In< Out & Under

[Coastalguy]

Hello all, I am a newbie to the site but have been enjoying my 97 Rav4 5dr 4.1 for a couple of years. I cant belief how good these machines are, I run mine non stop through mud and snow and it has been without need of repairs until now. I have a few questions and this is my first time in a forum so I'm not sure how wordy i can get. Please advise me if I am bieng needy ;) I would appreciate any advise you could offer.

Questions

1. How often does the timing chain need replacing? and if it goes will my engine go with it. I know some cars have a non interference gizmo getting a funny flutter kind of rattel under the hood.

2. How do I get inside the fender marker light? I have a dent right beside it and i was thinking i could use that entrance to pop it out. any better ideas for do it yourselfer?

3. There is a tinny rattle when I go over bumps but is most noticable when you turn it off. It sounds like a converter rotting out or somthing but when i looked underneath it looks like exhaust pipe all the way to the muffler and I have a new muffler.

4. I have been wondering how to change the oil in my diff since the bolt seems to be rusted on. any suggestions!

thanks in advance,

BCNYA!

[rpaterson]

Not sure about 1 & 2 but for 3 & 4;

3 - a tinny rattle could be a heatshield.

4 - could you siphon the diff oil out of the 'fill' plug? Either that or give the drain plug a liberal soak with WD40 (or similar), leave it to work overnight and then try? Heat sometimes helps in these situations as well. What about an impact driver to get it started?

[bothwell_buyer]

Hello all, I am a newbie to the site but have been enjoying my 97 Rav4 5dr 4.1 for a couple of years. I cant belief how good these machines are, I run mine non stop through mud and snow and it has been without need of repairs until now. I have a few questions and this is my first time in a forum so I'm not sure how wordy i can get. Please advise me if I am bieng needy ;) I would appreciate any advise you could offer.

Questions

1. How often does the timing chain need replacing? and if it goes will my engine go with it. I know some cars have a non interference gizmo getting a funny flutter kind of rattel under the hood.

2. How do I get inside the fender marker light? I have a dent right beside it and i was thinking i could use that entrance to pop it out. any better ideas for do it yourselfer?

3. There is a tinny rattle when I go over bumps but is most noticable when you turn it off. It sounds like a converter rotting out or somthing but when i looked underneath it looks like exhaust pipe all the way to the muffler and I have a new muffler.

4. I have been wondering how to change the oil in my diff since the bolt seems to be rusted on. any suggestions!

thanks in advance,

BCNYA!

Is it the 3SFE engine there?? I would guess so.

If it is then its a cambelt thats swapped every 60,000 miles. On the "fender marker light" in Scots, do you mean the wee light on the wing? If so, then this light just pops out with a careful use of a screwdriver...and if I take the fender to be a bumper, then thats screwed on.

Tinny rattle over bumps could be the heat cover on the exhasut up front or it could be the cat fallen apart.

Oil in the diff - never had a problem with that - theres the drain plug then higher up the fill plug. If its rusted on then some thin oil/wd40 or the likes.

[Coastalguy]

Hello all, I am a newbie to the site but have been enjoying my 97 Rav4 5dr 4.1 for a couple of years. I cant belief how good these machines are, I run mine non stop through mud and snow and it has been without need of repairs until now. I have a few questions and this is my first time in a forum so I'm not sure how wordy i can get. Please advise me if I am bieng needy ;) I would appreciate any advise you could offer.

Questions

1. How often does the timing chain need replacing? and if it goes will my engine go with it. I know some cars have a non interference gizmo getting a funny flutter kind of rattel under the hood.

2. How do I get inside the fender marker light? I have a dent right beside it and i was thinking i could use that entrance to pop it out. any better ideas for do it yourselfer?

3. There is a tinny rattle when I go over bumps but is most noticable when you turn it off. It sounds like a converter rotting out or somthing but when i looked underneath it looks like exhaust pipe all the way to the muffler and I have a new muffler.

4. I have been wondering how to change the oil in my diff since the bolt seems to be rusted on. any suggestions!

thanks in advance,

BCNYA!

Is it the 3SFE engine there?? I would guess so.

If it is then its a cambelt thats swapped every 60,000 miles. On the "fender marker light" in Scots, do you mean the wee light on the wing? If so, then this light just pops out with a careful use of a screwdriver...and if I take the fender to be a bumper, then thats screwed on.

Tinny rattle over bumps could be the heat cover on the exhasut up front or it could be the cat fallen apart.

Oil in the diff - never had a problem with that - theres the drain plug then higher up the fill plug. If its rusted on then some thin oil/wd40 or the likes.

Thanks for reply. 3SFE it is. I wonder if some of that fluttering noise could be coming from a worn belt and pully? Your Bang on about the (wee) light. I love it how an accent can show it self in text :) I will try getting in from the fill hole as that bolt is good and stripped. How often should it be changed?

Question. Is that little pop can peice welded into the pipe mid way the Cat? I checked for hangers and the exhaust cover but not the problem.

funny now that I am paying attention to it all kinds of funny noises are going on ;)

thanks again guys, Good day!

That sounds like quite the Rig you got there Bothwell. what do need all that HP for?!

[bothwell_buyer]

ooops

sorry - I should have said to check your front springs as they are prone to breaking and make a rattle.

Exhaust - from memory there is a welded bracket, but as I have a custom made stainless straight thru pipe now, I can't compare.

The 3SFE engine is an interference engine which means if the belt breaks, the engine bends. If you're not sure about it get it changed!!

The rear diff oil is meant to be changed every 20,000 miles or 2 years.

The number 1 beast (I have 2 1994 RAVs both with the same engine conversion) has been running for over a year now. I enjoy fast driving and to satisfy my "re-living childhood" dreams, use it for 1/4 mile standing starts. It launches and does the 0-60' in 2 seconds which I'm told is fast!! One young guy who came along as a passenger on a run last Sunday tried to video the run with his phone for utube but spent his time trying to avoid ending up in the back of the car!!! The car is doing 14.7 second runs just now but the last half is slow and its only exiting at 93mph. The stock ecu is running the engine very rich so the next step is to fit a Greddy E-Ultimate system on to get the best out of the turbo and the engine. I would have liked an Apexi D-Jetro management system but these are no longer made. In its current state we should be able to squeeze 350bhp out of the engine.....and I think the transmission will be at its limit at this output. The 3SFE shoves out a miserly 127bhp so gives you an idea of how fast this thing is. The GT4 intercooler runs nice and cold.

[Coastalguy]

Wowzers I cant imagine the Rav tranny holding up to all that. I sure would like to see a pic of that! thanks again for the suggestions I will take a look when I head out. I think it might be time for the shop for my little guy. Can you recomend efficient and affordable timing kit? I have had allot of cars and trucks and always get bored and sell them off before I need to invest, but I am quite stuck on this little machine. ;)

ooops

sorry - I should have said to check your front springs as they are prone to breaking and make a rattle.

Exhaust - from memory there is a welded bracket, but as I have a custom made stainless straight thru pipe now, I can't compare.

The 3SFE engine is an interference engine which means if the belt breaks, the engine bends. If you're not sure about it get it changed!!

The rear diff oil is meant to be changed every 20,000 miles or 2 years.

The number 1 beast (I have 2 1994 RAVs both with the same engine conversion) has been running for over a year now. I enjoy fast driving and to satisfy my "re-living childhood" dreams, use it for 1/4 mile standing starts. It launches and does the 0-60' in 2 seconds which I'm told is fast!! One young guy who came along as a passenger on a run last Sunday tried to video the run with his phone for utube but spent his time trying to avoid ending up in the back of the car!!! The car is doing 14.7 second runs just now but the last half is slow and its only exiting at 93mph. The stock ecu is running the engine very rich so the next step is to fit a Greddy E-Ultimate system on to get the best out of the turbo and the engine. I would have liked an Apexi D-Jetro management system but these are no longer made. In its current state we should be able to squeeze 350bhp out of the engine.....and I think the transmission will be at its limit at this output. The 3SFE shoves out a miserly 127bhp so gives you an idea of how fast this thing is. The GT4 intercooler runs nice and cold.

[mrbilly]

could someone tell me if it is a non interference engine as i have looked on lots of site and thay all say its a safe engine esp on rav4world

[bothwell_buyer]

I've gone with what anchorman says,

either way the engine will suffer some damage -imagine yer heart pumping when the valves decide to open and shut at the wrong time - pretty fatal!!!

[anchorman]