[coax]

Hi All,
Hoping to get some 'mud advice on a my new-to-me 80.

First the newbie intro: Bought a 1997 LX450 with 170,000(magic dial, OME 2.5, 285's) after selling my '74 FJ55 project that I just didnt have time to work on any more. Turns out I have somewhat traded an old project cruiser for a newer project cruiser. I was hoping to be able to drive the new one more than 3 hours before putting it up on jackstands :(

Either I didn't notice(or it wasnt as bad during the test drive) a leak in the seam on the plastic top of the radiator. After reading through a bunch of the posts, I decided to just go ahead and replace the radiator rather than seeing if the existing one could be fixed. It appeared to have a fair bit of sludge built up and really dark coolant so figured its about time to give that first stack of cash to Cdan.

First question is around the PHH. I was gonna just replace this at the same time as all the other hoses since I have it all drained, but it looks like its been replaced already. Any ideas of if this is the gates green stripe hose? (Not trying to be a sarcastic....I recalled some threads around Napa selling a similar hose that really wasnt anything special, but I couldn't find the thread). Worth replacing again? The lower bolt on the pipe is already gone(missing I suspect from last fix).

Second question is around the oil pump seal, and if I oughta try and track down a huge torque wrench and replace the seal while I have space with the radiator gone to get an impact screwdriver in there. Seems to be leaking a bit; attached picture was after about 12 hours of cleaning the underside of the cover. Dig deeper into the project or leave it for later?

Sorry for the long n00b post. MUD is great and already takes too much of my time at work; it is indeed an addiction.

Corey

[Romer]

Welcome to Mud

That PHH looks fine. I just replaced mine with a stock hose when it was done, and the one you have there is beefier.

Haven't replaced that seal so cant help you there. Might want to also swap the fluid in your fan clutch while its out. Search for "Blue fan clutch mod". Basically, you go to a Remote Control shop and buy 6000 cst or 10000cst and replace all or mix the fluid thats in there. There are also steps in the thread on how to set the temp point

Also good time to change all the belts with the easy access.

[woodsman 44]

Corey, welcome to this great forum!

When you add new coolant make sure and use the toyota "RED" OEM coolant, not the green stuff

[woodsman 44]

Corey is it leaking bad after cleaning around that seal? You should be able to see how much is dripping now, If its getting the underside wet, you will have to change it.

[Ebag333]

Originally Posted by woodsman 44

When you add new coolant make sure and use the toyota "RED" OEM coolant, not the green stuff

If there is already green in there, stick with the green. It's a bit of a PITA to switch to red from green, you can easily create a sludge if you mix them.

Additionally, in a pinch green is far easier to come by. If you need to top it off for whatever reason and have red, you'd better hope a Toyota dealership is open or carry some with you.

(Those were the two reasons I was given by cdan when I asked about switching to red. If I misquoted him, it's probably my fault. )

[firetruck41]

I don't care for those clamps, I would consider putting on some constant torque tension clamps, my PHH "kit" from 1fzfePHH.com came with them. I do like having the silicone hose, and knowing I will most likely never have a PHH issue now. Your hose looks fine though.

[coax]

Cool, I'll look into changing the fan clutch fluid while its out, as well as try and get some of the lined hose clamps for the PHH when I get new ones for the rest of the hoses (glad I dont have to replace it...thats the first bit of good news on this project). Belts are also on the list. And I'll probably end up digging into the oil pump seal since I'm already half way.

Thanks for the advice!