One ****ing thing after another.

[mechagouki]

So i drop my new 1st gen. Off at my long time mechanic for it's safety on friday, he calls me later and says basically the truck is a mess, he can't fix the parking brake and he's passing it on to his father who is better with older vehicles.

His father has the truck for three days, say he can't getbthe part he needs, and doesn't want to fix the other stuff on the truck, says it needs all kinds of things to pass safety...

I pick upmthe truck, which was driving fine on friday and it feels wrong immediately, the steering is crazy heavy past a half turn in either direction, there's a funny noise from under the hood and the battery and brake lights keep flickering on and off, WTF.

I bring it back to the second mechanic and we look under the hood, the drivebelt you can see behind the radiator is covered in some kind of fluid - brownish black in colour - clearly not engine oil. This guy fiddles around, retensions the belts and still no power steering, tells me he cant fix it, doesnt have the parts or some such BS and tells me tomtake my truck.

I take it back to the first guy and leave it on his lot, now I dont know whatbthe **** to do, the truck and the body repairs have already cost me $3500 and it's basically unusable at the moment, dont know where to go fromhere, should i cut my losses and sell it as a parts truck, or put more $$$ into trying to fix what's wrong?

I'd do the work myself except i have no place to work on the truck, and my tools are in the UK (long story). It's just a ****ing nightmare to be honest, wish i'd spent an extra 1-2 grand and got a clean 3rd gen.

 

[T?@\7]

Damn brother..... sorry to hear of your misfortunes. What was the truck like when you got it and how much $, what kind of shape. Sounds very frustrating, do you have any toyo specific mechs around?? 'Can't get the parts'?? I mean cmon REALLY...that sounds like lazy more than anything to me.
A lot of parts can be found on the boards for GOOD prices or ebay. Idk brother give us some more info, let it out!! :gun5:
After spending that cash, I think keep...... BEST OF LUCK

The WOO

 

[hellsbells]

They sound like a couple of dou*#bags, Locate the parts yourself and find a real mechanic

 

[KidVermicious]

So i drop my new 1st gen. Off at my long time mechanic for it's safety on friday, he calls me later and says basically the truck is a mess, he can't fix the parking brake and he's passing it on to his father who is better with older vehicles.

His father has the truck for three days, say he can't getbthe part he needs, and doesn't want to fix the other stuff on the truck, says it needs all kinds of things to pass safety...

I pick upmthe truck, which was driving fine on friday and it feels wrong immediately, the steering is crazy heavy past a half turn in either direction, there's a funny noise from under the hood and the battery and brake lights keep flickering on and off, WTF.

I bring it back to the second mechanic and we look under the hood, the drivebelt you can see behind the radiator is covered in some kind of fluid - brownish black in colour - clearly not engine oil. This guy fiddles around, retensions the belts and still no power steering, tells me he cant fix it, doesnt have the parts or some such BS and tells me tomtake my truck.

I take it back to the first guy and leave it on his lot, now I dont know whatbthe **** to do, the truck and the body repairs have already cost me $3500 and it's basically unusable at the moment, dont know where to go fromhere, should i cut my losses and sell it as a parts truck, or put more $$$ into trying to fix what's wrong?

I'd do the work myself except i have no place to work on the truck, and my tools are in the UK (long story). It's just a ****ing nightmare to be honest, wish i'd spent an extra 1-2 grand and got a clean 3rd gen.

22RE, right? If not, ignore me. The flickering brake and battery lights are the truck telling you something is up with the alternator or the alternater belt. The wacky steering says something is up with your PS pump. Those two items, plus nasty not-oil all over your belts, tells me your PS pump is spewing all over the front of your rig, and causing your belts to slip.

You might be able to spot it yourself - change all your belts and clean up the front end real good, then top off your PS fluid, and fire up the truck and have somebody crank the wheel while you watch the pump. If it's that bad a mess, and happened that fast, you'll probably be able to see it spewing.

I'm no mechanic but that's what I'd look for first, anyway. Don't pitch the truck over this, at least not until you know for sure what's wrong with it. And if you drive it much while it's doing this, stick your battery on a trickle charger because it's probably not getting a full charge from the alternator.

 

[the_dingman]

Anyone claiming that they can't get parts for your truck is an idiot. Most major parts are available from ANY auto parts store, and anything special is available from Toyota. Find a new mechanic.

 

[SwiftRunner]

A few years ago I had that same kind of trouble with a garage owner. He made a half assed effort to find the right part for my '89 Riv and told me he couldn't find them. At that point you have to take the initiative yourself and find the parts. I did. A lot of guys don't want your twenty year old ****box, anymore than I want to read your unedited posts filled with typos. If you want the job done right, do it yourself!!!!

 

[mechagouki]

I paid $2500 and tax for the truck. Body repairs have cost me $600 so i'm going to be hurting if I can't get it fixed. There are virtually new BFG 31s on the trck, i might get $800 for those on the rims if I'm very lucky, as for the rest of the truck, maybe $500 if i can find someone who will take it without wheels.

The guy i initially took the truck to has been my mechanic for about 5 years, he manily does VW/Audi and Honda, but he worked on my old 2nd gen and i was happy with the work. His father i know nothing about, but he sent the vehicle to him while i was out of town, i was skeptical about the cant get parts argument, but what can you do, i can't force him to work on it.

How much will it likely cost me to get a new power steering pump fitted? Will i likely be able to get this done anywhere?

They also tell me i need shocks, i know that's a simple job if you have the tools, but i dont, so what should i be lookiing to pay to have that done?

 

[slacker]

sounds to me like the "fluid" on the belt is power steering fluid .. and would also be the cause of the pump not working . the pump should have ATF/ dextron II not P/S fluid . if this is correct , then just drain and replace fluid .. I run into this all the time in my shop .

as mentioned above .. parts for these rigs are abundant .. I wouldnt even consider taking my truck back to those "installers" take some phone time , and shop around for some whom knows toyota trucks .. there people out there


.

 

[TOY2G]

call PSC Motorsports in Azle TX PSC Motorsports Online ask for lance, tell him you need a retrofit PS kit for you T4R. cost less than parts house and works much better.

 

[mechagouki]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Yeah, I am really pissed at the lame behaviour of my mechanic. I posted this problem up on a local forum and sevral people suggested the same guy who is quite local to me, so hopefully he can help me out.