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colonel mustard

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Posts posted by colonel mustard

  1. 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.

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  2. 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!

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  3. I posted some pictures of my flooring solution...

    I usually go out of my way to include as many of those maneuvers as possible in my 7 mile commute all the way down one extremely straight boring street...I get a lot of weird looks when I blow the doors off Mustangs in my Lexus sedan....
  4. 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.

  5. 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!

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  6. 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'm very talented...I will find a way to spill it even if it has a lock-top. :lol:

    The vinyl flooring in the Element is nice, but hard on shoe heels, my purse on the floor, etc. I haven't seen that sort of flooring in a Toyota in a long time.

  7. 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.

  8. 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.

    i am in the market for a sienna. I believe they changed the motor from a 3 liter to a 3.3 liter around 2003(?). is this a much better engine, any problems overall with either engine? any advice would be helpful as i search for the right vehicle. Thank you. Eric
  9. 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 own a 2002 Sienna. Abour two years ago I noticed water seeping up through the driver and passanger carpets. I took it to the delaership and they said it was a problem with firewall and it 1,600.00 to repair which included a whole new carpet. Four weeks later ther problem came back and I took i back to Toyota. They checked the firewall again and said they put sealent under the floor. This worked for about a year but now it's stating again. In this finacial climate I cannot afford a new carpet; rather I would like to reach out to other Toyota owners who have experienced a similar problem and had a concrete and positive diagnosis.

    Peter

  10. 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.

    Nice solution! It should almost be a factory option!

    Now, if you can only come up with a fool-proof way so that my morning coffee doesn't spill when I go sliding through those corners as I'm late to work every morning.... :P

  11. 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

    I have a 2004 toyota sienna that when I turn the switch for the headlights the low beams does not work and only the high beams works, does anybody out there knows what the problem could be?
  12. 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

  13. I own a 2002 Sienna. Abour two years ago I noticed water seeping up through the driver and passanger carpets. I took it to the delaership and they said it was a problem with firewall and it 1,600.00 to repair which included a whole new carpet. Four weeks later ther problem came back and I took i back to Toyota. They checked the firewall again and said they put sealent under the floor. This worked for about a year but now it's stating again. In this finacial climate I cannot afford a new carpet; rather I would like to reach out to other Toyota owners who have experienced a similar problem and had a concrete and positive diagnosis.

    Peter

    Hello,

    I was sorry to hear about your problem. I have a 98 Sienna and I had to do something about my carpet too. I did not have a leak problem like you are experiencing but my solution may help. If not just ignore my solution. My kids were the source of my problems and concerns. We take long drives with our kids on vacation and things would spill. So what I did was use the interlocking rubber gym floor mats to replace the carpet. First I took out the passenger seats behind the front row. Next I cut out the old nasty carpet. Third I got the gym weight floor mats and tucked them under the plastic lip around the outer edge to lock them in place. Three across fit perfect. My other car is a Honda Element which has a similar floor system. Mine is more comfortable and more sound retardent. I then cut the holes in the place for the four rear seats and then viola...spills and water are not a problem. I can take a blower to the inside and then mop it.

  14. Thank's to LEIGHCM and HUMANOID for helpping me to figure a problem with my low beams on my 2004 toyota Sienna, it was both bulbs plown, THAT"S WEIRD. Keep it going to save money and time :D :D

    check out my post about the 98 sienna episode with the low beam lights...it was horrific.

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