LordBug

You can also buy little doohickies that plug into the 12v sockets that are meant to provide enough power to keep the memory on radios, though I haven't had any experience with them so I don't know how well they do/don't work.

Immediately after doing it, everything felt pretty sweet, faster but smoother shifts. That feeling may have been part placebo, but it didn't stick around, I believe it was because I'd left too much fluid in there. Anyway, went to a DIY garage on Monday so I could actually get the car up on a hoist instead of jacked up in the carport, definitely worthwhile, checked the level and it was a bit over, removed the red straw to get rid of some of the new(ish) fluid and a bit more of the remains of the old WS, and this time topped it up using the straw as the leveller. Overall very positive, ****ing does feel a lot better, it's hard to explain it and again I realise it may be part placebo, but it feels distinctly happier, notable difference regarding little things like when I reverse out of the carport in the morning etc. Also shall have to keep an eye on the fuel consumption next tankful, as I believe too much ATF negatively impacted fuel consumption. The peace of mind is excellent. And of course, I'll report back if somewhere in the future my gearbox decides to die :)

Haha, no need to apologise mate, life is best experienced doing what interests you :) I personally don't really get jetskis - I mean, I'd love one as a fishing or diving vehicle, but just going fast back and forth and in circles doesn't give me the slightest of interest :p Mind you, 500 ponies is a damn fine number! Deeeelicious! Definitely appreciate the description of what you'd done with the electric motors, pretty damn impressive to hear how overall easy it was for even just a crude setup. All the best for the future man!

I'm going to be so very interested to see what you end up with. Like Trent said, $10k sadly doesn't go a huge distance depending on what you do these days. Do wonder if there's enough room to do compromise with CHA54's idea, and add a turbo along with the SC. superturbo, awww yeeeee :D

Their fully synthetic multi vehicle fluid. https://www.penriteoil.com.au/products.php?id_categ=3&id_products=336

The problem will most likely lay in the tracks on the glass, it's not unknown for them to eventually break down and lose the connection. A faint memory says you can buy stuff to rebuild small sections. For a start, just trace it all and look closely, poke at any bits that seem to have bubbled or come away from the glass.

Meant to mention I did mine last week, I tell you what it's a messy b*****d of a job and a hellishly awkward one without a car hoist! Changed the oil and also changed out the strainer inside, so I got to see a decent buildup on the two magnets inside the pan. I won't lie, I'm not sure if I got the right amount of fluid back in, but I've only today learned of a DIY garage in Perth that I'm going to get to so I can use their hoists to measure it properly, I'll also change the oil again so that any old remnants are completely gone. Overall, first time it's a hair puller because of one single awkwardly located bolt (Either need a crows foot spanner, or the transmission to lift up like the guy did in another thread on here, mine just wouldn't budge annoyingly), but I can see how it'll be a lot easier next time (won't worry about the strainer for another 50k I reckon). Also, with my "I think that's close enough haha" amount, it's still shifting nicer than it was previously, and it feels like there's less lag when putting your foot down. Two drums of Penrite (only used one) for about $45 each, a hand pump for $13, and the strainer/gasket was about $75. Almost an entire day under the car, most of it stuffing around with a single bolt (had to make my own tool to get it!). The peace of mind is well and truly worth it.

Nulon is just the brand, they do a range of things, engine oils, automatic transmission fluids, manual gearbox oils, differential oils, and some other things. The main thing to look for is that the ATF at the very least meets the level of the "recommended" Toyota oil, which for the U660E gearbox is WS (world standard). This is the one by Nulon: http://www.nulon.com.au/products/Automatic_Transmission_Fluids/Full_Synthetic_Multi_Vehicle_Automatic_Transmission_Fluid/#intro Thanks to the link you posted earlier in the thread, I gained a clear insight of how to change the ATF yourself, and a few DIY threads elsewhere have confirmed that. Thankfully, I have an adapter that lets me access the on-board diagnostics (Cheap and cheerless OBDii bluetooth adapter, if you want to ebay one for yourself) with thanks to an Android app (Torque is the one I swear by). Means I can find the temperature of the ATF without needing any extra equipment, and therefore get it to the ideal temperature for going by the "red straw" measurement. And I have to say, going by some of the comments on other sites, my ATF has been going downhill for a while - When I first bought the car, almost couldn't feel the gear changes. Now, and for quite some time, it's pretty obvious when it does change gears. In the immortal words of Scooby Do, ruh roh!

Man, all the reading over the web I'm doing is a bit of an eyeopener! Definitely going to be pulling my thumb out and doing a change, especially since the car has clocked over 100k. Think I'll refill it with the Nulon atf, fully synthetic that meets/exceeds the WS spec. Will attempt to remember to take photos to show how relatively straight forwards it is (or if I hit headaches, isn't!)

Very sadly scant on details (Gotta click on the quote subjects to go see the full text, this forum editor is a pain in the butt D: ) and That's a thing that I'd almost very willingly find the money to do to my TRD.

I just wish that fellah who claimed he'd been toying with electric motors on the rear wheels would cough up some solid details, the way he titillated extra power and torque was the stuff of dreams.

It sucks that it happened, but thanks for giving us all a timely reminder about it Steve. And a double thanks for the link to the AustralianCar.Reviews page, with that video on checking the ATF level, very informative! I may not have any of the tools that fellow used, but it has taught me how I may adapt. Verrrry interesting stuff, though ultimately very straight forwards :)

Heh, I love the wince that photo induces each time I see it. I'll admit, I'd love it if I had the money spare to strengthen the internals, even if it didn't really mean any power benefit that wouldn't worry me. Love my car, and it would be nice to just make sure it will last longer. Haha, at least dreaming of doing that doesn't cost me anything :p

First hit via Google ;) But yeah, you've obviously got something much much better!

Yeah, I think it was the MA-Z1 tyres. Didn't even hit 15,000kms on them, and they were starting to get scalloped leading to vibrations through the steering wheel and increased noise. Tyre guy told me that that's a common problem with the Maxxis tyres, and that one of the more important things to do is get tyres which are designated to going on one side or another, as the offset tread pattern they have is better. Can't remember the particulars, I just swear by that store.

Sumitomo, they're holding up well. The last set were Maxxis, they were absolute cr*p.

You're not the only one, my front bumper also has the same creep. Noticed it a couple of years back, hasn't gotten any worse, but annoys the living s*** out of me regardless. Have previously removed the front bumper in order to repair the cracks that form at the bottom corners, don't particularly remember there being anything that I could see for me to do to make it nicer.

You have to admit, blaming high humidity or temperatures for the cause is a bit of a deflection of the problem. My personal guess would be a an issue with a batch of whatever was used in the manufacture of that range of dashes which is triggered by age, and potentially those factors. Sneaky Toyota, very very sneaky.

Trent beat me to it, pretty certain it's the coupler. The noise on mine gradually started/built up over time, I keep on meaning to replace it, but I want to make sure I do like for like, as I understand some Eaton SCs use a torsion coupler (Has a spring to absorb bursts of energy), though most do use the old solid coupler (can be prone to breaking). I should see if my new inspection camera will cut the mustard and let me work out what type of coupler it is, otherwise I really should bite the bullet and take the snout off and check. I didn't buy six bottles of SC oil for no reason a couple of years back afterall!

Get your butt to a dealership and get it sorted!

Never had anyone do that to me on the road. Have had people strike up conversation in carparks and whatnot, and one time went into a shop and the guy serving me said if I ever wanted to sell her (haha not a chance!) It's nice that they still catch people's eyes.

Not sure if trolling or legit. But just in case; https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B-a6Tk-Li8MWNzQxYTZhZDgtMDc0MS00NDM1LWI0NGUtMDY4ZmRiODRmZDgw&usp=drive_web&ddrp=1&urp=http://au.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/19545-&hl=en_GB&pli=1

vvti rattle:

I find the OXs look better. The silver clashes with the rest of the car on the dynasties, but the black of the OXs works nicely. Also, I reckon the dynasty rims look too sp****, not enough spokes/too much empty space to really match up to the style of the car itself.

Thanks for the update!