Considering a GX470.. for a daily driver (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

FWIW, you can get an OEM timing belt and water pump kit for under $500 and far less than that for non-OEM. Mine was changed at a Lexus dealer with OEM parts for $900 (including labor) just last year.

Good to know! Perhaps I'm including other parts that were done as "while I'm in here..." work, it's been a good 4 years since I've done it.
 
FWIW, you can get an OEM timing belt and water pump kit for under $500 and far less than that for non-OEM. Mine was changed at a Lexus dealer with OEM parts for $900 (including labor) just last year.
I got all oem belt and water pump for i think 350 or 400
 
Good to know! Perhaps I'm including other parts that were done as "while I'm in here..." work, it's been a good 4 years since I've done it.
For sure. The $900 dealer service included timing belt, drive belt, and water pump. I did not have them do the pulleys and tensioner. In hindsight, I probably should have had them tackle those for the extra couple hundred bucks. The tech was an older guy and he convinced me that they rarely see faulty pulleys and tensioners on the 470s and said mine were in great shape at ~80k miles. He joked that mine would rust out before my pulleys went :confused:
I got all oem belt and water pump for i think 350 or 400
Yeah, I seem to remember the OEM water pump/pulley/belt combo being between $350-$400 when I was looking to do it myself last year. Cheapest I could find now is $486 for OEM on Ebay. Aisin kits are $200 though.
 
Hey BuckleDown! I'm out in Western MD. Earlier this year, I was looking for a 4Runner but was unenthused with the listings I was seeing and realized a GX from someone in the DC 'burbs who loved and cared for it could be the ticket. After looking for a month, I found an '08 with 120k miles in NOVA this April at a used car shop with good reviews. The car was in pretty amazing condition inside and out + minimal rust. The rear A/C wasn't blowing, which they fixed for us. so far it's been mostly daily driver, but I'm excited to put some better tires on it and see how it does this winter.

I was going from not owning a car for years to snagging one of these, so learning as I go. In case it helps you: I ended up having to replace the front right strut/CV boot to get it through MD inspection. Since then, I recently had to replace the radiator, and I'm back in the shop tomorrow for new rotors (brakes recently started vibrating at high speeds). I've also done a bunch of PM: changed all fluids, new sparkplugs, and took it in for a Fluid Film treatment.

The only other issue: I've started to hear a ticking sound during acceleration, which I suspect is a cracked exhaust manifold, which sounds like a bore to fix ($$).

But hey - I have no idea how many of these recent issues were there when I bought it that a more discerning buyer would have caught, versus legitimately started after buying it. I knew there would be surprises and reserved a few $K's for PM and repairs after purchase. Occasionally a very small part of me wonders if I inherited someone else's slowly sinking ship as you put it, but I'm probably just catching the big stuff now and things will quiet down. The info on the internet is invaluable and has helped me minimize the cost of my repairs, know what to look out for, and how to solve as much myself as I can. And, I'm still way ahead $-wise than some of my other options so not sweating it too much.

good luck!
 
For sure. The $900 dealer service included timing belt, drive belt, and water pump. I did not have them do the pulleys and tensioner. In hindsight, I probably should have had them tackle those for the extra couple hundred bucks. The tech was an older guy and he convinced me that they rarely see faulty pulleys and tensioners on the 470s and said mine were in great shape at ~80k miles. He joked that mine would rust out before my pulleys went :confused:

Yeah, I seem to remember the OEM water pump/pulley/belt combo being between $350-$400 when I was looking to do it myself last year. Cheapest I could find now is $486 for OEM on Ebay. Aisin kits are $200 though.
Avoid eBay OEM parts unless you can 100% verify it is an actual Toyota/Lexus dealership selling them. I bought a timing belt kit for my previous Subaru on eBay and it was a 100% counterfeit fake (fake boxes, labels ect) and was Chinese stuff with a Made in Japan sticker!

I've since bought a few parts for my GX from Daytona Toyota and Bell Lexus North Scottsdale on eBay and there were legit OEM parts. Unfortunately eBay (and now Amazon supposedly) is getting full of counterfeit OEM parts. I buy more stuff at local parts stores, Rock Auto, and local Toyota dealers instead now.
 
Avoid eBay OEM parts unless you can 100% verify it is an actual Toyota/Lexus dealership selling them. I bought a timing belt kit for my previous Subaru on eBay and it was a 100% counterfeit fake (fake boxes, labels ect) and was Chinese stuff with a Made in Japan sticker!

I've since bought a few parts for my GX from Daytona Toyota and Bell Lexus North Scottsdale on eBay and there were legit OEM parts. Unfortunately eBay (and now Amazon supposedly) is getting full of counterfeit OEM parts. I buy more stuff at local parts stores, Rock Auto, and local Toyota dealers instead now.
Absolutely. Good call out.

I buy parts on eBay all the time, but only from dealer stores.

 
The only other issue: I've started to hear a ticking sound during acceleration, which I suspect is a cracked exhaust manifold, which sounds like a bore to fix ($$).
Yes, it is! I had two cracked manifolds when I bought my GX that were replaced under warranty. They were something like $1,400 a side on the work order if I remember correctly.

I read about people installing aftermarket headers in GX470s now. Might be something to look into.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom