Thanks for the welcome and knowledge. I just bought a 1998 LC. I'm the third owner. 215k miles. Lifetime southern truck with some awesome benefits, but it's a project.
The story from the previous owner is that it overheated due to cracked plastic tees. Those were replaced and the coolant system was pressure tested (remember this...it will be important later) by a relatively reputable local shop. The timing is not exactly clear, but it started to misfire soon after. Codes are showing 3, 6, and sometimes 4. It idles a little rough, as you would expect, and in drive it's very jerky at idle. Almost feels like little "pulses" of power. A shop told the previous owner it was a blown head gasket. To my knowledge, they never did any diagnostics (compression, leakdown, etc.). The oil is clear. The coolant looks pretty good. There's no white smoke at all even on startup after sitting at the previous owner's office for a week.
Decided it was not wise to drive it home, so I had it towed. It was at this time, I realized the driver's footwell is soaking wet under the all-weather mat. I've been researching and working through the whole zip-tie cleanout of drains under the frame. Another fun fact is that the sunroof is "permanently" closed and the fuse pulled because a shop told the previous owner one of the cables was broken and too expensive to fix. Access to the drains in the sunroof gutter is not guaranteed at this point. Back to this in a minute.
The LC is home slowly leaking coolant all over my driveway. Remember the local shop fixed and pressure tested the coolant system about a month ago. Very confused by this, but I haven't had time to crawl under it and find where it's coming from yet. Gut says maybe they overtightened something.
My plan (feel free to shoot holes in this):
1. Find the coolant leak
2. Compression test all cylinders
3. Get down to the timing belt and check timing (could get a good/bad surprise here if the timing is off)
4. If compression is bad and timing is okay, keep going deeper
5. Plan full head gasket replacement including 'while you're in there...':
Along the way, I will be trying to get to the bottom of the leak. I've located the drain tube, but I haven't pulled off the a-pillar trim yet. I'm tempted to get in behind the a-pillar, cut the tube, clear it out both ways, and the splice it back together.
The LC really is nice, so I'm cautiously optimistic and excited despite the amount of work ahead. Interior is amazing except for the front seats and the leak. There is no rust at all. It does have the factory rear locker.
The story from the previous owner is that it overheated due to cracked plastic tees. Those were replaced and the coolant system was pressure tested (remember this...it will be important later) by a relatively reputable local shop. The timing is not exactly clear, but it started to misfire soon after. Codes are showing 3, 6, and sometimes 4. It idles a little rough, as you would expect, and in drive it's very jerky at idle. Almost feels like little "pulses" of power. A shop told the previous owner it was a blown head gasket. To my knowledge, they never did any diagnostics (compression, leakdown, etc.). The oil is clear. The coolant looks pretty good. There's no white smoke at all even on startup after sitting at the previous owner's office for a week.
Decided it was not wise to drive it home, so I had it towed. It was at this time, I realized the driver's footwell is soaking wet under the all-weather mat. I've been researching and working through the whole zip-tie cleanout of drains under the frame. Another fun fact is that the sunroof is "permanently" closed and the fuse pulled because a shop told the previous owner one of the cables was broken and too expensive to fix. Access to the drains in the sunroof gutter is not guaranteed at this point. Back to this in a minute.
The LC is home slowly leaking coolant all over my driveway. Remember the local shop fixed and pressure tested the coolant system about a month ago. Very confused by this, but I haven't had time to crawl under it and find where it's coming from yet. Gut says maybe they overtightened something.
My plan (feel free to shoot holes in this):
1. Find the coolant leak
2. Compression test all cylinders
3. Get down to the timing belt and check timing (could get a good/bad surprise here if the timing is off)
4. If compression is bad and timing is okay, keep going deeper
5. Plan full head gasket replacement including 'while you're in there...':
- Machine shop inspect, pressure test, possibly deck heads
- Ultrasonic clean & test injectors
- Replace air filter, spark plugs, timing belt & v-belt, tensioners, idlers, water pump, and starter (Toyota reman)
- Considered replacing ignition coils, but wow those things are expensive
- Reassemble
- Oil change
- Pray
Along the way, I will be trying to get to the bottom of the leak. I've located the drain tube, but I haven't pulled off the a-pillar trim yet. I'm tempted to get in behind the a-pillar, cut the tube, clear it out both ways, and the splice it back together.
The LC really is nice, so I'm cautiously optimistic and excited despite the amount of work ahead. Interior is amazing except for the front seats and the leak. There is no rust at all. It does have the factory rear locker.