South Texas 97 - New to me (1 Viewer)

[South Texas 97]

Well, I introduced myself on the thread above -
Mid December picked up a 97 Series 80 with some 327K miles on the clock.
Generally in good condition, although I bought it as a project car - not sure which way to go with it. All out mods or just get it back to scratch.
PO did a pretty good job of keeping up with things, and better still documenting them - so I have a good idea of what has been done.
Looking over and under the vehicle I see the following work to be done
Leaks around engine and transmission - need to find out where they are coming from - so start with a good clean underbody. There is a LOT of baked on oil and road grime.
Seal on the Power Steering box are leaking - the PO changed the hoses.
Replace belts and idler pulleys
Replace all vacuum hoses in the engine bay - there is a couple under the intake manifold that will be hard to get to.
Replace Charcoal canister hoses - all are perished.
Change oils in diffs, transfer and transmission - engine oil was changed just before I bought it - along with the oil level sensor.
Grease the prop shafts/U joints.
Flexible Brake hoses - some have cracked rubber exterior - not leaking at all but time to change.

Seats have been recovered - carpets are a bit of a mess - so a deep clean is in order
Several lights in the dashboard (PRND2L) are out
Several lights on the outside need to be replaced. (LED on the marker lights, but normal bulbs on the indicators)
Spare tire - Replaced as the original was perished as it had never been used.
Roof Rack - some denting around the roof rack ends - too much weight perhaps - bolts are rusty - will see what is underneath.

There is so much information on this forum, it is great!

 

[ZackR]

Welcome! Send a few photos when you can.

 

[Tank91]

Well, I introduced myself on the thread above -
Mid December picked up a 97 Series 80 with some 327K miles on the clock.
Generally in good condition, although I bought it as a project car - not sure which way to go with it. All out mods or just get it back to scratch.
PO did a pretty good job of keeping up with things, and better still documenting them - so I have a good idea of what has been done.
Looking over and under the vehicle I see the following work to be done
Leaks around engine and transmission - need to find out where they are coming from - so start with a good clean underbody. There is a LOT of baked on oil and road grime.
Seal on the Power Steering box are leaking - the PO changed the hoses.
Replace belts and idler pulleys
Replace all vacuum hoses in the engine bay - there is a couple under the intake manifold that will be hard to get to.
Replace Charcoal canister hoses - all are perished.
Change oils in diffs, transfer and transmission - engine oil was changed just before I bought it - along with the oil level sensor.
Grease the prop shafts/U joints.
Flexible Brake hoses - some have cracked rubber exterior - not leaking at all but time to change.

Seats have been recovered - carpets are a bit of a mess - so a deep clean is in order
Several lights in the dashboard (PRND2L) are out
Several lights on the outside need to be replaced. (LED on the marker lights, but normal bulbs on the indicators)
Spare tire - Replaced as the original was perished as it had never been used.
Roof Rack - some denting around the roof rack ends - too much weight perhaps - bolts are rusty - will see what is underneath.

There is so much information on this forum, it is great!

welcome to the club this is a very daunting forum you could lose a ton of time but for love of 80s it could be worse i like youtube lots of good info there as well also look up Slee offroad they have a newbee guide that is very helpful.

 

[South Texas 97]

As I was walking around, over and under the LC, I saw a few leaves in the panel just below the windshield. How hard could it be to vacuum those out?

So I took the cover off, just 6 hex head screws under the hood when you lift it up. I could have started a garden with the amount of mulch under there!
Cleaned everything up - no rust amazingly . and put it all back together

 

[flintknapper]

Someone had that parked under a Live Oak tree.

Those grates just pop out if you need to get down there too.

 

[South Texas 97]

Thanks, yes, I went under the grates as well and cleaned out everything. The grates are plastic so cleaned them up and applied some plastic restorer to bring them back a bit.

 

[South Texas 97]

Next thing tackled the PCV valve and hoses, Vacuum hoses and other underhood lines

Picked up the Wits-End kits for both of theses. The PCV valve rubber seal came out easily as it was well lubricated with engine oil!. and you can see a number of the vacuum lines were cracked and broke off completely when removing.

This looks much better, although there are a couple of hoses I cannot reach under the intake manifold. They definitely look like they need to be changed, but my fat fingers will not fit in there to change them out just yet.
Also replaced the lines to the Charcoal canister (top and bottom) where were also cracked and brittle.

 

[Travis 76]

You’re lucky on the PCV grommet. Mine was rock hard and I had to fish out pieces that fell in the valve cover.

 

[flintknapper]

Next thing tackled the PCV valve and hoses, Vacuum hoses and other underhood linesView attachment 2562404
Picked up the Wits-End kits for both of theses. The PCV valve rubber seal came out easily as it was well lubricated with engine oil!. and you can see a number of the vacuum lines were cracked and broke off completely when removing.
View attachment 2562405View attachment 2562406
This looks much better, although there are a couple of hoses I cannot reach under the intake manifold. They definitely look like they need to be changed, but my fat fingers will not fit in there to change them out just yet.
Also replaced the lines to the Charcoal canister (top and bottom) where were also cracked and brittle.

Yes, pretty much impossible to do much under the intake, so (if you can) just wait until it needs removal for something else.

 

[South Texas 97]

Wow, thanks, Flintknapper - very clear images - I have extra vacuum hose, so will keep it around. I know I can get to some of them, but there are a couple of tricky one's there, buried deep.

 

[South Texas 97]

AFT Flush and Filter Replacement
On to the next thing - ATF Flush and Filter Replacement. After looking through many threads on this - I used 16 quarts of ATF.
1.Connect hose to ATF Coolant line return
2. Clip hose to bucket and put it in a place I could see it
3. Start engine, foot on brake and then 2 seconds in PRND2L and back again.
4. This is about a quart. Decant from Gallon jug into quart and pour into the Transmission tube.
5. Rinse and Repeat until fluid flows the color of fresh ATF - I kept going for the full 16 quarts, but could probably stopped at 12

Reconnected everything and then run the engine and check fluid levels.

I then drained the Transmission fluid and dropped the pan and replaced the filter. the filter and plan were covered in a very fine film of super fine metallic particles. There were no large particles and I opened up the filter just for fun. nothing big there either.

This seems a little backwards, but doing some reading, a comment was why put in a new filter with the old oil you would be flushing out.
The old oil was dark brown, but not smelly, so I suspect it was changed at least once before, perhaps I spent a bit more on an extra gallon, but I am comfortable that everything in the transmission is good to go for another 300K.

 

[flintknapper]

Good work! You're treating her right.

 

[South Texas 97]

Seats
Not sure what happened with this truck previously, but the carpets, seatbelts and seats needed a lot of TLC. Steam clean, Carpet wash and vacuum, and I even removed and cleaned up the rear Pax seats. Perhaps a spilled Big Gulp? Some Scrubbing, Derusting liquid and a coat of paint should stop further deterioration.

 

[South Texas 97]

Next up Alternator and A/C Belts and idlers. Spent quite a while cleaning everything, but still more to do - decided to replace all the belts as well as both idler pulleys.
The old Alternator belts

New Belts and Idler

OEM Belts and Idlers

Although from this angle still have more cleaning to do. When I look at the Distributor Oring, will remove the alternator and give everything a good clean

Forgot to add this picture of my cleaned up Automatic Transmission Pan. Took agres to get the Pan sealant off the cover, and then some high temp epoxy paint

 

[South Texas 97]

While putting the A/T pan back noticed the pax side of the transmission had a lot of accumulated oil and road grime. and some of the wiring split cover was perished. this split cover will need to be replaced as well. To properly clean up this area to see where the oil is coming from, probably need to drop the front prop shaft - which itself needs a good cleanup

 

[flintknapper]

Excellent, that vehicle is going to love you for treating it so right!

 

[South Texas 97]

While waiting for parts, the PRND2L indicator in the middle of the gauge cluster had the N and D lights not working. Did some reading and ordered some LED bulbs for these.
LED's have polarity (one side is + the other -) and so looking at the circuit diagram in the electrical wiring diagram manual and the PCB, put a red dot on the + Side for all lights, and marked the lights themselves.
Taking out the gauge cluster was actually not too bad, 6 screws or so from the various panels below the cluster. 4 screws for the cluster itself and then you just hold your mouth just right and the cluster comes out fairly easily. (Hint, tilt steering wheel as far down as it will go) Unplug and then remove the PRN indicators from the center of the cluster by carefully prying the module out while compressing the clips.

These lights are really tiny. There is a very good thread on all things LED. Definitive LED Thread for 8's
My only issue was the green one for the P - the tiny circuit board between the LED and the mount was a fraction too big, and while filing it down, broke the solder joint.

With the aid of a bright light and a magnifying glass was able to re-solder it after filing down the circuit board.
Reinstalled it and they all worked. - sort of - the N and D lights do not come on - so will need to trace out the wiring from the transmission switch -

 

[South Texas 97]

As mentioned at the top of the page, the steering box had a leak. the PO had replaced both the low pressure and high pressure hoses, but the issue was the seals. I read through the FSM on rebuilding the box, and I did not have all the tools, so decided to have it rebuilt by a shop. Reading through the forums, it seemed that ADCO in Houston did a good job, so took it off and over to them for a complete rebuild. 375USD + Tax and four days later went over and picked it up.
used a punch to put some index marks on both the steering wheel shaft input to the box, and on the pitman arm and box, although I could not get the pitman arm off, so left it on. It was easier to pop off the ball joint.

Took the opportunity for more cleaning.....

Followed the FSM to refill and bleed the Power steering pump. Used the same ATF as the Transmission, this way only have to carry one bottle for emergencies.
Front wheels off the ground, engine off, slowly turn lock to lock several times, check fluid level.
Start engine and repeat checking fluid level and no bubbles/frothing.

Go for a short drive and check again.

All good.

 

[South Texas 97]

On to the next thing - after noticing some cracks in the flexible brake lines, ordered new lines and crush washers. This project took quite a while. After reviewing the forum discussions, I decided to go with OEM lines, I think a couple of these are the longer lines for lifted trucks, but should still work
Rear Center 96940-34605
Rear Right 90947-02615
Rear Left 90947-02615

Front Center 90947-02A18
Front Right Inner 90947-A2016
Front Right 90947-02A16
Front Left 90947-02A16
Crush Washers (8) 90430-10074

I soaked all the banjo and hard line fittings in penetrating fluid for a few days ahead of time, although I am not sure really how much difference it made. the Banjo bolts (14mm) came off pretty easily, but the hard lines had been tightened way beyond what was needed and were VERY hard to remove.

Sucked out the old fluid from the reservoir and topped it up with fresh DOT 3 (generic)
Started at right rear (furthest from the master cylinder) and worked my way around, Left Rear, Right Front, Left Front last.
Loosened the banjo and then lightly re-tightened to make sure I could remove, then with a 10mm flare wrench loosened the captured flare nut. Most came free with some leverage, and holding the flexible mount with either a 17mm wrench or vice grips.
Once I knew I could remove both ends of the flexible line, prepared the line with crush washers, removed and cleaned the banjo bolt and then reinstalled banjo end first and then the flare nut end.
One thing I noticed is the lines with the Banjos on one end have a longer 'socket' than the other hoses. This means the flare nut does not penetrate as deeply into these hoses, that confused me for a while you can see the difference on the image.
Looking inside the fitting, we can see a bunch of junk (rust, and dirt I think) so it is definitely time to change these lines, and perhaps a brake caliper rebuild is in my near future.

I had one line (Front left ) that would simply not release, so I undid the hard line from the axel, and was able to release the flare nut on that end, and so removed the flexible line and hard line through the mount.
Toyota must have been watching Project Binky for the incredible number of brackets and hard line fitting (right Front is a good example), you would thing too many possible points of failure, but who am I to argue with success. (other than the rusty fittings and bolts holding them in!)
With the application of some heat and careful use of vicegrips, the flare nut released. I was able to salvage the flare nut (filed new flats for the 10mm flare wrench) and hard line, but will order a new hard line.
Checked the fluid level (Lost a bit during the line changes) and topped it off. Stood on the brakes a few times to make sure no leaks.

 

[South Texas 97]

Looking at the junk in one of the old lines, it was definitely time for a brake fluid flush, so kept topping up the reservoir with DOT 3 and then used a vacuum bleeder starting at right rear, Left Rear, Leveling Proportioning valve, Front Right, Front Left.
There was some very ugly stuff coming out.
you can see what was flushed out, and what new fluid looks like,
Some rust particles and what looks like mud coming from the bleeder.
Several of the bleeders appeared to be clogged, so ended up releasing them more that is normal to get them flowing.

Will drive around a bit and re-bleed as in park the pedal seems a little spongy, but looking underneath, I do not see any leaks from the flexible lines or bleeder valves.

Looking at the junk in the lines, I suspect a Caliper rebuild will be in order.