So, I bought this shiny new beast with 116,000 miles on it. It's a 99' and it runs really good as far as I can tell. There's been a couple things here and there that have been rearing their ugly head after the purchase. Like, the fact that after I got it home it wouldn't start the next morning. Yup, you guessed right. It's those wonderful starter contacts that seem to have been designed by chimps. But because of this site and you wonderful people who pretty much have an extensive, step by step process (w/ pictures) for pretty much everything Cruiser related, I was able to easily order contacts from CDan and install them myself. (Pats back). Tomorrow I'm changing the AHC fluid which numerous people have made extremely easy to understand. Basically, I am the most psyched I have ever been about owning a vehicle.
Anyways, I too have a fix that is kinda ghetto, yet worked really well. It's probably going to be the most obsolete fix that can be found on this entire board and I won't hold my breath to see it put in the FAQ by the mods. When I bought this car the top lid of the center console was being held down with Velcro, which was glued onto the lid and the base. This fix failed at about the same time as the contacts. So then I had this lid that just swung open and stayed that way unless I used my temp fix(the owners manual) to hold it down. Ya just can't have this happening in a new to you Lexus. So I've been looking online and the cheapest I can find these lids for is like $200+. It's ridiculous. I just can't justify buying the entire lid just for one little piece of broken plastic.
So I thought to myself, "hey, I got that beat up 2000 4runner out in the driveway. I wonder what that latch looks like?!" Sure enough, it was completely different than the one in the LX, BUT it had a damn hook on it that would fit perfectly in the slot of the LX. It was also able to be removed from the lid by removing 2 screws. Now I had this latching mechanism that didn't even come close to fitting on the lid of the Lexus. It was time for some serious engineering and fabrication. Also, if you don't have a 2000 4runner, the part can be found here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/T10Q1-Toyot...Parts_Accessories&hash=item27db89816d&vxp=mtr
Here's what you gotta do if this unlikely event happens to you!
First, you gotta remove the lid from the LX so you can work with it and not break more stuff than you already have.
Then, you have to grind down the rough broken edges from where the cheap little latch snapped off. A dremel would come in super handy for this and the following steps.
The next step is definitely the hardest. The new cheap piece of plastic has to be cut and ground or sanded down to fit into the space where the old latch once was. Here is an instructional photo straight out of the FSM showing the shape the latch needs to be in order to fit.
Highly intelligent imagery of said latch...
You will also need to cut a groove in the bottom of your new latch. This groove has to be as wide as the hook itself and just deep enough to allow the new latch piece to slide freely as the button on the lid is pressed. Once this finagled mess is fully functional, all you have to do is attach the new piece. I used a tiny drill bit to make guide holes and then used tiny screws to secure the latch. I'm sure some epoxy would also do the trick, or a combination of both for that long lasting durability your Lexus should have offered in the first place. Here's is also a picture of the finished product. Works like new!!!
If anyone has anything to add to this extremely important fix, I am all ears!
Anyways, I too have a fix that is kinda ghetto, yet worked really well. It's probably going to be the most obsolete fix that can be found on this entire board and I won't hold my breath to see it put in the FAQ by the mods. When I bought this car the top lid of the center console was being held down with Velcro, which was glued onto the lid and the base. This fix failed at about the same time as the contacts. So then I had this lid that just swung open and stayed that way unless I used my temp fix(the owners manual) to hold it down. Ya just can't have this happening in a new to you Lexus. So I've been looking online and the cheapest I can find these lids for is like $200+. It's ridiculous. I just can't justify buying the entire lid just for one little piece of broken plastic.
So I thought to myself, "hey, I got that beat up 2000 4runner out in the driveway. I wonder what that latch looks like?!" Sure enough, it was completely different than the one in the LX, BUT it had a damn hook on it that would fit perfectly in the slot of the LX. It was also able to be removed from the lid by removing 2 screws. Now I had this latching mechanism that didn't even come close to fitting on the lid of the Lexus. It was time for some serious engineering and fabrication. Also, if you don't have a 2000 4runner, the part can be found here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/T10Q1-Toyot...Parts_Accessories&hash=item27db89816d&vxp=mtr
Here's what you gotta do if this unlikely event happens to you!
First, you gotta remove the lid from the LX so you can work with it and not break more stuff than you already have.
Then, you have to grind down the rough broken edges from where the cheap little latch snapped off. A dremel would come in super handy for this and the following steps.
The next step is definitely the hardest. The new cheap piece of plastic has to be cut and ground or sanded down to fit into the space where the old latch once was. Here is an instructional photo straight out of the FSM showing the shape the latch needs to be in order to fit.
Highly intelligent imagery of said latch...
You will also need to cut a groove in the bottom of your new latch. This groove has to be as wide as the hook itself and just deep enough to allow the new latch piece to slide freely as the button on the lid is pressed. Once this finagled mess is fully functional, all you have to do is attach the new piece. I used a tiny drill bit to make guide holes and then used tiny screws to secure the latch. I'm sure some epoxy would also do the trick, or a combination of both for that long lasting durability your Lexus should have offered in the first place. Here's is also a picture of the finished product. Works like new!!!
If anyone has anything to add to this extremely important fix, I am all ears!
and that's for Monday.
.
