First off I'm a 17 year old I have very little amount of money and recently I have taken the land cruiser to the dealer in Salt Lake City to get the timing belt replaced. When I got it back I received a list of thing that's are wrong with the car it came out to be 5,000 dollars way to much for me. Any suggestions on how I go about fixing my car would be great. I'm decently handy and have a garage and tools. By the way it has 351,000 miles on it. Any help would be fantastic thanks .
Need help any suggestions?
- Thread starter Euan Palmer
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DirtDawg
"It'd be alot cooler if you did"
Welcome to mud!
Most of the items listed you can easily do on your own. Go through the FAQs and read all the threads pertaining to your issues. Flush your power steering system, add a little stop leak, and see if you can bandaid that rack and pinion for a little longer. The engine oil leak is probably just your valve covers, which can sometimes be remedied by tightening the bolts, or valve cover gasket replacement, which is a fairly easy job. And then a CV reboot isn't too expensive for the parts if its a job your willing to DIY, if not, most indy mechanics can reboot for cheap.
All the stuff listed isn't detrimental to the life of your cruiser. Lack of proper maintenance, yes, but nothing to worry about, and definitely not $5000 worth of repairs (most of that is labor cost). Read through the threads, get informed, and make decisions.
Most of the items listed you can easily do on your own. Go through the FAQs and read all the threads pertaining to your issues. Flush your power steering system, add a little stop leak, and see if you can bandaid that rack and pinion for a little longer. The engine oil leak is probably just your valve covers, which can sometimes be remedied by tightening the bolts, or valve cover gasket replacement, which is a fairly easy job. And then a CV reboot isn't too expensive for the parts if its a job your willing to DIY, if not, most indy mechanics can reboot for cheap.
All the stuff listed isn't detrimental to the life of your cruiser. Lack of proper maintenance, yes, but nothing to worry about, and definitely not $5000 worth of repairs (most of that is labor cost). Read through the threads, get informed, and make decisions.
Trunk Monkey
Moderator
Tackle it one piece at a time in order of seriousness. Get under the truck and see how bad the CVs are leaking. Do just the bands need to be replaced or are the boots torn open? Tighten the valve covers as DD suggested. For the steering, at 350k it may well be time for the rack to be replaced. Also know that taking it to the dealership you're paying premium rate. There's several other good Cruiser friendly garages in SLC, State Auto being one of them.
I agree on State Auto - they inspected my Cruiser before I bought it. You might want to take it to them and see what they say really needs to be done.
Great advice above ^
I would double check everything, especially the brake pads, and make sure if they need to be replaced before buying stuffs. So many times I been told my cars need new brake pads, and they do not. Heck I have had new pads installed, and when getting alignment they told me I need new brake pads. I think just most customers would just agree to replace them without thinking twice.
If you are stuck, do a search here. Most likely someone has had similar problem before, and there is already a solution. If not, post in the forum, and someone should be able to help.
I am jealous, 17 yr old and driving an LC
I would double check everything, especially the brake pads, and make sure if they need to be replaced before buying stuffs. So many times I been told my cars need new brake pads, and they do not. Heck I have had new pads installed, and when getting alignment they told me I need new brake pads. I think just most customers would just agree to replace them without thinking twice.
If you are stuck, do a search here. Most likely someone has had similar problem before, and there is already a solution. If not, post in the forum, and someone should be able to help.
I am jealous, 17 yr old and driving an LC
Divinity Auto is another place that specializes in Toyota's. They've done good work.
That's a nice rig congratulations! You can check to see if the spark plug tube seals are leaking if oil is around the spark plugs. Hardened valve cover gaskets will give a slow leak, sometimes you can smell the oil dripping on the manifold.
Did you get any maintenance records when you bought your truck?
Did you get any maintenance records when you bought your truck?
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this truck was passed down from my parents to me it has a bunch of service receipts from an auto shop thats around me. I recently have tightened the valve cover bolt and it appears to have stopped the leak but for the steering issue I have all the things needed for a flush just waiting on the weather to warm up. For the spark plug tubes I did notice when I changed the spark plugs that one of the spark plugs on the white part had oil in it. Is this a crucial thing?
Thanks everyone for the responses.
Thanks everyone for the responses.
As others have said......congrats!
Curious as to dealer name as I have had some SLC dealer experiences.
NOTE: as often discussed, take dealer advise with some critical thinking.....
Curious as to dealer name as I have had some SLC dealer experiences.
NOTE: as often discussed, take dealer advise with some critical thinking.....
