New Gen 3 - Maintenance advice?

[JT_3K]

Hi guys. I've inherited an auto 3.0 gx gen 3 from my grandad - bit of a story tho. He was the Toyota dealer for our local area (UK) since the 60's, bought it in '93 fully loaded (even with in dash CD & changer I think) then sold up and moved to Portugal. Kept it in his garage & never really used it but washed it whenever it went out and would maintain it excessively (like if a bush'd gone, he'd drop the suspension and replace ALL of them).

Long story short it's done 25,000 miles since '93 and I pick it up this weekend. Want to keep it stock as possible but

1. What maintenance would you do pulling a mothballed low mileage gen 3 from a decent temp/humidity environment. Thinking oil/trans fluid/coolant
2. Can someone confirm the front speaker size? Half this forum seems to think it's 4'' (will take 5.15'') but the other half and Crutchfield think 6.5''? I will check when I get it but would like a heads up.
3. Can someone confirm that 17x7, 5x114.2, 38-42mm offset wheels with 205/45's will not rub on a V6, with or without a 2'' drop? I have read all 20 pages of the wheel thread and researched but nobody seems to stand up and say yes or no..

Your help is much appreciated

[bigbird]

Originally Posted by JT_3K

Hi guys. I've inherited an auto 3.0 gx gen 3 from my grandad - bit of a story tho. He was the Toyota dealer for our local area (UK) since the 60's, bought it in '93 fully loaded (even with in dash CD & changer I think) then sold up and moved to Portugal. Kept it in his garage & never really used it but washed it whenever it went out and would maintain it excessively (like if a bush'd gone, he'd drop the suspension and replace ALL of them).

Long story short it's done 25,000 miles since '93 and I pick it up this weekend. Want to keep it stock as possible but

1. What maintenance would you do pulling a mothballed low mileage gen 3 from a decent temp/humidity environment. Thinking oil/trans fluid/coolant
2. Can someone confirm the front speaker size? Half this forum seems to think it's 4'' (will take 5.15'') but the other half and Crutchfield think 6.5''? I will check when I get it but would like a heads up.
3. Can someone confirm that 17x7, 5x114.2, 38-42mm offset wheels with 205/45's will not rub on a V6, with or without a 2'' drop? I have read all 20 pages of the wheel thread and researched but nobody seems to stand up and say yes or no..

Your help is much appreciated

1. first check the car's fluids for condition...all of them, change what ever looks old other then the oil, that should definatly be changed.
2. they definatly are not 4". i have 6.5s in mine and they look stock to me.
3. yes...they will fit with little rubbing issues. if you drop a whole 2" inches you may rist rubbing a little around corners and tight turns. but it wouldnt be real bad.

[the_professional]

Pics!

I would try to get the car on a lift, if not possible just put her on jacks. Inspect everything on the undercarriage, you shouldn't run into much but it's good to check, as the car has been relatively inactive for it's entire life time.
Of course I would recommend new rubber, but since your getting rims, that will come with the rims.
Personally I would flush the coolant. Antifreeze should be flushed, you never know what kind of rust and other deposits may come of the stagnant antifreeze. If your radiator hoses are in good shape, you can keep 'em. Your Transmission fluid should be fine, like bird said check the condition of the fluids. Check the condition of your belts.
& personally I would flush all fluids, just to have peace of mind.

& yes, 6.5"s in the door, 6x9" in the rear deck, atleast USDM do, honestly not sure on EDM

[carsrus]

Check all the rubber components for dry rot. Especially the hoses in the engine. If anything looks iffy replace it, hose is cheap and easy to change.

Even though its been garaged, check the condition of the brake lines etc.

Other than that, take it for a nice long drive and "blow it out"

[JT_3K]

Thanks guys. I'm already loving the forum, coming from the E30 world it's great to see such a following, especially when after gen 3, they didn't really bother with gen 4 over here and I don't even think we got the gen 5.

Not got it yet (it's been dropped off up north at my parents after coming back into the country and it's going for an MOT) but it turns out that he'd used it to drive down to Morocco a lot last year and it's actually 70,000 mile - sorry for the misrepresentation. Having said that I'll still go through it with a fine tooth comb. I think it's got a single slot dash CD and a changer (although I could be wrong).

Other than that, take it for a nice long drive and "blow it out"

Will do, although it's just been run from the south of Portugal to the north of the UK on my behalf.

My list as of yet is
* cambelt
* spark plugs
* oil/filter
* R134a
* gearbox ATF
* diff (ATF)
* transmission pan drop and the strainer replaced/fluid flushed and magnets cleaned (was used for towing early on)
* Coolant
* Power steering fluid
* Brake discs/pads (if req'd & lines)
* Brake fluid
* Fuel filter
* Check all hoses, bushes & exhaust for fatigue
* Leather food

Still, thanks to all for actually offering some solid answers! If I do actually get on to it, I'll be doing:
* 17x7s with a small drop
* All dash/console bulbs replaced (great how-to)
* Factory speakers replaced
* HID/Clear headlamps (great how-tos)
* Adding pre-outs to factory tape deck (with some luck) & amp - I'll create a how-to if I can do this
* Creating an iPod line-in on the factory deck - more confident about this one I'll create a how-to for this too

Pics!

Yep - Pics or it didn't happen/ban...

[bigbird]

Originally Posted by carsrus

Check all the rubber components for dry rot. Especially the hoses in the engine. If anything looks iffy replace it, hose is cheap and easy to change.

Even though its been garaged, check the condition of the brake lines etc.

Other than that, take it for a nice long drive and "blow it out"

thats a real good point. definatly check the suspension for its condition as well as teh brake lines.

[SoulTaker]

Originally Posted by JT_3K

3. Can someone confirm that 17x7, 5x114.2, 38-42mm offset wheels with 205/45's will not rub on a V6, with or without a 2'' drop? I have read all 20 pages of the wheel thread and researched but nobody seems to stand up and say yes or no...

215 45 17
215 50 17

will not rub with that drop...

[SoulTaker]

25000 miles V6, this car has potentials.

[JT_3K]

25000 miles V6, this car has potentials.

Hey, sorry about that - turns out he's used it to disappear to Morocco a few too many times and drive around Europe a bit - it's 75,000

I'll try and get some good pics and start a record but unfortunately it's raining on and off here (and it's raining equal parts volcanic ash and water)

Anyone got any suggestions on leather food?

[JT_3K]

Got some pics!












Notice anything? The tow hitch and the lack of ever having the trans fluid concerns me - it did tow a caravan a fair bit.

I did say that it was stock with all the toys. The tow hitch was from a Toyota supplier, the extras in the boot are unused and the dash wood was the approved one I believe. Also got the headlight washers.

Anyone know when the heated mirrors were introduced and how I check if they're on this?

[Bankos66]

Its so clean unlike mine and I am positive that the speaker size is 6.5" in the doors and on the back. You can do so much do that car and it will be very nice

[JT_3K]

Cheers man. I don't think I've got the heart to do anything too radical but we'll see how it goes.