Over the weekend I finally had the time to give the Montero got some much needed attention:
-Found a used, but nearly new, set of Hankook Dynapro AT/M RF10s for sale in 31x10.5. Got those installed and it looks and drives SOOOO much better. Had P235 75 15s from previous owner. Losing the sidewall flex really helps the steering feel. 31s still look kind of small in the wheel wells and I'd like 33s, but at $300 for good quality, lightly used ATs this will suffice for now. Very happy. Drove up to Snowbird (ski resort) yesterday and got into a little snow on the road...could spin a little accelerating but tires gripped with authority on some brake tests. :bike_rider:
-Shot some brake cleaner at my front ABS sensors and got the ABS light to turn off. Will clean them thoroughly in the near future when I get around to doing a brake job. Tried to get ABS to activate with a little snow on the road in the mountains, no luck....as in I couldn't initiate a slide with the new tires. Brake pedal is super spongy (needs fluid exchange) and caliper sliders probably need to be cleaned/lubed or replaced. All for another day. Having my dash free of illuminated idiot lights makes me
.
-Diagnosed my stuck on horn. Previous owner told me about this issue and he had pulled the fuse. Common problem with the pad between the copper contacts in the steering wheel wearing out. It first presents in cold weather. I put the fuse back in and horn works normally in these temperatures. All good for now and I can honk at people with my cheesy sounding Mitsu horn. I will try to repair that pad before next winter, it requires pulling the airbag unit off the steering wheel and drilling out the rivets holding airbag to horn pad....so not a job to rush through. More information to follow when I gear up for the job
-Fixed my power seat. Removed and disassembled the switch. Shot it with some aerosol electronic oxidation remover/cleaner (Wurth contact ol) and worked all the switch activators. All seat movements started working like they should. Shot some more contact cleaner into the switch, lubed up all the tracks and mechanisms with aerosol silicon and put it all back together. Nice, and more comfortable, to have a functioning seat again!! :wings:
-Sprayed all the door hinges, door handles, key holes and the sunroof mechanism/slider with aerosol silicon. My sunroof actually moves really well and I want to preserve that because it's really nice to drive with it open :sombrero:.
-touched up a boat load of rock chips, nicks, etc.
-Found my rear sway bar links to be in baaaad shape. Probably originals. Tightened them down for the time being, works well and quieted suspension down but will order some new ones soon.
-Removed all rear seats except driver-side rear jump seat. Makes nice space for the dogs and lets me carry one rear passenger, limo-style, if needed.
That was it for the weekend. Bunch of little things but now I think
everything on the truck is back to proper, working order. I know, pictures would be nice...but I was squeezing all this in, a little here, a little there next to other weekend activities and a good day of April storms skiing.