Visitor # 379951 since 28.AUG.2001
"Real Wheelers Are Built, Not Bought"
Here are some cheap tricks and tips I've found for repairing and upgrading my rig. These are simple modifications and repairs that for the most part cost very little and take little time.
LED light bulb upgrades
Brighter Headlights
Here are some engine photos of
the 22REC engine taken over the years...
Toyota Axle Modifications
Easy starter repairs, now available on-line:
starter solenoid contacts
Windshield Trim Replacement
Pinion Seal Replacement
Power Antenna Repair
Repairing
defective power window switch
Timing and Diagnostic Check Connector
locations
You know, it is that tiny light behind the factory roll bar on the driver's side, that doesn't seem to work. Took me a while to figure out that you needed to have the parking lights on (it is fed from the main exterior light relay). Kind of useless though, for example if you are camping or sleeping in back and need some light, you have to run around to the front, turn on the parking lights, all to have a puny 3W light in back. Add to that the the deck light is essentially "on the deck", so if you have anything in back, the light will likely be blocked. The only cool thing about the deck light is that it has both front and rear switches, wired up like you would have in a hallway with a switch at each end. Turn the light on with one switch, walk down the hall and turn the light off with the other switch.
So, while this deck light is sort of lame, it has promise. First step is to re-power it off the battery. Pull the lower dash off, disconnect the deck light plug and find the dark green wire (upper left of the connector) - that supplies power to the whole circuit. I cut it, spliced in a male and female spade connector and then tapped into my CB radio power feed. Any source of power could be used, the dome light fuse that powers the dome light is right there in the fuse block. I left the old wire with a mating spade connector in case I ever wanted to revert to stock.
Then, since the light may now actually get used, I replaced the 31mm festoon bulb with a white, 6-LED festoon bulb replacement. This LED puts out more light than the 3W incandescent bulb with 1/4 the current draw (about 60mA). So now there is light available any time, controllable from the front or rear switch. However, one big problem remains, the light is usually blocked with gear in the bed.
So, to address this problem, a different light location is needed. I already have a 12V LED trouble light stick zip tied to the roll bar. It has a 12V plug on it and I have 3 - 12V outlets down the passenger side of the bed rail that I can plug it into when needed. It throws a whole lot of light but it is sometimes inconvenient fumbling around in the dark trying to find the plug and an empty socket to stick it into. So the final solution is to add a switched 12V outlet on the driver's side, right above the deck light, power is tapped off the deck light. This allows the overhead light to be left plugged in all the time and switched on and off with a switch. And the overhead light also doubles as a trouble light, it can be easily unplugged and removed. Being a solid state light, it does not suffer from banging around like a flourescent light does (I killed a few of those over the years). And the LEDs are very efficient light producers, so no worries about leaving them on for hours at a time while camping.
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| Wiring Detail | Side and Overhead Lights |
In the above-left image, the connections of the wires to the back of the deck light socket is shown. With LED lights, polarity matters, the R-B wire is +12V and the W-B wire is ground. The two wires are run up to a 12V outlet screwed to the side of the bed rail. The LED trouble light plugs into that outlet and can then be turned on (image above-right) or off from either the switch at the deck light or from the deck light switch on the dash. As wired, even the indicator light on the front deck light switch illuminates so you don't forget to leave it on. The lit image above does not do the light output justice (my digital camera does poor in low light), but suffice it to say, reading would not be a problem with the amount of light thrown by the overhead LEDs. Also, the trouble light has an on/off switch so it can be shut off to use only the deck light. With the 60 bright LEDs in the trouble light, it does pull a few amps of current, but it puts out about the same light as a 100W incandescent bulb.
After 19 years of California sun, I found the upper edges of the trim rings around the inside door handles was badly damaged by the UV light. The plastic was cracking and chunks were starting to fall off. Attempts to use vinyl cleaners and treatments met with no success. Then if dawned on me that the trim on the passenger side was a perfect fit for the driver's side. Swapping the two trim rings placed the sun-damaged side down and the like-new side up, giving a nice face lift to the look of the doors. Cost nothing, perfect color match and hopefully it'll last another 19 years!
There are a few options for adding oil coolers to an engine. Most require adding an adapter to the oil filter then running hoses to and from an air-oil or water-oil heat exchanger located elsewhere. I found a simpler version that seems to work well to add a bit of cooling effect to the oil filter and also helps protect it from flying road debris:
I used the Cool Collar from JC Whitney to fit over the oil filter, a finned aluminum extrusion held in place with a hose clamp. The regular size exactly fits the stock 22RE oil filter. I took the time to go around the sharp fin corners on the end of the cooler with a set of wire cutters to trim off the sharp ends and also filed them smooth to avoid nasty scrapes in the future. I find the fins make it easy to grip the filter for installation and removal. It just takes a few seconds to move it to the new filter at each oil change. I also added the same filter cooler to my Howe power steering fluid reservoir filter.
Here are a few handy tips and tricks for working on the high pressure EFI fuel pumps on Toyota 22RE trucks.
In the 1st generation Toyota 4Runners, there is a handy access hatch under the rear seat cushions. Remove the screws that hold it in place and the fuel pump is easily accessible. It is held in with some screws and you can remove and replace it without draining and dropping the gas tank.
If you find your engine is hard to start when it has been sitting for a while, but is still warm, you might have a problem with the fuel pump not turning on. I noticed my '85 4Runner would need to be cranked for many seconds before it would start. When I was doing some work on the engine, I decided to install an electronic fuel pressure sender in the fuel injector rail (I drilled a hole in the end of the rail, soldered in a brass pipe elbow and screwed the sender into that) and noticed when the engine is cranking but not starting, my fuel pressure was zero. Then, it would pop up to the normal operating range and the engine would fire. I reasoned that I had to crank the engine fast enough to pull sufficient air into the AFM to trip the fuel pump contacts and pressurize the system (I suspect I have an air leak in the fuel system that is letting the residual pressure bleed off over a few minutes - I see no fuel leaking). Anyway, digging through the handy FSM, I found the following:
I first found this while going through the engine check out procedure after doing a rebuild procedure, but then it dawned on me that this would help with the starting fuel pressure problem. So I stuck a wire in the check connector (its the rectangular connector just left of center in image A below - circled in red). FYI. That photo was taken looking at the driver's side inner fender, under the hood from the passenger side, for reference. Image B shows a closeup of the RED jumper wire inserted into the test connector, a pair of spade lugs are crimped onto the ends of the wire and its just inserted into the connector terminals (see image A below).
And viola, the engine starts on the first crank almost all the time, hot, cold, no difference. The fuel pump switch in my AFM tests out fine, so I don't think that is the cause of my problem. I imagine this is sort of a safety feature, shuts off the fuel pump if the engine stops. With the jumper installed, the fuel pump runs whenever the ignition is on.
If you find this jumper fixes your starting problem, it might be that the Circuit Opening Relay secondary coil is weak or defective. If you want to pull it out to test it, here is where it is located. The Main Relay is located in the driver's side kick panel, in the lower left hand corner of the relay panel above the fuse block.
By the way, the small round connector at the top of the above image is the notorious "T" connector (location of the T and E1 terminals) for setting timing and checking ECU codes (circled in light blue) and the larger round connector is some other test plug (circled in green), then there is a small round one-wire connector (not shown in the above picture) that has the O2 sensor voltage for testing purposes. These are located on the driver's side inner fender.
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| A: Overview of early engine Diagnostic and Test Connectors |
B: Early model Fuel Pump Test Connector w/ jumper installed |
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| C: Later model TCCS Diagnostic Connector | D: Later model FP-B+ Jumper |
[Click above for a larger image]
Note: On later model trucks, there is no separate fuel pump test connector, rather you have to use the diagnostic test connector (shown above) and follow the test procedure outlined in the Factory Service Manual, which involves jumpering the "Fp" and "B+" terminals (see photo D).
The underlying problem is most likely that the winding on the circuit opening relay (see schematic above) that is energized by the ECU STArt signal is not working properly. Lacking this signal to energize the fuel pump, I get no fuel pressure while starting, until enough air flows through the AFM to trip its fuel pump contact. I hope to get the CO relay checked out and hopefully this will correct the problem.
You'll then need to buy or build a code reading/scan tool for the ECU. While you may find a down-right dearth of such tools available for the early (pre-ODBII) Toyota ECUs, many office supply stores do carry "scan tools" :)
Hint: The metal ones work the best!
Assembly and Use Instructions:
Notes:
And, after tiring of fumbling around for something to jumper either the diagnostics or fuel pump test connector, I came up with a very simple solution. Using a piece of aluminum angle, pop-riveted to the lip of the fender, I drilled a couple of holes to mount a pair of SPST toggle switches. A pair of wires from each switch runs to the approriate test plug and now it is a simple matter to flip a switch and pull the diagnostics codes:
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| Fuel Pump and Diag. Switches |
And once you have read out the codes and potentially fixed the problems associated with them and you want to clear the Check Engine Light, how do you do that? Simple, you can either pull the "EFI" fuse in the driver's side kick panel fuse panel, or disconnect the battery (either terminal) for a few minutes. Doing either of these removes power from the ECU and causes it to reset. This both clears any stored codes, but also any stored engine data, so the ECU will need to "re-learn" the fine tuning data for the fuel injection system, which it will do in a few miles of driving.
When I installed my front bumper and winch, it came with a roller fairlead. The rollers help guide and protect the winch cable for angled pulls, but I didn't like the fact the the fairlead stuck out so far. I found out there is a different type of fairlead called a Hawse Fairlead. It consists of a piece of steel with a gradual radius formed in its face. The radius serves many of the same purposes as the roller fairlead, but since it is both continuous in all directions and is both smaller and more rugged, this seemed to be a better solution for me.
I ordered a Warn Hawse Fairlead and unfortunately got something that was way too small to fit my bumper. So, I decided to modify the front of my bumper (its made out of 3/8" steel plate) by grinding a radius in the winch cable opening. About 30 minutes with the grinder and I had a nicely rounded hawse fairlead opening. I also welded the nuts for the roller fairlead to the backside of the bumper. Now, I use the integral Hawse fairlead most of the time and in a few minutes can have the roller fairlead attached.
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The very first thing I disliked about my 4Runner on its test drive before I bought it was that silly button you have to depress to remove the key. I put up with that annoyance for nearly 5 years. One day, I had occasion to open up the steering column housing and figured I'd take a shot at disabling that "feature". Apparently this is only used on certain years of trucks, but I didn't feel up to swapping out an ignition switch from another truck and fool with re-keying everything. There didn't appear to be anyway to remove the button, nor did there seem to be any harm if having it pressed all the time. So I whipped up a bit of epoxy, applied a bit around the base of the button then clamped it down until the glue cured. It helps to depress the button a few times to work the glue down around the button body to give added strength.
Viola, key can be removed with one hand! Don't overdo the glue, I trimmed off most of the excess once it set up a bit and if need be, can easy twist the button loose. With the housing installed, you can only see the top of the button. Another option at doing this mod is to insert the key into the lock, turn it slightly and depress the release pin (houing removed for access) then you can remove the lock and access the internal mechanism that does the locking. There is a metal piece that is released by the push button that can be removed. But since gluing down the button works well, I did not bother with modifying the ignition switch mechanism.
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You buy a new car and you might hear about how to break in the new engine. There seem to be a few popular engine breakin regimens, but most involve keeping speeds down for the first 500-1000 miles, avoid driving an steady speeds, and change the oil at 1000-2000 miles or so to flush out metal shavings and other contaminants.
So, why is it you never hear about breaking in the transmission or differential gears? I suppose its assumed that if you take at easy breaking in the new engine, the gears and other moving parts will take care of themselves. However, if you change the gears in your 4WD truck that's already well broken in, you should take care and break the gears in properly. After all, you are probably upgrading the gears because you went to larger tires and also do low speed offroad driving, both of which mean there are more stresses on the ring an pinion gears themselves, compared to a passenger car driving on the freeway. Also, ther first thing you are probably going to want to do is lock those hubs and take the rig to the local off-road area and see what it'll do!
So why do gears need a breakin period? When the gears are machined, they may have slight surface irregularities then prevent them meshing smoothly and also lead to higher levels of friction and heat buildup. When the gears are installed, there are also slight variations in the setup due to variations in the housing, gear mfg. and installer. This all means that it is important to allow the ring and pinion gear teeth to mesh properly over a period of time so as to minimize heat buildup. If done too quickly, the teeth can get too hot, causing the gear oil to break down, and leading to even high heat in the teeth, which can ruin the heat treating in the steel and lead to broken teeth down the road.
When I got my new gears installed, I filled the axles with some cheap, conventional 80W90 gear oil. Then I let them run in 10 minutes under no load, by supporting the axle in the air, letting the engine idle and putting the transmission in a low gear. If you are doing both axles, don't forget about the front axle (I did that first, with the rear driveshaft removed, transfer case in 4HI). After putting the vehicle back o the ground, I took it for a slow spin around the block then parked it for the night. The next two days, I drove to and from work, sticking to residential streets (25MPH) and put about 40 miles on it that way. Then I moved up to expressways in the 35-45MPH range, keeping trips to 10 miles or less. I also got in some good stop-n-go rush hour traffic, which IMHO makes a wonderful gear breakin method, stopping, starting, accelerating, decelerating, sitting, etc. are all great for the gears. At the end of the week, and around 100 miles, I ventured up to the highway and did a few 10 mile trips at 55-65MPH for about 200 miles total.
All the above was done on the rear gears, so next, I dropped the rear driveshaft, locked the front hubs and repeated the above steps for another week or two in front wheel drive mode. Then after getting around 200 miles on each set of gears, I drained the breakin oil and filled them back up with a good synthetic oil (I chose Redline Heavyweight Shockproof) and then did about 400 miles of easy highway driving before I did any 4-wheeling. I hope to be moving the differentials over to my new axles and I'll post some photos of the gear teeth when I have them out.
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After everybody looked at me like I was crazy for saying that it ran hotter with the heat on, I went to the dealership and bought t-stat part # 90916-03070. This did the trick. What happens on the 22R and 22RE engine, when the coolant goes through the heater core it gets cooled off enough that when it gets dumped back in on top of the t-stat it shuts it. Therefore the temperature in the engine continues to go up. The t-stat that I have mentioned has two valves in it, one at the regular temp. and one smaller on at a cooler temp. If the cool water shuts the big one, the smaller one stays open. The overshooting/spiking temperature gauge may aslo appear independent of heater operation.
All this may happen because of some flow instability in the cooling system or the lack of a by-pass hose, which on other systems, keeps hot coolant running on the t-stat. On the subject of the overheating thread, an engine can run hotter with no t-stat. But it would probably be a system configured differently than the 22re. Mine runs cold when the t-stat is removed. Just a minor change in components can trigger this problem. In my case, I had a rebuilt engine installed. No problems with the original engine, but the new one (block and head - wame water pump, t-stat, radiator, etc.) was enough to trigget the temperature gauge overshoot.
Another advantage of the 2-stage thermostat is that the thermal "inertia" of a thermostat is greatly affected by the mass of the temperature sensing element (a.k.a. slug) on the thermostat. The normal single-stage t-stat has one big valve with a large spring and a large slug to force the spring open. The 2-stage t-stat, on the other hand, has a tiny valve and a medium sized valve, with tiny and medium sized springs and slugs. This lets the smaller t-stat valve react very fast to engine temperature changes and the medium sized valve, although a bit slower, still operates faster that the one large valve.
A lower-cost version of this can be done by drilling one or more small holes around the edge of the single state t-stat to allow some coolant to flow all the time. This functions like the normal bypass hose on other engine designs.
On the subject of thermostats (or turd-mo-stats for Toy4x4 old-timers:-), I once tried one of those "fail safe" thermostats. A normal t-stat has a spring that holds the valve closed and the slug forces the valve open in response to coolant temperature. The slug has a sealed chamber with a temperature sensitive medium in it that expands when heated. The typical t-stat failure mode is that the chamber leaks or swells, preventing the t-stat from opening. The fail safe thermostat has a catch that is engaged when the t-stat valve opens fully and then the valve is held open. I guess the idea is that if the engine ever does begin to overheat, the t-stat locks open and prevents further damage. Well anyway, I had installed one once, and it worked fine. One day, I lost the silicone oil out of my fan clutch (didn't notice this until later when I popped the hood and saw the results) on a hot (100F) day. I recall seeing a slight temp rise once, but nothing too bad. Some weeks later, on a cool night, I turned on the heater and got almost no heat. This is when I popped the hood, saw the oil sprayed all over and put two and two together. Pulled the t-stat out and sure enough, it was latched open, so I guess it did its job. However, I now had to replace the t-stat, since once it locks open, it can't be reused. But I guess this also shows the engine runs cooler with at least a wide open t-stat in it.
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| 90916-03070 | 09916-03078 vs. 90916-03070 |
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Why 2 numbers? The first is what I found in an old e-mail I had saved and was the p/n I ordered at my local Toyota dealer in 1998. Later, someone send me the 2nd number given to them by a Toyota parts counter. My guess is the older p/n was superceeded by the new p/n, apparently both fit the thermostat housing, both open at 88°C, if it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck, its a duck!
And, in case you think I'm making this all up, there is an honest to goodness Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) issued by Toyota for this very problem:
TSB: 029032787 22R-E Engine Temperature Overshoot
It says:
Some 1984 pickup trucks and 1983-1984 Celica models, equipped with 22R-E engines, may experience a condition called "temperature gauge overshoot". After starting a cold engine the temperature gauge will indicate a higher than normal engine temperature for a short time just prior to the thermostat opening. After the thermostat opens, the temperature gauge will return to the normal range. A new double valve thermostat has been made available to reduce temperature gauge overshoot.
And calls for part number 90916-03070 which according to the TSB replaces 90916-03055.
Now, why they say this only affects 83-84 engines is beyond me (there may be other TSBs) but my '85 has this exact problem and this part corrects the problem. I have been running the same thermostat now for at least 7 years, it is still working fine, I suspect that the smaller t-stat valve handles most of the temperature fine tuning and saves the larger vavle for the large adjustments. This division of labor saves wear and tear on the moving parts and with two valves, you have a sort of built-in redundancy of function. I have heard you can also drill a small hole (1/16" or so) in the base of the thermostat flange and get a similar effect.
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It is under the thermostat housing (or neck) beside the valve cover. A sure fire method to locate the thermostat on most engines is to follow the upper radiator hose from the radiator back to where it connects to the engine. Usually the t-stat is located right there:
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| 22R/E T-stat Location |
In the above image, the t-stat housing is between the EFI intake plenum and the valve cover. It is painted red in the above image, buried beneath a few vacuum lines. With a cool engine. mark and remove the lines to access the cover and drain a quart or two of coolant from the radiator drain valve. Disconnect the temperature sender(s) wires, the upper radiator hose and remove the two retaining bolts (12mm head). Lift off the housing, take note of the old t-stat orientation (i.e. which side is up) and then remove the old t-stat and gasket.
Check that the gasket surface is clean and smooth, install the gasket around the t-stat, drop it in place with the "slug(s)" down. Replace the housing and apply some anti-sieze compound to the bolt threads and insert them. Tighten them down snugly, replace the vacuum lines and electircal connectors and refill the cooling system. Run the engine to temperature with the radiator cap off to allow any trapped air to vent, then put the cap on and check for leaks.
Also a good idea to test a new t-stat prior to installation. Drop it in a pot of water on the stove and use a thermometer to see at what temperature it opens and that it opens fully. I will usually test the old t-stat as well, to see if it was defective or not.
Want to replace that inadequate, leaking stock steering damper? Well, you'll need to get the rod end out of the tie rod first. If Liquid Wrench and the BFH don't work (never seen it work yet) take out the trusty Hot Wrench (i.e. torch, propane that is) and heat the stud until the grease/boot on the other side just starts to smoke. Put down the Hot Wrench and grab the BFH and one or two taps and it'll fall right out. You don't want to heat the tie rod itself, just the end of the stud.
Same trick works on tie rod ends and other stubborn tapered studs. The heat causes the stud to expand and it also helps loosen whatever is holding it in, then the brief delay in setting down the torch and picking up the hammer lets the metal cool/shrink a bit and the rest is history.
The factory steering damper has a set of rubber bushings on one end and what appears to be an honest-to-goodness tie rod end on the other end. Before chucking it in the dumpster, take a hack saw and slit the loop end and pop that rod end out. You'll have a spare rod end and boot for your parts box! Not exactly sure if it is replaceable, but the nut, boot and retaining spring are worth saving.
Cost:
Next to nothing
Rating:
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I love the power windows in my 4Runner, makes it easy to roll them up in the dust or down to hear the spotter's instructions. One thing that I don't like is that you need the ignition on to operate the windows. If it was just the ACC, I wouldn't mind so much, but the ignition, come on!
A quick look at the wiring schematic for my model, shows there is a relay that is powered by an ignition lead that connects the power window switches through a circuit breaker to the battery. I guess this must be some sort of security or safety feature, but it seems that if you just jumper across the relay contacts, the windows will operate any time you want. Since the power is already fed through a 20A breaker, there is no electrical safety problems involved. I fashioned a short piece of 12-ga wire with a spade lug on each end end that fit into the two contacts where the relay plugs into. Just be sure to jumper across the relay contacts and not the relay coil.
The relay and circuit breaker are behind the kick panel on the driver's side, above the cruise control module (see photo below). My circuit breaker was bright yellow and the relay was above it. The heavy black wire shows where I jumpered my relay contacts. I used crimp-on, uninsulated spade lugs to insert into the relay socket.
Cost:
Crimp-on wire terminals and wire - under $1
Rating:
I've got the driver's side Sport Seat (must have a bazillion SR-5s in the fabric) in my 4Runner. I really like it's adjustability and comfort. My only real complaint is that its not well suited for off-roading. I'm not short (at 6'-1") but I felt like I was sitting down in a hole in the seat. The back of the seat was too low and the forward adjustment of the back rest is too far back for my liking if I wanted to look over the hood to see where I was going.
Looking around the seat frame, I saw that the frame just bolts to the body floor in back. I pulled a bolt (M10x25mm 1.25 pitch) and figured I could get a longer bolt and stuff some thick washers under the frame. I used 8 - 1/8" thick washers to give me about 1" of lift. I basically measured my head clearance (to the roof) and split the difference. While 1" doesn't sound like much, it makes a world of difference in visibility. Also, the highest setting on the seat back adjustment is now more upright which gives a much better off-road driving position.
I also have a 1" "seat lift" on the passenger side as well. The actuator cable under the passenger seat broke (a common occurrence on the 2-door 1st generation 4Runners), so in order to replace it, I needed to pull the seat out. With the seat stuck back, it was nearly impossible to get to the two rear bolts. So after replacing the cable, I installed spacers under the seat supports. The added space under the passenger seat should make fixing the cable next time it breaks a whole lot easier.
Cost:
16 Fender Washers $5
2 10mm bolts $5
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Total $10
Rating:
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| Seat Lift Installed |
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Notes:
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shipping - via First Class mail (~7 days) |
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shipping - via Priority Mail (2-3 days) |
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While trying to find the resistor pack to fix my inoperative blower motor, I looked all over under and behind the dash. That time, as it turned out, was not wasted. I found that if you pull the two screws attaching the glove box hinges to the dash out, the whole glove box can be taken out, revealing all the guts inside the dash. A real handy way to get to a lot of the stuff back there. And if you look up (w/ head on the floor) where the glove box was, you'll see the little light bulb that is *supposed* to illuminate the box when it is open. Mine didn't, but now it does. It's a mini-bulb, same one that is used behind the heater controls. Is it a coincidence that there are two of these bulbs and they come two to a package?
Speaking of the heater control lamp, mine was also burned out. To get to that gem, you simply have to slide the heater controls to the middle, pull the knobs off and then pry out the plastic face with a small screw driver. The mini lamp socket is behind the face. I found it is not very well supported from the back and when I pushed in the bulb, the socket popped out. It works best if you slide one finger up from behind to hold it in place while pushing in the tiny lamp.
Cost:
Varies, minimal
Rating:
When I bought my 4Runner, the previous owner commented he was having trouble with the passenger side power window. Had taken it to a shop several times, all sorts of checks were done but the problem persisted. It worked fine from the driver's side switch but the passenger side was intermittent.
I pulled off the switch by unscrewing it from the back of the door panel. It turns out that the switch sandwiches the door panel, the front piece has the rocker and the back piece has the electrical contacts. In my case, both of the screw holes were badly stripped and the problem was when the rocker was pushed, the spring force would separate the switch halves, preventing the contacts from mating.
I took off the front piece and filled it up with epoxy and let it cure. Then I used a Dremel tool and drill press holder (forming a simple but effective milling machine) to mill out the epoxy enough to allow the back piece to mate to the front. Then I re-drilled the screw holes and re-attached the switch to the door. Works like a champ now!
Well, it worked for a few years anyway. When the switch started acting up again, I decided to tear it apart again, thinking the screws had stripped out again. Turns out they were fine, the earlier epoxy repair was still holding up fine. So, its was time to investigate the underlying cause of the problem. Looking at the passenger side switch, I figured out how it works. Basically, it does all the interlocking to prevent silumtaneous operation by the driver and passenger side switches, which might cause a short circuit. All the switch does is provide power and ground to the power window motor, one polarity to raise it, the opposite to lower it. The passenger side switch has 2 pairs of contacts, one normally closed and one normally open. The normally closed contacts pass the signals from the driver's side switch to the passenger side motor, the normally open ones drive the passenger side motor directly. This all functions via the rocker in the passenger side switch and its position inside the switch assembly itself.
So what does this all mean? I found that while the driver's side switch would work the passenger side window just fine, it did not work from the passenger side switch. Turns out the rocker had worn the pivot point in the switch face a little deeper over time, this let the rocker move away from the contacts just enough that it could no longer close them when depressed. Simple fix was to build up the pivot point with some JB Weld, which is shown below:
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| Window Switch Repair |
After reassembling the switch, I found it worked perfectly from the passenger side (Woo Hoo!) but no longer worked from the driver's side (Bummer!). Then it dawned on me that it was the rocker being perfectly centered in the housing that was key, as if it were too far from one side, those contacts were not made up and no power would flow. So I carefully whittled away the built up JB Weld until the rocker was perfectly centered and both driver and passenger side operation worked. Took a half dozen tries to get it dialed in, but now its finally working as designed. And, an added benefit is that the passenger side window now goes up and down faster, since the switch is making better contact, there is less resistive loss in it and more power is getting to the motor.
Cost:
Minimal
Rating:
Mine was worn out, leaving a tattered cloth backing that allowed the foam to yellow and shred in the sun. Also the front latch was broken off and the hinges were very loose and the whole thing rattled with every bump.
Unscrew the hinge, take off the base plate and the cushion will lift off. Carefully remove the old vinyl, you'll need it for a pattern on the new vinyl. Go to fabric store with the old vinyl and try to find a close match. You'll need six inches or so, but they want to see you a yard. After ripping out the seams on the corners, flatten out the old vinyl on the new and trace a pattern for the new piece. I found it best to iron out the old cloth backing and tape up any tears get the best fit. Also, it works to fold the old vinyl in half lengthwise and take the average between the edges. Be sure to include some index notches when cutting out the vinyl to make it easier to sew.
Sew up the corners, turn the cover right side out and you are ready to install it. I added a piece of 1/4" closed-cell foam over the existing foam after trimming off a like amount to fill in where chunks were missing. Screw everything back together, get a new latch (if required) and you now have a very handy place to rest your arm while driving.
Rating:
-or- if you don't have a friend that sews :-)
[Last updated: 03.June.2008]
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