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Toyota LiteAce

Discussion in 'General Truck Info' started by Stuff99, Apr 30, 2009.

  1. zardoz

    zardoz Member

    Well thanks very much...

    Now I have something else that I just gotta have, first it was my zuki... got that out of my system (got my little truck and love it). Now you show me THIS :frustration: !

    Now I gotta make some extra money in the coming year cause I WANT ONE :eek: ! LOL

    I had never seen one of these before, one thing to say... farg'n SWEET!

    The frame looks considerably more robust than a kei, is it nice and rigid (little or no frame flex) like a kei? Any chance you could get some good shots of control arms/suspension configuration.... that kind of thing? I'd love to see whatever else you can show us, just to learn a little more about this "big" little truck :)

    You're a lucky fella there Stuff! Thanks for giving me a new obsession by showin off your ride :D

    z
     
  2. Stuff99

    Stuff99 Moderator Staff Member

    sure ill try if its nice out tomorrow. its a solid rear axle w/ torsion front suspension. on my youtube and friends there is a video of me in the pits in it.

    on a side note, i just about lost my baby tonight. i was done work, fired up the truck and went and closed the gate to the landfill (i run the scale house). i took the office's garbage out to the site and came back. well I drive slow over the scale so I dont throw it out of whack or something, and i noticed where i had backed up and made the U turn that there was a black line in the same shape as my tire tracks. thought that was odd, get down to the gate, another line of black ending in a pool. instantly though "oh crap.." shut off the truck, looked under, can't see anything dripping or leaking, lift the seats, check oil, its down 1/2 way. look around the engine bay, all over the motor, notta. So i top it off with half a bottle of my crappy tire 10-30 diesel oil, and head to town slowly. kept my eye on the dash for that oil light... got to place that did my oil last, closed. go to new place in town, open. get in, tell them what happened, guy goes down stairs, comes back up and says my filter was loose and oil is all over that area. go down and take a look and the filter is all oil and so is the area around it. it sits like a mushroom does so it didnt fall fall off. guy turned it on almost a full turn tight again... so now i wonder if i have the right filter for my truck or if i have a bad filter or if the last guy just put it on hand tight. i personally go hand tight then grab the wrench and go another 1/2 turn to be safe...

    so ya... scared my investment almost went poof...
     
  3. oldsnowman

    oldsnowman Member

    Hey stuff99...when i was in kalowna in sept i seen 3 of these liteace's and no little one's like mine :( nice truck
    wyatt
     
  4. Stuff99

    Stuff99 Moderator Staff Member

    thank you snow man!

    the real test for these trucks are coming in a couple months. i heard that alot of the guys in town with the small trucks put them away for the winter because they are too narrow and wont follow the ruts. town is full of chev/ford/dodge 4x4 crew cab dually's etc.
     
  5. fupabox

    fupabox Well-Known Member

    I keep meaning to ask you stuff..is it more roomy inside than a reg kei.., my buddy is.... to be nice..A bit large...he cant latch the seat belt in my truck as a passenger...but he wants a little truck badly...I'm thinking maybe the liteace like yours but can't find 1 locally to cram his butt into to check
     
  6. Stuff99

    Stuff99 Moderator Staff Member

    Well yes and no... it is harder to get into then the kei trucks, mine having the 3rd seat is a bit of a pain cause it is humped up there, kinda forcing you towards the doors a bit. so far i haven't had anyone complain about the belt not fitting them. I do think that dad's sambar has a roomier cab though. havent been in it for months now though..
     
  7. Stuff99

    Stuff99 Moderator Staff Member

    Well today was new radio day. trip coming up soon so i thought what better time to do it!

    So i took the front trim pannel off, obviously wasnt the first time. only one of 3 screws in there!

    so got the pannel off. radio and the "cubby hole" under it. that is where tape and cd player part goes for toyota radios. think of it as the late 80's chevy trucks.
    [​IMG]

    undid the screws for the radio, go to pull it out and wow! it was tiny!!!
    [​IMG]

    yup. toyota alright! only thing i have seen other then the engine actually say toyota on it!
    [​IMG]

    so the wiring harness from wally world did work. was marked toyota 81 and up. well tons of wiring and connectors and i only used 1 on the whole tree. got it all wired up, nothing worked. took a look at the wire harness coming in... there was ground, positive, speaker + speaker -.... so there was no constant power, and ONE speaker.. frick lol. so i didnt have the time and i never got that constant hooked up to anything. the cig lighter doesnt have constant power either... guess i should find that fuse box?

    anyhow all said and done and TA-DAA!!

    [​IMG]

    to get the stereo in i took out the cubby hole tray. it was half broken anyhow! it was a plastic shell with brackets on both sides, so took them off, lined them up to my radio and they fit perfect! 3 screws per side, and 2 metal pointing divits in that lined up with holes. so after scouring town for a few hours i found the machine screws i needed, of course not the right head, so i had to put them in, crank it tight, grind off the heads, place it in the dash. so that stereo is in there for good now lol. just need to put another speaker in some day and get a constant power from somewhere. maybe if im bored tomorrow i will do that.

    hope this helps anyone out!
     
  8. Stuff99

    Stuff99 Moderator Staff Member

    I've been busy!! so much for a day off!

    hauled the tool box out of my last POS truck (for sale btw lol)
    [​IMG]

    took it to car wash, got the grease and stuff out of it and got the bed of the truck washed out
    [​IMG]

    took grinder to the box and got rid of rust. then hit it with primer
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    [​IMG]

    Figured "ah what the heck. should do the doors to"
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    then finished priming the box
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Nov 12, 2009
  9. Stuff99

    Stuff99 Moderator Staff Member

    primed the doors
    [​IMG]

    fixed the paint flake away on the front
    [​IMG]

    filled the doors
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    and did a coat of paint on the tool box
    [​IMG]


    that ladies and gents, is how you kill a day. now tomorrow i go and sand down the doors, and repeat, and give the box another coat. /sleep
     
  10. Stuff99

    Stuff99 Moderator Staff Member

    So taped off the areas on the doors

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Decided to do something about that front clip. white shows too much lol
    [​IMG]

    Primed
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    painted the front clip thing
    [​IMG]

    Got tool box painted as much as i could (some people showed up and i couldnt paint anymore)
    [​IMG]

    Drivers door
    [​IMG]

    Passenger door
    [​IMG]

    I tried to get an overall shot, batteries were too low on my phone to start the camera...

    I also mounted a folding cup holder on the ashtray. It is centered in the truck, slides out, and is held in there sturdy. I did kinda crack it though.. first one I drilled the pilot hole a tad too small and it cracked the plastic, which 99% of the ashtray is...


    Wish me luck guys!! I leave on Monday for Missouri/Arkansas!!
     
  11. olddatsunfan

    olddatsunfan Member

    Ho, that's a long trip, good luck and drive safe!
     
  12. Stuff99

    Stuff99 Moderator Staff Member

    next day, more pictures!

    removed door handle, added my own!
    [​IMG]

    cup holder
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    [​IMG]


    And stickers courtesy of MiniBrutes! (if you want stickers on my truck send me stickers and some cool trinket lol)
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  13. Stuff99

    Stuff99 Moderator Staff Member

    anyhow im off! if you see me crusing down I-29 gimme a honk! plan to make soux city area for tonight.
     
  14. greg0187

    greg0187 Moderator Staff Member

    good luck!
     
  15. fupabox

    fupabox Well-Known Member

    good luck on the drive..
     
  16. Stuff99

    Stuff99 Moderator Staff Member

    well i made sioux city tonight.. bout half hour out the "LOW OIL" light came on. I had checked it in Jamestown ND and it was fine. checked it at a truck inspection turn off and it was at the ADD mark.... So BLAH!! I found the one and only liter of oil i brought with me, dumped it in and high tailed it to here. Looking under the truck, it looks like the rear engine seal must be going.... oil around the ring gear area. luckily nothing on the clutch *knock on wood*. when i looked under it there was oil spots all under from the ring gear cover and back. didnt take any pictures cause well, darker then toby out there!! no moon or lights or anything!

    going to get some more oil tomorrow morning and check the level first thing before i even start it.

    I think this might be my trucks first and last maiden long distance voyage >.<
     
  17. fupabox

    fupabox Well-Known Member

    this may be a dumb question (grats on the bodywork btw:)..and hope the oil prob isn't too bad)...but what weight oil are you using in the diesel?..all the diesels I've had in the past tended to piss out anything lighter than 20/50..especially on long runs with constant high temp....hpefully it's not a main seal....drive safe ..you know how we worry;)
     
    Last edited: Nov 17, 2009
  18. olddatsunfan

    olddatsunfan Member

    I'm with Fupa, are you using say 15W40? Go with 20W50 if you are...
     
  19. Stuff99

    Stuff99 Moderator Staff Member

    I was using 15w40 cause when that filter problem happened i was using 10w30 diesel oil (says to use that on the engine shroud). guy at the oil change place (great canadian oil change btw) even tossed in a seal additive to help there. well it helped for the around town stuff obviously but yeah, i put on like 1100km yesterday.. I'm gonna go to a jiffy lube and get them to drop the oil as the liter i had was 10w30 diesel oil. thanks for the info olddatsunfan!!

    and thanks for the comment fuba. its not the best, but wow, i didnt expect that from the drivers door!! i thought there was just one bad spot!!!! still laughed my ass off at the fact there was CHEWING GUM behind the rust hole!
     
  20. olddatsunfan

    olddatsunfan Member

    I find that the constant higher RPM on the highway uses oil one way or another. The heavier grade should help you out there. You can always swap back to the lighter weight once you get home after the trip!
     
  21. Stuff99

    Stuff99 Moderator Staff Member

    well i had fun trying to get the oil dropped in sioux city. even tried walmart and they REFUSED to work on it! ended up going to a jiffy lube and they put rottila 15-40 in it. gotta check it in the moring and see if it used any.

    also farther south i got the better the diesel seemed to be...
     
  22. olddatsunfan

    olddatsunfan Member

    LOL, they probably couldn't find the drain plug! Good stuff the Rottila I hear. Let us know how it works out!
     
  23. fupabox

    fupabox Well-Known Member

    rotella is what I used in my powerstroke..good oil..available in Canada at wally mart...15/40 is usually what ya find but 20/50 the truck liked better..tough to find tho now...just for information sake most Mercedes,BMW,Volvo owners manuals call for 15/40 or 20/50 for summer weather and prolonged high speed driving..odd how it is hard to find now!..
     
  24. fupabox

    fupabox Well-Known Member

    Regarding the diesel fuel being better further South...the diesel in Canada is prob. already changed to the winter diesel with a lower cetane rating (less chance of gelling in the cold but less power and mileage as well..diesel fuel economy always drops in the winter due to the change in fuel:()
     
  25. olddatsunfan

    olddatsunfan Member

    I run 15W40 in my slightly high strung 2.2L in the winter and 20W50 in the summer. I made the mistake of running 10W30 once and cooked the oil on a nice, long, high speed run.

    I'm changing out the 10W30 in the Suzuki to 5W30 for the winter though, I don't plan on any extended, high speed trips for the rest of the year!

    We are now on winter formula gas in the lower mainland, never fails, but, my milage drops a good 10% when that happens. You'll find better stuff as you get warmer!
     
  26. Stuff99

    Stuff99 Moderator Staff Member

    hmm. never thought it would cook it out. wonder if there is a pcv valves or something that might have been sticking... could have caused it to do that to i think...

    i think i know now what ill run for oil next change lol.
     
  27. olddatsunfan

    olddatsunfan Member

    Oops, word should be "coked" the oil .... Sorry!
     
  28. Stuff99

    Stuff99 Moderator Staff Member

    well checked it this morning before i even started it. was on the full mark still. so 500 miles later it didnt use any oil, so i dunno whats up there. still did 65-70 down the interstates...
     
  29. olddatsunfan

    olddatsunfan Member

    Awesome, sounds like you're good to go! How far down are you now?
     
  30. Stuff99

    Stuff99 Moderator Staff Member

    right now in springfield, mo at a buddy's place. we leave tomorrow for arkansas but only a 2.5 hour drive to there. will officially be the farthest south i have ever been. gonna have thanks givin down here then head back home for end of the month.
     

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