2005 Everyday American Build

Had some beautiful fall weather yesterday so, I felt like a quick wash and wax was in order. It’s certainly not perfect but, it’s a pickup that gets up into the woods.

 

Had some slow leaks the past few years from the cap windows. A few years ago I resealed one side with a foam tape that didn’t last real long. Bought some butyl tape to do it right. Did both sides and I can’t remember ever wanting it to rain so badly. Being where I am, it shouldn’t be long before we get a good rain.

 

Took her for a quick little drive. Pretty this time of year.

 

I was having some sporadic issues with some fantom O/D button problems. Sometimes I’d start it and the O/D button would be on, sometimes it would just come on while driving. It never happened while traveling any too quickly so, it was never a problem. Just a bit annoying. Read the problem could be from the warn ground wire that runs down the shifter. Here’s how I fixed my problem:

Remove these three screws and remove the steering column housing.






The top cover can’t totally be removed because it’s got the shifter going through it. Just fold it up. The black wire coming out of the shifter is the culprit.



You can see where it’s worn through the insulation.


Fixed.


Button everything back up. Done!

 

I took the cap off, which I have never done, to install a new cap seal. The back window and surround was a little scuzzy. Gave the rig a wash and left the cap off for the nice weather. Almost looks like an entirely different rig. Kinda digging it. I do like the covered storage of the cap, though. We’ll see how long the cap stays off.

 

Well this little issue popped back up. I took a closer look and I could see some wear where the wire goes through the hole, into the shift lever. I guess the picture doesn't really really give a great view. Anyways, I threw some electrical tape on it, slid it up the wire so it would protect it. Been driving it the last few days and all seems to be well. I'm glad this is pretty easy to get to because this was a perfect instance where I thought I knew what the problem was the first time and didn't look around to see if there were any other areas of concern. Just a cautionary tail to keep an eye open for other causes even if you know what the problem is, no matter how big or small.

 

Just a quick update on where we’re at. Got back from an 800mi trip on Wed, taking my oldest to college.



Still haven’t replaced the washer fluid level sensor and still wanting/needing to do this. Other than that, all is well and good.

 

Bright lights. Looks nice!

 

This is fricken cool!

where is that wire and how do it you it to go outside?

 

The loom I took the picture of is under whatever this part is called. I can’t, for the life of me, find the right term for it.


I couldn’t get a real good picture of the loom because the entire loom was quite tight.

I spliced it and ran the power out drain holes that are in the rocker. Can be seen here.


Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

Finally got tired of the TPMS light being on and decided to bypass it. Big thanks to this thread.



Removed the glovebox and the shroud and light that's behind it. There's no real practical way to unplug the harness from the module where it sits. Others removed the panel around the stereo and got to it that way. That's the route I went. Pushing the ducting to the side, you can see the metal hanger that the module hangs on.





Using a flathead, I pried the module off the hanger and freed it enough to fit it through to the glovebox opening. Unplugged the harness, found the correct pink with silver dashes wire, cut it, spliced it, grounded it and plugged everything back in and started everything up to make sure it worked as it's supposed to.



BINGO!!!



Here's everything back in it's place, before putting the panels and glovebox back in.



The TPMS was a relatively easy fix. The only real trouble with it is working in a small space.

 

On to the next project to clean up my cluster gauge of unwanted warning lights. I was really not looking forward to replacing the washer fluid sensor. I was thinking I'd have to remove most of the plastic inner fender. Turns out it was four easy bolts. Three on the underside and one on the inner side of the plastic fender and everything I needed moved out of the way nicely.

Inner plastic inner fender where it sits (bolts already removed).


Folded out of the way with the washer fluid bottle exposed just enough to get the work done.



A little prying on the old one to get it out, spilling out the residual fluid, then getting the new one in and everything plugged back in. When you pry the old one out, be careful not to cut/ruin the seal. You'll want to reuse it. Also, it's best to put the seal in the place, in the bottle, then installing the sensor, instead of putting the seal on the sensor and installing it in the bottle.



It feels good to have a clean cluster.

 

Was having the P0172 and P0175 codes pop up with the associated unburnt fuel exhaust smell. A new MAF sensor was the cure. Everything back to running as it should.

 

Nice work. The TPMS trick is on my short list as well.

 

Thanks. The TPMS bypass isn't hard and it doesn't take too much time. You just have to set aside an hour, maybe less, to just do it. It's one of those jobs that when you're done you'll ask yourself why you didn't do it earlier.

 

That's good to know. Gives me some more motivation to get it done this week.

 

Wandered some mountain roads and made camp for the night over the weekend. Had a great time and the Tundra was boringly dependable. Having slept in the bed, I'm getting really motivated to build a wedge camper. Being able to hop up into bed without without having to empty the pickup bed would be SO nice.
Trip report here.

 

The lock/handle on my cap has really started to go south quickly. Supposed to lock but the entire mechanism started to loosen and rotate. It’s been loose and a bit irritating for the better part of a year. Decided I’d just pick up a new one and throw it in. Took me about 30min to get the old one out, clean up the area a bit and install the new one. I thought getting the old rusted one out was going to be a much more tedious job. Was actually really easy. One of those jobs you do and always kick yourself for not doing it sooner. The new one is so much more simple too.

Out with the old and in with the new.

 

That's the same lume that I used to tap into for the cargo bed lights. Being that I already have wires under the frame for them, I should have done this at the same time. I believe I will do this within the next month. I like your mounting style.

 

Thanks. My goal was to mount the lights up out of the way, with the least amount of shadow while using existing places to mount them. I feel like I did a satisfactory job.

 

Snugtop parts? What'd all that run you? Did you replace/adjust the latch mechanisms on either side as well?

 

No, it's a Leer top. Just ordered this inexpensive replacement part from the jungle store. The latch mechanisms didn't need adjusting. It was nice the lock came with new cables; they definitely needed replacing. The part feels quite smooth. We'll see how it holds up after some time has gone by and it sees some real weather. It's not a real critical piece of equipment and doesn't really get a lot of use, so I have a feeling it'll be just fine.