High mileage 3rd generation Toyota 4Runners are notorious for having excessive throttle play. This is a result of excessive slack in the throttle cable, which directly affects throttle response. Doing a bit of easy maintenance here can produce some quick results and easily revive your 3rd gen 4Runner!
My 2003 Toyota 4Runner is a V6 SR5 4×4 that has a non-sealed transmission unit. This system has a transmission fluid dipstick, unlike the later years’ 4Runners that have a sealed transmission with no dipstick. The following procedure outlines a flush and fill for my car.
It has been several years since my wife’s Lexus IS350 was properly cleaned, so a detail was certainly in order for this 11 year old vehicle. I had about 4 hours to do a detail, which ended up with quite satisfying results.
With the need arising to keep food and drinks cooled for long periods of time, I decided to pick up a cooler. After doing some research (and a little jumping on the Yeti bandwagon), I decided on a Yeti cooler.
The coolant (or antifreeze) in a vehicle plays a significant part of the vehicle’s operation. It was about time for my 2003 Toyota 4Runner to have its coolant drained, flushed, and replaced. I’ve outlined the steps I took to do this and also provided an alternative way of replacing antifreeze that might be a bit easier to do.
The tailgate on my 4Runner keeps falling down on my head. I replaced them with aftermarket tailgate struts from eBay since the OEM parts are about 5 times the cost of aftermarket one. They are working wonderfully!
I found this Audi S4 (B5) that was going for half the going price. The seller told me he hasn’t run the car in a year or two, but I test drove and it appeared to be run fine. For some reason, the seller strongly urged me to have the car towed. I was a bit suspicious, but I couldn’t resist the deal and had the car towed back to my place… and so work on the car began.
After a full brake pad and rotor replacement, I concluded that the vibration I experiencing was due to the brake parts that were previously installed on my car. With the new brake pads and rotors, I felt zero vibration with braking. Here’s how to replace brake rotors on a 4th Generation Toyota 4Runner.
After going through an ordeal with the last brake shop, I ended up with brakes that would vibrate whenever I came to a stop. After dealing with this and the problem becoming worse, I decided to replace my brake pads myself. I decided on a set of Toyota OEM brake pads and could not be happier with the result.
