2000 LX470 - sitting 5 years - In Georgia USA. I need some help. How to check if engine is seized?

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A little nerdy but I ran this whole thread through my ChatGPT (trained on the FSM and IH8MUD 100-series sources). Here’s a concise set of troubleshooting vectors for where to go next — not a diagnosis. Disclaimer: AI can hallucinate, and I’ve been progressively teaching mine how to navigate ‘Mud.

Your condition — smooth in P/N, strong vibration only in D/R at idle, truck sat 5 years, now CEL + VSC — lines up with patterns seen across other 100-Series cases.

1. Engine running rough under load (most common cause of D-only vibration).

On these trucks, a slightly uneven idle may feel totally smooth in Park but becomes obvious when the torque converter loads the engine. Seen repeatedly here:
  • Vibration in gear, none in Park (engine roughness amplified):
    shtbrwn86

    Thread 'Vibration at idle in gear?'

    Just recently noticed a vibration in my 99 LX when I am in Drive or Reverse. No vibration in Park.

    I can feel it in the steering wheel when I come to a stop most of the time. Sometimes it sits there and it's fine but I would say the majority of the time there is a vibration. The vibration is audible as well (the sound is louder and vibration is greater in reverse.)

    At first I thought it would be the exhaust boom issue, but I have the frame weight still installed. I know there are more things involved in the TSB and not just the frame weight, but if I have that weight then I would have...
This often ends up being ignition (coil/plug), air metering, or a minor fuel issue.

Next step: read the codes. CEL + VSC almost always means “engine problem first, stability system second.”

2. Engine/trans mounts magnifying the roughness.

After long storage, mounts can sag or partially separate. They don’t cause a misfire, but they noticeably amplify any unevenness when in gear.
  • Gear-engaged vibration tracked to mount condition:
    C

    Thread 'Vibration and shake at Idle'

    Hi,

    I have 1999 Toyota Land Cruiser 4.7 V8 with around 61k miles on it, I've recently got it fully serviced.

    But it has developed some problem, as the car is started and left at idle in gear it shakes and vibrates, not too much but is noticeable once at the driver seat. Once the gear is shifted to neutral or parking the vibration disappears. Every time I stop at the traffic lights with foot on brake pedal the car vibrates again i.e when ever stationary and in gear.

    I have changed the Spark plugs and checked all the ignition coils by changing them over for the new ones and it still...
A visual load test (hood open → foot on brake → shift into D) will tell you a lot.

3. Intake/IAC issues from long sitting (5 years).

Gummed throttle body, sticky IAC valve, or varnished injectors can cause an idle that’s “almost good” in Park but unstable once loaded.
  • Idle issues after sitting / IAC behavior in 100-Series:
    lt403

    Thread '2001 470 vibration/groaning while stopped in drive'

    got my car back from the dealer after service and throttle body cleaning. a day or two later my wife told me that she felt a vibration/groaning when the car is in drive and the foot on the brake. it goes away when you release the brake and start to drive. the car rides fine but when you stop, it happens again. took it back to the lexus dealer and they told me i needed new motor and transmission mounts. they put them in ($500 plus) but the problem still exists. i left the car with them and the next day they called me stating that there was a technical service bulliten out dealing with this...
Cleaning the throttle body & IAC is a common fix after long storage.

4. NVH contact points (cover, hoses, exhaust).

100-Series trucks commonly develop idle vibrations in gear from simple contact points — engine cover, intake tube, heat shield, or exhaust rubbing when the engine torques slightly in D/R.

(Not the source threads’ main topic, but repeatedly confirmed in replies within the linked “vibration in gear” threads above.)

Quick check: temporarily remove the engine cover; verify no hoses or shields are touching.

Recommended order:
  1. Pull codes (CEL + VSC is your biggest clue).
  2. Check ignition (coil connections, plugs; swap a suspect coil if misfire code).
  3. Inspect engine/trans mounts under load.
  4. Check for simple vibration transmitters (cover, hoses, exhaust contact).
  5. Clean throttle body + IAC, and continue diluting old fuel.
 
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Use a code reader. Check for current and pending DTCs (codes). Parts store will read for free.

But first check fluid levels:

It's not uncommon, a first timer, drains wrong pan.

Check oil after engine warm up on vehicle level. Turn engine off, let sit ~10 minutes. Pull dipstick, wipe and reinsert with word OIL readable while stand at LH fender. After full insertion, pull dipstick out a read level. If over full mark, remove oil filter and drain/pour into clean catch container. Replace oil filter, after lubing its seal. Repeat.

Check Auto transmission (A/T) fluid (ATF) level. In those 100 series, with A/T dipstick.
Get up to operating temp of ~165F. Note: Best to check ATF temp, through tech stream. Engine idling, foot on brake, shift through all gears. Bring up RPM (1,400) with foot on brake while in D and shifting into lower forward gears. This loads A/T, bring up ATF temp. Note: Do not load A/T in R. Alternatively: Drive until ATF #1 to operating temp. Park vehicle on level ground. Shift to park, and while engine idling, check ATF level. Pull dipstick, wipe and reinsert. Once fully inserted, remove and check level. Note: Do not bend dipstick. Guide dipstick in, using both hands.
 
A code reader would probably tell you where to start looking. If it's spark plug related, a reader would tell what plugs are misbehaving.
 
ok, going to pick up a code reader then one day when I grow up based on what all is wrong, upgrade to the the Tech Stream. That thread seems a bit, verbose to figure out at the moment. Thank you all. And laughing at "shotgunning parts" @Batameez I get it. I just really thought I some how messed up an oil change... which remains to be seen..
Super77 said:
A little nerdy but I ran this whole thread through my ChatGPT (trained on the FSM and IH8MUD 100-series sources). Here’s a concise set of troubleshooting vectors for where to go next — not a diagnosis. Disclaimer: AI can hallucinate, and I’ve been progressively teaching mine how to navigate ‘Mud.

Your condition — smooth in P/N, strong vibration only in D/R at idle, truck sat 5 years, now CEL + VSC — lines up with patterns seen across other 100-Series cases.

1. Engine running rough under load (most common cause of D-only vibration).

On these trucks, a slightly uneven idle may feel totally smooth in Park but becomes obvious when the torque converter loads the engine. Seen repeatedly here:
  • Vibration in gear, none in Park (engine roughness amplified):
    shtbrwn86

    Thread 'Vibration at idle in gear?'

    Just recently noticed a vibration in my 99 LX when I am in Drive or Reverse. No vibration in Park.

    I can feel it in the steering wheel when I come to a stop most of the time. Sometimes it sits there and it's fine but I would say the majority of the time there is a vibration. The vibration is audible as well (the sound is louder and vibration is greater in reverse.)

    At first I thought it would be the exhaust boom issue, but I have the frame weight still installed. I know there are more things involved in the TSB and not just the frame weight, but if I have that weight then I would have...
This often ends up being ignition (coil/plug), air metering, or a minor fuel issue.

Next step: read the codes. CEL + VSC almost always means “engine problem first, stability system second.”

2. Engine/trans mounts magnifying the roughness.

After long storage, mounts can sag or partially separate. They don’t cause a misfire, but they noticeably amplify any unevenness when in gear.
  • Gear-engaged vibration tracked to mount condition:
    C

    Thread 'Vibration and shake at Idle'

    Hi,

    I have 1999 Toyota Land Cruiser 4.7 V8 with around 61k miles on it, I've recently got it fully serviced.

    But it has developed some problem, as the car is started and left at idle in gear it shakes and vibrates, not too much but is noticeable once at the driver seat. Once the gear is shifted to neutral or parking the vibration disappears. Every time I stop at the traffic lights with foot on brake pedal the car vibrates again i.e when ever stationary and in gear.

    I have changed the Spark plugs and checked all the ignition coils by changing them over for the new ones and it still...
A visual load test (hood open → foot on brake → shift into D) will tell you a lot.

3. Intake/IAC issues from long sitting (5 years).

Gummed throttle body, sticky IAC valve, or varnished injectors can cause an idle that’s “almost good” in Park but unstable once loaded.
  • Idle issues after sitting / IAC behavior in 100-Series:
    lt403

    Thread '2001 470 vibration/groaning while stopped in drive'

    got my car back from the dealer after service and throttle body cleaning. a day or two later my wife told me that she felt a vibration/groaning when the car is in drive and the foot on the brake. it goes away when you release the brake and start to drive. the car rides fine but when you stop, it happens again. took it back to the lexus dealer and they told me i needed new motor and transmission mounts. they put them in ($500 plus) but the problem still exists. i left the car with them and the next day they called me stating that there was a technical service bulliten out dealing with this...
Cleaning the throttle body & IAC is a common fix after long storage.

4. NVH contact points (cover, hoses, exhaust).

100-Series trucks commonly develop idle vibrations in gear from simple contact points — engine cover, intake tube, heat shield, or exhaust rubbing when the engine torques slightly in D/R.

(Not the source threads’ main topic, but repeatedly confirmed in replies within the linked “vibration in gear” threads above.)

Quick check: temporarily remove the engine cover; verify no hoses or shields are touching.

Recommended order:
  1. Pull codes (CEL + VSC is your biggest clue).
  2. Check ignition (coil connections, plugs; swap a suspect coil if misfire code).
  3. Inspect engine/trans mounts under load.
  4. Check for simple vibration transmitters (cover, hoses, exhaust contact).
  5. Clean throttle body + IAC, and continue diluting old fuel.
Click to expand...
2001LC said:
Use a code reader. Check for current and pending DTCs (codes). Parts store will read for free.

But first check fluid levels:

It's not uncommon, a first timer, drains wrong pan.

Check oil after engine warm up on vehicle level. Turn engine off, let sit ~10 minutes. Pull dipstick, wipe and reinsert with word OIL readable while stand at LH fender. After full insertion, pull dipstick out a read level. If over full mark, remove oil filter and drain/pour into clean catch container. Replace oil filter, after lubing its seal. Repeat.

Check Auto transmission (A/T) fluid (ATF) level. In those 100 series, with A/T dipstick.
Get up to operating temp of ~165F. Note: Best to check ATF temp, through tech stream. Engine idling, foot on brake, shift through all gears. Bring up RPM (1,400) with foot on brake while in D and shifting into lower forward gears. This loads A/T, bring up ATF temp. Note: Do not load A/T in R. Alternatively: Drive until ATF #1 to operating temp. Park vehicle on level ground. Shift to park, and while engine idling, check ATF level. Pull dipstick, wipe and reinsert. Once fully inserted, remove and check level. Note: Do not bend dipstick. Guide dipstick in, using both hands.
Click to expand...
I swear i did the only plug in the cetner with the down facing plug. I mean the washer fit on the plug, the stuff smelled like oil and tasted like it. Thank god I was wearing goggles.. Got a little in the corner of my mouth. Had a 10qt oil reservoir thing it filled it up say 70% or so. dark black viscous, slight odor of gasoline. You have me rechecking but.. i believe i did the oil pan. Looked like the same stuff that came out of the oil filter. Cant verify taste though from the filter. heh, learned from that mistake.
89BIGBLUE said:
A code reader would probably tell you where to start looking. If it's spark plug related, a reader would tell what plugs are misbehaving.
Click to expand...
 
Don’t worry, you did the oil. The blue crush washer confirms it. Plus you’d be WAY overfilled if you’d added 7q into a full crankcase.
 
@MissTake I use the same Mobil combo as you did.
209a filter which is a little longer than the regular one.
And 7 qts of 5w-30 Mobil extended mileage even after pouring a little in the filter. (You can't fill the filter with oil since it is mostly on its side.)
I have been using this combo for close to 15 years. :cheers:
 
Hugh Heifer said:
@MissTake I use the same Mobil combo as you did.
209a filter which is a little longer than the regular one.
And 7 qts of 5w-30 Mobil extended mileage even after pouring a little in the filter. (You can't fill the filter with oil since it is mostly on its side.)
I have been using this combo for close to 15 years. :cheers:
Click to expand...

Thank you. Everything i saw was just pouring maybe a tsp in and lubricating the outside ring with finger? I should pour some inside next time?
 
A few pile ons.

Do not "hand tighten" the filter. You will hate yourself later. Make sure you put oil on the gasket (and make sure the old gasket came off with the old filter). Spin the filter on until it makes contact, then turn an additional 1/2 turn. Any more than that and you will be earning new cuss words when you do the next oil change trying to get the filter off.

The engine is designed to hold 7 quarts of oil, put 7 qts of new oil in it. If the dipstick shows high then you have the wrong dipstick, or somehow didn't drain all of the old oil out (unlikely).

As others have said, get the codes before you fire up the parts cannon and drain your bank account. If it runs smooth at when not in gear, its probably not plugs and coils. You definitely should check the plugs on a 2UZ, and make sure they are not loose. I've found loose plugs on 50% of the 2UZs I've helped guys with. If it gets rough when put in gear, my experience is the engine mounts are probably bad. You can't tell without removing them, and at that point you may as well replace them.
 
Bisho said:
A few pile ons.

Do not "hand tighten" the filter. You will hate yourself later. Make sure you put oil on the gasket (and make sure the old gasket came off with the old filter). Spin the filter on until it makes contact, then turn an additional 1/2 turn. Any more than that and you will be earning new cuss words when you do the next oil change trying to get the filter off.

The engine is designed to hold 7 quarts of oil, put 7 qts of new oil in it. If the dipstick shows high then you have the wrong dipstick, or somehow didn't drain all of the old oil out (unlikely).

As others have said, get the codes before you fire up the parts cannon and drain your bank account. If it runs smooth at when not in gear, its probably not plugs and coils. You definitely should check the plugs on a 2UZ, and make sure they are not loose. I've found loose plugs on 50% of the 2UZs I've helped guys with. If it gets rough when put in gear, my experience is the engine mounts are probably bad. You can't tell without removing them, and at that point you may as well replace them.
Click to expand...
Copy that. Should I loosen it before i start getting it to temperature again? Or is it already too late? Do it when it gets cold out here..?

The vehicle was on for say... 30-40 minutes at temp - maybe less time. I called it quits after the vibration started happening. Is it heat that expands it and makes it tight? I've seen people having to basically destroy the thing to get it off. Yes I would like to avoid that.

As far as the dipstick goes, It seems that due to the size/angle of the car I should stand next to the front left side and pull it out that way, not from in front of the vehicle as it does bend awkwardly when trying to take it out and streak the oil as it comes out. I'm 6'1 but its still a weird angle. I believe someone mentioned that here but it seems logical. I've been doing it from the front bumper. I'm pretty tall but yeah its awkward now thinking about it.,
 
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I would loosen and reset the filter. As far as the dipstick, I pull it most of the way out, then grab it close to the tube to clear the end cleanly.
 
Counterpoint: after having an oil filter once unscrew itself and spew out half a crankcase of oil, I hand tighten hard like you did. No harm done. Much preferable to wrestle with removing a filter, than losing your oil. With the gravel shield removed, it’s easy to get your hand(s) around the filter.
 
I hand tighten my oils filters. Been doing it since 1993 with no issues. No need to go crazy tight but I give it a good grip and twist!
 
Thanks for all the help: Haven't had any oil leaks on the ground or anywhere, level seems stable.

Update on rough idle after oil change, and vibration under load:

Battery died on me by the time i got back to her, I've been keeping doors open to air her out, and apparently Georgia doesn't rain anymore. So picked up another one at autozone, they swapped it for free under the 2yr warranty (Shoutout to Autozone as i was literally about to buy a new battery, then the sales person asked if the one i had at home was still under warranty. They looked it up, gave me a new one on the spot, and just said bring core back tomorrow.

Initially i only put a few gallons in the tank, was thinking maybe the dirty gas was throwing misfire codes after the car slammed down after the oil change? So started her up, christmas lights obviously, but drove it down to the gas-station nearby, about a mile. I was just going about 30-40mph or so, but then the CEL started FLASHING. And the car would struggle to get to say, 3-4k RPMS. I figured that was weird but filled it up and limped it back home, unfortunately my area is super hilly so prayed nothing would explode to get it parked again. But vibration crazy town at 3-4k rpms maybe even 2800.

Neighbor let me borrow their code reader, so the fun began:

1. Got the P3000's code with its cyl #s. 1/2/7. (And ABS Codes)

2. Installed some new hood struts, went with stabillis for now. In 2026's Iran economy, they're asking 240/each at the dealer for the struts. I can't do that. Stabillis is obviously not the best quality comparing to OEM, however, it is doing the job i need so I'm not keeping up the hood of the car with my head or a pickaxe.

3. Coils: Swapped out 1 with 3, noticed 1 had seen better days. It said Denso, but 3 was also denso. 1 was brown, faded, the rubber part was brown. The whole shaft was like, Toyota interior brown from the 90s.. 3 was all still grey, and the seal was different. 1's seal was loose, 3's was sturdy. The seal on 3 was thicker and less bulbous. Peeked in the cyls, didn't see too much oil? The side of the cyls looked not prestine but looked like there has been some wear and tear (or the hole where the ignition coil goes) the Coils didn't have oil on them. The spark plug on 1 looked like maybe some oil on the plug but i couldn't really get a good look, and the igniton coil butt didn't have any oil on it.

spark.webp

Thats the old next to the Duralast, but the Duralast looks just like the Denso one that is living in 1 now.

4. Plugged the code reader back in, start up, all that jazz. One weird thing is it wouldn't manually see the VIN#, last time it saw the Vin# just fine with an "AUTO VIN" feature. Its not the Fancy Laptop one everyone here uses. But That stood out to me, maybe something ECU related? Typed in vin manually. Now instead of P3000 then all the cyls below, it just said P3003. I cleared codes, shut down, restarted the vehicle, went for a lil drive to get code to come back, noticed all the power symptoms earlier, CEL flashing, so limped back home with a p3003.

5. Bought a duralast coil thinking maybe P3001 was throwing off 2/7 after seeing firing order? Installed that one. I didn't notice how rough my idle was before, for one thing. After i turned the ignition on while I heard noises (i have a little tensioner whistle or some belt), i had to rev the engine to make sure the engine was on. Hard to explain but I just imagined the LX470 had a lil vibration like a old chevy or something. The idle roughness is gone, I gave her some hell around the hills to get the RPM's super high, went through maybe 3 gears shift noises (Not sur ehow many gears the LX has). No codes or anything, and Id say this is the 'hardest' I've drove it. Just up and down hills, maybe made it to 45 mph or so with an eyeball on where to ditch it if they go. My brakes are a bit spongey and loud/stuck so didn't want to tempt fate too much.

I can feel a huge difference in the idle/and acceleration. Its no longer vibrating. When I get the money im going to go Denso, and do the spark plugs since its no longer as intimidating of a job as it seemed.

Thank you for all the feedback! I would feel so lost without this forum.

I noticed some leaks around the valve covers, so I'll bang that out and maybe those Heater T's.

For future searchers.

Affordable / Temp LX470 100 series struts.

-------------------------
The rest of the adventure.

That was all the codes for the Engine portion of the code reader, just the misfires. So I'd assume thats ok as far as the engine goes, and time will tell. I didn't get any of those other dreaded codes, as far as I know. But those probably come under heavier loads than crawling around my neighborhood.

The ABS/The rest codes, however look like trouble.

C0200 Front Speed RH CIRCUIT
C1201 ENGINE CONTROL SYSTEM
C1223 ABS CONTROL SYSTEM MALFUNCTION
C1224 Open or Short circuit in NE Signal Circuit
C1241 Low Battery positive voltage or Abnormally high battery Positive voltage
C1246 Master Cylinder Pressure Sensor (Does this mean what I think it means, hah)

B0101 Open in D Squib Circuit

No CEL \ VSC \ The other light in the row though after the spirited drive around the neighborhood after the Misfire was "fixed" (knocks on wood). But those were the previous codes.

Outside of that, maybe a Tech Stream will say more.

I opened the radiator cap and turned on engine to see if there were any bubbles, didn't seem to have bubbles, wouldn't fill up a glove. I saw that was a way to check head gasket issues?

I still have a ton of dirt and debris in the engine bay, i lost a washer while installing the strut and literally had to dig it out of some dirt above the R-front wheel arch. So I want to clean that.

Looking at my belts while engine was running, I noticed one of the parts of the pulleys has some forward/back/side to side motion. Doesn't seem like that should be a thing. Like when you look directly down to the engine from the front, make a line from the Fan to block. To the left there are a few pully things rotating, the top most one seems like has has play to it. Im lying to myself thinking I can do a timing job once i've done a few other things to gain confidence lol, but might be doing that sooner than i think.

I accidentally pressed the diff lock button a while ago and got the car stuck in that mode. flooring it in reverse/fwd while turning the wheel unlocked that. My driveway is dirt/rocks so hoped that didn't ruin anything too much.

Have a clunk/thud when going from P/D or R. but I see that has solutions to tackle here on the forum.

Still nervous about a trans flush..

Anyhoo, thats the update.
 
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