Twelve Years Later, Dream Realized

[bradbowl]

Flashback to Fall 2006, a younger me put in a pre-order for a Blazing Blue Yaris hatchback at the dealership. A few weeks later, a Bayou Blue Yaris came in and I bought that one instead since I just couldn't wait. However, I have always had an affinity for the Blazing Blue color and yesterday I finally realized that desire. :wub:

I scooped up this 2008 Yaris from the original owner who maintained it well.

In case you're wondering, my Bayou Blue Yaris was sold when I moved to Hawaii, and my second one (white) was sold to a colleague who wanted a reliable car for his son last year. I learned a lot about car detailing and how to do minor maintenance items on Yaris #2 which I found empowering.

I look forward to getting my Blazing Blue Beauty all cleaned up and sharing the journey with everyone!

[Dodge Aries K]

Looks like a much nicer version of my 2007. I really like that blue color, too. Sweet find.

[ern-diz]

Awesome find, congrats! Low mileage, but not too low, which is good. Looking forward to seeing your progress with it.

[NYC-SE]

Looks great. Congratulations!

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Sweet! I remember you telling me you always wanted a blazing blue. Mine is around that mileage now and climbing fast. Keeping it stock, or any plans for some mods?

[bradbowl]

Thanks everyone, I value your knowledge and expertise.

My first task is replacing the rear shocks since the dealership recommended that repair. Searching the forum and YouTube gives me confidence that I can do it myself. I see mixed comments from folks about if you should change the front and rear at the same time. It appears that the front shock/strut replacement is more challenging than the rear ones.

[bradbowl]

Sweet! I remember you telling me you always wanted a blazing blue. Mine is around that mileage now and climbing fast. Keeping it stock, or any plans for some mods?

I remember that! I believe you installed a backup camera in yours around that time. :w00t:

My wife is probably relieved that I found one since I always point out Blazing Blue Yarii whenever I see them. :laugh:

I do want to upgrade the stereo, find some nice wheels, give her a thorough detailing, etc. I'm going to tackle replacing the brake pads/rotors after I do the rear shocks. Exciting times!

[bradbowl]

After work, I spent a couple hours cleaning her up today. Wash and clay bar. I'm still amazed at how well the clay works.

It took me awhile to remove these stickers. That PT sticker was more like a thick raised decal which was a pain to get off and clean all the residue away.

There was another even larger one in the glove box. I finally figured out that it stands for Precision Toyota of Tucson.

I ordered a nice combo pack of cabin and engine air filters from eBay for $11/shipped.

[ern-diz]

The decals were the first thing I noticed. I would have removed them, too. Not a big fan of decals. I'm currently only rocking a small teq sticker and gold Wheelwell decal. I'm still iffy on them lol.

[thebarber]

Looks slow

Also, rear shocks are an easy and cheap DIY

[bradbowl]

Looks slow

Also, rear shocks are an easy and cheap DIY

Yeah, I found some great forum posts and YouTube videos on changing them. I just placed my order from RockAuto today.

[bradbowl]

Changed the spark plugs, cleaned the throttle body, MAF sensor, and did some general engine cleanup since it was pretty dirty.

I noticed a rattle/vibration when stopped at a red light (goes away when in neutral or moving) that many people here have experienced. I tracked it down to the large airflow tube coming off the air filter box (not the tube that connects to the throttle body). A piece of the tube that fits into a little clip doesn't fit anymore and the engine vibration causes it to rattle against the filter box.

I'll have to MacGyver a fix for that.

This weekend it'll be compound, polish and wax time.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Are you talking about the silencer tube? Just remove it. Lol

[bradbowl]

Are you talking about the silencer tube? Just remove it. Lol

After reading through forum threads, I learned that tube is known as the snorkel. I did initially think to just remove it but then had the idea to super glue the loose snorkel piece back into the clip. I'm happy to report that the rattle is gone! :thumbup:

It was educational to read about the experiences and thoughts of forum members about different air intakes.

[bradbowl]

I installed the new KYB rear shocks today. The process went smoothly and just like the YouTube tutorials I watched.

Honestly, the old ones didn't look abnormal to me so the service report saying they were leaking and needed to be replaced may have just been trying to gouge $500 from the previous owner. Nonetheless, I'm pleased to have learned how to do something new.

I went ahead and rotated the tires and bought Mobil1 synthetic oil and filter since it's due for a change soon.

Compound and polish is on the todo list for Sunday Funday.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

There could have been some slight leaking on them, so maybe that's why they said it needed to be replaced. Or if they're a shady dealership (I think you guys only have one in Hawaii, and they don't follow the rest of the US actually), then could just be a sales pitch.

[bradbowl]

The employee at the quick lube place that put the oil drain bolt in last must have been in a BAD mood since that thing was really stuck. On the bright side, I got a good workout getting it unstuck. :thumbsup:

I received a box of goodies from Amazon a few days early. I bought some Chemical Guys Upholestry cleaner and a rotary brush that both had great reviews. We'll see how it goes. Once I finish up the exterior detailing, I'll get down to business on the interior.

[ern-diz]

:thumbup:

[bradbowl]

After finishing up the compound/polish/wax process and cleaning the interior really well, I have moved onto painting the steelies. The wheel covers were pretty curbed up and cracked and with all the potholes where I live, wheel covers just love to fly off.

One thing I noticed is when I open the hatch, it only goes up as far as I push it up. I'm used to opening the hatch and the struts provide enough lift to push it up by themselves. After hitting my head against the liftgate twice in two days, I decided to look for replacement ones and was delighted to see that they are only around $22/shipped at Amazon.

[bradbowl]

I installed a few new goodies:

1. Osram Nightbreaker headlight bulbs. Huge thanks for the excellent knowledge here on the forums to remove the upper bumper cover. It took me a solid hour, but now that I know what I'm doing, it wouldn't take much time at all.

2. Stubby antenna. It's technically an OEM Honda part but it works and looks great. I was worried about signal degradation with some of those cheaper and shorter eBay ones.

3. Fixed serpentine belt squeal on cold startup. There's a ton of information about this issue floating around the forums/YouTube, and I decided to go with a small tightening of the belt instead of using belt conditioner. That, coupled with waiting for a second or two in ACC mode before starting it up, fixed the issue completely.

4. Cleaned and adjusted the drum brakes. I noticed the parking brake had to be pulled up about 10 "clicks" so after researching it, I decided to adjust it using the star adjuster method. I did see that there is a way to adjust it from inside the cabin and also by driving in reverse a bunch of times. Those would have been easier, but I wanted to learn how to clean and adjust them myself.

I'm enjoying the car a lot. Having a hip 2-door coupe makes me feel younger. :wink:

[ern-diz]

I installed a few new goodies:

1. Osram Nightbreaker headlight bulbs. Huge thanks for the excellent knowledge here on the forums to remove the upper bumper cover. It took me a solid hour, but now that I know what I'm doing, it wouldn't take much time at all.

2. Stubby antenna. It's technically an OEM Honda part but it works and looks great. I was worried about signal degradation with some of those cheaper and shorter eBay ones.

3. Fixed serpentine belt squeal on cold startup. There's a ton of information about this issue floating around the forums/YouTube, and I decided to go with a small tightening of the belt instead of using belt conditioner. That, coupled with waiting for a second or two in ACC mode before starting it up, fixed the issue completely.

4. Cleaned and adjusted the drum brakes. I noticed the parking brake had to be pulled up about 10 "clicks" so after researching it, I decided to adjust it using the star adjuster method. I did see that there is a way to adjust it from inside the cabin and also by driving in reverse a bunch of times. Those would have been easier, but I wanted to learn how to clean and adjust them myself.

I'm enjoying the car a lot. Having a hip 2-door coupe makes me feel younger. :wink:

:thumbup:

[Bart68]

Nice Colour and your Yaris looks to be in very nice shape, congrats.