There are just some days I wish I didn't turn wrenches

[Tahoe14]

Wow $1500:00 for selling his Lexus, you should be a used car salesman.

 

[OR VietVet]

Wow $1500:00 for selling his Lexus, you should be a used car salesman.

That amount surprised me too. I would feel bad but he has money to burn and I have done a few vehicle repairs/maintenance tasks on his other vehicles for no charge. He has said that he considers me family because we speak/see each other all the time and his daughter/son both live in southern Ca. He also knows they take advantage of him. Since 2020, he has bought and I have helped him sell or transfer or maintain a new Camaro, new Jeep Renegade, new Jeep Wrangler, new Bronco Sport and a new full size Bronco and a 1994 K1500 pickup and now this Lexus IS350.

 

[OR VietVet]

My 10:00 appointment showed this morning for brake inspection. was complaining of noise and vibes. I heard the dragging noise going slow thru the neighborhood, where noises bounce back off the homes. At highway speed and on exit ramp, has severe pulsation. Can feel in steering wheel and seat of pants. The pads are all wearing even and are very thin and brake fluid was low from displacement. I ordered in 2 new front rotors, 2 new rear rotors, front pads and rear pads, from RA.

When I went to tear it down, each wheel had a theft lug nut and I had to use the special tool for that. I told him I don't want to put them back on and then repeat when we do brake work. He gave me money and I went to the local AZ and with my military discount, 4 shouldered chrome cap lug nuts were $12.14. He paid with his c/c for the brake parts and gave me a $20 for the lug nuts and $30 for the inspection. He will pay me $240 for the labor when I do the work.

Both front and rear pads come with shims and all hardware/clips.

So....next week I will be doing the brake work and the 2 window regulators on the 2005 GMC Duramax.

The rotors had all shown this last Tuesday and the pads/hardware were supposed to be here next Tuesday but got bumped up to today and got here at 11:30. He is 10 minutes away and by noon, I had the rig up on 4 stands and wheels/tires off. Started at left rear and then right rear and then right front and then left front of course. Made sure they pumped up after each install. 2.5 total hours for $240. Road test went great and bedded in the pads. No noises and no pulsations. He had maintenance required light on for weeks. I reset it and turned it out. The oil change is due in 2k miles. Has an air bag light on and plan to address that in about a week. Is likely the connections under the two front seats. The guy has a kid and crap under seats and moving seats all the time. Bet that is it. I ordered him in an owner's manual from ebay because he had none. When that comes in I will look at the air bag light problem. I have fixed two other vehicles with the same problem and it was the connections that were the problem.

At idle he has a rhythmic resonating sound coming out of the timing belt cover. Goes away with higher rpm and runs fine. The Lexus dealer put a timing belt in it before he bought the vehicle from them, 18k miles ago. He has no paperwork. He is going back to them to get details of what was done. Just a belt? Idlers? Tensioners? Cam/crank seals? It does sound like a dry seal noise. I have heard the same noise on a bad rear main seal before.

I am down to no work, till the 01 Escape 3.0 o-heat job shows next week.

 

[OR VietVet]

Something I forgot to mention. That resonating sound, at the top of the timing cover, is also pretty loud at the top center of the back of the engine, under the edge of the top engine cover. Since it is not effecting driveability, I will remove the engine cover when I do the air bag light wiring/connector inspections, under the front seats.

If anyone has any recommendations, please share.

 

[OR VietVet]

Finally got back to the FJ Cruiser timing cover removal dilemma. The oil pan has to come off in order to remove the timing cover. That means either pulling engine or dropping the front diff and moving rack and pinion for access. Even though the top of engine is cleared out the thought of dealing with the exhaust manifolds and separating the transmission was not desirable. Decided after looking at some threads at FJ Cruiser Forum to drop out the diff. Required knuckles and axle shaft removal, separate the front driveshaft and then unbolt the rack and pinion. Not sure yet if complete rack removal is gonna be required but that just means two bolts removed that go thru the mount bushings and the p/s lines and would slide out. We did find that the manifold/catalytic converter on the p/s had been replaced before. Some diff mount brackets removed and vacuum line hold down removal and the diff dropped right out of the way and exposed most of the oil pan. There is an upper and lower oil pan. The lower is the oil pickup tube/sump area and there is two bolts inside there that have to be removed to separate the pan from the bottom of engine. See pics.

 

[OR VietVet]

Because of how long this engine has been leaking oil, there will be extensive oil leak filth to be cleaned before reassembly.

 

[OR VietVet]

In the first set of 5 pics, the second pic shows the oil filter cartridge housing that bolts to a triangular shaped boss that sticks out from the oil pan and that boss is actually part of the oil pan. The top most bolt, that bolts that housing to the oil pan boss, sticks up and keeps the timing cover from being moved forward to clear the crankshaft and then allow timing cover removal. In the second set of 5 pics, the third pic shows that "top of the triangle" bolt, that is the ONE interference spot that makes all this extra work a requirement to do. If you are fixing an oil leak at the timing cover and/or replacing the timing chain and gears, like we are, this extra work is a must. The first 4.0 engine design from 2006 thru 2009 does not require this extra work but the 2010 thru 2014 4.0 engine design does. The engine designation remains 1GR-FE for all years. The redesign of that engine for 2010 forward, should have had an updated engine designation because of this. The redesign had to do with a different oil filter placement and some internal engine upgrades that allowed for more power and torque.

 

[OR VietVet]

Does anyone have of a source for the rubber splash shields that attach at the inside edges of the front fender wells? They usually attach with the "Christmas Tree" clips and some have a fringe on the edge that hangs in the void. I have tried online at Toyota Parts. Toyota OE Parts and Amazon. Thanks.

 

[OR VietVet]

I found the left and right set of splash guards and the rack & pinion mount bushings at ebay and are coming.

 

[OR VietVet]

The next door neighbor mother-in-law owns a 2018 Chevy Equinox 1.5 turbo AWD. Complaining on oil leak(s). I will get it to put on ramps on Monday but did see two spots on the concrete driveway she parks at. Was 1.5 quarts low on a 5.3 quart system when changing the filter. Saw an obvious oil leak where the vacuum pump plugs in the valve cover at the d/s front corner area and at the p/s front corner there is oil seepage. I found that the vacuum pump supplies brake boost and are known for failure and there was a recall on them. The vehicle is at 82k miles and I need to talk to her to see if recall has been done. What I did also find is that the valve cover is a super duper PITA to remove because of all the components to remove for access.

Wondering if anyone here has done one and can share some tips that I did not already see at Y/T.