payaso del mar

not sure if leaks seeps n weeps or intermittent electrical issues are the biggest PITA on old vehicles....but it's definitely one of the two! I feel for ya....recently had to add pipe joint compound to transaxle drain plug on the 04 Sienna because it was leaking all the ATF out despite new gasket, high temp grease on plug, and tightening with a torque wrench to spec. WTF.....it';s a Toyota, not a Triumph.....

we're waiting for them to depart. they keep saying they're going to, but we think they like our Federal $ too much..............

and what's the deal with the always odd price amount on the scams? exchange rates?

weight seems to be the chronic issue with diesels....luv them cast iron heads with 22:1 compression, but that 3.9 weighs more than a BBC and almost as much as an early-60s ChryHemi. I didn't realize that they actually made a 4 cyl version of the Cummins. when I first moved to El Paso, diesel fuel was about 25 cents a gallon in Juarez....subsidized by Mexican govt since private citizens weren't allowed to own diesels there are actually claims that Toy will be putting a turbodiesel in the 2017 Taco....but i'll bet it goes for close to $40K in 4WD

how I wish toy would buy the rights to make a 4 cylinder version of that cummins*.......one thing that might prompt me to buy a new one. but a modern Sprinter is worlds away from your '92 pickup, to the point that i'm not sure you could extrapolate reliability. my folks' 06 300, which locked in Park at 26,000 miles, would be at least as representative. *pretty easy to do and used to be common when there were more inline sixes....Volvo, BMW, Chevy (ChevyII)

I see regenerative braking in your future..........

I respectfully disagree. no, a genny isn't an "emotional" purchase, but that factor we were discussing, where people tend not to want to admit errors when they've dropped $600-1000, is still at play....on both Predators and Hondas. i'll be the first to admit that on a bang for the buck approach, you're most of the time better off with the $5-600 unit. but that same logic proves that chuck steak is better than rib eye (comparable nutritional value) and a V8 kitcar is better than a 911 (just as fast). surprise, some people still are willing to drop the $. and no, they're not all ignorant idiots who believe in pink unicorns. granted, one pays a lot for that extra margin of reliability and quality. I wasn't referring to corporate partnerships, but more to philosophical approach....the "do it right" plan. I've owned and loved bikes of all 4 jap brands, and there is a noticeable difference in engineering approach between them. Yamaha tends to make techno flash stuff which is often brilliant and cutting edge.....but Honda sweats the living-with-it-from-day-to-day details far better. ironically, this falls down IMHO when applied to cars.....but maybe it's just because Honda is now being compared to Toyota. and i'm not claiming that you "can't" get parts for HF etc gennies.....I am claiming that I have been buying parts for small engines of various types for many years and that I can usually still find most of the stuff for Hondas that are even 30+ years old. I haven't had the same success with older Yamahas. I am skeptical that parts for Chinese gennies will be widely available 30+ yrs down the road. If Nissan made (or badged) a gen, i'd consider that as fast as the Honda, based on their proven-excellent small Tohatsu outboards..

try a search for "blumenvasen"

be SURE to wear eye protection when spraying carb cleaner, esp from below. that crap loves to spray back (due to pressure it's canned at, I suspect) and it burns bad in eyes and don't help skin. carcinogenic too. but yeah, it does the job. brake cleaner spray is similar but a little easier on paint etc.

and it still won't have grown any more ground clearance or 4WD......i'll avoid spouting off my opinions on Toyota vs Dodge reliability on the other hand, no matter how pristine the condition of that Rader, it still has plastics (wire insulation, among other things) that are 30 yrs old ya pays yer $ and takes yer choice. me, I see no use for a motor home that can't go where I want to go, which describes every sprinter conversion I've seen. I guess I just used those as an example of the other common "small" RV remember the recent discussion on what would be involved to convert a Rader to 4x4 or put it on 4x4 chassis? for the $ this guy wants, you could buy a sunrader and a Taco/tundra AND pay someone to mate the two.

we have a Thule 2-bike rack that fits into a 1 1/4" hitch receiver and folds down to let you open hatchback etc. if you have or can add a receiver, this might work for you, although you'd need to fold it down from outside when you stop to use rear door. another possibility i'm looking at for this is to weld up a bike carrier "tower" that bolts onto rear step bumper, so I can still use the receiver for other stuff....i'm trying to add bikes, generator, and jerrycan to bumper.

you, sir, are a master of understatement.........

it's pricey but if you compare it to Sprinter conversions rather than our old crocks, the price looks more reasonable

I bet there are a few still broadcasting in Mexico. easy way to avoid any FTC regs is to broadcast from just south of the border, like the famous old radio station from Juarez(?) that used to play stuff you couldn't play in the US.....source of the old ZZTop song "Heard it on the X"

yes, the fuse wire is very much a special type of wire....different metallic composition, something that melts at low temp like Woods' metal. no, you can't use regular wire unless you want to risk your toyhome burning to the ground. the thing JD linked mentioned that fusible links ideally shouldn't be replaced by a large fuse....but if you can't find the correct fusible link wire, a big fuse is a hell of a lot better than nothing.

and I think that ebay reviews tend, if anything, to be slightly biased toward the positive, because of the institutional culture there where people don't want to rock the boat unless the transaction was a real nightmare

not sure the quality of Chinese weaponry necessarily tells us much about the rest of their consumer goods. I doubt their military hardware is as crappy as much of their other stuff. i'm not an AK guy (Ruger makes the Mini30 for those who like the cartridge but would like to be able to consistently hit things at 200+ meters) but my understanding is that Chinese AKs and SKSs are far from the worst clones out there. you're probably familiar with the expression "anecdote does not = data".....ie, you need a statistically valid sample size to be able to make broad scale projections. you agree? here's the ratings breakdown on Amazon for the Eu1000, based on 103 reviews.....apparently the unicorn makes an appearance for a lot of the buyers 4.7 out of 5 stars 5 star 85% 4 star 7% 3 star 2% 2 star 0% 1 star 6% so 85% of the buyers give it the highest possible rating. and here' are the ratings from HF on the Predator 2500: REVIEW SNAPSHOT® by PowerReviews Predator Generators2500 Peak/2200 Running Watts, 4.7 HP (125cc) Portable Inverter Generator EPA III 3.8 (based on 149 reviews) Ratings Distribution 5 Stars (70) 4 Stars (37) 3 Stars (13) 2 Stars (4) 1 Stars (25) 75% of respondents would recommend this to a friend. I realized the real reason I gravitate toward Honda generators last night........... because Toyota doesn't make generators as far as i'm aware so I buy the next closest thing!

yeah, I got sort of the same impression. he seems to feel it has collector value. quien sabe. I was more impressed by the turbo until I learned that a simple bone stock normally aspirated 3RZ swap often makes more power than a turbo 22RE. http://board.marlincrawler.com/index.php?topic=19275.0

i'd been looking at the Q from the other direction: using an LT tire on a trailer, to get a trailer tire that was a little more puncture resistant when aired down. and yeah, when home, just order the right tire.....but I suspect you could use ST tire in a pinch if on the road

and keep in mind that these are being sold in many places where niceties like staying within load ratings aren't always an option.....they git-r-done, and overworking the equipment be damned. if they didn't stand up to that treatment, they wouldn't be the vehicle of choice for so much of the world....not like Nissan doesn't also have good market penetration in the third world.

I tend to think that LT and ST tires aren't that different in design: increased sidewall stiffness as compared to p tires seems to be common to both.

Kahuna, I think Dan is right. the things that can leak at your head gasket junction are compression (140+ psi compression pressure and more than that on power stroke); coolant (up to 15 psi) and oil....there are only a couple of the oil passages that are pressurized....most are just oil drains, to let it return to oil pan from head componentry. the odds of non-pressurized oil making it past the head gasket if it's not leaking compression or coolant are not high. putting it another way, if you don't know when your valve cover gaskets (and associated bolt grommets etc) have been replaced, you should do those before trying to do much more on diagnosing an oil leak. I haven't ever bothered with the baby powder....not least, the smell of the stuff makes me sneeze! but yeah, degreaser and a trip to the quartersucker car wash will make it pretty easy to spot where the leak is coming from. small mirrors from the dollastore are often helpful in spotting up underneath stuff.

1. grease. high temp (melting point 450F+) grease packed into the threads of the drain plug will ensure that you don't have any leakage there, even if you don't replace the gasket. learned this trick from an article in Hot Rod years ago, and it works to keep the oil inside even BRITISH cars. 2. pre-enjoyeds. I work in an office building and wash my hands 4-5 times a day. save the paper towels for cleaning up after car jobs; they add up so fast you can use em with reckless abandon. 3. 3 liter soda bottles. cut off the top. bottom works nicely to catch the oil filter. top threads into your valve cover and works as a funnel. not an exact match, so don't force it in and risk carving off plastic shards. pic is of a 3RZ but the threads are the same on the 22RE.

damn, you're right on the latter for sure. I thought I recalled a higher # on the sidewall of the ones on my rear. and yeah, I didn't think about dually issues. I forget that what works for a tiny MH like a bandit or chinook may not on a big'un....... honestly, the more I learn about the old chassis, the more I want to drop the Bandit onto a 4WD tundra...........the camper portion deserves to not be stuck in the early 80s like the rest of the truck is, and 2400 lbs load capacity per tire (265/70R16) should be adequate even w/o doolies.

BUSTED! why yes, that's why I consider buying Hondas, for a glimpse of the magical unicorn. ignore all that silly stuff I said about a track record of being able to find parts (that fit!) for an item 30+ years later, or solid engineering rather than a pirated knockoff of someone else's engineering, or metallurgy and rubber that are far ahead of the best China has to offer, or specs that are based on actual tests rather than wishful thinking and can be replicated by customers (see: 78.6 dB). none of that. why, when my 2hp Honda outboard was submerged in sandy surf for 3 hours, the unicorn even touched my hand and the motor put itself back together free of silt! Hallelujah! Hail Sochiro! I march in lockstep with the Slaves of the Unicorn! I even BLEED red! OK, sorry, silly sarcasm deserves more. I never said a predator wouldn't probably work. and your logic on the form factor changes makes sense. and your approach to China Inc makes sense....the switcheroo of crap products is about what they deserve, although my mom and my old scoutmaster wouldn't approve. of course, if you do, China Inc* will pirate the design and sell a lower-quality knockoff at 60% of the price and some folks will sneer at your customers for buying the real thing. when they bring out the no-name Chinese knockoff of that Mach 1 you bought, do ya think it will be of the same quality or work the same? JD has correctly noted that Japan used to occupy the same position as China...the great imitators....in the 50s and 60s. but I've used their cameras of that vintage (early Nikons and Canons were so close to leicas and Zeiss's that the lenses would interchange!) and they were not crappy quality or visibly cruder than the original. *I keep saying China Inc but the blame lies equally at the feet of greedy n savvy American marketers who realize the continuing truth of PT Barnum's observations on the American public. apparently some of em work at Kohler too........