Two years ago a mechanic told me that my rear differential mount was broken - hitting the floor board. He told me this was not dangerous - just annoying. This is a car I rarely use but now considering using more. It currently has 170000 miles on it driven in the mild climate of California. Just what is involved and what should the cost range be?
View 2 RepliesMy 97 Rav4 shut down on the highway yesterday. Checked the oil when I lifted the hood. It has only been 4500 since the last oil change, but the oil was barely registering on the stick. The engine will turn over, but will not start. Do Toyotas have an auto shut off mechanism when the oil gets too low or is my Rav4 toast? There were no warnings, temperature, low oil light, nothing.
View 15 RepliesI have a 2010 Toyota RAV4. It is a great car overall but I have a persistent problem with a vibration from the rear of the car. It felt like I was running over tiny speed bumps at 35 to 50 mph. Toyota service looked at the car three times and told me there was no vibration and I should seek psychological counseling. My therapist told me that I did, in fact, suffer from numerous psychoses but that didn't mean there wasn't a vibration in my car.
So I took it in a fourth time and a mechanic determined that there was a vibration that occurred at 40 to 45 miles per hour on a slight incline during moderate acceleration. He believed that it was caused by the Sprag Clutch. He said it wasn't anything to be concerned about and I should ignore it.
The really bad news is that while the vibration has been there for 15,000 miles, I didn't take it in until 60,200 miles and even if they did recommend repairing it, I would have to pay for the transmission work as it is now out of warranty. My concern is that the problem will get worse and the transmission will eventually fall apart.
I have a 1997 Toyota RAV4 with 137,500. I got it in 2004 with 93,000 miles. Since I've had it, it burns about 1 quart of oil every 1,000 miles or so. I don't think it's been getting worse since I've had it. I had the compression in the cylinders checked last year, and the compression's good in all four of them. What the problem might be? It the problem worth repairing, or should I just keep adding a quart of oil every 1,000 miles? Also, does burning oil damage other parts of the car?
View 5 RepliesMy wife’s ’97 RAV4 has 135,000 miles on it. Two days ago it started bucking/hesitating (feels more like bucking, and its worse if you try to give it the gas) at speeds below 25 -30 mph. No loss of speed/power when going uphill. Its worse when the engine is cold.
I cleaned the throttle body with spray cleaner, no change. I added Prestone fuel system cleaner to the gas and have driven 20 miles since then. Very little if any change so far. I always use good gas (Chevron regular) and the car has been well maintained (primarily by me).
Timing belt, seals and both bearings were replaced two years ago. Just about a year ago I changed the plugs, air filter, distributor cap and rotor. The fuel filter has never been changed, and the spark plug wires have never been changed. What I can try next? Where is the fuel filter located? I have the Toyota repair manual. It shows a pic of the filter, but not where its located. I have one ready to install if that could be the problem.
1997 Rav4 with 185k miles burns some oil. I replaced the PCV valve thinking that may be the issue. That seemed to stop the visible smoke at a cold startup but alas, the problem still persists. We bought the car for a song at 180k so I don't feel I'm out much. The previous owner took incredible care of the car so it is solid in most areas.
I did learn the previous owner followed a dealer recommend oil change interval and changed the filter with every other oil change so this may explain some things.
My real question, if the engine does need a refresh, what is the best option? I've not at all afraid of tackling a major overhaul myself and, in the past, have had pretty good luck with aftermarket rebuilt short blocks. But that was years ago. The dealer cost for a crate motor is outrageous and not justified for a '97 anyway. So at this point, I'm just looking for some advice from others who may have been down this road. Again, the rest of the car is solid and we don't have much money in it at this point so would like to keep it as our 'second' car for awhile.
I have a 1997 Toyota Rav4. 2nd owner. No accidents. Regularly maintained at a mechanic. No issues until this one. I searched the forums looking for an answer, seen similar but not exactly my issue. The car has an intermittent starting problem. This never happens in the morning. It only happens when the car is driven a short distance. When the key is turned to start the car, the engine does not crank. All the electrical comes on. We had the starter rebuilt. I have had it towed to my mechanic five times. Each time, when it is unloaded from the tow truck, it starts right up. We have left it there overnight and all day. They cannot replicate the problem. I drove the car to a friend's house 1 mile from mine and it would not start for 24 hours so I had it towed to the mechanic. Again once it was unloaded it started right up. A couple months ago we did a major service with a timing chain/belt. It did not happen for a couple months. Now twice in a week it has happened. My mechanic will not do anything more until it fails completely.
View 2 RepliesSeveral weeks ago someone backed into my '97 RAV4 in a parking lot. Body shop charged around $900 for the repair (estimate indicates labor for both headlights, but doesn't look like they replaced them). This afternoon one of the low beam headlights burned out. I went to change both sides just to be safe. On both headlight assemblies, grasping the wire assemblies to the low beam bulbs, the headlight assembly on both the left and right side is loose within its housing. I've changed the bulbs in the past, this is something new. Take it back to the body shop? What happened????
View 7 RepliesI recently purchased a 1997 Rav4 (3F-SE Engine) with 162000 miles. Overall, it is a great car. The only problem (besides a clutch, which can wait) is that it hesitates/bucks between 1500-2100 rpm while accelerating. This happens usually on a shift change from 1st to 2nd, or while in 2nd and after decelerating to make a turn. This only happens after the engine has warmed up, i.e. the temp gauge is above 25%. When cold, there is no hesitation at all. It just passed emissions testing. Check engine light is off. I recently replaced the TPS (and adjusted it properly), with no change in symptoms. This car does not have a MAF sensor.
View 8 RepliesOn the way home yesterday I was caught in a deluge. I ended up having to go through one spot where the water was pooled, but not really that deep. Anyways, 45 minutes later I arrive home, park the car, and 15 minutes later the car horn starts blowing constantly. This went on for several minutes, stopped and started a few times, then eventually stopped. Nothing I tried would make it stop, it just eventually stopped on its own. So as not to wake the neighbors last night I pulled the fuse to the horn. With the fuse back in, the horn still works, what caused the problem?
View 5 RepliesI have a 2006 Rav4 and every time I drive my car after it's been sitting for a while there is a very loud noise coming from the rear of the car, the noise usually lasts about 10 to 20 seconds and only happens when I press on the accelerator, and is always when I go forward, never in reverse. The noise is usually louder when it is humid or it is raining.
View 1 RepliesI have a 2006 Rav4 and every time I drive my car after it's been sitting for a while there is a very loud noise coming from the rear of the car, the noise usually lasts about 10 to 20 seconds and only happens when I press on the accelerator, and is always when I go forward, never in reverse. The noise is usually louder when it is humid or it is raining.
View 13 RepliesI had the timing belt, water pump and thermostat replaced on my '97 RAV4. The next morning while braking at a red light I heard a rapidly repeating sound that sounded like metal on metal. The car never made that sound again but now I'm hearing a noise coming from the passenger side of the engine (timing belt side). When the engine is cold I don't hear it. After driving a while its starts, then once the engine warms up it generally goes away (except for this morning which was the coldest morning since this started, temps in the 40s).
I was only hearing the noise when the car was stopped either in drive or reverse (reverse sounded louder) if I lightly let up on the brake pedal (there's no pulsing in the brake pedal). Once under way the sound goes away. This morning it was making the sound virtually every time I came to a stop (once the car warmed up) even with my foot firmly on the brake pedal. I recorded the sound Saturday while standing still with the car in drive and my foot slightly easing up on the brake pedal. The sound starts at the 20:30 mark, what it could be?
Last week I broke the pinion and spider gears in in rear end. Well Im getting a used rear end rather than rebuidling mine. What is the gear ratio on the 97 F150 xlt 4.6l 4x4. I figured they would all be the same but my tag is missing on my diff and I was told by an auto parts store that there were a couple different ones.
View 14 RepliesMy rear-end differential came apart and is not repairable. I have a 1997 F150, 2WD, 4.6L engine, 5 lug wheels. Which years have the same rear ends so I can scour the junk yards for a replacement?
View 4 RepliesAny likely culprits? 2002 F150 (with Triton V8 if that makes a difference).
View 4 RepliesI recently broke my rear shock mount plate, it is rusted to crap. So I need to fix it, I was gonna weld it but there isn't enough metal to weld. It looks like it can bolt in bolt out. I am having trouble find a replacement.
View 3 RepliesI brought my 4runner in to fix a rear axle seal and to see if they could isolate a clunking noise I've been having. They said the clunking was coming from the rear differential (I believe him as that's what I heard, while driving or even just putting it into gear). They have yet to call me back, but any guesses here as to whether it is a bearing (my guess, as it is most pronounced on a bumpy road) or a cracked gear or something else. I've been driving with a clunk for about a week, but have various clunk problems for the last 80k miles ....
View 14 RepliesI just came back from a long trip and during the 400 miles drive I started to hear noise coming from my differential - kind of like a constant high gear loud noise. I will hear this noise when I start to accelerate and it will only gets louder and louder as I go faster and faster. I had a pinion seal leaked fixed last week and I checked the fluid and it is full.
View 9 RepliesMy 1997 4.0 Rear Wheel Drive is making a clicking noise when it is put into gear or when it switches from drive to reverse and vice versa. Sound is coming from the back of van. Does not make noise all the time. Drove 50 miles last night with no problems and minimal clicking. Could it be U-Joints going bad? Or is this a different problem?
View 6 RepliesMy fiance has a 97 Corolla had belt that was located near the engine block on the passenger side going long ways. This belt had a frayed edge since she and I started dating(over 2 years). Whenever asked about it, she said that any dealership or shop she took it to for something else said that it was fine or they didn't think it needed to be worked on/fixed. Alarms for me? Yes, but it's her car. For whatever reason, it hasn't been fixed.
Yesterday, the battery light kept flashing on and off and the steering became hard and sluggish, as if the power steering wasn't working. We got home and I opened it up and the belt was gone except for a few solid strands left.
So, is this the timing belt, or something else? And what is required to fix it?I'm also in the process of hunting down my Haynes book for this car still but wanted to ask the masses that exist here.After finding the book, it looks to be called the serpentine drive belt.