mini-wini-dan

Thanks for the info

So it will be my priority to run efficiently and use the recommended setting. Which is .30 or .32? Thanks for all of the info about the electrical system. Now one more question NGK or Bosch or ?

I see .30-.32 in one reference and have commonly used .35 on other engines. Any comments on this for best performance? Any reference on where to get a shop manual for an 86 truck? My owners manual is mostly covering the camper specs.

Thanks Brian, I will flush and use the red antifreeze and I noticed today the temperatures in the southwest are as high as 117 degrees. We will be there in about a month.

Thanks Fred for your info and I will look into such an option.

I just inquired about back-flushing my cooling system and my mechanic discouraged this if it is not showing signs of overheating. He feels the age of the cooling system may have weak areas that will be degraded by this process. Anyone had experience with this era toyota cooling system back flushing. This vehicle always runs under the half way mark on the gauge. Maybe I should well enough alone but I am heading for the southwest in August which will be hot.

Sounds like a good plan and my gas mileage will improve. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Yes, I stand corrected when I returned to look at the inscriptions on the tires; my tires are Cooper-Discoverer on the front- load range C 8-ply 50 psi and weight limits are inscribed on the tires The rear duals are Cooper SRM II -load range D and weight limits and 65 psi inscribed on tires.

Hi Just doing some adjustments before I put my winnie on the road soon. When checking tires pressure I noticed the front tires were at 45 psi and the rear where 60 psi. It is inscribed right on the tires the maximum weight and psi is 50 on the front and 60 on the 4 rear tires. Any recommendations on tire pressure?

Hi, It is interesting to hear about your experiences and the head wind in Wyoming? That one is news to me but now I'll be alert to this. I thank you all for sharing experiences and info with me. It was interesting to hear about overloading your toyhomes. I just weighed mine on a scale the other day and it weighed in at 5200 ;bs. and mine is supposed to be 5500 gvw. Mind you we have not even loaded it for our trip but I did fill up the water system so I could purge out the rv antifreeze. The water weighs 8.4 lbs per gallon so maybe we should dump the water while driving. At least until we go through Wyoming lol.

How many miles on this trip. Just curious about your oil consumption rate. The gas mileage was great. Thanks for sharing. I just posted my "California of Bust" post and will be doing about 6000 round trip from pa.

Thanks Linda and John, I found the list of mechanics on the link and I will be trying to dodge Chicago's rush hour.

Hi folks, I am leaving from NEPA (NE Pennsylvania) on soon and my main destination is San Fransisco to see my son and his family which includes our new grand-daughter!! We are excited and hoping our 87 mini wini is ready for the task. I do have some really good mechanics who have been helping me out and I have fixed a few things myself. I have tools and know enough to deal with minor issues that could come up, however, I am more concerned with possible major repair items and where I might be when and if they happen. I have owned this vehicle for about one year and have put a couple thousand miles on it. Mostly driving it to outer banks where our daughter's family lives (more grand-kids too). It has been very reliable even though I have noted some issues in previous posts. Thanks to some advice and shared info on this forum I have made corrections- thanks again! So just for the sake of info sharing I have some good mechanics who are honest and reasonable that may not mind if I share their contact info with others on this forum. I will check first and if ok I'll post their ph#'s for possible reference. I am sure the same applies throughout the country where many of you live so I am suggesting a list of good contacts or mechanical help for each of us to benefit from. Right now I know I will be going through northern Ohio, northern Indiana, Southern Wisconsin, etc on i-80 and then i-90 in South Dakota, then back on i-80 through Wyoming, Utah and Nevada to SF. Coming back through California south towards Bakersfield then over to Grand Canyon and East on 40 back to the midwest in MO. Then rt 70 East back to PA. I have AAA premium for RV with up to 200 miles free towing and if needed it would be great to have a directory of good mechanics on the path just in case. Any ideas of something like this already available.

On 2 occasions just after shutting engine down on the road when attempting to restart I just here a click click for a couple of attempts then after about 3 attempts it starts. When cold the vehicle starts easily every time.

I guess I may need to take things apart up on the roof area to caulk around the area where the ac unit penetrates the roof. Any suggestions concerning this problem?

I am looking to put a new mattress in the sleeping area above the cab area in my 86 mini wini. Any suggestions on where to get a good mattress for this spot?

Thanks-I put in about 3 qts. and got a good reading

Greetings, I just changed the fluid in my 4 speed automatic transmission in my 22rec fi in an 86 toyota mini-wini. What I have heard is to check while the engine is running with the shift in park. I have also heard that refill takes 3-5 quarts. Anyone had experience with this?

Unfortunately there is no access from above. The tank must be dropped to see what is wrong.

Yes I see you are right and I have pasted the comment posted on this forum a while back about the use of rotella I have just added 2 qts recently and what oil would you recommend? fA comprression and leak down test will show if you have engine problems. One thing you might try is seafoam in your oil as it can clean and free sticking compression and oil control rings. Some brands of oil seem to run through cars I have had in the past like sh*t through a goose. If its hot in your area I recommend trying Shell Rotella triple protection 15-40 which is a diesel engine oil. It will also help clean out your engine if it has gunk etc. This oil has alot more detergents because of all the soot in diesels. On a Saturn of mine which are famous for burning oil because of a bad piston design I put seafoam in each cylender overnight and let it soak. I then cranked over the engine with the spark plugs out to blow out any left over. I also added seafoam to the engine oil and drove around a day. Put in the above mentioned oil and oil consumption has gone wayyy down. These things are inexpensive and just might help you out. Good luck!! Like This Quote MultiQuote

Are you saying 15/40 rotella is a diesel oil? An older gentleman WW2 vet sold Toyotas to me for several years. He was a good mechanic as well aand worked on the cars he sold. Unfortunately he has passed on. He swore on using a 15/40 oil in all of his Toyota engines. I also heard from people on this forum about shell rotella and my mechanic suggested the lucas additive. Neither of these changes have made any difference difference concerning the loss of oil..

The timing cover was changed and there is no oil leaks noted around that area. It is dry as a bone down there. The leak appears to be around the power steering pump area.

No it is not the alternator I see that on the other side. This part has a couple of fluid carrying lines going through it.

I have only driven this vehicle once since my last trip 600 miles to outer banks area. I crawled under it today and did see signs of oil running down the side (driver's side) of the engine. Looking under the hood I did notice a bit of oil collected around a gizmo located just below the distributor. This device is running off the fan belt which means it has a pulley operating it. I thought it might be the power steering pump but did not see any access opening to add power steering fluid. I am sure my mechanic can tell me what this part is doing and maybe it is the source of my oil leak. IF it is the power steering pump then it is not the source of an oil leak and it is just the source of a power steering fluid leak? right? Earlier I did say that I have seen oil on the under carriage area and my mechanic found a cracked/broken timing chain housing where we suspected it as the source of the leak. Neither he nor I noticed this leak seen from the top area until I looked today. Does anyone know what this pulley-operated gizmo is?

Recently discovered that If I put more than 6 gallons in my Tacoma I have a leak running down the side of the tank. It is hard to see where it is coming from and I know that I will need to remove the tank to see what is happening. Anyone had this problem on a 2002 Tacoma? Dealer service tech suspects fuel pump bracket?