2Nd Hand Rav4 Project, Help Apprciated

[mikazza]

Hi all, Just purchased a 2006 D4D XTR Rav4 (1994 - 2006 model), got it at a good price as there are some issues with it but bought it as a project to restore it to good working order. Hope people on the can help me pin point and fix some of the issues.

1st thing 1st, its had a new timing belt and a new 5th gear in the past year or so from the previous owner, and I did an oil and filter change yesterday. Engine runs very well and it accelerates through the first 3 gears excellently.

Now to the problems I think it has:

4th Gear kinda struggles at 30mph, feels under powered with not much oomph at this speed, at 40mph when the revs are up its fine, 5th gear also feels like this at 40mph but seems fine from just under 50mph. Is this normal for this car?

Drove through a puddle today and the power steering became very heavy, could barely steer the car, I suspect a loose/old belt combined with the puddle splashing up onto it, I plan to replace the belts, does this sound like i'm on the right track, also are the drive belts adjusted manually or do they have auto tensionors, if they are manual any advice on how to tension the belts? Will also check the various pulleys etc when i'm at it.

Under the engine, should there be a plastic engine splash guard? I only mention as this might have helped prevent the power steering issue above.

The biting point of the clutch seems really low, about an inch from the carpet, is there any way to adjust this or is this normal for this car. Its nigh on impossible to pull away from a stop or even very slow crawl in anything other than 1st gear.

I plan on replacing the fuel filter and blanking off the egr over the next week aswell as i'm getting the owl sounding noise from engine and reading these forums suggest the fuel filter and blanking the egr so I dont need to keep taking it out to clean (cause i'm lazy ), also gonna test and replace any duff glow plugs as the car can take a few turns to start, although this might be related to the slipping drive belts.

Is there anything I could do to make sure the rav4 has the best possible life from now on?

[Avalon]

May want to have a look at this:

http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/169314-20-d4d-stutterhesitation-suggestions-please/

Keep the rev's over 2.5k and if you've got an OBD interface then use it and log to see if it's making boost. Old/dirty fuel filters can cause fuel starvation, easy start is your friend unless you want to spend an hour pumping the primer. Variable vane set-up on the turbo's can stick, cheap solution is a tank of premium fuel (Shell V Power or BP Ultimate, BG244 get's mentioned but having tested it i'd not bother though others say it works for them).

[mikazza]

Thanks for the advice Avalon, its been a few weeks and I have managed to get some work done on the Rav.

The drive belt was too loose which is why driving through a puddle disabled the power steering, the drive belt when wet was slipping meaning no boost. Tightened the belt and it cured the problem, now though the belts need replaced, will be doing that this weekend.

Tested the glow plugs and they were all fine, replaced the fuel filter, air filter and Battery but still having starting problems, the car can take 4-5 seconds holding the key to turn over, even when I let the glow plug light go out, I normally drive a toyota hiace and that starts instantly 1st turn of the key, no need to wait for glow plugs.  Took the car into a mechanic who gave the car a proper check and suggested it would probably be the Battery, I had a Yuasa YBX3031 - 70Ah - 570A fitted and the guy I spoke to said he's had no end of problems with them and suggested replacing it, I replaced it with a Bosch S3 334 - 95Ah - 830A, to begin with it actually made starting slightly worse but has since leveled out back to what it was before.  I've read various forums about SCV valves sticking, Dual Mass Flywheel problems and the howling noise from the Fuel Filter Cap which my car does, could any of these be the problem and is there any way of testing them as these are not cheap parts to fix?

The problems with the biting point and low power in 4th gear all went away, the car had been sitting for a couple of years unused think it just needed some driving and a nice drink of new oil and some grease on any moving joins I could find like at the top of the clutch peddle and on the gear selector rods.  The only thing I have a problem with now on the car is starting if I could get that sorted the car would be perfect.