LX to GX - First Time GX Owner (3 Viewers)

[JSLangley]

Hello all,

Went from a 99 LX470 to a ‘10 GX460…

Picked her up this morning in Florence, AL from a dealership in “as is” condition for under $18k. She’s got a clean title and 144k miles and has only ever been serviced by Lexus.

Test drive went well, no overheating or running hot, good oil on the dipstick, a/c worked.. I began to drive the 1.5 hours home and noticed the heat didn’t work. Shortly after, I noticed the temp gauge creep up. Pulled over and snapped off the plastic cover over the radiator and sure enough it was bone dry. Limped to a store for some jugs of water and filled all the way up. I’ll post pics later but it looks like she’s had a small coolant leak from the top rad hose. Luckily, it’s red in color. Needless to say, this weekend I’ll be conducting a flush and refill on the rad and clean it up to see exactly where it’s leaking. I’ve read about the leak under the intake manifold and will have to look into that, also.

Besides that and a few dings, she’s right as rain. Happy to be back in the Landy game.

Should I change my name to GXJake? Ha!

View attachment 3553462

Congrats, Congrats, and RTR

 

[LXJake93]

 

[LXJake93]

 

[LXJake93]

Life with a newborn and a busy job makes for little time to mess around with Flo. Found the crack. Definitely need replacement. Finally found the culprit to why I’m leaking coolant all the time. Ever seen a crack this nice?

 

[rav8]

Life with a newborn and a busy job makes for little time to mess around with Flo. Found the crack. Definitely need replacement. Finally found the culprit to why I’m leaking coolant all the time. Ever seen a crack this nice?

Glad you found it. Expecting mine to start leaking in the next 25k. Thankfully they're not terribly expensive.

One time, when changing oil in my generator, I realized I needed another part for something else. I hopped in the 4Runner and pulled forward...only to drive into the pullbar of the generator, which rode just between my bumper and skidplate, punching through the radiator, condenser and bending the fan. Not my best day.

 

[LXJake93]

A/C went out this morning. ha! Gonna recharge it after work tonight or tomorrow.. whenever I can get time.

@rav8 you have a generator sitting on the front of your cruiser? I know I'm not the brightest bulb in the tanning bed so maybe I misunderstood.

 

[r2m]

A/C went out this morning. ha! Gonna recharge it after work tonight or tomorrow.. whenever I can get time.

@rav8 you have a generator sitting on the front of your cruiser? I know I'm not the brightest bulb in the tanning bed so maybe I misunderstood.

Don't mean to scare you, but if your A/C when out all of a sudden, e.g. lost/leaked R134a refrigerant, you may have a bigger issue.
For your sake, I hope not.
Just a thought, my wife and I were driving to my Dad's home just north of Austin, TX from So. Cal. As we started hitting triple digit temperatures, the A/C just wasn't keeping up. The colder I set it, the less it worked. by this time I was really getting a sick feeling in my gut.
Then I pulled over and looked over the air settings. Drivers: 65°F, Passenger: 65°F, Rear/middle seat: 85°F!!!!
Some time earlier, for whatever reason my daughter and her old boyfriend when they were sitting back there set the thermostat to 85°F!
So the more I tried pushing cold air up front the back set was fighting it by blowing more warm air!
Changed ALL three climate control settings to 73°F and we were good for the rest of the trip.
Needless to say sick gut feeling was gone.
So, have you checked your rear thermostat? (assuming you have one.)

 

[LXJake93]

Don't mean to scare you, but if your A/C when out all of a sudden, e.g. lost/leaked R134a refrigerant, you may have a bigger issue.
For your sake, I hope not.
Just a thought, my wife and I were driving to my Dad's home just north of Austin, TX from So. Cal. As we started hitting triple digit temperatures, the A/C just wasn't keeping up. The colder I set it, the less it worked. by this time I was really getting a sick feeling in my gut.
Then I pulled over and looked over the air settings. Drivers: 65°F, Passenger: 65°F, Rear/middle seat: 85°F!!!!
Some time earlier, for whatever reason my daughter and her old boyfriend when they were sitting back there set the thermostat to 85°F!
So the more I tried pushing cold air up front the back set was fighting it by blowing more warm air!
Changed ALL three climate control settings to 73°F and we were good for the rest of the trip.
Needless to say sick gut feeling was gone.
So, have you checked your rear thermostat? (assuming you have one.)

I should correct my original statement to the a/c went out yesterday (not today) and blew warm-ish air from the front. Did not try the back as I already knew it blew hot despite any settings. But, this morning, on my way into the office I decided to just test it again and the front a/c was blowing cold again just like before. Probably just low on refrigerant... hopefully! Definitely not scary for me, I've dealt with much worse lol the old LX I had, the brakes went out all of a sudden while driving (booster schitt the bed)... THAT was scary AND expensive.

I have not checked the rear thermostat but I did notice cold air does not blow in the rear at all and hasn't since purchase. I dealt with this issue on my previous LX and eventually had the rear a/c capped since we didn't have kids at the time and the front a/c seemed to cool the entire car enough for us. Now that we have a baby I'm not planning on doing that again. Plus, I don't know if it can be done to this vehicle anyway.

Where is the rear thermostat located?

 

[rav8]

A/C went out this morning. ha! Gonna recharge it after work tonight or tomorrow.. whenever I can get time.

@rav8 you have a generator sitting on the front of your cruiser? I know I'm not the brightest bulb in the tanning bed so maybe I misunderstood.

Hopefully an easy fix.

No generator on the front. I get the misunderstanding. I was a huge dummy. Story goes like this:

I learn hard.

 

[LXJake93]

I really appreciate the drawing. It helps me comprehend your situation. The head thickness runs deep!

The A/C is now working again and all I did was literally nothing.

 

[rav8]

I really appreciate the drawing. It helps me comprehend your situation. The head thickness runs deep!

The A/C is now working again and all I did was literally nothing.

Did they bang up or disturb your condenser at all during the radiator replacement? That kind of thing could cause a condition that would be difficult to diagnose unless closely monitored.

 

[LXJake93]

Did they bang up or disturb your condenser at all during the radiator replacement? That kind of thing could cause a condition that would be difficult to diagnose unless closely monitored.

I’m just gonna call it a fluke for now and check pressures if it happens again. Maybe it’s just a little low for absolutely no mechanical reasons ha!

 

[LXJake93]

Alright... radiator ordered.. it was difficult to find any reviews of some of the lesser expensive radiators offered on Rock Auto so here's what I bought and we'll see how installation goes and how long they each last.

Radiator - OSC 13210 - $130.79 (drop-in config., includes hardware & fittings, leak and pressure tested, etc.)
Thermostat - MOTORAD 637180 - $19.28 (includes t-stat, housing, and seal)

Total after shipping was $173.07 with a potential delivery date of July 3rd.

The current radiator has now developed more cracks and is leaking a whole lot more tehe

 

[LXJake93]

I'm not even gonna say it......................................

.............alright I'm gonna say it..

I SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT A MISHIMOTO AND CALLED IT A DAY!!!

 

[r2m]

I'm not even gonna say it......................................

View attachment 3668060View attachment 3668061View attachment 3668062


.............alright I'm gonna say it..

I SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT A MISHIMOTO AND CALLED IT A DAY!!!

Straight outta the box it came like that??

 

[LXJake93]

Straight outta the box it came like that??

Unfortunately. But, I began the exchange/return/refund/replace process with Rock Auto (which I've never had to do) and am hoping to have a resolution by tomorrow morning/afternoon. If they cannot replace with unbroken part then I'll opt for refund and find a different option.. maybe a mishi

 

[LXJake93]

And I've already heard back. Placed the refund/return order this morning and they've now sent me a confirmation email with return labels. Free of charge to send back for replacement. It states in the email that they will re-send a new radiator once this one's barcode is scanned by the carrier - so that's pretty cool!

Hope the next one isn't defective. I've read lots of horror stories about people taking receipts on radiator shipments and none of them had a very happy ending.

 

[r2m]

And I've already heard back. Placed the refund/return order this morning and they've now sent me a confirmation email with return labels. Free of charge to send back for replacement. It states in the email that they will re-send a new radiator once this one's barcode is scanned by the carrier - so that's pretty cool!

Hope the next one isn't defective. I've read lots of horror stories about people taking receipts on radiator shipments and none of them had a very happy ending.

Get your money back and get the good one!!!

 

[re_guderian]

Straight outta the box it came like that??

That was my experience with radiators and Rock Auto. I only buy local now for radiators.

 

[Acrad]

I’m generally just staying the course with “true” OEM parts these days. Perhaps they won’t exceed my expectations but they usually meet them. Of course this ends up costing more and mainly purchasing from dealer or recognized authentic parts dealers.