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New Owner Maintenance Advice

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Beekeeper
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Joined: 16 Feb 2022
Posts: 38
Location: Scotland

PostPosted: Wed Feb 16, 2022 23:52    Post subject: New Owner Maintenance Advice Reply with quote

Hi All,  I'm new here and soon to be owner of a 2004 LC 120, 142k miles, 3.0 Diesel.  Looking for some advice on what to fettle and what to leave well alone.  The LC runs perfectly and I can see no mechanical faults, smoke, noises etc apart from a small oil leak on the gearbox which the dealer says he will sort, along with a new MOT and any other defects that are found.  It's just been serviced, or at least the oil and filter changed.  It's good underneath but I'm having it fully descaled, rust treated, and sealed.  I'm having to take it on trust that this is done correctly (having spoken to the guy who is doing the work) as if I bring it to Scotland without then the salt will be through it in a day and the body ruined for ever.

So my question is whether to leave the engine alone or pre-empt some of the potential nasties such as injector seals and EGR system.  Other things I wonder are DOT5 brake fluid, coolant replacement etc.  I've purchased the LC because I like to tinker with old cars (MX5's and others) and want to be able to collect more with a trailer, as well as for building materials, and because I just like it.  It won't do a huge mileage (say 5k a year) but hopefully will do some long trips.  I'll change the timing belt when I get it.  Is it worth the loss of oil to drain and check the oil pick up or leave until next changed which could be 12 months?

Hopefully I can contribute to the forum with the things I've learned from other motors (used a lot of older Hi Lux's back in the day) as well as the inevitable fault fixing on this one,

Thanks, Paul
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 16, 2022 23:52    Post subject: Google Ads keep this community free to join!


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TONYCY11
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Joined: 05 Jun 2012
Posts: 409
Location: CYPRUS

PostPosted: Thu Feb 17, 2022 8:25    Post subject: Reply with quote

I would change the oil any way   and inspect the oil pickup , it will keep your mind at rest that the oil pickup is clear and also clean your engine up more inside as you will have used the dealer oil change as a flush , I would fill it with 7 litres of fully synthetic oil ,  I wouldn't  change the oil filter this time round unless its a cheap brand that the dealer has fitted , the best oil filters are the genuine toyota filters , same when you change the diffs , transfer box and gearbox oils I only use fully synthetic oils , grease the propshaft uni joints (4) with lith no.2 general purpose grease and the sliding joints (2) with lith moly no.2 grease  I would change the fuel filter as well so you know its all been done , one thing with these 120s they are easy and straight forward to service which makes them a pleasure to work on . It is recomemded  dot 3 is used on the brakes but I must confess I have used dot 4 when I have not had dot3 around , its good that you are doing the anti rust treatment as under body rust is the only weakness the 120 have and that is due to the British climate and salt use . I would get yourself a tecstream on e bay for about 20 quid so as you can keep your eye on the state of the injectors , the normal hand held scanners dont work on pre 2006/2007 120s . I am sure others on here can add more recommendations as well ,
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Beekeeper
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Joined: 16 Feb 2022
Posts: 38
Location: Scotland

PostPosted: Thu Feb 17, 2022 8:53    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Tony, that gives me a shopping list before I collect the LC in a week's time.  Parts look to be very reasonably priced for such a large vehicle.  I'll look for the Techstream, you've saved me a load of time finding out the normal scanners won't work.  5w30 oil best?  I've seen some suggestions for 10w40.
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TONYCY11
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Joined: 05 Jun 2012
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Location: CYPRUS

PostPosted: Thu Feb 17, 2022 9:15    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi in the UK I used 5w-30 here in Cyprus I use 5W-40 coz its hotter here , 10w-40 will take a longer time to circulate at start up in cold weather , toyota recommend 5w-30 , I used to get my 5w-30 fully synthetic oil in 5 litre containers at Asda in their name brand  for 15 quid when I lived in the UK so its cheap enough , there is a place called roughtrax4x4.com who sell genuine parts as well as very good aftermarket brands like AMC filters all at much cheaper than toyota dealers .
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karl2000
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Joined: 25 Apr 2021
Posts: 318
Location: North West

PostPosted: Thu Feb 17, 2022 11:25    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great advice from Tony as always!

What kind of under sealing are you going to have done?  Don't let them spray thick black stuff all over it.  Its a good idea to get photographs after you have treated the rust but before you have sprayed/painted it with anything.  Otherwise if you come to sell it later, you can't show what state it was in underneath the 'black stuff'.  

I understand the situation in Scotland, but if I was getting a new vehicle I'd want to get it home and get underneath it with a wire brush and see what I was dealing with before someone else has a go at it.  Get the wheels off, see the state of the suspension and the brakes.  The more prep you can do yourself, the better.  Just a thought.

The chassis tends to rust from the inside out, so cleaning the inside and getting 20 years of mud and sh*te out of it it all is worth doing, before you treat it with anything.

I use lanoguard for rust protection, but everyone has their own idea!

Check your air filter has been replaced recently and is decent - genuine ones are expensive so they dont always get replaced.

Check the cabin filter (behind the glovebox), nobody seems to bother with those.

Check the breather is free on the top of the rear diff - they seize up and need to be freed.

Brake fluid - dont use DOT 5!  Check your brake fluid for moisture content if you dont know when it was last changed, if its OK then it doesn't need doing immediately unless you have noticed problems.

Coolant - theres two types and they look quite similar.  Red long life coolant, and pink super long life coolant. You can't mix them, so check what you have.   Your manual might tell you what it is - mine says 'super long life'.  The water pump has got a hole in it that intentionally leaks coolant before its about to go.

As Tony says, get techstream to check the injector stats. I always advise to put it on a dedicated or spare PC - not your usual family PC as it can be a major security risk.

Definitely drop the oil and check the oil pickup ASAP.  If you dont want to do this and the dealer is servicing, get them to send you a photo of the pickup.

If you get the vin, you can see if it was in the range of vehicles originally affected by leaking injector seats.  But to be honest, they all need checking at this point anyway.

FYI, I put 5w30 semi synth in mine - I get a lot of stuff from RoughTrax but they dont sell the pink coolant.

Hope that helps
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Tractionman
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Joined: 07 Apr 2007
Posts: 821
Location: Bournemouth, Dorset

PostPosted: Thu Feb 17, 2022 13:04    Post subject: Reply with quote

All of above by Tony and Karl, always top advice.
I would add, -  Having done underside work along with Karl last year, (mine came from Scotland) I too would get under it to clean off any sh/te, rust etc, so that you can see the full extent of things before you have it treated. There are so many 'specialists' out there, that spray  black stuff everywhere without first doing a proper clean up or remedial work, which just covers any problems.
We get it up on 4 ramps, to access everything, and it is a dirty and time consuming job to do properly without skimping.
The 3 of us speak from experience !!
Check spring turrets/perches for accumulated dirt/rust build up and clean up thoroughly, and make sure any drain holes are clear.
I enlarged the rear ones on mine, as it doesn't take much to block them, and everything sits there to fester.
Pull any grommets out of inner sills and thoroughly treat insides, often forgotten. Mine that previously looked ok, with no advisories on previous mot's cost me dearly !
You can also access by removing  tread plates at the bottom of the door openings. Check the rear floorpan and crossmember especially, these suffer badly by everything thrown up from the road in terms of rust
Doing at least the cleaning off yourself will pay dividends, no one can do it better, as you know its been done. You will need time, and a variety of manual and electric wire brushes, goggles etc and we found crawlers to be a great help. Good luck !
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TONYCY11
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Joined: 05 Jun 2012
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Location: CYPRUS

PostPosted: Thu Feb 17, 2022 13:21    Post subject: Reply with quote

All the info you need from Karl  defo about rust treatment , coz anyone can make the car look nice with the minimum of rust treatment then spaying it in under seal type black thick spray and it only making the rust worse by covering it up letting it rust inward , I spent 5 and a half days 2 years ago(55 hours )killing rust undernigth  including rear axle and bash plates for engine and fuel tank  on my late 09 120 and it had only  spent 8 years of its life in the UK west yorkshire and that was only for rust treatment with it only having slight rust , would have taken much longer if it had the rust that I have seen on a lot of120s , I spent another 20 hours painting 2 coats with lidl heavy duty anti rust paint than another 10 hours painting it with 2 coats of black waxoyl , it is in my opinion a job only done right when done yourself  , having owned second hand cars since 1978 and working on them myself to make them last longer so I have plenty of exsperance treating cars for rust most of them jap cars first car was a mazda 1974 RX3 second was Datsun 1976 260Z both were prone to rust  , I do not believe in these quick spray over with rust treatments on already rusting cars without grinding off the rust first then treating it , unless the car is less than 2 years old ,
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karl2000
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Joined: 25 Apr 2021
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Location: North West

PostPosted: Thu Feb 17, 2022 13:27    Post subject: Reply with quote

100% agree with all TM said!
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karl2000
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Joined: 25 Apr 2021
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Location: North West

PostPosted: Thu Feb 17, 2022 13:32    Post subject: Reply with quote

Tony's hard work inspired me to get underneath and sort my 120 out - without Tony and TMs very helpful info and advice on this issue, I don't think I'd have done it.   Because of their efforts, these old LC's will be rolling around for much longer!
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TONYCY11
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 17, 2022 13:32    Post subject: Reply with quote

Very good advice TM 100% agree with your anti rust advice ,
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Tractionman
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Joined: 07 Apr 2007
Posts: 821
Location: Bournemouth, Dorset

PostPosted: Thu Feb 17, 2022 13:35    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey Tony, you had it easy mate !  😂😉   Karl and I spent 2/3 weeks at least on ours. To be fair though, ours are older 2006, and mine probably took longer coming from Scotland, know what I mean ?
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Tractionman
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Location: Bournemouth, Dorset

PostPosted: Thu Feb 17, 2022 13:38    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yep good joint effort that, even though wer'e miles apart, also enjoyable really with all the pi55taking, general advice/suggestions and banter.
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karl2000
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Joined: 25 Apr 2021
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Location: North West

PostPosted: Thu Feb 17, 2022 13:38    Post subject: Reply with quote

This months CM magazine just arrived through my door - 'A Guide to Rustproofing' Smile

Haven't read it yet, but the picture shows someone underneath with an angle grinder wire brushing the rails -seems familiar Smile

BTW my expensive milwaukee fuel cordless grinder packed in after about 5 minutes ,and is stil on the bench awaiting repair.  

Then I bought the cheapest variable speed angle grinder I could find (£25 maybe??) and abused it for the whole project.  Still going strong.
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TONYCY11
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Location: CYPRUS

PostPosted: Thu Feb 17, 2022 16:31    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes I know what you mean TM , but when I was doing mine it was around 34 centergrade , I did it with just flip flops and shorts and I was that dirty with dust from the wire brushing with the lidl 500w die grinder (found it much better to use and quieter than any of my two angle grinders ) I looked like I had been working down the coal pit ,  and I was tempted to jump in the swimming pool more than once but the wife would have killed me for dirtying the pool so had to make do with a shower at the end of each session .😂😂
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Tractionman
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Joined: 07 Apr 2007
Posts: 821
Location: Bournemouth, Dorset

PostPosted: Thu Feb 17, 2022 18:43    Post subject: Reply with quote

All seems too familiar with me Karl, but we got there! 😀

Tony, I wore the same gear, H&S were on a months holiday at the time. Saved on the laundry anyway !
It wasnt as hot here, but enough to sunburn my lower legs and feet that were hanging out from underneath.
Me and the Mrs had the same argument about the pool, - so I used next doors !! 😂
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