wofat

Yeah, I put in a new tensioner. I drove it quite a bit yesterday and it settled down some, as long as it's not going to mess something up I think I'll just leave it for now. Thanks

Is it speed related or just rpms? Speed = tires/wheels/hubs. Do you have engine codes? If it's auto transmission I'd say emisions (vacuum), manual might be anything in the clutch/throwout bearing or a u-joint. Maybe a vacuum leak somewhere, does not sound like the transmission. Do you have a check engine light on? Can you pull a code?

I put less than ten miles on the vehicle since I put in a new timing belt, it has the textbook whine of a tight belt (see video): http://youtu.be/AmDPRUgNuk4 Do You guys think this will go away or should I tear it down and loosen the tensioner? I didn't think I had much tension on it at all (flexed to 90 degrees between the cams without effort). Will it harm anything if I wait and see? Thanks.

One question.....is there a good way to tighten up the ps tensioner? I bet I spent a half hour on the ground flipping a combo wrench back and forth 1/4 turn at a time for a half hour. I was dreading it so bad I saved it for last.

The car has 195k on it, if I can get another 20k I'll be in hog heaven. This thing has electric issues, rust, smells like rat piss when you run the heat and is generally just a p.o.s. I think it was a Katrina car, this isn't anything I want to throw a lot of money at. There's a lot of older QX4's and pathy's in great shape with lower miles around here, you just have to catch the right deal. I just got a new job (finally) and know I have to save for something better, for now I just need to make sure I get to work. Thanks for the advice and encouragement, it's really appreciated!

I might get one if this thing flushes ok. I only managed to get 6 quarts in but I only drained it this time, hopefully running it dry will get all that crud out. I ran it in the driveway while I cleaned out the garage, seems to shift just fine, the ATF on the dipstick is bright red and smells ok (maybe it's not all mixed through). Thanks!

Thanks guys, good info. I'm still in reassembly, I'll most likely have it going again this afternoon (if everything works out). I think I'll fill it with new ATF, run it hard for a bit, drain it til it sputters, drop the pan and clean it out, then a new filter & new ATF. I don't know that there's much else I can do at this point.

Thanks for checking and let me know what your guy says. The tranny is probably nearing it's end of life anyway but it still works really well, I really need to keep it going a bit longer. The fluid in the radiator and the crap in the tranny were one in the same, I think there was plenty of water in there. I'm thinking about using two five gallon pails to flush the tranny, run the intake into one full of new ATF and outflow into an empty one (run it until it sputters). 16 quarts (4 gallons) of the cheapest ATF I can get. Then I'll fill it with new, run on it for a month and change everything out if it still looks good. Still thinking on that, I'm pretty broke and it might be a waste.......I'd really like to get all that crap out though. I'm going to run antifreeze in the radiator to try and keep the system from rusting, I know the radiator is history but I can't afford to get a new one right now. I'm going to have a lot of stuff for hazmat! I have septic so I can't just pour the antifreeze/water down, plus it'll be oily. =[ I've ripped it down as far as I need to go, new wp, seals and tb go in tomorrow. I had to put in new valve cover gaskets and drilled pass throughs for the ATF cooler lines, I had the right size grommets and it looks factory, one thing went right. The timing belt was hosed, sloppy loose and full of oil. It was just a matter of time, anything I get out of this rig from here out is a gift. Thanks for all the help!

New oil cooler for tranny is hooked up (in front of a/c rad), everything under the coverplates was a goopy mess of oil, grime and antifreeze (weep hole). First thing in the a.m. I'm going to pressure wash the front to get the worst out (already gunked it, still lots of crud in there). I've got a lot of cleaning to do! I'm planning to run straight water in the coolant system for a month and then flush it out hard. If it's leaking much it should show, I'd have money for a new radiator by then, I'll probly just replace this one. Any additives I should put in to help break down the ATF oil? The tranny is my biggest concern. It shows no weakness, shifts spot on and smooth but it was running on that mix of glycol and ATF for who knows how long? How could I get all that crap mix out of there without dropping the pan ten times? I can hook the hoses up to anything at this point.......maybe drop them in a two gallon jug of ATF and run it (shift it) for awhile? Read your build thread Rebelord, awesome write up and nice rig! You got a screaming deal on those tires.

Thanks Rebelord, that's a great price for that radiator. I'm just gonna try to get by with what I have for a while and assume that it'll have to be replaced in the near future (if the tranny holds up). I've got a Hayden cooler for the ATF. I don't get why the fluids would mix like that, my '88 did the same thing and it killed two trannys before I could get a cooler on it.

I think we're on the same page and I appreciate the advice. Only thing, I can't do the radiator now, I need some time. If I run water only (I'm in Gig Harbor, it aint gonna freeze any time soon) will it rust out the system? I'm just out of guesses. Anything else I can put in there (with water) that will lube and protect for a short time that can drip and not poison all the wildlife in the neighborhood? Thx MY1PATH, you helped me out with some stuff years ago. This forum has great people. I read a lot but don't post much, I get most of what I need from reading. You guys rock. I can do pics of this crap if it helps the forum, it seems like tb changes have been covered (very well, btw). Thanks much!

I'm in the beginning stage of changing the tb/wp/cam and crank seals and external oil cooler (ATF) on a '98 R50 (4wd). I was hoping to use the old coolant (last time I checked it about 4 months ago it was bright green) but when I drained it it was mud brown. The ATF looked nice and bright red on the dipstick, smelled good (not burnt, the reason I wanted to get this done) but when I drained that it was also mud brown. It DIDN'T smell burnt and the tranny works fine so I'm going ahead with the work. Seems to me the radiator ATF cooler is wetting the bed, I've been losing a small amount of coolant but none is dripping. 2 questions: 1: If I cap the old connectors to the ATF cooler into the radiator will I still need to replace the radiator? Like I stated before it isn't dripping out any coolant. Anybody have any success with a radiator after the fluids converged? 2: I drained the tranny and pumped as much fluid out as I could (turning the engine over). My plan (after the tb/external cooler, etc) was to top it off with ATF, drain and pump it out again in a month, drop the pan and swap the filter and drive it to death. Any other suggestions? Thanks in advance. I'm doing this on a shoestring budget but need this car to last as long as it can. If I need to flush/fill/flush/fill ATF and antifreeze then suggestions for cheap options are appreciated, a new radiator is out of the question at this point. It runs and shifts fine, power is good and it's not smoking. I never suspected any issues until I drained the radiator. Thanks!

"Puss colored slime"...... That's not a good color for puss slime, just sayin'.

I wound the bars about a year and a half ago (15k miles)and the droop is back. How can You tell if the t-bars are getting too tired to play ball?

I've heard the same thing, the thought rattled around in my head for about a second but I'm glad you mentioned this. Drove it hard today, it's running better than ever. I swapped the pumpkin, cleared the error codes, fixed all the vacuum lines, stuffed more grease into the rear bearings, oil change, air filter, fuel filter, new top radiator hose, lubed, cleaned the battery posts and topped everything off. Transtune is in, next week is tranny drain and fill and the ex-cooler. I'm still gonna shop for a 5 speed and all the accoutrement, even though it's ok for now I have trouble trusting this transmission.

Thanks for the quick reply, I'm gonna do it. Nothing to lose..... Hah! So true. I guess I need to invest in a tranny jack.

*update* It's a lot warmer out today and I ran it a little bit, torque converter seems much better. When I finally garaged it the (outside) temp was below freezing, today I'd guess it was 50f or above in the garage. I think the Lucas was too thick in the cold weather, I remember having to heat that stuff up on the dash with the defroster on full to get it thin enough to go down the funnel. Gonna put the transtune in tomorrow and do the short commute to the park and ride all week, flush/filter and new fluid next weekend. I gotta ask again, since I'll be putting a cooler in and cutting the lines anyway will I get more of the old fluid out (maybe from the torque converter as well) if I run it with the hoses cut? Is that risky? TIA

We're on the same bandwidth. I shopped the seafoam today to see if NAPA had it, tons on the shelf. No TC solenoid. I have Lucas (thick as butter cold) in the tranny, that might be gunking up. It's real fresh fluid in there but I added extra lucas, even pumped out some ATF. Damn snake oil. The fluid smells fine, not hot. I'm gonna talk to a shop about a flush, see where that goes. I never ran an ex-cooler, if I cut the lines and let the pump run out I don't think it will clear out the TC, will it? Thanks for hanging with Me, I'll keep you posted. cjg

Sry, double post.......

I don't blame ya, I wouldn't do it either. Offering to help is by far the most generous thing I've seen in ages, that's pretty cool. Thanks! Couple things I've still gotta try, a flush out and new fluid and cut the TC solenoid to see if that's causing it. If it's just a solenoid I'd be awful happy but I rarely get that kind of luck. If it's grungy enough to cause a full lock up I doubt I'll be able to flush it out. I'll probably start shopping for a donor 5-speed pathy this weekend.

I'm garaged, I got the small side. Pretty tooled up but I gotta get organized. I have air, not enough cpm to drive an impact wrench but enough to drive a ratchet. I got the tools, I just needed the time. This is just a fussy job and I can't dig in. I want this truck but it makes more sense for me to just buy a friggin 4runner, dang it. If I can buy the parts and let somebody do the ruff-in, I'm good with that. The set-up is sano, covered space, garage warmth and a @!*%ter. It's really just a ratchet and jack job, I got it out of the rain. If You wanna just do it let Me know and we can work a price, if you wanna help then I got beer and steaks! Either way, beer and steaks.

OK, I did it. Rears don't move in park or neutral, they scoot in D, 1, 2 and R. The whole truck shakes like something is out of balance (regardless of the wheels motion), seems worse when the truck is cold. It def pulls and pops out of gear, feels like something is grinding/dragging/slipping when moving. Drive lines look good, looks like this is coming from the front. *big sigh* Tranny looks aight (don't quote me out of context), something is giving up the ghost. I'm about ready to drive it into exhaustion to find out what's broke. I always wanted a 5 speed, careful what you wish for....... If it's TC I'm not going in with another AT, this'll be the third for this car. Either it's scrap or a conversion and I gotta find someone to do the rough work. I can do the finishing, but I have no time to do the install. No (reputable) shop will do this. Anybody in Seattle up for a project?

It was running rough, low idle, dash lights coming on because the engine was close to cutting out. I went through all the vacuum lines and plug wires, cleaned the MAF, checked timing, cleared the error codes (had a #32 EGR, replaced a cracked vacuum line), new fuel filter. Put in a proven third member (had to rule it out), engines running better but still not awesome. My thinking is that the torque convertor is always partially engaged, at least it kind of feels that way. Runs a little sluggish in Park even, kind of like it's pulling a little load. You guys ever hear of anything like this? I saw a thread awhile back explaining how to install a bypass switch that 'locks' the TC. Maybe electrical? Anything I can try? I really don't have time right now to drop the transmission. TIA

You might be able to just swap the axle shafts, you might have to change the brake lines (from the donor) as well. That's what the guy did to mine, if there's no issues with your diff it seems the easiest way to go.

The '87, 88 and 89 were all different, different bolt patterns on the pumpkin. What year is the one you're looking at? You might have to swap the whole axle and do some modifications, at least to the brake lines. I put in a new stock master cylinder, haven't noticed any problems with it.