Fool me once...shame on you, but the 3rd time? '00 LC!

[mkivtdi]

I should have deleted FB Marketplace alerts when I sold my LX470 recently. At the time it was my 2nd LX470, and with work and a growing family, a 20 year old car wasn't top of my family's priority list.

And then, not two or three days after my LX was loaded onto a shipping trailer... an interesting ad popped up semi-locally for an extremely cheap 2000 LC. Only two grainy exterior pics in the ad stating that it's been sitting for a few months after throwing a spark plug. Since it's still relatively warm up here in New England and we've got peak foliage, I figured it couldn't hurt to take an hour and a half ride to go see it. I think I was secretly hoping for the car to be a total basket-case so that I could move on, and at worst, I get to enjoy a beautiful day with a mini-trip into upstate NY.

Instead, within half an hour of seeing the car, it was being loaded onto the flatbed of a local tow company and it followed me home.

So, I guess I'll start a thread for some easy documentation / baselining. It's obviously far from a perfect car, but I thought it had potential to make a great winter beater.... assuming I could get it running.

Pics, because everybody loves 'em!

 

[mkivtdi]

It took about 2 days for the TimeSert kit to get in. To kill some time while waiting for the kit, and to hopefully improve our odds, I had my father fashion a bushing out of derlin to help with cutting the new threads and staying as centered as possible. The old threads only had about 2 good threads in it per the borescope. Fortunately cylinder walls looked pretty great.

Access wasn't the easiest for cyl. #5, but a little help from zip ties made enough room to make this doable. Cleanliness was of utmost importance, so a combination of cutting oil and grease on the tap made sure most shavings remained on the tool. Obviously followed by lots of compressed air and flex tubing attached to a shop vac to get as much debris out of the cylinder as possible.

 

[mkivtdi]

And since I was changing this plug, I figured the rest were probably pretty loose as well. Forum member 2001LC has a beautiful thread on spark plugs and potential ticking time bomb, so I ended up going to my local Toyota dealer and getting a new set of complete plugs.

Before installing the plug on the newly repaired #5, I fired her up for a few moments to ensure any residual debris would get ejected through the spark plug hole. Reinstalled #5, and she settled into a clean, quiet idle around 700ish RPMs!

Since the ignition coils were pretty terrible (cracked, brown, brittle) across the board, I ordered a new of Denso's via rock auto. About $540ish shipped for 8, and they should get here this Wednesday.

Until those get in, I did a quick oil change and PS flush (2001LC also has a great thread on this!)

As time allows, I'll keep updating this thread with simple progress for anybody that cares. Till next time!

 

[AARONTLC]

And since I was changing this plug, I figured the rest were probably pretty loose as well. Forum member 2001LC has a beautiful thread on spark plugs and potential ticking time bomb, so I ended up going to my local Toyota dealer and getting a new set of complete plugs.

Before installing the plug on the newly repaired #5, I fired her up for a few moments to ensure any residual debris would get ejected through the spark plug hole. Reinstalled #5, and she settled into a clean, quiet idle around 700ish RPMs!

Since the ignition coils were pretty terrible (cracked, brown, brittle) across the board, I ordered a new of Denso's via rock auto. About $540ish shipped for 8, and they should get here this Wednesday.

Until those get in, I did a quick oil change and PS flush (2001LC also has a great thread on this!)

As time allows, I'll keep updating this thread with simple progress for anybody that cares. Till next time!


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She is sweet! How many miles on her?

 

[Mike NXP]

Great find, I wouldn't have been able to pass up on that either. Very cool to see you got it running and no gremlins have appeared yet.

 

[mkivtdi]

270k. I didn't know the exact mileage till I got her home. I was expecting it to be in the mid 200s, but since she had been sitting for a few months I didn't even have any ignition power to check mileage at time of purchase.

Since I got her running, I decided to run a carfax just to get an idea of some history. 2 owner car, spent most of its life in Colorado, and the past few years here in NY. No accidents, and fairly regular maintenance. Based on the interior, it couldn't have had too rough of a life. Only major interior blemish is a tear in the driver's seat base. I'll try to get a deeper clean in this upcoming weekend...

Definitely not a southern frame, but still a heck of a lot better than a lot of other rigs I've seen.

That's water splashes on the cross member in front of the radiator and on rear tire were a result of a drive through wash.

For the price of this thing, and the intention of keeping it as a winter beater...I'm not going to nitpick!

 

[Mike NXP]

You could also try to put the VIN into Toyota Owners website and try to find service history info, but I think Carfax would show similar results

Rus doesn't look too bad at all. I've been liking my recent application of NH Oil, which I think is pretty popular in your area as well ? Might be worth giving it a good underspray before winter

 

[mkivtdi]

You could also try to put the VIN into Toyota Owners website and try to find service history info, but I think Carfax would show similar results

Rus doesn't look too bad at all. I've been liking my recent application of NH Oil, which I think is pretty popular in your area as well ? Might be worth giving it a good underspray before winter

I've always seen a lot of advertisement for the NH Undercoat. I'll look for some local crews that do Fluid film/WoolWax etc to put some effort into this thing.

So far to get the car home + plugs + timesert + Denso coils that are on the way... I'm into it for $3,000.

Major recent documented service:
New Rack @ 205k
Timing Belt @ 245k
New Denso Radiator @ 250k
New Alternator @ 260k
And then misc. standard maintenance at fairly regular intervals...

 

[delz05]

Located in Braintree MA if you need a frame clean up... or any other 100 service...

 

[MongooseGA]

$3k for that is a deal. You did great.

Congrats on the new one

 

[Foehammer]

Hell of a deal. Nice job on getting it running.

You can tell it's mint from drive light working

 

[mkivtdi]

We've got great weather these next two days, almost 80*... So, decided to rip out the interior and try to rejuvenate these seats. I've used it with great success in the past, so while these marinate for the next 24-48hrs, I'll get going on the rest of the interior...

 

[mkivtdi]

And, I guess if I've got them out and my driver's seat bottom stitching is torn... DIY replacement options you guys can vouch for?

LSeat, Hotrod?

 

[MongooseGA]

I love the leatherique, but I don't believe you'll get much improvement with it on the 100 seats. I'm pretty sure our seats are coated.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Mike NXP]

And, I guess if I've got them out and my driver's seat bottom stitching is torn... DIY replacement options you guys can vouch for?

LSeat, Hotrod?

You get what you pay for in this category. I'm currently enjoying my CalTrend Cordura covers but it gives the truck a less classy feel and more of a durable vibe. They do have some neoprene covers which I'm using in my highlander and they are comfy. This option is a 'slip on' but is tailored to our seats.

If you want to actually remove and reupholster the seats then I suggest spending as much as possible on the material assuming that it translates to higher quality, not worth cheaping out

 

[mkivtdi]

New coils came in today, and as much as I wanted to install them... Halloween was the priority

Question -- does anybody want me to do any testing? I'm at 273k miles with Toyota branded coils. No idea if they're original, but from taking a quick look when doing new plugs the other day, they're in absolutely terrible shape.

However -- there's no CEL. I think I remember reading a few threads about performance issues right at this threshold...ugly coils but no CEL, but perhaps a perceivable performance issue.

Never tested coils so not sure what the testing procedure would be, but I know my way around a multimeter and happy to test scenarios if you guys want a data point for reference.

 

[excessive]

incredible find, very clean! I couldn't say "no" to a cheap landcruiser either

 

[ClassyJalopy]

New coils came in today, and as much as I wanted to install them... Halloween was the priority

Question -- does anybody want me to do any testing? I'm at 273k miles with Toyota branded coils. No idea if they're original, but from taking a quick look when doing new plugs the other day, they're in absolutely terrible shape.

However -- there's no CEL. I think I remember reading a few threads about performance issues right at this threshold...ugly coils but no CEL, but perhaps a perceivable performance issue.

Never tested coils so not sure what the testing procedure would be, but I know my way around a multimeter and happy to test scenarios if you guys want a data point for reference.


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Put them on - you already got them. Smoke'um if you got'um! You ain't saving any money in keeping them in their boxes.

 

[mkivtdi]

New coils getting ready for install. Like others have reported, any branding on the top half of the nameplate has been ground off.

Old passenger side had 3 Toyota coils, and one non-name no markings coil.

Driver's side was a similar setup - 3 old Toyota coils, one non-name.

While in there, noticed a few of the vacuum lines in the engine bay are cracked. Anybody sell a comprehensive kit so I don't have to piece one together?

 

[mkivtdi]

Also, how much slack is supposed to be in the throttle cable? Never looked at them too closely in my previous LXs, but this one seems to have noticeable slack. Probably 3/4" deflection up/down.