Hi everybody! First off, thank you to you all for being such a great resource in my adventure into the 100 series. I've saved a bunch of money and even more valuble time because of Mud and it is much appreciated.
I purchased a '99 LX from the origninal owner, local to me, whos wife was the main driver. It had newer tires, battery, brakes, a/c condenser, radiator, heater T's and associated hoses and what looks like a newer than 16 year old brake master. It had 217k miles and the matching wear and tear on both front seats but besides that, above average condition inside and out. The owner had no records availible but was very up front about repairs and work done and said anything it ever needed, it got due to it being his wifes vehicle. It ran, drove and shifted great. At $5500, I figured I couldn't really go wrong, so we did the deal.
Got it home, gave it a bath, Mobil 1 5/30 and filter change. The next week, road tripped to visit family in New Orleans, 1500 miles round trip, to give her a shakedown and see how she does. On the way home, of course, midnight, middle of nowhere on I10, serpentine belt tensioner pulley seized and shredded the belt. Was able to drive to the next exit and find a hotel. It just so happened to be next door to an Advance Auto. Chalk another one up for timing belt driven water pump. Dayco 4" replacement pulley, new belt and was rolling again 20 minutes after Advanced opened in the morning and made it home.
That pulley bearing failure made me start questioning the condition of everything else under the hood that spins and moves, so I pulled the passenger side TB cover to check out its condition...
Uhhhhh, a BIG thank you to Mitsuboshi for making such badass original TBs! Promptly hopped on Amazon and purchased the Aisin TB/water pump kit, new Toyota serp tensioner, idler, and an Aisin (OE) fan bracket.
TB And water pump replacement was pretty smooth minus this...
After having the coolant changed to green at one point in its life, it appears it may have been the only time it was ever flushed. The corrosion and build up at all hose connections was nasty and it froze the joint from the thermostat housing to the water pipe it plugs into. Had to mini hacksaw a relief into the broken peice and then was able to pry it out. Found a local replacement from a low mileage Tundra.
Flush your damn coolant people! I figure this is the original water pump. The nuts and bolts didnt have a single mark or indication they have ever been touched. Either had the crank bolt.
Everything went back together without issue and I didnt even have any leftover 'bonus bolts'. Over all, it wasn't too difficult of a job, just time consuming. Bit of a learning curve since I've never wrenched on anything with a timing belt before but its just all nuts and bolts.
Thanks again for everybody sharing their past experiances and helping guide us noobs down the right path! Looking forward to many years and miles of service. I should have bought one of these things 10 years ago. I friggin love this thing.
-Andrew
I purchased a '99 LX from the origninal owner, local to me, whos wife was the main driver. It had newer tires, battery, brakes, a/c condenser, radiator, heater T's and associated hoses and what looks like a newer than 16 year old brake master. It had 217k miles and the matching wear and tear on both front seats but besides that, above average condition inside and out. The owner had no records availible but was very up front about repairs and work done and said anything it ever needed, it got due to it being his wifes vehicle. It ran, drove and shifted great. At $5500, I figured I couldn't really go wrong, so we did the deal.
Got it home, gave it a bath, Mobil 1 5/30 and filter change. The next week, road tripped to visit family in New Orleans, 1500 miles round trip, to give her a shakedown and see how she does. On the way home, of course, midnight, middle of nowhere on I10, serpentine belt tensioner pulley seized and shredded the belt. Was able to drive to the next exit and find a hotel. It just so happened to be next door to an Advance Auto. Chalk another one up for timing belt driven water pump. Dayco 4" replacement pulley, new belt and was rolling again 20 minutes after Advanced opened in the morning and made it home.
That pulley bearing failure made me start questioning the condition of everything else under the hood that spins and moves, so I pulled the passenger side TB cover to check out its condition...
Uhhhhh, a BIG thank you to Mitsuboshi for making such badass original TBs! Promptly hopped on Amazon and purchased the Aisin TB/water pump kit, new Toyota serp tensioner, idler, and an Aisin (OE) fan bracket.
TB And water pump replacement was pretty smooth minus this...
After having the coolant changed to green at one point in its life, it appears it may have been the only time it was ever flushed. The corrosion and build up at all hose connections was nasty and it froze the joint from the thermostat housing to the water pipe it plugs into. Had to mini hacksaw a relief into the broken peice and then was able to pry it out. Found a local replacement from a low mileage Tundra.
Flush your damn coolant people! I figure this is the original water pump. The nuts and bolts didnt have a single mark or indication they have ever been touched. Either had the crank bolt.
Everything went back together without issue and I didnt even have any leftover 'bonus bolts'. Over all, it wasn't too difficult of a job, just time consuming. Bit of a learning curve since I've never wrenched on anything with a timing belt before but its just all nuts and bolts.
Thanks again for everybody sharing their past experiances and helping guide us noobs down the right path! Looking forward to many years and miles of service. I should have bought one of these things 10 years ago. I friggin love this thing.
-Andrew
