new profiler, some issues, some changes

[shrtskts]

In June 2012 I bought a 2dr fwd rav4 with my taxes for $500 at 202,232 miles on her. I have been reading this forum for 2 months trying to learn as much as I can for my Rav, and I want to give props to most of ya, and thank ALL of you for all of the forums posts!

You can check out my newly created profile and its pictures

a few things going on with my vehicle and I want to run it by the forum and see what the members have to say.

To start my vehicle is running like a beast, a beast that drools that is. You see I am leaking transmission fluid, about a qt every 2-3 weeks, driving 75 miles a week. I know its bad and I know its even worse for the environment. There isn't much I can do at this point though, I'm pretty broke, and wont have a job after Christmas (seasonal work). Friday is payday and a local salvage yard just got in a 97 Rav, so on Saturday my girlfriend and I are hopefully going and pulling the motor and tranny out, for a total of approx $300. Now my first question, do you think I will be able to fit the motor and transmission in the back of my 2dr rav4 with no seats? can she handle the load too?

I'm going to ask one of my Father's employee's husband if he would rebuild the motor with his free time (He is a mechanic for a Nissan dealership) I would really like to rebuild the transmission myself.. I've never done anything of such magnitude but I really want to give myself a challenge, and if other people can do it then I know I can do it too. I just don't know where to start or what to do in the slightest bit, so I'm hoping youtube, and the responses from all of you can help me get the project done. As I type this I'm starting to wonder which one is easier and which one should I do myself? I really want to do one myself to get some life skills (I'm 22 and not a mechanic), and to say; yeah, I did that!

Another thing with my Rav4 is the fuel line rusted out a month ago and I did the quick clip it 'n' rubber hose with clamps repair. it's holding up fine but I know this isn't a permanent fix and I need to repair it with a metal piping. the thing is, part of the rubber hosing bends almost to the gas tank (3" away from the tank of metal pipe) and continues to the straight away ALMOST to the bend up to the filter. I will get pictures up on this post tomorrow of the line. So what I'm getting at is I need to get to the bend of the bottom, I saw a youtube clip where a guy used what I think is flexible sink hose? and re-did lines in his car with it... is this right? how do I go about it? I'm not so sure I'm fully up to bending a pipe to curve for what I need, but if I have to...

My Girlfriend and I are working on this vehicle as a bf-gf project for bonding time, and it is our only vehicle also. We are having a blast trying to make it look better and hopefully getting it to run better, and since i got it so cheap, fixing it for a little profit would be awesome, but I think I love the lil' thing too much to ever part with it. In my dreams at night I see it as the ultimate street car, bagged and ridin' low, its just so small I think of it almost of it being the scion IQ suv of its time. In reality though I know that I'm broke and it would be the ultimate waste of money.

If you have tips, videos, links or any other resources feel free to share... I'm always searching previous posts and seeing what I can pull and I'm looking forward to finally get advice from some of you that I always see on posts (such as Batman and Pim) there are a bunch more of you I can't wait to hear from, you all seem to have great knowledge and advice!

Thank you very much!

Brandon

[hd72m]

Where is trans leaking from and why do you want to replace it? If you replace it you will have to pull the trans so I would really look into fixing the one you got. It could be just pull it and replace a seal or too and put it back in and it is always better to use trans that came with the car.
Make sure what ever fuel line you use it will handle the pressure. With it rusting I would look close to the underside for rust,it could be unsafe if it is rusted bad enough.

[shrtskts]

I don't have a clue where the transmission is leaking from, and haven't really checked. i've just been runnin with its because its a 500$ car.. but I suppose I really should if it it going to be an easy fix. Had a co-worker in it as I took her home and she asked me about the transmission, I'm not sure how she could tell I was having problems but she did either way I really would like to get rebuilt installed in it just so I have a new system in it and feel safe taking distance drives. also I'm wanting to do both the engine and transmission rebuilt, and installing them at the same time. which I believe makes it easier.

I've been under her and "banged" away with a flathead and to much surprise it's still very solid.

[JuneBug]

It could be leaking from the hoses going from the transmission to the cooler on the radiator. This would be a simple fix, just new hoses and clamps. You really need to pinpoint that leak before you go buying transmissions.

[Pim]

Take the advice from the persons above me. Seek a local DIY garage, put it on the bridge there, use a good flashlight (many smartphones also happen to have very nice lights on them nowadays) and take pictures.
With those pictures we can help you identify the issues. No guarantees tough.

As you may have seen, at my profile you can find several links to many repair manuals. Takes some getting to know the language of the mechanics, but once you do, they are of tremendous help. Again, using a DIY garage here is the best way not to fall short on tools to work with, and being able to have people with knowledge around you. But those garages usually charge you for usage, so better go prepared.

Fixing up your own ride is a very nice challenge. The bonding with your girlfriend on trying to fix it is really nice. Not many girls want to work on cars.

The more pictures you have, the easier it will become to help you. So maybe your girlfriend wants to help too in making pictures on the times she cannot really help with fixing things.

The fuel line being rusted through is a big concern. That line is not easy to rot through, but it is rusted at most RAV4 this age. Pictures might help here too.
Greetz

Pim

[Batman722]

Pulling the awd tranny and motor is not simple, the tranny is very heavy. I've pulled many motors and I wouldn't want to pull this set up from a junk yard without my air tools and some big help.
Tranny leaks ? From where ? I would look at the axle seals first. They're cheap to replace (yourself), not that difficult to do, and usually leak in older toyotas. I posted the part #s for them, do a search.
I've seen a post or 2 about a leaking fuel line near the tank like this one and Pim posted up some part #s there as well.

With everything you said IMO your motor would definitely benefit from a rebuild.
But before you go to that extreme I would check your compression. If it's good then just replace or refresh things (like water pump, timing belt, all seals, ect) because I bet your motor leaks oil and it's much cheaper and faster to refresh your existing motor/tranny than pulling and buying another.

[shrtskts]

I hope the image shows up, i took a picture of the dripping area. in the picture I'm facing from back to front and the drip is coming from the front, the car is wet right no cause of rain and my girlfriend says "you cant pinpoint it cause the whole car is wet" . so I snapped a photo and got out before she got out. going back under later, if there is anyway to get a better picture or that I can help you help me, please let me know. thanks!

also my beast is only 2wd, don't know if it makes much difference with getting a motor and tranny out, I wont be installing the rebuilts myself (if I do get rebuilts) but I certainly do what to help do it

more of the pics are of my fuel line *and return fuel line* (new update) quick fix. while I was under the car snapping pics earlier I saw the return fuel line had about 2 inches of rust on it so I clipped and hosed that too. you can see it from the pics.

[shrtskts]

Anyone got a diagram of the tranny that includes hoses and where they go. its pretty tight under the hood and I'm having trouble trying to figure out where my leak is coming from. I do see fluid on top of the tranny just to the right of my motor. also my coolant is turning pink. changed it a month ago (yellow) and now its pink again.

[hilander]

in pic 3----is that the rubber fuel line you used to replace the metal one?

It may be the way the pic was taken but that rubber looks to be way too close to exhaust components

[Marko59]

My guess the coolent has transmission fluid in it. The transmission cooler inside the radiator has a leak in it. You will probably have to replace the radiator to fix it. The cheapest way is from a salvage yard.

My advice on repairing a $500 car? Make a list and number that list on importance. Being safety first, then mechanically, lastly how the vehicle looks. If it isn't broke don't fix it.

Good Luck.
Mark