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Archive for the 'rant' Category

Page 48 of 54

JDM?

Published on May 30, 2008 in car and rant by taro. Closed

Being at an impasse with the rear struts on the FX, decided to look at some smaller issues. Sunroof is slugish. I pulled the motor from the previous FX, it was actually new replaced just before I bought it, and also pulled the fuzzy edge trim since current FX doesn’t have it and just has ugly edges. Replaced motor, greased up tracks, put on edge molding. Looks nice, closes. Ugh, doesn’t open! Attempts to, cracks open a bit, and stops. What is going on? I remove the trim and the sunroof opens, still slugishly. It turns out that the fuzzy panel on the sliding roof section has been out of it’s correct track all this time. I pop it back, put the trim back, and the roof slides better than new!

Next up was the driver window. Lately it’s gotten quite, cranky. I figured it was like the original FX and the gears on the toothed crescent shaped thing on regulator was stripping out. img_1237.JPGI pop the door panel off. What the heck is that blue thing? It’s a door lock popper solenoid, assumedly stuck in by the alarm installers. This explains why the action of the lock mechanism was never nice, the throw on the solenoid is adjusted so the mechanism doesn’t click all the way it’s supposed to. I readjust it, not sure if the popper will work correctly, but I’m not concerned with that. The installation is a bit of hack, but with something like this there isn’t really any other way aside from getting the factory power locks. Just wait until I get to the other side though, I’ll find it later, the solenoid doesn’t even match and the sheet metal is hacked up leaving pointy jagged edges worse than the meanest China build your own PC case. Continue reading ‘JDM?’

Strutman

Published on May 28, 2008 in car and rant by taro. Closed

So after my blunder with my junyard struts, I’m forced to go junkyard diving again. Called around to other yards and it sounds like they don’t have anything that old. So I find myself at ABC again, I called them and didn’t realize it as they’re listed in yellowpages as something else, and they were the only ones that were hopefull. Actually even before I get through the gate, I see an AE92 Corolla, looks like they’re ready to haul it to scrap metal as its on the bottom of a stack of cars. I measure the struts, and they measure too small, WTF? Am I hallucinating? But right inside of the gates are the new cars, and there’s a ’99 Corolla sedan. I measure the strut case, and it’s the correct size! I take a quick look around for anything else, this Corolla is the only new one. img_1232.JPGDamn, did I luck out? This Corolla is quite clean too, just brought in, suffered rear end damage. It’s so new that after prying the trunk liner free of the crumpled metal, I find the spare tire and jack still there. Choice, I don’t have to go searching and draging some crusty ones from somewhere else in the yard! Continue reading ‘Strutman’

Flag Respect

Published on May 26, 2008 in rant by derek. Closed

So as we take this long weekend to remember our heros, I found myself at the veterans cemetery visiting with some deceased relatives. it looked like there was a plan to plant numerous flags at grave markers again this year. I started to think about how great it is for these kids to be volunteering to do this, but I got distracted when my eyes wandered to a nearby trash bin, when my heart nearly stopped.

There we noticed 4 slightly tattered flags sitting helpless in a heap with misc garbage.

WTF! This is totally unacceptable! And even more shameful at the veterans cemetery!

We rescued them from this travesty and put them back where they belong, and for the one that was beyond usable service, it will see a proper end.

xD

Published on May 19, 2008 in Food and rant by risu. Closed

Nope, I didn’t run off over the weekend and plop down cash on a USDM Toyota ist, but something I had for dinner on Thursday took me down on Friday morning. High fever, cramps, nausea, general sense of nearly total malaise – yep, good old gastroenteritis. I figure it was something at dinner, because if it was my laulau lunch plate from Yama’s Fish Market, I would have gone off around dinner time on Thursday. Since Root, Fabio, and I shared the same food for dinner at Chiang Mai Thai restaurant, it must have been the tapioca, since we all had different desserts. Continue reading ‘xD’

SK Tools 90216 3-Prong Adjustable Oil Filter Wrench

Published on May 1, 2008 in car, rant and Review by risu. Closed

New and olddifferent outside diameters, but same thread and gasket diameterToyota went and screwed me! Since the time of the first F-series engine, the Land Cruiser oil filter has always been the gigantic Foster’s Lager can-sized 15600-41010, but this year, they discontinued that filter and introduced a new smaller 90915-YZZD3 filter that fits the same threaded spud. The original filter extended in diameter at least a centimeter past the seating o-ring, but the new one ends at the o-ring, so it is significantly smaller. The new filter has all the same quality touches, like the anti-backflow flapper that keeps oil primed in the upper system and super-fine filtering material, but it requires a new SST. I asked Clyde at Toyota Parts, and he said there was no new official Toyota SST. My old filter wrench was an official Toyota part, 09228-44011. I figured that since the new filter was common to all gasoline Land Cruisers and a bunch of larger Toyotas including the V8 models, finding a third-party cap-style wrench would be no problem. Continue reading ‘SK Tools 90216 3-Prong Adjustable Oil Filter Wrench’

Sweaty Ride (aka, Poopy Ride)

Published on April 28, 2008 in bike and rant by risu. Closed Tags: .

JT was out sick and Chris was “baking brownies” (is that some kind of euphemism for something?), so they missed this Sunday’s ride. Considering the heavy sweating they had to endure on last week’s ride, this one would have put them over the top. The skies were overcast, and the forecast return of the Easterlies did not come to pass. Dr. Paul joined Jeff, Sara, Ckucke, Root, and me for the humid torment. The Albizia trees were still going off, so my allergies fired up immediately. We did the enhanced loop like last week, but futzed around a little more on the upper Kalanianaole side – mostly climbing up to the view points and backtracking. Nobody wanted to go “down” anything because of the prospect of climbing back up. The cardiac arrest climb was as heinous as usual, but it didn’t feel like I was literally going to die at the top like last time. Root got a service call from his job while we were recovering at the tree. It was that kaiten sushi chain asking, “how come we can’t print?” We dropped back down to the ditch via the flailing fat guy singletrack, and did the inner loop and side loop. Continue reading ‘Sweaty Ride (aka, Poopy Ride)’

Bloody Finger of Death

Published on April 25, 2008 in car and rant by risu. Closed

Bloody Finger of DeathUnlike the insides of a PC where all the raw sheetmetal edges are like razor blades, the metal strap that holds the scissors jack into the rear quarter panel of a Chevrolet 3500 van is actually smooth and rounded with a rolled bead on the edge.  The plastic wingnut that holds the strap in place however, has a molding flash that easily and quickly shaves the skin off your finger like a wood plane – curled-up ribbon of skin and all!  People really freak out when blood is dripping from your hand.

Kracker

Published on April 24, 2008 in car and rant by risu. Closed

Kowarechatta!Really -  I don’t know what happened.  I came back from deliveries at 10:00 or so and it was OK.  At noon when we went to get lunch, the window was fully cracked.  My only guess is built-up stress (it is nearly 18-years old).  If it was caused by someone or by an object, the glass would have come apart and be all over the carpet inside the cabin in little pieces.

I called Clyde at Toyota Parts, and a new one is on the way – probably next Wednesday…  In the meantime, there are 4-plies of packing tape holding the tiny crystals together and keeping rain out.

Hane-nezumi wa Mada Ikiteru

Published on April 18, 2008 in rant by risu. Closed

Tweet tweetAs I was leaving work Thursday Afternoon, I heard the familiar pathetic little whistles of the little invader dove. He was perched alone on the power lines outside the warehouse door looking rather forlorn. He’s still alive…

Thunderstorms? Kuso!

Published on April 17, 2008 in bike and rant by risu. Closed

Tan hazeGreat.  This is going on the second week of no riding.  There is a cold front North of Kauai that supposedly will bring thundershowers to Kauai today.  I hope the Kona winds that brought the tan haze back to Oahu yesterday will keep the front away, but knowing the way things tend to go, I am guessing that there will be bad weather again this weekend and therefore no trail action.  Curses!