New 2000 470 owner, some n00b questions...

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playdrv4me

playdrv4me

10 Year
Joined
May 18, 2012
Threads
8
Messages
151
Hello everyone, just acquired a 2000 LX470 in Kansas and had some general questions.

Car was a 1 owner vehicle always serviced at the dealer here and currently has exactly 150k. The UZJ100 is absolutely the ONLY car I would ever consider spending a chunk of change on at that mileage, and only because I've seen my friend's stepdad's '04 LX470 go 320,000 miles without a hitch with only routine maintenance and NO major mechanical parts replaced yet. I always joke around with him that it's likely one of the if not the highest mileage '04 in the US. Obviously, at this mileage no car will be perfect, but there are some things I have questions about as I decide whether or not I'm ultimately going to keep it....

I've noticed that when idling, the idle kicks up 2 or 300rpm when the A/C compressor kicks on. A/C is ice cold and there are no rattling noises or other strange sounds from the compressor as it cycles. Does this mean the compressor is on its way out? I can definitely feel this at a stop light.

Next, I was wondering how the "MIN" marker on the AHC tank is supposed to be read. I was concerned because when the truck is sitting level (N) the fluid is a bit below the MIN mark. However when the truck is on LOW it hits exactly at the MIN mark... almost spot on. When it's on HIGH it actually goes OVER the final gradation on the tank nubs. This measures to about 10 gradations or so. Would a truck with 150k still have that many gradations or does it seem the accumulators were replaced at some point? I have the service history from Lexus Drivers and the manifolds have been replaced, the ignition housing has been replaced, but I don't see the accumulators were ever done, so I wonder if these are still the original accumulators, and of course if my fluid level is good. The Lexus Drivers history also shows the 60k service was done but not the 120k. So trans fluid and AHC fluid are probably due again.

Finally, I've noticed that most of the time, when I move from R to D or D to R on the transmission, I get a "THUNK" or kick from the bottom of the truck. It doesn't happen every single time, but it does most of the time. The shifting is also not buttery smooth like my previous LS400s or BMWs. I definitely feel the shifts occurring most of the time. Especially the downshifts coming to a stop light.

I think that's it for now. This is my first Cruiser, so still getting used to a lot of the truck's behaviors. Thanks in advance.
 
playdrv4me said:
Hello everyone, just acquired a 2000 LX470 in Kansas and had some general questions.

Car was a 1 owner vehicle always serviced at the dealer here and currently has exactly 150k. The UZJ100 is absolutely the ONLY car I would ever consider spending a chunk of change on at that mileage, and only because I've seen my friend's stepdad's '04 LX470 go 320,000 miles without a hitch with only routine maintenance and NO major mechanical parts replaced yet. I always joke around with him that it's likely one of the if not the highest mileage '04 in the US. Obviously, at this mileage no car will be perfect, but there are some things I have questions about as I decide whether or not I'm ultimately going to keep it....

I've noticed that when idling, the idle kicks up 2 or 300rpm when the A/C compressor kicks on. A/C is ice cold and there are no rattling noises or other strange sounds from the compressor as it cycles. Does this mean the compressor is on its way out? I can definitely feel this at a stop light.

Next, I was wondering how the "MIN" marker on the AHC tank is supposed to be read. I was concerned because when the truck is sitting level (N) the fluid is a bit below the MIN mark. However when the truck is on LOW it hits exactly at the MIN mark... almost spot on. When it's on HIGH it actually goes OVER the final gradation on the tank nubs. This measures to about 10 gradations or so. Would a truck with 150k still have that many gradations or does it seem the accumulators were replaced at some point? I have the service history from Lexus Drivers and the manifolds have been replaced, the ignition housing has been replaced, but I don't see the accumulators were ever done, so I wonder if these are still the original accumulators, and of course if my fluid level is good. The Lexus Drivers history also shows the 60k service was done but not the 120k. So trans fluid and AHC fluid are probably due again.

Finally, I've noticed that most of the time, when I move from R to D or D to R on the transmission, I get a "THUNK" or kick from the bottom of the truck. It doesn't happen every single time, but it does most of the time. The shifting is also not buttery smooth like my previous LS400s or BMWs. I definitely feel the shifts occurring most of the time. Especially the downshifts coming to a stop light.

I think that's it for now. This is my first Cruiser, so still getting used to a lot of the truck's behaviors. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

I'll help on a couple...
-When the A/C kicks on it requires a change in rpms so the engine won't die. Perfectly normal. All vehicles will do that and you can feel/hear the compressor kick on and off if you are paying attn. Has nothing to do w/ it going out.
-My 2000 LC has the same driveline "slop" as I call it. I greased the hell out of the slip yoke and all my ujoints (they needed it) and changed fluid to Mobile 1 ATF. Seems smoother and has less of the clank when going from D to R. I consider it normal. My transmission is strong. With the 150k miles I have there will be some wear/slack that you cannot avoid. I find myself letting it sit in "N" longer to avoid hard slams into the opposite gear. Nothing I would worry about.
Enjoy your new ride!
Some searching may help find more answers as well. Use the google feature on the top of the page, it seems MUCH better than the built in search function.
 
12guns said:
I'll help on a couple...
-When the A/C kicks on it requires a change in rpms so the engine won't die. Perfectly normal. All vehicles will do that and you can feel/hear the compressor kick on and off if you are paying attn. Has nothing to do w/ it going out.
-My 2000 LC has the same driveline "slop" as I call it. I greased the hell out of the slip yoke and all my ujoints (they needed it) and changed fluid to Mobile 1 ATF. Seems smoother and has less of the clank when going from D to R. I consider it normal. My transmission is strong. With the 150k miles I have there will be some wear/slack that you cannot avoid. I find myself letting it sit in "N" longer to avoid hard slams into the opposite gear. Nothing I would worry about.
Enjoy your new ride!
Some searching may help find more answers as well. Use the google feature on the top of the page, it seems MUCH better than the built in search function.
Click to expand...

Thanks again!

Man, the problem with searching for stuff is that you inevitably find it if you dig hard enough! Part of the reason I sacrificed my '01 740iL for the 100 was because I wanted to get away from the constant concerns about very common problems which people tend to just accept on a BMW because they're used to multi thousand dollar repairs as a regular course of action.

And now I of course just happened to get the one year of 100s that are known for tranny failures!... :mad:

Oh well, can't win for losing. At least religious fluid maintenance doesn't seem to have much impact on the longevity of these transmissions, since mine missed the interval at 120. I'll put this on my very soon to do list. I also need to find out if my tbelt was ever changed. 90k service showed as done on the Lexus Drivers service history, but I called the dealer and found out (after I got curious because the sticker was missing) that based on the amount they invoiced the customer for, there was no way there was a timing belt put in. So either the PO never did it, or they took it to an independent mechanic.

And here I thought I did all my homework. Sigh.
 
The klunk is a common issue as 12guns mentions, grease the 6 zerts on the front and rear driveline and ujoints. My thread details out a list of issues I found with mine and I point to where I found the information to fix it.
 
Thanks, some great information here. As long as the clunk is not indicative of damage to the vehicle it doesn't necessarily bother me. It's just a little alarming the first time you experience it as it feels like things are falling apart down there. The idea of putting it in N for a moment before switching I'll have to try, too.
 
Congrats to you on the purchase and Welcome!
 
About the ac it's functioning normal.


The gearbox on pre 2003 were weak and was not very smooth at shifting, that problem was mostly solved on the newer 5 speed 750 trans. Make sure u don't over lubricate the u joints and shafts.

For AHC set your car to low position, turn the car off and mark the graduation. Then start the vehicle put it into higher mode and atop and again mark the grad. There should be at least 7 plus grad difference. On N position if the fluid is less than min then u need to top it.
 
Interestingly enough, the A/C impact on the idle speed is less than I thought. It only increases about 75rpm when the A/C clutch activates, but the idle sure feels different once it kicks on. I guess I will leave that one alone.

I checked the AHC gradations the other day and noticed that from LOW to HIGH there's about 10 gradations, maybe 11. I never shut the truck off though, just waited a little after each level change.
 
Welcome to the club! As a fellow BMW owner for the past 8 years, I know what you are talking about with respect to common problems and lots of $$ to fix them. I have owned my 99 LC for almost 10 years and it had been THE most reliable car I have ever owned. These things just keep on going with very little issues, I hope you have the same results. These rigs are every bit as solid and smooth as European makes, maybe just lacking a bit of soul.
 
Thanks for the welcome. Just wanted to update the thread as I hate it when searching the interwebz and coming across threads that have no resolution. I was under the truck investigating things and I noticed that the AHC globes actually have production date stickers on them. Amazingly, even with the number of gradations I still have (around 10), these things were installed in 1999. In other words, when the truck was new.

Has anyone had original AHC globes last this long, or even a lot longer? Or will they be going soon? To recap, it's a 2000 with 150k.
 
Maybe the globes are recharged. Mfg in 99 is way too old. How is ride quality? Control? Does the comfort-sport switch make noticeable difference?
 
SaadUK said:
Maybe the globes are recharged. Mfg in 99 is way too old. How is ride quality? Control? Does the comfort-sport switch make noticeable difference?
Click to expand...

Ride seems fine to me. No bouncing or anything. There does seem to be some difference in the ride between the Sport and Comfort settings, though admittedly not a whole lot.
 
I think mine are still original.
2002 model with 227k kms.
But sport-comfort setting doesn't make any difference. The car has a massiveroll when cornering.
Will change over the standard coils and shocks in the near future.
 
playdrv4me said:
I've noticed that when idling, the idle kicks up 2 or 300rpm when the A/C compressor kicks on. A/C is ice cold and there are no rattling noises or other strange sounds from the compressor as it cycles. Does this mean the compressor is on its way out? I can definitely feel this at a stop light.
Click to expand...

For this vibration, although a certain amount of vibration is normal, it sounds to me like what yours is doing is a little "more" than normal. I've had success simply cleaning out the butterfly valve (throttle body) and have had this help significantly on other vehicles in the past. If this service has not yet been done on your vehicle, with that many miles on it, it's probably needing to be done. What ends up happening is that there is a buildup of carbon on your TB inlet, around the butterfly valve, and when the vehicle is at idle, the TB is only open a very small amount. With this build-up, it could potentially cause your TB to lack the airflow needed to maintain a smooth idle during the compressor on/off transition. This would be exacerbated by the effect of the compressor turning on, in turn putting demand on the engine to provide more air/fuel. As there could be a buildup of carbon there, it would naturally cause the engine to almost "choke out" therefore putting demand on the system to provide more air/fuel, fixing the problem, but not without the system vibration first.

You may also want to check the intake airbox and MAF sensor (careful cleaning). Let me know if that helps. Cheers, and congrats on your purchase :)
 
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