(Home) Repairs, where do I start

hi guys i am back,i have had my 4x4 masterace since feb 1998 and i have come to a point where i am asking myself if i should put the old girl in retirement,my mot not due until july,my ace has completed 166km and i have spent £1000s on her,today i had a full rac inspection on the old girl and i should have the report in afew days,the rac man told me that he has found many things the matter with her (engine oil leak round the turbo,signs of a water leak,both front gators have tears in,off side ball joint worn,pulls to one side,needs new brake pads,he took it on a test drive and said the gears from 1st to 2nd snatches hard on pull away could be sing of gear box problems to come
these are just some of the things on his list.
my main worry is the oil leaks and water leaks having had both rads re-cored last year plus brand new head fitted due to blocked lower rad.

Deep down i want to keep my ace, as i know her and the problems she had,i am abit frighten to go buy another ace due to ' better the devil you know ',plus we are still a family of 6 + 2 jack russell and friends who tag alone on some of our family days out.

i have a funny feeling that when i get the rac report back (which cost me £185 )you will see more of me here asking for help and advice.glad to see d.miller & clive still here to give advice,i may need lots soon.
happy new year to all.

- (#7593) dennis, 7 Jan 04 11:44

Hello Denis.

You don’t say how old your Masterace is, and I’m not sure if the mileage is 166,000 miles or 166,000 kilometres. Either way there are vans in America that have more than a million on the clock and are still going strong, so I wouldn’t worry on that score unless its more rust than metal. Furthermore, assuming its near the 15 year old mark, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the rac have found lots of matters to report on.

It sounds like you need a big hug, and for some one to say don’t worry, it will be ok. I can’t manage the hug, I’m afraid but if your main concern is the oil and water leaks, then bear in mind that the signs of a water leak could be old traces of overheating, from the blocked radiator that you have already fixed, and the oil leak on the turbo could be something or nothing. The MOT is good for 6 months, and you have some time to decide what to do, so don‘t rush into a hasty decision now.

A diesel specialist can confirm and fix the diagnosed oil leak on the turbo, and any mechanic worth his salt can change the gators and ball joint at a reasonable cost, if your not up to it yourself. Signs of wear on the gearbox is usually slipping, or hesitating between gears so the reported snatching could be nothing. If you want this confirmed take it to an automatic specialist for an oil change, and they will tell you if it is faulty or not.
Keep your chin up, and wait for the full report. Nothing is beyond fixing, its just a matter of priorities and economics.
Regards
dave Bright (Bournemouth)

- (#7593) dave Bright (Bournemouth), 7 Jan 04 14:32

I think Dave has said it all, wait and see and you still have 6 months to think about it.
Worn brakes and pulling to one side could be related.
It's an old Diesel whats wrong with a small leak, if indeed it has one?
If it is worse case then an engine change is much cheaper than a whole vehicle change and you get to keep what you want.
On the other hand there have been some selling for less than £3000, but it may be a case of out of the fire.....

- (#7593) Clive (Bristol), 7 Jan 04 17:42

many thanks dave/clive

my ace is 4x4 1989 2c 2000cc dt with 166 kilometers on clock.the leak around the turbo looks like it from one of the 2 oil pipes connected to it.are there any part numbers for these pipes,once i get the report i will share it with you all as it may be useful to see an over all picture of some problems a hard working ace can encounter and hopefully i can start to put jobs in priorities starting with mot jobs first,i will put the findings of the report on this site,c u soon

- (#7593) dennis, 8 Jan 04 03:52

I know David Miller's changed those pipes. A bit of a pig but I'm sure he will tell you it's easily achievable. Doesn't sound anything too great from your list but I know it can be daunting to be hit with a huge list. As Dave has said, prioritise the jobs and cost them out then weigh up your options. Things may look rosier when we get the winter months out of the way and you can get cracking on the work.

- (#7593) Ian Dunse (Derbs), 8 Jan 04 04:56

Yup, the oil feed/ return is one assy. Cost about £70 IIRC. Easy to do. But NOT critical. All that seems to happen is the hose compresses under the crimped fittings ( the disconnect under the front of the turbo to be precise...)so it will swivel too easily. Oil pressure actually helps to seal it back up again, but it's not a hard fix.

- (#7593) david miller, 8 Jan 04 08:47

many thanks ian & david

i should have report tomorrow,my ace is booked into a local garage who fitted a new head and 2 rads to her,we will prioritise the work and tackle 2 or 3 jobs at a time first being oil leak and water leak,i contacted my local toyota dealer and got part no 15407-64041 i think this is the pipe to turbo £58.32+vat and
15471-58010 this is the gaskit £2.00+vat the only thing is they are in japan and will take 2/3 weeks
and i feel water leak is coming from rusted pipe part no 16268-64050,bbc spares are not open until 12/01/04 which is only next monday by then we will know for sure where the leaks are comming from.many thanks guys
i will keep you posted

- (#7593) dennis, 8 Jan 04 09:49

Mr Miller - well remembered on the cost I'm impressed.
Dennis did you tell Toyota that the Ace is laid up out of use until you get the parts? If you do they air freight them in asap.

- (#7593) Clive (Bristol), 8 Jan 04 10:22

Hi Clive,

i never told them she was off the road,she going to my garage this saturday and we will have her up on the ramp.i will bear that in mind clive,the rac inspector told me that my engine oil was on its lower level and it will need topping up,i check the oil this morning to top it up and found the oil to be spot on the max so i am not too sure how the rac said it was on low,the ace was on flat ground for the inspection!!
he also said the auto box oil was ok and after checking the engine oil i then checked the gearbox oil
got her hot and then with handbrake on put her in every postion and left her in drive,pulled out the dipstick and found it was 2 inch over the hot mark,i check it twice,could this have an effect on the gear change ?

- (#7593) dennis, 8 Jan 04 11:43

tranny fluid is checked in N, not D...
Too much shouldn't affect the change terribly, but fresh fluid always helps!

And I didn't even look it up, Clive!

- (#7593) david miller, 9 Jan 04 02:33

Oh, and engine oil level changes quite a bit, depending on temperature and the amount of time for draindown. Cold/ overnight sit will be higher than hot/ 2minute wait...

- (#7593) david miller, 9 Jan 04 02:40

Hi Guys

Thanks David , the fluid was renewed 3 months ago by a gearbox company,i now have the rac report and i have put into my pc ready to send it as a attachment to a email,hope you donot mind if i email it to some of you guys,i have also paid for a RM025E engine manual from Wight Motors 01983-405551 david coombs (parts manager)cost £9.50 inclus p&p, i also paid for JPNZ-T003 Townace/Liteace 85/97 car handbook from www.car-handbook.com cost £21.00 inclus p&p,i have found over the last 6 years that a badly informed ace owner will end up with a badly kept ace so if i intend to keep my ace for another 5 yrs then i better get as much info on her as i can and be prepared to spend abit as well

- (#7593) dennis, 9 Jan 04 11:25

Dennis,
Remember your RAC eng: is paid to find ANY potential problems, as he/she has an accountability when reporting on the vehicle condition. It's like the surveyor looking at a house that you might buy - they charge you loads of money - give you an anbigious report ( loads of "It appears that" and " there are signs of" but most of it is subjective ( their opinion ) not objective ( actual measurable evidence )it's the way they cover ther As**s.
I would always question the validity of their comments.
Certainly you should acknowledge what they have made comment on and investigate accordingly.
But "signs of a water leak" could mean there is discolouration from a source unidentified by them but attributed to water!
Snatching between gears on an auto box is certainly subjective! Hot and cold I have found affects the change as does a heavy right foot!
Many older vehicles show signs of oil leaks, but are these recent, or accumulative over a long period of time - recent ones wet - older ones drier. Bet the report does'nt discriminate.
I think you know where I'm coming from !
Don't panic !
Prioritise work, based on your immediate needs and your MOT needs and monitor your progress/changes. You know the history of this vehicle - Sometimes its more cost effective in the long term to spend a few pounds, in rectifing the "real" problems you have now, ( I've been there ) than spending comparatively more, in changing the vehicle to another that may give equivalent if not more problems.
- (#7593) stephen judge, 9 Jan 04 18:49

We bought a nissan over 3 yrs ago with this problem. The description of 'snatching'being a big understatement in our case (makes me think of a bullet going off!).
Anyway the autobox specialist suggested a faulty resistor.
We have not had it rectified and it does not seem to have got worse over the last 3 yrs.
I do find that its useful to remove the foot from the pedal just before it changes though, this allows a smooth change - its also smooth when the 'pedals to the metal' - but it does sound serious when its driven normally.
So its possible it will be working for a long time yet

- (#7593) chris turner, 9 Jan 04 20:47

Hmm, on the autobox shift quality issue, has the kickdown cable adjustment been checked or altered? On these trannys, the throttle valve alters the line pressure as well as signalling kickdown. Try adjusting the cable 1/8" either way and see if the shift improves. It's commonly noted that the best shift on the townie is achieved with the cable slightly slack at idle...

- (#7593) david miller, 10 Jan 04 04:02

Thanks Guy's.

Thanks for the advice.I am going to tackle the below jobs as phase one,once these have been completed I will move on to phase two which will deal with ball joints, gators and steering.

I have now put 50/50 antifreeze,i also intend to buy a water pump,stat,cam belt and have my garage fit these and by getting these parts fitted it will service 2 things
1,it will be a good way to see if there is any problems connected
2,it will make good preventive maintenance for the summer trips this year

I am also buying the turbo oil feed pipe and gaskit and i have a rusted water bypass pipe (part no 16268-64050) which will be renewed,hopefully the above work will fixs my water/oil leaks at best and help pin point the leak at worst.

I have checked my discs and they are still in good condition,i will renew the pads myself with the help of my brother.

I have already renewed all my bulbs and fitted a good pair of Champion VX51 Spoiler wiper blades

I had both rads re-cored and a brand new head fitted about 6 months back.

I am also going to renew the fuel filter,oil filter,air filter,i can not remember the last time the fuel filter was renewed,maybe it's never been renewed.

The exhaust is less then a year old and the van will have a full valet in afew weeks.I have also got 3 Litres WAXOYL made by HAMMERITE it kills old rust prevents new rust and you spray it on with a air gun( 5-6 bar pressure),its like a water proof underseal.my brother has a good workshop with all the tools.

I will keep the bok posted and hopefully move on to phase two.

Knowing that i have this web site and you guy,s to give advise has helped me formulate a plan to get my ace back in good working order,many thanks

Regards

Dennis.

- (#7593) dennis, 10 Jan 04 09:22