I am finally joining Ih8mud! long time lurker, first time poster. I Just picked up a 2004 GX470 and will be shaking it down for first steps in maintenance. This was meant to replace an FJ Cruiser to knock around in the woods but so far I have made it my daily driver because I enjoy it so much. I will be doing the timing belt/water pump, t-stat, drive belt etc. That will take care of the drain and fill of the coolant which is of an unknown vintage. I watched a video about checking valve clearance which does not bother me but I will need to study up on how to successfully lock the cam gears in place before removing the cams to change out shims where needed. I plan to chase down some noises and pulling issues while braking as well. I like this thing so much I want to find one with less miles and better condition or maybe look into an LX to add to the fleet. Anyway, just introducing myself and looking forward to overthinking and spending money on something I told myself I wouldn't. I know where this is going! LOL
FNG
- Thread starter Kruef
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
show us a pic!!
FTFY. Just in case OP interprets that a way we don't want.
Tell me more about this valve adjustment you speak of? I just bought a 2004 4Runner with 4.7 and doing all of those same tasks now. Had not heard about valve maintenance. Kinda scares me to be honest.
- Thread starter
- #6
They have buckets and shims. Not unlike Subarus I've worked on in the past. Checking valve lash is simple, similar to a 22re but there is some math involved. You have to very systematically lay out your buckets in order, measure the current shim if that valve is out of spec and pick the next closest size shim off a chart. Then get your hands on those shims, reassemble and check again. It's more involved that that but you get the idea. I have not done it on this motor. I decided to have a local shop do my timing kit work since I am limited on time and asked him about it, he says he has never done that on a 4.7 so it may not be a big thing in the end. Not sure what others have experienced on this, this is my first 2uz it has 261,000 miles and I'm curious. It runs so smoothly, I love this engine. I want to keep it for a long time.