Hi folks... My 89 Townace 4WD diseasel blew the head gasket and bananaed the head; a replacement engine looked like as good a bet as a new head. In retrospect, not a good choice for the bank balance but overall it's a better unit than its predecessor. The garage took seven weeks to do the job...! I'd had no joy with the 4WD system for some time, and the aircon wasn't working - I even bought another aircon compressor to fix that one. After the engine job I noticed a lack of power assist for the brakes going down a steep drive at low revs. So I talked to my local mechanic who reckoned there was a vacuum leak (my feeling too) and with the help of the excellent vacuum tube map from this site we spent a couple of hours tracing where pipes should go, reconnecting them in the right places and blocking off one spigot. No leaks. As an immediate result, the 4WD works, the aircon works and the whole system drives much better - another 10 Km/hr and more than 10% better fuel consumption. So if you're desperate for one and want to pay the ruinous freight from NZ, I can now supply a spare air conditioning compressor....

- (#11373) Arthur, 24 Oct 03 18:00

Just goes to show, that you can't underestimate the importance of a complete sealed vacuum system on these vehicles. The Japs use the vacuum to control so many things compared to Euro vehicles, as you found you need to check all over the vehicle for the vacuum leak. Well done on sorting it out & hope it's all OK now.

Regards Rob.
- (#11374) Rob Drinkwater, 24 Oct 03 18:07