2000 LX470 - sitting 5 years - In Georgia USA. I need some help. How to check if engine is seized? (4 Viewers)

[MissTake]

With 330k mi;

Hello there. Very VEERRRY longtime lurker here, jealous of all of your vehicles. I'm new to the forum, I did search for the following things before posting so I'll just ask the experts. Long story short, I've been eyeballing the vehicle since I moved into this area. Finally just asked the neighbor if I could buy it, they agreed to sell it for $1000 just to get it out of the yard. It has vehicle records up until they stopped driving it in 2020(was a spouses car that passed away). After checking out the underside, basic surface rust(I learned a lot about rust buying a 2001 4runner a few years ago that unfortunately some hit and run killed), and interior it seems like a good price for something that might be fun to tinker with. Im a complete novice with car repairs, but have the time and a budget cap before just parting it out or selling to Peddle or some online deal.

My main issue I'm trying to get a general consensus on is how to test the engine to see if it turns over manually. I've seen online sources that say I have to remove all belts, just the serpentine, remove spark plugs, don't do it at all until you change out all of the fluids, just start it up if it has oil, absolutely do not just start it up if it has oil, remove the gas first, if the gas still smells like gas its fine to start up! Haven't you seen those youtube videos!! etc. Logic for me dictates its been sitting so all the fluids should be changed before starting something mechanical, but I just do computers.

My plan, based on averaging was Step1. See if it cranks manually. This is my main struggle getting clear info on. I'm unable to find a good resource on this but I'd imagine that unlike my 1999 honda civic, I'd have to remove the fan? What steps are there, or is it really just turning the crankshaft bolt? I'm very unfamiliar with the 2uzFE. I'm clearly in over my head but figuring I might as well give it a go after it gets flat-bedded to my property. I've watched/read countless recovery videos / starting abandoned car videos for about 3-4 years at this point, and it seems to really vary.

Step2. Battery / Inspect spark plugs / New Gas / Oil Change / Oil Filter / Have a Fuel filter Pump / Remove air intake and try Starting fluid after to start it up/remove any rats nests that weren't visible from a cursory inspection. Then, go to a dealer to get my launder list of my hopeful new hobby. (I have none besides being a work-aholic) All of this I don't mind doing, but I just want to make sure this is the route to do it, or if there is something glaring im missing. Carfax/Lexus.Com/registration/clean title all lines up with their story. You get what you pay for of course, I'm just looking for something that can maybe turn out pretty cool. THEN i can FINALLY put a jurassic park wrap on it like I always wanted to since reading the novel! I kid, I kid...

I really appreciate any guidance, thank you for peeking in here.

 

[Malleus]

Check the oil. If it's there, put a battery in it and turn the key.

 

[WarDamnEagle]

Way too short a period to worry about a seized engine. Agree with @Malleus, check the oil, maybe the radiator level, drop in a battery and turn the key.

 

[shane431]

Yeah, don't over think this. As the folks above have stated. Make sure it has oil and coolant. Maybe take a look at the air filer. Put new battery in it and turn the key. If you'd like take some pictures of the engine bay and post them up here. You'd be amazed at what some on the guys on this site can spot wrong with your car just from looking at engine photos!

 

[open country]

If it was running when parked, has been parked with the hood closed and no missing parts, it'll be fine.

 

[Malleus]

...barring any rodent activity.

 

[jestlurnin]

Watching this thread intently as I have a similar situation. How about gas gone bad? Drain what’s in it and add some fresh gas?

 

[MissTake]

Thank you for the replies. Theres definitely oil, radiator fluid looked deep red. I'll grab some photos as Im sure this wont be my last post if it cranks up, hah.

 

[MissTake]

I cant edit posts but i meant to quote everyone and reply individually. Been a long time since posting on a proper forum, Will be back!

@jestlurnin As far as my research goes it will smell like gasoline, or not gasoline. I was planning to fully pump as much as I can and dilute with gasoline. And if no start check the fuel pump under the rear seats / fuel filter. 1 mechanic i spoke to said it will be 'turpentine' after 5 years and not gas anymore.

@Malleus Main concern there. I'm in a forrested area with a bunch of houses on a lake, I'm hoping rats found better homes inside of people's actual homes than in the car, but we will see. Fingers crossed, have already been looking at wiring harness videos preparing for the worse

@open country Yes the lore is there was a trip to louisiana and back, i assume the partner passed around that time, i didn't delve in too much. But they are adamant that it was running fine up until then, second owner from looks of it. Normal oil changes and services up until the timeline..

@shane431 Overthinking is my life, lol. But thank you. Will get picks and report back here. You're right because on 1 hand, its just 1000 bucks. I dont mean it to sound like its not a lot of money, but yes, I'm overthinking this as if i'm 30k into this thing. I just really like the vehicle. But have 0 interest in paying the covid prices/overland tax on it and can wait it out for things to normalize again if this proj doesn't work out. After my 4runner was totaled, the prices of 4 runner skyrocketed more than what insurance paid me out. Which was crazy.

@Malleus @WarDamnEagle would it just be a waste of time to do an oil change / spark plug check/change / replace gas before trying to start? Just curious here.

 

[D21FJ60]

dump some fuel additive in it too because why not

 

[WarDamnEagle]

@Malleus @WarDamnEagle would it just be a waste of time to do an oil change / spark plug check/change / replace gas before trying to start? Just curious here.

Short answer, yes; waste of time. The one caveat might be what to do about the gas. I would put in a battery and see how much fuel is left in the tank. If it's fairly low then you might consider draining it or, just put 5 gallons of premium in before you try to crank it. If it's on full or close to it then I would just crank it. If it does crank them maybe drop a can of Sea Foam into the tank and run half or more of the fuel out and then refill the tank.

If the tires look okish, I would be tempted to save the flat tow and just go over with a battery. What's the worst that can happen? It doesn't crank and you call the tow truck.

 

[MissTake]

Short answer, yes; waste of time. The one caveat might be what to do about the gas. I would put in a battery and see how much fuel is left in the tank. If it's fairly low then you might consider draining it or, just put 5 gallons of premium in before you try to crank it. If it's on full or close to it then I would just crank it. If it does crank them maybe drop a can of Sea Foam into the tank and run half or more of the fuel out and then refill the tank.

If the tires look okish, I would be tempted to save the flat tow and just go over with a battery. What's the worst that can happen? It doesn't crank and you call the tow truck.

Copy that. When you say run half or more of the fuel out, like drive run or siphon? Tires, 1 is flat and off rim. Going to see if I can try the starter fluid trick. Or hopefully there is a full sized spare. The giant truck is at the top of a hill, so I'd have to reverse it down a pretty steep angle and pray to god that the brakes dont go (is that a real concern or would it just be my foot all the way to floor if Brake master cylinder fails/is busted? not like 0 brakes just hard to brake?) That was the main thinking behind just towing it to get it out of there. I mean I suppose I could rely on the ebrake to get me down but yes I just figured the towing would be safest. I believe I switch both shifters to N and should be ok? Ok Sea-Foam is a thing, good to know. Its hard to tell whats real and what some influencer is trying to sell you on these days.

 

[WarDamnEagle]

Copy that. When you say run half or more of the fuel out, like drive run or siphon? Tires, 1 is flat and off rim. Going to see if I can try the starter fluid trick. Or hopefully there is a full sized spare. The giant truck is at the top of a hill, so I'd have to reverse it down a pretty steep angle and pray to god that the brakes dont go (is that a real concern or would it just be my foot all the way to floor if Brake master cylinder fails/is busted? not like 0 brakes just hard to brake?) That was the main thinking behind just towing it to get it out of there. I mean I suppose I could rely on the ebrake to get me down but yes I just figured the towing would be safest. I believe I switch both shifters to N and should be ok? Ok Sea-Foam is a thing, good to know. Its hard to tell whats real and what some influencer is trying to sell you on these days.

Like drive run. Dilution is your friend in this case. "Influencer" That's some funny stuff there.

FWIW I have, in the past, routinely left vehicles in storage while I was out of the country with the tank full and a can of Sea Foam for a year or more and in one particular case, for something more like 4 years. This experience was on multiple vehicles at the same time.

 

[MissTake]

Like drive run. Dilution is your friend in this case. "Influencer" That's some funny stuff there.

FWIW I have, in the past, routinely left vehicles in storage while I was out of the country with the tank full and a can of Sea Foam for a year or more and in one particular case, for something more like 4 years. This experience was on multiple vehicles at the same time.

Understood, I just mean that my main experience with automotive anything is just online and reading, I've got... changing headlights/tail-lights/airfilters/AC blower/serpentine belt/and some audio wiring experience, thats really it. So I kept seeing Sea-Foam pop up but then you'll have a fellow like Scotty Kilmer saying XYZ is nonsense and dont use it, not specifically for Sea-Foam. I saw sea-from come up from mostly salt of the earth people so have been meaning to look into it more. When you said Sea-Foam, it just reminded me. You have to navigate a lot of solutions people are trying to pawn off on you with links to their store items. I didn't mean anything by saying influencer(starting a 30 year old abandoned jag with just a wrench, and you wont believe what happens next). Theres just a lot of bad/fake folks out there. So i finally decided to make an account here. Thank you again for all the help.

 

[FxFormat]

Make a video of this, i'd like to see. For cars that sits more than 2 years, i would drain all the gas out, fairly easy to do on this truck, remove the carpet under seat and siphon it out. Check oil make sure it's not like tar, check all the pulleys to see if anything has rusted or seized, and check all the wirings for rodent damages. After it starts, if it starts, i'd replace all the fluids, and just drive. takes a lot to kill these things.

 

[WarDamnEagle]

Understood, I just mean that my main experience with automotive anything is just online and reading, I've got... changing headlights/tail-lights/airfilters/AC blower/serpentine belt/and some audio wiring experience, thats really it. So I kept seeing Sea-Foam pop up but then you'll have a fellow like Scotty Kilmer saying XYZ is nonsense and dont use it, not specifically for Sea-Foam. I saw sea-from come up from mostly salt of the earth people so have been meaning to look into it more. When you said Sea-Foam, it just reminded me. You have to navigate a lot of solutions people are trying to pawn off on you with links to their store items. I didn't mean anything by saying influencer(starting a 30 year old abandoned jag with just a wrench, and you wont believe what happens next). Theres just a lot of bad/fake folks out there. So i finally decided to make an account here. Thank you again for all the help.

You're welcome. I only use it in fuel that is going to sit for a long time. I have no idea if it's good for anything else. I also always have the tanks full when I know the car is going to sit. My undergrad is in Chemical Engineering so you can take take that information FWIW.

Good luck. Will be interested to hear how it goes.

 

[Chester White]

With 330k mi;

Hello there. Very VEERRRY longtime lurker here, jealous of all of your vehicles. I'm new to the forum, I did search for the following things before posting so I'll just ask the experts. Long story short, I've been eyeballing the vehicle since I moved into this area. Finally just asked the neighbor if I could buy it, they agreed to sell it for $1000 just to get it out of the yard. It has vehicle records up until they stopped driving it in 2020(was a spouses car that passed away). After checking out the underside, basic surface rust(I learned a lot about rust buying a 2001 4runner a few years ago that unfortunately some hit and run killed), and interior it seems like a good price for something that might be fun to tinker with. Im a complete novice with car repairs, but have the time and a budget cap before just parting it out or selling to Peddle or some online deal.

My main issue I'm trying to get a general consensus on is how to test the engine to see if it turns over manually. I've seen online sources that say I have to remove all belts, just the serpentine, remove spark plugs, don't do it at all until you change out all of the fluids, just start it up if it has oil, absolutely do not just start it up if it has oil, remove the gas first, if the gas still smells like gas its fine to start up! Haven't you seen those youtube videos!! etc. Logic for me dictates its been sitting so all the fluids should be changed before starting something mechanical, but I just do computers.

My plan, based on averaging was Step1. See if it cranks manually. This is my main struggle getting clear info on. I'm unable to find a good resource on this but I'd imagine that unlike my 1999 honda civic, I'd have to remove the fan? What steps are there, or is it really just turning the crankshaft bolt? I'm very unfamiliar with the 2uzFE. I'm clearly in over my head but figuring I might as well give it a go after it gets flat-bedded to my property. I've watched/read countless recovery videos / starting abandoned car videos for about 3-4 years at this point, and it seems to really vary.

Step2. Battery / Inspect spark plugs / New Gas / Oil Change / Oil Filter / Have a Fuel filter Pump / Remove air intake and try Starting fluid after to start it up/remove any rats nests that weren't visible from a cursory inspection. Then, go to a dealer to get my launder list of my hopeful new hobby. (I have none besides being a work-aholic) All of this I don't mind doing, but I just want to make sure this is the route to do it, or if there is something glaring im missing. Carfax/Lexus.Com/registration/clean title all lines up with their story. You get what you pay for of course, I'm just looking for something that can maybe turn out pretty cool. THEN i can FINALLY put a jurassic park wrap on it like I always wanted to since reading the novel! I kid, I kid...

I really appreciate any guidance, thank you for peeking in here.

Agree with verifying there is oil and coolant present before cranking it. That said, I wouldn’t try to start it with gas that old. I would pull the fuel filter and purge out all the old gas and put in a couple of gallons of fresh fuel.

 

[shane431]

If worried about the fuel you could also take out the second row seat and access the fuel pump door. Take that off and look into the tank with a flash light to see what it looks like. That would also afford you the opportunity to transfer any old fuel out of the tank. But step one, open the gas cap and see what it smells like! Then let us know what it smells like!

 

[SteveH]

I'd look over the entire truck very carefully for rodent damage, especially the air filter and wiring around the engine. Also, when you connect a good battery (with the ignition off and the doors closed), be ready for a small spark, and if you see a really big spark, pull the cable off. Just assume the worst, and hope for the best.

 

[MissTake]

If worried about the fuel you could also take out the second row seat and access the fuel pump door. Take that off and look into the tank with a flash light to see what it looks like. That would also afford you the opportunity to transfer any old fuel out of the tank. But step one, open the gas cap and see what it smells like! Then let us know what it smells like!

I forgot to mention that im only transporting the thing maybe 600 yards down the road. I'm definitely going to smell the gas and go from there, but I'm just ignorant on is bad gas going to kill the engine? I bought all the things already to pump it out / replace pump. It was just a matter of do it before you try to start it or not, then hand crank, then start. But for future knowledge, will bad gas simply not combust/cause misfiring or?

I'd look over the entire truck very carefully for rodent damage, especially the air filter and wiring around the engine. Also, when you connect a good battery (with the ignition off and the doors closed), be ready for a small spark, and if you see a really big spark, pull the cable off. Just assume the worst, and hope for the best.

Heyyy I saw your build thread. hah. Was eyeballing it a while ago. glad you sorted out the wire issue. Where would the spark be emitting from? Beautiful ride,

well everyone here has a beaut.

Will hopefully be reporting back tomorrow or the weekend.