I am new to the forum and have been doing a lot of searching. I want to take the most needed items off this car before it gets too stripped. It's a great pull it yourself lot. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide. The interior does not match mine so most of that is out but aside from the door components and the ECU I was able to also get this rectangular black box behind the carpet inside the right side of the trunk. Looks like an amp but I can't tell. I also took the gauge bezel if that is what its called.

Anyway, what should I go for, I have a 1993 ES300 and the engine is identical. What are some of the harder to find items, what would you take? Mine is running good and not missing anything but should I take the tail and headlamps? What engine parts would you take? Should I take the ac compressor? I just want to stock up so I can cheaply fix this car as it needs it. I really have gained an appreciation for the understated elegance and comfort. My usual ride is a 68 Chevy pick-up. I want to put another 150K on this car.

Thanks again for anybody who can help me.

 

What is the mileage of the wrecker car?

Depends how far you want to go. Stuff that fails includes the A/C compressor, PS pump starts to leak, PS hoses go bad, radiator leaks. Other stuff to consider is the spark plug wires/cap/distributor/ignitor, throttle position sensor, PS pump ECU (under dash, never seen them go bad myself), clock spring, cruise control actuator, alternator.

If the car is really low mileage you could grab the struts, or at least the rubber insulators/mounts as they do eventually go bad. Another thing that sometimes gives problems are things like the turn signal/wiper combination switch. Really these cars don't have that many common failure points, most of the stuff that goes bad like radiators you end up buying new anyway.

If the headlamps are really nice you could grab those, tail lights not sure. You would only need them if you got into a fender bender, or yours are no good.

 

Thank you for the suggestions, I can't really power it on to see the mileage although since I have the bezel I could run power to that and also see if the needles work.

Thanks again for the suggestions, it's funny you mentioned radiators since that was the only thing the car needed. The PO just did the timing belt.

On a side note - I buy a "Lexus" thermostat and almost cook the engine before realizing it wasn't opening. That really kind of angered me. 25 bucks when the autozone one probably would have done better. I am currently am running no thermostat and everything runs great. But I know these engines must run at temp to be efficient so I will put another in.

 

If you can safely get under the car, grab the LSPV vlave if it's good (a bunch of brake lines go into it and it's attached with a spring to the rear suspension). I've been searching for one for a year and a half for my 92 and they're impossible to find in non broken condition.

Also I'd suggest hard fuel / brake lines if they're not rusty, wood trim around the shifter, ashtray, cupholder, etc. Definitely get headlights and taillights if they are nice.

 

Good thinking on the LSPV. Those rust pretty badly, finding a good one is not easy.

 

Will do, thanks. Any special tools required for that?

Also, would you grab the injectors/intake and the tranny? Heck I might grab the block if easy enough.

 

I would not grab the injectors, but you could grab the various sensors like coolant temp and the like. If you really want to grab the engine, then just buy the engine and transmission complete for a spare. I think that's going a bit far, but if you have a way to get the drivetrain home and a place to store it...

On the transmission, if yours is working properly and you keep it serviced and use a high quality fluid, then chances are the tranny will last the life of the car. But if the transmission was not looked after, then it is possible it will die at some point.

One thing I do look out for when I'm at the yards is axles. If I find original Toyota/Lexus units in good shape I grab them. ABS sensors are another thing to get they sometimes go bad, but often it's impossible to remove without destroying them, they rust into the mount.

You don't need special tools to grab the valve, if you can't get the brake lines off then just cut them and remove them later. Rust might make it hard to get the thing off though.

 

Thanks for all the help everyone. I went back and that valve is rust free but two of the bolts holding it are hard to reach, one rounded off on me. It was a frustrating day, another bolt on the ac compressor did the same so I am going back with vice grips this time.

What is the part of the strut I should grab, i could not id it. This car is definitely low miles. A shame too, all black leather interior. It still had the 6 disc changer but I don't have one, should have grabbed it before it went anyway.

 

the first thing i'd do is pull the gauge cluster

 

I did manage to get that, the trim inside, the lens for the various lights inside, the black shifter, the headlights, ECU, some sensors and the alternator.