colonel mustard

I sanded and painted my wheels for less than $10. I'm over it...I am going to do pumpkins on my wheels for this Halloween. As my doorhandles break, I am going to buy new black handles so it looks natural. Notice the repainted hood and the GI Joe arm hanging on to the antenae.

Thanks James

here are pictures of my flooring...

I posted some pictures of my flooring solution...

Oh I also had a problem with my hood paint bubbling off during the hurricanes about two years ago. Again, I went to ACE hardware and got some paint stripper and some scrapers. I cleared the remaining paint and repainted the hood myself. I took it all the way down to the bare metal. Then, I layered on about five coats of ospho rust inhibitor solution. Next, I used hunter green spray primer. ("Stop Rust" Brand) I waited a couple of days then found the exact matching paint in a can at Discount Auto parts. I was really psyched. A friend of a friend said he couldn't paint the hood for less then $300 dollars. I killed that price.

I had mentioned months ago that I was tired of the carpet smelling and getting nasty from football, soccer, and baseball cleats and gear, not to mention spills and just plain old wear and tear. So, I took out the carpet and replaced it with rubber gym floor mats. The mats are 3/4" and fit perfectly under the rubber side panels and wall pieces. It is so easy to clean and mop out if it gets dirty. Carpet is totally overrated and not really useful in a van/truck. Notice how I took out the back row of seats and made cut out holes for them. I get 23 mpg and I believe it is partly due to the less weight because I have the seats out. I threw in a shot of the outside of the van too. I just recently went to Sears and after having this van for 8 years drove home after having two new tires put on. Well, I got home and one of my wheel covers had come off somewhere along the way. Sears also broke off one of the lug posts. Didn't even tell me either. Well, they fixed the lug for free, but wouldn't budge on buying me a set of covers. So, I went to ACE and spent $5 bucks on two cans of glossy black spray paint and painted the rims. First I cleaned, scraped, and sanded down the rims and got them sparkling. Then, I sprayed them. I like the look. My wife is still a little on the fence about it. The price was right. Hopefully the pics uploaded correctly!

I too have found ways to spill the unspillable...My huge mugs with lids dont fit in the standard size cup holders so I have to wedge stuff around the cup and hope that I dont have to pull a "Fast and Furious" maneuver into work...

I use the key two turns back, one turn forward...nothing. The elcectric door lock wont engage and lock the driver side passenger door. I had to replace the door handle on the driver side and I may have disconnected something...any ideas on how to fix this. All other doors work fine.

yes...beware...the engines are the same as they use in the more powerful Camry passenger cars...but...We have a 98 sienna and we were a part of the oil sludge law suit settlement case. The engine on ours went bad three years ago. We had to pay $3000 for a new used one. That is the bad news. The good news: Because we were a part of the suit the $3000 was given back to us and we were given a slightly used motor with 60k on it. Plus I got to drive a 07 Pontiac Rental car for a week. The thing about the Sienna engines as it was explained to me is this: If the vehicle that was affected by the oil sludge issue was not properly cared for and the oil was not changed at regular prescribed intervals then it had the high possibility of having oil sludge issues. Which most did. It was said that the first 50K miles was the important period. Our 98 was a leased vehicle that was then sold at auction and bought by a dude in Orlando. We got it from him, but the damage had already been done. It now has 168k miles and running strong. No problems at all.

Check out my posts about how to get rid of the carpet...$1600 for carpet is a rip off...Do my solution and you will be fine...I would buy some heavy duty silicone caulk and maybe take off the plastic inner shield so you can see where the liquid is coming in and just overdo it with the caulk. Check the antenae area for holes and around the windshield. Sometimes the liners get brittle especially in cold climates. Check with your insurance company and tell them your wind shield is leaking and really dangerous...you are afraid of something shorting out in the dash...They may be able to help you. Be honest and good luck. james

I drive about six miles and the light that warns of tire inflation and pressure keeps coming on. It is on an easy banking gradual turn that it turns on. Any ideas out there as to why...I have checked the tire pressure in all five tires (spare included).

Dont drink coffee...! :o) I used to spill OJ and or whatever was in my huge...American Choppers 7-11 mug. Then I got a mug with a turn lock top. Perfect...And if you ever check out the Honda Element it is the factory flooring in their vehicle. It really does make sense. who thought of carpet in a vehicle? That was not a smart innovation. So both of my vehicles are capable of being blown out with a leaf blower...and mopped. I love it.

I do not know what the problem is but I do know how to fix it. Our 98 Sienna had the same problem last Thanksgiving when we were driving at night from Cocoa Beach,Fl to Savannah, Ga. for a weekend getaway. It was 10:30 pm or so and I was driving along I-95 going about 75 mph and I rolled over a simple bump on the road. At that instant my low beam lights went out completely. I immeadiatly tried switching and flicking on and off...nothing worked. So I hit the high beams. They worked but I have never seen so many birds flying at night since then. So we had to ride around only in the day time while up there. Your problem is common with the Sienna. I had a friend that helped me fix the short term issue of having no low beam lights. He helped me by switching the low beam light wire to where the high beams were coming in. So I had low beams...then I took it to my main mechanic and he simply disconnected both lights from their factory housing and did a straight hard wire to the power source. The result is I have high and low beams now. The high beam light does not light up on my dash but I am not concerned about that. I hope this helps... James

My family and I take long trips in our Sienna. It is the perfect travel van. I drive without the third row of seats to save a little on gas (removing extra weight helps). So, then I decided that I had had enough of the cleats wrecking the carpet and the spills and all the other stuff that gets ground into the carpet. So what I did was I took out all the seats and layed in the rubber interlocking heavy duty gym floor mats. Three wide fit perfect. So, I cut out the carpet and put in the rubber mats all the way up to the driver and front passenger seat. I then marked and cut out the four holes for the rear seats to clip in. Bah dah bing....I love my van and it is so easy to take care of...not to mention it smells cleaner and fresher. The best thing of all was that the mats were given to me so it cost me zero dollars. If you try this measure them out first. I have the biggest mats... and using them right they slide right under the plastic edges just like where the carpet would have gone. Go for the 1/2" thick variety or thicker if you can find them. I did not glue them down either. The weight of the seats and other stuff holds them in place plus the locking type hold themselves in place well enough. Hope it helps... james