Long time lurker, first time poster. 34 year old (when did that happen?) automotive enthusiast in the Akron, Ohio area. I have spent my professional life working in the European automotive aftermarket parts industry and this is my first non-German vehicle in over a decade.
In October, I purchased my 2005 LX sight unseen from an auction in New England. I knew nothing about it, save for that it had 238k miles, some photos and that I was paying a price lower than all other 03+ trucks on the market. My expectations were not high. I've read time and again to buy the truck with the nicest undercarriage possible so of course I did the opposite! Following having it show up on the transporter and purchasing a CarFax, this LX is a running and driving reminder that one owner, clean title, no paintwork, full maintenance records has only partial bearing on condition overall...
The pleasant surprises:
Lots of recent maintenance - timing belt, all fluids, brakes, tires, etc
Clean oil
Third row seats present
AHC works
SiriusXM works
AC works
Front end vinyl protectant (old)
- Everything works!
Runs and drives pretty well
The not so pleasant surprises:
Underbody has rust. Worst being rear of the front wheels on the body and way back of the frame near the rear bumper. Not nice.
Usual rust on rear hatch by the window
Engine skid plate and fuel tank skid plate both rotten
Slop in the steering at speed, caused in part by front sway bushings shot (one end link missing completely) hopefully not rack bushings too
AHC reservoir cap missing
Seized driver front caliper
Missing headrests for middle row seats
Loads of pinstriping on both sides
I have 10 BMWs and Porsches in various stages of disrepair, so this was not a project I needed, but here I am. High level plan here is to build something reliable that my wife, son, and I can take on some trips and do some light offroading in - Southern Ohio, The Wilds of PA, and beyond.
Current project list:
Replace stuck caliper
R&R front sway bar
Alignment
Descale, rust convert, POR15 frame
Remove rear bumper, evaluate bumper support rust
Remove heaviest underbody body rust, convert and seal
Repair hatch window rust
Hardwire USB chargers
Source headrests
Replace rear headrest DVD player's RF transmitter with a bluetooth unit
Polish, seal, wax paint
Longer term project list isnt unusual;
Install snorkel
Remove side steps
Properly repair underbody body rust
Full skid plates (would love to design and make myself)
Tube bumpers (would love to design and make my own)
Winch
Compressor
Rack
OME lift
Wheels and 35s
Vinyl wrap (throwback to the tri-color Toyota race liveries)
For Thanksgiving, we've rented a 4x4 only house on Corolla, NC to escape a family visit, so have three days to deal with the majority of this list (whups) if I plan on taking this thing.
I am a business guy who loves to wrench, but fab and rust repair have not been areas I have explored, so this should be fun. What I have working in my favor is access to a full shop, including racks, alignment rack, wash bays, any tools I should need including for fab work, and vinyl plotter. I also have talented enthusiast shop techs, mechanical engineers, and graphic designers on my team in my day job, so will have plenty of opportunity to learn and have socially - distanced watercooler talk.
This is a far cry from the German cars I work with on a daily basis and is a welcome change. So far I'm captivated driving something and traveling under the speed limit so frequently.
I've enjoyed learning from this community so far and look forward to being able to contibute as I have experiences myself.
In October, I purchased my 2005 LX sight unseen from an auction in New England. I knew nothing about it, save for that it had 238k miles, some photos and that I was paying a price lower than all other 03+ trucks on the market. My expectations were not high. I've read time and again to buy the truck with the nicest undercarriage possible so of course I did the opposite! Following having it show up on the transporter and purchasing a CarFax, this LX is a running and driving reminder that one owner, clean title, no paintwork, full maintenance records has only partial bearing on condition overall...
The pleasant surprises:
Lots of recent maintenance - timing belt, all fluids, brakes, tires, etc
Clean oil
Third row seats present
AHC works
SiriusXM works
AC works
Front end vinyl protectant (old)
- Everything works!
Runs and drives pretty well
The not so pleasant surprises:
Underbody has rust. Worst being rear of the front wheels on the body and way back of the frame near the rear bumper. Not nice.
Usual rust on rear hatch by the window
Engine skid plate and fuel tank skid plate both rotten
Slop in the steering at speed, caused in part by front sway bushings shot (one end link missing completely) hopefully not rack bushings too
AHC reservoir cap missing
Seized driver front caliper
Missing headrests for middle row seats
Loads of pinstriping on both sides
I have 10 BMWs and Porsches in various stages of disrepair, so this was not a project I needed, but here I am. High level plan here is to build something reliable that my wife, son, and I can take on some trips and do some light offroading in - Southern Ohio, The Wilds of PA, and beyond.
Current project list:
Replace stuck caliper
R&R front sway bar
Alignment
Descale, rust convert, POR15 frame
Remove rear bumper, evaluate bumper support rust
Remove heaviest underbody body rust, convert and seal
Repair hatch window rust
Hardwire USB chargers
Source headrests
Replace rear headrest DVD player's RF transmitter with a bluetooth unit
Polish, seal, wax paint
Longer term project list isnt unusual;
Install snorkel
Remove side steps
Properly repair underbody body rust
Full skid plates (would love to design and make myself)
Tube bumpers (would love to design and make my own)
Winch
Compressor
Rack
OME lift
Wheels and 35s
Vinyl wrap (throwback to the tri-color Toyota race liveries)
For Thanksgiving, we've rented a 4x4 only house on Corolla, NC to escape a family visit, so have three days to deal with the majority of this list (whups) if I plan on taking this thing.
I am a business guy who loves to wrench, but fab and rust repair have not been areas I have explored, so this should be fun. What I have working in my favor is access to a full shop, including racks, alignment rack, wash bays, any tools I should need including for fab work, and vinyl plotter. I also have talented enthusiast shop techs, mechanical engineers, and graphic designers on my team in my day job, so will have plenty of opportunity to learn and have socially - distanced watercooler talk.
This is a far cry from the German cars I work with on a daily basis and is a welcome change. So far I'm captivated driving something and traveling under the speed limit so frequently.
I've enjoyed learning from this community so far and look forward to being able to contibute as I have experiences myself.
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