Very impressive job so far!

 

Small update.

I've done a bit of work but mostly forgotten to take photos. I've done the following:

1. Had a new high pressure power steering hose made to fit the 98-00's power steering rack to the 95-97. We will see how it works out.
2. Underbody wash with engine cleaner and a high pressure washer to get rid of 20 years of grime, oil and other fluids. Now it will be easy to pinpoint any leaks.
3. Re-installed and torqued front suspension components.
4. Re-installed steering rack.
5. Re-installed intake manifold after extensive cleaner.
6. Patch a hole in the intake pipe upstream of the MAF.

Still to do is:

1. Clean up the headlights and re-install the headlights
2. Vinyl wrap and re-install the bumper
3. Vinyl wrap the car
4. Make sure everything is up and running properly
5. Registration

Years down the line I will:

1. Strip the car but all the way down to the bone this time
2. Strip of paint
3. CLean up dings
4. Replace bad panels, body moldings, bumper
5. Respray
6. New ICE
7. Engine rebuild
8. New exhaust
9. New air suspension
10. New wheels & tyres
11. Titanium window tint

Seems ambitious but all will hopefully be done in it's own time.


Thanks for reading.


Here are some photos:

It doesn't look like it but the intake is super clean compared to how it looked when it came off.

As soon as I get a bit of cash I want to install the 98-00's windscreen in the 95.

 

She is up and running. Still ironing out a couple of things before I am happy. I have not done the vinyl wrap. I'm not fully happy with the state of the test piece I put on the body molding. It gets dirty quickly and cleaning it is a *****. I'm tempted to just keep the car as it is and enjoy it like this until I can do a respray.

My crazy neighbour whose help on this project has been invaluable. He used to play rugby and comes in handy when something won't move but I want it to.

My sister surveying the whole scene and not afraid to jump in at a moments notice with artistic and even mechanical advice.

Also a pic of the fuel that kept us going.

 

I drove the car a bit this weekend. It feels like a completely different car. feels nice and solid. No more annoying clunks and sounds. She is just ghosting along. Wheel alignment is way out as expected. This will be sorted out.

My drivers side door lock was refusing the key to turn so i took it out and apart. I found that one of the pins would not slide open with the key inserted and it's return spring was missing. I pulled it out and now the lock works. Re-installed it and voila!!

After driving the car around for a bit i went under it to check on the power steering rack. So far, no leaks so I am pretty pleased with that.

We also bled the brakes per lexls tutorial and replaced the nasty old lime green coolant with Toyota "Red" coolant.

 

Decided to have a look at the engine control module. It does not look very healthy around some of the caps. It is time to follow the ECM thread.

 

Good to see your progress. That board is leaking so you might as well take care of it now.

 

I recently obtained some rear air struts from someone. I am thinking of converting back to air but the struts are not 100% ok. When I move them around I can hear something falling around on the inside. Also, they compress and extend with very little resistance. I am now wondering if I can use them to rebuild my leaking air strut.
I have been searching our forum but most people just get rid of them as soon as possible and go for aftermarket air or static setups.
I don't want to abandon the oem struts yet as I cannot afford an aftermarket coilover or air system yet. Shipping to Namibia will break your back.
I wonder if anyone has ever attempted to repair oem struts besides plugging leaks.

 

One of my rear struts had a huge gaping hole so I figured I would cut up the bag and have a look inside.
I searched high and low to see if I could find any cutaway diagrams of the OEM air struts but to no avail.
I have an idea to shorten the OEM struts and install aftermarket bags. This way I can go low and still have the TEMS. I don't know if it is worth the effort but I might want to try it in the future.
The construction of the TEMS strut is more or less straight forward.
I apologise again for the poor photo quality.

 

I did the ECU capacitor fix (posted in the ECU Capacitor thread) and have test driven the car a couple of times.

My fan sometimes runs as soon as I start the car but if you listen past the sound of the fan the engine is purring like an overgrown lion cub. Sweet. I will look at temperature sensors next.

The list of things to fix, upgrade, replace just keeps growing it seems.

 

I have been quiet for a long while now. I have not done much to the car due to financial constraints.
I removed the brake calipers for rebuilding with new seals. I first cleaned them up and gave them a refresh with red engine enamel paint. The photo does not do the colour justice.
I'm not happy with the rust on the pistons so I'm thinking of leaving them in rust remover for a while. I hope it won't affect the surface finish.

 

Rear brakes. Intensive cleaning and then paint.

 

No, I did not die but my heart did break. I have had to abandon my project. The PO was not completely honest with me. The car has absolutely no papers at all and cannot be registered in our country. I am now selling it for scrap. Celsior dreams up in smoke. I regret all the money spent on the project thus far but I have learned a s**tload and am now not afraid to tackle a car and strip it to it's bones.
I will be popping in on the site regularly as I have always done to check out how others are doing.
Peace to the ClubLexus family.

 

Sorry to hear that the PO was not honest. Hopefully you can recoup some money and I least you have more confidence turning a wrench.