I have prioritized my exhaust manifold leak and electrical gremlins as the two primary projects requiring attention On my road to my dream rig 2001 LX470. The question I ask the group is should I tackle the header job myself or sub it out? I am handy and do most of my automotive work myself, however, I do not have access to a lift or torch. I have read up on the job an know it is possible but would like the opinion of those who have done it in their garage/driveways. Would you do it yourself again, or send it to a shop and pay upwards of $1000?
Location correct? New York? Sub it out. The time saved can be better focused on the electrical gremlins. I do the majority of work myself and my mechanic hates to see me coming because its for the jobs that suck. He would see me for the exhaust manifold leak if I had one. Leak or crack in manifold?
Not sure yet. The ticking originates from the front of the driver's side. I ordered a set of DT headers, but they seem lost in transit or stolen by porch pirates (New York). I was thinking of replacing both manifolds for now but I might be open to doing the entire system if the price is right.
Did my drivers side today. Well, I concluded it today. All in all it’s been over a week with stud soaking and stoping myself before I made an error. Getting torque is all but impossible on a few nuts. I got them as tight as I could. Still haven’t gotten the dipstick back in. Walked away before I lost
I have prioritized my exhaust manifold leak and electrical gremlins as the two primary projects requiring attention On my road to my dream rig 2001 LX470. The question I ask the group is should I tackle the header job myself or sub it out? I am handy and do most of my automotive work myself, however, I do not have access to a lift or torch. I have read up on the job an know it is possible but would like the opinion of those who have done it in their garage/driveways. Would you do it yourself again, or send it to a shop and pay upwards of $1000?
I had mine done and although it was expensive I don't regret it. My mechanic said that it is inevitible that vehicles from the northeast are just going to have things break etc while you work on them (broken studs etc. in my case) and I don't have that patience. I have full DT, including a cat delete, I can get back to you on getting rid of the downstream O2 sensor codes in a couple of days, if you want.
I swapped exhaust manifold (header) on a friend's GX470 (2UZ). It was a bit of a bear. Access is just annoyingly limited for most the job. His engine was very rust-free. A NE car sounds like a terrible time on jobs like that. Here's a video I made. As I recall, there were a couple weird extensions and u-joints that were life-savers. It's not a real satisfying job, so I'd sub it out unless you have a plethora of tools (including an impact) and plenty of time to kill on it.
Thanks for the feedback. I think I will send this job out once the car is registered and on the road. I didn't know that DT made a cat-delete setup. Good to know.
Thanks for the feedback. I think I will send this job out once the car is registered and on the road. I didn't know that DT made a cat-delete setup. Good to know.
Thanks for the feedback. I think I will send this job out once the car is registered and on the road. I didn't know that DT made a cat-delete setup. Good to know.
I did a write up of my DT header install. I didn't find it that hard, just tight working areas in some spots. I detail some tools that make it way easier.
Hi all, I wanted to do a thread detailing my install of my Doug Thorley headers on my 2003 LX470. I haven't seen this much detail anywhere that I could find showing the tools that make this job easier so I hope it will be helpful for someone looking to do this job by themselves. This won't be a...
I did them on my GX470 over a weekend (Fri-Sun). All-in wrenching time was probably ~20 hours in my cramped shop. I've done virtually all my own wrenching for ~25 years now and it's still the hardest job I've ever done. I'd put it in the "difficult" DIY category. It's not precision work like let's say building a motor, but you need enough wrenching intuition to be able to create a 2-ft long string of wobble extensions, U-joints, normal extensions, etc to be able to get at the manifold studs/nuts through the inner fender. My rig is also a VVTI rig which is undoubtedly more difficult. Maybe ya'll have a bit more room in a 100.
Other challenges were rounding off a few of the nuts due to a bit of rust and terrible angles. I ended up having to cut/grind the studs/nuts of the manifold with a flex attachment and griding wheel on a Dremel (took around 20 minutes put nut/stud), then weld a nut on to what was left to the stud (after manifold removal) to get it out. I also cut down a deep socket to make it a "mid deep" for putting the nuts back on. So you need a pretty diverse array of tools to get the job done unless your rig is in pristine condition.
I re-tightened the manifold studs after around a week of driving, nearly 2.5 years ago. Zero issues since then (other than some collector bolts coming loose). I used VVTI Fel-Pro manifold gaskets that were made in Japan and identical to the OEM MLS manifold gaskets, so I'm guessing they are indeed reboxed Toyota gaskets. The coated headers still look pretty good as well.
End result was totally worth it - my GX rips with the LT headers, CAI, exhaust, tune, and upgraded valve body.
My LX has been in storage and has received minimal attention since its purchase. The headers are still in their box, and I also have a fully functional sunroof cassette waiting to be swapped in. I'm currently in the process of arranging with a reputable shop experienced in LCs for some upcoming modifications. Exciting times are just around the corner. On a brighter note, I successfully sold my 2019 Challenger widebody to a deserving Mopar enthusiast at a satisfying profit.
