New Cult Member- 2002 LX470

[NukeSpook]

Hello all,

I recently purchased a 2002 LX470 with 84,000 miles, green/grey, stock everything, and I'm psyched. I have a s*** eating grin any time I walk up to it.

I wanted to say hi, and ask for any maintenance/care tips that a newbie would make good use of.

All it needed when I bought it was 4 new tires which I just put on (Michelin defenders) and there is a loose piece of trim on the rear passenger side which I'm about to go fix with some 3M tape. Engine bay looks outrageously clean, and the carfax was immaculate.

Garage kept in Florida, then garage kept in DC. The guy I bought it from got it at 62k and sold it to me right as it rolled over to 84k.

Timing belt was redone at 50k, so my plan right now is to get the 100k mile service done at the dealer. The guy I bought it off of works at a Lexus dealership and could get me hooked up with his buddy in the service center to do some after hours work, so I could get a decent deal on the labor.

Any tips, tricks, and things to look out for would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Dwight S]

Heater hose tees. That should be priority #1. Do not delay unless you have proof they have been done recently. They can fail and ruin your day and your truck very quickly.

 

[dustbowl]

yup do the T's and look the radiator over for turning a brownish tint. these trucks are all getting old and the plastic needs redone. join the Lexus Drivers site and run your vin number for a service history.

 

[NukeSpook]

Thank you for the tip. I just took a look at them they look alright. One of the ports on one of the tees has a slight amount of crusted coolant around it. Loose connection maybe?

 

[Dwight S]

Replace them. Crust is dry coolant. Could be clamp or it could be the plastic is cracked.

 

[SmoothLC]

Baseline it. Similar to this 80 series comprehensive baseline thread.

 

[NukeSpook]

Thank you for the replies. I will get my coolant tees done asap. Attached is a picture of my radiator. Thoughts?

 

[dustbowl]

that is the oil cooler. look at the top tank of the radiator. i have a 99 and a 2000 lx and both top tanks are suspect and getting replaced. had heater T fail just a few weeks ago and was a close call but no damage. seriously these trucks are getting old enough i would just replace both the T's and the Radiator and you will be good to go for another 15 years probably on the Rad but much less on the T's if you see crust on the T's you are living close to the edge.

 

[NukeSpook]

that is the oil cooler. look at the top tank of the radiator. i have a 99 and a 2000 lx and both top tanks are suspect and getting replaced. had heater T fail just a few weeks ago and was a close call but no damage. seriously these trucks are getting old enough i would just replace both the T's and the Radiator and you will be good to go for another 15 years probably on the Rad but much less on the T's if you see crust on the T's you are living close to the edge.

Got it. Thank you

 

[BudgetLC]

We're a club, not a cult

 

[Wesley Crusher]

Welcome. 84k for an 02 is really low miles. Let’s see some pics of your rig!

 

[NukeSpook]

 

[NukeSpook]

It needs two new running board lights. I know it's the style to take the running boards off totally, but I'm liking the lights, and I'm only on rough roads once a month at most.

 

[NukeSpook]

Heater hose tees. That should be priority #1. Do not delay unless you have proof they have been done recently. They can fail and ruin your day and your truck very quickly.

If I want to change out just the tees and not the hoses, will I need to drain the coolant?

 

[Wesley Crusher]

Great looking rig! Really nice color, too.

 

[NukeSpook]

Great looking rig! Really nice color, too.

Thx m8.

 

[Dwight S]

If I want to change out just the tees and not the hoses, will I need to drain the coolant?

No, you will not need to drain the coolant. You will loose a cup or two. Once you have finished the install, remove your radiator cap, start the engine and look for leaks. Turn your front and rear heat on high. Let it run until the truck is up to temp, you should see a slight drop in the coolant level in the radiator. If you don't have leaks, turn off the truck and top off the coolant in the radiator up to the neck and close it up.

Just be careful with the plastic tees. Especially with the one that is showing crust. I suspect it may crumble when you start to remove it. You can use a clamp to pinch off the hose so that any plastic that breaks off won't end up in the hoses and you have trouble cleaning it out. I replaced my tees at 260K and they still felt solid. At that mileage, I felt better replacing hoses and tees together. I had about $100 or a little more in all new hoses and plastic tees from Toyota. I reused the clamps and haven't had any issues with leaks. Replacing the hoses allowed me to cut out the plastic tees and minimize the risk of having one break and leave plastic in the cooling system.

Read through this thread for lots of hints, tips and part numbers.
DIY: Replacing heater hose pipe T's *important*

Also, if you haven't found it yet, here's a FAQ page with lots of good information you'll want to read through.
100-series FAQ

 

[dustbowl]

i purchased a set of these and it made the job real easy. took about 15 min. Welcome to Sears.com

 

[TheDan]

Thank you for the tip. I just took a look at them they look alright. One of the ports on one of the tees has a slight amount of crusted coolant around it. Loose connection maybe?

Mine had that crust on it as well... I changed my tees immediately. The crusty one was fragile and broke while disassembling it. (Brittle). Luckily i could grab the peices that chipped off and verify (like a puzzle) that i retrieved all the peices. I know some people may disagree, but i used brass pex t's from home depot to make it a permanent fix. Changing the coolant on a schedule will negate any adverse effects in my eyes.

 

[bozncsurf]