Allow myself to introduce….myself. (2009 LX570 OEM+ build and maintenance thread) (2 Viewers)

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Yep, they’re on the list. I cross shop a bunch of different places and find who is cheapest after shipping. McGeorge was cheaper for everything I needed for brakes as well as the second row middle seat back cupholders. They may not carry all the Lexus-specific stuff you need, but if they have it, they are usually beating everyone else in the US.

Add Lexus of West Kendall to your parts shopping list—the few things I looked up there were very close to McGeorge prices.
Awesome thank you very much I am a new to the LX570 so any help is appreciated.
 
Awesome thank you very much I am a new to the LX570 so any help is appreciated.
As am I! Had mine all of a week so far. It’s my wife’s daily. We will be piling on the miles!
 
While I’m waiting on a couple tools to finish the brake swap, my 2nd row console lid came in. I went with the gray instead of the wood finish for the lid. The two upholstered side pieces pop straight out to reveal two small screws. Remove those, and pull firmly up, and it pops right out.
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I also ordered the 3D printed front cup holder. I read about some loose fitment issues in the past, but this one fits very snug and holds our Hydro Flasks securely.
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Finished the Tundra brake conversion up front. This reamer bit showed up and made quick work of enlarging the caliper mounting holes as needed. I used some Tap Magic as well and kept the bit in good shape.
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I finished the install, bled the brakes, and took it for a spin. Much improved! The brakes grab harder, and it stops much better.
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After the brake swap job was done, I decided to put it in 4Lo. The plan is to exercise the actuator and engage the center diff lock on a regular basis. I have no idea if the previous owner did this at all. Well, it went into L4 just fine, didn’t take too long. But when I took it out of 4Lo, I got the “Check VSC System” message on the dash, with the 4Lo light blinking. The L4 switch doesn’t work now.

I will see if it threw a code tomorrow, but it seems that maybe it just had a hard time coming out of 4Lo and decided to freak out. I am planning on replacing the oil in the diffs and TC.
 
could be a wheel speed sensor
 
Fired ‘er up this morning. No codes. Dash lights gone. The PO was emphatic that he never took it off road and “never even used the 4wd”, lol. I’m thinking the L4 and CDL actuators just haven’t been exercised in years. I want to drain and refill the transfer case before starting to exercise those actuators on a regular basis. I have several other items to check off the list, the most pressing being

• JB weld the rediator
• new battery terminal rings (might go with blocks, although Slee and SDHQ seem ridiculously expensive for my needs)
• undercoat with Amsoil HD Metal Protector
• and of course, drain/refill diffs and TC

And did I mention how awesome these brakes are now? :cool:
 
Got some updates here. I drained and filled both diffs and the TC with Valvoline 75w90. Had to go to two different Napa stores to get the requisite 8qt. The old fluid was very dark, like maple syrup. I don’t see anything specifically mentioned about the diffs or TC in the carfax maintenance history, so I’m assuming it has been there for 150k miles.

Upon refilling the TC, my truck shifts into and out of low range with ease. It’s immediate, it works every time, and I don’t get any dash lights or “check VSC system” messages. Amazing what new oil will do. The CDL will engage in H4 and L4, but when I disengage it, it flashes on the dash and is unavailable until I turn the truck off and back on again. I’m just going to keep exercising that actuator. Hoping that it gets to the point where it will disengage without fuss, and I can just exercise it once a month.

Next up is AHC flush and new battery terminals.
 
Just ordered some rear hatch supports. My liftgate opens somewhat slowly and doesn’t make it the last couple inches. I have a powered liftgate, and my ‘09 LX was built in 11/08, so the part numbers I used are:
68950-69150
68960-69065

The part numbers are different for May ‘09 LXs and newer. I am hoping I don’t need to replace the motor as well!
 
Installed the battery terminal kit from SDHQ…what are y’all using to cover the positive terminal? I don’t like how both of these are exposed. It’s odd to me the kit didn’t come with something that covers the positive terminal.
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Hey LX,
I’m enjoying reading about all of your improvements!
It’s fun to watch your work.

One suggestion: could we get before pictures along with the after pictures you are posting?
 
Truck is running great. I’ve had these massive piles of parts to do some PM with and still haven’t put them in. Aside from JB Welding a faint stress crack in the radiator before it had a chance to start seeping, nothing has needed my attention aside from a horn that stopped working. The truck runs great, and free time has been scarce. But we’re planning on a road trip this summer, so I want to get the radiator job out of the way and new globes installed with an AHC flush.

I have all these parts listed below for the two jobs. Anything else you’d add?

Radiator job part numbers:
• 16400-50384: Radiator (latest iteration that finally fixed the weak point issue at the badge)
• 16031-0S010: Water Inlet Sub-Assembly, With Thermostat
• 16100-09491: Engine Water Pump w/ gasket
• 16620-0S012: Accessory Drive Belt Tensioner
• 16603-38012: Accessory Drive Belt Idler Pulley
• 90916-A2033: Serpentine Belt
• 16380-0S010: Fluid Coupling Bracket
• 16571-38080, 16572-38131: Radiator Coolant Hoses

AHC globe replacement part numbers:
• 08886-01805: Suspension Fluid (2.5 liter can x 3)
• 49141-60020, 49151-60020: (2 each) TOYOTA SUSPENSION ACCUMULATOR SET for LX570, URJ200
EDIT: DO NOT BUY 49156-60030: (x 4) new spacers for accumulator O-rings (called “Ring Suspension Control backup”). New accumulators have a significantly narrower channel where the O-ring (which comes installed) sits. I could not use these spacers on my new globes.

We’ve got 7k miles on the new Duratrac RTs. I did one 5-tire rotation @ 4k miles. They’re a bit louder on the highway than the Defenders they replaced, but still very quiet. I went 275/06R20 in SL.
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Sometimes we put the LX to work. Needed to spread two yards of mulch. Too much to fit in my Tundra’s bed, so we hooked up a utility trailer and got the job done with the LX.
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**RADIATOR SWAP WRITE-UP**
(OEM shopping list with part numbers are just above in post #32)
**Use only Toyota Super long life pink coolant**

I’d never done this before. Scoured the forum and found bits of information here and there, mostly scattered throughout the giant radiator thread. But not all in one spot. So this is my attempt to put a full write-up in one place complete with part numbers and step-by-step instructions.

I got this done at 176,200 miles. Bought the truck at 149k, started reading this forum, realized there’s a design flaw with the radiator, and ran outside to check mine. Sure enough, I had the crack. It hadn’t started leaking, but we take long road trips a few times a year, so I put some JB Weld on it and let it run for about 25k miles.

Until now.

This job is not that hard. I did not have to remove the grille, bumper cover, either front wheel, or the compressor pulley (more on that later). I didn’t even put the truck on jack stands. I did get hung up in a couple spots. Here is what I did:

1. Remove the engine covers and all three front skids (L, R, and center)
2. Use some handy hose clamp pliers to remove the upper and lower hoses (have a bucket ready). Seriously, those pliers are clutch. You’ll be dealing with a lot of hose clamps on this job.
3. There are two small 10mm bolts on the passenger side of the fan shroud that hold lines to the fan shroud. Remove them. Also, disengage the plastic clamp holding a hose to the fan shroud. Try not to break it. If yours doesn’t have this, carry on. Next for the shroud, there are two 12mm bolts at the top corners holding it in place. Remove them.
4. Now, remove the four 12mm bolts holding the fan to the pulley. No pry bar needed if you don’t lock back your tensioner yet.
5. After steps 3 and 4, your fan shroud and fan can come out all at once.
6. There are 4 12mm radiator bolts accessible from the front. The upper passenger bolt is the easiest to get to. The upper driver side bolt is behind a plastic piece you’ll need to remove. It takes those plastic screw fasteners. For the lower bolts, you’ll need a few extensions and maybe a telescoping magnet tool:

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View through the grill of the driver’s side lower bolt:
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7. Once those bolts are out, the entire radiator lifts straight up and out. Now that the radiator is out of the way, you have a relative truckload of room to work in. I decided to use this time (like many on this forum) to replace a few other things:
• water pump and gasket
• thermostat
• fan pulley bracket
• tensioner pulley
• idler pulley
• upper and lower radiator hoses
• serpentine belt

8. Now, from below, get a 14mm socket and a large breaker bar (I used my torque wrench) on the tensioner pulley bolt and turn left as if to loosen it. This will take the tension off the internal spring. You can use a 4mm or 5mm Allen wrench to “lock it back” in place. You’ll see the hole. My idler pulley looked like, yes, I should replace it. Here it is locked back:
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The other bolt is 12mm. That one is easy. The one that gives people grief is the 6mm hex key bolt. Shoot it with some PB Blaster. Wait a few minutes. Shoot it again. You don’t have to try to break this free with a little 6mm wrench. You can also try a ratchet or bar with a T40 bit or an Allen wrench bit. Use a metal pick or nail to scrape the hex head out so your tool can seat properly. I used an 6mm Allen wrench bit for a 1/2” drive.

PRO TIP: put the bit on a small extension, insert it into the bolt, and give it a couple firm but gentle taps with a dead blow hammer or rubber mallet. This will ensure the bit is fully seated in the bolt head. Mine came right out following the above steps.

Here were my options for this step. The T40 looks about ruined (I used it before the 2nd blast of PB). The Allen bit at bottom did the trick for me:
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9. Now, it’s time to remove your belt. It just comes right off. Easy. This one looks to be in great shape. Also, aftermarket.
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10. Install the new tensioner. 12mm bolt and hex key go back in. No anti-seize or loctite needed. 17 ft lbs on the 12mm. I just went good and tight on both without overdoing it. 🤷‍♂️

To be continued…
 
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Now that the radiator is out, and your belt is off, and you’ve replaced the tensioner, it’s time to replace the other parts on the front of the engine. A couple of these are hard to get to, but that’s ok. New parts:
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11. Next up is the idler pulley. This one is ultra easy. By the way, if you want to clean some of these surfaces, feel free. Just don’t scrub them and score them up so much that you start leaking coolant or something. I read that 14mm bolts take 35 ft lbs, and 12mm bolts take 17 ft lbs on the front of this engine.

12. Fan pulley bracket. The pulley cover comes right off. From there, it gets fun. 😠 The bracket is held on by three 12mm bolts and one 14mm bolt. One of the 12mm bolts is what makes this a little complicated. There are some hardlines that run across the face of the engine here. You can see two 10mm bolts that hold these hardlines in place. But, there is a third. It faces sideways toward the bottom of the engine, looking straight at the compressor. Some people remove the compressor. I did not. I found that by removing the top two 10mm bracket bolts, LOOSENING the bottom one, and taking the hard lines out of the hoses, I was able to move the hardlines enough to get to that 12mm bolt. Here is everything in one pic:
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12a. Remove the two 10mm bolts circled in green.
12b. Remove the hose off the end circled in orange.
12c. Remove the hardlines from their hoses (yellow).
12d. With an open end 10mm wrench, loosen BUT DO NOT REMOVE the 10mm bolt facing the compressor pulley (red arrow).
12e. You can now pull the hardlines toward you and to your right to get to the difficult-to-reach 12mm bolt behind the hardlines (red circle).
12f. Install the new fan pulley bracket. 12mm bolts get 17 ft lbs; 14mm bolt gets 35 ft lbs. Again the pulley cover just slides back on and is held in place when you reinstall the fan.
12g. DO NOT reinstall the hardlines. You’ll want them out of the way for the water pump as well. Moving on!

13. Water pump—FIRST THING: trace the water pump on a piece of cardboard (the Toyota box it came in is fine), and mark the locations of all the bolts.
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There are two 14mm; the rest are 12mm, including three 12mm bolts that hold the thermostat housing to the face of the water pump. Stick your bolts through the cardboard as you remove the old water pump. There are a couple hoses you may need to move to get to it. It also helps to remove the air box at the throttle body.
13a. Loosen the Phillips head hose clamp on the air box. There are a couple small hoses and a wire to remove. Undo the latches to get to the air filter. Remove the entire air box.
13b. Loosen four 10mm bolts at the throttle body. You can leave them in though. There are two hoses that need to come off the block as well.
13c. Remove the four 12mm bolts for the water pump pulley.

Now you should be able to reach everything pretty well on the water pump. I took it off with the thermostat basically in one piece. Put your new thermostat on. (Enjoy that this is super easy.) The three 12mm bolts that hold the thermostat housing to the water pump also go through the block. Install the water pump bolts first. I torqued mine down in a pattern like I was installing a tire. 17 ft lbs for the 12mm; 35 ft lbs for the 14mm. Then put the thermostat housing on with your new thermostat mounted (make sure your gaskets are in place! One black, one orange). Reinstall the water pump pulley with four 12mm bolts.
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At this point, you have your new thermostat, water pump, idler pulley, fan pulley bracket, and tensioner (which is locked back) installed.

Before we install the new radiator, we need to put the front of your engine back together.
14. Reinstall ALL hoses and hose clamps. Tighten the sideways facing 10mm bolt we loosened (but did not remove) in step 12d. Reinstall the other two 10mm bolts that hold those hardlines to the front of the engine. Refer to the picture in step 12 if needed. Put your air box back together at the throttle body. Reattach hoses and clamps. Double check that everything looks good. You should have all new parts installed with all bolts properly torqued and hose clamps reinstalled.

15. Install your serpentine belt. Double and triple check belt path. Man this is so easy with the tensioner locked back. Here’s a diagram, which is in several other places on the forum.
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16. Now unlock your tensioner, and remove the Allen key. Your serp belt is set.

17. Install new radiator. It slides straight down. I held it in place and started the easiest (upper passenger) of the four 12mm bolts. Get your extensions back out to install the two lower bolts. Pull that panel back out of the way to get to the upper driver side bolt. Tighten those four bolts up.
17a. Reinstall the two oil lines at the bottom of the radiator.

18. Reinstall fan and fan shroud. Kind of awkward, but certainly doable. Holding the shroud in your left hand and the fan in the shroud in your right hand, slide them together down the backside of the radiator. Your first concern is getting a couple 12mm nuts onto the fan pulley so it doesn’t fall while you’re reinstalling the shroud. Once that’s set, time to put the shroud back together.
18a. Make sure the lower corners of the shroud are sitting in their slots on the radiator frame. You’ll need to do this from underneath. Then, loosely reinstall the 12mm bolts at the top corners of the shroud.
18b. Reinstall the two 10mm bracket bolts toward the lower passenger side of the shroud. And if you didn’t break that plastic collar, reinstall that, too. 🤠
18c. Reinstall upper overflow hose on shroud.
18d. Once everything is put together on the shroud, tighten those 12mm bolts at the upper corners.

19. We’re getting close! Install new upper and lower radiator hoses. Make sure clamps are placed properly.

20a. Add coolant to the radiator. Do it slowly. (Mine took about 1.5 gal before it started overflowing).
20b. Add coolant to overflow reservoir. I went to the F line.
20c. Start the truck. Let it fully warm up, idling at 2k rpm. Once fully warmed up, turn the truck off.
20d. Take a heavy towel, and turn the cap until steam hisses out. It’s now safe to add more coolant.

You might repeat steps 20a/c/d two or three times. This is how I “burp” the system.

You probably don’t need to repeat step 20b. The coolant you added to the overflow reservoir won’t be sucked back into the radiator until you let the system cool itself down without opening the cap. I have been watching temps on the Fusion app on my phone using a Veepeak Bluetooth OBD reader.

Once you’re sure you’ve got no leaks, reinstall your skids and engine covers (if you’re driving an LX).
 
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Now, we just need to clean up.
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My radiator was pretty gross. 15 years will do that, I guess.
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Here are other old parts.
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All done. Nice to see this when I take off the engine covers instead of a bunch of JB Weld.
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Wow. Amazing write-up.
Hopefully I don’t need it anytime soon but it’s great to have here for when I do. Thank you.
 
While I’m waiting on a couple tools to finish the brake swap, my 2nd row console lid came in. I went with the gray instead of the wood finish for the lid. The two upholstered side pieces pop straight out to reveal two small screws. Remove those, and pull firmly up, and it pops right out.
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I also ordered the 3D printed front cup holder. I read about some loose fitment issues in the past, but this one fits very snug and holds our Hydro Flasks securely.
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Love the radiator write up, curious why you didn’t do the alternator at the same time? Where did you source the rear cup holder? Mine is pretty roaches but the only one I found on eBay is pretty spendy for a very crappy cup holder.
 
Love the radiator write up, curious why you didn’t do the alternator at the same time? Where did you source the rear cup holder? Mine is pretty roaches but the only one I found on eBay is pretty spendy for a very crappy cup holder.
Regarding the alternator, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go OEM or go with something bigger…I haven’t decided what my power needs might be as I slowly build this thing out. Truck is showing no signs of needing it replaced. Honestly, of everything I replaced on the engine, only the fan pulley bracket was the slightest bit loose. No noises or squeaks or anything. When I installed the new tensioner, it took a bit more umph to lock it open than the old one. Everything else seemed totally fine.

I will probably go ahead and install a new alternator at 200k. Might as well make it a party and replace the starter, too. 🥳

The new rear cupholder I got stateside for $150. Part number is 66990-60020-B0. That’s not terrible.

Consistently cheapest OEM parts stateside are at Ourisman Toyota and Lexus of West Kendall.

The passenger side wood laminate dash piece started cracking/peeling, so I ordered that from Carmarka. It was significantly cheaper from overseas. $370. Part number 55476-60060.
 
Wow. Amazing write-up.
Hopefully I don’t need it anytime soon but it’s great to have here for when I do. Thank you.
Agreed. Very much appreciated as mine is coming up soon.
If/when you guys get into it, if you have anything to add that I might’ve left out, please reply, and I’ll add it to the write-up.

I am just a novice mechanic who enjoys the DIY process. I used several bookmarks and screenshots to get through this job myself. YouTube was of no help on this one. So I thought the write-up would help, especially as many of us are getting to the point that we need to do it.
 

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