jaz

This morning My power antenna made a funny noise and stopped retracting and going up. I pulled it out to see the long white piece with teeth had broken in half. I am wondering how to get the rest out so that I can insert the new antenna, any suggestions? It sounds like the motor is still running.

My bad, It is not the crank seal it is below the crank pulley assembly. I am attaching a picture of it. It is about the size of a .50 cent piece and looks like I need a large allen wrench to remove it. I got the gasket from Toyota today for under $4.00.

My front crank seal has a slow leak. Can I replace this myself or am I better off taking to the shop. It looks like I just need a large allen wrench to take it off. What else is involved?

I went home at lunch and messed around with it and popped the climate control plate off it is about 7" X 7". It exposed the buttons a little more and I was able to pop off the individual buttons exposing the round led light and the tiny rectangular led light beneath it. I was wondering if I would be able to pull it out to replace it. I did not try because I did not want to break anything. It looks like if I had some small tweezers I could just pull the individual light out. I stopped thinking it might be one whole piece for all the buttons. What do you guys think. Another light I think might be out is the manual up and down button for the antenna. Is there a light in there also? I have a 1996 lx450. Thanks!

Some of my lights are burned out as well. How hard was it to take the dash apart? JAZ

The procedure for checking the timing requires jumping the ECU. You need the FSM or Chiltons to know what terminals in the ECU need to be jumped. You can do this with a paperclip. There is no mention of removing any vacuum hoses. You check the spark plug resistance by using an ohm meter. Unplug the wires at the distributor cap and plugs ends and check the resistance across the ends. The resistance will increase as you go from number 1 to number 6 (as the wire lengths increase). As mentioned above, if any are over 25 kiloohms they should be replaced. Chiltons recommends any over 15 Kohms as cause for replacement. My number 6 was 18. I'm still running it. Thanks for the info. Rookie ← ←

The procedure for checking the timing requires jumping the ECU. You need the FSM or Chiltons to know what terminals in the ECU need to be jumped. You can do this with a paperclip. There is no mention of removing any vacuum hoses. You check the spark plug resistance by using an ohm meter. Unplug the wires at the distributor cap and plugs ends and check the resistance across the ends. The resistance will increase as you go from number 1 to number 6 (as the wire lengths increase). As mentioned above, if any are over 25 kiloohms they should be replaced. Chiltons recommends any over 15 Kohms as cause for replacement. My number 6 was 18. I'm still running it. Rookie ←

jaz- I don't quite understand this first question. If you're talking about engine timing, I'm not sure what the connection with vacuum hoses you're asking about. Have you purchased an FSM to know how to short out the ECU when checking/setting timing? Please clarify. Have you tested the resistance on the spark plug wires? If any are above 25kohm, then toyota says to replace. With your mileage, you're probably not to far from going ahead and replacing, if not now then at the next tune-up. Don't know much about the K&N filters. Most discussion I've seen about them recommend staying with OEM. Rookie- On some other vehicles A while back someone had told me I had to disconnect a vacuum hose to get the correct timing reading. I have not yet purchased the FSM but I guess I really need to. How do I test the resisitance on the spark plugs? Rookie ←

I want to do a tune up on my lx450. It looks like it should not be a problem but just wanted to get some pointers. When I time it is there anything I should know, such as vacum hoses and such. I will be replacing spark plugs, distributor cap & Rotor, I am not sure about the wires though. I have 99,000 miles on it now. Also I put on a K&M air filter and it was smaller than the regular air filter, is this okay? Thanks for any input.

I am going to install a Curt bolt on hitch to my lx450, just for a bike carrier. It is supposed to bolt onto the frame; I see one threaded hole but the only other one is in use by tow loops attached to the frame. Do I remove these tow loops to install the hitch in its place? Will I be able to install the tow loops over the pre-drilled hitch. I did not want to alter my car in any way. Any recommendations wether I should do this myself or take it to a shop?

I am just going to change the pads this time. Are their squealers on the pads so that I will know when to change them or do I just need to look at them?

My ac is freezing once I am moving but when I am at a stand still or driving in the city it is not as cool. I do have a pair of small fog lights on my grille guard, could this be obstructing the air flow? I live in Houston so it is very hot and humid. It seems to happen only on the hottest days.

I want to change the brakes on my 1996 lx450. I have done my own on my 93 4runner and 99 passport. Are there any special tools I will be needing? I have read that they are fairly easy to do.