JJCRU23R

Hex rings off... gaskets easily lift up with the help of a screwdriver

Nice to see just how dusty the cover was..

Before lifting off the cover I needed to also remove the bracket that holds the throttle cables just over the valve cover. didnt take a pic of that though..

Valve cover off and old gasket easily came off.. guess the oil that leaked through helped that out..

Surprised how easy it came off.. the surfaces that make contact with the gasket were rubbed down with a clean cloth moistened with degreaser to get all the gunk off and left to dry.

Had to clean the crud off the threads on the spark plug shafts too.. looked like old dried up oil.

After dabbing gasket paste into several key spots the cover which had been also cleaned and had the new gasket installed was returned to its original position.

Had to replace all the wiring and hoses I pulled out of the way. I heard a loud spark which I took no notice of until I started the car.

I turned the car on and to be honest I dont think the car sounded so good. However, I screwed up the very first step - I FORGOT TO TAKE THE NEGATIVE OFF THE BATTERY.

After turning the key, I noticed that the dash cluster, wipers, indicators and radio wouldn't turn on!

I checked every single fuse one at a time pulling them out and sticking them back on until I noticed ALT 100 in the fuse box had gone.

The alternator fuse! Also learnt the hard way that this particular fuse is held down by bolts and doesnt pull up easy like the rest of the fuses..

In order to access the bolts that hold it down I had to take out the airbox.. I also lost a bolt somewhere between the engine bay and the concrete. sucks.

My moment of completion was stuffed up and since its public holiday here, I realised the shops closed earlier than usual and buying a replacement fuse will have to wait until next business day >:(

The kit I installed.. i exchanged the $22 gasket from autobarn for some new front wipers and bought this at another local small spare parts business... this one came with the spark plug rings which the autobarn one didnt. $30.

30mm socket for the spark plug rings which hold down the "rocker cover" aka calve cover..

remove the spark plug boots to expose the 4 hex rings that hold down the valve cover. Directly underneith each ring is a gasket.

This piece of plastic with the 73 on it covers the wires that go over one side of the valve cover. needed to be removed.. just partially unscrew the bolts that hold it in place

drove the car around today.. i did hear a noticably different sound from the engine while cruising 50-70kms from mt druitt to blacktown. I particularly noticed a difference in performance trying to avoid some idiots who seem to ignore the fact that they are meant to give way at roundabouts...

plus Ive bought a VALVE COVER GASKET for $22 and a Gregorys Rav4 service and repair manual..

With the Ultratune report outlining what needs to be fixed, it makes it easier for me to figure out what to fix and which parts I need to buy!

Thanks to Ultratune I have a much better grasp of what the hell is going on under the bonnet.

There will be some considerable work done considering I am dealing with the sins of the previous owners of my rav4. It was obvious to the mechanics that the car wasnt properly maintained over the years and theyre actually surprised at how well its held up!

The car has just had:

new engine oil and filter

air filter

spark plugs

number plate lights

efi clean service

brake fluid flush

efi fuel filter

Service report showed lots of work needs to be done before next pink slip

diff and transmission oil surprisingly OK

exhaust gas analysis showed my car was running a bit rich on idle (6.9%, 523HC) and cruise (10% 580HC)..further investigation/diagnosis required to rectify

oil leaks observed in the engine bay.. nothing immediate to be done however it should be the first thing I should work on in order to further improve fuel economy and keep the engine happy

diff and transmission oil surprisingly OK

Radiator has a leak.

Several things need replacing which I wont go into but it seemed obvious that some parts that should have been replaced over time, have not!

goes to show you really do inherit the previous owners problems!

I am glad that the timing belt which the mechanic kept going on about today was indeed replaced in 2010 with the installation of the new engine. - the mechanic told me that this would be a big deal to fix which probebly wouldnt be worth the effort considering everything else that needs to be done, however I showed him a reciept from the previous owners when the engine and timing belt were replaced.

to be honest Im sick of driving an old car and wish I had the $$$ to buy new, but i have a wife n 2 kids and money isnt exactly falling out of the sky for us so putting everything in perspective Im just happy to be able to get to work.

im mildly familiar with the way the engine works but will become a lot more familiar over the next 6 months!

The car is supposedly more responsive.

Car reached 400,000kms on 17:9:2012

Today I've just dropped the car into autotune for its first real service since I bought the car a year ago.. The woman I was speaking to quoted me a large sum and I'm on a tight budget.. But will have the most urgent things sorted and carbon clean by the end of the day.

Spent about 5 hours sewing and measuring by eye to get this done..

Based on my old corollas parcel shelf... but not sure I'd call what I made a "parcel shelf" but it does cover my load up the back all the same.

found these clips on rings in spotlight.. also where I bought the black fabric for cheap.. also bought the tubing and curtain mounts... pretty cool they came in black too!

1 old sewing machine and many broken sewing needles later..

clips with rings go here

This particular part was the bit I took from my old 1zz... cut down the middle so that either seat can be reclined without having to adjust the cover, plus my load stays covered!

The sewing machine gave up long before I did.. will sew in the final touches when I borrow dads sewing machine or if Im really bothered, Ill hand sew it.

Overall I'm pretty happy with the results. Checked and rechecked the windows and it covers 99% of what's in my rear! positioning and repositioning for maximum cover took up more time than I wanted which is why it took so damn long to have it made.

Close up

Fog lights are finally functioning as intended which means they are LEGAL to use! FINALLY!

Just spliced the red wire with green stripe as described a few posts above & works perfectly! It won't switch on unless I've activated high beams on the steering wheel stalk AND manually switched the foggies on/off switch that i installed on the dash.

If I switch the high beams off, it also switches the foggies off too - which means I can leave the switch located on the dash on only if I want the foggies on with my high beams!

Surprised how well the autobarn spray can matched the existing paint!

The cover panel just below the tail light was previously red, since I picked that up at pick n Payless wreckers. That got a shot of colour & clear too before I ran out of colour.

Still one corner to go. Trying to figure out how to sand a patch that big!

Masked off..

Paint & clear..

Yesterday I managed to wash and cut n polish the fenders as well as some of the doors. there was plenty of overspray which covered up the original blue. Definitely not expecting a perfect repair job but just aiming to get the car back to the point where the repairs aren't obvious at first glance. I dot claim to be a pro at this stuff, just not afraid to have a shot at getting it done. It won't be a $2000 job as quoted by my panel beater but it'll at least be all blue!

Bought putty, primer, rust killer, sandpaper and a can of 8K4 paint from the local Autobarn. Hope to cover at least some of the grey on the panels ASAP.

Just read up here: http://www.4wdaction.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=94942 ..

Im gonna try for a RED wire with GREEN stripe..

tomorrow! too damn cold right now.

Hey Scott, I actually tried to do.. the very last step of the install was trying to figure out which headlight wire would work exactly as you described - turns off whenever you turn off the hi-beam.

However Ive read up online that theres plenty of problems doing so with toyotas since toyotas use a negative switch, while the aftermarket lights install instructions say I have to splice the switch into the positive hi-beam wire!

I attempted to mate the switch with all 3 cables which lead into the headlight stalk on the steering wheel. Each wire turned out something different like the fog lights switching off when the hi-beam was switched on!

If someone can simply tell me WHICH COLOUR to connect the switch, I'd do it tonight even if its freezing cold out right now.

My aim on all mods is to make it tasteful, useful and make sure that it doesn't ***** anyone off! (police and other drivers).

At this stage, Im just thankful that the lights haven't popped and they are working fine with the provided wires, plus a few extras that I needed since there wasn't enough provided.

Right now I've spliced the switch into the constant 12+ wire behind the stereo. If anyone has a explicit answer for this issue, lemme know! thanks!

Update regarding the towbar.. Ive talkd to the guys @ formula offroad, coincidentally not too damn far from work!

They can custom make a longer tow bar tongue, however itll only handle a maximum of about 60kgs on the tow bar. not very heavy duty?!

However, the longer bar will cost below 3 figures which is just fine by me... which includes custom towbar and driving the car back to my work since they know where I work!

YAY!

On another note, im in the middle of wiring up the fog lights and Im stuck on the switch! apparently I need to wire it to the negative? no sure... since the aftermarket lights say it needs to be spliced into the + fog light switch.

RANT..

earlier this afternoon I drove pretty far to see this "towbar" specialist.. they wouldn't entertain the idea of a longer tow bar tongue, coming to the conclusion that the towbar would be flapping in the wind under the pressure.

Even If I bought one of their own towbars to suit the Rav4, they said it wouldnt be able to make a longer tow bar tongue to suit. I showed the saleswoman the bike rack and she said "oh thats for a motorbike!"

WTF.. My wife was in the car with the kids an she could tell this woman wasnt the best at customer service.

I pointed out the 3 spots for the pushbikes and demonstrated how the bikerack folded out.. I dont like pointing out when people are wrong.. it makes me look like Im putting them down.

The customer service sucked.

There was another place that my dad called for me and they wouldnt even entertain the idea.. didnt want to know...

anyone know a fabricator who would cut a straight bar for a tow bar tongue???!

next mod... these would have been very useful in some trips weve taken in recent months.. or any time we drive long distances at night.

All up about 1 green plastic banknote worth of gear on the front.

I was tossing up between round lights and rectangle.. I chose the rectangle since the projected light appeared to spread rather than beam straight out ala the batsignal.

I saw a slightly cheaper pair of lights but I didn't like the thin piece of sheet metal they bent to make the u shaped mount which would be used to attach the fog light to the bar.

As far as it goes, I have not attempted to wire it just yet.. It was late night shopping tonight and its very dark when I got home. All up it was only 20 minutes to get the installation right, however I think I may need to redo the numberplate position due to it being too high under the "nudge" bar.. if you can even call it that.

Update! Bought a mod and actually completed the job! How about that?!

BEFORE

The old and the new...

Needed to access the wiring harness via the air vent access through the rear corner bumper.. annoying and slowed the progress down especially on the drivers side. What I thought was gonna be 35-45 minutes tops took well into 1 and a half hours in the dark.

Total $150 which was cheap compared to the 300 odd bucks I paid for the altezza lights on my old 1zz.. I assumed that the LED lights at the bottom of the lights were actually reflectors that beamed a regular bulb light into many dots.. checked the wiring and sure enough the LEDs are the real deal and connect via the regular bulb wiring. Plug and play easy, except for accessing the harness.

Although my originals were in good working order, there is a noticable crack on the drivers side tail light which was reason enough for me to get these.. brand new unlike most things Im putting on the car!

More mods to come courtesy of tax refund! ahahhaaha

This is US based.. The prices I've seen are pretty cheap! However will shipping kill the cheap price?..?

Having trouble creating a new account!

Fenders roughly 100 each..(eBay) but there are a wreckers about 30 mins away who have the same colour rav, hope they still in stock. I'd install it.

The springs n shocks to lower are expensive, possibly 7-900 supplied but I've been quoted 1400+ fully installed, regardless of whether it's lowered 2" standard height or lifted for supposedly top quality branded shocks n springs made in Germany *forgot the brand.

The flares may cost upwards of 4-500, however a rav4 bomex copy front bar from bodykitwarehouse.com.au would be roughly the same price delivered.

Which would you do? Towbar comes first, I know i got to finish the panels And paint... However I'm itching to lower it a few inches with king spring lows and Monroe gt shocks.. Possibly peddlers shocks n springs? I'd want improved handling but not a hard ride.

Ive been mentally shaving the body plastics on the doors and there's a few different methods I've researched. One option is to fill the gaps with foam filler, sculpt to shape and fiberglass over it, however I've also seen a 3m method of welding / melting the existing plastic, then body filling the remaining gaps

Quick update, towball has an inscription which says it can handle 2500kgs which was the minimum required for the bike rack. It weighs about 12kgs on it's own, made from very similar metal as the towbar itself! Welded tough.

Another thing, im expecting tax return very soon so a chunk of that will definitely be put towards getting the 4.1 back up to standard instead of the primer grey patchwork and blue it's been since whenever I did the fenders?!

Im really tempted to lower - springs n shocks..

(And spacers for wider stance)

Or

replacing the damaged front fenders with same painted used fenders or continue with the existing panels and paint them as well as paint the other patches along the sides..?

Purchasing a flare kit from Japan or just buy a fiberglass front bar to change up the front?!

Need driving/ fog lights as well especially now in this Sydney winter we've been stuck in.

gotta do as much as possible on a budget! Less than 900 I'd like to spend since I have plans for the rest of my $$$ for the family.

What would you do if you had the choice?!

50 isn't too dear.. Then again I've seen 2nd hand tongues on trading post that may do the trick but I'd only know for sure if I had it on hand to measure it up with my rav4.

Will be awesome to finally mount on the rowboat so I can take the kids out biking! (and teach the Mrs. How to ride..)

Hey Scott... Nothing is listed on the super cheap site. Might be worth a phonecall but I'm not optimistic they super cheap or autobarn have this sorta gear. There are specialty places like coldy's or carasel in wentworthville (sydney) that I'd have to go to in order to have something custom fabricated to suit.

What happened to the car? Still in one piece ?

Hi guys, I've bought a bike rack and aimed to mount it on the towbar of my rav4 but the spare tire and bumper gets in the way.. Impossible to mount unless I keep the rear door open...

Does anyone have experience and / advice as to where I can buy a cheap extension for it?

Pics are in my thread.