Jim_Chow

I think if you do, you'll suffer major drivetrain damage, even if the tranny is in neutral. Besides it being full-time 4wd, I recall someone saying it didn't have the ability to recirculate fluid in the t-case or something. In a nutshell, the only way you can tow it is on a flatbed.

x2. The cat shields is a infamous problem on the 98-02's. The quick fix is to use a hose clamp.

That's because of space issues. Keep in mind the 4.7L V8 (2UZ-FE) is basically a bored-out 4L V8 (1UZ-FE) originally used on the Lexus LS400. The starter was incorporated into the block and the water pump is BEHIND the timing belt, which is why one should change out the water pump when the t-belt service is done around 90-100K eventhough water pumps tend to last about 120K. It's only like 0.5 hrs extra labor plus the price of the pump vs. paying hundreds in labor to replace a leaking pump. FWIW, the water pump on my '86 4Runner was changed at 125K mi and 18 yrs since the timing chain was being done. It didn't leak (yet), but the bearings were a little rough. Anyways, I'm guessing the starter and water pump design were taken from the 1UZ. By using the same design, Toyota could use the same machinery w/ larger bore & stroke to create the 4.7L instead of a 4L. Also, the starter contacts on my 864Runner are still the original at 204K mi and 21 yrs. I just replaced the alternator a few months ago (brushes were going bad, but replaced the entire unit to be sure since it's my 24mpg DD).

I think the AHC fluid absorbs moisture like brake fluid. At any rate, waiting too long could lead to the premature demise of the membranes in the damper globes ($2K to replace all 4). There are two way to change the fluid: 1) Method 1: Siphon out most of the old fluid in the resevoir, dump in new fluid, then bleed each bleeder next to the globe plus the height bleeder under the DS rail. Careful since each corner will drop to the bumpstops as you relieve the AHC of pressure. Fluid is around $30 for a 2.5L can. Can't recall if you want the AHC initially in low or N (I'd guess low since it forces more fluid up to the resevoir). 2) Method 2: Drive to dealer, drink cappucinos, pay for 1 hr labor + fluid.:) Beats crushing your skull under the car when it suddenly drops!

As long as the grease in the inner bearing is still good, you should be okay. Have you had the bearings repacked yet at all? If not, I think 60K is a good time to do it. The owner's manual specs every 30K mi, but that's if you do some heavy offroading, towing, drive in lots of water, etc. FWIW, the '86 4runner I inherited in '00 w/ 94K mi on it didn't have its bearings repacked until 102K mi. They were loose, but those Koyo bearings last. I've since repacked them at 130K and 175K mi and have been stretching the intervals out longer and longer since they are still in good condition long after 30K mile intervals. Currently, I have 204K on them. For the time being, I just did the LX bearings at 57K (will change rotors in Sept, but won't repack inner bearing). I'll likely next do them at 100K-110K. Even if the bearing went bad < 100K, I doubt there's any way the CPO warranty would cover it since it's a wear item, like brake pads/rotors.

Yes, you are correct. This is what the salesman told me, but only AFTER I had bought the car and was picking it up. No mention of this before I bought the car. Had I known, I would have required them to provide a second master key as one of the conditions for delivery. I felt I was getting nickel-and-dimed after shelling out that much money on a vehicle. Then since they couldn't get the second master key from the previous owner, they mentioned they could delete that key from the ECU, but I had to pay 1/2 hr labor for this (in addition to the 1/2 hr labor to program the new key plus $200 for the new key). Lesson learned was, before you sign on the dotted line, make sure the vehicle comes w/ both master keys. One guy on the ih8mud forum bought a used landcruiser, only to find it had NO master keys, so he had to get an entire new ECU w/ pair of master keys after the fact. Tell your dealer that Lexus of Tucson charges 1/2 hr labor. The labor rate here is cheap, too...$95/hr! The toyota dealer charges $120/hr!!

Is that to program it only? My dealer charged me 1/2 hr labor, which came to $45 at the time. They master key was $200, though, and I was dismayed at having to pay this after shelling out so much money for the CPO vehicle that only came w/ 1 master key (and the salesman didn't mention anything of it when I bought the vehicle; I assumed it would have come w/ 2 master keys).

You only need to do the bearings every 30K mi if you drive offroad or in water a lot or submerge half the wheel. Otherwise, they should be able to go 60K mi w/o repacking (they will loosen with time if you don't repack; test is to jack up the wheel, grab the tire at 6 and 12 o'clock, and see if there's any wiggle/play). FYI, the owner's manual spec's 30K mi intervals for the front bearing repack. I've done the bearings on my 4runner at 30K w/ some light offroading (dirt roads, no water) and they were in excellent condition. I then increased the interval to 40K, still seemed in very good condition. So far, it's been 25K. Toyota tech did the jiggle test when the rig was in there for a torn boot and said both were still good. If they are charging for a front bearing repack, make sure they do the inner bearing. This requires using a new OEM bearing seal. Otherwise, the outer bearing has no seal other than the drive flange gasket, and had to be repacked regardless if you repack the inner bearing or not. Personally, I wouldn't trust a shop to do my bearings. They tend to relay on the Haynes manuals for the torques, and there's a unusual(?) procedure to properly torque the front axle nuts whereby you initially torque the inner nut to a certain value, spin the rotor/hub a few times, loose that nut until it's hand loose, then retighten it to a very low torque, then you install a new lock washer and outer axle nut. It's critical to get the torques just right, and I wouldn't trust any Haynes manual for torque values. They're only like 200 pages long and skip a lot of the details. Use the big factory manuals.

If/when you get new sensors, first thing you should do is use a non-conductive sealing compound and seal it up against weather. The only problem I've heard w/ the sensors is the internal contacts corrode (usually due to road salt).

Timing belt should be done at 90K, transmission fluid every 30K mi. It's a good idea to change the water pump at the same time, as it's located behind the t-belt and lasts ~120K. Don't know about a high-pitched sound, but a howling sound would be a bad bearing (like bearings in the water pump?). The wheel bearings should last a lot longer than 100K mi as long as they're not contaminated (you didn't submerge them). Does the high pitched sound change w/ engine rpm or vehicle speed?

There's not much to tune up, as it's all electronic. The iridium plugs are supposed to be replaced at 120Kmi. You could clean the throttle body flap, replace air filter. Did you replace the timing belt yet? That's supposed to be done at 90K. You shouldn't have to check the valve gaps...that's a much bigger job, as they use shims of different thicknesses. You shouldn't have to do that for at least 200K mi. Do you use cheapo gas or name brand shell/chevron? If cheapo, they can give the fuel system issues. IMHO, it doesn't pay to use el cheapo gas, as you'll spend $$$ in cleaning the injectors and such. I still run chevron 89 and 91 in my '86 4runner, and it still runs well at 203K mi.

If you want to avoid the lex dealer due to price, I'd try calling around and see if there's a local toyota dealer that will work on your LX. Then ask if they allow you to bring your own parts in. If they do, you can buy either quality aftermarket rotors or mailorder OEM toyota rotors from dealers in Texas (like Toyota or Grapevine, etc.). I buy my stuff from the parts manager at American Toyota in Albuquerque since he gives ih8mud board members a good discount; his name is Dan and he is a landcruiser owner and very knowledgeable about parts. I think one guy said he bought 4 new Toyota rotors plus toyota pads for front & rear from him for $500 or so. They are genuine parts, so lexus can't give you any crap about saying they are of poor quality, etc. So that's like $300 for new rotors and pads for the front axle, plus about $200-250 labor to install the rotors/pads. Still less than what lexus wants. There is no point on resurfacing the rotors if they are going to remove them to send to the machine shop. It takes the same amount of work to install new rotors. If you can't go to the toyota dealer, look for an indep toyota mechanic, not a foreign car shop. The Toyota front wheel hub assembly requires some oddball torques and methods to torque the axle nuts. I wouldn't trust a guy reading the values from a Haynes manual, as those are known to be wrong.

MP grease (NLGI No. 2) lithium based. IIRC, there are 3 zerks for each driveshaft. The end zerks are for the U-joints, the other is for the compression sleeve. DO NOT overfill the compression sleeve zerk...I'd say 4 pumps is adequate. For the U-joints, you can pump in a little more and any excess will purge out the seals.

The repack along is like $250-300 in labor for both front wheels. The only additional work is removing the old inner oil seal, removing & cleaning bearing, regrease bearing, repack w/ new oil seal. The seal is about $22 at Toyota (list) or $33 at Lexus (list), each. Grease is $3. That's it! My guess is the dealer will try to charge the unsuspecting customer $350 for a front bearing repack, then $300 labor for the front rotors plus parts. FYI, front pads are about $50 per axle. Anti-squeal shims (recommended) are about $40/axle (I'm pretty sure the dealer doesn't do this). Resurfacing the rotors shouldn't cost much, maybe $50/pr? In summary, to repack the front wheel bearings, you need to remove the hub/rotor assembly (rotor is bolted to the hub from the back side). To replace the rotors, you need to remove the hub/rotor but don't have to repack the inner bearing (you have to do the outer bearing either way). It's only like 10 min extra work if you did it yourself, so they shouldn't be charging you hundreds of dollars for it if they are already removing the rotors!!

On the 03, you first remove the black trim plate at the bottom of the cluster (behind the steering wheel). That's attached with two clips, one at either end. Tape up a screwdriver and gently pry it straight out. This will expose a couple of screws. There are two more screws holding the top of the clear cluster shield, I think accessed from the bottom up. Remove those 4 screws and the cluster shield should come out; it's likely a tight fit, but nothing else should be holding it in.

No, but I'd at least recommend having the rotors turned. New, quality aftermarket rotors like brembo's or powerslots run about $105-120 each. Pads are about $50/axle for OEM. They should replace and regrease the anti-squeal shims (about $40 per axle). If you just slap new pads in, chances are, the brakes will start pulsating due to the new pads not distributing pad material evenly on the worn (not flat) rotors. The rear rotors are easy to do...maybe 15 min each wheel. Fronts are a different story, as it's 4wd. You need some special tools...large brass bar and hammer, snap ring pliers, 54mm 6-point SST socket, fish-scale for tension, torque wrench, 17mm deep 6-pt socket, misc other sockets. You need to remove the wheel, brake caliper mounting bolts and hose bracket bolt (don't disconnect brakes hose). Then remove the dust cap, 4wd flange (use brass bar and hammer to pound the 6 studs). With the flange off, remove old gasket, then use snap ring pliers to remove snap ring. Use large screwdriver to bend tabs on aluminum lock washers back straight, then use 54mm socket SST to remove outer and inner axle nuts. Remove hub & rotor unit, unbolt rotor from hub, replace w/ new rotor. If you haven't repacked the inner bearing, do so now. Use a seal driver, plastic hammer, or stack of wood to set the brass seal for the inner bearing. Repack outer bearing and torque inner nut to the spec'd torque, turn wheel back & forth, loose nut, tighten to new torque, then install lock washer and outer nut. Use fish scale to test tension on lug nut. Reinstall snap ring, then 4wd flange. For each wheel, you'll need one inner oil seal (~$22), a new aluminum lock washer (~$5), a flange gasket ($2), plus grease. A bearing packer helps. Figure about 4 hrs to do the job if you've done it before, 8 hrs if you haven't. Labor is typically $250-300 for a front bearing repack, so I'd figure that much to install rotors up front alone. I glossed over the steps just to give you an idea of how labor instensive it is, and how, if you can get the dealer to do it for $200 in labor, it's a steal. :-) It's a labor intensive, messy job that no one wants to do, even for a pro. BTW, you are supposed to repack the front wheel bearings (in the above method) every 30K mi.

Depends on the dealer. I notice you're in Tucson. Lexus of Tucson is reasonable if you have non-package stuff done, like just the brakes flushed, or AHC fluid flushed. OTOH, if you have the package service done, you get ripped off bad. For the 60K service, they do stuff that's not needed and charge $2.4K. For example, they do a timing belt "inspection," meaning a full front engine tear-down, valve clearance adjustment (not needed even after 100K mi), and change the iridium spark plugs (not needed until 120K). All this to justify the cost. I balked and did most of it myself. The hourly rate at lexus of tucson is pretty good, a straight $95/hr, cheaper than Precision Toyota ($100-120/hr). Where they get you is on the package service and parts (2x markup over Toyota). OTOH, they're more trustworthy than Toyota. I had Toyota repack my front wheel bearings and change the ATF. The tech broke both front wheel caps (broke the blade off one, the spring on the other; I didn't notice until way later), plus they put some kind of ATF conditioner in the ATF. Since I didn't have the time for them to do it over, I took it to the lexus dealer and had them do the ATF change again. They've never heard of putting any additives in the ATF, nor did a tech I spoke to at scottsdale lexus or the guys on the ih8mud LX470/landcruiser forum. Whatever you do, don't let Toyota mess with the AHC. Most techs have never worked w/ it before. If they put the wrong fluid in there, it takes months for the membranes in the globes to degrade, but they will, and you'll be faced w/ a $2K bill to replace them. For the 15K service, lexus of tucson is pricey...they want $750 to change the oil/oil filter, cabin AC filters, drain & fill the front/rear diffs & t-case, lube the drive shaft, rotate the tires, drain & fill the ATF pan (only 3 qts). You can do this yourself for under $100.

AHC fluid: 60K mi PS fluid: when it needs it (in AZ, like 37K mi). Use ATF w/ dextron II/III (w/ or w/o mercon). DO NOT use "power steering" fluid unless you like leaks.

If your dealer is recommending a t-belt change at 60K for the 2UZ V8, they're ripping you off. The 90K estimate is very conservative. OTOH, for the V6 engines, you'll have to replace earlier than 90K (engines are harsher on the t-belt, tech tells me). The t-belt and water pump are normal wear items like brakes. I seriously doubt they'd be covered under warranty unless the vehicle were nearly new. Toyota/Honda water pumps typically last ~120K mi, but there's no guarantee. I changed the one on my '86 4runner at 125K mi (17 yrs old at that time) and althought it didn't leak, the bearings were rough compared to a new one. It's about an extra half hour labor to change out the water pump on the LX. I'd highly recommend changing the water pump at the same time as the t-belt, even if it's not weeping ('cause if you change the t-belt at 90K mi and the water pump starts leaking at 120K mi, you'll have to do it all over again and remove the new t-belt you just installed just to access the water pump.

My dealer wants $1300. :-) But they also wanted $2400 for the 60K service (they do a bunch of unnecessary stuff like a t-belt inspection [read: full front engine tear down for something you know will last at least 90K mi and has lasted others 200K mi], valve gap adjustment (not even needed at 100K mi), spark plug change (iridium plugs last 120K mi)). I had the Toyota dealer do the bearing repack ($250), lexus dealer do the ATF change ($250), then did the rest myself ($100 for all synthetic fluids + $40 for 2 gal toyota coolant), so I saved about $1800. Yeah, back to the belts. The only other belt you need to change is the serpentine belt. Should last 60K mi depending on where you live. Here in AZ, the original belt only lasted 48K mi. I'll change it again at 90K mi. You might as well change the serp belt since you have to remove it to get to the t-belt! It's not like there's any extra labor cost. If you want to save a few bucks, buy the serp belt from the Toyota dealer. Should be the same part as for the 4.7L Tundra/Sequoia and v8 4runner.

I had it disabled to save the motor. It still works when you use the knob or memory seats, just doesn't retract/extend automatically. That's a useless feature, IMHO.

First of all, the LX suspension is hydraulic, not air. Second, it's designed to go into N above 9 mph (yeah, the manual says something like 18mph, but that's a typo). The L mode is mostly to facilitate easy loading/unloading of the vehicle or connecting/disconnecting a trailer. Keep in mind that with any independent front suspension vehicle, if you install a controller and keep in it in low almost all the time, you should have the front end realigned for that low setting. Also, you will be losing most of your suspension up travel, so if you hit a speed bump, you could bottom out the suspension...not good. As for controllers, there are a number on the market. The only one I've seen made in this country is offered by Slee offroad, looks a little crude. Other ones sold in Japan can get pretty advanced. The basic one is a model by BBlanks that allows one to lock the AHC in L, N, or H, regardless of speed. This type is a AHC ECU replacement, I think (goes inside your dash), so you use the same factory switch in the center console to raise/drop the vehicle. Other ones are a controller box. A couple of them (about $500) allow you to raise or drop the front or back independently in 10mm increments. As far as how the LX suspension works, there are two parts. One is a height actuator ( the cylinder under the driver's side frame rail) that raises the vehicle (sensors at the front & back tell the AHC if each corner is at the proper height) by pumping AHC fluid into the shocks. Then there's the hydraulic damping system, which consists of one "globe" module connected to an accumulator at each wheel. The globes are partly filled w/ nitrogen, and there's a membrane inside that separates the nitrogen from the AHC fluid. I believe it works something like this. The accumulator has a valve that constricts or dialates according to the setting from comfort to sport. When dialated, more fluid can enter the sphere and move the membrane to compress the nitrogen for a softer ride. When the orifice constricts, less fluid enters the sphere, and the ride is firmer. The AHC also has a max load. Passenger + cargo weight cannot exceed about 660 lbs or the AHC will default to L regardless of speed. What sets it off is a hydraulic pressure sensor inside the AHC pump. If the load is too high, the pressure increases, passes the threshold, and the systems reverts to limp mode to prevent damage.

Do you need/plan to remove the 3rd row seats for extra cargo space? If the answer is "yes," you'll have to get the '07 since in the '08, the 3rd row jump seats cannot be removed (although they do still fold up). The 3rd row jump seats are supposed to have side curtain bags (not good if you put kids in them, as airbags can severely injure kids by their impact). The '08 will have more bucket-like 2nd row seats (indentations were your rear goes for the outer seats, but not sure about the center). The '07 has a uniformly flat, split bench (no identations), so if you use a large convertible seat like the britax ones, they won't overlap into the indented seating area on the '08.

You could try my local dealer Lexus of Tucson. I did see someone driving a new '06 or '07 sand dollar LX around town, and I know it's one of the more popular colors here. I bought my '03 LX (also sand dollar) from the internet sales manager (Rick Lind) there, got a good price. If you give them a call, tell them I recommended him.:-) 520-745-3987

Does the ignition cylinder break because of repeatedly having the steering wheel lock and having to release it w/ the key?