chefdave

Found a seal over the drivers door where side meets bottom of over cab area had split. so been out in rain lull to reseal. wind has started to pick up and moved toy to front of house to break worst of wind. estimated wind speed 50+mph now with worse to come in next 48 hours. very early for a winter storm. ummmmmm maybe i should move south and not 200miles south of artic circle !!!!!!!!!. Plus in summer 22 hours of daylight to renovate toy :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)

Hi thought my toy was sealed dry. went out in it on friday and hear and saw water pouring through centre light fitting. It has never leaked through there before. as friday was dry and weekend forecast was for 80mph winds and over 2" of rain i went and bought a tin of flexable roof sealer. went over all joints and patches. so far seems to be working roof looks odd now. in spring hope to repaint roof with a solar paint to help keep toy cooler.

Nice dream :-)

Hopefully got overcab sealed before october storms arrive. will have to finish off inside next spring as 60+mph winds and chill factor of -10c or lower wont help for internal sealing and painting

Hi in uk we have many companies that deal with insulation. best type i have come across is a foil bubble wrap style. comes in a double layer and is equivalent to 65cm of polystyrene. benefits easy to cut and fit also acts as a moisture membrane. not sure on trade name but going to give it a try in my newly rebuilt over cab.

Hi update on fuel consumption. now getting 16 english mpg. Have done full service sorted cooling system also removed the air intake silencer. drives better over the roads im using. roads are a classed but are full of creasts and going from sea level to 400m above sea level several times in 20 miles. think this is reasonable but like everyone else would prefer more mpg. hope this figure would improve when we get to go away in it and use flatter roads.

Hi am seaching for new trim to replace my old trim. after 24 years and bodged waterproofing it is very bent and screw holes are oblong!!!!!!! As im in uk they no longer stock this type of trim. nearest i can find is figure of 8 awning beading.then cost of. shipping to highlands of scotland is frighting. any ideas for substituion or who will ship without silly prices. been quoted £150 for one awning rail costing £26 as it is large and heavy !!!!!!!!!!! Have also had to replace 90% of wood in over cab section hoovered up most of it. ummmmmmm very bad case of rot. have used 2x1 roof battens as cheap and pressure treated with waterproofing agent.

Flushed radiator and engine block again. removed wood floor over cab ready for rebuild. very surprised at the basic construction. my fence that i built was better constructed. have a mate who is a whizz with wood. After this is sorting back wood panels. Any tips on how to remove fibreglass skin with minimium damage.

Hi need to find a flushing agent to help clean out cooling system. tried flushing block and rad with hose pipe twice now. overflow bottle still filling up with brown gunk. on positive side temperture is more stable and heater is extremely good. Thanks dave

Does anyone have a deffant answer that thermostat should be fitted with spring side in block. internet has not given me an answer on 3vze engine. Thanks dave

Hi new thermostat has jiggle pin. i put jiggle pin in 12 o'clock position. after closer in spection after cleaning old thermostat the jiggle pin was jammed also looks very new. before removal of old thermostat jiggle pin was at 3 o'clock. checking water level today no sludge in overflow bottle. oil level has not increased so hopefully no head gasket probs fingers crossed.

Hi in reply to wme fingers crossed its not head gasket. when i check overflow bottle there is still brown sludge being depoisted in it. every time i check water i remove and clean overflow bottle. on my next days off going to re flush engine and rad. when i fill it water im going to put front end up on wheel ramps to see if this speeds up air removal.

Hi montana i did put rubber seal around thermostat. when i went to check water overflow bottle level was very low. Tonight after a run i parked up st home and 5 mins later could hear air bubbling into overflow bottle. Heater works very well. also think i have a blockage in cooling system dispite flushing out rad and block. any advice on what to use as a flushing agent to help clear blockage. Thanks dave

Hi spring side of thermostat goes towards engine block ????? Thanks dave

Hi had to replace thermostat in my v6 dolphin. took hoses of and flushed engine and rad. what a load of brown sludge came out. on removal of old thermostat it was fitted with jiggle 90 degrees from top. also thermostat opening for letting water through was in centre not off centre like new one. refilled cooling system could not get it hot even with rad blanked off. went for test drive still no reading on temp gauge. then rain and fog set in. thought have a look in morning and over flow bottle was drained of water. so filled it again and topped up rad. what i would like to know does this mean system is bled or do i have a bigger prob. dont really want to drive it until i know if ok or needs a mechanic. Thanks dave

Ps fuel consumption has improved by 1-2 mpg. Reason i think is that it stays in overdrive more.

Hi have upped power (torque) on my v6 by following a posting on youtech. you basically alter air inlet from air to inlet manifold. also remove all aor silrncer boxes. was impressed by increase. no numbers unfortuntely but seat of pants and a hill to test on. found that mh stayed in overdrive with only 1 drop in gears near the top. before overdrive would not pull mh up hill.

Hi have you tried putting in a more direct air feed from air box to inlet manifold and removing air box silencers and baffles on yota website mod has been done on v6's with good boost in low down torque. have just tried this on my v6 dolphin and can feel difference.

Hi can someone direct me to a link on replacing thermostat on v6. Also anything to watch out for. will flush system out and replace anti freeze with toyota red fluid unless there is a better anti freeze to use. thanks dave

Hi conti's where the best rated and a very good price here in europe. they were my first choice

Hi update on mot test. its a test for mechical and body work. 77 different tests carried out. it passed first time mot tester is very impressed with it. says hes seen 3 year old cars in far worse states. my emissions are co 0.071% (pass limit under 3.5%) hc 40ppm (pass limit under 1200pm) These emissions are incredlily low, a lot of new cars would struggle to get that low. Since tracking altered am up approx 4mpg. upto 17-18 uk mpg. Full service still to go and sort correct tyres. in europe now they have ratings for tyres. the listed 3 ratings are for fuel econ, wet weather and noise all done under a - g rating a is best g is worst. have found one tyre that fits toy with a c rating in all three. 98% of tyres suitable are e - f rating in all three. prices vary by £30 a tyre and most expensive is one of the worst !!!!!! Thats a globally known highly rated tyre ????? As they say pays your money and takes your choice.

Sorry pushed wrong button. Early cats in usa where known for strangling engines. will check o2 sensor. when im doing oil change i will use a 5-40 oil as temperature in my part of the world rarly get upto 20c.

Hi my dolphin v6 is a calfornia import. bought after it had been put into storage. having mot on wed where emissons are checked. this will give me an indcation on state of engine. aldo thinking of getting rid of cat and replacing with a silencer. Cat is not a legal requirement on my age of vehicle in uk. i know early cays in usa

Hi jdemaris he was going to do four wheel alinement but duellers put paided to that. Drivers side wheel had unsual wear. no unusal wear found on back wheels. toy is now driving well. found straight bit of road let steering go loose in my hands and now drives straight and well. now runs on a lighter throttle opening at 50mph and feels to have a power increase. ???!!! so tracking must of been way out.

Hi just read my last message should be 50mph for cruise control. Lol