So now the old truck's revived odometer reads 200,000+ kms which means I've contributed about 26k kms to its mileage. That is after more that a year of ownership. It could've been more if I didn't have to leave it parked for about a month because of electrical issues.
Late last year, the pickup developed leak problems on its power steering system. Quite unfortunate that the alternator is directly underneath the hydraulic pump and leaking fluid goes straight to it. A few days after losing steering power assist, the alternator quit as well. The first shop where I took it for repair rerouted the hydraulic lines but the O-ring used for the banjo bolt is undersized that I had to replace it myself just to stop the leak. As for the alternator, I needed to visit the electrical shop twice. First they replaced the winding and then later the IC regulator because it gave up as well. So much for leak issues.
The AC went off late 2016 too. There was some grinding sound and then no cold air coming out of the vents. I said good riddance! Turning AC ON anyway causes the pickup to overheat. But then when a vehicle has no AC, the windshield and windows has this tendency to accumulate moist and then visibility issues. Quite dangerous specially when it is raining and moreso during the night when there is glare from other vehicle's headlights. This month though hesitant, I had it repaired because of the coming rainy season. Cost me about 10k php. P3500 for the suplus 15C compressor to replace the fried old unit (no oil.) Filter/drier and expansion valve replaced as well with brand new parts. Moist issue is now gone but the overheating issue is back specially when sitting on traffic for a long time.
As an attempt to cure the overheating issue, I removed the radiator from the pickup last week. I know that there are a lot of bent/deformed cooling fins so I took some time to straighten them up hoping that it will help in improving the air flow passing though the radiator. I also put some spacers to bring the radiator closer to the cooling fan. Performance is still under observation. I noticed an improvement but my initial assessment is that the fix is not enough to completely eradicate the problem.
The DIY fixes I did for the lighting system seems to be holding up quite well. The only source of grief for several instances already was the central locking system because of the low quality wires that came with the aftermarket kit bought by the previous owner. The copper in these wires are thin and has the tendency to disintegrate causing poor, intermittent, and sometimes completely open connection. I've started buying quality wires to rectify the issue.
To make travels less boring, I installed an el-cheapo car stereo from Lazada. It is good enough. The pickup got two front speakers and only the left side is usable. Right side speaker has cracks on its driver and it sounds annoyingly terrible. Now at least I can listen to FM radio channels, play music via USB or Bluetooth, and even make hands free calls. How long this stereo will last is still a question but so far I'm enjoying it.
Lastly, although the old 4D56 workhorse is leaking engine oil, fuel consumption is almost consistent at 13km/L. I'm saving funds to have the timing belt replaced including the tensioner and oil seals to get rid of the leaks. ASAP!
