Buying a 10+ year old car what could go wrong?

[BmillsSkier]

Damn you internet and your tempting things.



http://www.ebay.com/itm/1976-Toyota-...YAAOSw9GhYmhQF

[BmillsSkier]

Hmm, Volvo 242 coupes just became a little more interesting.

[stfu&gbtw]

Hmm, Volvo 242 coupes just became a little more interesting.

I had a DL with bald tires for about a year... Those turns are fun for the first few minutes, but having to corner at 7 mph in order to avoid driving like Chris Harris every time it rains gets old after a while.

[BmillsSkier]

I had a DL with bald tires for about a year... Those turns are fun for the first few minutes, but having to corner at 7 mph in order to avoid driving like Chris Harris every time it rains gets old after a while.

Yeah, but what a first few minutes that would be!

[Bromontana]

Found some reasonably priced exhaust options bmills. Sport cats, mufflers, headers for about 1/3rd the price of fabspeed gear. It's time to take the restrictor plate off the gray dragon.

[BmillsSkier]

Found some reasonably priced exhaust options bmills. Sport cats, mufflers, headers for about 1/3rd the price of fabspeed gear. It's time to take the restrictor plate off the gray dragon.

Nice! Can't recall, did you go back to the fabspeed intake or was that the reason behind the O2 sensor tripping?

[huckbucket]

I had a DL with bald tires for about a year... Those turns are fun for the first few minutes, but having to corner at 7 mph in order to avoid driving like Chris Harris every time it rains gets old after a while.

i learned to drive in snow in the mall parking lot in an 82 DL. Car was a tank. My brother is still a douche.

[BmillsSkier]

^^^


That's awesome. Your Dragon sure does take nice ass and hips pics, glad she's pulling hard for you too and that you got it sorted. Interesting website, I've never run across them before but it looks like some nice upgrade parts for sure. Looks like relatively easy to do double digit HP increases as well. British too?

[Bromontana]

Tbabks, power gains are negligible but sound is improved. Btw, a Raby 3.8L just sold on BaT. Think it's right near 400hp.

[BmillsSkier]

BaT is dangerous to peruse. Was it just the engine or was it a complete rehabbed car?

[BobMc]

I picked up an 03 330xi just before last ski season. It had about 175k on it and most of the usual problems. I put oe brakes and rotors all around, new front lower control arms, new ccv and hoses, both front axles, motor mounts, valve cover, three out of four window regulators, couple other interior gremlins, new set of Blizzaks, and an aux cord for the head unit. Since then It's been a pretty reliable comfortable canyon cruiser.

I've got 185k on it now, put in a new driveshaft today, it'd developed a vibration at 41 mph and I could slowly feel more of the center carrier thump as time progressed. The carrier thump wasn't that noticeable by any means, but sure enough when we pulled the shaft today the rear u-joint had a bit of a hitch in it's giddy up. The center carrier had a tear in the rubber about an inch long. While doing that my son found a tie rod with a bit of play and torn rack boots, so, what the hell, replace them! Now I'm back to smooth and steady. A fresh alignment to insure my Blizzaks last multiple seasons as well.

Next up is a suspension refresh. I've got a small piece of a rear spring busted off, it's on the perch and really doesn't effect things but it bugs me. Ordered up a set of new rear springs, Bilstein shocks, mounts, and for good measure a set of Bilstein sports for up front and mounts. I looked around at performance springs and struts, but most everything I found wanted to drop my car, which is not what I want for a ski car. The way my car sits right now is perfect for a canyon cruiser, I can plow through a foot of parking lot fresh and still have fun on a spring ride down.

Cons: The thing eats oil, I knew that going in and luckily I get a pretty good deal on oil, . My kid's modded up 328 kicks it's ass.

[stfu&gbtw]

Looks like the Tahoe is going to need some transfer case work... Debating whether to:

Buy a reman and pay the local guy to do the swap - $1300

Buy a kit and pay the local guy to rebuild mine - $1000

Buy a reman and try to swap it myself this summer - $1000

Buy a kit and try to rebuilt it myself - $500 (+$1300 for the local guy to install a reman when I fuck it up?)

Take the tahoe and sx4 down to the Toyota dealer and trade them both in on a 4R or LC for my wife to drive on the regular

Was just driving the tahoe around today, and it's generally in pretty good shape... There's a little shimmy starting in OD around 45 mph, and the t-case sounds pretty fucked up... But the tranny shifts super smooth, doesn't hunt, etc... Engine runs so smooth... Tracks straight, brakes are good, super comfy, bucket seats front and back. I only have about $5k tied up in it, so I'm a little torn about whether a $1k investment is worthwhile... 255k miles. If I were to pull the trigger on the repair, I might also thrown on a 3"-4" lift and swap on some bigger tires when I replace the current ones. So, maybe another $3k? But then I'd pretty much have to fix the tranny whenever it goes... And the sx4 is in great shape. Just put $700 into a 100k mile refresh (all the fluids, brakes, rear diff seals), and it's been bullet proof. I dunno.

What would you do?

Edit: ^ sick Z.

[bodywhomper]

Do you take it to remote places?

I am now adding an ignition coil to my "kit" for our LC. Had one go a few weeks ago. It's at 225k and appears to be in the mileage range when they start to fail on the 4.7l engines. I'd hate to be in bfe desert with the family and the dog with the lc in "limp" mode.

I wish Toyota still sold an equivalent to the 40-series in the us - FJ cruiser doesn't count.

[stfu&gbtw]

^ Not "remote" per se... The unmaintained trails around here can be pretty sporty, but I could just walk home and recover the Tahoe with the plow truck... Could also wait till summer, drop the t-case and start replacing parts until it's fixed... But I don't want to leave it like this. One way or another, I'll either fix it or get rid of it.

[gravitylover]

The only reason I would spend a reasonable amount of money on repairs to my $4k Durango is because I was stranded somewhere with it. If something pricey starts to go bad I'll just dump it and move on, my mental break point for that is $1k. Of course I want to spend more than that on tires and shocks and if I do that I'm going to want to go to a junkyard and get the fender and doors that need to be replaced but there's that rabbit hole I don't want to go down. Chances are I'll just drive it into the ground or trade it towards something else cheap.

[Mazderati]

I picked up an 03 330xi just before last ski season. It had about 175k on it and most of the usual problems. I put oe brakes and rotors all around...

Have you tried the StopTech cryo rotors? I subscribe to OEM for just about everything but am ready to try a set after having to turn a set of Honda rotors with less than 15k miles. Brake pads still look great.

[BobMc]

Have you tried the StopTech cryo rotors? I subscribe to OEM for just about everything but am ready to try a set after having to turn a set of Honda rotors with less than 15k miles. Brake pads still look great.

I haven't, I typically use Textars for BMW's.

[Mazderati]

Picked up a portable lift set last month. It's nice. Not my pic.

[BmillsSkier]

Nice lift.

But that's a ridiculously fun looking 1st gen Miata.

[mcski]

I'm sure it's fine, but getting under a car on that lift would give me the heebs.

[Mazderati]

I'll likely end up using a set of jack stands as extra insurance when possible but it's legit. No way would I get under it if it wasn't. But honestly getting under anything but a four post lift feels sketchy to me on some level.

[ghosthop]

I'm sure it's fine, but getting under a car on that lift would give me the heebs.

I'll likely end up using a set of jack stands as extra insurance when possible but it's legit. No way would I get under it if it wasn't. But honestly getting under anything but a four post lift feels sketchy to me on some level.

Am I totally naive to this issue? Two sturdy jackstands, either pin or wood wedge chocking the lever, slightly lowered jack and rim for insurance. On concrete. Rock the vehicle once or twice to make sure it's secure and I've never felt terrified under a vehicle for the afternoon. It's the same as the momentary fear when you drop off to rappel, but that's why I double check my knots.

[stfu&gbtw]

The only reason I would spend a reasonable amount of money on repairs to my $4k Durango is because I was stranded somewhere with it. If something pricey starts to go bad I'll just dump it and move on, my mental break point for that is $1k. Of course I want to spend more than that on tires and shocks and if I do that I'm going to want to go to a junkyard and get the fender and doors that need to be replaced but there's that rabbit hole I don't want to go down. Chances are I'll just drive it into the ground or trade it towards something else cheap.

Yeah, that sums it up. Digging around, I don't see many attractive alternatives... Considering a $20k tahoe or mdx at carmax with the warranty. Or maybe just biting the bullet... Rereading my post, I didn't do this truck justice... It drives great. The cranky t-case is the only thing (currently) wrong with it. It seems plausible that dropping the coin on the repair keeps me in this car for less than what the alternatives would have cost to begin with.

Anyone got a junkyard recommendation in CO? There's got to be a decent NP246 laying around here somewhere...

[Mazderati]

Am I totally naive to this issue? Two sturdy jackstands, either pin or wood wedge chocking the lever, slightly lowered jack and rim for insurance. On concrete. Rock the vehicle once or twice to make sure it's secure and I've never felt terrified under a vehicle for the afternoon. It's the same as the momentary fear when you drop off to rappel, but that's why I double check my knots.

I've been around cars all my life and know lifts of most varieties are generally safe if used properly. But, Final Destination.

[Obstruction]

Cool rig. Back up Jack stands make a lot of sense but doesn't the unit have safety locks. I mean it doesn't make sense to me that it would rely on hydraulic pressure when fully extended.