new to me 97 lx450 wrench + discover THREAD (1 Viewer)

[landcruiser3DP]

hi all,

looks like i finally took the plunge. wanted to give a BIG thanks to all who helped me out trying to sort things and make a buy. i'm rolling out tonight in an hour to drive it home insured and with a temp tag. car is a 1997 lx450 with 222K. i'm in austin texas.

anyone willing to help me with the following "needs list"? maybe some idea of how or whether to gang up other work with these repairs or whether i can do them individually. also whether they are manageable for a new(ish) wrench? or even some help on getting part numbers while i try to figure out how to navigate the online fiche?!

known needs:

A. radiator leaking > replace radiator.

B. P0110 code Airflow Meter > not sure.

C. P0172 code coolant temp sensor > not sure.

D. broken antenna > buy new antenna. i guess there is some issue with whether there may be damage to the motor? meaning first you need to buy the antenna, put it in and /then/ yo uwill know if the motor is bad? also - supposedly the "non-mechanical" antennas are not all that great?

E. broken heater control valve and plugged off hoses > buy new heater control valve and all hoses. replace all.

F. oil level sensor leaking > eventually replace or seal?

G. valve cover gasket leak > eventually replace. job for new wrench?

H. right rear door actuator not working > not sure.

I. cracked radius arm bushings > replace along with trackbar bushings.

J. light axle seal leak > eventually replace

THANKS ALL

jonathan

2.1.19 here is the "parts ID thread" i had to thrash my way through to wrap my head around some of the items. i updated it today with kind of a visual summary showing me trying to wrap my head around things. thought it might be helpful to some other new wrenches with new to me LC/LX's...

engine cleanup and under hood parts ID HELP?

 

[landcruiser3DP]

two links from a google search for the codes with "land cruiser" appended to it. i'll be reading them tomorrow morning. hopefully it won't be read 'em and weep.

P0110 Mass Airflow Sensor: MAF (Mass Air Flow) sensor replacement
P0172: Please advise for stall Problem Codes P0172 & P0175 - banks to rich?

 

[landcruiser3DP]

found the baselining thread: Comprehensive Baselining List

 

[slow95z]

I have tons of used parts at cheap prices. The door lock actuators are a good example.

 

[GW Nugget]

Welcome

 

[ccslider]

Welcome.

I would search the local junkyards for the best price on used parts.. you can also find inexpensive new oem parts from partsouq.com

 

[Cass007]

@slow95z ... Please PM me if you have actuators for the rear doors (I need 2 for each side) pricing shipped to 17402. Now that the important part is out of the way ....

Welcome @hotwheels2017

You are about to learn a fair amount about your truck. If you take care of it now, it will take care of you for the next 20 years.

A. radiator leaking > replace radiator. Easy - don't sweat this

B. P0110 code Airflow Meter > not sure.

C. P0172 code coolant temp sensor > not sure.

D. broken antenna > buy new antenna. i guess there is some issue with whether there may be damage to the motor? meaning first you need to buy the antenna, put it in and /then/ yo uwill know if the motor is bad? also - supposedly the "non-mechanical" antennas are not all that great? Easy - These break repeatedly, I went through 4 of them before I got smart. Unless you are in a high crime area or think people will break it off, either pull it up manually and leave it there or swap it out for an aftermarket fixed version. If you are younger, it's likely you will never even use the antenna anyway.

E. broken heater control valve and plugged off hoses > buy new heater control valve and all hoses. replace all. Moderate - Do some research and decide if you want to keep the rear heater or not before doing. If you get the coll "constant torque" clamps, be prepared to constantly torque them down more the first 4 months. At least that's my experience.

F. oil level sensor leaking > eventually replace or seal?

G. valve cover gasket leak > eventually replace. job for new wrench? Moderate - Take your time and do the EGR and the spark plug seals at the same time since it's coming off. May as well do your plugs too while there.

H. right rear door actuator not working > not sure. Mine doesn't work either ... make a thread on this for me please. There is likely one out there, but go ahead and contribute.

I. cracked radius arm bushings > replace along with trackbar bushings. Decide if you are going to ever lift the truck or not. If so, the arms will possibly be at least off in the front to install castor correction depending on the lift, so save a few dollars and do it all at once.

J. light axle seal leak > eventually replace Moderate/Advanced - Get the rebuild kit, be prepared for the truck to be down for as much as a week if you can. GET THE PROPER TOOLS - 54mm hub tool, torque wrench, axle seal install tool, seal puller. It sounds like a lot, but totally worth it. I also advocate for the 3/8" and 1/2" Kobalt or air powered impacts. Working on my truck w/o these would be terrible.

Once you have these things, read some threads and watch the redneck YouTube video and the OTRAMM video in the vendor section and dive in. I learned it that way and it came out just fine.

Good luck and don't sweat it too much ... experienced guys (way more so than me) are almost always around to answer questions when needed.

 

[landcruiser3DP]

gents, cass007.
thanks a ton. it is probably going to be a little scattershot as i learn terminology, look up parts etc, etc. big apologiesnin advance. i have to start somewhere.
on the antenna, i /do/ actually listen to the radio and am actually ambivalent about the bluetooth stereo with CD in this thing. my taco has a cassette player and i actually like picking up dollar cassettes...
anyway, /is/ there an antenna that doesn’t need the motor that functions well? right now the mast is busted so it is not even manual operation i am afraid.
or bite the bullet and buy a replacement and hope the motor works?
THANKS
jon

 

[UCLAcruiser]

Welcome!

I used this to fix my door lock actuators:
It is a less than one banana job. Buy the Mabuchi motors on eBay (about $4 each) and then install them in an hour. It will last longer than throwing in used ones. Best of luck and search as much you can on MUD before undertaking your projects. There is a TON of information on this site for noobs like us.

Best,
UCLAcruiser

PS: next time I am in Austin I will PM you so I have some Cruiser folks to chat with while waiting for Franklin's Barbeque to open up. That place is a must try during any trip to Austin.

 

[TomH]

You should be able to hear the antenna motor running when you turn the radio on/off. You should also have an antenna switch on the dash for manual control. If you don't hear it running, check that the PO hasn't unplugged the connectors.

The mast can be replaced without removing the antenna assembly from the truck but you have to snake it through the hole in the inner fender.

This thread should help.
Antenna Fix

 

[landcruiser3DP]

hi gents,

anyone able to help me find the heater control valve in the fiche? on the FAT site i tried HVAC > heater and i get a price of $72 but no diagram. is it in a diagram in the fiche somewhere? i also need to buy some hoses.

part is: 87240-60170 / Control Valve

THANKS

jon

 

[landcruiser3DP]

OK. got the heater control valve and the two hoses in. simple enough. leaking quite a bit. had a fellow land cruiser owner over this evening and we rooted around in the hoses checking for anything rotted. turned on the vehicle and let it warm up to a point where the thermostat "opened" (whatever that means).

then i guess the coolant from the radiator was free to move into the - er - heater core (got to look that one up again: Heater core - Wikipedia). still a little perplexed on what is cooling system in here and what is the heating system in here and what is helping cool the engine actually.

anyway, some debris in the radiator at the top so will need to do a coolant flush here at some point.

ALSO, i put distilled water in there after the 50/50 coolant and we've had some freezing weather down here. is there a way to MIX the 50/50 coolant with the distilled water somehow? can i do this just by driving it? or do i need to flush it soon before we get a real freeze?

also got a blackstone report back tonight. i need to follow up with them i think because i was not sure what he actual mileage on the oil was exactly and i had to give them what i thought was the outside range. i suppose if there was an oil change /between/ the one i believe was done and this sample then i guess the assessment would change?

 

[TomH]

OK. got the heater control valve and the two hoses in. simple enough. leaking quite a bit. had a fellow land cruiser owner over this evening and we rooted around in the hoses checking for anything rotted. turned on the vehicle and let it warm up to a point where the thermostat "opened" (whatever that means).

Did you find the leak?

 

[landcruiser3DP]

Did you find the leak?

hi tom. thanks a ton. we found one suspect. the small hose that runs horizontally from the radiator to the the vertical pipe at the top of the engine. we trimmed off the rotten end at the engine and put it back on. i'll order a new one. i'm keeping my fingers crossed and will test tomorrow. i guess it was the highest. looked to me like it was just leaking a little bit and it was leaking a whole lot down below but folks wiser than me are telling me that is how water acts under gravity...i'm keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[Rusty Marlin]

ALSO, i put distilled water in there after the 50/50 coolant and we've had some freezing weather down here. is there a way to MIX the 50/50 coolant with the distilled water somehow? can i do this just by driving it? or do i need to flush it soon before we get a real freeze?

Don't mix or thin the 50/50 use it as is.

 

[TomH]

hi tom. thanks a ton. we found one suspect. the small hose that runs horizontally from the radiator to the the vertical pipe at the top of the engine. we trimmed off the rotten end at the engine and put it back on. i'll order a new one. i'm keeping my fingers crossed and will test tomorrow. i guess it was the highest. looked to me like it was just leaking a little bit and it was leaking a whole lot down below but folks wiser than me are telling me that is how water acts under gravity...i'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I bet that's the hose that was leaking. Now get out and drive it while you plan what to work on next.

 

[landcruiser3DP]

I bet that's the hose that was leaking. Now get out and drive it while you plan what to work on next.

thanks. that’s the plan. check the fluid level. drive it and park it somewhere clean and see if it drips.

i guess it is a bad idea to mix distilled water and 50/50 coolant so i won’t do that again.

would like to set that temp alert on the gauge to something sensible.

i was also shown that if i /do/ have a leak on the road, i can crack the radiator cap a notch (not all the way open) and drive with the radiator /vented/ so pressure doesn’t build up and force coolant out (at least as i understand it).

 

[TomH]

Nothing wrong with mixing coolant and distilled water, it will just lower the percentage of glycol and lower the boiling temperature of the coolant mixture thus raising the freezing temperature. Not every climate requires a 50/50 mix it has just somehow become a standard. See the chart below.

I think 220 alert on the ultragauge is sensible. It's what both of mine are set to. The AC cutoff is at 227 (I think) so you are just setting it a little below that.

 

[landcruiser3DP]

Nothing wrong with mixing coolant and distilled water, it will just lower the percentage of glycol and lower the boiling temperature of the coolant mixture thus raising the freezing temperature. Not every climate requires a 50/50 mix it has just somehow become a standard. See the chart below.

I think 220 alert on the ultragauge is sensible. It's what both of mine are set to. The AC cutoff is at 227 (I think) so you are just setting it a little below that.

View attachment 1853141

hi tom, all
a big thanks. so we cut the end off this hose and re-attached it last night. a thirty block ride and then this cardboard underneath shows no leaks.
i guess i will take it out for longer rides and just keep an eye on the temperature and the coolant level in the radiator.
i’d be pretty stoked if this hose was the issue. but how anyone could take the time and have the knowledge to cap those hoses and not search for and find that leak would be surprising to me.
i’m reading up on heater core on wikipedia so things are starting to make more sense. Heater core - Wikipedia
i did notice they mention that if the heater core (or connections) is leaking (there does not appear to be any coolant inside the car) is that there can be a “greasy fogging is the windshield above the heater vent”. i have this and had thought that this was oily residue. any thoughts on whether i should keep looking at heater core connections which i guess is different than this radiator connection(?)?
or is it likely that this radiator hose leak is causing the greasy residue? i thought to mention it but i suppose just cleaning windshield thoroughly and tracking whethe it comes back would probably answer this though.

 

[BILT4ME]

I would be willing to bet that the reason those were capped is that one or both of the heater cores are leaking and they didn't want to pay to replace as there is a lot of work in replacing the front heater core. They are also NLA (No Longer Available) but you can have them rebuilt or buy a good used one.