftover from the old days (if you're in Denver, I got something, but won't be home this weekend to dig it out - nor do I know how to use it). - Carefully check the distributor shaft's alignment... Having that off, by tooth or 180 degrees, can sometimes get an engine running although very poorly... I learned that on an old Toyota Corona with an 8RC engine. It's possible to get the camshaft 180 degrees out of sync with the crankshaft - I don't remember details well enough to describe, others will. - A small thing to try - assuming your engine has plain old fashioned distributor & you rotate it to change timing. when it's running albeit poorly, try manually advancing & retarding on the distributor, see what happens. If it seems to get better when advancing in particular, could be a sign that timing is messed up (which is crankshaft-to-camshaft-to-distributor relationships). Ouch, I am feeling some of your pain as I recall trial & tribulation from my past. Good luck.

I've lived in the Denver area for 35 years, that octane difference has been true that entire time. The physics of thinner air at higher altitude means less octane is needed here. If you use "regular" (87) at lower altitudes, use "regular" (85) throughout most of Colorado. As Linda noted above, try bumping to mid-range if you're experiencing pre-ignition (aka pinging). SOMETIMES (and it doesn't hold true in my '86 New Horizon) bumping to mid-grade will improve mileage enough to make it worth the higher cost - that'd be in a vehicle which isn't pinging, but still not quite getting the octane it needs for somewhat higher engine cylinder compression. That's a trial-and-error experiment if your vehicle seems to not get the mileage it should. BTW if you are at in-between altitudes, you can advance your ignition timing a few degrees & take out the knocking "by ear". I used to do that in the good old Datsun Roadster sport car here in Denver, time it completely by ear. Datsun for you young folks (under what, 50?) is what we call Nissan today - google Datsun Roadster or Datsun Fairlady for pictures.

NICE. I'll be taking a very close look at the kit on mine & hope I can ID the brand.

Thanks, I'll look for leaks instead of just replacing the bags. If it is the bags, sounds like I'll have to eyeball those & try to suss out exactly what they are.

I just bought my dad's 1986 New Horizons, quite excited about it, it's my first RV. One of his operating instructions is to use the old bicycle pump to air up the rear suspension every 4 hours while on the road. I plan to modify that instruction by fixing the problem. What's the setup in these things? (I have the Haynes manual on the way, but not yet in hand....) Is this an "Air Lift", separate from the shocks? Are these a custom fit, or a generic RV "air lift"? I have googled a bit & seen posts here in the forums, I'm beginning to think it's a generic air lift bag of some kind & not to be confused with the separate shock absorbers. I'm a Rock Auto kinda guy. Thanks for your insights here.