alright thanks for that. i took a look at the belts today before i left work, and they looked fine from the hood, but i'm just going on that.


one thing i really been wondering though. whenever i read about someone having a problem on these forums through when i've done searches most people refer them to taking it to their dealer. i even think sentra recommended me to use the dealership. so my questions are these cars well beyond the realm of what most average mechanics are capable of doing? will the mechanic usually either refer you to the xb, and if they don't will they break something or not fix it properly? i know it sounds stupid, but just wondering! this car doesn't seem too complicated to me at all for what it is. not too much more difficult to figure out than my 99 corolla was!

 

Auto repairs are magnitudes more difficult in today's cars than the 1960s -1970s cars I grew up with. Water pumps, alternators, and fan belts were directly accessible in the past. Now you have to work on them sideways, under layers of other components, in cramped quarters, using special tools and computer diagnostics.

Our xBs aren't so bad if you grew up with modern cars. They're actually modular & simple, relatively speaking. But I'd rather work on a '56 Chevy or a '70 Datsun than my xB.

If you cut your eye teeth on modern cars, you can dig into our xBs with no problems.

 

you aint kidding. i had a 68 f100 in high school, and it was very simple. i also had a 71 celica! those things were real easy to work on. i can still do most of the work on my 2000 f 350, and the 97 i had before it. i can do the alternator and water pump no problem. the xb i might be able to figure out! my 99 corolla was a little more challenging, but i did most of the work towards the end myself cause i'm sure all the work i did would have cost $2k grand parts, and labor from a mechanic. my best friend helped me with it, and i made out pretty good. it all comes down to front wheel drive though. they're much more challenging. tomorrow i'm gonna attempt to change the oil on the xb though. was gonna do it today, but i got home after dark. if i get home early enough tomorrow night i'll be doing it.

 

one very stupid question i have. maybe it's not stupid, but i don't know. okay so here is the story. i was watching a few you tube videos online for 04 xb's they are selling at dealerships. just to get a little laugh about how much they want for them. i saw a few that had shown the engine. this thread is useless without pictures i guess, but in the morning i'll post one. my motor looks a little different. every newer toyota motor or vvti in particular has some plastic cover on the motor. not the valve cover, but the one that's black that goes over he front. mine doesn't have that for some reason. were certain motors that year not made with one? if i don't have it is this a big deal or something? again sorry for this question. still adjusting to the new car. it looks fine, but who knows. i would have not known if i hadn't watched some videos of other xb's that showed under the hood.


thanks if you read this!

 

did internet searches for the last hour since i last posted, and can't find it. it's the black plastic cover next to the alternator going across the front of the motor. what is that? my motor does not have one.

 

The one on the front of the engine looks like a cover for the intake manifold on my xB (it may actually BE the intake manifold). Your engine may not have one, or the engine may be reversed (stranger things have happened) so the exhaust manifold is at the front of the engine bay.

 

nah my exhaust manifold is in the back. is the cover meant to keep out dust or dirt out of your motor or something? i'm just wondering if it's a big deal, and if i need it. every motor i have seen for my year has that cover. it kinda looks exactly the same just without the cover. any ideas? as long as it isn't hurting anything i don't care! thanks for that though! now i can at least do a search on intake manifold cover.

 

i'll just get a picture of it right now. not sure how to post it on here without photobucket.

 

i know i'm gonna get hung for this, but my eyes just aren't what they used to be. i do in fact have a cover for the intake manifold! false alarm! the reason i didn't notice it is listen to this, it's a lot dirtier looking than the ones in the video. just gotta get one of those cleaners cause my engine is pretty dirty just from dirt on the road. i can't believe i searched for an hour at 4;00/5;00 am in the morning for this! now i feel like an idiot. still adapting to to the car. put almost 3000k miles on it in 3 weeks, and one of those weeks i hadn't gotten tags for it yet or inspection! still learning though.

 

From what I've read and heard(Bobby Lycus on the radio), the majority of engine wear occures the first 10-20 seconds at engine start up. So, using either a 0w or 5w weight engine oil is best(and synthetic is also best). If you go with say, a 0w-20 or 5w-20 oil, it will reach normal operating temperatures quicker(due to the 20 designation), vs. using a 30-40 oil. During the late Fall-Winter, I use a 5w-20 Valvoline Synthetic oil, it works great in getting the engine to normal operating temps fairly quick.. due to it being 20-35 degrees F!

 

hear i am again to annoy everybody! i will have had this car for over a year, and still have questions about it. i would think after a month i would get this straight. like i've said before this is the newest car i've had. i did have an 09 corolla with my ex wife for 8 months before we split that i changed the oil on, and nothing else since it was under warranty still. she kept it when we split. we leased an 06 dodge pickup we took to the dealer the whole time cause they usually want you to bring it to them for oil changes.


so i really don't know much about cars made in the 00s. my question is the black or gray whatever it is, but that piece it looks like a tube with insulation that goes under the valve cover of the motor. the one next to the air box assembly. what is that? i ask because my best friend tells me it's the spark plug wires, but i think he's wrong. he may be right though. he's never had anything newer than his 95 civic. whether it's old clunkers old pickups, whatever. he's always had old chevette's growing up, and a couple mustangs, town cars, mazda miata's, cutlasses, stuff like that. he's owned over 50 cars in the 25+ years he's been driving, but his 95 civic is the newest. he's had a couple street bikes newer than that, but that's all.

so the black tube that goes into the motor under the valve cover next to the air box, and while i'm at it how about the one on the other side? thanks for all the help, and sorry for being the square old man with dumb questions again!

 

i think this is just a wiring harness the more i think about it correct? i remember my corolla had it too, and when the valve cover came off it's all one piece. i shouldn't listen to him. the reason i ask though is because it seems cracked a little. is this a hazard? i don't know if it had been or this just happened. pretty sure all the wires were showing on the one on my corolla that's how bad, and cracked, and worn the insulation was. any confirmation for this?

 

Post a photo. It's hard to visualize which tube you're talking about.

 

if you don't mind going to my album titled Mtor, and taking a look. it's supposed to be called motor, but i guess i forgot the first o haha. i logged off, and save if my album was viewable, but it wasn't. maybe this is because only members can view another members albums? just let me know if it's not there. it is the plastic tubing in the middle i guess that goes straight to the motor. there is one above, and one below i think. this is the one in the middle, and then i got three close ups of the same picture. didn't mean to add it that many times. that is the one i'm talking about up close. it seems a little cracked, but no wires are showing. is this okay? or a hazard? i'm gonna tell you right now i got an old chevy pickup thats harnesses are totally cracked, and exposed. the one on my corolla was more cracked too, and you could see wires if i remember correctly. it's funny how much the xb vvti motor looks like the corolla one from my 99. they have the same sound too,. only difference was the exhaust manifold was on the front of the bay whereas it's opposite the firewall on the xb.


thanks a lot, and i mean this when i say you have been the most helpful person on any forum i've been on be it automotive or dirtbikes, and quads. thanks again.

 

Sorry, but I couldn't find an album with your username, or with a mtor title. Try again, or try another method?

Thanks for the compliment. Much appreciated.

 

okay sorry i think it was private. got it to public now. the reason for the alarm is my best friend is a great guy, but he's an a s s sometimes. we haven't seen each other since the night i bought the xb, but he was up visiting his mother this weekend so i go down, and meet up with him. he's looked at the motor run before, but he was checking it out again. he noticed the air cleaner assembly shaking around under there which i'm pretty sure is normal, and common for these cars. i've read that on here, the previous owner says he's had that happen ever since he's had it, and he's the second owner, and my buddy i know who has one says his does the same thing. and then when you put it in drive or reverse at idle it feels like it's having an aneurysm. i've noticed in the hotter weather it seems worse. since it's normal or so i think i wasn't worried about it, but like the hack he is he zip ties it, and it goes around that tube. that wiring harness. i don't think he messed it up, but it was already a little cracked. no wires showing. i undid the zip tie cause it was pointless.


so should i worry about this slight crack? on my old corolla i'm pretty sure all the insulation on all the harnesses were cracked. maybe some electrical tape? he's the idiot who told me this was the spark plug wires. he's been a big help with cars, and trucks i've had in the past, but growing up with him, and being friends for 30 years almost he hasn't always been too bright with everything.

 

I still can't find an album belonging to you, or one named mtor. Reading your description again, it does sound like you're describing the wiring harness containing the spark plug and fuel injector signal wires. As you're at the front of the car looking toward the firewall and windshield, the banded flexible black tube about 1" in diameter entering/exiting under the engine cover from left and right closest to you is that wiring harness. Get a 10 mm. box or socket wrench and remove the four nuts if you want to check. A crack in that harness cover isn't a problem.

There's another solid (unbanded) ~1" diameter hose entering under the engine cover from your right, farther from you. That one is connected to the air box.

I've been really lazy about actually doing any work on my car. I'll post a photo if I get the time. I was looking under the hood today, and confirmed the plastic runners at the front of our engines are the intake manifold (as opposed to being intake manifold covers).

 

i don't know why cause i can see the album now when i log off, and click on my profile. i think it was private at first, but i made it public.


yes that's right! it's that harness running the length of the motor. i've never taken off the valve covers on this motor. i haven't needed to, but yes that's it! i know there's many wires exposed on this car so i really didn't think it was a problem, but just making sure. mine aren't even exposed yet though! i know the maf sensor wires, and some others are clearly visible, so i figured it shouldn't be a problem. the 99 corolla i had had this same wiring harness or something similar. just going off memory. the insulation was split pretty bad on that car. yeah though that's it, and thanks for answering the question! a crack in that isn't a problem.


the reason i freaked out was the car seemed a little rough that day, and i was psyching myself out thinking his stupid zip tie messed up something in there or was pulling on the wires. the truth is though that my xb seems to run rough in the hot weather or warmer. anything 65-70 degrees or higher it seems to feel rough. my buddy who has one says the same thing. i'm very certain this is because of that air box which obviously is a common problem with these cars. not that it's a problem, but the shaking. it's like the motor doesn't run rough, and the tack isn't bouncing. it's just vibration from that air box, and it vibrates in the colder weather too, but you can always tell when it's hot out. so i know this isn't a problem, and i understand that the air box just seems to act weirder the hotter the temperature.

i'm very impressed with this car so far. if i'm correct i'm averaging 32-33 mpg commuting to work with minimal traffic. with some areas of stop, and go i'm averaging 30. when i drive on back roads at 60 mph, but make turns onto other roads rather than using straight highways which is still 75 percent highway driving i would say, then i get 30 also. still is hurting with the gas prices climbing though with the commute i have!


so very impressed with this car so far. i never doubted any toyotas aside from the ones made in the last couple years. i've always swore by them as far as economy cars go. i also think i am a lot happier with the xb than i would have been in the tc!

 

30-32 mpg is decent for an AT. You should be able to approach or beat 40 mpg on long trips if you keep speeds to 55-60 mph. I can average 33-38 mpg on 16 mile trips to my wife's college in her AT Elantra, but shorter city trips are in the high 20s/low 30s.