Awesome Check Engine Light – 2002 Toyota Tundra Troubleshooting Techniques!
Posted on มีนาคม 10, 2010
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When you troubleshoot the check engine light of a 2002 Toyota Tundra, approach it by using an OBD2 scanner which is designated for this vehicle. On most generic scanner, it can be used on most brands of vehicles and if you don’t specify if to be good for this 2002 Toyota Tundra, you might not get the right fault codes.
To fix the 2002 Toyota Tundra fault codes, please remember the following:
1.) The diagnostic connector for this vehicle is located on the right side of the steering column, below the instrument panel.
2.) This vehicle model uses a two-trip detection analysis in which the fault code stored in the memory will not be flashed in the dash panel. Instead, it will be flashed only on the 2nd time the fault code is detected. This usually happens when you are using a generic scanner but it won’t happen if you or the garage is using the authorized Toyota scanner.
3.) This Toyota Tundra model also uses “Freeze Frame Data” system in which the actual engine condition factors are displayed in the generic scanner when the fault code appears. These factors normally include the engine temperature, the vehicle cruising speed and others sensors specs related to the fault code. This data is very important in pinpointing the suspected circuit or wiring causing the code. However, in case there are multiple codes showing in the generic scanner, the data described here only applies on the first code that shows up. This will prevent the user from toggling between codes for other data that can lead to confusion.
Troubleshooting TIPS:
The most common fault code of this 2002 Toyota Tundra model is the failure of the 4 oxygen sensors. If you have a 4.7L engine, two of these sensors are located at the engine exhaust manifolds and the other 2 behind the catalytic converters. In case these sensors are your fault code, contact your Toyota dealer right away for it might be covered under the vehicle’s warranty. This is especially true if the vehicle has below 100k mileage. However, if the vehicle has no coverage and you have to the repair the problem yourself, try these:
1.) Measure the oxygen sensor signal voltage as indicated by an authorized vehicle wiring diagram. The sensor exhaust manifold voltage reading should be oscillating between 0.1 volt to 0.9 volt. A fluctuation difference of 0.5volt to 0.7volt is considered normal and no fluctuation indicates a defective oxygen sensor.
2.) When measuring the rear oxygen sensors at the catalytic converter, the voltage reading fluctuation should be less because these sensors are use to monitor the muffler efficiency. Any fluctuation of around 0.2volt to 0.4 volt is considered normal.
3.) If the front exhaust manifold sensors are found defective, make sure the exhaust manifold itself is not leaking or cracked. Unless the manifold is fixed, the new oxygen sensors installed will fail again.
4.) Unless you have experience in testing electrical components, it is highly recommended to get an online mechanic assistance when working on these oxygen sensors. A simple mistake such as incorrect use of electronic diagnostic tools can damage the engine computer.
If you can implement these techniques, you should be able to fix most of your check engine light 2002 Toyota Tundra fault codes.
How To Repair Rust In Your Classic Car Body
Posted on มีนาคม 9, 2010
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I thought that I’d delve in to an article about fixing rust in the body of your classic car, this is a huge problem if your buying or own a classic cars that came from a place near the sea, or a place where they use salt on the roads to melt the snow, rust in most cases will start underneath the car and work it’s way up destroying anything in it’s path along the way, nothing will stop rust or slow it down in it’s effort to destroy your classic car’s body.
There are a few ways to fix rust problems in your car, but first you must find them, you can start by looking for bubbles in the painted surface of the car, and do not take it lightly when you find it, don’t look at it and think that just because it seems to be only on the surface that it is, rust will hide in cracks, underneath seem sealer, under that carpet, or any place else that it can, believe be the rust knows that you don’t want it in your car, so look at it like a doctor would look a cancer.
To check how bad the rust is, take a body hammer with a pick on one end, and use that end to lightly tap the rusted spot that you have found, if the metal seems like it’s soft and moves easily, then you needs to fix this area now, in some cases you’ll knock a hole in the area that your tapping on wit the hammer, don’t worry about this, it won’t be there for long if you fix the rust hole the right way.
What you’ll need to do the job, is a, air compressor, a die grinder with a cutting blade on it, do yourself a favor and make sure that you have more then one cussing blade for that grinder, you’ll need sheet metal, the same gage as your car, if you don’t know what gage it is, you’ll also need a 5″ air grinder loaded with a 40 grit disc to finish the welds with, then you’ll need to buy a metal gage checking tool, and last but not least you’ll need a MIG welder with plenty of gas and wire, there are other ways to fix a rust spot without a welder, but in my opinion they are not as reliable.
Now that you have your tools all together and your courage up to the right level where you can begin the job, you’ll want to determine how big the rusted area is by tapping it with the pick end of that body hammer until you run in to areas on all sides of the rust that don’t seem soft, or like they don’t have any strength to them, once you have discovered how big the rusted area is you need to get a sharpie and draw a line around the rusted area, about 2″ in to the good metal all the way around the rusted area, so you know that the rust will be gone when you cut it out, rust is not easy to weld to, so make 100% sure that it’s all the way gone.
Now that you have your line to cut to all drawn out with the sharpie, you can plug the die grinder in to the air source, now a word of advise here, don’t try to cut it all at one time, put a light cut along the line that you drew with the sharpie, just repeat the process of running the die grinder along that line until the rusted area falls out of the car, now that the rusted metal is out of your car, pick up the rusted piece of metal and lay it on top of your new sheet metal, take that sharpie that you used to draw the first line to cut to, and using the rusted piece of metal draw a line to it with the sharpie, using the same process that you did on the rusted spot in your car, cut the piece of good metal out with the die grinder.
The die grinder has left a rough edge on the back of the good piece of metal, you’ll need to clean that up, the best way to do this is to take that 5″ grinder that you have with the 40 grit disc on it, and lightly run it over the back of the metal until all the burs are gone, now you’ll need to that 5″ grinder with the 40 grit disc on it, and clean the area on your car where you cut the rust our, make sure that you have about 2″ of bare clean metal around the area that you cut out.
Now take that good piece of metal that you cut from your sheet of repair metal, and fit it in the hole that you cut out of your car, I usually use visegrips to hold the new metal in place, now this is where things can get a little tricky, so pay close attention this section, make sure that you have a good place to put the grounding clamp for your welder, if you don’t see a place for it right close to your work area, then take that 5″ air grinder and make one, make sure that the clamp has a solid connection.
Plug you welder in, and make sure that the gas is turned on, I usually run the wire feed, and current set at about 3 or 4 on my MIG, but this could be different on your machine, so do yourself a favor and test it before putting it to your car, now that we’re all ready to go, you have the visegrips holding the metal in place and you have your welder setup right, your going to want to run about a 1″ bead on the top, bottom, and both sides, and then you can get the visegrips out of your way.
Now you have four weld beads holding the patch panel in place, now heres a bit more advise, mig welders get very hot, and it’s possible to warp the metal in your car while welding the patch panel in place, so never weld more then 1″ beads at a time, and move from the top to the bottom, do a 1″ weld on the top of the patch, and then cool it off with a little air, and the do a 1″ weld on the bottom and cool it off, and the do the same thing with the sides, until you have one solid bead all the way around the patch panel, you have now fixed your rust problem, all that’s left is the finish work on the welds.
Grab your 5″ air grinder with the 40 grit disc and grind the welds flat, in most cases you should not even be able to see the welds if you have done it right, the job is now complete, I’ll move on to the body work part in a later article.
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Porsche History 101
Posted on มีนาคม 8, 2010
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You will be glad you did. Porsche is a classic car brand which has a rich history since the company was started in the late 1800’s. The cars got its names after the founder Ferdinand Porsche. He was born in 1875 and was from Austria. Ferdinand Porsche not only created the first Porsche cars, but also created the Volkswagen beetle.
In 1937, he was awarded the German National Prize for Art and Science by none other than Hitler himself. The award was a very rare, and that just goes to show how talented he actually was. In 1901, Ferdinand Porsche made the very first gas/battery hybrid car. Part of his biggest achievements is the fact that their cars are some of the fastest in the world.
It was no different even when the first Porsche cars were still around. Now these were not really cars such as the ones we have today, they were buggies. They were basically horseless carriages with tires like a bicycle: tall and skinny. Ferdinand Porsche’s hybrid car broke many speed records of the time and even won the Exelberg Rally in 1901. Ferdinand Porsche was the actual driver of the car during that rally.
The speed records were not set very high at the time for a motorized vehicle. The hybrid Porsche had a max speed of just 35 miles per hour: it may not sound like a lot, but the only other way to get around at the time was a horse and a horse can’t sustain 35 miles per hour for very long if at all. Now also consider that this is a horseless buggy and that suspensions and a soft ride were probably not a part of the equation. If you were to turn too fast on a curve and being that the buggy sat up so high, you could easily tip it over: so 35 miles per hour would be quite fast for an old Porsche classic car such as the hybrid buggy.
Mr. Porsche first worked for the Austro-Diamler company. He was their chief designer and helped make some good cars, but still not under his own name. He later quit Austro-Diamler because they did not agree with the direction towards which cars headed. It was not until 1931 that Ferdinand Porsche founded his own firm. It was titled and still is today, Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG.
In 1934, Hitler wanted to make it so that every German had a car or tractor. Porsche was to build 3 prototypes from designs he had already made. The car he made for Hitler was the Volkswagen beetle which we know today. Some people today refer to a Porsche as being a supped up Volkswagen. Today, Porsche owns a large stake in the Volkswagen company, and if you look at the headlights on the beetle and the turbo 911, they look very similar. Volkswagen means “the people’s car”, and the very first one was the Volkswagen beetle.
The very first car to carry the Porsche name was the model 356. This first Porsche car was made in an old saw mill and they built 49 cars all by hand. This Porsche classic car is definitely worth a lot today. It was not until 1953 that the famous Porsche emblem or badge was placed on the cars. The 356 was made for 17 years and in 1965, the last classic Porsche 356 model left the production line.
One of the most famous models of Porsche was introduced by “Butzi” Porsche on September 12, 1963. It was just a prototype at the time, but it would become a classic long running car. The prototype was called the 901 or what we call the 911 today.
It was not until August 1964 that the first 901 could be sold to a customer. The 901 number had to be changed because of a patent on 3 numbers with a zero in the middle, so it was changed to 911. The 911 turbo is an amazing car today: one of the fastest around, but just look at its history. It would be hard to find a classic Porsche car nowadays. You can find classic Porsche cars if you search carefully enough, but the price people would want for them is not for those with a small budget. If you were to find a classic Porsche 356, one of the first ones, they are pretty much priceless. If the owner knew what they had, then it would be very hard and very expensive to get the owner to sell the car in question.
AAA Auto Insurance Company Review
Posted on มีนาคม 7, 2010
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AAA Auto Insurance Company is a car insurance company on the rise.Perhaps one of the insurance companies that almost nobody has heard about has to be the American Automotive Association (AAA) Car Insurance. They are known mostly for their road services such as towing, but people should start taking into consideration that the company has expanded and now offers many more services that can be of use to the consumer.
American Automotive Association was founded on March 4, 1902 as a non-profit organization. With the new pavement roads soon formed, the residents of the United States at the start of the century definitely needed a hand when it came to automobile services. As first there were only 1000 chartered members but the company would see an increase in memberships in the upcoming years after its foundation. It is important to note that the organization was founded when different local and regional offices came together, meaning that members belong to individual clubs (usually divided into city or states) and they would get their benefits for their respective entity. However, they would also be covered anywhere that AAA was available because the other offices arranged reciprocal services between all the AAA clubs established at that time.
Although the company is mostly known for their car services (towing), they offer a variety of things that consumers need nowadays. Some of the coverage offered by AAA includes life insurance, health insurance, homeowners insurance and related travel services (reservations, car rentals, cruises, directions to and from a destination, maps, etc). The company has grown so much over these 105 years of existence that it has affiliates in the countries of Canada and the United Kingdom as well and they will keep growing assuming that more of the population gains knowledge of all the things being offered.
Automobile insurance coverage has been part of the firm for 70 years now and they are proud to keep serving the United States consumers. “Triple A” as many people call the company, has had a long history of reliable and excellent customer service and this is just one of the many reasons that people select this company for themselves and their families. Their main website can be a little troubling for some people that are not used to the Internet because it has incredible amounts of information due to the fact that the company offers a gigantic array of services.
Being a member of the American Automotive Association doesn’t only guarantee you car insurance of your choice, but they also go as far as giving different coverage options due to the diverse population of the country. AAA focuses on three types of automotive insurance coverage: protection for others and their property, protection for yourself and any passengers you might have with you at the time of an accident, and protection for your assets. It is also good to mention that although the website does not give a list of possible discounts that AAA offers their members, it is always good to double check to see if the company offers any. Most people that forget or simply just don’t bother to ask end up spending hundreds and even thousands of dollars that they can be saving.
Apart from the normal automobile insurance coverage that the American Automotive Association offers, a member is given many more services. One of them includes your car’s battery and it allows you to have it checked, and even replaced at an approved AAA battery center. Another great service provider to the member is the Approved Auto Repair (APR) in case of any damage and with it the Vehicle Inspection Program (VIP) is included; which allows certified mechanics to inspect your vehicle thoroughly.
As said before in the article if you get lost or simply want to be prepared for a trip, AAA offers you maps, trip books, hotel directories and sometimes even discounted fares that permit a customer save some money; and most importantly ensure the member that they will get to the destination with no problems. Last but not least this great company offers road side assistance for any particular reason. This was the basis in which the company first opened, but they have improved tremendously from those days. They now offer vehicle towing up to 100 miles, jump starting, emergency tire changing, giving you gasoline if you unexpectedly run out of gas and helping you recover a key left inside the vehicle.
Auto Repair Quotes
Posted on มีนาคม 6, 2010
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The auto repair quotes that you get for your automobile vary with the service provider. There are many auto service providers who are happy to give you auto repair quotes. You can either get them from the service provider in your locality or from the leading auto repair company in your area.
Before getting a quote, make a preliminary list of repairs that need to be done that you know of. If you are not clear as to what you need, you may end up spending wasted time and money of what could have been just a simple repair. Go to your local mechanic for quotes before deciding on where to take your automobile. They will give you an idea as to exactly what expenses are involved, and what repairs are critical, as opposed to not necessary. You may decide to stick with your mechanic or go to a dealer for repairs. Whatever you decide, you’ll have valuable information in your hands regarding the repairs that need to be done, and what one mechanic would charge to do the repairs.
There are also free checkup camps that are held at major car dealer manufacturers. Here, your car will be evaluated for problems at no charge to you. If problems are found, these events may even offer discounts on parts and repairs that you can take advantage of. They will also give you repair quotes that you can pass on to a repair shop.
If you know what is the kind of repair that is needed for your car, then you can get auto repair quotes online on websites dedicated for autos. All you have to do is type in information about you and your car and what repairs need to be done. You will receive instant auto repair online quotes. You can get auto repair quotes from multiple vendors and compare them to get the best deal.
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