'96 Previa S/C--Need Advice

Hello, here’s my van story, and I would appreciate some advice. Bought a ‘96 Previa S/C on eBay, paid what I think was a premium price for what seemed to be a good van. Shortly after purchasing, on our way from CA to OH, it started to overheat going up grades. Stopped in Barstow on a Friday night, talked to every mechanic we could trying to determine what was wrong, went to Toyota dealership Saturday morning and they weren’t sure and didn’t seem to want to have anything to do with this van (“maybe headgasket, we don’t know, we don’t fix ‘em anyway”). Lucked into a mechanic who seemed to know what was wrong based on the symptoms: bad radiator (bottom was cool even with engine heated up—fluid not circulating properly), bad thermostat stuck open, bad fan clutch (operated normally, but did not kick into high gear when extra cooling was needed). Four days and $1000 later, we were on our way. Made it home, tried to negotiate half of the repair with the eBay seller, no luck. Van needed new tires and rear shocks, $500. Brakes started going to the floor with van loaded; a local import mechanic said we needed new brakes and rotors—he did the job and charged us $700. He also said the flex couplers on the SADS were bad, but he wouldn’t bother replacing them—they’ll just be noisy. When I’m driving, the van does this weird fading thing sometimes---it’s almost like a stall but the engine’s still running, and when I accelerate it seems to then run okay--???

I want to love this van, but I’m not feeling the love back. Hubby & I aren’t mechanics (as you probably guessed). We had an old Previa van (’91 or ’92, I think) we bought from a friend that had over 200K miles on it and was one of the best vehicles we’ve ever owned—we ran it for about 6 years, and the Silver Bullet took our family of 5 on a trip across the country in 2002 when it had almost 300K miles on it. A mechanic who didn’t know better killed the Bullet by putting a spark plug in wrong :(

I really need to find someone locally who knows these vans and can get the Golden Egg running right. A few questions and a final comment:
• What questions would you ask to go about finding a mechanic who really, truly knows these vans? Does anyone on here know of a good mechanic in the Ohio/Kentucky/Indiana area?
• Can the bad SADS couplers really be ignored? For how long? (Noise could be heard 3 month ago only when idling with the A/C on; now I hear noise intermittently and randomly when the van is running with no A/C on). If the couplers need to be replaced, is there anywhere to get Toyota OEM replacements, and if not, are any of the ones on eBay any good?
• I’ve read posters on here and toyotavanpeople.com saying that the SADS should be replaced along with the couplers—how do you know the drive shaft is bad? I’ve also read on here the recommendation to get a used one at a junk yard and put on new couplers—how do you know the junkyard one is better than the existing SADS? Sorry if this is a dumb question, I just really don’t know. • Any idea what could be causing the weird fading/fake stall thing? Fuel pump?
• Are there repairs and maintenance things that could be done by a rookie like myself? (I can read directions and think things through—used to work on my old Rambler Ambassador ;)
• Final comment: be glad you didn’t win this van on eBay!

Sorry for the long post. I’m really trying to stay with this van, but I know my hubby’s not convinced. Really wish we were neighbors of timsrv :) Thanks for reading, and if you have advice, I’d appreciate it.
Carol (goldenegg)

Sorry to hear of your "bad luck" with this van. It sounds as if it's been driven hard and put away wet. Lack of routine maintenance will make a big difference in the longevity/reliability of any vehicle. Sounds as if the seller already knew more than he let on about the van's condition.

In response to your questions here's my best shot:

• I would ask a potential mechanic about the SADS system. This is unique to the Previa and there are special precautions when working on it. If he doesn't know what the SADS is, then find another mechanic. If you find a mechanic you like, Google his phone number and see what pops up. If there are on-line complaints they will often come up with a phone number search. Use "quotes" on each side of the phone number to prevent excessive unrelated search results.
• Can the SADS be ignored? Sure, I guess you could ignore anything, but there will likely be future repercussions. The couplers are held captive so neglect probably wouldn't result in a thrown shaft or anything spectacular, but if let go too long the unbalanced condition could create other serious issues. If you keep the van I'd recommend fixing now. As for eBay couplers I've heard bad things about them but I don't have enough info to say for sure the problems were caused by the couplers themselves or improper installation. There are mistakes that are easy to make while replacing, so if you go this route be careful and follow the directions outlined in the service bulletin (attached to this post). I'm currently running some of the urethane couplers from eBay on my 91 All-Trac but have only put about 10k miles on them. I haven't inspected them since installation, but no noises or symptoms have presented themselves...........yet. Not a job I'd care to do again anytime soon, so I hope they hold up.
• Unless something bad happens the SADS shaft should not go bad. Keep in mind that 91-93 Previas used a slightly different SADS shaft/coupler set-up and Toyota completely phased out the 91-93 SADS shaft assy (couplers and shaft). The 94 & up models have slightly bigger coupler bushings and the shafts are machined to match the bigger bushings. Since Toyota discontinued 91-93 SADS parts & since 94 & up shaft assys will fit on 91-93 Previas, one way to "keep your Toyota all Toyota" is to get a 94 & up SADS shaft from a junk yard then put new Toyota flex couplers on it. Since yours is a 96 there's no need to get a junk yard shaft. You simply get new flex couplers and change those out. If you have a 91-93 & don't care about using genuine Toyota couplers, then you can get the aftermarket parts from eBay (or wherever) to fix your original shaft. I haven't checked availability lately, but the Toyota part number for the 94 & up kit is #04374-28010 & it sells for around $230 at discount Toyota parts sites. If you go to a stealership the MSRP for this kit is about $80 more.
• Not sure what to say about the "fake stalling" question. Some things I need to experience myself before I can comment. I'd start with a tune-up. When you're changing the distributor cap make sure there's no oil inside of the distributor. There's an o-ring on the distributor shaft that can leak. If that happens oil gets into the distributor and causes runability issues. I would also recommend checking for trouble codes. This probably doesn't have anything to do with it, but check the oil level for the supercharger. These rarely get checked and it's not unusual for them to run dry.

Good luck with repairs. I hope this van works out for you. Tim

Thanks so much for your response and advice, Tim. Found someone locally who only works on Toyotas & Hondas, seemed knowledgeable about Previas on the phone, has been in business for over 20 years, and has no bad reviews. Will order the flex couplers from your link--really appreciate this. Mechanic is going to check the van out next week and tell me what he finds. I also appreciate your clarification about the drive shaft differences based on the early vs. later models---now all that I've read about replacing the drive shaft makes sense. Will post again in a few weeks. Thanks again!

I totally feel you on this one! I have the exact same van as you, and I've had my fair share of problems and little weird things. Had it for 2 days and the radiator cap went bad, threw up coolant all over a Chase Bank parking lot. Got it back and spent 300$ on new brake pads and rotors. Then spent another 500$ on all new tires and a transmission flush. Went on a frantic frenzy to try and find the next best thing for supercharger oil (won't buy from Toyota, 50$ for 4 ounces). California doesn't let auto parts stores sell windshield wiper blade replacements anymore, you have to buy from the dealership...the list goes on and on. Just got the van back in July after it being out of commission for 2 months with a cracked cylinder head. Been good to me since, but it has the SAME weird 'fake stall' thing happening. But it only does it to me, not at the shop, not when I'm in my automotive college classes, but only with me.

If you finally figure out what causes that, PLEASE let me know so I can fix mine too! Thanks! :dizzy:

Update: ordered the flex couplers from the link provided by timsrv, then scheduled the mechanic's time...it took 2 hours, he charged me $150 to replace the bushings/flex couplers and said the job went smoothly...the mechanic said he thinks the van was well-taken-care-of (:dance2:) and exhibits no rust or problems he often sees with vehicles of this age...he suggested I drive it and then see how things go...no doubt its performance is much better without the noise and vibration (the flex couplers were really torn up--only one metal thingy remained attached to the rubber)...still experiencing the fade/fake stall thing, but not as often, attention to that will be next...THANK YOU SO MUCH TIMSRV for the guidance and wisdom...will keep you posted, LLopez. Feeling a glimmer of love for the old Golden Egg!

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Originally Posted by lyndsiedlopez

California doesn't let auto parts stores sell windshield wiper blade replacements anymore, you have to buy from the dealership...the list goes on and on.

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You could try the link posted by timsrv, just click it and it will lead you to a toyota parts website; front rubber wiper refills are part # 85214-28070 for one...the rubber blades aren't very difficult to replace, just examine what you have, carefully pry open one of the metal clips, slide out the old wiper, reuse the 2 thin metal supports on the new rubber, slide the new blades in, close the metal clip (that you originally pried open) and you're good to go. I did the passenger side first and learned on that one (less critical) windshield wiper. Each replacement rubber blade (no metal supports) was about $4.

I just had an experience with my SADS shaft for the third time in five years. This time, I let it go too long and ended up having to have my mounts replaced for my accessories. Added $150 to the bill. Three of my vans have had the SADS shaft bushings replaced. Oddly enough, my fourth van has the highest miles of all of them ?(1991 with 294,000 miles) and the shaft is untouched.....Go figure. Also, make sure you check your supercharger fluid at least once a year. Replacing a supercharger isn't cheap. I finally found a salvage yard here in my area that even has a Previa in the year. Luckily, thye have two and they have a ton of good parts on them. One is hit in the right front- which looks like it could've been easily fixed but it was probably totalled by the insurance company. That is an N/A model. The second is an S/C that looks almost complete- minus the middle row bench and driver's door window. These vans are everywhere here in California and I've been told that this van was one of those failed ideas for the "Cash for Clunkers" program. Most people didn't want to trade them in. Every mechanic I've spoken to tells me that people just drive them into the ground. I believe it. Anyway, I wish you luck with your van. they really are great vans and while yours needs a bit more TLC than you desire, that extra love can go a long way.