Hey guys I know it's been a while since my last update :roll: :roll: . I have been quite busy working on the car however. At the 8-29 MD. meet Phoenix developed a small oil leak that progressively got worse, more embarrassing and annoying than anything really
. Every time I would stop at a red light you would just see a light stream of smoke coming from the hood vent :x :x . The oil leak was dripping on the mid-pipe and burning, it was quite smelly and made stop and go driving very annoying
issed: . I at first thought the leak was coming from the oil pan seal, due to all the oil that was visible around and on the oil pan itself. So I went to my local Toyota dealership and forked over $20 for a tube of Black FIPG (Form In Place Gasket) it worked like a charm for sealing the oil pan :wink: , but that wasn't the cause of the oil leak at all :doh: :doh: . So I started to look around for other possible sources for this oil leak and remembered that my turbo seal set that I purchased came with two washers that go on the top and bottom of the large oil feed banjo bolt. While taking the entire turbo setup off the car to change these two washers, which by the way is the only way to gain access to the oil feed line banjo bolt
. So I'm removing the turbo and anyone who has done this before knows that you have to remove the large fitting that holds the oil cooler in place, and then I had a eureka moment :shock: :shock: . I thought to myself what if the oil cooler had a bad seal somewhere ah ha, and so I proceed to remove the oil cooler only to find that the tiny bit of coolant that came from the radiator and water lines for the turbo only held a tiny bit of coolant compared to the oil cooler :rofl: :rofl: . There was coolant everywhere I felt terrible
because I pride myself on keeping my little work area as clean as possible :roll: :roll: . To make matters worse there was a lot of coolant that managed to get into the mid-pipe that was detached and just hanging there :doh: :doh: . Once I had the oil cooler removed I found the source of the oil leak. The large gasket at the bottom of the oil cooler was split :doh: . I replaced it and the two washers/gaskets that go at the top and bottom of the large oil feed banjo bolt. I haven't noticed any more smoke or the burning oil smell on the few drives I have taken since I replaced the gaskets :wink: . I also had all four wheel bearings replaced because mine were pretty bad. I did most of the labor myself apart from pressing the old bearings out and pressing new bearings in
. I was told that for the shop to do the bearings it would be $986 that was including my inspection cost of roughly $60 :nono: :nono: . Me being broke :shrug: decided it would be more realistic for me to do the labor myself and purchase the new bearings and seals and let the shop replace the bearings
. For anyone doing this you need all new seals and Toyota sells a front bearing seal kit, but you have to purchase the inner and outer rear bearing seals separately :shrug: :shrug: . I decided while the hubs were at the shop that it would be a good time to replace the outer tie rod ends while I had the hub removed. I picked up a set from Napa for around $35 and they seem to be decent quality, and I needed them badly the old tie rod ends had busted seals and were in pretty bad shape
. There was a bit of a delay in getting the hubs back because I had to wait for the dealership to get the front seal kits in, and just my luck once they did come in 4 days later one was missing a seal
issed:
issed: . It took another 2 days for them to get another one in. So finally I have the hubs back
. I installed the hubs being careful to torque everything to spec. The install wasn't so bad, I just followed the BGB instructions :smokes: . After everything was back together I took Phoenix for a spin to the store, I didn't want to go too far because after getting new bearings, replacing the tie rod ends, and reinstalling all four hubs I'm 100% sure I need an alignment :twisted: :twisted: . I noticed on the short trip that the front drivers side dust shield was rubbing other than that it was smooth and quite
. I honestly didn't realize how loud and worn the old bearings really were :lol: :lol: . My only gripe is that now I can hear every tiny squeak and squeal from the suspension :rofl: . So I get home and park the car pull the emergency brake and SNAP :shock: :shock: :shock: the cable breaks
issed: :x :x . I jack the car up and slide underneath to check were it snapped, and it broke right at the base of the little metal block that attaches to the leveling bar that the rear cables attach to. The cable was so badly rusted that it was only 5 or 6 tiny stands holding the cable to the metal block. The rest was rusted away :shock: :shock: . So needless to say one problem fixed just in time to work on the next problem :doh: :doh: . I ordered a new cable and it should get here in a few days
. Wish me luck that once that is installed nothing else breaks for a little while :bangshead: :rofl: . Here are a few pics of my recent adventures. Thanks for following Project Phoenix guys
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