Topic: My Vehicular History Thread by DKaz

[Ex-airbalancer]

Had no idea there was any name other than zip tie. Maybe those riot handcuff ones have another name...?

Also, contrats on the van. As an example of how...out of touch I am, I'm amazed to see people buying cars with this kind of milage and getting years of additional use from them. There's a lesson for me in here somewhere.

In the electrical trade they are know as cable ties or tie wraps ,

[Brig]

In the electrical trade they are know as cable ties or tie wraps ,

Aha!  And my dad was an electrician.  That's what he called them. 

[phazotron]

I just saw one of the vintage Sienna's while on errand duty today and it was also in great shape. I haven't seen one in quite a while. It had Ontario plates,  either the owner parks in winter or it got imported from BC

[dkaz]

I saw three Siennas of the same "vintage" the past couple of days in Edmonton and Mannville, they all look to be in decent condition, in a land where they seem to treat vehicles like disposable items. I'm shocked by the number of cars not even 10 years old yet that have rust on them. Probably has to do with the long winters and dirty sandy streets that make people not bother washing cars until the spring thaw. I'd hit up a Hughes indoor car wash twice a week at least to spray the crud off.

I saw a seriously rusty Protege5, but the rest of the car looked like it entered a demolition derby anyway.

[mrthompson]

Good choice.  Happy motoring. 

[Black Hatch]

Congrats on the Sienna!!!

[Julie]

Congrats!

[quadzilla]

Great score! 

[KD]

Nice wheels and great buy!  Nice to have all that space!

[KD]

Had no idea there was any name other than zip tie. Maybe those riot handcuff ones have another name...?

Also, contrats on the van. As an example of how...out of touch I am, I'm amazed to see people buying cars with this kind of milage and getting years of additional use from them. There's a lesson for me in here somewhere.

In the electrical trade they are know as cable ties or tie wraps ,

They are technically a cable tie, but usually referred to by their brand name Ty-Rap...

[dkaz]

Thanks all. I will check back every once in awhile with how it's running, but right now it's great!

[dkaz]

Ok, so my Sienna was not 100% clean. There were a few nasty parts. Meh $1427 plus 12% tax, what can you expect?



So I borrowed my friend's Bissell Proheat



And bought a 32Oz bottle of Folex from Canadian Tire, wonderful product btw.



Mostly complete product, I went over it a few more times after this photo until the water coming out of the carpet was completely clear.



The only thing it couldn't get out was paint stains, but both stains are beneath the seats anyway.



Coffee, anyone?



Took me about three hours to get every single square cm of carpet and upholstery clean. There were some nasty deep dirty spots that looked clean from the surface. Unfortunately my car still has that musty sit in the dealer lot smell. So I may rent an Ozone machine next.

[Bubba]

Nice job!

[Thinking Out Loud]

Coffee, anyone?



Took me about three hours to get every single square cm of carpet and upholstery clean. There were some nasty deep dirty spots that looked clean from the surface. Unfortunately my car still has that musty sit in the dealer lot smell. So I may rent an Ozone machine next.

  

Great buy DKaz!  I'd not bring a used car home without a stopover at a complete detailing shop just for that reason.  I'm not nearly as interested in getting that intimate with decades worth of who knows what and then sit my family in it pre-clean...

Keep us posted!

[dkaz]

I should've, but I bought the car on Thursday afternoon, picked it up from the lot Thursday night, we left for Edmonton on Friday right after work, returned Monday night, my wife started using the van for work right away Tuesday. So I had no time that weekend. All seats except the drivers seat were clean though, I just did one pass and the water was just clear. The drivers seat required a few passes.

Oh I had this upholstery brush to work the Folex into the carpet and agitate the dirt.

http://www.eshine.ca/6_upholstery_brush_stiff-2708.php

• So spray carpet with Folex, let set for 5 minutes.
• Do a pass with the Bissell Proheat, that has hot water, note where brown water is coming out of the carpets. One pass involves a water spray sweep, then a couple of suction sweeps to get excess water out of the carpet.
• Spray spots again with Folex. Use upholstery brush to agitate spots.
• Go over with carpet cleaner again. Repeat with spots.
• Repeat as necessary

There's also the Green Machine that doesn't have a heater. In my experience, the heater only reheats water but is useless otherwise, so if I bought one myself, I'd probably just get the Green Machine and manual heat up the water. Nice of my buddy to lend it to me though.

[tortoise]

Strong work!

We have the Bissel Green Machine and it does a great job on the tan interior of the 5.  Just fill it full of hot water from the tap and off you go.  I suppose you could put near boiling water in if you wanted.

[dr_spock]

Good work.

Love my Big Green machine.   Just fill it with very hot water and cleaning solution and it's good to go. 

[phazotron]

I saw an episode of the US Top Gear (season 2, ep 6) in which they hosts had to buy a $500 car for a run up the California coast. One of the challenges was a forensic test on the cars themselves. here are the results:

" Each car was subjected to forensic analysis and the least contaminated car would win. Rutledge's car was found to be full of animal hair, urine, seminal fluid and traces of animal feces. Adam's car was full of vomit and blood, (though he states that's to be expected in a taxi), while Tanner's car is shown to be the most contaminated with dead skin cells, unknown protein-rich substance, mucous and staphylococcus bacteria." 

I never want to sit in a cab again unless I can wash myself right after.

On a brighter note, since this thread has started, I've noticed more Sienna's of this generation and they each appear to be in very good condition.

[dkaz]

Ewwww that's gross. My kids sit in car seats so they never have direct contact at least.

So some updates, I replaced a sliding door handle and liftgate handle, both operate like new now. The sliding door handle I got on ebay prepainted for $25, it was a steal. The paint is not perfect but no worse than the rest of the van. Next up is the driver side power windows motor which I have I order.

Did a transmission pan drop and flush, shifts smooth now. Will do the timing belt and water pump in the next couple of months.

This morning I made a trip to Point Roberts, WA to pick up 3rd row seats from a 2001. Got them for the child seat anchors and latch connections, but they're also leather lol. Cleaned them with Griots Garage leather care and installed them. Found they also slide fore and aft unlike my 99 seats, very nice.



Overall I still love this van. it's my baby now. Still love the 3 as well but it's my wife's DD now.


Sent from something using something

[johngenx]

My kids sit in car seats so they never have direct contact at least.

Glad you were able to get it clean at home.  I also have used cars we buy cleaned professionally before they come home.