List of things to leave you stranded - hyper maintenance?

[dubdub20003]

Do any of you get Hagerty's daily emails? Various automotive topics and interests... but they have a great writer for them by the name of Rob Segel. He is largely a BMW guy, but get the challenges that older car owners face, and even goes by the nickname of the "Hack Mechanic" (Memoirs of a Hack Mechanic and Ran When Parked are two good books of his). He's funny and also really great at thinking through the problems we all face. Anyway, he always reminds people to focus on the things that can leave you stranded... or at least differentiate between the systems that can leave you stranded and those that will just be an annoyance while you limp home.

So while the "Suggested spare parts for the trail" thread in the FAQ is great, it is mainly focused on the added stress a LC/LX would face off-road. As I am new LC owner, I was poking around for more of a daily driver application of Rob Segel's principles. What are the things on a 100 that can leave us stranded? Rob highlights battery and alternator, cooling system, belts, fuel supply, ignition-related issues, and ball joints. Sure there are outlier things that just happen...but what are the things that we should see coming and address well ahead of time? For example, as I am also a longtime old BMW person, it just made practical sense to change the two fuel pumps every 80k and keep a spare in your trunk. But I am guessing the life of a LC/LX fuel pump is considerably longer... but you get the point.

As someone with 350k on the clock, virtually all of my systems are no longer original, but trying to baseline when I should start to think of future preventative work to ensure I am not left by the side of the road!

 

[Trunk Monkey]

 

[dubdub20003]

So you’re saying my mother was wrong I am not special and every one of my ideas are not unique?

I did do a search before, but must not have used stranded in doing so! Thanks.

 

[Red Beard]

This might help with searching but there was a thread like a year ago about someone who was about to go on a trip and everyone chimed in. It got to the point that the joke was the guy was gonna need to tow a trailer for all the tools and extra parts needed to not be stranded.

 

[Mike NXP]

One thing you didn't mention is your driving habits. If your driving within cell service, just buy a membership to AAA and move on. If you drive a few hundred miles into the wilderness on multi-day trips with no way to talk to the outside world, then you just need to start replacing essential parts. Focus on the stuff that is essential for the vehicle to start and move.

A lot of mechanical parts is they tend to cry out for help before failing. Start with those parts first and look up " base lining" on here. Prepare to dump a lot of money into the vehicle if you want to go down that path of keeping it alive.

 

[Live to Ski]

Or...satellite come for "out there". I use garmin inreach.

 

[Brandon Ryder]

Alternator can leave you stranded. At a minimum you could carry brushes if you haven't replaced them recently. This has happened to me on 2 different vehicles while on cross country trips.

I also carry a spare coil as this is easy to carry and easy to replace on the road.

Door locks fail pretty commonly on our vehicles but aren't usually a leave you stranded thing. But by carrying a spare left and right camry door motor, you could replace any of the 5 locks on the vehicle.

CV boot isn't a roadside fix usually but having one on hand just in the garage is good to have.

I like to keep electrical cleaner in my Toyotas for cleaning the MAF sensor which can cause some driveability issues.

If i was going to do any serious rock crawling, I'd probably aquire and carry an extra set of rear lower control arms as they are pretty exposed and known to bend in those situations.

The starter is such a bear of a job that i wouldn't attempt it on a road trip. But if i was so inclined I'd carry at least a rebuild kit but would prefer to carry a complete remanned denso starter.

The last thing i can think of now is the brake booster. Mine is still working fine at 325k but it's in the back of my mind. If i find a good deal on one, I'll probably buy one in advance for the inevitable occurrence it goes out. They're a couple thousand new.

 

[Patassa]

Alternator can leave you stranded. At a minimum you could carry brushes if you haven't replaced them recently. This has happened to me on 2 different vehicles while on cross country trips.

I also carry a spare coil as this is easy to carry and easy to replace on the road.

Door locks fail pretty commonly on our vehicles but aren't usually a leave you stranded thing. But by carrying a spare left and right camry door motor, you could replace any of the 5 locks on the vehicle.

CV boot isn't a roadside fix usually but having one on hand just in the garage is good to have.

I like to keep electrical cleaner in my Toyotas for cleaning the MAF sensor which can cause some driveability issues.

If i was going to do any serious rock crawling, I'd probably aquire and carry an extra set of rear lower control arms as they are pretty exposed and known to bend in those situations.

The starter is such a bear of a job that i wouldn't attempt it on a road trip. But if i was so inclined I'd carry at least a rebuild kit but would prefer to carry a complete remanned denso starter.

The last thing i can think of now is the brake booster. Mine is still working fine at 325k but it's in the back of my mind. If i find a good deal on one, I'll probably buy one in advance for the inevitable occurrence it goes out. They're a couple thousand new.

+1 on alternator. Not fun when that goes out in the middle of a national forest, ask me how I know.

 

[Dziobak]

This might help with searching but there was a thread like a year ago about someone who was about to go on a trip and everyone chimed in. It got to the point that the joke was the guy was gonna need to tow a trailer for all the tools and extra parts needed to not be stranded.

I'm pretty sure that was me. It's a good picture of what this place is like. Asking a dumb question will absolutely earn a few good jokes at your expense, but the same people will also hand out their hard-earned wisdom instead of just saying, "use the search bar."

@dubdub20003 This hasn't been updated in a while, but here's that list of gear and prep (towed trailer not included).

 

[Mike NXP]

My take on this is....if you don't leave the paved roads and/or you are always within cell coverage...then just buy a AAA membership for a free tow home and then fix it.


If you often find yourself in the back country, miles from cell coverage with potential danger for your life, then it doesn't hurt to carry some spare parts / tools. I'd prefer to just do my maintenance at home so I don't have to carry random parts around and listen close for signs of failure before the part fails. Call me crazy but there is no way I am going to drive around with spare alternators, coils, or any parts like that. If your going into the backcountry just replace these parts that can leave you stranded, dont' just carry around a spare.

 

[iwashmycar]

.......

CV boot isn't a roadside fix usually but having one on hand just in the garage is good to have.

......

I installed one of these in a Napa parking lot when I split a boot on a trip once. Stayed in place for a couple thousand miles. Can just put it over the broken one usually since its just split most of the time. Royal pain trying to bolt it together though lol.

Dorman 03662 Dorman CV Joint Boots | Summit Racing

Free Shipping - Dorman CV Joint Boots with qualifying orders of $99. Shop CV Boots at Summit Racing.

www.summitracing.com

 

[BnvS]

Alternator can leave you stranded. At a minimum you could carry brushes if you haven't replaced them recently. This has happened to me on 2 different vehicles while on cross country trips.

I also carry a spare coil as this is easy to carry and easy to replace on the road.

Door locks fail pretty commonly on our vehicles but aren't usually a leave you stranded thing. But by carrying a spare left and right camry door motor, you could replace any of the 5 locks on the vehicle.

CV boot isn't a roadside fix usually but having one on hand just in the garage is good to have.

I like to keep electrical cleaner in my Toyotas for cleaning the MAF sensor which can cause some driveability issues.

If i was going to do any serious rock crawling, I'd probably aquire and carry an extra set of rear lower control arms as they are pretty exposed and known to bend in those situations.

The starter is such a bear of a job that i wouldn't attempt it on a road trip. But if i was so inclined I'd carry at least a rebuild kit but would prefer to carry a complete remanned denso starter.

The last thing i can think of now is the brake booster. Mine is still working fine at 325k but it's in the back of my mind. If i find a good deal on one, I'll probably buy one in advance for the inevitable occurrence it goes out. They're a couple thousand new.

Your forgot to add injection coils from Denso. Heater tees if not already done.

Btw what @Brandon Ryder do you happen to have the part number of the camry door motor? I would just like to keep one in case.

Thanks.

 

[Brandon Ryder]

Your forgot to add injection coils from Denso. Heater tees if not already done.

Btw what @Brandon Ryder do you happen to have the part number of the camry door motor? I would just like to keep one in case.

Thanks.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07WW3Q5D1?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

That's a front left and rear right lock. Get the right side door lock too to be able to fix any of the 5 locks.

 

[NLXTACY]

The alternator left me stranded in a hotel parking lot in 114° weather with no tools in a new to me 100. Took an Uber and a borrowed a friend’s ride to get tools and hunt down a reman’d alt. Took better part of two days to replace. It was hell. Oh, and it was 4th of July weekend so most places were closed.

 

[MechE30]

The alternator left me stranded in a hotel parking lot in 114° weather with no tools in a new to me 100. Took an Uber and a borrowed a friend’s ride to get tools and hunt down a reman’d alt. Took better part of two days to replace. It was hell. Oh, and it was 4th of July weekend so most places were closed.

My old Tahoe did the same in Mammoth, CA over Memorial Day. I feel your pain. Are you carrying a spare alt now?

 

[NLXTACY]

My old Tahoe did the same in Mammoth, CA over Memorial Day. I feel your pain. Are you carrying a spare alt now?

No just the brushes. And tools

 

[04UZJ100]

https://resources.savvyaviation.com/wp-content/uploads/articles_eaa/EAA_2011-03_the-waddington-effect.pdf

 

[97 AZ LC]

https://resources.savvyaviation.com/wp-content/uploads/articles_eaa/EAA_2011-03_the-waddington-effect.pdf

Nice article. The great example of the problem with the 100 series is replacing water pumps with timing belts. It almost certainly results in an increase in water pump failures. But it makes people feel good, and the internet echo chamber has told them to do it. But Toyota knows better.