From an M5 to an LX. My build thread of the lowest mileage LX for sale in the country.
Hello fellow Mudders!
I've spent the past few months contemplating a vehicle change. In January my daily driver, an 07 Honda Accord with almost 200k miles got obliterated by a fire truck that was driving way to fast on the way to the local donut shop. Luckily between the insurance check and what I could sell the car for without repair left me with a nice chunk of change in my pocket. I was still in school so I didn't need a car so I waited for the weather to clear up before I pulled out my 2002 BMW M5
Once the salt cleared off the roads I brought her out and began driving it everyday. Despite being an extremely practical sedan, I was always pampering it and doing that everyday started to get old. On top of that I am anticipating a change in career plans to a more outdoor oriented job. I was going out to state parks quite often for hiking and running and driving a lowered M5 on unpaved roads is no fun. That began my search for a truck. Initially I focused on a smaller sized pickup such as a Ranger or Tacoma. The tacoma started to win me over when I realized how little time I'd be spending with my M5. When a friend suggested getting a more premium larger truck to replace the M5, it piqued my curiosity but seemed like just a passing thought. Eventually I stumbled on ih8Mud and fell head over heels with the LC/LX. As I learned more and more about the 100 series platform I realized that switching to a 100 for my only car would certainly be a possibility as long as there are some mods
With my M5 up for sale, I quickly got more than my asking price which gave me a very healthy budget for my 100 quest. I looked and looked for a my perfect truck, 2004+, black on tan, no accidents, <100k miles. When I thought I stumbled on a good car I put a deposit and flew out to Ohio to pick it up. The car was immaculate and pending a PPI I was ready to purchase. As soon as the truck got up on the lift at Toyota my heart sunk into my stomach. The entire underbody had more rust than I'd ever seen on a truck. With a quick thread post here on Mud, you guys steered me away and I passed on the truck. I had to suck up the flight and inspection costs but it would pay off by the end of this quest.
I decided to modify my search requirements and got back to the daily grind of checking all of my car sites. The new requirements were: 2004+, any exterior color, tan interior, no accidents, southern location (no rust), and <75k miles.
On a rather less known site (cargurus.com) I found a white on tan LX with only 49,9xx miles on it outside Houston, Texas. The condition of the car was immaculate and the owner had numerous other Lexus and MB cars. The service records were very good and the owner had even upgraded the wheels and taillights to 06+ which was something I was going to do anyway. After all my questions were addressed by the seller, I decided to jump on it. With a deposit down, I had him bring the truck to Westside Lexus where the truck had always been serviced for an inspection. They gave us a pain in the ass about just inspecting the car so we opted for an oil change and inspection (I don't understand how they run a dealer like this...). Car came back very clean although the front inner CV boots were torn and one of the rear shocks was weeping slightly.
We then agreed on a price which was more than fair, slightly higher mile trucks were 5-10k more. I opted to fly in with my girlfriend and drive it back. Shipping it to NJ would have taken almost 7 full days and still cost $800+. When I got into George Bush Int'l the seller, Quinton brought me back to his house were we would look over the car before finalizing the sale at the local bank. I can't say enough about Quinton, he was punctual, very polite, and his Texas Hospitality is unmatched back up north. Never have I dealt with a better seller, he even handed me a battery jump pack for the trip home. He also offered to take us out to lunch but I really wanted to get home Sunday night so we left right away.
The trip is roughly 24 hours and my girlfriend wanted to checkout the Shenandoah National Park on the way back so it was going to be a rough two days. When we left on Saturday morning we barely got any sleep as we left for the airport at 4AM. The first day on the road we drove all day only stopping for gas+bathroom breaks and getting drive through food. We ended up sleeping in the LX outside a Marriott in Birmingham Alabama. After about 4 hours we hit the local Waffle house and then got back on the road. We switched off every 4-5 hours so that we could take turns napping. Around 5 we got to Shenandoah and it was absolutely beautiful.
After the park I was really getting exhausted so I picked up some speed and still made it home just before 11PM.
And here she is this morning.
I definitely wanted to baseline the truck and having the day off today I called up the local Toyota dealer and the first service advisor to pickup was a LC owner! I got all the fluids changed, Oil (mobil 1 5w-30), transmission, coolant, front and rear diffs, transfer case, brake fluid, AHC fluid and power steering fluid. The quote I was given was $1010. Seemed pretty good considering what Lexus would charge, but what do you guys think? Hopefully I can get a little more knocked off when I pick it up.
Also what do you guys think the CV boot job goes for at Toyota? Do i just need to replace the rubber boot or the whole CV joint? Hopefully the AHC fluid change helps out the weeping shocks. I saw this posted here when I searched about the leaking strut.
"The AHC 'shocks' are simply hydraulic jacks---nothing inside to wear. Leaking has two related causes.
1) failure to regularly change the oil in the system--ALL of it, not just the reservoir. Oil does not circulate in the system unless you change the height setting. The shaft seals will get hard and leak is the AHC oil is not renewed every 30K miles.
2) When the accumulators (actuators in translated Japanese) get low/flat (harsh ride), internal pressure in the strut skyrockets when bumps are hit, forcing oil back to the reservoir through the pressure relief valve. That very high transient pressure will force oil past the shaft seal--but this stops when the accumulators are replaced."
Can someone help me figure out what I need to do to get this issue addressed.
Now on to the good stuff!!!
First up after the maintenance is all up to date is a proper detail. I did all my detailing work in the past and have tons of hours getting my M5 into perfect condition, but I am super busy so I might have my local detailer do the work for me this time around. Detailers Domain does a great job and they have even done an LX in the past (Lexus LX470 – Inside and Out -) Probably would add Opticoat paint sealant and Leatherique for the seats.
Onto mods:
Before I start getting into crazy overland stuff I need the truck to be ready for day to day tasks. Moving in my phone mount, Valentine V1 and some weather tech mats will be done this week. Also need to ripoff the side steps. Although the Michelins on the truck are new, I need some beefy tires in my life and will probably be going with BFG K/O2 AT's in 33 inch size. Given that I am out at local state parks for camping and running often I'd probably build a drawer/sleeping platform this summer as well. Some members on here have some great systems and I will definitely be using them as a reference.
That will fill up the budget pretty well up to Christmas time when I plan to get the front end all done up. The plan is Slee Blueberry, LED bar, and winch. Should be able to get sliders done as well at this time.
All my maintenance and modifications will be documented in this thread for my own reference and to help share some new ideas with everyone.
If you guys could weigh in on the maintenance questions I had that would be a big help! Thanks again for everything you guys have already done for me and I am so happy I am finally a MUDDER!
PS if anyone knows how to change my thread title let me know. It seemed to get cut off.
Hello fellow Mudders!
I've spent the past few months contemplating a vehicle change. In January my daily driver, an 07 Honda Accord with almost 200k miles got obliterated by a fire truck that was driving way to fast on the way to the local donut shop. Luckily between the insurance check and what I could sell the car for without repair left me with a nice chunk of change in my pocket. I was still in school so I didn't need a car so I waited for the weather to clear up before I pulled out my 2002 BMW M5
Once the salt cleared off the roads I brought her out and began driving it everyday. Despite being an extremely practical sedan, I was always pampering it and doing that everyday started to get old. On top of that I am anticipating a change in career plans to a more outdoor oriented job. I was going out to state parks quite often for hiking and running and driving a lowered M5 on unpaved roads is no fun. That began my search for a truck. Initially I focused on a smaller sized pickup such as a Ranger or Tacoma. The tacoma started to win me over when I realized how little time I'd be spending with my M5. When a friend suggested getting a more premium larger truck to replace the M5, it piqued my curiosity but seemed like just a passing thought. Eventually I stumbled on ih8Mud and fell head over heels with the LC/LX. As I learned more and more about the 100 series platform I realized that switching to a 100 for my only car would certainly be a possibility as long as there are some mods
With my M5 up for sale, I quickly got more than my asking price which gave me a very healthy budget for my 100 quest. I looked and looked for a my perfect truck, 2004+, black on tan, no accidents, <100k miles. When I thought I stumbled on a good car I put a deposit and flew out to Ohio to pick it up. The car was immaculate and pending a PPI I was ready to purchase. As soon as the truck got up on the lift at Toyota my heart sunk into my stomach. The entire underbody had more rust than I'd ever seen on a truck. With a quick thread post here on Mud, you guys steered me away and I passed on the truck. I had to suck up the flight and inspection costs but it would pay off by the end of this quest.
I decided to modify my search requirements and got back to the daily grind of checking all of my car sites. The new requirements were: 2004+, any exterior color, tan interior, no accidents, southern location (no rust), and <75k miles.
On a rather less known site (cargurus.com) I found a white on tan LX with only 49,9xx miles on it outside Houston, Texas. The condition of the car was immaculate and the owner had numerous other Lexus and MB cars. The service records were very good and the owner had even upgraded the wheels and taillights to 06+ which was something I was going to do anyway. After all my questions were addressed by the seller, I decided to jump on it. With a deposit down, I had him bring the truck to Westside Lexus where the truck had always been serviced for an inspection. They gave us a pain in the ass about just inspecting the car so we opted for an oil change and inspection (I don't understand how they run a dealer like this...). Car came back very clean although the front inner CV boots were torn and one of the rear shocks was weeping slightly.
We then agreed on a price which was more than fair, slightly higher mile trucks were 5-10k more. I opted to fly in with my girlfriend and drive it back. Shipping it to NJ would have taken almost 7 full days and still cost $800+. When I got into George Bush Int'l the seller, Quinton brought me back to his house were we would look over the car before finalizing the sale at the local bank. I can't say enough about Quinton, he was punctual, very polite, and his Texas Hospitality is unmatched back up north. Never have I dealt with a better seller, he even handed me a battery jump pack for the trip home. He also offered to take us out to lunch but I really wanted to get home Sunday night so we left right away.
The trip is roughly 24 hours and my girlfriend wanted to checkout the Shenandoah National Park on the way back so it was going to be a rough two days. When we left on Saturday morning we barely got any sleep as we left for the airport at 4AM. The first day on the road we drove all day only stopping for gas+bathroom breaks and getting drive through food. We ended up sleeping in the LX outside a Marriott in Birmingham Alabama. After about 4 hours we hit the local Waffle house and then got back on the road. We switched off every 4-5 hours so that we could take turns napping. Around 5 we got to Shenandoah and it was absolutely beautiful.
After the park I was really getting exhausted so I picked up some speed and still made it home just before 11PM.
And here she is this morning.
I definitely wanted to baseline the truck and having the day off today I called up the local Toyota dealer and the first service advisor to pickup was a LC owner! I got all the fluids changed, Oil (mobil 1 5w-30), transmission, coolant, front and rear diffs, transfer case, brake fluid, AHC fluid and power steering fluid. The quote I was given was $1010. Seemed pretty good considering what Lexus would charge, but what do you guys think? Hopefully I can get a little more knocked off when I pick it up.
Also what do you guys think the CV boot job goes for at Toyota? Do i just need to replace the rubber boot or the whole CV joint? Hopefully the AHC fluid change helps out the weeping shocks. I saw this posted here when I searched about the leaking strut.
"The AHC 'shocks' are simply hydraulic jacks---nothing inside to wear. Leaking has two related causes.
1) failure to regularly change the oil in the system--ALL of it, not just the reservoir. Oil does not circulate in the system unless you change the height setting. The shaft seals will get hard and leak is the AHC oil is not renewed every 30K miles.
2) When the accumulators (actuators in translated Japanese) get low/flat (harsh ride), internal pressure in the strut skyrockets when bumps are hit, forcing oil back to the reservoir through the pressure relief valve. That very high transient pressure will force oil past the shaft seal--but this stops when the accumulators are replaced."
Can someone help me figure out what I need to do to get this issue addressed.
Now on to the good stuff!!!
First up after the maintenance is all up to date is a proper detail. I did all my detailing work in the past and have tons of hours getting my M5 into perfect condition, but I am super busy so I might have my local detailer do the work for me this time around. Detailers Domain does a great job and they have even done an LX in the past (Lexus LX470 – Inside and Out -) Probably would add Opticoat paint sealant and Leatherique for the seats.
Onto mods:
Before I start getting into crazy overland stuff I need the truck to be ready for day to day tasks. Moving in my phone mount, Valentine V1 and some weather tech mats will be done this week. Also need to ripoff the side steps. Although the Michelins on the truck are new, I need some beefy tires in my life and will probably be going with BFG K/O2 AT's in 33 inch size. Given that I am out at local state parks for camping and running often I'd probably build a drawer/sleeping platform this summer as well. Some members on here have some great systems and I will definitely be using them as a reference.
That will fill up the budget pretty well up to Christmas time when I plan to get the front end all done up. The plan is Slee Blueberry, LED bar, and winch. Should be able to get sliders done as well at this time.
All my maintenance and modifications will be documented in this thread for my own reference and to help share some new ideas with everyone.
If you guys could weigh in on the maintenance questions I had that would be a big help! Thanks again for everything you guys have already done for me and I am so happy I am finally a MUDDER!
PS if anyone knows how to change my thread title let me know. It seemed to get cut off.
Last edited:
