"Limited Use Vehicle" (Joe's £200 RAV4)

[KruJoe]

First post ont' new look forum, here goes...

 

This week, wor kid Will told me of the chance to make another save from the bridge. Through a 'contact', he sent me these images from his portable telehpone machine:

 

 

 

 

Apparently parked up and left (without fault - sills excepted) about two years ago. Non-starter, and brakes seized on, only way out is dragging it backwards up a long, steep, narrow and bumpy farm track. Price: Two, or the scrappy cometh.

 

Sounds like a fun exercise, what could I loose?

 

Due to a srict one-in-one-out policy now in force, this happened:

 

 

Yes, that is Malham Cove in the distance.

 

 

A-frames are for winners!

 

 

It's the law, is it not, that every frag man has a freshly weighed in droopy-nosed Kia Rio in '90's green in the yard?

Very soon they will be very rare. Shame none of us got to this one in time.

 

The 205 rolling shell with scrap inside made Will £78.40, and the boot full of scrap batteries bridged seperately made me nearly as much. It all helps.

 

Back up to the Rav4 seller's goose-guarded smallholding in The Dales. She'd managed to get some air into the flat, which was nice. Luckily the S-Turdo *just* wont the battle of physical forces, and we got the Tonka toy moving, hitched up, and the short way home (almost) without bother. I only ran over the new trailer-board cable the once!

 

 

Result!

 

 

(Note the remains of the Rover wing there ^^ Wonder what happened to that..?)

 

To be continued...

[John F]

 

 

 

 

I know there are a couple of holes in the sill, but that's no reason for Mr Bunny to commit suicide by hanging himself...

[Junkman]

Dunno. V'seen nicer stuff and didn't find it shite.

[dollywobbler]

These seem pretty unloved at the moment, so top work!

[Richard]

For years I thought that SUV stood for "Single Use Vehicle".

[Jim Bell]

How has such a "modern" "off road" vehicle got such sodomized sills?

That looks like its been parked in a paddling pool then raised by someone learning how to drive a fork lift.

[autofive]

i thought it stood for shockingly useless vehicle

 

 

good save Krujoe

 

[Micrashed]

It could make a nice toy. I sort of like the RAV4.

 

Sort of.

 

Not enough to actually want one of course - for me the epitome of shite 4x4 would be a Suzuki XC9

[KruJoe]

Thanks for the comments chaps.

So initial plans at this stage: See if I could get it running with minimal fettleing, if yes, zip the sills up, chuck it in for a ticket with Jack The Test, and probably 'trader or 'bay it for about £600ish.

If it wasn't playing ball, I'd rob a few bits off, and drag it straight to the bridge - having lost nowt.

 

Last I told you, I'd got it home, and continued playing with the factory immobiliser, the keys, and the good batt I'd lobbed in at the sellers house. After another five minutes, the starter cranked it over a couple of spins and it fired right up, and idled sweet as a bloody nut, on ancient pez!  RESULT!

I excitedly un-did the chains and backed it off the A-frame...

 

 

Straight into the top field for a celebratory bez about. Clutch is good (if a bit high), the brakes all seem to work well (if a bit grindy), it's a right flipping laugh!

 

 

And to bed, well pleased!

Our family has a bit of history with an early RAV4, so plans may be changing. More of that later...

 

 

 

[Morgan84]

New cambelt and service and a bloody good clean should see a few more years out of that; how flaky is the underside ?

[explosive-cabbage]

 

Wow.

 

 

That is one hairy cat.

 

 

You'll ROFL when you see it.

[fiatdaft]

How has such a "modern" "off road" vehicle got such sodomized sills?

That looks like its been parked in a paddling pool then raised by someone learning how to drive a fork lift.

Eh? Its 18 years old !

[KruJoe]

I've not had much time to play yet, but I've grabbed an hour or so some evenings. I cracked out the water chisel to chip off some of that green.

 

 

This is half way through. Whenever I have the jet wash out, my mother always comes out to play with her modern.

 

 

It's cleaned up ok after only a quick blast, don't you think? Though the inside still looks like the mutt's kennel it has been for the last few years.

 

 

The underneath doesn't look too bad at all - most of the 'zorst looks new, by far the worst is the back of both sills. The other side:

 

 

They look like it has been very badly jacked up, or fallen off the jack. Or both. And then left to rot.

 

The RAV came with three original keys, with two fobs, at least one of which (I think) works:

 

 

The alarm system is original equipment, I remember from the fob and keys from the RAV4 my parents bought new in 1995.

 

 

With a good battery on the car, the default seems to be immobilised with hazards flashing. Luckily we have the little round key thing to switch off the alarm siren. But I found I can reliably start the car if I...

 

1. Disconnect +ve bettery lead

2. Turn the key to 'ignition fully on' position

3. Reconnect battery

4. Turn the key to start

 

Then it starts as it should.

 

My question is, what do I need to do to make this thing behave properly?

 

Also, what is the little switch on the side of the fob for, and the three pin plug on the other side?

 

 

Help! Thanks, before I start running some BFO wires through to a big switch on the dash!

[phil_lihp]

I have no useful knowledge to impart but does this help? http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=69639

 

Crusty sills and immobilizer issues aside, now it's cleaned up this still looks like a huge bargain, well saved!

[KruJoe]

Hey Phil, thank you for that, I've read to the bottom of that page and it's really helpful. When I have nowt better to do, I'll have a go at ripping that piggy-back system out. Seems it's a relatively common problem with these. Come to think of it, I seem to remember my folks having bother with their one back in the day! Other than that, it was an ace little motor for them, they loved it.

[Junkman]

I have seen prettier furuncles that this pile of whatever.

If you close your eyes and wait, maybe it just disappears?

[KruJoe]

Whatever.

 

Dunno. V'seen nicer stuff and didn't find it shite.

 

I have seen prettier furuncles that this pile of whatever.
If you close your eyes and wait, maybe it just disappears?

 

Good going eh? Twice on one page.

If you don't like looking at it, stop coming here.

 

 

I, like the vast majority in this friendly community, take great pleasure in rescuing any old unloved rotbox, sharing photographs, chatting about them, and helping each other out where we can. Long may it continue.

 

On with the show... more issues discovered:

 

NSF door refuses to open

OSF spring has a coil broken

The alloys desperately need re-furbing, and two tyres are well past it.

 

On the last point, this evening I've snagged a steel set like this off ebay:

 

 

They're off a facelifted RAV4, and come with the correct Dunlop tyres in passable condition. At least they'll stop me having to drag the compressor to the car every time I want to move it!

I'm happy chappy to have won them at £35

[SambaS]

I drove about in a relatively new Hyundai Santa Fe for a while last year, it is the kind of car that makes me want be sick on myself...... except for it grew on me pretty quickly. Mind it was summer and had air conditioning, and classical FM. I was happy.

[Junkman]

The little switch on the side of the key fob should be for a little light bulb, i.e. the key fob should have a small torch light function, no?

 

The immobilizer module itself should activate (or de-activate, depending how you look at it) some sort of a electronic/relay/real-world-12V-electrics switch/whatever-you-want-to-call-it black box at the other end of the wiring loom coming from that box next to the battery that you can stick the round key in to activate/deactivate the siren/horn/whatever noise device.

 

Now, that electronic/relay/real-world-12V-electrics switch/whatever-you-want-to-call-it black box at the other end of the wiring loom coming from that box next to the battery, is usually mounted either in front of the left hand front wheel housing, or probably in the (on RHDs) passenger footwell, behind the panel in front of the passenger door and it should have the cable from the box next to the battery on one side, and a multi-plug on the other.

 

This box should get an impulse once the immobiliser is deactivated and thus switch real 12V voltage to

 

- most (if not all) of the ECUs, i.e. engine/ignition/fuel injection management, passive restraint systems, etc.

- the fuel pump relay.

 

Only when this has switched, the vehicle is supposed to run.

 

My guess is that either this device has become faulty, or the contacts of the plugs are corroded.

With your trick disconnecting/connecting the battery, you seem to have found a way to create an impulse strong enough to go through the box next to the battery to activate the other device, which leads me to believe it's merely a contact problem.

 

To proceed with troubleshooting, deactivate the alarm/immobiliser and switch on the ignition. At this moment, you should have 12V arriving at various electronic boxes, but first and foremost the fuel pump or its relay. Do those 12V arrive, y/n?

 

Man, that thing sure is ugly.

[Volksy]

My old Rav4 used to sit all summer up in the Alps and get fired up for the winter as a support vehicle for the Chalets. It withstood a tyraid of abuse from both the conditions and the seasonal staff over a period of about 5 years, which to be honest it withstood very well. Not sure if yours will have the VVT motor that mine had, but I think they were just a different head on the 2.0 block.

They do not like dirty oil, so if you're going to keep it for a while I'd be flushing it and maybe dropping the sump to clean the pick up out. This was the final straw for mine when the engine ran its big ends and expired in a pool of oil and a cloud of smoke.

They're indecently fast for what they are, the engine is very revvy and somewhat at odds with the style of vehicle it's fitted to. They also seem to be more surefooted that the equivalent Vitara etc that were about at the time.

I never had any issues with the drivetrain, and other than the motor, everything still worked on mine when it met it's fate at a Swiss scrappers.

 

Here's mine as it expired, We flushed it out and changed the oil and got a fair few 'local' miles out of it before it shat itself.

 

 

I think they look better in the original steel wheels, bit more hard wearing too!

[purplebargeken]

Top save, not bad old things really. Pretty easy to work on and bits are fairly cheap. Fab!!!

[KruJoe]

Bollox to it, I've lost this bloody update twice now. Computers are cunts.

 

 

Car now looks like that ^. End of update.

[Cavcraft]

Looks loads better, nice work mate. Is it MOT'd and all that now?

[KruJoe]

Ta Billy, I thought you'd like the colour!

It's certainly more road legal, but I ain't planning to MOT it. It's not a car I need or can afford to keep on the road, but it's a useful thing to have around. So the plan is to change the taxation class to "Limited Use Vehicle". That makes it MOT exempt, and qualifies it for a free tax disk. The downside is that it is restricted to VERY local journeys, which should* be for the purposes of agriculture, horticulture and forestry. Need to get on to doovla sort it out.

 

Come November and I'm feeling skint, I'll invest in an MOT and stick it ont' bay, should see £600 back at that time of year, but for now, it's a useful old shunt. And it always starts first time now I've ripped out the alarm/immobiliser thing.

 

 

If I don't need to cash it in, it will be useful for local trips in winter now I don't have a Subaru of my own.

[Micrashed]

Is the LWB version a 5 seater? The SWB one only sits 4 - Ive been looking t these on the bay and interweb and they seem capable off road despite lack of transfer box.

[KruJoe]

Aye, five-seater. Until I did this:

 

 

GR9 for tat collections.

 

 

Off road - I haven't tested it in anger, and I don't have much to compare it to really. It won't be as capable as Olga (what would?), but first gear is lower than you might expect. It won't have the articulation of an old RR, but the all-round independant suspension soaks up the rough well. I hate the tail-wagging feel of a solid back axle - this feels well planted. There's one diff lock - electrically engaged central diff. Does help when it gets tricky. A SWB one would be more agile than this one, they're great fun.

 

[KruJoe]

I now have the list of paperwork I need to submit to change the taxation class to 'Limited Use Vehicle', It is insured with NFU from tomorrow, added to the tractor's policy. They've assured us it'll be 'very cheap', They'll get round to sending us an invoice sometime. Once I have the certificate, I'll send DOOVLA a pile of paper and wait for my free tax disk. WINNAR!

In the meantime, I'll make myself a TAX IN POST sign. That's always a classy look.

 

Some previous progress to share. 

On my first test drive, there was a loud grinding/banging going on from the OSF corner while maneuvering. Taking a look:

 

 

That don't look right. Thought as much. The inner wing doesn't look too happy either.

Off with its leg.

Well I tried...

 

 

Sheared adapter... and a socket:

 

 

And another. 

 

 

I'm running out of 19mm hex sockets. Found an impact job, which shifted it after I gave it some pain with a nut splitter:

 

 

The M6 brake line guide bolt sheared too, natch.

 

I've since replaced those sockets with this set:

 

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160580067642

They're PROPER BO for £10.35 delivered, I tell thee.

 

I had tried to scrub off the disks by using the brakes, but the rust has sort of 'glazed' itself on, and they're still rough and ineffective.

 

 

Caliper unbolted, pads out, they look good though.

 

 

Disk off, and a good go with the knotted wire brush in the drill- did not touch it.

Then tried the flapper wheel...

 

 

WIN! Five minutes and the disk looks like new! ^ That pic is half way though - glazed on the left, flappered on the right. Try this next time you think you need new disks.

 

Leg off:

 

 

See-through OSF turret:

 

 

Oh dear.

Let's have a go at cleaning that up.

 

 

Oh dear.

 

 

That's gonna need one big-ass patch.

 

 

That's almost A4 size!

Zipped in, and a little one down below:

 

 

I did around the other side too, and welded on new nuts to hold the fluid reservoir:

 

 

A couple coats of black slop, it looks as good as new:

 

 

Quite pleased with that, all told. 

 

Despite that one stubborn bolt, this thing has been a joy to work on so far.

 

To be continued...

 

 

 

 

 

[vulgalour]

I saw a black one of these when I was up in Stockton and another in Chesterfield recently.  Weirdly, I hadn't really noticed there were any kicking about until you came and got the Rover and now I see them regularly*.