2003 Refurb - Son’s First Cruiser (2 Viewers)

[open country]

Cool thread, looking forward to following. 11 more years until learner's permits in our house, and they'll probably be getting our 2016 or something more vintage of their choosing that we can build together.

 

[Patron100LC]

That diff support bushing might need replacement soon...

 

[MattyO]

That diff support bushing might need replacement soon...

Yeah it was a little past it's useful life. Make it pretty easy to remove though!

 

[gray rider]

This thread may become iconic. I think there were two floor mats on the passenger side? Am I right?

 

[MattyO]

This thread may become iconic. I think there were two floor mats on the passenger side? Am I right?

There was two passenger mats!

Update on this issue, still waiting on a gas cap and then I need to run more gas through it and try this Cataclean. Also gonna research removing the cat and cleaning if off the vehicle. Code and VSCC lights come on daily after I clear it.

 

[gray rider]

There was two passenger mats!

Yep. They were always there. Small favors.

 

[gray rider]

I have a vested interest in this....Popcorn as they say...

 

[MattyO]

Spent another day on it this weekend. Replaced lower ball joints with 555 units from Cruiser Outfitters. Driver’s ball joint was in very bad shape, passenger side was not that bad but replaced them both. Also replaced the window moldings. Overall it was a productive weekend. Just waiting for more parts to arrive now. Next up is front and rear sway bar refresh, flush power steering fluid, replace the front diff support arms that are shot and replace CV axle shafts & drive flanges.

Pics of the progress.

 

[gray rider]

Ahh, if I was 30 years younger...keep the feed going MattyO....very interesting!

 

[MattyO]

Slow progress, mainly waiting on parts at this point. Ordered the diff mount arms and other small bushings from Impex. Man they are slow, no correspondence in a week. Took advantage of the 25% off sale on OEM parts and ordered new CV axles. Mine are slinging grease everywhere and have lots of play at the outer splines. Also found a BT-45 Toy for seamless BT integration.

My FB Market finds on the cheap are some 200 Series wheels and a mint set of 3rd row seats that are gray, which is a much more rare interior color. Once the current tires are worn completely out, I will mount up new tires to the 200 series wheels.

I did flush the power steering fluid. Also noticed that I have an oil leak on front of motor. It’s minor but dripping above oil filter and it’s hard lines. I am taking it this week to local Toyota shop to get their feedback on the leak and broken AC.

Fun story that on a MTB ride last week I lost my newly programmed aftermarket key and had to pedal home! The OEM master key was cracked, but all still worked. Ordered a new YodaMD key for it. Ordered replacement aftermarket key as spare and will have it cut locally and I will program it as a spare.

 

[MattyO]

Nice progress over the long weekend. Took it to a local Toyota specialist shop for a full inspection. Really well spent $120 as it confirmed some things I knew and enlightened me on some I did not. Gonna have them work on the AC repair, tech said it didn’t look like rear lines. Have two oil leaks, one from oil filter housing the other behind the timing cover (crank/cam seal most likely). Have parts on the way to address those, will have the shop due the one behind the cover and go ahead and do timing belt.

Went Friday and got some brand new 3rd row seats from a guy that had his LX totaled and found the seats in storage. $200 for basically new seats. Pics to follow.

Got a shipment from Serra Toyota on Friday also and put in new CV Axles and Drive Flanges today. Hopefully this will help with the clunk and it will definitely eliminate the grease slinging everywhere. Pretty easy job but I did discover a stripped hub stud on the driver side. So will have to fix that. Gonna try and run a die nut on the stud, hope I don’t have to replace it. Ordered new cone washers, nuts, and one stud just in case. Pics of the CV axle install. Love fresh parts!

 

[Malleus]

Picked up a 2003 LC local to me, will be my son’s first car as he is currently 15. Price was right, given it had several issues and some with unknown scope/solutions. Tore into it this past week to start sorting it out. I have 4 kids and the plan is for this to be everyone’s first car. Because of that, I plan to eventually add some armor for when they crash it. The specs are below along with all the items that need immediate attention. Plan to build it up in phases.

2003 LC
298k miles
-Radiator Leaking (OEM replacement included)
-AC doesn’t work
-Has Bad Driveline Clunk
-P0420 Code
-Tires worn
-Inside was dirty, tears on seats, outside has dents but paint overall good, just dull
-No 3rd row seats

Definitely a project, but that is what I wanted. This is my 3rd LC and 2nd 100 series so I know my way around them.

This past weekend I knocked out the following with the help of my two oldest boys.

-Replaced radiator with OEM
-Replaced center diff bushing. The one in front of axle was visibly shot so started with it. The others need replacing also
-Changed diff and tcase fluids
-Interior carpet clean
-Exterior paint correction & polish
-Clean & condition leather
-Replace Bank 1 Upstream O2 Sensor trying to clear P0420 code
-Programmed 2nd key and key fob using techstream.
-Grease driveshafts
-Installed interior LED’s
-Added Weathertech Mats

Other items found that I am in the process of addressing.

-Lower ball joints are bad, driver side is really bad. Ordered new from Cruiser Outfitters
-Replace drive flanges and maybe CV Axles if the splines are worn. Drive flanges in order from Toyota
-Researching how to tackle AC leak. Assuming it is rear line, hoping to fix it without spending a fortune.
-The arm style diff bushings require replacement
-Clean PS reservoir & replace fluid. Will add AT205 as the rack has tiny weep
-Replace rear sway bar bushings
-If 0420 code returns will replace cats with universal Magnaflow options. The code is the real issue as it has led to two no start situations. One after filling up with gas. Both times vehicle cracked up one fuel cap was removed.
-Replace fuel cap

Additional Items to Add
-OME rear coils
-Crank torsion bars
-New Tires
-YotaMD Key Fob
-BT-45 TOY
-Front/Rear Bumper
-Sliders

Some before pics, after a good washing but before detailing. You can see that diff bushing was toast!

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That's way nicer than my first car. Very well done.

I did the same fo rmy 2nd son; I found his 2000 LX470 in Boone; it was sold new in Charlotte; and neglected - it was the soccer and summer beach bus.

 

[Malleus]

Those Blitz pans are the deal.

 

[MattyO]

Two separate projects over the weekend. First is addressing an oil leak behind the oil cooler (oil filter housing). I replaced both the o-ring and the figure 8 gasket. It was more difficult than expected, but both gaskets were hardened and in bad shape. One pic shows that the o-ring came out in 10+ small pieces. It took several hours and I lost all the coolant, so that was a kind of a pain. But it worked and there is no more oil leak. If I did it again I could probably do it in half the time. Good thing, because I need to do it on my 98 LX!

 

[MattyO]

2nd project was replacing the remaining front diff supports. I have been waiting for my Impex package for 3+ weeks, but it showed up yesterday and I put the new support arms on. Also replaced the front sway bar cushions before I put the front and back together and finally got it off jack stands. You can see the old diff supports were shot, and this has mostly eliminated the front end clunk I was having.

One upgrade was installing Diode Dynamics SL2 low beams. Honestly did not notice much of a difference, which is a bummer.

 

[MattyO]

Been a while since I updated but definitely have made lots of progress. Had the driver seat leather re-covered. Also added OME 866 coil springs in the rear and indexed the torsion bars. This gave a nice 2 inch lift from the worn out stock springs. Re-foamed the blown rear sub that turned out to be aftermarket unit, but still able to fix it. In prep for new tires (Yokohama X-AT) and 200 series wheels, I added some 1.25” Bora Wheel Spacers.

 

[MattyO]

Stance is much better now, even on worn out street tires!

 

[MattyO]

Still working through some lingering issues that I cannot seem to fix. I have a clunk in the rear when I go from coasting to accelerating. Guidance was to fill the driveshafts full of grease. Did that and it helped a lot, but did not totally fix the issue. Seems to only happen now after a corner/slight turn. So not sure on that. It is definitely coming from the rear.

Still have the P0420 code. I have tried replacing all the cheap items for troubleshooting the cat efficiency issue, to no avail. Code just returns after a few days. Gonna try a new MAF sensor, then it’s on to a new catalytic converter.

 

[gray rider]

I'm "jealous"!!

 

[MattyO]

Got the 200 Series wheels mounted up to some 275/70/18 BFG KO3’s. Also a good shot of the new wheel spacers and OME Rear Springs. Really digging the look. Have a few more issues to sort and I will call it good for a while.