The Things We Do For Love!

October 15, 2009

Hi all well my better half became the proud owner of 1996 Rav4 Edge in purple back in Feb of this year...Joined the forum then but the Damn thing has kept me so busy had no time to post! It all started with an ad in Autotrader when she spotted a 3Door Rav in her fave colour ...PURPLE! Did all the things you shoul,nt by viewing at night ,traveling 45 miles to see it, let the Mrs take the money!! It looked ok but a little neglected,tyres shot,exhaust blowing ,no service history,and less than honest about how clean the interior was...It was up for £1400 with 79,000 on the clock...I was walking away but the seller seemed confused about my lack of enthusiasm so after a quick tot up of cost to put right Bid £900 and he said Ok ..??? So with a smile on her face the better half drove her new wheels home and soon after it began...New Discs & pads and back plates removed because most of them rotted away,full service inc Filters,plugs,leads,replace antifreeze,alt and power steering belts,headlamp bulbs, cambelt kit but RH engine mount had captive nut spinning so had to leave it on and work around it,new exhaust from cat back,4 new tyres,repair wiring to cd player as prev owner butchered the harness,alarm and remote fob packed up after 4 weeks,no rear wash nozzle as they had neglected to say she had bumped the rear and had it repaired without putting the nozzle back in but they did leave the pipe there so water from the washer bottle could leak into the rear door so had to fit new nozzle,had to repair the filler pipe as the 1st time we filled it petrol leaked out all over your shoes,rear wheel cylinders replaced as they were leaking,Discovered more accident damage on o/s/f wing,headlamp filled up with water after the first week,had to valet the car to get rid of !Removed! stench,changed diff and gearbox/transf box oil....Front screen needs replacing as in strong sunlight you can see the scars left by some fool using a grinder on or near the car and the hot metal filings have embedded themselves into it..!! Tends to go through wipers blades quite quickly too.. :huh: We did manage a quiet period through the last few months until a couple of weeks ago noticed the filler leaking again so decided to replace it and still recovering from the price .. :wacko: The worst was still to come...when I removed the filler I discovered the rear inner arches were rotten!! :crybaby: :eek: No one does repair panels so has to make some and weld them in then spent 3 days with all the interior panels out while I waxoiled all the inside arches & panels,inner sills,spent an evening underneath with a wire brush fetching off loose rust before waxoiling underneath,managed to use one and a half gallons of the stuff :crazy: ...It did manage to pass its MOT last week with an advise on slightly high emissions so got to investigate that ,poss lambda sensor? does have an annoying miss low down when you labour the motor say out of a roundabout but just does it the once.Treated it to a towbar aswell .....you can whistle the bar on ..great ! !Removed! wiring it is a different story so downed tools this evening and hit the vodka and will tackle that when I am feeling less inclined to burn Christine (as the purple abomination is affectionately known!)...So is she a happy Rav owner ??...Hell yes :blink: ....she see,s the happy side of motoring in it,from my point it has made a happy man very old :censor: ...In all honesty we just got a neglected example,it is great on fuel,sure footed in the dry and wet which is comforting as she travels a bit with her work and has its own shower!! ...Keeps leaving the sunroof open slightly so when I pull it out of the drive in the mornings it soaks me...you know I swear I can hear it giggle sometimes!..The biggest thing is there is no way that the love of my life will go back to a normal car so it looks like I am going to have take onboard what I have learned and purchase another for her when Christine finaly cries enough :unsure: After all this I can still recommend the 4.1 Rav as a great all rounder , parts are reasonably cheap and they are on the whole easy enough to maintain ...You do as a male though have to be comfortable with your sexuality to drive around in a purple rav with a yellow and pink daisy on the rear door :blush: thankfully my ride is a 1987 Skoda estelle 105 ............... did someone snigger then?? :g:

October 15, 2009

Hi all well my better half became the proud owner of 1996 Rav4 Edge in purple back in Feb of this year...Joined the forum then but the Damn thing has kept me so busy had no time to post! It all started with an ad in Autotrader when she spotted a 3Door Rav in her fave colour ...PURPLE! Did all the things you shoul,nt by viewing at night ,traveling 45 miles to see it, let the Mrs take the money!! It looked ok but a little neglected,tyres shot,exhaust blowing ,no service history,and less than honest about how clean the interior was...It was up for £1400 with 79,000 on the clock...I was walking away but the seller seemed confused about my lack of enthusiasm so after a quick tot up of cost to put right Bid £900 and he said Ok ..??? So with a smile on her face the better half drove her new wheels home and soon after it began...New Discs & pads and back plates removed because most of them rotted away,full service inc Filters,plugs,leads,replace antifreeze,alt and power steering belts,headlamp bulbs, cambelt kit but RH engine mount had captive nut spinning so had to leave it on and work around it,new exhaust from cat back,4 new tyres,repair wiring to cd player as prev owner butchered the harness,alarm and remote fob packed up after 4 weeks,no rear wash nozzle as they had neglected to say she had bumped the rear and had it repaired without putting the nozzle back in but they did leave the pipe there so water from the washer bottle could leak into the rear door so had to fit new nozzle,had to repair the filler pipe as the 1st time we filled it petrol leaked out all over your shoes,rear wheel cylinders replaced as they were leaking,Discovered more accident damage on o/s/f wing,headlamp filled up with water after the first week,had to valet the car to get rid of fag stench,changed diff and gearbox/transf box oil....Front screen needs replacing as in strong sunlight you can see the scars left by some fool using a grinder on or near the car and the hot metal filings have embedded themselves into it..!! Tends to go through wipers blades quite quickly too.. We did manage a quiet period through the last few months until a couple of weeks ago noticed the filler leaking again so decided to replace it and still recovering from the price .. The worst was still to come...when I removed the filler I discovered the rear inner arches were rotten!! No one does repair panels so has to make some and weld them in then spent 3 days with all the interior panels out while I waxoiled all the inside arches & panels,inner sills,spent an evening underneath with a wire brush fetching off loose rust before waxoiling underneath,managed to use one and a half gallons of the stuff ...It did manage to pass its MOT last week with an advise on slightly high emissions so got to investigate that ,poss lambda sensor? does have an annoying miss low down when you labour the motor say out of a roundabout but just does it the once.Treated it to a towbar aswell .....you can whistle the bar on ..great ! Bloody wiring it is a different story so downed tools this evening and hit the vodka and will tackle that when I am feeling less inclined to burn Christine (as the purple abomination is affectionately known!)...So is she a happy Rav owner ??...Hell yes ....she see,s the happy side of motoring in it,from my point it has made a happy man very old :censor: ...In all honesty we just got a neglected example,it is great on fuel,sure footed in the dry and wet which is comforting as she travels a bit with her work and has its own shower!! ...Keeps leaving the sunroof open slightly so when I pull it out of the drive in the mornings it soaks me...you know I swear I can hear it giggle sometimes!..The biggest thing is there is no way that the love of my life will go back to a normal car so it looks like I am going to have take onboard what I have learned and purchase another for her when Christine finaly cries enough After all this I can still recommend the 4.1 Rav as a great all rounder , parts are reasonably cheap and they are on the whole easy enough to maintain ...You do as a male though have to be comfortable with your sexuality to drive around in a purple rav with a yellow and pink daisy on the rear door thankfully my ride is a 1987 Skoda estelle 105 ............... did someone snigger then??

Well Downton, welcome I think you should be the first person on this Forum to go straight from being a new member to a Guru member, as you seem to have had more experience of Rav ownership in 7mth than most of us have had in several years.. and come out of it sounding like you have enjoyed it, I don't think anyone on here will be able to give you much advice about buying a new Rav as it would appear that you have experienced every possible problem first hand...and it is us that will be seeking your help, although if I were you i would definitely steer clear of purple Ravs with yellow + pink daisies.a very entertaining + amusing post.. :thumbsup: Stew

October 16, 2009

Good one and interesting - part cos I've done much the same with the RAV I bought new in 1994 !! Apart from the inner wings.

As you found out, the filler pipe to the petrol tank is a crazy expensive pipe 'protected' by a plastic shroud which was never sealed against the elements hence it colected silt etc to allow the breather pipe first to dissolve, and then the filler pipe. I replaced both by using fuel grade plastic hose reinforced... however altho it was a cheap fix (the supplier gave it to me for nothing as it was offcuts) the rest of it is failing.

You seem to have pretty much everything that I would have expected, - did you waxoyl around the front footwells? They corrode as well but you can access the channel running below through grommets to treat there. Its quite a low mileage car but I'd expect the suspension bushes worn at around 80,000 miles.

On the 3SFE engine, I'd maybe get it checked by an engine tuner.. preferably a Jap car specialist. (No, not a Toyota dealer - I said Jap car specialist)

The back plates/muck shield disintegrated on my number 1 RAV (I have 2 1994 models) and I just removed the remains and never replaced them.

On the vodka angle, I use whisky. Same effect probably!

As regards it being a ladies car, the 4.1 is no slouch when it comes to performance and will out-run a good few cars at the lights.

Case you haven't read, both my RAVs have turbo engines now, and number 1 is up at a stage 2/3 race spec. On the drag strip few will race against me as being beaten by a RAV4 destroys their street cred!! I might even be able to give the subarus a run when we get the new metallic clutch fitted next week - I incinerated the uprated clutch on my last visit to the drag strip..... something about launching at 6000 revs?

Enjoy the car - you've done pretty much everything which I would expect to go !

October 18, 2009

Thanks for that guys! Figured I better be upbeat about the Rav incase the Mrs ever read the thread ;) ! Just got to wire the towbar next week ,we just been away for the weekend and as ever the purple wonder performed excellently..Thats the frustrating thing about the escapade , once sorted they are so Damn good!.Since Feb we have still managed to put nearly 8,000 miles on it and it was laid up for month as the prev owner never sent the V5 off so we had to apply but thats another story!..MR Bothwell_buyer sounds like you need that whisky!! :o have to admit from day one I noticed the potential of the Rav and thought about a few tweeks but sadly its Debs car and she wont let me! Have you any youtube vids of your Rav on the strip ? Love to see that in action,what a giggle that must be away from the lights on a friday evening :crazy: Dont get online much as I always seem to be busy....since hitting 45 the days seem so much shorter :( but will make an effort to find your thread and read about your crazy Ravs..! Got a fairly hefty BHP Renault 5GT Turbo in one of the garages with a new Hybrid Turbo,in car electronic boost controler.....Hmmmm I wonder? :g: ...Nope I am an honest guy and I will level with you ...She Scares me !!

October 18, 2009

Thanks for that guys! Figured I better be upbeat about the Rav incase the Mrs ever read the thread ;) ! Just got to wire the towbar next week ,we just been away for the weekend and as ever the purple wonder performed excellently..Thats the frustrating thing about the escapade , once sorted they are so Damn good!.Since Feb we have still managed to put nearly 8,000 miles on it and it was laid up for month as the prev owner never sent the V5 off so we had to apply but thats another story!..MR Bothwell_buyer sounds like you need that whisky!! :o have to admit from day one I noticed the potential of the Rav and thought about a few tweeks but sadly its Debs car and she wont let me! Have you any youtube vids of your Rav on the strip ? Love to see that in action,what a giggle that must be away from the lights on a friday evening Dont get online much as I always seem to be busy....since hitting 45 the days seem so much shorter :( but will make an effort to find your thread and read about your crazy Ravs..! Got a fairly hefty BHP Renault 5GT Turbo in one of the garages with a new Hybrid Turbo,in car electronic boost controler.....Hmmmm I wonder? ...Nope I am an honest guy and I will level with you ...She Scares me !!

if you google Crail raceway and RAV4 , you should get some shots coming up. One young chap came as a passenger in a run but failed to hold his cam-phone as he tried to hold on at the same time! Various other forii have mention as well as the word gets round to save embarrassing runs against a near 60 year old burning up youngsters in their dream cars..... !!