cajuncowboy
New member
Hey Y'all,
Wanted to start a new thread 1) to introduce myself and 2) because I've searched through the forum and haven't found answers to a lot of the questions I have about my sh!tbox.
This is a long post, so sorry about that; I'm not sure about a more efficient way to do this, lol.
To preface, I started driving in a 2009 nissan cube, so I only new a CVT in a garbage car. I then went to a 2018 Camry with an 8 speed and a new reliable transmission. My family tends to trade cars around, and a 3rd gen has been my dream car since my junior year of high school (2018, I'm 22 for reference). I bought my 3rd gen just about a year and a half ago. Ended up trading my family's jeep for 10k and found a 2001 SR5 4x4 listed in Georgia for 9.5K. I had no idea what I was getting into mechanically, but I was ready for the adventure. I've been a lurker on the forums since 2018, and I had a general idea about what to look for when buying a 3rd gen and the common problems. I bought it, basical sight-unseen, and just figured this was the best I could get (it was smack-dab in the middle of the height of used car prices amid covid {youch}). There are a few issues I've stumbled upon, but I Think it's important to talk a bit about my use-case first.
I'm a first generation college student with a lot of hobbies, and I spent half my time between Louisiana and Boston for school. So basically, four times a year I make the 1,600 mile trip between the two. I have a lot of things, and I needed the extra space to haul it all (great excuse for a 3rd gen). I pulled the trigger, and I've only had a few issues since which I haven't found specific answers for on T4R.
My plan is to take this bad boy on a hell of an adventure from Maine, to the Gulf Coast, to the West Coast, to the Arctic Ocean in the next year and a half.
I have concerns, and I'm hoping y'all will be able to point me in the right direction as far as DIY and what needs to be done mechanically.
The main issue is that I have a check engine light. I don't exactly remember the code (my code reader broke), but I was getting a code for shift solenoid "b". I figured this was the issue, so I took off my transmission pan and replaced the solenoid. about a week later it came back up. My shifts are clean and smooth (as far as I can tell, and I didn't find anything immediately alarming in the pan). I bought the thing with absolutely no idea what it's history was, but as soon as I looked at the gasket, I realized someone had already been in there. I replaced the solenoid anyway, but the CEL is still there. I've read that maybe some random sensors could throw a code (MAS, O2, Cats, etc...), but I have no idea what to do next. Besides that, my valve-cover gaskets are leaking which seems to be typical. Other than that, I think I'm ready to go as far as mechanical issues for my arctic trip.
I have a few electrical gremlins. The sunroof (the rails and flex shafts are rusted shut as far as I can tell and I have some leaking), and the rear tail gate window and rear wiper and nosel don't work (the rear brake light works and I've re-crimped the wires to try to fix it but no-dice). I'd like to have these fully functioning.
I have no idea what the 4speed is supposed to sound like, but I don't have any mechanical grinding or anything particularly alarming. There is a strange whishing sound that happens under acceleration, but some forums suggest that it may be a heater coil. It's annoying, but not life-threatening as far as I can tell.
Apart from that, things seem to be in decent shape. There's no major rust on the frame (which I plan on coating myself {I don't drive in the snow in the NE}) but I'd like to fix some rust on the body panels (I'm considering a repaint through Maaco or something similar if I don't do it myself).
I think that most of what I've noticed over the past year, but I'm hoping y'all have some tips and pointers to push me in the right direction as far as where I should go next. Being a college student and soon-to-be graduate, I don't have all the time in the world to do all this work myself. I'm hoping to get the most important things done first, maybe at a shop in the Louisiana/Boston/Virginia/anywhere area first, and smaller things done on my own (hopefully keeping everything under 6K). I'm budgeting about $4-10K on all of this, but I have no idea. I'm mechanically competent, but time and space are the limiting factor.
Anyway, sorry again for the long post. I'm excited to be part of the community, and I'm looking forward to any pointers and help.
-cajuncoboy
P.S. I may be posting a video explaining the sounds I'm hearing if that's helpful for any analysis.
Wanted to start a new thread 1) to introduce myself and 2) because I've searched through the forum and haven't found answers to a lot of the questions I have about my sh!tbox.
This is a long post, so sorry about that; I'm not sure about a more efficient way to do this, lol.
To preface, I started driving in a 2009 nissan cube, so I only new a CVT in a garbage car. I then went to a 2018 Camry with an 8 speed and a new reliable transmission. My family tends to trade cars around, and a 3rd gen has been my dream car since my junior year of high school (2018, I'm 22 for reference). I bought my 3rd gen just about a year and a half ago. Ended up trading my family's jeep for 10k and found a 2001 SR5 4x4 listed in Georgia for 9.5K. I had no idea what I was getting into mechanically, but I was ready for the adventure. I've been a lurker on the forums since 2018, and I had a general idea about what to look for when buying a 3rd gen and the common problems. I bought it, basical sight-unseen, and just figured this was the best I could get (it was smack-dab in the middle of the height of used car prices amid covid {youch}). There are a few issues I've stumbled upon, but I Think it's important to talk a bit about my use-case first.
I'm a first generation college student with a lot of hobbies, and I spent half my time between Louisiana and Boston for school. So basically, four times a year I make the 1,600 mile trip between the two. I have a lot of things, and I needed the extra space to haul it all (great excuse for a 3rd gen). I pulled the trigger, and I've only had a few issues since which I haven't found specific answers for on T4R.
My plan is to take this bad boy on a hell of an adventure from Maine, to the Gulf Coast, to the West Coast, to the Arctic Ocean in the next year and a half.
I have concerns, and I'm hoping y'all will be able to point me in the right direction as far as DIY and what needs to be done mechanically.
The main issue is that I have a check engine light. I don't exactly remember the code (my code reader broke), but I was getting a code for shift solenoid "b". I figured this was the issue, so I took off my transmission pan and replaced the solenoid. about a week later it came back up. My shifts are clean and smooth (as far as I can tell, and I didn't find anything immediately alarming in the pan). I bought the thing with absolutely no idea what it's history was, but as soon as I looked at the gasket, I realized someone had already been in there. I replaced the solenoid anyway, but the CEL is still there. I've read that maybe some random sensors could throw a code (MAS, O2, Cats, etc...), but I have no idea what to do next. Besides that, my valve-cover gaskets are leaking which seems to be typical. Other than that, I think I'm ready to go as far as mechanical issues for my arctic trip.
I have a few electrical gremlins. The sunroof (the rails and flex shafts are rusted shut as far as I can tell and I have some leaking), and the rear tail gate window and rear wiper and nosel don't work (the rear brake light works and I've re-crimped the wires to try to fix it but no-dice). I'd like to have these fully functioning.
I have no idea what the 4speed is supposed to sound like, but I don't have any mechanical grinding or anything particularly alarming. There is a strange whishing sound that happens under acceleration, but some forums suggest that it may be a heater coil. It's annoying, but not life-threatening as far as I can tell.
Apart from that, things seem to be in decent shape. There's no major rust on the frame (which I plan on coating myself {I don't drive in the snow in the NE}) but I'd like to fix some rust on the body panels (I'm considering a repaint through Maaco or something similar if I don't do it myself).
I think that most of what I've noticed over the past year, but I'm hoping y'all have some tips and pointers to push me in the right direction as far as where I should go next. Being a college student and soon-to-be graduate, I don't have all the time in the world to do all this work myself. I'm hoping to get the most important things done first, maybe at a shop in the Louisiana/Boston/Virginia/anywhere area first, and smaller things done on my own (hopefully keeping everything under 6K). I'm budgeting about $4-10K on all of this, but I have no idea. I'm mechanically competent, but time and space are the limiting factor.
Anyway, sorry again for the long post. I'm excited to be part of the community, and I'm looking forward to any pointers and help.
-cajuncoboy
P.S. I may be posting a video explaining the sounds I'm hearing if that's helpful for any analysis.
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