It thunderstormed for a bit last night. I love Thunderstorms. Of course in Arizona, it's so hot and dry, I think most of the rain evaporates before it hits anything, but it knocks the temperature down nicely. It also makes whatever dirt your car had on it look absolutely terrible, as if it were raining dirt.

Last night I quit hearing the pulley squeal in the 4Runner, so I'm beginning to wonder if I have an idler pulley problem, because getting the engine area wet seemed to help with the squeal. Maybe the idler pulley bearing is going bad.

I'm still continuing the 4Runner work. On Wednesday, I fixed the fuel tank leak. It turns out that there is a drain plug on the fuel tanks of most Toyotas (nice feature, actually), and the rubber washer that would keep fuel from leaking was sort of trashed. I drained the tank, which turned into a big mess, as it really doesn't pour out of the tank cleanly, and instead sort of flattens out on the underside of the tank and drips over a large area. Which meant I got a bunch of gas on me. It's amazing how much reserve there is; I had run the tank down to serious E, and it was still over two gallons of gas that came out. To fix it, I let it dry out for a bit, then I went to Checker (the Higley Checker has really intelligent counter guys at it), and got a new washer. It's one of the ones that is metal on the circumference, with rubber on the inside. To ensure success, I bought some Permatex Hi-Tack sealant that came in a bottle and brush type container, and painted a little on the lower threads of the bolt, as well as both sides of the washer. Let it sit for a few minutes, and then I reinstalled the bolt. I poured in the two gallons of gas, and then later added $20. No leaks yet. Voila!

I also finished the R134a retrofit that Neil and I started. It turns out that it just needed a bunch more freon. I added the last can from the retrofit kit, and then one more standalone can. It makes cold enough air now to keep me from sweating in the Arizona heat with the Windows up.

Next mission, to solve the engine noises (squeals and clicking). If that works, then I think it's stereo and interior time. It could be a nice daily driver.

I bought the Flaming Lips album "At War With the Mystics" on Wednesday, because I couldn't get the groove from "The W.A.N.D." out of my head. It's actually a fantastic album. The mix is awesome; the synth pads are gloriously stereo chorused, the guitar has that 70's fuzz tone thing down well, and the drums and bass are noggin pounding. So far in addition to "The W.A.N.D," I really like "My Cosmic Autumn Rebellion," "Pompeii Am Gooterdammerung," and "Goin' On."