inexperienced car owner needs help

[SaintSamo]

Toyota Marino 1994, engine 4A-FE, automatic transmission. Bought this car (well)used. need tip and advice on how to maintain. i have very little mechanical experience. so far i have experience broken cooling hoses. now i notice a leak in coolant on the side of the engine.

engine idle speed has dropped from 1000 rpm to 500 rpm, - is this safe - car and steering feels like it is heavy when accelerating from idle.

would appreciate any advice received along with recommended reading.

thanks.

[jdmccright]

First off...Welcome to AF!

Congrats on getting your "new" car. A good first way of finding out what maintenance is needed is to check your car's owner's manual. Because your car's odometer is probably over what is listed in the manual, I would concentrate more on the km intervals between services for each area...changing oil, transmission fluid, coolant, spark plugs, etc.

A simple repair manual is also good to have so you can read about what is involved in a certain repair before you try to do it yourself.

Check the stickies at the top of the Toyota forum for extra info on generic maintenance and common problems.

For instance, your low idle could be due to a stuck idle air control (IAC) or clogged ehxaust gas recirculation (EGR) valve.

The coolant leak from the side of the engine probably means your engine's water pump has developed a leak. This repair is more involved since you have to remove the timing belt and keep everything aligned. If you are a novice, I'd suggest having this done by a machanic. Another example of a repair manual being helpful.

Sorry this was a bit late, but I hope it helps and bienvenido!