Shogun
Winnipeg
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I know that many people disregard the lie o meter.
Well, although the readings are off they helped me avoid a serious failure.
I noticed my mileage tanked in a big way on my 4Runner. Curious as to why, had a good look at the truck and noticed both front rotors were scorched. Zipped the truck into my mechanic and low and behold....$1100 in repairs. New front calipers, rotors, and pads, and rear pads. The old front pads were just 2 years old with over 50% left in them.
One front caliper was seized closed and the other would only partially retract. There was no discernable driveability issue until I was on my way to the mechanic.
The truck had been in for some other issues just a couple of months earlier and the brakes were inspected and good.
If not for the altered mileage I may have been in a position that required a tow or worse.....
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Back-up tow vehicle 2005 4Runner V8 Limited.
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skipnchar
Topeka or somewhere else
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2011 F-150 HD Ecoboost 3.5 V6. 2550 payload, 17,100 GCVWR -
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Ron3rd
Upland, CA USA
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Sounds like the mechanic correctly diagnosed your problem.
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gbopp
The Keystone State
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Shogun wrote:I know that many people disregard the lie o meter.
Well, although the readings are off they helped me avoid a serious failure.
I noticed my mileage tanked in a big way on my 4Runner. Curious as to why, had a good look at the truck and noticed both front rotors were scorched. Zipped the truck into my mechanic and low and behold....$1100 in repairs. New front calipers, rotors, and pads, and rear pads. The old front pads were just 2 years old with over 50% left in them.
One front caliper was seized closed and the other would only partially retract. There was no discernable driveability issue until I was on my way to the mechanic.
The truck had been in for some other issues just a couple of months earlier and the brakes were inspected and good.
If not for the altered mileage I may have been in a position that required a tow or worse.....
Are you saying we should check our brakes? If your front pads were only 2 years old I'm guessing your brakes were not checked in 2 years.
Maybe that was part of the problem?
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Airstreamer67
Pineville, LA USA
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Joined: 11/07/2002
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Besides checking the fuel usage, another good way to make sure the brakes are not dragging is an infrared heat detector. It will tell you of any wheel that is too warm, which could indicate the wheel bearings or brakes need to be serviced.
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ScottG
Bothell Wa.
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I just went through this with my rear brakes. But, it was very noticeable since suddenly the truck would stop itself. What a rip though, my pads had 75% lining left. Just glad it didnt happen on a trip someplace.
$1100 sounds about right for quality parts. I spent just over $600 using Bosch rotors and doing the work myself.
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camp-n-family
Canada
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It's a common known problem with the 4Runner that the calipers sieze, one of the few issues of an otherwise excellent vehicle. The design of them allows water and dirt to sit around the lower part of the piston and rust, causing them to sieze up, especially if parked for long periods. I've had 2 4Runners and replaced calipers on both for the same reason.
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Shogun
Winnipeg
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The whole purpose of the thread was just to indicate that even though a lie-o-meter may not be accurate it flagged me to have a close look at my vehicle. Many posts regarding gas mileage start with lie-o-meter concerns. In this case it helped me avoid a potentially serious issue or being stuck somewhere with an even more expensive repair.
It had gone in for service just a few months ago where specifically all brake stuff was checked and all was give the green light. I give my truck a good going over fairly regularly with regular maintenance and good pressure checks, etc....
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goducks10
Keizer OR
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Good call on the lie O meter. Your right they aren't 100% right but it is a good thing to keep up on. I know I look at mine all the time. Shouldn't because it's depressing, but like you if I saw my mileage tanking I would want to know why.
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mowermech
Billings, MT
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"lie-o-meter"??
What the heck is that?
If you are going to make up your own terminology, at least relate it to something that everybody knows!
I ASSUME you are referring to the computer indicated MPG readout. Actually, I have found mine to be fairly close in the "average" mode, and WAY out in left field in the "instant" mode (in the "instant" mode, it often indicates 99MPG for brief periods!).
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