What have you done to your 1st gen Tundra today?

Finally got rid of the K&N air filter previous owner had on this thing. Went with Toyota OEM off Amazon, I don't hear the little whistle anymore at WOT but I feel safer about filtration.

 

If you want to laugh, hold that K&N up to the sun and look at the filter media.

 

Your not kidding! It was honestly a little shocking how dirty the air box was too.

 

... But if you oil and clean it regularly it is just fine! Gives me 3 more HP, too. (eye rolls)

 

This is from March but thought I would share the results from my. Blackstone Labs oil analysis for anyone that's curious. I had asked them about going over a year for an oil change becauae at that time my Tundra was the spare vehicle and not driven very often.

 

I’ll check them out. Should be headed through Springfield this weekend. Meeting some folks down in the Ozarks!

 

Replaced the old corner lamps and headlights. The corner lamps were pretty stubborn to get out of there.

 

Yes they are. Cracked mine the first go around on changing just the headlights 3-4 years ago.

What headlight casing and bulbs you install?

Trick tip if you need to replace your fogs lamps is do them after the headlights casing is out. Now that you have the practice its easier to pull the casings out than crawling underneath to change the fogs.

Good job.

 

The driver side corner was already cracked, so I started beating on that one first. The headlights and corners are some generic 'Auto Vision' brand, but I figured for $60 for the set it would at least hold me over until I can find an OEM set for cheap or at a junkyard.

I originally wasn't going to replace the foglights originally, but after seeing them with the new headlights...I think I might start by cleaning them, and seeing how long that lasts, otherwise I will try and order a new set. I wish I could find an OEM style fit LED set.

I just need to order the Amber LED's for the corners, and some nicer bulbs for the headlights, I just used the ones that came installed.

 

Amazing what a little change makes. Your truck looks new again.

 

So which of those filters are "better"? I've heard good things about Mobil1. I typically don't change my own oil because the minimal cost savings doesn't justify my time. But I know Meineke isn't using a great oil filter.

 

I've been using K&N filters for ~ 20 years, the longest vehicle being my 1999 Honda Valkyrie (55,000 miles). I can feel no loss of power, my engines do not burn more oil (as you would expect from a shortened life span if using dirty air), and I've saved literally hundreds of dollars by not buying a new filter every 10k miles on my 6 vehicles. What's not to like?

Just asking, not looking for a flame war or anything....

Jim

 

Well since you asked:
1) Filthypil above stated how dirty the inside of his filter box was with the K&N. Wonder why its dirty?
2) I’ve seen pictures of others engines/catalytic convertors ruined after using K&N.
3) Last thing I want to do is clean and oil a $50? Filter every couple thousand miles when I can buy one $12 filter and pop it in at 15k miles in less than a minute.
4) My breakeven point (assuming $50 KN filter including cleaning kit) equals 4 paper filters around 60k miles. After 60k miles paper filters cost more, but lessen risk of damage for a small premium.
5) Convince me why I should buy a KN (other than its costs less after a few year breakeven senario). Do they filter better?

 

The Mobil1 premium filter came with the oil as a bargain combo deal. $35 for 5 qts oil plus filter (usually $15).

Without cutting it open and looking I say it seems to be working. It is a smaller filter than the Toy jumbo OEM Ones. The Toy filters are MUCH lighter even though they are bigger.

My goal is to change the oil every 3k miles so I bought the Toys filters (5pack $25). I want to see how they perform since its been 13 years since OEM one has been on there.

I don’t trust the quick lube oil monkeys to do my work anymore as I’ve seen too many problems with other cars. They don’t fully drain the old oil out due to being in a hurry.

Whenever the corner service shop does mine it usually ends up being around $50 due to the bigger engine requiring more oil (Syn blend). Now that I made the Full Syn switch, I can do it for half that price with superior oil now as my last Black Friday combo score was $25 (5qts) plus premium Mobil1 filter.

Takes me about 30 minutes to give it a good draining and refill for $25 savings plus its done right (drained properly).

 

If you strictly drive on pavement and throw some oil on the filter every couple thousand miles it’s probably not a big deal. However like I said I could literally see light through the filter and the air box was filthy with what’s been getting through the filter. I drive probably 3,000 miles a year on gravel roads and honestly I feel much better protected now.

 

I've run K&N for a few years. I don't mind cleaning and oiling them but I'm aware that they dont filter well even when properly oiled. I don't fear the damage some have reported but don't like running subpar filtration either. I ran a pre filter thing on it for a while, it helped but caused it's own problems.

I've been running a dry AEM in my GTI for 3 years now, that car doesnt go off road but does see some dusty conditions. The duct work between the filter and the turbo were very clean when I looked a few weeks ago. Filter was capturing a lot of crap, I tap it against the curb and put it back in. I'll clean it proper one day.

I'm running an airaid "synthetic" dry filter in my truck lately but haven't put enough miles down to report on how it does. I will say the build quality is very disappointing, the surround is poorly molded and filter area is obviously smaller than the K&N or a paper filter.

In my Element, which does see a little bit of off road here and there long with plenty of dusty mountain roads, I have been running an AFE "synthetic" dry filter there for 2 years. Not really happy with it so far, all the dirt is hitting one side, one spot in particular but it isn't very much dirt. It is a cylindrical filter, unlike the panel filters in my other cars. I am considering swapping it for a paper filter to see if the dirt pattern changes or spreads out.

In any case, a paper filter does a better job of filtering. If you want to save money on filters I recommend going with a dry one, and they aren't all the same. The AEM is my favorite so far... and it's made by K&N in my hometown.

 

How did this turn out Fred? The pictures on Amazon are impressive.

 

It did a wonderful job judging by the oil color coming out. I posted some pics of oil spots on a paper towel after doing the work. Followed the directions and did an extra step that some BMW guys were using on their engines per the reviews. The extra step was doing a sacrificial flush with basic oil (driving 25 miles then drain and new filter again) after the Liqui-Moly flush. Then topped the engine off with Mobil1 Full Syn.

The 25 mile oil was dirty looking so I’m glad I did it. Without actual testing equipment, I’d say it cleaned the inside of dirt and gunk. Visual inspection of both oil changes showed no chunks, but only dirty oil.

Engine ‘seems’ to run cooler and quietier. Exhaust gases aren’t as pungent smelling. Then again, I’ve done other things to the engine like valve cover gaskets, new coils/plugs, cleaned throttle body, etc. so the total sum could be playing a role.

 

I exclusively use liqui moly oil in my GTI. Expensive but good stuff.

 

I had K&N filters on my last 2 trucks. We have a lot of dirt and dust here plus I spend lots of time on dirt backroads. I found the K&N filters gummed up quickly with the dust and my airbox was always dirty.

I switched back to paper filters and havent had problems yet. I have a Fram in there now. I should call Toyota and find out what they charge for OEM filters.

 

I use auto store name brands ‘premium upgrade’ and they usually cost around $15+/-

Here is the OEM cost from an online supplier.

 

Bleeding the brakes....

These bleeder valves are so weak on these Eclipse Calipers (from Napa)....

Luckily when the bleeder valve decided to snap in half, it wasn’t leaking and it was holding just fine.

But I did get a spare from Napa to replace it when it gets warmer...

 

I already know which one I like. Curious what everyone thinks.

 

Black with white lettering!

 

Black with gray writing.

 

Black with the Silver Lettering is my choice as well. This company sells the screens made for our models. I’d do the install and add the Toyota lettering.

Anyone know the best place for the purchase of the lettering? Needs to be high quality metal. Probably will use a flex adhesive for the letters so no need for the 3M tape.

Maybe someone that de-badged has some for sale?

 

I'm going to de-badge the ones on the side of my truck. Is that what you want? You're welcome to have them as I would just throw them away otherwise.

 

I’ll take whatever you remove. The big TOYOTA will need to be ordered special. Anything you take off, especially the SR5, will be greatly appreciated. I’ll shoot you a check in the mail for shipping prior. Thank you so much.

 

You could do these, he does them with a backlight also. @Sting Ray
http://www.harmoncustoms.com/product/toyota-tundra-trd-pro-grill-letters-unpainted/