Another Mot Pass For An Older Girl, But....

[ChrisKaye]

So, after all the maintenance I have done, it was with some trepidation I put Lex in for his MoT today.

Fortunately it passed :)

Now for the "but"!

As much as I dislike the factory fit Bridgestone RE031 tyres, I was recently able to pick up 4 at £45 each (due to stock clear out) and I intended to have these put on at the garage prior to the MoT taking place.

As I want to refurb my alloys, I asked they remove the rubber from my spare and give me the rim back to make life easier.

Rather than wait the quoted 2 hrs for all this, I then went home and a few moments later got a call from the garage saying they advise me not to put new tyres on my rims as they found a lot of corrosion along the bead where the new tyres would fit and were worried my tyres would leak air a lot.

Fortunately my old tyres still have at least 3mm of tread all round and now I'm home, I can confirm the rim is definitely corroded with bubbly aluminium oxide and will need sanding down and respraying & sealing before I can get the new rubber fitted :/ hey-ho!

So, to date (when I bought the car in Feb 2015 for £4250), I have:

Replaced Timing belt, tensioner, water pump and spark plugs (garage did this but I supplied Lex parts & fluids)

Replaced ATF (still have transfer box and rear diff to do)

Replaced Power Steering fluid

Replaced Oil Cooler steel pipes

Refurbed front brakes and pads

Refurbed and fitted offside front air strut and nearside rear strut inc. new stabiliser links (cos I had to cut them off due to rust!)

Drained excess rear diff gear oil (which cured a leak I had)

Used steel "cable ties" to reattach and clamp the rattly heatshield on the pipe branch to the manifold

Fixed the undertrays held on by cable ties back to using stainless steel bolts (that was the worst job, removing broken bolts!)

Replaced the rusted away exhaust back box rear hanger with a steel "cable tie"

Still got a few things to do yet (change all anti roll bar bushes, change the remaining stabiliser links, change brake fluid, diff & transfer oils, service rear brakes, refurb all alloy wheels and fix rear seat cup holder lid (one hinge is broken & rattles)) - but I feel the worst work has been done now! :)

I will have spent around £1000 in total for all the above work, fluids and parts but will be good for several years on all the major items.

I think LPG conversion is next for my Lex unless I can exchange it for an RX400h (but CVT rather than batteries puts me off!)

It has certainly been a journey and a great learning experience - thank you for all the help you've provided along the way.

Chris.

[PCM]

A lot of work (maintenance ) done!

I assume you'll be keeping your car for a while...?

Better the devil you know.

[ChrisKaye]

The original plan was to keep for 3 yrs... I only usually get rid of a car when keeping it on the road becomes economically unviable.

[PCM]

Snap.

Bought mine in March.

3 years is my target. T

hen maybe a 350?

[ChrisKaye]

There's not much I can fault on the RX300, I like the way it drives (relaxed cruiser with loads of space), auto gearbox is good but not the best Toyota box I've driven, interior is comfy apart from usual wear on driver's seat.

Engine and mechanicals seem fine in general, most problems are known/documented issues (90% avoided with routine maintenance).

2nd hand electrical parts are readily available should they be needed.

I think the biggest concern is rust underneath the car (and in the usual places due to water ingress around boot/tailgate) and maybe air strut suspension on the SE-L's.

I next plan to start some longer projects in Easter next year when the weather becomes more consistent, such as rust proofing the bottom.

I am going to strip my removed/old air struts down and figure out how to rebuild with 3rd party components as this is by far the biggest most likely expense. The nearside rear strut definitely had an air leak, the front offside had a failed shock absorber (but the air bag was ok)...

Hence got me thinking, if I like the car and I know it will outlast the 3yr estimate/life I had in mind, the only thing it is really missing for me was some extra fuel economy. I could trade up to a hybrid or as you mention, better the devil you know and try a DIY LPG install as a project....!