2006 Tundra Lucchese #42 (I've got issues)

I’ve painted at 1-2am multiple times. It just all depends upon the timing for me. Luckily i don’t have neighbors who live close enough for me to irritate.

 

Lights will be important to see the paint well as it lays down. So you can't do it inside? Usually that can work with a fan and enough airflow. Beware bugs will be attracted to the lights and hence your wet paint at night. Glad to hear you are practicing your gun / pressure, distance and speed before painting the panel.

 

I have a 5 acre property out in the county and my neighbor still calls the sheriffs for "noise complaints" when the deputy has on multiple occasions says he can't hear my equipment from their home. She already called them over the noise of my tiny orbital sander when I was working with it at 8pm. I really feel like they need to cite her for abuse of 911.

 

Primer is on, it already looks WAY better, hardly any orange peel, had a nice calm day to paint, got 3 coats on. I'm going to sand it with a 1000 grain, it's already very smooth with a nice even coat on it. WOO HOO!!

 

Theres a bit of orange peel in the clear coat, annoying, but I can sand it and reapply, I've got a gallon of the stuff so I'll apply liberally. I'm overall happy with the result!

 

Fantastic
Looks fantastic

 

Congrats! Making dad proud!

How many coats of clear? Enough that it might just sand out and polish up?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IDD-luBcZeE

 

It has two coats right now, I noticed a bit of dirt and I had a moth land directly into the clear so it made a huge smudge trying to free itself. I wanted 3 coats, but didn't want to layer on top of that smudge + dirt that it brought with it. Not sure how to proceed from there.

 

Sorry that happened. Is the moth out though and not dried into the paint, so just the pattern is left in the clear? Can you sand with 1000 then 1500 to level orange peel and remove the dirt / smudge without cutting through to the base then polish... or throw another coat on? It sounds like it's pretty hot there so maybe affecting the "flow" of the paint once laid on the panel? Maybe the gun fan is a little wide, or pressure could use a little adjustment, or the distance could be closer when spraying. But smaller fan and/or closer distance loads more paint. So have found the trick is to find the right corresponding speed that it goes on wet and doesn't look peely or dry, but doesn't load so much as to form drips or sags.

Maybe you've already watched a bunch of these type of videos...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qZWIFzFcvPE

Maybe @whodatschrome has some thoughts too.

 

This is the answer. Knowing this is the hood and it’s going to see the brunt of road debris, rocks, etc, if want to have 3-4 coats of clear anyway, so smoothing down the peel and laying another coat on before cutting and polishing is how I’d approach.

Although I’d want to understand what caused the orange peel in the first place, I’d have that little niggling concern in the back of my head about clear coat failure down the road if this was a case of contamination from lack of prep. Panel prep is monumental in getting a good paint job.

 

Everything what ToyotaDude said, but i'd attack the orange peel with a more aggressive grit sandpaper.

Read the data sheet for the clear coat and see how soon you can sand it. My wild guess is wait a minimum of 24 hours to wet sand. If the current two coats of clear are fairly thick, then i would wet sand with about a 500-600 grit. But as a warning, it will cut REALLY fast. Make 1000% sure you don't cut into the black base coat! The most common place that will happen is at the body lines and the curves. Use both a 6" rubber hard block and a softer sponge block to sand. Squirt in a little bit of soap into your bucket of water (that you're dipping your sanding block into). The soft sponge block can also double at a squeegee to wipe the water away in order to see what the areas you just sanded look like. Once you got the clear coat flatten out, then spray another 2 coats of clear.

 

I've got the hood back on with the faulty clear coat, can't tackle it due to work and some other stuff, but I have another question:

I took the truck out for a drive on Father's day to hit some memorable spots my dad liked, I noticed after driving it for about 45 mins that the engine's tone had changed and it was sounding like a turbine with a higher pitch than normal, I could no longer hear the usual rumbling when accelerating, I parked it and checked the idle and it was normal, RPM was table, checked for leaks, checked the belts, (the timing belt was changed 12k miles ago) and popped open the airfilter, as soon as I popped the filter it went back to it's normal tone. It has an OEM filter in it, but it seemed like it was gasping for air. I pulled out the intake to see if something got loose, and nothing, filter is newish. I put new filter in it and it still doing the same thing. Is there a sensor bugging? No codes showed up, no engine light, could it be the fuel pump dying?

 

Can you record the sound?

 

What it usually sounds like, after I start it, and drive for a while.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/vlce0lmm1rY

what it sounds like after driving for about 15 mins give or take
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/oCNDLhCGVe0

what it sounds like after parking and the sound is the same as accelerating.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/NUwEIKM7OY4

I seriously hope it's not the transmission, now that I'm seeing those RPM anoms.

 

So while in park the truck is revving by itself from 1000 to 3000 rpm without pressing the accelerator pedal?

 

Sorry, actually it's me revving it, but the sound is totally different than usual. After driving for a while it starts to sound like the turbine with that higher tone, and persists while parked and the rev sounds entirely different than when I first start it. There is no loss of power than I can tell though.

 

I got burned by Firestone last time, so I went to local toyota dealership and this is the quote they gave me for a timing belt fix (my timing belt is fine, just trying to plan ahead). Is this a fair price? Or should I go DIY and just order the replacement kit and replace a bunch of other stuff while I'm at it? I'd like to swap the radiator, sbelt, hoses, etc..

 

I personally think that's high. I'd find a Toyota specialty shop. I'd be hard pressed to pay more than $1,600 for timing belt, water pump, pulleys, tensioner.

 

I had a feeling it was pretty high, I'll try to shop around a little more, really trying to not get bent over anymore lol.

 

That's high. Maybe not high for a dealership, but high. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, many dealership mechanics don't seem to be very good...This has been addressed on this site in other places. Many people, when selling a vehicle, will advertise how 'all work done at the dealership!' But unfortunately, that's often not a good thing.

Like `shifty said, finding a Toyota specialty shop is your best bet. I know in MT, Bozeman and Missoula both have "Toyotas Only"-style auto shops. I happened to find a very high quality, high integrity, zero BS mechanic in a closer town to me. He's not a Toyota specialist, just a great all around mechanic. Anything I'm not comfortable doing, I take to him. He's the owner and the only mechanic, so I know it's him doing the work. Too many times I've taken a vehicle to well-reviewed shops, but happened to get a rookie or low quality mechanic they hired. I like knowing exactly who's working on my truck.

He just did my timing belt, water pump, serpentine belt and an unexpected fan pulley, and I paid just under $1,300.

 

Working parts list I'm buying in August with plans to start work after everything arrives, any suggestions, comments, tips? (I might have a mechanic do the Upper Ball Joints, I'm not sure I can do it)

 

Hmmm....

1. Do NOT buy the Duralast ignition coils. Only buy the Denso coils from Rock Auto, Summit Racing, or other reputable dealer. Yes, I know they're expensive.
2. You transmission calls for WS ATF. Do not use generic fluid. You can buy Aisin WS fluid at Rock Auto. Also, no need to drop the pan and change the filter (been there, done that)
3. Instead of the OEM timing belt from Toyota, buy the Aisin (

$183 TKT-021 Engine Timing Belt Kit with Water Pump - Compatible with Select Lexus GS400, GS430, GX470, LS400, LS430, LX470, SC400, SC430 Toyota 4Runner, Land Cruiser, Sequoia, Tundra

TKT-021). It contains all OEM parts, and includes the idler and tensioner pulley, as well as the water pump.
4. You might want to price the NGKs at Rock Auto. I bet you can save ~ $3 ea

 

Agreed on all points.

 

You're 100% on-point, and I'd add some things:

1. YOU DO NOT NEED TO CHANGE THE TRANSMISSION FILTER, much less drop the trans pan for any reason, you're asking for headaches you don't want. Drain and fill, and make sure you understand the proper procedure (we can link videos).
2. There is no such thing as "universal" fluids - this is true for coolant and for transmission fluid - your sealed transmission specifically takes WS fluid. 00-02 takes Dex3. 03-04 takes T-IV. 05-06 takes WD. Don't substitute.
3. Those spark plugs will fit, but 3297 is what Toyota calls for, either in NGK or Denso flavor (part number is in your Owner's manual, specifications section).
4. You don't need the lower balljoint cotter, when you buy the individual left/right, they come with a new castle nut and cotter.
5. You have 16 new LBJ bolts in your Toyota order, you only need 8 (4 per side).
6. Unless your upper ball joints are fucked/dry/noisy/clearly defective in some way, they probably don't need to be replaced and can be a real bitch to press out, save the money to focus on the radiator is my opinion.
7. I'll say this, although Advance Auto Parts is my go-to parts store, there's a reason for it: Only buy Denso coils, and seriously, avoid Duralast parts, they're mostly budget garbage.
8. Don't forget pink long-life coolant in your list, and if there's anything other than pink/red in the truck currently, flush fully before you swap to pink.
9. Proactively replace the radiator while you're in there if it's not in your list already, this is what fits the 2006 DC trucks specifically.

 

I bought replacement spark plugs at my local dealer and was shocked how cheap they were. May be worth a look.

 

I stacked a popular coupon at Advance Auto with a $5 speed perk and got off way easier than OP is showing, for this was for 100k mile Iridium plugs recommended in the Owner's Manual.

​

 

Thanks!

I did find a better price at Rock Auto, but deicided to go with Shifty's advice and just get Denso plugs.

You saved me again, I made every change suggested.

I do have a radiator already on the way with new hoses, although I decided to get different coolant. I did flush and put pink in there just last month.
I just assumed when replacing LBJ you should do the upper, but if that's not the case I won't. The upper's look fine from my inspect with no play or any signs of wear. Didn't notice the extra bolts there, thanks.

I tried that with dealer for various parts, they haven't called me back after a week.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Heck yeah, I love you guys! I will avoid Duralast, I would love some links on how to change trans fluid properly, because my search only found "drop the pan, change the filter".
I'm so glad I asked you guys, almost got the entirely wrong parts.

 

The front suspension design on these trucks puts the majority of strain on the lower ball joint. The upper balls, it's almost like they're there to hold the spindle in place more than anything, little to no strain. If they still have grease, boots are still intact, and show no signs of play, save that for another day. Clean and inspect the boots for rips, check the boot retention clip is in-place, and if no play, skip.

Transmission videos and other info: https://www.tundras.com/posts/3073222/

 

Thank you for the vids, it was different from what I found during my search and the thread on the filter really helped me understand why/when to change it.

I pulled the boot off as much as I could and didn't see anything wrong, I'll pull the wheels off in a bit and take pics to double-double check. I just realized I got the wrong radiator, so I bought the one you recommended.
I got the LBJ+bolts only from Toyota.
Rock Auto:

 

Oh man, you forgot the discount! Code: 273169415235981499

5% of $1589 is nothing to sneeze at. Write them, ask for forgiveness...