m4rkw

Checked again in the morning, no leaks, ran it around a bit up to temperature, still no leaks, I’m calling this a win. 👍

I'd like to remove the footrest on the left to get a bit more legroom as I'm suffering from runner's knee at the moment and keeping my leg bent for periods of time causes a fair bit of pain. Anyone done this and know how hard/easy it is?

Crikey, 180A? What is that protecting by blowing to stop *more than* 180A going elsewhere?

Fuses would be the obvious place to start looking, and get an obd2 code reader.

How do you know the car was low on gearbox oil for a year? If it developed a leak that could have happened at any time, the transmission is normally a sealed unit so there must have been a leak. A proper service will never hurt the transmission but given the damage that has likely resulted from running it without oil I'd be surprised if it helped much.

Ok so I confirmed after a long drive that there was a very slight coolant leak (dabbed tissue turned red), got the torque wrench and set it to 20Nm and tried to turn it but there was very little room to move the handle, I managed to move it a bit but the amount of force felt disconcerting and the torque wrench wasn’t clicking, then because of the limited space I managed to accidentally pull on the connector with the socket and pulled it slightly to one side. I didn’t try turning it anymore because it felt very tight and I was nervous about the torque wrench being off because 20Nm is it’s lowest setting. Drove to euro to get another sensor and checked it again and found that after the tightening it was no longer leaking. So my plan now is to get a second sensor and keep it around just in case but not change it now and go through all that hassle again, the connector moves slightly more than it should in one direction but it works perfectly and the connector is pretty snug, I don’t think there’s any chance of it breaking off. Alls well that ends well I guess! Moral of this story is probably “if you’re going to wrench, buy decent tools”. I still don’t really know if my torque setting is over or under but next time it goes in for a service I’ll ask the garage to check it.

The coolant level isn’t visibility going down and there’s no wet patch under the sensor at least

How far over torque spec can you go before causing damage? Still waiting on a torque wrench, Ive noticed after driving there’s a tiny bit of water on the underside of the nut on the sensor but it’s very slight and could easily be rainwater. No idea if i’m over or under the 20Nm spec

Mine needed front lower control arms at 85k, that was quite an expensive repair at £1120. Hasn't needed much else though, tyres and brakes, rocker cover gasket failed a little while ago but that wasn't expensive. I'm told I will need a new radiator at the next coolant change. If buying one #1 on my list would be looking for evidence of transmission fluid servicing done correctly (including the filter assembly).

Nice 🙂 I have ordered a low-range torque wrench from the bezos empire just to set my mind at ease with the coolant sensor, I'm pretty sure it's on correctly but always best to be sure.

I'm slightly paranoid about the torque on the sensor, doing it up with the rachet it felt loose until the last bit and then less than 1/4 of a turn until it was really tight. I went and checked it again just now and it didn't take much movement at all to become free so I just did it up again about the same. It's not leaking so hopefully tight enough but not too tight. I always over think stuff like this

Success, toyota was still closed today so I got a sensor from euro and swapped it over quickly. A little bit of coolant leaked out but not much, car now runs up to temperature normally and the check engine light is cleared. I checked it carefully for leaks as it came up to temperature and then took it for a drive, seems perfect. Not a bad result for £20 👍

I've watched a few videos and some of them make this look really simple i.e. just do it quickly and you're fine, others suggest draining the coolant out and then bleeding the system when refilling it which seems a lot more complicated. Not sure.

Right, I've found the part number for the coolant temp sensor and the crush washer and located it on the engine block. Am 50/50 between getting the part and doing it myself or booking it in with the garage. It looks easy enough to replace, I'm just not sure how much torque to apply to the bolt, worried about doing it up too tight. Would be handy to get it fixed tomorrow because mum is coming to stay with us, I doubt the garage will have time to look at it this week.

Hmm toylexparts.com appears to be dead, anyone know of an alternative?

It's definitely the coolant temperature sensor, after 3 hours sat to cool down the gauge was still pinned to the red. I drove it a short distance and it dropped back to the bottom and the check engine light came on, so presumably that was the sensor dying. How hard is it to replace? might have a go myself if it's simple

I’m assuming it’s not dangerous to drive it in this state, might lean the mixture out a bit but hopefully not cause any damage

It’s been sat for two hours and the block is cold, temp gauge still points at red. Has to be a bad thermostat

Cheers Steve, I'm hoping the RAC can confirm one way or the other whether the block is actually overheating and then I'll know if it's safe to drive it home or not. Don't really want to chance driving it with the needle on the red. That's if they manage to turn up of course, not really the best day to need a callout! If they don't I guess I'll just have to limp it home and keep an eye on the gauge and stop if it gets near the red again.

Hello friends Seasons greetings! On our way to visit some friends for christmas I saw the temperate gauge high again, this time though there’s no loss of coolant. I kept an eye on it and it seemed to not be too high but then later it got near the red so I pulled over. Both fans are working, no loss of power and no milky residue under the oil cap. My suspicion is a dodgy thermostat which would mean it’s ok to keep going, is there any way I can determine this? Have called the RAC anyway Cheers, Mark

Nah didn't bother

Definitely take it somewhere else. Anyone can turn a bolt, diagnostics is the real skill of auto repair.

Relevant:

Look up the part numbers for a 330 of the same year and spec on toylexparts.com and then look up your own car and see if it’s the same part number, although that alone wouldn’t convince me it was viable as there may be other issues, like other parts of the car that might be different when you have air suspension.

They can be repaired by someone who knows what they're doing, search for upholstery repairs in your local area. I had pretty good results on mine. Don't know if the colours are always the same.