My 05 LX470 build thread

[roadsalt]

I’ve just become aware of a gap above my dissent bumper. Going to research pinning.

To do list:
-wire in OEM reverse camera
-get either new tires or replace the one slow leak tire
-tc of small hood chips come spring
-gap above front bumper
-install my pioneer roof rack (last piece comes Friday)
-tighten up e brakes. They’re totally nonfunctional
-get it dirty soon

I filled my slow leak tire with "slime" and I haven't had to fill it since.

Updated to do list:

Short term
-first oil change
-Wire in OEM reverse camera
-fix e brakes

Chase down poor MPG (getting about 10 no matter where):
-change fuel filter
-do front O2 sensors
-figure out if my rear rotor is dragging (clue, my PO did them in 2020-2021 allegedly, and they were totally shot when I got them)
-experiment with higher octanes

Long term
-Small hood chips in spring
-Full scrape & undercoat, professionally
-Bigger tires... 285/75/17. Thinking G015

 

[TLC2K5]

I filled my slow leak tire with "slime" and I haven't had to fill it since.

Updated to do list:

Short term
-first oil change
-Wire in OEM reverse camera
-fix e brakes

Chase down poor MPG (getting about 10 no matter where):
-change fuel filter
-do front O2 sensors
-figure out if my rear rotor is dragging (clue, my PO did them in 2020-2021 allegedly, and they were totally shot when I got them)
-experiment with higher octanes

Long term
-Small hood chips in spring
-Full scrape & undercoat, professionally
-Bigger tires... 285/75/17. Thinking G015

Drive couple of miles, try not to use brakes, stop by downshifting or on the uphill, use brakes as little as possible. Measure disks temperature. 2 fronts should be the same, 2 rears should be the same and cooler than fronts. If not, you know where your battle field is. BTW, this way you can find overtightened hub bearing.
Crappy or dirty air filter?
Air flow meter?
Lambda sensors (bank 1 and bank 2) affect mileage too.
Injectors. There are videos on YT how to run on pure injector cleaner. It may work, although did not help us, we had dying injector, it was stopping opening on higher rpms.
Since you have functional android, you can install Torque or Car Scanner or something else. Buy $15 OBDII BT adapter and you have all engine data. There are billion articles how to read and interpreter it.
I’m getting up to 18 mpg HW. Regular gas, Yoko Geolandar tires at ~3.0 AT, Amsoil in everywhere you have oil with molybdenum oil additives.
No crazy acceleration, no crazy over-speeding.
Ski box on aero bars - minus 1-2 mpg.
11-13 mpg with single axle utility trailer.
Open/closed windows or AC do not significantly affect mpg.
Your roof rack may affect mileage, I would *guess* 1 mpg at least, just a guess.

I filled my slow leak tire with "slime" and I haven't had to fill it since.

Updated to do list:

Short term
-first oil change
-Wire in OEM reverse camera
-fix e brakes

Chase down poor MPG (getting about 10 no matter where):
-change fuel filter
-do front O2 sensors
-figure out if my rear rotor is dragging (clue, my PO did them in 2020-2021 allegedly, and they were totally shot when I got them)
-experiment with higher octanes

Long term
-Small hood chips in spring
-Full scrape & undercoat, professionally
-Bigger tires... 285/75/17. Thinking G015

 

[roadsalt]

Drive couple of miles, try not to use brakes, stop by downshifting or on the uphill, use brakes as little as possible. Measure disks temperature. 2 fronts should be the same, 2 rears should be the same and cooler than fronts. If not, you know where your battle field is. BTW, this way you can find overtightened hub bearing.
Crappy or dirty air filter?
Air flow meter?
Lambda sensors (bank 1 and bank 2) affect mileage too.
Injectors. There are videos on YT how to run on pure injector cleaner. It may work, although did not help us, we had dying injector, it was stopping opening on higher rpms.
Since you have functional android, you can install Torque or Car Scanner or something else. Buy $15 OBDII BT adapter and you have all engine data. There are billion articles how to read and interpreter it.
I’m getting up to 18 mpg HW. Regular gas, Yoko Geolandar tires at ~3.0 AT, Amsoil in everywhere you have oil with molybdenum oil additives.
No crazy acceleration, no crazy over-speeding.
Ski box on aero bars - minus 1-2 mpg.
11-13 mpg with single axle utility trailer.
Open/closed windows or AC do not significantly affect mpg.
Your roof rack may affect mileage, I would *guess* 1 mpg at least, just a guess.

You are a wealth of information. Thank you !

 

[roadsalt]

Ok measured after a brief mile+ drive. Hit the brakes a bunch for lights and signs. Are these significant results?

Rear pa 57
Rear dr 52
Front pa 75
Front dr 58

 

[TLC2K5]

Ok measured after a brief mile+ drive. Hit the brakes a bunch for lights and signs. Are these significant results?

Rear pa 57
Rear dr 52
Front pa 75
Front dr 58

View attachment 3544917

I would take a look at front passenger, but IMHO, it is not the cause for 10 mpg.

 

[TLC2K5]

I would take a look at front passenger, but IMHO, it is not the cause for 10 mpg.

According to specs 13 mpg city, 15 mpg HW.
You are “missing” 3 mpg. Roof rack air resistance can be ignored on the city speeds.
For sure brake cylinder that does not move freely or the caliper that does not float can contribute to bad mpg.

 

[roadsalt]

According to specs 13 mpg city, 15 mpg HW.
You are “missing” 3 mpg. Roof rack air resistance can be ignored on the city speeds.
For sure brake cylinder that does not move freely or the caliper that does not float can contribute to bad mpg.

Injectors seem like a likely culprit. Does the spray can rig, or fuel tank additive work or must I go disassemble the thing? Seems like a real pain

 

[2000UZJ]

Injectors seem like a likely culprit. Does the spray can rig, or fuel tank additive work or must I go disassemble the thing? Seems like a real pain

I'm averaging ~8MPG on my 2006. It's not my DD, and it's only used in the city (zero highway). I ran a can of BG Injector cleaner and noticed a bit better MPG, but it's back to where it was pre-cleaner.

I am thinking I have a rear caliper in the rear that isn't that healthy...

 

[roadsalt]

I'm averaging ~8MPG on my 2006. It's not my DD, and it's only used in the city (zero highway). I ran a can of BG Injector cleaner and noticed a bit better MPG, but it's back to where it was pre-cleaner.

I am thinking I have a rear caliper in the rear that isn't that healthy...

I did another mile and a half drive and had consistent results. 52-55f on three rotors and then the one 75 at the front passenger. May need some digging.

I’ll throw a bottle of Techron in the tank, but may just bite the bullet and take out the injectors. Can’t take more than 3 hours to do it


Edit
Another short drive yielded similar results.

3 rotors at 100ish and the one at 150-160ish

 

[TLC2K5]

Injectors seem like a likely culprit. Does the spray can rig, or fuel tank additive work or must I go disassemble the thing? Seems like a real pain

To be honest, I do not really know if additives work. I add it more-less frequently and did not have any issues with injectors. It does not mean that if I was not adding it, I would have a problem.
Spray can rig generally works (do not forget to remove the pump fuse! and plug the hose), in our case was useless since injector was dying. Removing injectors is a PITA (pain in the a…), you will have to buy a set of new seals. When you have it in your hand, you will have to check spray pattern, have spray can rig to attach it to injector and 9V battery to see it open/closed (bunch of how-to videos on YT).
I would start with front brake - low hanging fruit
Next - OBDII adapter. I *think* there is a way to see injector malfunction data (you will have to do some R&D). At least it’s a clean hands job in the warm house

 

[roadsalt]

1 pep boys free brake inspection later:

- e brake mechanism totally seized but it isn’t rubbing. Going to forget about it
- front pass rotor is rubbing but not a lot. The inner pad is stuck. Guy was afraid to take it apart. Said he didn’t have a special tool
- he said he wouldn’t touch the injectors, just feed it gas additives for now and see what happens

 

[roadsalt]

And here’s a new one. Clunk on left turn.

 

[TLC2K5]

1 pep boys free brake inspection later:

- e brake mechanism totally seized but it isn’t rubbing. Going to forget about it

Use Kroil, PB Blaster, etc. Spray it daily for a couple of weeks, including cables. You need to remove plastics to get to cable entry from the cabin, oil will flow down and lubricate it.
It will free it… eventually. Had this issue on my previous one. I would fix it - better to have a plan B on the 20 years old truck.

- front pass rotor is rubbing but not a lot. The inner pad is stuck. Guy was afraid to take it apart. Said he didn’t have a special tool

Better fix it - uneven force applied to the rotor may affect ABS, poor performance on slippery road, extra wear, etc. all the way to the legal issues (God forbid). I prefer my brakes to be in the best shape - no chinize components whatsoever, OEM only.
Use penetrating oil to free the piston, do not use brut force. If cylinder scratched - hello new caliper assembly ($$$$$). If piston rusty or scratched - no big deal to replace it ($)
If you ended up removing calipers from the truck, clean them electrochemically and paint with brake paint - looks cool. Mine are red

- he said he wouldn’t touch the injectors, just feed it gas additives for now and see what happens

I would say injectors just became the least of you concerns

 

[roadsalt]

Use Kroil, PB Blaster, etc. Spray it daily for a couple of weeks, including cables. You need to remove plastics to get to cable entry from the cabin, oil will flow down and lubricate it.
It will free it… eventually. Had this issue on my previous one. I would fix it - better to have a plan B on the 20 years old truck.

Better fix it - uneven force applied to the rotor may affect ABS, poor performance on slippery road, extra wear, etc. all the way to the legal issues (God forbid). I prefer my brakes to be in the best shape - no chinize components whatsoever, OEM only.
Use penetrating oil to free the piston, do not use brut force. If cylinder scratched - hello new caliper assembly ($$$$$). If piston rusty or scratched - no big deal to replace it ($)
If you ended up removing calipers from the truck, clean them electrochemically and paint with brake paint - looks cool. Mine are red

I would say injectors just became the least of you concerns

Think I could start PB blasting the caliper / piston while it’s still on the truck? Will that affect my braking ability?

 

[TLC2K5]

Think I could start PB blasting the caliper / piston while it’s still on the truck? Will that affect my braking ability?

I strongly recommend not do it. PB Baster is very aggressive and will destroy rubber parts - the seal boot and the piston seal. Rubber will swell and brake will fail. I understand you desire to play with new toy, but this is classic case to better be safe than sorry.

 

[2000UZJ]

And here’s a new one. Clunk on left turn.

Welcome to owning a 100 . Always on the verge of breaking, nickel and diming you to death, but you can't quite get rid of it...

 

[roadsalt]

I strongly recommend not do it. PB Baster is very aggressive and will destroy rubber parts - the seal boot and the piston seal. Rubber will swell and brake will fail. I understand you desire to play with new toy, but this is classic case to better be safe than sorry.

So I’ve got to pull the whole thing or replace it. Oy.

 

[TLC2K5]

Welcome to owning a 100 . Always on the verge of breaking, nickel and diming you to death, but you can't quite get rid

So I’ve got to pull the whole thing or replace it. Oy.

What I did: unbolted caliper, removed pads (and floater frame on the rear ones). Did not disconnect the brake hose. Put a c-clamp, piece of wood, etc. to prevent pistons to be completely pushed out. Start the engine and apply brakes. See which ones moved and which ones not. Use c-clams, wood, whatever to immobilize all but the one of the stuck. Use WD-40 Silicon Based and using brake pedal try to make it move. If it moves, push it back inside with c-clamp. Repeat until it alive. Push it out, but not all way out, remove the dust seal and check the outer walls of the piston. It must be shiny perfect. Any defects or rust spots, it must be replaced. Repeat for all stuck ones.

If WD-40 does not work, you need to do the same with PB Blaster. Still, best to push it out with brake pedal. If you want to rebuild all cylinders (what I did), push all of them almost out before disconnecting the brake hose. Use wooden dowels to insert into brake hose’s end ring. I made it using lathe, but easy to do with drill and file. This way a little bit less messy and, more importantly, you plug the hose and have a pressure in the system to work on next caliper.

I ended up using PB Blaster on two cylinders, destroying all seals.
Cleaned rust from calipers using electrolysis (billion videos on YT). Painted with brakes paint. Replaced all cylinders, all seals and all bleeding valves on all wheels, flushed hydraulics and put new synthetic brake fluid.

It took me almost a day to disassemble and clean, 24 hours or so for electrolysis, 7 days to wait till paint is fully dried.

BTW, while doing it, I’ve noticed rust on the brake lines. Ordered OEM from Toyota and replaced all of them.

 

[roadsalt]

Take a look at my pistons. Looks like the dust seal failed and the metal thing came out? Maybe I can push the metal thing back up with a long screwdriver? I really don’t want to disassemble this thing.

Left side

Right side

 

[TLC2K5]

Take a look at my pistons. Looks like the dust seal failed and the metal thing came out? Maybe I can push the metal thing back up with a long screwdriver? I really don’t want to disassemble this thing.

Left side
View attachment 3546424

Right side

View attachment 3546427View attachment 3546429

Rim where the dust seal for upper (on the picture) cylinder is sitting is completely rusted out. If this is the case you need a new caliper assembly. It will fail, it is not matter of “if”, but “when”: sand already in between piston and cylinder.

Why it is wet? Is it already leaking brake fluid?! All the way to the pads and disk?!

By no means I’m not an expert, but I strongly advise not to take truck on the road before you fix it, it is way too dangerous.

It is very strange that pep boy did not tell you this - for them it is liability.
I WOULD GROUND THE TRUCK THE SECOND I SEE IT, assess the rest of the wheels, and, if conditions are the same, would bite the bullet and buy all 4 new from Toyota (Lexus). It may be over a 1K total, but cheaper than shop.
You must inspect brake lines too, especially coils going from body to the chassis.
You must take it to professionals for the final verdict, especially if you consider other options but ground the vehicle.