campbeam

Unfortunately, the ABS sensor lead is damaged with wires broken ripped out of the socket because I did not unclip that socket before trying to remove the hub assembly. Lesson learnt the hard way. ABS warning light is on until I get this fixed.

The hub and backing plate were still joined when they separated from the knuckle and dropped hard and quick to the ground. Another video showed the hub assembly parting from this backing plate then the ABS sensor socket being removed. Smart move is definitely to unclip the ABS socket first.

The parking handbrake assembly is a simple one piece part and does not need to be removed. I had to use 2 long bolts screwed into the rotor head to remove the rotor. I also had to back off the foot brake adjustment. This should have been done when the rotor did not remove easily.

It is a tight fit between the hub and the opening of the backing plate so no surprise that they both come off together. When re-assembling, I did scrap and remove the rust build up in the knuckle area where the hub presses into it. I was thinking of using grease but ended up giving the parts a good spray with WD-40.

I had been hearing a slight wheel noise for quite some time. I had previously checked the wheel bearings but had been unable to detect any worn movement etc. In hindsight, this low level whining sound was the initial indicator that the bearing was going bad. After a recent road trip of approx. 2600kms, a wheel bearing was now howling and louder as the speed increased. Current odometer reading is 249K. 

Following YouTube video outlines the replacement process. ESPECIALLY Note the removal of the ABS sensor lead at the 5:15 mark. I did not do this so now have to either repair or replace this ABS sensor lead. The parking hand brake shoe is 1 piece on my GSV40 series Aurion which is different to the USA Camry in the YouTube video. My backing plate also came off when I was trying to "persuade" remove the hub assembly with a rubber mallet. 

Quite impressed at how quietly and smoothly the car drives now.

I am planning upon checking the front and rear brake pads soon as to whether they need to be replaced now or wait until after winter. Not expecting to have to replace the rotors.

Following YouTube video is relevant. Certainly noted what this 40 year professional said and did. Interesting that there was a brake pulsating problem and the slider pins needed to be lubricated. Also retaining bolts for the brake rotor were easily undone, possibly not tightened correctly by the previous shop.

13 minutes ago, Tony Prodigy said:

This reminds me to get off my butt and do the coolant flush. I'll start prepping now before I forget..

 

Excellent. I am anticipating your future post complete with photos.

Highly appreciate your OCD approach which contrasts greatly with a minimalist approach. I have not yet done a thorough coolant flush; just a change of coolant in the radiator and overflow reservoir. Follow up has been an annual clean and removal of any sediment in the reservoir. As for the coolant flush, I have been considering doing a radiator drain and refill with distilled water a few times as a possible alternative to undoing any coolant drain plugs on the engine block.

Hope you have the after photos as well. Useful for your own records as well as the Forum. The big benefit is from thoroughly cleaning the valve cover, particularly the area leading to the PCV valve.

After re-assembly, then next stage will be an oil and filter change.

What I have been doing for many years has been to use diesel as an engine flush. After engine oil is at operating temperature, drain and replace with 5 litres of diesel. then idle engine for approx. 10 minutes then drain. I re-flush the engine using a low cost engine oil which eliminates any residue then use the new oil filter cartridge and new full synthetic engine oil.

Plan for or consider your next oil change interval to be 1000-2500kms then 5000 km oil change intervals in the future.

17 hours ago, AurionX2 said:

The drain fluid was still looking a teeny tiny bit like strawberry milkshake after maybe less than 200km all suburban short drives,

Obviously this is not what you want to see. I would be seriously considering doing another change of atf and replacing the filter again. https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-3rd-gen-2010-2015/966724-p0990-transmission-problem.html 

Initial step may be to drop the transmission pan and inspect/clean. Same for the filter. Mineral turpentine is recommended as the cleaning agent. https://www.transmissionbench.com/cleaning.html Decide whether a change of atf is applicable at this point in time. I would also be thinking about doing a lot longer suburban drives then maybe some highway driving to get the ATF up to full operating temperature for longer and more circulation through the filter.

I did a Google search using a search term of C1201 Toyota Aurion. Following urls are worth a read. Possibly the transmission shudder could have triggered this code or maybe something else. Something for your consideration.

https://ricksfreeautorepairadvice.com/c1201-toyota/

https://mechanicbase.com/trouble-code/c1201-toyota/

Another worthwhile video by The Car Nut. Perhaps no surprise that again he is emphasising regular maintenance. Key message of this video is to change the coolant every 80,000 kms / 5 years.

Preventative maintenance is so much cheaper than an engine repair. Certainly important to know the service history of your vehicle particularly if buying a used one.

On a previous road trip a few years ago, I had this issue of a minor coolant leak. i ended up using K-Seal Coolant Leak Repair during the trip home then later removed it from the coolant reservoir. Since then i have been monitoring the coolant level and occassionally topping up.

I very recently used this product on another vehicle https://www.supercheapauto.com.au/p/k-seal-k-seal-coolant-leak-repair---236ml/357729.html with ecellent results.

Consequently as a preventative measure, i put K-Seal back nto the coolant reservoir for this road trip. No coolant leak issue, as expected.

On 12/30/2020 at 12:12 PM, campbeam said:

Spring needs to be positioned in the base up against the indented stop position.

Top strut mount is then positioned as per the indicated arrow for the outer position. Following video at 2:33 shows this. On my front struts it was stamped outer with 1 arrow.

 

I remembered this YouTube video because of the positioning arrow for the outer position of the top strut mount. This recent YouTube video by The Car Nut about when to and how to replace the struts did briefly mention this mark but not enough detail for my liking a a DIY task.

Forgotten when I last checked the spare tyre pressure. Only 20 psi so that indicates maybe more than 12 months.

Quick trip to the servo and spare tyre pressure is now 41 psi. That should be good for the next 6 months or when the boot gets another clean up. Ended up doing the same for my other Toyota. Its spare tyre pressure was only 16 psi.

Fairly confident that the dimensions are the same as a Toyota genuine one but not 100%. Very handy if you can post the measurements of a genuine Toyota filter cartridge and the part number.

What I have learnt from previous YouTube videos by The Car Nut is that I am guilty of over-servicing the transmission and changing the ATF too often. Having an older transmission, I am staying with a pan drain method. Recent YouTube video by The Car Nut answers the main questions about when to change the ATF. Now rethinking when I will do the next pan drain to refresh the additives in the ATF.

Interesting balanced approach of what not to do with automatic transmissions that are well overdue. I bought my 2006 Aurion ATX with 165K kms on the odometer and 9 years old. There was a significant build up of sludge on the pan, deep enough to write your name in it. Definitely worthwhile cleaning the inside of the transmission pan.

The Car Nut just released the following YouTube video where he answered the main questions about auto transmission servicing.

If you service your transmission before it becomes overdue then you do not need to replace the transmission filter. As mentioned in the video, different matter if something has gone wrong then the filter should/needs to be replaced.

Following photo shows the amount of sludge collected in a new oil filter cartridge after 5 months and approx. 2500-2700 kms of short distance driving. 2nd photo is of a re-used cleaned oil filter cartridge after the engine flush. Not the best photo but there is very little oil sludge.

I use non-genuine OEM oil filter cartridges. 1st photo is a new cartridge after 5 months and approx. 2500kms. 2nd photo is a cleaned used cartridge after being in the engine for 1 day when I was doing the engine flush. You can see how it has distorted when compressed compared to a genuine oil filter cartridge. 

On 11/4/2022 at 10:17 AM, campbeam said:

Plan is to do an engine flush then another removal of the front valve cover during the Xmas-New Year period and check whether further oil sludge has either accumulated or reduced in my engine for that 6 month period.

Looks like that plan did not happen. I did do an engine flush using Penrite Engine Flush yesterday morning. Instead of adding to the existing engine oil, I changed the existing oil and oil filter cartridge then idled the warmed up engine for 10 minutes. Most likely NOT recommended but I also did approx. 65 kms suburban driving then did another oil change with a new oil filter cartridge and new quality full synthetic engine oil this morning.

Previous engine oil and oil filter cartridge have been retained for next engine flushing.

Overall, worth doing the engine flush as the oil did darken up quite a bit. Removal of front valve cover will have to wait until the next oil change, at least.

Getting ready for a leisurely road trip in a week or so after Easter and the school holiday period.

Engine flush yesterday and oil change this morning. Also added an engine and oil treatment additive so hopefully will notice some improved engine and fuel efficiency on the trip. Engine seems to be idling a bit quieter and rpm at idle maybe 50-100rpm lower.

Just been down to SuperCheap Auto to use the received credit and got fuel injector cleaner for when I next refill the tank.

Plenty of other items previously mentioned in this thread to be done e.g. check tyre pressure of the spare tyre before packing the car.

4 hours ago, cookie65 said:

 

I'm having same problems, i just dont get what is wrong

Is the problem the reverse gear selection or something else? Please describe in detail the problem scenario/s. Appreciate details of your vehicle model year, odometer reading etc. What transmission servicing has been done and when?

54 minutes ago, Tony Prodigy said:

In my experience Ash, I would be inclined to NOT replace the internal strainer if it's clean.
I believe it's there to filter out any ferrous or non ferrous material. The friction material from the bands, I tend to think not, as this remains in suspension with the fluid.

After my last fluid flush, I replaced my Original strainer with a paper element type too and so next time I take the pan off, I'm putting the Original one back. Upon inspection, it appeared to be quite clean with no foreign material in side it.

The drain pan magnet essentially mopped up any ferrous material from the break in period and no other contamination was present.

 

My experience is the same. However our experience is with the U660E transmission admittedly in different series of the Aurion.

Next time that I remove the transmission pan it will be to give it a wipedown and clean the internal magnets.

Interested to read the experiences of other members with other transmission models.

The question has previously been raised in posts particularly for changing the ATF of the U660E transmission fitted to the Aurion.

Toyota refers to this part as a strainer. Personally, I have replaced the original filter with an OEM one but did kept this part. This part has what appears to be a paper element.

However, I recall the part for my previous 1998 Toyota Camry having a metallic element similar to a stainless steel scourer.

Transmission filter information is at the 18:36 interval of the following YouTube video by The Car Nut.

Personally, I have been thinking of placing some additional magnets on the sidewalls of the transmission pan.

This recent YouTube video by The Car Nut provides an explanation for transmission shudder. It that case for that series of vehicles the underlying cause was the Toyota software and the solution involved a number of revisions to the software.

Interesting that the 1st revision did not resolve the issue.

Looks like there are advantages to having your new Toyota vehicle serviced by the Dealership for the initial 3-5 years. 

Those people that previously asked a question on the Forum then disappeared now have a potential answer.

As for the regular members and viewers of this Forum, here is something more for your knowledge bank.

To my limited knowledge, I am unaware that the 1GR-FE engine is susceptible to oil sludge. Different matter for the 3.5litre 2GR-FE engine.

Not good that a service was missed for 10K kms so quite likely that oil sludge could have formed. Hopefully it got collected in the oil filter.

Looks like the service interval is 10K kms. My suggestion and recommendation is to go old school and reduce the oil change interval to 5000 kms or 6 months whichever comes first. Use a quality full synthetic known brand engine oil and quality oil filters. Good preventative maintenance to avoid costly engine repairs due to clogged up oil and piston rings.

I am guessing that a mobile mechanic will be able to do a compression test and maybe also an exhaust gas analysis to determine whether there is oil consumption.

22 hours ago, Jacaranda said:

I actually removed the front wheels and inner guards just to replace the parking bulbs with LEDs 😂

I have done the same when replacing the parking bulbs. However, I not fully removed the plastic inner wheel guard. Instead I have removed just the front retaining clips and pulled back the inner guard for enough working space.

I went and had another look at the passenger side headlight bulb. I manage working above and to one side when replacing the headlight bulb.

Certainly thought a few times about removing the battery [but not yet done] for more room when replacing the passenger side headlight bulb.

For myself, the main issue has been seating the bulb properly in the headlight housing and engaging the locking tabs.

Yes, my STEDI H11 LED bulbs have the cooling fan.

Any fitting issues are the same or very similar to an OEM halogen bulb. Bit of a squeeze or juggle to get the LED bulb into the headlight housing, as expected.

For myself, it was either hit or miss getting the bulb properly seated then turning the bulb body to lock into position. When I was having difficulty, I ended up temporarily removing the LED bulb, inserting an OEM bulb and paid close attention to the initial and end positions of the locking tabs on the base of the bulb.

I consider the fitting of the STEDI H11 LED bulbs to the low beam projector headlights on my Oct.2006 Aurion ATX as being a highly worthwhile upgrade. I have had them fitted for slightly less than 2 years and absolutely appreciate them every time when driving at night. They provide better light output than the high performance halogen bulbs that I have previously had and those only lasted about 2 years.

I have previously bought a number H11 LED bulbs on eBay and those have barely lasted 6 weeks before failing. Eventually stopped throwing money away on these budget buys and bought the STEDI H11 LED bulbs.

Looks like I will not have to make a warranty claim. If they were to fail shortly after the 2 year period, I would not hesitate to buy them again.

Getting towards 2 years ago that I bought both of those under engine splash guards plus some other odds and ends.

I probably paid about $20 at the time but would expect to pay $20 each now.