One of our cars is a 2007 Toyota Highlander. We went to get the oil changed at the dealership and during the standard multi-point inspection they discovered a number of issues:
- The rear brake calipers had seized
- The transmission pan gasket was leaking
- The front passenger side CV axle had a boot that was leaking grease
- The rear license plate lights had burnt out
They gave us a quote for $4,700 dollars to fix everything. The car is worth less than that, so no thanks.
I lifted the car up and took the wheels off, confirming all the reported problems. Then I did some research and ended up purchasing all the replacement parts from Rock Auto. Here’s the bill:
| Name | Brand | Part Number | Quantity | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CV Axle | Cardone | 665249 | 1 | $54.89 |
| License Plate Lamp Bulb | Philips | 168LL | 2 | $0.94 |
| Front Brake Pads | Power Stop | 16884 | 1 | $24.79 |
| Rear Brake Caliper, Rotor, and Pads | Power Stop | KCOE5333 | 1 | $183.89 ($66 core) |
| Oil Pan Gasket | Victor Reinz | 711550200 | 1 | $5.88 |
Total with tax and shipping was $386.06. Not bad. I completed the installation of the parts from 10/4/2020 - 10/9/2020.
Notes:
- Broke two 1/2 -> 3/8 adapters, and a 3/8 ratchet trying to loosen the bolts attaching the struts to the wheel hubs. In the future, use wrenches when possible when breaking bolts, which can resist much more force before breaking. Two wrenches can be linked together to extend leverage similar to a breaker bar.
- It can be challenging to remove the CV axle nut because applying force just moves the opposite wheel. One good trick is to re-attach the wheel and tire with the center plate removed so that the CV axle nut is accessible through the wheel. Then, lower the car down so that the wheel engages the ground. The friction of the wheel with the ground and the weight of the car will provide all the counter force needed to break the nut off.
- The car’s rear brakes had a mechanism inside the rotor for the parking brake. I didn’t know about this, and it made removing the rotor challenging since it was stuck on the parking brake pads. The parking brake mechanism had a adjustment wheel that you could move by reaching a screw driver through a hole in the rotor. This relived the tension in the parking brake and made it easy to remove the rotor.
- The car needs to be running to get accurate readings on the transmission fluid.
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