Worth Keeping my Hiace

Ahh, ok that makes sense!  Apologies if my knowledge lets me down, I'm traditionally a motorcyclist, and there's a lot less to work on, plus it's all easy to get to, and I can push it if it doesn't work!!!

Unfortunately for me, regardless of my willingness to do the work or have a fiddle, I really have no more tools than a couple of spanners and screwdrivers, so if the oil replacement doesn't fix the problem, I'm gonna have to take it to that place about 7 hours away as they specialise in auto gearboxes and all the repeated problems I've had from Spanish Toyota Dealers (I also still haven't been able to get a reply by email!) I'm not sure I trust them to do the work anyway.

I looked into the gearbox, but the Vin doesn't work on most of the sites I found, until I came across this one. http://www.toyodiy.com/parts/q?vin=LH119-0001601

However, I'm still not entirely sure, just because the manual I got with the van has the number LXH22R-RBMRSW, which doesn't match the what the website gave me.  However, I'm not sure the number in the book is correct because it says the first 2 represents long wheel base, the 2nd, 2 wheel drive diesel engine.  However, I have a standard wheelbase 4wd, unless the guy that sold it to me was lying.  However, there is a 4wd button and it has the locking wheels, so I'm confused.  I would normally trust the information by from the VIN, but so many sites had no information or just the year of manufacture, I don't know how reliable that information is too!

Mines an LH119 with 4wd of the same age.  The Autobox is an A45DL.

You can get confirmation of this by opening the bonnet (ok, lifting the seat!) - there is a silver plate with all the details, it will be under Trans/Axle.

hth.
dan

LXH22R is in fact the newer Hiace model, with a totally different front end.

I'm not sure about your Toyodiy.com link. I use that site all the time, and what you have linked to is an incomplete VIN number.

Just enter your complete VIN number.

But even if you don't, the VIN plate has all the info. See below.
Just post MODEL code and TRANSMISSION code and we know enough.
Or take a picture of the VIN plate and post it here. It is very easy to decode.



Then you know exactly which transmission you have.

What the transmission manual concerns, you can buy it because it will be useful for a mechanic (he can do everything as Toyota intended it)
And it may have this troubleshooting guide.

Perhaps you don't need it, but I guess it won't hurt to have it.

Oh, ok, I thought the vin was the number on the metal by the driver's seat. I'll go and have a look for the vin plate now! Thanks for all the help so far guys, really appreciated!

Sorry, I should've said that

I still don't understand where my full vin number is.  I looked under a little plastic flap by the driver's seat, but everywhere just lists the 'incomplete' number. Anyway, here's a picture of the plate.  It's is indeed the A45DL as you predicted.  The plate was hiding under a piece of carpet, so I didn't actually know it existed!  I always thought it was the number by the seat!

Oh and I should buy the transmission manual but I'm already feeling the financial pinch due to how much I've already spent on this thing, and as I'm rarely in England anymore, I'd have to buy multiple manuals for each language! Definitely Spanish, probably German, and English for me!

And do you know what I can't for the life of me remember why we were finding out this information!

Haha, it was about which type of gearbox. So you can use it to google information or to buy the right manual.
Or to find a replacement.
If you would go to a wrecker Hiace at a junkyard, you can use this approach to see if the gearbox is the same for example.

And I can conform you have a 4WD   (and no LSD at the rear axle, so you can use regular oil, but that is not relevant at all now)

It's a very weird chassis number, usually the chassis numbers have a different format, which is longer. And starts with JT (if made in Japan, like Hiaces are)
Also the Toyodiy site does not know the exact model by the chassis number. But now you know which model, the LH119V-RRPES: http://www.toyodiy.com/parts/g_J_198911_TOYOTA_HIACE_LH119V-RRPES.html

The LH119 means you got the middle wheelbase. I have the LH118 for example, which is the same, because of the *H11*
H10 is the short wheelbase (not common for camper vans) and the longest is *h12* which we don't see a lot in Europe but it is there. Roughly 30 to 35cm length difference between each variant.

Yeah I didn't think it was the long wheelbase, but I didn't actually realise they had a middle one! Yeah, it is nice to finally know definitively what the model is! It will definitely help when I am inevitably in a workshop needing stuff done at some point. More so considering my luck with vehicles.

I had already saved a screenshot of the toyodiy page with all the correct options ticket, and saved it to my dropbox which syncs automagically to my phone, so I'll always have the details with me if I ever need them. Thanks again for all your help, and the other guys. I just gotta hope that the oil change sorts out the issues I've been having.

Incidentally, I've noticed when the van is cold and hasn't been run yet, the AT oil level seems about an inch over the high mark on the dipstick. I haven't checked when it's hot yet because I haven't actually driven it for a couple of weeks, but I did think it was a bit weird. The oil definitely needs a change regardless, it's a pretty dirty brown colour which seems like perhaps it's been overheated, or is this just the regular colour it goes? Hard to tell how cloudy it is just from the small amount on the dipstick though, but it's definitely not red, so could use a change!

I got super lucky on amazon and got some castrol dex 3 AT oil for about £1.60 per litre, which is an amazing deal! I'm actually pretty suspicious of how cheap it is, either it's fake somehow (I've never heard of knock off oil, have you?) or they must just want shot of it. I bought 6 litres of it for about £15 including delivery! That should be enough to change it twice and have a bit left spare.

Very interesting thread!

Mine is a KZH100G which I guess then is the shortest wheelbase? It's good for the garage space
Also my trans says: Trans/Axle A340E G292
So I wonder what that is then - any ideas?

Ryank - I think your VIN is the 'Frame Number' in full.

@Ryank, well I have no experience at all, but I assume max is supposed to be max. I guess it should be drained a little and may cause issues, but maybe it is something else.

One warning, never get ATF or gearbox oil on your skin, its much worse than engine oil.

GPW wrote:

Very interesting thread!

Mine is a KZH100G which I guess then is the shortest wheelbase? It's good for the garage space
Also my trans says: Trans/Axle A340E G292
So I wonder what that is then - any ideas?

It means you got a A340E transmission and a G292 rear axle

That is a more common transmission I think, so easier to find replacement.

G292 axle: the ending 2 means a 2 pinion open diff (3 or 5 would be LSD)
and the 29 means you have a 4.1 Final gear ratio. Which is quite different then the 4.875 or even 5.125 final gear ratios that come with the 2L and 3L diesels.

Anyway, bottomline is, if everything works it is not so interesting

Another fun fact: The front diff of the Hiace is the same as the rear diff in a Lexus IS200 (but the final gear ratio is different)

GPW wrote:

Very interesting thread!

Mine is a KZH100G which I guess then is the shortest wheelbase? It's good for the garage space
Also my trans says: Trans/Axle A340E G292
So I wonder what that is then - any ideas?

Ryank - I think your VIN is the 'Frame Number' in full.

Haha, I'm glad, as I previously mentioned I have a tendency to waffle, and my problem isn't clear cut, so when I started it I was a bit worried the thread would die with zero replies!

What do you mean by the Frame number in full? Including the colour and trim part? Cos the vin number has to be 17 characters long, and I've tried various combinations of everything from the plate, but I just get errors about the number being invalid or not 17 characters long. Tododiy was the only place I got anything at all back.

Ryank wrote:

Incidentally, I've noticed when the van is cold and hasn't been run yet, the AT oil level seems about an inch over the high mark on the dipstick.  I haven't checked when it's hot yet because I haven't actually driven it for a couple of weeks, but I did think it was a bit weird.  The oil definitely needs a change regardless, it's a pretty dirty brown colour which seems like perhaps it's been overheated, or is this just the regular colour it goes?

Not sure where mine is when cold, I run it through all the gears before checking.  However, the colour is clean red.  I can't be sure, as I've only had the van 2 months and have very little history, but I found a sticker that indicated the ATF had been changed at 62k km, which is a little over 50k km's ago.

Today has been educational

Wow, sounds like you got a good one!  Mine was reportedly well cared for, and the bloke who sold it to me seemed genuine when he said it was never any bother for him, but like I said, I have terrible luck and I'm a 4 wheel (let alone van) newbie!  Mine does look cool though!

Haha and he convinced you that you had the shortest wheelbase?
Although the backend is from plastic and attached to it.

It looks very nice! Much room inside I think

The van looks great!!
Your VIN would be LH119-0001601  by looking at your plate.

That's how it worked when I imported mine anyway.
Re - ATF level checking - often this has to be done with the engine idling, NOT while switched off. So check how to measure it before you decide it's too full or empty.

Hiace4wd - Thanks for the analysis!! It looks like the Supra etc share the gearbox too so there's a fair bit of info about them. Cleanliness of fluid is next to godliness with that too, plus it's got a torque converter lockup which is nice.
BTW mine has the 1KZ-TE 2982cc engine attached to that gearbox.

Thanks guys! It is a nice looking van, although a bit 80s inside. But the back end is a sink and wet room with a shower and portable loo in it which is really cool. It also has a 4 hob gas hob and grill and a fridge. With a set of solar panels I could probably get away with free camping for quite a long time.

Other than the obvious problems I've already discussed, I think I should have paid a bit less than I did though, as you can't really sleep in the roof section because there are 2 flat planks which you put up to set up the platform, but the bit over the cab where your legs would go is slightly domed, so about where your hips would be when you're lying down, the surface is raised by about an inch. Also the tent material on the pop up is pretty old and worn and doesn't look like it'd stand up to much rain. That and the Fuel gauge and (I suspect) the temperature gauges don't work on the dashboard. Unlike the other electrical problems I have the fuel gauge has never worked, and the temp gauge does move, but I've never seen it go higher than about half way, even when I had the vacuum pump problem and oil was literally flowing out of the engine.

As for the ATF, I knew it was supposed to be done hot, but as I'm not really using the van and waiting for a delivery of new oil, I figured it was probably a waste of time for the moment. When the oil is delivered and I warm the engine to facilitate getting the old oil out I'll do a check for the levels then.

Oh, and one thing I meant to ask but forgot - I found the fuse box. Haven't had a check of them yet, but I did notice the big round things (I'm assuming they're also fuses) are pretty rusty on the outside, so I'm guessing they could be do with a change if they are indeed fuses. Worryingly they were surrounded by a bit of pretty thick plastic bin liner type sheeting, which suggests possible problems there if someone felt the need to put it in, unless it's simply precautionary, but the round things are looking pretty rusty. I'll post a picture tomorrow when it's light.

Ryank wrote:

Oh, and one thing I meant to ask but forgot - I found the fuse box.  Haven't had a check of them yet, but I did notice the big round things (I'm assuming they're also fuses) are pretty rusty on the outside, so I'm guessing they could be do with a change if they are indeed fuses.  Worryingly they were surrounded by a bit of pretty thick plastic bin liner type sheeting, which suggests possible problems there if someone felt the need to put it in, unless it's simply precautionary, but the round things are looking pretty rusty.  I'll post a picture tomorrow when it's light.

They sound like relays or capacitors - awaiting photos!!

Oops, I'd somehow forgotten!  Honestly I'd forget my balls if they didn't come in a bag.

Now that I think about it, they certainly look like capacitors.  I remember reading somewhere about old school cars having round fuses, which is why I thought it might be that.

Pretty rusty as you can see!

Oh and one more question (thanks for all your eternal patience!) - I was thinking about the reverse gear not engaging. It often engages when I give the engine a rev, and then it usually clicks and engages the gear, so do you think this could be an electrical problem, like perhaps a solenoid not getting the power to run until the engine is given a rev, for example?

I never checked those round things, they are probably fuses. The rust seems to be on the outside, but it is probably better to replace them.

About giving the engine a rev, I won't expect that there would be a kind of solenoid issue. Because I would assume there are no solenoids involved, but even if that is the case.. Your battery will always give enough amps to power a solenoid. Revving the engine would only change the voltage a little bit.

I dunno if they are fuses, like I said I had always assumed they were, but when capacitors were mentioned I did think they look a lot like capacitors found in computing equipment, just a lot bigger.

As for the solenoid, apparently automatic transmissions use pressurised hydraulic fluid to change gears. Every time a gear change is required, the car’s computer activates a transmission solenoid, which directs transmission fluid into the valve body to engage the correct gear. However I remember reading somewhere that someone had a problem getting into reverse and the problem was a solenoid connected to an oil pressure sensor that wouldn't engage reverse after the box got hot and the oil pressure increased. However, thinking about it, mine used to only not engage reverse when it was very warm, and I've noticed it happening after short drives recently, so it's probably not the issue anyway. From what I read online, it's most likely to be a torque converter or gear head issue, I'm really hoping it's not.

Incidentally, I went through all of the regular fuses and the one second from the left at the top was blown.  If you look at the picture, you can tell, although I didn't notice from looking at it last night!

Hopefully that will fix the weird electrical issues I've been getting!

Oh and judging from this the round things are relays for the turn signals etc.