Did I Buy The Wrong Vehicle (1 Viewer)

[ngilbert]

Hey Everyone,

I am a new member and have spent the past few weeks browsing the forum. I've always liked 4runners, but seeing everyone's builds got me really interested in the GX. I had read about all of the problems and was well aware of what to watch out for. Primarily the transfer case leak, air suspension, and front suspension. I found a vehicle posted just across my state line that seemed to meet my criteria. Drove out, took a test drive and talked to the owner. I had previously pulled the service records from Lexus and saw notes on the tcase seeping, so I asked the owner about it. He said he had never seen it leaking and my visual check did not notice any drips. So I took it on faith that I had some time before the repair, and this is where my stress begins. I drive it home and parked it for two days, come back and see that the tcase is leaking on the ground. Take it to Lexus and they quote me $2500ish, due to the actuator being filled with oil and needing to be replaced. Independent shops are not quoting much lower, with the actuator being $1700 from Lexus.

Here are the dets on the truck.

The Good -
2004 Lexus GX470 with 136,000 miles.
Perelli tires with less than 10k miles.
Almost complete service history from Lexus.
Dashboard replaced under recall.
No rips in the leather.
Timing belt and water pump service complete.
Overall clean.
Nice wheels from the GX460.
Non-Nav.

The Bad -
Only have valet key
Window seals need replaced
Automatic door lock broken on passenger rear
Driver door manual door lock broken
Transfer case leak, actuator needs to be replaced.
Paint fading on fenders above rear wheels. (Blue mica(?) color)


I paid $9,250. I had hoped that I didn't have to put serious money into it for at least a year. I've only had the vehicle for five days and it already feels like the worst buying experience I've ever had. What does the community think? What route would you recommend on the tcase actuator leak? I'm somewhat handy and frequently do my own maintenance, but the actuator is well above my skill level.

Thanks everyone!

 

[alia176]

My actuator was full of gear oil and dripped just like you. This is a typical wear item, not a huge deal but is a pain to fix. There are two small O rings and one large O ring that need to be replaced. Couple of months ago, I dropped the Tcase and fixed this oil leak once and for good. You can read the "how to article" that someone wrote up in this thread: Fixing the transfer case shift motor leak from within.. - Toyota 4Runner Forum - Largest 4Runner Forum

The actuator is a complex device and Toyota advises their techs against taking it apart. It looks like this https://www.amazon.com/AISIN-SAT-003-Shift-Lock-Actuator/dp/B01M0V09WU If you mess with the timing of the actuator, you're in deep doodoo. I learned the timing process during my O ring job and am now intimately familiar with the process. It was a royal PITA I have to tell you.

The two small O rings I'm referring to go around the two shafts in the pic and live at the base of the two shafts. The large O ring goes around the large circle that's more obvious in the picture. This mating surface lives against the Tcase and the two shafts are attached to shift forks inside the Tcase. You get the picture!

I took my actuator apart like the OP shows in the article that I linked above and replaced the O rings. Your dealer is simply quoting you a new actuator plus the time/material to take the Transfer case apart to do this project.

For now, just keep an eye on the Tcase oil level and stick a cardboard on the ground. Contrary to what some people say, you CAN'T fix this leak w/o taking the Tcase apart. Occasionally, open up the actuator cover and drain the gear oil out of it. Believe it or not, the two electric actuator motors can operate normally while drowning in gear oil!

Prior to tackling this project, my 4low and CDL would engage super slowly, if at all. Sometimes I couldn't get out of 4low without a major headache. Now, both operate within seconds and consistently every time.

 

[95Fantasma80]

when you add the cost of fixing this plus purchase price i think you did buy the wrong vehicle if looking only at price but could be worse considering you mentioned a lot of positives. the tcase sucks because you had indications that this could be an issue in reports and chose to believe owner.

definitely fix it and hope no underlying issues do indeed turn this into the "worst buying experience ever"

 

[ToyotaDon]

If you want more keys, you will have to spring for getting a new master key made and programmed. Some locksmiths can do this, or I believe on the '04, the dealer can do an Immobiliser reset and register a new master key. They will require you to bring in registration and ID showing you own the vehicle.

For ease of programming, it would be recommended to fix the door locks first.

 

[GXO]

1010keys (I believe) sell new masters that need programming but they are cheaper

 

[ngilbert]

Thanks for all the help guys. I am a notorious DIY'er and not afraid to attempt most tasks. After reading over all of the Tcase leak threads for the 5th or 6th time, I've decided to attempt the fix (easy method) myself. Of the people who have posted their experience, they all seem to have achieved their desired outcome. Granted, nothing is risk free, but I have nothing to lose. I'll be ordering the parts today.

I did talk to a locksmith who said he could make me a new master key w/fob for around $70-$140. So, if what ToyotaDon says is true, then that should be doable by him.

 

[TOYOTARIG]

Let us know how the t-case repair goes. I have just been watching my level and adding as needed.

 

[sea bass]

The PO never saw the transfer case leaking yeah right that's the most famous line ever when selling a vehicle right up there with runs great needs motor, chalk it up to experience kid, in my opinion with all those issues I would have walked away from it, if the PO did not maintain little things like door locks he probably didn't maintain the rest of the vehicle too well

 

[ngilbert]

Got to do this job last night. Taking off the actuator was incredibly simple and easy, unscrewed the three bolts and it just backed right off without any twisting needed. The O-ring was definitely more of a square shape and had worked its way into a groove created behind the front nose plate. Post number 52 HERE, had it right. The nose plate appears to have deformed a bit and created space for the O-ring to get into. I don't think it is possible to buy a replacement nose piece, but one can be milled or possibly 3D printed. So, without a new nose plate this job will need to be done whenever the o-ring fails and gets stuck in the groove again.

I also discovered that contrary to what Lexus had told me, gear oil had not got into the actuator motor. The seal looked to be in great shape. Although I went ahead and replaced it since I had it out. Wiped down the actuator and bolted it back on. I then went for a quick drive and before pulling into the drive I tested the diff lock and everything worked as expected.

I did notice a couple of drips of oil on the driveway this morning, but I didn't clean up the T-case at all, so I'm going to monitor for the next couple of days.

I'd suggest that anyone facing a diagnosis like the one I received, give this a shot. On the GX it seems to be a pretty easy job, it was in my case. Just don't mess with anything else. Don't try and move the rod or mess with any of the gears in the actuator. Good to go.

 

[alia176]

Congrats dude, you pulled off a miracle! My actuator box came out and in the process the shift forks disengaged from the teeth inside the Tcase and was ever able to re-engage properly. Did you replace the two O rings around the shift forks?

 

[ngilbert]

This is on a GX, so it only has one shift rod coming out of the actuator for the electronic diff lock. I did replace the seal on the actuator for that one. Even though the old one looked to be in good shape, I went for it since I had the part on hand.

 

[alia176]

This is on a GX, so it only has one shift rod coming out of the actuator for the electronic diff lock. I did replace the seal on the actuator for that one. Even though the old one looked to be in good shape, I went for it since I had the part on hand.

Ok, my bad, I forget that y'all have one shift rod and I have two shift rods even though we are both full time 4x4. So, you replaced the large O ring from Toyota/Lexus but didn't replace the shift rod seal? This is the seal that leaked on mine as it got dried from lack of Tcase usage by the PO.

I read up on the thread you included and it sounds like y'all can undo the actuator housing from the Tcase, pull it out slightly, then twist until it can be pulled all the way out. Is that what you did? This is SOOOO much nicer than the 4Runner folks who have two shafts and can't twist the actuator housing.

 

[ngilbert]

I replaced both the O-ring and the seal.

My plan was to follow the procedure outlined in that thread. Everything mostly followed what was outlined, but when I went to pull the actuator off it didn't hit anything to stop it. I may have accidentally turned the actuator counter-clockwise as I was moving it off of the rod, but it didn't seem like it. It came off very easily.

Yes, from what I understand this job is easily doable on the GX. With the two rods on the 4Runner, I don't think I would even attempt to do this myself unless I knew for sure that I had nothing to lose and wouldn't make anything worse.