Animal's 120 journey - Meet Lilly

[Animal Mother]

Some pics from underneath. Mainly rust free, some caked on dirt. Rear axle could be better but still not too bad.

 

[Karlosfandango]

Mine isn't so different. I'm the eternal pessimist so having seen what a good'un looks like I feel much happier. The bit that looked the worst was under where your spare is, just a lot of surface rust.

 

[Matthew1955]

Looking good AM,are you going to get an underside treatment of some sort done while it is in such good condition ?

 

[Animal Mother]

Looking good AM,are you going to get an underside treatment of some sort done while it is in such good condition ?

Oh yes. I'll coat with ACF50 until I get round to using the treatment that you used.

 

[GeekOKent]

That's pretty good condition.

For anyone looking, there are a lot of 120s about. Just look around and great condition trucks to be found.

 

[Animal Mother]

I took the pressure washer and soap to it today to get familiar with the car. I took the pressure washer to the underside and I'm happy with the condition. Quite a lot of crud under there but no real corrosion. I've found where the mud traps are and the last owner kindly left me about 2kg of soil in them.

It's got a couple of issues. It seems to be using/losing coolant. Not at any great rate, but enough to be a pain. No oil in coolant, no mayonaise in oil, no vapour in exhaust so I think it may be the water pump. No obvious water leaks anywhere. Anyone any pointers/ideas?

MOT which was done the day before I bought it is a load of crap. One brake pad is nearly down the the metal, brake disks should at least be an advisory and the rear wiper blade is shagged.

It has 3 month warranty with the garage where I bought it so I hope they don't piss me about.

Some pics of it clean and at home.

 

[garygiles1963]

looking great.

 

[clivehorridge]

Very smart indeed, and good to see it ok underneath ...

 

[Matthew1955]

Very nice indeed,are they Thule roof bars?

 

[Animal Mother]

Very nice indeed,are they Thule roof bars?

No. Atera. Decent make still.

 

[Naftali Thaithi]

Enjoy it!

 

[Animal Mother]

Well. It's back with the garage I bought it from already!

Firstly, it should have never passed the MOT. It should have been a fail on the front brakes, with at least one caliper seized, causing excess wear on one pad, so the pad was nearly down to the metal. The pads on the other side were low enough to be an advisory.

Secondly, and probably more importantly, it's losing coolant. From where, we don't know, but it can go from full to low in about 45 minutes of continuous driving. Coolant temp is rock solid, no pressure or bubbles in the header tank. It's being diagnosed today.

Unfortunately, having been sold a nail in the past (Surf with cracked head, stat removed, permanently wired fan, etc.) I am overly nervous about this sort of thing.

 

[GeekOKent]

The caliper problem is pretty regular with the 120 at about this milage, Toyota sell a refurb kit ( or it's about £850 for a new pair inc disks & pads ).

Not going to guess at the coolant problem. Hope it's more of a tightening a nut, and not a case of it being burnt.

 

[Chris Boorer]

Very Nice

 

[Animal Mother]

The caliper problem is pretty regular with the 120 at about this milage, Toyota sell a refurb kit ( or it's about £850 for a new pair inc disks & pads ).

Not going to guess at the coolant problem. Hope it's more of a tightening a nut, and not a case of it being burnt.

I hope it's something simple too. It's getting pressure tested today hopefully to try and induce a leak.

 

[Ben Stratford]

Losing coolant is a worry, hope its sorted quickly, but doesnt dound promising AM. With no leak it can only be burning it up?

 

[Animal Mother]

Losing coolant is a worry, hope its sorted quickly, but doesnt dound promising AM. With no leak it can only be burning it up?

Yes. I'm not filled with confidence.

 

[Animal Mother]

Update.

2 new calipers (front) needed and on order.

Will await coolant update this afternoon.

In all fairness, the guy is willing to make good., but I find crap like this highly stressful, so much so that walking away is a distinct possibility.

 

[Ben Stratford]

Mechanicsl Stuff AM is quite easy to repair so stick in there. As its free of rust, you will have a good vehicle once sorted.
A few deep breaths and a fustrating wait then hopefully it will come back good as new

 

[Bhutan]

Mechanicsl Stuff AM is quite easy to repair so stick in there. As its free of rust, you will have a good vehicle once sorted.
A few deep breaths and a fustrating wait then hopefully it will come back good as new

^^ As Ben says, very nice truck AM, hang in there. Let the guys sort it out and you'll have a superb vehicle when all said and done.

Take a chill pill, ask for a loaner vehicle whilst they repair it, leave them to it, and don't accept it back until it's 100%. Their local reputation is on the line, they'll either stump up if they are good to their word, or they won't. You'll soon enough know where you stand!

Maybe look at extended warranties they can sell you... RAC? AA?