Repairs Guidance

[lukeic Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close lukeic]

Hi all, bought a 2005 120 GXL three weeks ago and got the car back from Toyota yesterday with a list of repairs (and a large quote) to carry out. I'm looking for guidance on:
- the severity of the issues
- approx. cost and effort to DIY vs. mechanic

Pictures and description of issues as follows.

1. Steering rack boot completely gone, inner-rod rusted, and rod-end grease contaminated. Toyota recommendation: replace entire steering rack.
https://i.ibb.co/2Sbf4VK/worn-steering-rack-root-1.png
https://i.ibb.co/crKC7Rd/worn-steering-rack-root-2.png

2. Front diff seal worn and leaking. Toyota recommendation: replace.
https://i.ibb.co/JBgWc0L/diff-seal-worn-leaking.png

3. Front driveshafts covered in grease and boot worn. Toyota recommendation: replace both driveshafts entirely.
https://i.ibb.co/vqSt7ZS/driveshaft-grease.png

4. Timing chain case leak, oil all over driver's side of engine. Toyota recommendation: engine disassembly to replace seal. I spoke to a family friend who used to be a Toyota mechanic and he suggested that disassembly of the engine isn't required and that there's a seal behind the harmonic balancer that may be causing the issue, and that can be replaced quite easily.
https://i.ibb.co/5ssvyBG/timing-case-leak-1.png
https://i.ibb.co/J7zFBcs/timing-case-leak-2.png
https://i.ibb.co/cbDpjZh/timing-case-leak-3.png

5. Water pump leaking, coolant on engine. Toyota recommendation: replace water pump.
https://i.ibb.co/G2CN1mj/water-pump-leak-1.png
https://i.ibb.co/sjzvH4x/water-pump-leak-2.png
https://i.ibb.co/tzmwZZ6/water-pump-leak-3.png

Any help is very much appreciated.

[t303 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close t303]

Yeah, it looks a bit neglected. Has it been on the beach?
I would be getting a second opinion, where are you located?

[lukeic Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close lukeic]

It wasn't confirmed by the previous owner (of which there have been two), but yeah after seeing this we're thinking it most likely has been on the beach.

I'm in central Sydney.

[t303 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close t303]

I'm a bit removed in FNQ, but somebody here might be able to recommend a trustworthy spanner spinner.
If the rack is not leaking oil it might tidy up and get by with a new set of tie rods and boots. Front diff leak doesn't look that bad in the photo, is it dripping on the floor?
Driveshafts: drive in a tight circle both ways and see how much clacking is going on, but depending on k's they may need replacing (GSP from CBC or BSC used to be OK).
Timing case seal should be able to be done externally.
Water pump you should see a pink dribble or powder if using genuine coolant, I can't make it out from the photo. Is it losing fluid? I plan to change the pump every second timing belt, the pump on my 1KZ started weeping from the shaft when I got back from a 15k half lap of the country, but I dropped a couple of BARS OEM tablets in and it took up fine.
cheers
Steve

[lukeic Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close lukeic]

Nope, at this stage the front diff doesn't seem to be leaking onto the floor.

When you say the timing case can be done externally, do you mean that an engine disassembly is not required? That would be good.

RE: water pump, the photos are actually screenshots from a video they sent me. In the video he says 'there's dried, crusty, white coolant all over the timing case which has leaked out of the water pump'.

Thanks for the info Steve.

[Brett1979 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Brett1979]

Not sure what your skill level is with diy work on cars. If you’ve never replaced a front diff seal before, buy the seal yourself off eBay for cheap & provide the part for a mechanic to do. They’ll charge around $60 to do. You need a special hooked device to remove the old one & when fitting the new it has to be carefully tapped in evenly with an equal sized socket. If done in a rush the seal can be cracked trying. Now to get to that seal a cv shaft has to be removed. Also buy aftermarket cv shafts off eBay for $110 each to save a small fortune. The mechanic can replace those at the same time if you’ve never replaced one before as they are a pretty simple job. If you bought genuine ones they’ll cost 4-5 times as much. The cheap ones will last a long time.

[lukeic Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close lukeic]

Thanks Brett.

I spent the week reading through the workshop manual, and yesterday degreased and cleaned up the engine bay and underside with a knowledgeable family member, and have determined that the service centre are absolutely full of it. They've actually loosened the seal on the driveshaft boot to be able to pull it back a bit for the video! It's completely tight and in good condition. I'll clean up the CV boot and/or get it replaced, but there's no damage or oil leak from the inner rod; the other side of the steering rack looks brand new.

As for the water pump and engine leak, I'm going to monitor those. The workshop manual shows quite a few gaskets on the timing case, so I'll wait till it becomes apparent which one is leaking and go from there.