Shifter Seat/Bushing

One of the (many) most common problems with trucks like mine is that the shifter bushing/seat disintegrates over time. This makes shifting sloppy at best and almost impossible to find your gears at worst. Mine was pretty much gone, but since I'm well aware of where the gears are, I didn't have too much trouble shifting.

I called up my mechanic first because, honestly, I was nervous about doing any repairs on my truck (even though I bought it specifically so that I could work on it myself). I am a girl, completely inexperienced and have no idea what really goes into wrenching on a vehicle. He wanted something like $160 to replace the bushing.

I did some research and found out that I could get the bushing for $10 at Marlin Crawler so the $160 sounded like way too much cash. (*Note: I am well aware of the fact that here in Cali work at shops is expensive due to the fact that we pay our people a pretty decent wage and general overhead is pricey too.) I read some write-ups on YotaTech.com and this one on OffRoad.com. I gained some confidence and ordered the parts from Marlin (seat and socket: $16 + shipping total).

When the parts arrived I was excited. I was really about to do my very own repair and save myself some cash! I pulled out a pair of needle nose pliers, socket and ratchet and started in on my job.

Everything was going really well until I tried to pull the rubber boot that sits on the tranny off. It broke apart like brittle 20 year old rubber is prone to do. I totally freaked out and called up my local Toyota dealership. They said that the boot was $90-something dollars! for a little rubber boot!?!

(<--This is what was left of the original shifter seat. Black goo.)

So I half-heartedly checked back on Marlin's website to see if they might carry it. They do! And the best part? It was less than 7 bucks. I went ahead and ordered 4 of their "low profile magnetic drain plugs" for my tranny, t-case, front and rear differentials since I was already paying for shipping.

The total cost was $39, not including tax/shipping. It was a super simple job and I decided to drain/fill my tranny since I was in there and have heard that it was easier to kill two birds with this one stone. It was, and thanks to these handy new drain plugs, the one that damn near stripped on my tranny was replaced at the same time.

This was the first repair I attempted on my truck. It was simple, scary, and well worth it. Total time: almost 2 weeks from start to finish (including down time due to that ripped boot). Total wrench time for me: 25 minutes. Yes, I took my time to make sure that I did everything correctly. She shifts perfectly now.

Brand New Motor

First things first, right? Apparently the bottom end of my motor was blown out. So what do I do about this? I shove a brand spanking new motor in it.

Not many folks decide to dump this kind of money in a 20+ year old vehicle. I think these trucks are worth it. I'm excited to see how long she'll run.

Truck Purchase

You know what it's like when you just have to have something? You know, those feelings of incompleteness, obsession, excitement, urgency and anxiety? Well, that's how I've been feeling without a truck. So, I had to do what any junkie does when they're feigning: I had to buy one.

I've loved the look, ride and sound of Toyota trucks since I was a little tyke. My pops had a few while I was growing up and - rusty or not - I loved them. I knew that one day, when I was all grown up, I'd have one of my own.

My first Toyota was a 2WD 1996 Tacoma SR5. I wasn't so keen on the body style when I first saw it. I thought it looked too wimpy with edges rounded off. I had planned to pick up a used 95 or older model. On the dealer lot, though, I changed my mind. The sales guy told me all about the improvements to the handling and the ride, then urged me to "step on it" around a corner on our test drive. That was it. I was sold.

Looking back, I pity that first truck. I was 17 and full of myself. I crashed that poor thing about 8 times before it finally gave out on me completely. It's last stand was in a 10 mph crash in Manhattan Beach, CA. It was probably the frame bending T-bone crash a few months earlier that really did it in, though.

My second truck: A 4WD 2003 Tacoma. This was my baby. I made sure to get regular maintenance done on time at well-researched shops and kept her as clean as I could. I took her out in the mud and way up into the Sinkyone Wilderness, on long drives in the middle of the night (sometimes when I shouldn't have been driving) and just about anywhere else I went.

Too little sleep and too much to drink doesn't make for sound judgment. I was almost all the way home when it happened. I don't remember much (nor do I want to go into details...), but I have a photo for remembrance nonetheless.

Can't really believe I survived this one. Rolled her 5 times. End over end, around and about... The real miracle: no one was hurt. Two very serious, real lessons were learned from this.
#1- DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE! It's not worth it.
#2- SEATBELTS SAVE LIVES! You wouldn't believe how far down the road the stuff I had under my seat ended up.

My mom thanks God. I thank the manufacturers of my once beautiful Tacoma. If you look closely at the picture you'll see that the windshield is broken a the top is caving in. Surprisingly, very little of this safety glass ended up breaking off. The driver's side window is completely missing though. A bit of this ended up in my head (nothing really major). The really awesome part of this picture, though, is what the frame of the driver door looks like. Apparently the truck is designed (without a roll bar) to crunch around the cab of the truck. How cool is that?

All of this has a point, really. I am still just as excited about Toyotas as I was when I was a kid, driving around in my pop's truck. And though I love the newer ones, I also still really envy the older body styles. Not only that: I haven't been kayaking for a while (try strapping a couple boats on top of a Prius or Civic!), camping with 4 dogs is a pain in the Prius and impossible in the Civic; driving a Civic makes me feel like I'm dragging my ass on the ground; driving on a gravel road is hard in either one of our cars; etc. etc.

I determined this time I'd get a 4 Runner. I checked out prices for a 1st gen via Craigslist and found them to be pretty reasonable, but getting my hands on a good one was like pulling teeth. 10 minutes after someone posted one, it'd be sold. Others had rust problems, modifications that weren't very well thought through, etc. Then I came across this guy's post about an 88 that had "minor engine problems." LOL. Minor? As soon as he started it up the motor shook pretty hard and then made this awful clank clank clank clank sound.

Turns out the bottom end of the motor was toast. But whatever. The body's in great condition and I was looking for a truck that I can finally make my own anyhow.