With the age and miles, struts could be in the near future, maybe timing belt, if it hasn't been done on time, possible sludging if it didn't have on time oil changes.

 

Howdy, welcome to the club.

 

Rear bearings and brakes and fluids

I just brought a 98 XL, The calipers were hanging up after brake pads were installed, so i need to replace the calipers all around to get the brakes to stop dragging. Plus I get to flush all the DOT 3 out and bleed the brakes.

The rear axle bearings are making noise , so i am getting the parts to replace them , NAPA had them as cheap a price as any and deliver quick. Even though they are tight and show no wheel shake, the bearing did not turn well when I checked them with the brake rotors off, one side turned stiff and one side made some noise and sounded dry. There is a thread on how to do it on the Toyota Nation site and it seems easy to do!

While I'm in the area , I am replacing the parking brake shoes as the shoes are thin .

Last on the list is a new set a Michelin Defenders

I have drained the auto trans and differential and refilled the pan so as to slowly exchange the ATF. I have been told to gradually do it 3 qts at a time so as not to "shock" the trans with a complete exchange, so far I have done it twice and the trans is working very well and smoothly. You re fill both through the ATF dip stick tube. I always measure what came out , so I have an idea on how much to put back in. there is a drain plug for the trans and differential, both use a 10mm allen wrench. The diff has a small magnet in the plug so you can see the metal debris if there is any present.
Dextron 3/ Mercron ATF is available at wal- mart for approx 11$ a gallon.

Cleaning the battery connections and the motor ground is always a good idea. The car is shaping up nicely and responding well .. Carl H

 

Highjack much? lol

I just brought a 98 XL, The calipers were hanging up after brake pads were installed, so i need to replace the calipers all around to get the brakes to stop dragging. Plus I get to flush all the DOT 3 out and bleed the brakes.

The rear axle bearings are making noise , so i am getting the parts to replace them , NAPA had them as cheap a price as any and deliver quick. Even though they are tight and show no wheel shake, the bearing did not turn well when I checked them with the brake rotors off, one side turned stiff and one side made some noise and sounded dry. There is a thread on how to do it on the Toyota Nation site and it seems easy to do!

While I'm in the area , I am replacing the parking brake shoes as the shoes are thin .

Last on the list is a new set a Michelin Defenders

I have drained the auto trans and differential and refilled the pan so as to slowly exchange the ATF. I have been told to gradually do it 3 qts at a time so as not to "shock" the trans with a complete exchange, so far I have done it twice and the trans is working very well and smoothly. You re fill both through the ATF dip stick tube. I always measure what came out , so I have an idea on how much to put back in. there is a drain plug for the trans and differential, both use a 10mm allen wrench. The diff has a small magnet in the plug so you can see the metal debris if there is any present.
Dextron 3/ Mercron ATF is available at wal- mart for approx 11$ a gallon.

Cleaning the battery connections and the motor ground is always a good idea. The car is shaping up nicely and responding well .. Carl H

 

Alright so I am going to go pick this car up this weekend, very stoked.

 

We had our 97 Avalon from new to 60k miles, let a relative use it until 96k and then got it back. Now have 125k.

In our second ownership it has been very reliable. It did require a new starter and valve cover gaskets for leaks. Also had to replace a window regulator and have another likely going out (you will likely break the window switch bezel when removing - $37). Other than that, just little things like hood struts, the door jamb sensor, the latch on the center console lid (which cost a crazy high $28).

These engines have a sludge problem as stated. So either use synthetic, or change the oil regularly at 3k miles or so.

1st go round, and at relatives: Car had a strut design issue. New struts at 40k and 76k. May have been redesigned? Also had power steering rack replaced at 70 and ignition at 76.

Great car. We have a little ding and will probably get it fixed as my kid expects to use the car at least another three years if not longer.

 

Well I got the car on Friday, Saturday morning loaded up and drove back to Houston. 987 miles, returned on average 26 or so mpg (I haven't done the final math). I took a few pictures and will upload them here once I move them over to photobucket.
Did these have various trim levels? This one is an Avalon XL, where does that rank?
For all the doomsaying from my aunt who gave it to me and my uncle who looked it over and gave it the OK, I was prepared for one wreck of a car, quite literally. Instead it needs a new front and rear bumper cover, possible driver's door replacement and other than a few small bumps & dings the car is in great shape. The CEL is on, also so we will get that read sometime today. The only things which we have discovered that don't work (and we pushed every button in the dammed thing) is the visor lights and the license plate light the latter of which was helpfully pointed out to me by a Texas State Trooper at about 11:00pm last night. Oh and one of the alloy rims is in pretty bad shape, she must have really raked that hard on something as the bead is ground off in two spots although it still holds air.
Thanks for the feedback anyone.

 

As far as I know, there were two trim levels, XL and XLS. I've never seen an LE or a DX or a CE. I don't know what the differences are between an XL and the XLS. There are online sources for that info, but they get stuff wrong so often I don't trust them.

 

Got the codes read,
PO446: Evaporative Emissions System Vent Control
PO135: B1 S1 O2 sensor
Searching on this forum it appears the PO135 is fairly common, I dealt with a couple O2 sensor replacements on my old Merc. C280 so this is old hat. I have not dealt with the PO446 code before, could this be related to the O2 sensor problem? This car will not pass inspection in Texas w/ the CEL illuminated so I need to get these fixed & cleared post haste.
Also replaced the license plate light, I am impressed with the little "pop" fasteners they used to hold the hood liner in place. Simple, reusable and large enough to get your fingers on. Why don't more manufacturer's use things like this?

 

Definitely only two trim levels: http://www.edmunds.com/toyota/avalon/1997/

I googled P0446, thinking it might just be a gas cap, but found this: http://repairpal.com/replace-evap-canister-to-correct-evap-system-problems-237

Here are a few links related to the issue:
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/1.../154-1st-generation-1995-1999/83075-code-p0441-p0446-evap-help-1998-avalon.html
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r26405788-P0446-1998-Toyota-Avalon

Hope that Trooper was friendly. They can ticket you for no license plate light.

 

 

Looking at the pictures of my car, what is the name of this color/what is the color code? I need a replacement passenger side mirror and there are lots of them available, in all the different shades of beige. I think it is called Moonbeam Mist or some silly shit like that.
Help?

 

FWIW I have still not addressed the trouble codes on this car. While walking my dogs a few weeks back my wife and I found a private shop in a nearby neighborhood (unincorporated Houston has some surprising finds) who does state inspections. So we drove our jeep over there and got to talking about the Avalon trouble codes. He offered to hook it up to his diagnostic computer for free and give me a more precise analysis of what is going on.

 

Getting back to this. Two trouble codes, P0135 bank one sensor one, I am looking at the denso homepage and am not sure which of the three oxygen sensors I need to order.
Help?

 

You need an "upstream" sensor. But you need to know if your car has CA emissions or not. Best way to know is to look at the emissions equipment label. I think it's on the firewall, but it may be on the underside of the hood. See where this one says: "SFI, EGR, 2A/F S, 2WU-TWC, TWC, HO2S"? The 2A/F means it has CA emissions, and has air/fuel sensors. If it said 2HO2S in that position, it takes O2 sensors.

 

Thanks. This is a two owner car, both of whom were little old ladies in Kentucky. Dealer decal on the back is KY also. Should be good to go with an O2.

 

Just remembered something that I keep forgetting. Toyotas with A/F sensors throw a Toyota-unique code. P1135 instead of P0135. So yes, yours has O2 sensors.


Sent from AutoGuide.com App

 

Alright, ordered the oxygen sensor on amazon. $52 and change, the local Advance Auto wanted double that. I can wait a few days for that kind of money.

 

Alright, well my denso O2 sensor showed up from Amazon last night, and I have read through the procedure for testing the various components in the evap canister/VSV assembly. This weekend its kill or be killed against the check engine light.

 

Well so far I have sprayed some penetrating oil on the O2 sensor and have been working on the evap problem. Looks like the VSV had a cracked port on it, and the two lines weren't in such great shape so I am waiting to head back up to NAPA to pick up replacements.

 

Swapped out the O2 sensor which was easy as could be, other than a scraped forearm. I did break down and buy the offset split 22mm socket and it was useful so I'd say it was worth the $6 I spent on it. Still waiting to pick up the replacement VSV.

 

After all that, the VSV at NAPA was the wrong one. Close, but the ports were the wrong size and once you plug it in, you cannot bring it back. I guess I am going to wait until tomorrow and go to a Toyota dealership for an OEM one. Probably pay more, but I need to get the CEL cleared in the next few days so I can pass inspection.

 

Genuine toyota parts installed, and I was right I paid roughly double for it vs what I found online. But it's already in, and I disconnected the battery so we'll see if the CEL comes back on when I drive to work to tomorrow.

 

Success! The CEL cleared and did not return, and when I took it back to retest for the state inspection there were no pending codes.

 

Excellent! Glad to hear you got 'er fixed. And thanks for coming back and posting it.

 

Look on the driver's door jamb for a label like shown below. On this example, 1C0 is the paint code. Then Google that code.

 

Awesome, thanks.

 

Here are the colors and color codes. http://www.toyotareference.com/avalon/1995-1999