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Reviving a neglected rav4

3K views 12 replies 7 participants last post by  eodgator 
#1 ·
Hello everyone, I've been wanting a 1st gen rav4 for a while to use as a beater. I may be purchasing a 1997 with 135K. I plan on doing timing belt, water pump, cam, crank seals, oil pump seals, etc as well as replacing ball joints and other worn suspension components as soon as i get it. Does anyone have any recommendations on what else I should replace while im doing the timing belt and seals? Oil pump as well? I've never had to replace an oil pump on any of my cars but I'm a do it right the first time kind of guy.

My list so far is
Timing belt and all associated timing parts like the spring, etc
Water pump
Cam/Crank seal
Thermostat
Valve cover gaskets
Spark plugs
Oil pump seal

Any other seals or parts im missing?

Thank you
 
#3 ·
Before buying check thoroughly for rust, in particular on the front suspension A-arms. They are a bear to replace.
And I agree with LugNut, unless you are looking for a feel-good project run it as-is for now.
 
#4 ·
It starts and drives fine but the owner has had it for 8 years with no real maintenance records except brakes and a oil change here and there. its long overdue for a timing belt job so I was thinking about doing all the oil seals and anything else that may potentially go bad in the future while i'm in that area.
 
#5 ·
Going by your intended use as a "beater" you may not want to do too much until the timing belt (non-interference) goes. Sometimes you can open a can of worms unnecessarily.
 
#7 ·
Look under the car on the driver's side (if a left hand drive car) take off the plastic panel covering the brake and fuel lines, inspect them for corrosion. Mine were corroded to the breaking point. Check the transaxle cooling lines, if badly rusted, replace them, I have a link on how to make your own lines with higher quality parts than OEM and save a lot of money.

You can get a timing belt kit that includes the water pump, see Amazon.com.

You may want to remove and clean the throttle body, not hard to do, easier than a timing belt job. Take photos as you take things apart and label the hoses so you know where they go when you put it back together.

Have fun with her.
 
#8 ·
Check you transaxle cooler hoses, if the steel hard line parts are badly rusted assume the hose under that nylon wrap must also be in pretty bad shape. I made my own for a manual transaxle but it would work for an automatic as well but the fitting sizes may be differet. See - http://www.rav4world.com/forums/94-...-your-own-manual-transaxle-cooling-hoses.html

To pull the oil pump you will have to take off the oil pan, if you are doing all that I would (and I did) replace the oil pump while I was there. Replace the front engine seal while you have it all apart. Or are you talking about the front engine seal?

Check your grounds, you can either upgrade them or at least clean the ground points and the hoop connectors, use dielectric grease, and reassemble the grounds.

If you suspect issues with the fuel injectors you can remove and clean them, it requires removing the intake manifold to gain access to the fuel rail; you could clean the intake, egr system and throttle body while you have it off and move that EGR VSV to a more accessible location. You can then test them and clean them yourself, see youtube for some ideas. While doing this, get a noid tester from a local auto parts rental and check that the injectors are getting power. THere are ways to clean the injectors without taking them off, again check it out on youtube.

I'm not saying you have to do all of this, just things to think about.

So how is she coming along?
 
#9 ·
Haven't had any rust issues on my 1998 with 231k miles amazingly. Nothing in underbody is corroded at all. Even nuts and bolts are good.
However I have had power steering issues. replaced the rack and pinion and the fluid is still leaking. I am thinking the hoses up on top and the bottle.


Why drive a car if you don't feel good about it? That is how I roll. I bought mine as a beater also but over the years OEM perfected it and then a nimrod backs into me a few weeks ago so now I am in the process of fixing it myself. LOL !


I say do whatever you heart says. I have never used my brain when it comes to automobiles. LOL !




Oh no pictures means it never happened!!!!
 
#10 ·
I agree with you, RAV4EVR, I take above the norm care of my vehicles... usually (unless for some reason I really didn't like it) because I want to know when I want to go somewhere whether is down street or across the country all I have to do is jump in and go. I've just about rebuilt or repaired everything on my RAV, and it is now just about the way I want it to be. I just finished replacing the bushings in the forward differential mount today and filled it with polyurethane to make it a little stiffer because I'm considering a BEAMS 3SGE engine in the not too distant future. Tomorrow I'll get the differential, fuel tank, drive shaft, and rear exhaust section back on. Nearly finished with everything!
 
#12 ·
If you live in a climate where temperatures can reach below freezing I would recommend timing belt pulley I never did mine and now they are beginning to make noise. My 98 had 210,xxx miles when I did
?timing belt
?water pump
?thermostat
?cam seal
?oil pump o ring seal
?oil pump shaft seal
?valve covers
?tube seals
Did not do the crank pulley wasn't leaking and couldn't get the crank sprocket off so decided to leave it. Also I don't know if 97 have this problem because I know they have distributors, unlike 98 which have a waste spark system the part where the distributors goes through the head in the waste spark system there is a plastic plug where the distributor use to be and it tends to leak I didn't know about it so that is literally the only leak I have on my car I even reseal the oil pan.
 
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