New LX470 owner with questions (1 Viewer)

[zigzagbongbong]

What's up 100 series people, I came across this 2000 LX470 for basically a steal of a price, I looked into possible issues before purchasing it and rust was one of them. To get it home it needed a jump (battery was done and has been replaced with a brand new one) but then I discovered the brakes were basically nonexistent. I got it home safe by driving slow so the next thing I did was add brake fluid to it and discovered there was a leak. There is some rust under the vehicle and I've been told different things, some said it isn't that bad and some say it's unfixable. I came across a thread on here which is why I joined and I have some pictures to show. To give you an idea the timing belt was changed at 179k miles and it has 235k miles as of this writing but it has sat for a while here in NC and was originally from PA. How should I go about this? I'm planning to use it as my daily, I could walk to work so there's no commute and my town isn't that big, maybe take it camping on the beach would be the extent of my "off-roading" . What should I do? Any suggestions would be welcomed. Thank you in advance.

 

[zigzagbongbong]

What's up 100 series people, I came across this 2000 LX470 for basically a steal of a price, I looked into possible issues before purchasing it and rust was one of them. To get it home it needed a jump (battery was done and has been replaced with a brand new one) but then I discovered the brakes were basically nonexistent. I got it home safe by driving slow so the next thing I did was add brake fluid to it and discovered there was a leak. There is some rust under the vehicle and I've been told different things, some said it isn't that bad and some say it's unfixable. I came across a thread on here which is why I joined and I have some pictures to show. To give you an idea the timing belt was changed at 179k miles and it has 235k miles as of this writing but it has sat for a while here in NC and was originally from PA. How should I go about this? I'm planning to use it as my daily, I could walk to work so there's no commute and my town isn't that big, maybe take it camping on the beach would be the extent of my "off-roading" . What should I do? Any suggestions would be welcomed. Thank you in advance.

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[Foehammer]

Judging from the pictures that thing is pretty rotted out. I wouldn't spend too much money on it; run it to the ground and save for a cleaner one.

 

[leveeguy]

Man I don't have to deal with rust as I'm from the south, but I have to say that has to be the worst rust photos I've ever seen.

Looks good under the hood though.

If you're not working on it yourself, i would think finding someone else to make repairs would be difficult.

 

[LC Lurker]

I agree with Foehammer - Oil changes, tire rotations, fix the the brakes (unless it’s the brake booster motor, then sell it in that case)…nothing more into this one. Too much rust based on those pictures.

If the frame rails and crossmembers show some promise then that would be good. Same for contact points with the suspension like the front control arms, shock mounts, etc. Also what does the rear axle look like?

That’s a lot of rust though, even for a New England dweller like myself.

Under the hood looks like a show car though, so that’s good.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

The gas tank shield thing is common for it to look the most rusty underneath, but the rust on your control arms isn't good either. Take some more/better pics of the frame from a little further away. When you're asking what should you do, what do you mean? About the rust or about keeping the truck?

 

[zigzagbongbong]

The gas tank shield thing is common for it to look the most rusty underneath, but the rust on your control arms isn't good either. Take some more/better pics of the frame from a little further away. When you're asking what should you do, what do you mean? About the rust or about keeping the truck?

I'd like to keep it if it's feasible but considering what I paid for it I feel l I could possibly profit from it in some way.

Man I don't have to deal with rust as I'm from the south, but I have to say that has to be the worst rust photos I've ever seen.

Looks good under the hood though.

If you're not working on it yourself, i would think finding someone else to make repairs would be difficult

It sat for a year and we've had some wild weather in NC over the past few years so there's no telling what it sat through. I'm wondering if it can actually be brought back in any kind of way.

 

[delz05]

You would need to attack the rust with a needle gun to knock off the surface scaling in order to make a proper assessment of the actual condition. An hour spent will reveal a wealth of knowledge.

 

[jsloden]

It looks like it's riding low and considering the rust you probably don't want to try and fix the AHC. I would put the lc springs and shocks on it. Maybe do control arms at the the same time considering how rusty they are. Fix the brake fluid leak. I would also look at the last timing belt and WP job and address that accordingly. Then I would just drive it. Do just enough to keep it going. I wouldn't sink a lot of money into that thing considering how bad the rust is. You'll never get your money back out of it if anyone sees the underside of it.

 

[zigzagbongbong]

It looks like it's riding low and considering the rust you probably don't want to try and fix the AHC. I would put the lc springs and shocks on it. Maybe do control arms at the the same time considering how rusty they are. Fix the brake fluid leak. I would also look at the last timing belt and WP job and address that accordingly. Then I would just drive it. Do just enough to keep it going. I wouldn't sink a lot of money into that thing considering how bad the rust is. You'll never get your money back out of it if anyone sees the underside of it.

Timing belt was replaced at 198k miles, not sure about the water pump though. I feel like my best bet is to get it operational and just wheel the thing till I cant.

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Added a couple extra pictures. I'm hoping I could get the brakes right and then run it to the ground, **** it, got it for $1500 so why not.

 

[LC Lurker]

At that price, I do not blame you lol. I’m hoping the brakes’ fix is a cheap, easy one for you

 

[FxFormat]

You gotta crawl underneath and see where the leak is coming from, pretty sure one or more of the lines rusted out and leaked. It could be a big job, depending on how much of the lines need replacing. Rust looks pretty bad, dont spend a lot of money on it.

 

[rexington14]

Added a couple extra pictures. I'm hoping I could get the brakes right and then run it to the ground, **** it, got it for $1500 so why not.

At that price, I'd look into flipping it, like right now. Maybe you can even make a tiny profit which would be best case scenario for a truck like this.

There won't be anything cheap keeping it going.

 

[excessive]

if it were me, i'd part it out, make 3x what you spent, and re-invest into a rust free example.