1. "Delivered", but I don't see it?
The most significant problem with USPS that we see is that packages show "delivered", but the recipient (you) hasn't seen the package. It is extremely rare that the package is actually lost and gone. Almost every time this happens the package is simply with a neighbor. It could be next door to your house, could be one block over. Could be three blocks over. Regardless, it will almost always be turned back around to you by your neighbor quickly. As of 2024, we've shipped over 8000 packages and had 2 - yes just 2 packages actually go missing. The USPS asks that customers wait 7 days to file a claim. This is because many mis-delivered packages will get back into the system and corrected in that time.
So what do you do if you get a "delivered" tracking update and you don't see your package? You wait! That's it. Just hang on another week and see if it shows up. It almost always does. There's nothing YotaMD (and often nothing USPS) can do to help your neighbor return the package to the USPS any sooner.
2. Tracking updates haven't updated in a week or more.
This doesn't happen too often. It seems to occur when the package is stuck at a distribution center. If there's no action in a week, sometimes a ping to USPS can help someone run out to the automated lines and find something. Sometimes a label is ruined and they can pair the unidentified package to a missing gmail request. This is rare, though.
What should you do? If you see tracking that stalls for 7 days, please send us a note. We'll see if there's anything we can do. If we can't get any USPS movement, we'll send out a new kit on our dime!
]]>The YotaMD key kits include multiple means of holding the key blade secure - no matter which key blade you happen to have!
The most common cause of a key blade that still feels loose after assembly is a center screw that is not threaded in all the way. The new shims for 2023 reduce the available movement of the blade, but the screw ALONE is capable of holding the blade plenty secure with no noticeable movement. The screw should go DEEP into the case. See the picture below for a properly seated screw. Sometimes the screw feels tight and the screw is still far from bottomed out like it should be. This can be due to a screw with a little excess threadlocker patch on it or a key blade with some threads that are dirty or damaged. Don't force it, fix it.
The Test:
The fix process:
BONUS FIX (sometimes the most effective): Use a proper hex driver. The "L" wrenches I include in the YotaMD key kits are economical and effective for 95-99% of keys. Including an expensive hex driver in all kits would be wasteful for most customers so I only include a simple wrench. I do offer a Wiha 1.3mm hex driver on the site and I recommend that to anyone that gets stuck on the above process. The superior driver helps to allow much more force to the screws without stripping.
Driver with hardware kit: Refresh Kit
Driver Only: Wiha 1.3mm Driver
If these steps fail to resolve the wiggle, please reach out via email with a picture (or three!) of your situation and we'll get it rock solid - guaranteed!
-Andy
YotaMD Founder and Owner
]]>Investments:
Inquiries should be sent to admin@yotamd.com.
]]>My wife is unexpectedly delivering our third child a few weeks early. That means starting today orders will ship later than usual for a couple weeks.
Please send your well wishes through the ether and we'll get your orders shipped as promptly as we can!
Thanks for your support and Happy New Year!
-Andy
YotaMD Founder
]]>From around 1998 to 2009 Toyota and Lexus used a plastic shell around the head of their remote keys which often fails over time. This plastic shell can crack and fracture around the key base - sometimes leaving a key stuck in the ignition. Even when the key is intact, it feels flimsy and gummy in the ignition - a feeling that doesn't match the rest of your Lexus vehicle's build quality.
As of 2017, there's a solid solution that uses titanium to reinforce the Lexus key blade, eliminate the risk of cracking and solidify the flexible feeling in the ignition - all while maintaining the range of the remote. The YotaMD YMD1 (available here) takes your existing remote and your existing key blade and turns them into a "buy it for life" solution. Installation involves taking your existing key blade and removing it from the old key shell plastic (if it's not already broken out completely) and simply placing it inside the YotaMD key kit. The kit is designed to work with all OEM keys and remotes as well as almost every aftermarket key blade and remote which is sold for these Toyota and Lexus keys.
Installation Instruction videos can be found here: https://www.yotamd.com/pages/fobsetup
The YotaMD kit comes in a variety of colors - for both the front and back nylon shells as well as the large titanium brace. The black shells are the standard offering and offer an all function, no frills solution. For those looking to add some flair to their keychain, there are a variety of Cerakote colors available. Cerakote is a ceramic coating applied over top of the nylon shell that is as durable as coatings get. It is sprayed and baked onto the non-black shells.
The YotaMD YMD1 kit uses extremely tight tolerances on the shells and the titanium braces.
The shells are produced differently for the Cerakote options because the Cerakote adds a very small thickness to the surface. While this added thickness is minimal, it is enough to interfere with the precise fitment of the M2 nuts used in the back shell. This requires the back shells to be produced in two different dimensions - one for black shells and one for Cerakote shells.
The titanium braces are grade 5 titanium and waterjet to a tolerance of +/- 2 thou in critical features. This precise tolerance helps maintain as much stability in the key blades as possible, while still allowing all key blades to work in the kit. It's above and beyond typical waterjet tolerances and requires YotaMD to work closely with waterjet shops to get the utmost precision out of their equipment for YMD1 production.
If you manage to break your YotaMD key, we'll make it right. Now, a year from now, 5 years from now. There is no expiration on your YotaMD product. YotaMD stands for professionally designed products manufactured locally in Colorado, USA. Built from materials that are the best available and never disposable. There are many cheaper keys out there, but this is the best you'll find.
One thing competing for resources lately is my Air Down Gear Up business. Air Down Gear Up makes refined and beautiful storage/sleeping systems for a variety of SUVs. Check it out if you aren't familiar. We've released some cool stuff in the last year or two. This business has seen explosive growth in 2020 into 2021 as we develop additional models and the enthusiasm for the outdoors has grown. While this explosive growth continues YotaMD designs will progress slightly slower than usual. Please stay tuned and sign up for email alerts if you haven't already (check towards the bottom of the home page to sign up).
Up next in the YotaMD lineup is:
-GX460, LX570 (pre-16), Other ~2008-2016 Lexus models
-Toyota "Diamond Head" keys (IE 4Runner)
-Honda integrated key
-Andy J
YotaMD Founder
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Parts Required:
The largest known flaw of the A70 Toyota Supra is the 7M’s head gasket. Somehow Toyota failed to realize their specified torque for the head gasket was too low and that it would lead to premature failure in many engines. Today, many years after the last A70 rolled off the production floor it is extremely difficult to find a MK3 Supra which has not had a head gasket failure. Anyone buying a MK3 Supra needs to be well aware of this chronic issue and needs to know how to fix it. The proper fix isn’t extremely difficult and may not be as expensive as one would think.
Things to consider:
You’ll be removing most everything that has a gasket on the top end to repair a head gasket so you will need a lot of other gaskets. Many aftermarket vendors sell gasket kits for 1/10th the cost of genuine Toyota gaskets. If you’re on a budget and just need to get the car running, these kits may fit the bill, but I’d advise using genuine Toyota gaskets for at least the exhaust and throttle body gaskets. The exhaust gaskets are supposed to be metal and I’ve noticed a significant difference in quality between genuine Toyota and the cheap aftermarket options. Exhaust leaks are annoying and fixing them after the fact can be a pain.
Diagnosis
Figuring out if you have a Blown Head Gasket can be tough in some instances. Classic signs are:
If you are unsure if you have a BHG you can try a couple things. One is a block test kit or a combustion gas test kit. This kit tries to pull air through your cooling system. If the kit can pull exhaust gas through your cooling system an indicator fluid changes color. Another method is a leak down test. This involves progressing through your motor looking for the source of an air leak. Once you determine you have a BHG or if you know you want to go for big power, it’s time to fix the problem.
Removal
Detailed steps/pictures for N/A
01Disconnect the negative terminal from the battery and push it to the side of the battery.
02Remove the air filter, box and accordion hose. This includes a couple hose clamps on the accordion hose, a couple vacuum hoses on the bottom of the accordion, two hoses on the top, one connector on the Air Meter, 3 bolts on the factory filter box and one on the air meter mount bracket.
03Drain most or all the coolant. Most the coolant can be removed from the radiator. Either jack up the car or reach under and drain the coolant into a large container. You’ll need to drain about a gallon at least.
04Remove the Throttle Body (TB) and linkage. This involves 4 12mm bolts on the TB, 2 brackets on either side of the TB, 3-5 vacuum hoses, two coolant hoses, one TPS connector, throttle linkage and one large crankcase vent hose.
05Remove the Alternator. This involves loosening the large pivot bolt (14mm), loosening and removing the adjustment bolt, sliding off the belt and then removing the pivot bolt and alternator.
06Remove the Y-Piece of the Intake. 6 12mm bolts mount the Y-piece to the plenum. The Y-piece is also held by a couple brackets attached to the head underneath.
07Unbolt the Intake Plenum. There are many 12mm bolts that are hidden here. Be patient and reference the following diagram to help out with their locations. You’ll also need to unbolt the EGR, cold start injector and ground strap.
08Remove the Fuel Rail. This will require removing a couple fuel “banjo” bolts. The lines *might* have pressurized fuel so be careful when breaking the banjo bolts loose. It’s a good idea to have a shop rag/towel under the bolts to catch any stray fuel. Carefully pull out the fuel rail and injectors and set them aside. Treat the injectors with extra care and don’t lose any of the insulators (cushions) and inspect the injectors for bad O-rings.
09Remove the intake manifold. You have two options here: Remove the harness from the manifold completely and use the manifold to help lift the head out later or just unbolt it and place off to the driver’s side leaving the harness alone.
10Remove the Exhaust Manifold. For non-turbo cars this is easy. Simply remove the shields and then the manifold. You’ll need a deep socket for the manifold studs. For turbo cars this step is much more involved. You’ll need to remove the shields, turbo, oil lines and then the manifold.
11Remove the Distributor/CPS. This has one lonely bolt. Once the adjustment bolt is removed the distributor should slide out, but may need some persuasion.
12Remove the Rear Coolant Hoses. One hose is a small 90 degree hose on the exhaust side. The other is in the center of the back of the head and goes to the heater valve on the passenger firewall.
13Remove the Front Timing Cover. This is the piece that has the 7M-G[T]E sticker. These should be 10mm bolts.
14Remove the Timing Belt from the pulleys. Loosen the tensioner bolt and use a pry bar or screwdriver to push the tensioner loose then tighten the tensioner bolt again. If you’re replacing the timing belt go ahead and remove the lower cover as well. The timing belt can now be removed from the cam gears (or removed completely if you took off the lower cover.)
15Remove the Cam Gears. This step benefits from a special tool, but it isn’t absolutely needed. The gears must be held in place while the bolt in center is broken loose. A 10mm deep socket might work to hold the gears in place if the socket is placed on one of the rear timing cover’s bolts through the cam gears. Be careful not to lose the pins in the gears.
16Remove the Water Outlet Housing. The housing has three 12mm bolts
17Remove the Head Bolts. NOTE: THESE MUST BE REMOVED IN THE CORRECT ORDER. The correct pattern is an x shape starting at the outside moving in to the center. The first bolt is the front intake side. This requires a 10mm inverse hex and at least a short extension.
18Remove the Cylinder Head. This is the fun part. The head is best removed as a two person job, but one person can remove it with some good upper body strength.
Inspection, Analysis and Maintenance
01Head Gasket. Usually a Blown Head Gasket leaves the gasket in an obviously damaged condition. Most common is a deformation of the ring lining the cylinder outwards into the water jackets. Take a look at the gasket and search for the damaged area.
02Head. Check the sealing side of the head for any damage in the surface. Don’t bother cleaning the surface as it needs to be machined flat before you put it back on. Check the valves and the top of the combustion chambers for any damage. If you see even a tiny crack the head may be unusable. If you don’t find anything obviously wrong, drop the head off at a machinist for at least a cleaning and mill. If you can afford it a valve job with stem seal replacement is a good idea. Ask if the machinist can perform a hardness test. A soft head is a death sentence. A common sign of a soft head is bolt holes which strip. The exhaust manifold studs are generally the first to go.
03Block. The block will likely have gasket material stuck to the deck surface. This material needs to be carefully removed before the head goes back on. A gasket scraper or razor scraper does the job well. Spend plenty of time cleaning the deck surface. If the surface isn’t clean you’ll have another blown head gasket soon. Do not try to sand or polish the deck surface. Those processes are likely to create shallow valleys which will not seal.
04Replace the Rear Heater Union and Hose. These parts can create a huge headache down the road. I think it’s worthwhile to replace this every time you perform a head gasket repair. Buy a new union and a new hose and save yourself a lot of hassle down the road. You’ll never have an easier chance to replace them once the head is reinstalled. The hose is around $10 and the union is about the same. It’s some of the best $20 you can spend during this job.
05Replace the Cam Seals and all other gaskets/seals that come with the top end gasket kits.
Installation
01Chase/Clean the Block Threads. If you have a thread cleaning tap from ARP now is the time to use it. It’s generally a bad idea to use a regular tap to clean threads because you’ll remove extra material and weaken the threads. Kit # 912-0006 from ARP is an M12 - 1.25 tap that’s the correct size for a 7M.
02Apply Form In Place Gasket (FIPG)/Permatex “The Right Stuff” to the seams of the block and rear timing plate.
03Install the Head Gasket. The block surface should be very clean. Lay the gasket down on the block with the head guide pins installed in the block. You can use copper spray here if you would like, but it is not required.
04Install the Head. This is best done by two people. The clean, machined head should be placed down very carefully and accurately. It will fall into place once the guide pins line up with the head.
05Install the Head Hardware. If you opted for ARP hardware crack open that package and get ready to install the new bolts/studs. For ARP hardware you need to the cams removed to install the ARP nuts. You also must use the ARP supplied lubricant to achieve the proper torque when tightening. The tightening sequence is CRITICAL. You must begin in the center and work your way out to prevent warping the head material. Install the cams if they were removed. They also should be shimmed correctly if the machine shop didn’t already do that.
06Follow all removal steps in reverse.