First Post - Oil Filter Query

[Vandini]

Hi Guys - first post, so a big 'hello' to everyone :)

My GF has just bought a '98 2.0 petrol model with the 3F-SE engine - very pleased with it so far (1 week!).

I've offered to give it a quick oil change + general look-over, and have a quick question regarding the oil filter. I have a filter left over from a previous 2.0 VVTi (1AZ-FE engined) RAV, and from what I can see, they look the same - with the exception that the newer one is a bit longer.

So can the newer, longer filter also fit the earlier engine?

Also, one 'lever' in negotiating the purchase price was a small 'weep' from the power steering rack pinion seal. Nothing serious, but will need doing sometime soon. Is this reasonably DIY-able, or specialist-only? There's no other problem with the steering.

Many thanks,

David

[dave.m]

Hi another David and welcome to the cub. There are a lot of Daves on here, but always remember its a POPULAR name

and not a common one

Now the oily bits, our resident expert on your particular model of Rav is a member called Bothwell-Buyer. He seems

to be missing in action at the moment, but to anyone who is worried by his absence I can confirm that he hasn't gone

off to the great bottle shop in the sky, having spotted him last saturday.

So best stick around Dave he will no doubt be back soon.

[local hero]

Yes welcome to the club David, the above reply is exactly what i was going to say, I am sure someone will help soon unfortunately I know very little about the 4.1 petrol other than they are a great car and your GF will enjoy driving it..Best of Luck

[anchorman]

Well you could always ask a local spares shop to just look in a catalogue but for goodness sake don't risk it if you are not sure or it may cost you an engine. A new filter is going to cost you about £5.

A lot depends on you and how confident you are regarding the steering. Changing the rack requires the front section of the exhaust to be removed and the suspension X member to be supported but other than that it is fairly straight forward. TBH if it aint bad don't bother too much about it.

Welcome to the club!

[Yooz]

I'd play careful and buy the listed oil filter. Aside of the fitting, maybe there's an issue with the flow rate through the filter to consider.

On the pinion seal, over time it will only get worse. It might be picked up at MOT time if the tester thinks its a possible problem. If you do this yourself, it would be worth getting the tracking and wheel alignment checked afterwards.

[GT4 BOOSTER]

the celica st202 and st205 have 2 filters , 1 longer than the other - spares guy at toyota told me the longer 1 is ok to use as it simply filters more oil .

i used the longer 1 twice without issue.

[Vandini]

Hi All,

Thanks very much for the welcome and helpful advice.

I did the oil change this weekend and 'chickened out' with the filter, buying the 'official' one!

Unfortunately, the weep from the steering rack pinion looks like it will need fairly immediate attention :(

I feel fairly confident in tackling the rack removal - though some advice on potential 'gotchas' would be welcome!

Can anyone recommend a repair shop for the refurb work? Maybe at this mileage (approaching 90k) an exchange re-con rack would be better, but I'm not sure whether the RAV is common enough for an off-the-shelf unit to be available....

A pity, because the rack shows no sign of malfunction - so, optimistically, just the pinion seals need doing.

A second-hand rack is an option, but who knows how long it would last???