Finally made it home with the "New" LX!
Well, I finally made it home from this 5 day trip. It was a lot of fun and I could have easily turned it into a 50 day trip!
The "new" LX is everything I hoped for and then some. It's not flawless, but it's pretty darn close. There are now 112,960 miles on the odometer. I picked it up with 111,045. I filled the tank six times. The best price I found along the way was $2.41 in Phoenix, when I was almost home. The highest (GULP
) price was $2.92 in California!
Part of the purchase agreement was to include a pre-pickup coolant flush. The PO had the oil done as well. The PO has been a Toyota fleet sales guy for 9 years. He had the fluids changed at his dealership. He said they used Chevron 5w30 oil and Toyota green coolant. They put green in because they said that is what was in there previous.
Anyway, I met with the seller, looked over the vehicle, took a short test drive, got the 411 on how things work, signed a bill of sale and hit the road. My plan was to take the US 101 to L.A. and hit I-10 back to Tucson. Before I departed the Vancouver area, I had the pleasure to meet Firetruck41 (and his black LX) for some sushi and chat.
The truck ran perfect the entire way home. I checked the oil 3 times along the way and once since I have been home. It hasn't budged--rock solid at the full mark, but there is some oil seepage under the car. I had seller check into this as well, and he said the mechanic said it appears to be coming form the oil pan gasket. Do I understand correctly this is common? I looked under the vehicle, myself, and it doesn't appear to be coming from the oil pan. Drops are forming on the flat part of the metal where the engine and trans meet. What is the likelihood it is the rear main engine seal? I do know the valve cover gasket was replaced, once. I haven't searched the forum, yet, for this topic...
On the morning of the fifth day, Monday the 27th, I found something disturbing that hadn't shown itself before--COOLANT dripping from an unknown source.... When I opened the hood, it was so obvious I would have seen this before I left Washington. And I had checked the engine compartment at least half a dozen times along the trip; more than the amount of times I had checked the oil. I am somewhat distressed by this, but there seems to be no significant coolant loss; the cooland is right to the top. I wiped away the drips from underneath and monitored along the way. I found two or three more drops and nothing since then. If I am determining the parts correctly, it looks like the fluid was flowing down the edge of the gasket where the water-pump mates to the block. Any ideas? Could it be a fluke? I have since (gently) powerwashed that area and will continue ot monitor...
Oh, and I found the steering fluid to be a little low. So, I went to a Pepgirls and bought some "Dino" Dexron type ATF. The fluid in there was/is a brownish color, and not the red of the trans fluid. I put the trans fluid in anyway. Am I in trouble? I know I probably should get this changed out ASAP, but is it serious? Again, I haven't done a forum search, yet...
I have included some photos of "along-the-way" cool stuff I have seen, most of which feature the LX as the subject. I'll include captions.
Again, let me say thanks to everyone for all the help they don't really know they provided to make this purchase a reality, and a special thanks to Firetruck41 for his excellent evaluation that he DOES know made this purchase a reality!
View attachment 64817 The New Beast
I was relieved to have a ready-made place for the Nalgene!
Firetruck41's Black LX
Well, I finally made it home from this 5 day trip. It was a lot of fun and I could have easily turned it into a 50 day trip!
The "new" LX is everything I hoped for and then some. It's not flawless, but it's pretty darn close. There are now 112,960 miles on the odometer. I picked it up with 111,045. I filled the tank six times. The best price I found along the way was $2.41 in Phoenix, when I was almost home. The highest (GULP
) price was $2.92 in California! Part of the purchase agreement was to include a pre-pickup coolant flush. The PO had the oil done as well. The PO has been a Toyota fleet sales guy for 9 years. He had the fluids changed at his dealership. He said they used Chevron 5w30 oil and Toyota green coolant. They put green in because they said that is what was in there previous.
Anyway, I met with the seller, looked over the vehicle, took a short test drive, got the 411 on how things work, signed a bill of sale and hit the road. My plan was to take the US 101 to L.A. and hit I-10 back to Tucson. Before I departed the Vancouver area, I had the pleasure to meet Firetruck41 (and his black LX) for some sushi and chat.
The truck ran perfect the entire way home. I checked the oil 3 times along the way and once since I have been home. It hasn't budged--rock solid at the full mark, but there is some oil seepage under the car. I had seller check into this as well, and he said the mechanic said it appears to be coming form the oil pan gasket. Do I understand correctly this is common? I looked under the vehicle, myself, and it doesn't appear to be coming from the oil pan. Drops are forming on the flat part of the metal where the engine and trans meet. What is the likelihood it is the rear main engine seal? I do know the valve cover gasket was replaced, once. I haven't searched the forum, yet, for this topic...
On the morning of the fifth day, Monday the 27th, I found something disturbing that hadn't shown itself before--COOLANT dripping from an unknown source.... When I opened the hood, it was so obvious I would have seen this before I left Washington. And I had checked the engine compartment at least half a dozen times along the trip; more than the amount of times I had checked the oil. I am somewhat distressed by this, but there seems to be no significant coolant loss; the cooland is right to the top. I wiped away the drips from underneath and monitored along the way. I found two or three more drops and nothing since then. If I am determining the parts correctly, it looks like the fluid was flowing down the edge of the gasket where the water-pump mates to the block. Any ideas? Could it be a fluke? I have since (gently) powerwashed that area and will continue ot monitor...
Oh, and I found the steering fluid to be a little low. So, I went to a Pepgirls and bought some "Dino" Dexron type ATF. The fluid in there was/is a brownish color, and not the red of the trans fluid. I put the trans fluid in anyway. Am I in trouble? I know I probably should get this changed out ASAP, but is it serious? Again, I haven't done a forum search, yet...
I have included some photos of "along-the-way" cool stuff I have seen, most of which feature the LX as the subject. I'll include captions.
Again, let me say thanks to everyone for all the help they don't really know they provided to make this purchase a reality, and a special thanks to Firetruck41 for his excellent evaluation that he DOES know made this purchase a reality!
View attachment 64817 The New Beast
I was relieved to have a ready-made place for the Nalgene!
Firetruck41's Black LX
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