Toyota FJ Cruiser Forum - Maintenance Tech

My brakes keep squeaking!

Kaster — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:10:40 GMT

So I changed my rears with the cheapest possible pads from pep boys. I Grease where i'm supposed to grease and the rear brakes squeaked! So I lube all metal to metal contacts again and no problems. I took my rig to the desert for the last three days and now they squeak again!

Am I missing something here?

Amsoil Personal Garage

Brock — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:19:21 GMT

Amsoil came out with improved lookup capability on their corporate website and also added another feature that lets you add your personal vehicles and it saves the recommended oil, filters, etc for you.

You can also track your Maintenance Schedule and select which oil and filter you prefer from a list that it saves.....even with email notification for your next scheduled oil change on that particular vehicle.

All you need is to already have an Amsoil Customer Number or you can do it on your first order....Good Luck.

Check it out
Why myGarage

1. Gives more functionality on lookups
2. Allows you to review Product Recommendations
3. You can post a pic of your vehicle
4. Email reminders for scheduled oil and filter changes
5. Maintenance records for every vehicle you add to MyGarage with ability to print records if needed.

Changed oil, maint light still on?

Clemson FJ — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:03:26 GMT

Hey guys, I changed my oil today, first time I've done the job myself. Everything seemed to go smoothly, followed the directions I found on the forum. After the change the "maint req'd" light is still on... any thoughts on this?

I switched to mobil1 too... not sure that has anything to do with it.

Scan Codes-What do they mean?

TOILET — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 02:30:47 GMT

My service engine light & three other lights-traction control, anti-spin, & whatever the other light is. The local Toyota dealer told me that the lights all come on when the service engine light comes on, so the problem is not related to the anti-locks or traction control systems. A friend of mine has a scanner so he scanned the code for me & turned off the lights. The code is PO430-Catylist system Efficiency below threshold Bank 2. Then in codes pending it said PO420-Pending bank 1. The only thing I haven't done since I bought the FJ used is change the air filter, so I did that. Does anybody have a list of codes or any ideas what this is if the codes come back? My FJ has 38,500 miles on it now.

Gear oil service intervals

wesayso — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 13:28:52 GMT

Am I missing something? I've read through the owners manual and the service/maintenance log and don't see anything about changing the diff/t-case gear oils. I only see where it says 'inspect' diff/t-case oil. I switched to Mobil 1 75-90 at 40K. Anybody?

Antifreeze Tester

cliffv — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:12:53 GMT

I am looking to purchase a good quality antifreeze tester that is accurate. Dose anyone have any suggestions on what is a very good one ?? Thanks

brakes

radio_jumper — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:54:54 GMT

So after 43k fun miles, i now have warped brake rotors up front. So lets say money is an object, but i want better than oem. Does toyo have any stronger ones? Or should I DIY and just go aftermarket.

Hate working on brakes. :bandit:

About to do my first oil change.....

SolarFusion — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:30:45 GMT

Ok will be doing my first oil change....I know where the oil drain plug is located...not a problem.....oil filter is under the hood.....my question:

What is wrong with using the Fram oil filter? I have read a few threads and folks were saying to stay away from fram, but I couldn't find a reason why?
Can someone enlighten me on this?

basic brake questions.

valvestud — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:14:41 GMT

hi all, i am just wondering what others have done when it came time to replacing your brake pads on the FJ. i am at 30,000 miles and they are becoming noisy and are getting close to having to be replaced. i have a couple questions, when switching pads, do you need to surface the rotors? also, can i get away with using the same rotors or should i replace them along with the pads as well? and lastly, i am in college and have a pretty low budget so am looking for a cheap yet correct solution for my FJ. i have 295/75 r 16 terra grapplers on the truck and i know this is not helping my brakes either.

A Trac & Locker Issue (Searched Still Have Questions)

WanganKin — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:46:34 GMT

Hello,

I searched and found some very interesting post regarding various issues pertaining to this situation. However none of them seemed to be exactly what I am experiencing.

Truck Info:

Build Date: 12/2006

TRANS: AUTO 4WD

------------

CURRENT SYMPTOMS:

* A-TRAC LIGHT DOES NOT COME ON UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE (RECENTLY)

* E-LOCKER WILL NOT ENGAGE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE (RECENTLY)

------------

PREVIOUS SYMPTOMS:

* A-TRAC WOULD NOT ENGAGE AFTER A WATER CROSSING (NO GREATER THAN HUB TO 3/4 33" TIRE DEEP EVER) /// HOWEVER AFTER A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME (DRYING OUT I IMAGINE) A-TRAC WOULD RESUME NORMAL OPERATION.

* LOCKER WOULD NOT ENGAGE AFTER A WATER CROSSING (NO GREATER THAN HUB TO 3/4 33" TIRE DEEP EVER) /// HOWEVER AFTER A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME (DRYING OUT I IMAGINE) LOCKER WOULD RESUME NORMAL OPERATION.

------------

MODIFICATIONS:

* VSC/TRACTION CONTROL BYPASS TO SWITCH. MODIFICATION PERFORMED AFTER EXPERIENCING THE "PREVIOUS SYMPTOMS". /// MOD IS CURRENTLY WORKING AS INTENDED AND APPEARS TO HAVE NO NEGATIVE IMPACT ON A-TRAC AND LOCKER

-------------

ATTEMPTS TO CORRECT ISSUES:

* AFTER A WATER CROSSING I'VE UNPLUGGED THE TWO CONNECTORS ON THE LOCKER MOUNTED TO THE TOP SIDE OF THE DIFF. BLEW COMPRESSED AIR TO COMPLETELY DRY THE CONNECTORS AND RECONNECTED /// FAIL; PROBLEMS PERSISTS (UNTIL I BELIEVE SOMETHING DRYS OUT)

* ALL WHEEL SPEED SENSOR CONNECTORS REMOVED, SPRAYED CLEAN WITH ELECTRICAL PARTS CLEANER, DI-ELECTRIC GREASE APPLIED HEAVILY AROUND SEALS TO FURTHER PREVENT MOISTURE INGRESS. /// FAIL; PROBLEMS PERSIST.

* DIFF LOCK CONNECTORS ON TOPS OF FRAME RAILS IN THE REAR, DISCONNECTED, CLEANED, "MOISTURE PROOFED", RECONNECTED /// FAIL; PROBLEM PERSISTS.

--------------

SUSPECT ITEMS & THOUGHTS:

* All 4 SPEED SENSORS - Thought that maybe water has been able to make its way in there, short the circuit and prevent the activation of the A-Trac and locker since the 4WD computer is unable to determine that the wheel speed is "approximately 5 mph (8 km/h) or more." - FSM / Differential / DF-100. thus preventing some sort of computed actuation of the rear locker. As well as being unable to apply a-trac since it is unable to determine which of the wheel(s) may or may not be spinning.

* My SPEEDOMETER functions as normal and is accurate compared to GPS unit and Radar Speed displays.

* I am under the impression that the SPEED SENSORS are required for proper ABS operation (which I think may be questionable and suspect this time)

* No trauma has been inflicted to the diff lock actuator or the alike.

* Considered EXTREME jolt to one of the wheels may have possibly damaged a SPEED SENSOR.

* I have yet to perform a full diagnostic of the entire Differential System as specified in the FSM / Differential Lock System / DF-99 thru DF-103 due to the lack of 4 quality jack stands I trust my life with while vehicle is in 4WD, Engine on, In Gear, Wheels spinning :-/

* The latest event of the problem was experienced after VERY MUDDY water, and i am lead to believe that either some sort of muddy water has shorted out due to particles of whatever it maybe that could not evaporate out (as normal) or something got shorted out for good.

Sorry for the long post, but I just wanted to give as much information in an easy to extract format.

Any thoughts, solutions, opinions would be greatly appreciated. :boohoo:

Thanks in advance,

Jon

Drive line Lube

alaskawolf — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:10:47 GMT

I have a 2009 FJ. Maintenance guide says to use two types of grease, one for spiders and slip yokes and one for double cardan joints. I don't see a double cardan joint on either the front or read drive shaft. Am I missing something?
Thanks for any info.

Getting ready to paint mirrors etc

hydro556 — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:31:26 GMT

I am considering painting my headlight bezel, mirrors bumper wings etc.

I have a Sun Fusion that I just put 255-85-16 BFG KM2's on and I love them. It has got me back in the mood to customize and I think this will be my next step, along with blacking out my front windows.

My question is for the guys who have rattle can'd their mirrors etc. How well is it holding up and are you guys still happy with the results?

I have an airbrush setup and I have used a product called Duracoat with very good results on rifles and handguns. I am wondering if this would be the best way to paint my accessories short of a body shop. I dont do a lot of rock crawling or real aggressive 4 wheeling. Most of my off road activities are directly related to hunting, with a little experimenting for fun.

So, has anyone used an airbrush and DuraCoat, or is everyone sticking with Krylon etc?

Also, have any of you guys taken the parts off yourself and taken them to a bodyshop? If so, approximately what kind of price was it for everything?

Lastly, I know there are a few how to threads on removing the Mirrors, bezel and bumper wings and them painting them. Can someone point me to the best tutorial? I am not sure how to remove the mirrors and bumper wings.

A cheaper OEM scantool

jayman — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:06:14 GMT

I came across this at the Prius site. Looks like we don't have to cough up +$7 G's to have detailed access to our Toyota's

https://techinfo.toyota.com/techInfo...ite&_nfpb=true

Still a bit pricey, but I'm going to look into it

Castrol Syntec 0W-30 at 6,269 km

jayman — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:34:48 GMT

I finally have the results from the used oil analysis. Due to work, I was only able to put 6,269 km / 3,895 miles on the FJ since Spring. It obviously sat around a lot in my garage, and did mostly short trips <5 miles

Overall, the readings were very good, and the oil was safe for much longer service even under such severe operating conditions (Short trip, inactive, etc). Similar operating conditions with the Mobil 1 0W-20 had much worse results. At the time of the oil change, my FJ had 35,310 km on it

Fe 10
Mo 11
Al 3
Cu 1
Pb 7
Ag 1
Si 18
Na 9
K 3
Zi 773
Mg 346
P 752

The FT-IR analysis is in UFM #

Sulfation 20
Oxidation 16
Nitration 12

Viscosity is in centiStokes at 100 C. This oil does NOT appear to shear down

cSt @ +100 C: 11.81

TBN 4

Antifreeze 0.0
Moisture 0.4
Residual fuel 0.5

The made in Germany Castrol Syntec 0W-30 appears to have an additive package that is well suited to handle the acid buildup of frequent short trip driving. It actually behaves a bit better than the Mobil 1 European Car Formula 0W-40, as the Syntec has a fresh viscosity of 12 cSt.

The Mobil 1 0W-40 has a fresh viscosity of 14 cSt, but every time I used it, it sheared to 12 cSt. This is still entirely safe, and the M1 additive package also held up well, but in a motor that may demand a light duty xW-40 oil, this shearing may be detrimental. For the FJ motor, both Castrol Syntec 0W-30 and Mobil 1 0W-40, are good choices for severe duty and to cover a wide range of temps (Very cold to very hot)

I refilled with the made in Germany Castrol Syntec 0W-30, as its easy for me to find. We'll see how well it handles short trip operation at temps down to -40.

The Mobil 1 0W-20 I used did NOT handle cold short trips very well, at least not in the FJ motor. It actually thickened up quite a bit, and both oxidation and nitration spiked

FYI; Mobil 1 oils sale!!!!

fjrocks — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:45:58 GMT

I don't know if all Advance Auto Parts are running this special but here in South Florida there is a special, 5QTS of Mobil1 and Filter for $29.99- Stock'em up!!!
Advance Auto Parts - In-Store Specials