Popular Post rxtoy Posted March 24, 2016 Popular Post Share Posted March 24, 2016 I bought a new toy. I've been looking for an RN30/40 for ages but I've been pretty fussy, with one of the harder conditions being that it needs a wellside. There are fuck all. Then this came up, I was like meh, extra cab, but bonus 4x4 tub and guards Plus it's got this!!! Plus it's engineered, and only cost me 3.5K. So fucking cheap. So I went to look, drove it, sounds amazing, bargained the price down a bit, then went home and organised the $ and picked it up last night. It's got a few things to sort, typical hilux rust, high beams are out, shit wiring job on the stereo etc, but it'll make a way better daily than the boring corona I'm retiring. Cheers Matt Discussion Thread 22 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rxtoy Posted March 29, 2016 Author Share Posted March 29, 2016 Update 1: aka reliability/safety comes first............ Shit. Cheap cool cars are cheap for more reasons than expected. I've lost reverse 3 times now due to low ATF levels? Topping up has fixed it twice. There's a minor leak underneath (either the gearbox sump or the output housing, or of course both) but considering I've put a litre in and there's none on the ground anywhere I've parked I'm not sure where I'm losing it. Coolant has been checked and is good. ATF level is where it should be now, maybe a touch on the low side Going to pull the sump off tomorrow, check for dirty filter and crap in the ATF, otherwise any ideas? I've never really played with autos so I'm winging it. Also jacked up the corners to do my usual new vehicle check, one dodgy lower ball joint and one supremely fucked ball joint at the bottom of the idler arm. Like 20mm axial play fucked. Cheers Matt 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rxtoy Posted March 29, 2016 Author Share Posted March 29, 2016 Oh, I replaced the radius rod, which takes care of the super fucked ball joint. Waiting on parts for the lower ball joint. Still need to sort a few globes and the stereo wiring too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rxtoy Posted March 30, 2016 Author Share Posted March 30, 2016 Did the lower ball joint today, had a massive score in that Repco (my usual parts place was out of stock) is running out there home brand versions so I got it for $3.19. Yuss!!! Also pulled the sump off the gearbox, then the filter. It's definitely got some particles in there, it doesn't seem like enough to be causing issues but maybe. The fluid looked pretty red to me, but I've bought some fresh stuff so I'll use that. Pics of particles in filter: Opinions??? Also, this is the dream: Except WA is shit so in the interest of keeping it semi legal this is the more likely dream: Cheers Matt 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rxtoy Posted April 1, 2016 Author Share Posted April 1, 2016 Clean up trans sump and filter, scrape off at least two attempts worth of sealing without removing previous gasket stuff, including a shitload of clear silicon, put straight edge across strange feeling end of sump, discover that some special cunt has bent the mating surface, tap it back as close as I can get it without a bench (next garage mod), refit sump with gasket goo, realise I've got 3 extra bolts, face palm, remove sump, refit filter, refit sump finger tight, let dry for an hour, tighten properly, now got a 24 hour wait for gasket goo to cure fully then top up through dipstick tube, then drive!!! Can I lose ATF through the bellhousing? It looks like there may be a minor leak around there somewhere but it's to dirty to see if it's ATF or oil. Ummmmmmm I didn't take any pics because it's a sump, you guys have all seen them. So because picture less updates are ultra lame here's the one the gf took when we picked it up. I was happy, but look like a tard. Cheers Matt 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rxtoy Posted April 4, 2016 Author Share Posted April 4, 2016 ATF topped up? Took it for a decent drive and checked fluids a couple of times, needed a bit of a top up once it was fully warmed up but seems to be holding its level. Told the gf I was going for a 15 minute drive, ended up just keeping on going, got home 45 minutes later. So much nicer to drive now that the ball joints are fixed. It still needs an alignment, and I'm getting some detonation under load too. Seems weird for a stock motor running 98, I'll have to join the lextreme forums (or is there a better option) to see what it could be. I also swapped wheels with the crown, love the look but I gained 500 rpm at 100kph which isn't ideal for a daily so I need a better option. Steelies and Whitewalls look great on the crown though so they can stay there. Cheers Matt 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rxtoy Posted April 7, 2016 Author Share Posted April 7, 2016 Gearbox seems to be sorted, been for a couple of drives now and haven't needed to top up. So many noises though, there's a whine coming from the engine bay, sounds like a dodgy bearing so I pulled the front belt off and checked them all, idler bearing is pretty noisy so I'll find a new one tomorrow. Sorted the tail light that was out but I'm not getting power to the high beams, rather than blown bulbs so I'm not really sure where to start looking for that. Maybe the stalk, but what do I even check? They're shitty sealed beams so I think I'll try and find a replacement while I'm pissing around with them. Pic of dodgy bearing so not picture less update And pic of 2wd'd surf because this is what I really should do!!! Cheers Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rxtoy Posted April 30, 2016 Author Share Posted April 30, 2016 so i'd love to tell you all how great this thing is to drive and how much i've been enjoying it............ but that would be a lie. the lemonlux is still losing reverse intermittently. i can start it, go to reverse out of the garage, and nothing. try again the next day, exactly the same conditions, the thing hasn't even moved, and it works perfectly. can't bloody work it out. i had the sump of the box off again today, pulled the shift solenoids out and tested them, one seemed a little sticky but after a couple of tests it was working fine. not sure if i'm imagining it, or if i just made a shit connection the first couple of times with my car battery/cut off coat hanger test rig. sealed up the sump again and put it all back together, just waiting for it to cure then will top up the box with fresh ATF, again, and see how she goes. i'm also going to try disconnecting the speed sensor on the rear of the box next time it loses reverse, apparently this sends it into 'manual' mode, and reverse should work, if its a solenoid/electric/computer problem. i was also given a free A340E from behind a JZ, if i can't sort this reverse thing then i'm going to try swapping over the tailshaft housing and the bellhousing from my box and just use that, its an earlier version without computer control (apparently) so if i can make it fit then it should cause a lot less issues. fingers crossed i get a solution out of one of these options a picture of the lemonlux in its natural environment, up on jack stands in the shed: fucking thing. cheers Matt 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rxtoy Posted August 21, 2016 Author Share Posted August 21, 2016 so i haven't updated this for ages because i'm lazy and photo bucket is a dick and life is busy and stuff that doesn't mean i haven't been doing anything!!! although to be honest i haven't been doing a lot either got the trans to the point where if it wouldn't go into reverse i could turn it off, then back on again and it would be magically fixed. no fucking idea how that works. Had an electrical failure just as i rolled in the garage one night, the night before dyno day of course when it was due to go on the rollers and i had already paid and the crown was out of action to take its place if it did fail. so i called my mate Aaron and he came round with testing equipment and we fucking searched everything to see why the hell the alternator wasn't charging. at all. spent almost 4 hours on it before realising that the dash had shit connections and put some contact cleaner on them and all of a sudden everything works again, hooray!!! so took it along to the dyno day with high hopes of 180 ish hp, nope, it only had 118.5. it did however sound AMAZING!!! but fuck, thats shit. so i pulled a bunch of stuff off the engine, basically all the stuff that i can check myself/replace before i take it in somewhere to get it fixed, if this doesn't injectors off and cleaned, computer out and Aaron replaced all the capacitors and shit that could fail because 90's toyota computer, i still need to replace plugs and leads but am super broke right now so they're on hold. checked compression. everything is good. so put it back together and took it for a few drives since and its still got detonation, and power seems about the same. will replace plugs next time i've got a spare $80, then its time to take it to the experts. or maybe i just need to hook up a check engine light and see what codes its throwing, but thats getting well outside my field of expertise but for some reason the auto/reverse problem is gone. well, its to early to know for sure but i've taken it for 6 short runs to various places and all without a single fail. which is a record, so i'm counting it as a win. cheers Matt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rxtoy Posted September 1, 2016 Author Share Posted September 1, 2016 So much for $80 for plugs, cost me almost $150. Trade too, saved over $50 on them. Running heaps smoother, but still getting ping. Also noticed some coolant under the radiator when I got home tonight, had a look around for a leak, then realised it was coming from the radiator overflow bottle overflow. Yes, that does make sense. So I pull the lid off and hello, some special cunt has put the cap on backwards, so it's filling from the radiator through the top, and can't suck anything but air back, and also once it pressurises it's forcing coolant from the bottom out of the overflow hose. I've also got a power steering leak, which is making it noisey as fuck. Drained all the power steering fluid out into a bucket, using the return line from the steering box. When I say into a bucket what I mean is fuck I made a mess. Next time I'll find a longer bit of hose to do it properly. Anyway, I couldn't find the leak, so I topped it up with fluid that's meant to stop leaks. I don't have high hopes, might just rebuild the steering box and get a new power steering pump, which was my plan for the afternoon but I couldn't find parts at my local parts store Pic from a recent outing That is all Cheers Matt 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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