Questions on Issues Found During 2002 LX 90K Service (Truck at 217K miles) (1 Viewer)

[Gryphon]

During my latest 90K Mile Service a couple additional issues were noted.

1) 1 CV boot leaking. $1450 to replace all of the boots. Any found damage will add to the total.

2) Front rotors resurfacing - $380 and passenger rear brake caliper replacement for $700.

3) Leaking rear main seal - $1650.

My questions on each item:

1) Are there aftermarket upgrades that I can do for the same amount, or a little more, that make sense. In other words, can I get aftermarket replacements for the entire assemblies (axles, CV joints, boots, etc.) and just replace it all instead of spending $1450 almost all on just labor?

2) Instead of spending $1100 on resurfacing 2 rotors and replacing 1 caliper, I was thinking of replacing all 4 wheels' rotors, calipers, pads, and installing Slee stainless lines with this kit.

https://www.autozone.com/brakes-and-traction-control/performance-brake-pads-rotors-kit/p/power-stop-performance-brake-pads-rotors-kit-kc1133-36/1051841_0_0

Your thoughts? Any experience with this kit, or is there something better for around the same price?

I was planning to paint all the calipers anyway, so something like this will save that step, but is this kit any good?

3) On the slight rear main seal leak, there's no noticable oil loss at the dipstick and nothing leaking under the truck, so does this sound legit?


Thanks in advance for your comments.

 

[shane431]

You need to find a new shop to take it too. IMO those prices are high. Also, I think the rear main seal leaking is common. I think a lot of folks let it go as most appear to have a very slight leak. I being one with a very slight leak, as in no drops in the driveway.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

1- you can go with aftermarket CV's (cardone, Napa, etc.), but many have found that these don't last nearly as long as OEM, especially the boots. And yes, that price is VERY high.
2 - OEM brake gear is top notch, I'd consider sticking with it. The $380 for on truck rotor turning it a little high, the $700 for a caliper is very high.
3 - you can crawl under the truck and check the rear main yourself and judge the leak

 

[suprarx7nut]

1. Just buy new OEM CVs. Paying for labor to rework worn CVs doesn't make sense. Spend that money on new CVs and keep the old and sell them for remans.
2. Sounds fine to me.
3. No idea on labor, but I expect that to be roughly correct. Have to take out the trans and I assume a host of other stuff. Huge job for a simple seal. Is what it is. I'd wait until it's leaking a lot to change it out.

I don't think labor is all that high. The last thing you want to do with the 100 is go bargain hunting on labor rates. It's far important that the shop knows what they're doing. The variance in labor rates is nothing compared to the headache a shop can do on major services. Tax accountants, lawyers and 100 mechanics - pay for the best you can find.

 

[Gryphon]

You need to find a new shop to take it too. IMO those prices are high. Also, I think the rear main seal leaking is common. I think a lot of folks let it go as most appear to have a very slight leak. I being one with a very slight leak, as in no drops in the driveway.

Thanks for your thoughts. I expected the labor rates to be higher than most because it's a Lexus dealer.

1- you can go with aftermarket CV's (cardone, Napa, etc.), but many have found that these don't last nearly as long as OEM, especially the boots. And yes, that price is VERY high.
2 - OEM brake gear is top notch, I'd consider sticking with it. The $380 for on truck rotor turning it a little high, the $700 for a caliper is very high.
3 - you can crawl under the truck and check the rear main yourself and judge the leak

Thanks for your input. On the CVs/axles, etc. I didn't know if someone made better than OEM parts. If so, I'd look into just buying the whole assemblies and finding a shop to install them. The Lexus dealer will only install "genuine Lexus parts" as I found out when I asked them to install my aftermarket aluminum heater-Ts and they refused to do so.

On the brakes, I'm pretty sure I can just replace the front rotors for less, or around the same money as they were going to charge to turn them.

The $700 for the caliper replacement is high, the genuine Lexus OEM part is less than $200 and even I know that replacing a caliper doesn't take that long.

As for the seal, I'll do as you suggested. Like I said, I'm not losing a lot of oil and there's nothing under the truck from anything leaking.

1. Just buy new OEM CVs. Paying for labor to rework worn CVs doesn't make sense. Spend that money on new CVs and keep the old and sell them for remans.
2. Sounds fine to me.
3. No idea on labor, but I expect that to be roughly correct. Have to take out the trans and I assume a host of other stuff. Huge job for a simple seal. Is what it is. I'd wait until it's leaking a lot to change it out.

I don't think labor is all that high. The last thing you want to do with the 100 is go bargain hunting on labor rates. It's far important that the shop knows what they're doing. The variance in labor rates is nothing compared to the headache a shop can do on major services. Tax accountants, lawyers and 100 mechanics - pay for the best you can find.

Thanks for taking the time to respond.

The shop doing the work is the Lexus dealership. I'm the second owner of the truck and the only place that's ever turned a bolt on it, other than me changing the oil, has been that same Lexus dealership. (I have the service history back to when it had 4 miles on it.) So, I trust their work, even if they do charge $198/hr for labor.

When you said "sounds fine to me" on the brakes, were you saying that I should have the rotors turned and the caliper replaced at the dealer, or were you agreeing with me on buying the full 4 wheel kit and basically replacing everything and upgrading the brake lines to Slee stainless steel lines?

I'm gonna just watch the rear seal as you suggested.

Thanks again.

 

[suprarx7nut]

Thanks for taking the time to respond.

The shop doing the work is the Lexus dealership. I'm the second owner of the truck and the only place that's ever turned a bolt on it, other than me changing the oil, has been that same Lexus dealership. (I have the service history back to when it had 4 miles on it.) So, I trust their work, even if they do charges $198/he for labor.

When you said "sounds fine to me" on the brakes, were you saying that I should have the rotors turned and the caliper replaced at the dealer, or were you agreeing with me on buying the full 4 wheel kit and basically replacing everything and upgrading the brake lines to Slee stainless steel lines?

I'm gonna just watch the rear seal as you suggested.

Thanks again.

For the brakes, either option sounds fine. Brake line upgrades are not something I've ever been excited about, but I won't fault someone for doing it. Turning the rotors is fine provided you have material to spare, but keep in mind the point of a brake disc is to absorb heat. Less material = less heat capacity. If you're near the bottom of spec, perhaps new (possibly upgraded) rotors is a wiser use of your funds.

I don't think you have proposed a poor option and I don't think your labor rates are out of touch. There are indy mechanics that might offer a better rate, but not by much and then you've got the challenge of finding the "right" shop with a waitlist that's not months long. Plus - small bonus - regarding long term value it's never a bad thing to have a major service performed by a Lexus dealer on the service records. If you have a particularly clean 100 you may recoup a small bit of the service cost when you sell.

 

[kidphc]

Have a shop. Going to say this, we are throw away economy. It is often just cheaper to replace then repair. Crap, we have tools for rebuilding, just useless since we can't get the parts to rebuild a lot of stuff.

For the CV, pads and rotors just replace them. Most of the time when you resurface the rotors you are hovering close to minimum specs. Pretty much have to remove them anyways, I personally don't like the on car lathes. Our honking gigantic lathe has been in the store room for over 15 years.

They should of given you a break on the price, since they have to pull the rotors anyways to get to the CV boots. Probably charging you labor time to lathe the rotors and pull the CV to get to the inner boot. Which by the way we average $160 for aftermarket cv axles installed each, of course we aren't in a great neighborhood, hence the prices.

If you do decide to change the rotors, make sure you have the flanges and bearings ready to replace as needed. Most of the LC's I have seen mine and one customers, the CV shaft splines and flanges where completely worn out, another reason to think about replacing the CV.

 

[AlpineAccess]

During my latest 90K Mile Service a couple additional issues were noted.

1) 1 CV boot leaking. $1450 to replace all of the boots. Any found damage will add to the total.

2) Front rotors resurfacing - $380 and passenger rear brake caliper replacement for $700.

3) Leaking rear main seal - $1650.

My questions on each item:

1) Are there aftermarket upgrades that I can do for the same amount, or a little more, that make sense. In other words, can I get aftermarket replacements for the entire assemblies (axles, CV joints, boots, etc.) and just replace it all instead of spending $1450 almost all on just labor?

2) Instead of spending $1100 on resurfacing 2 rotors and replacing 1 caliper, I was thinking of replacing all 4 wheels' rotors, calipers, pads, and installing Slee stainless lines with this kit.

https://www.autozone.com/brakes-and-traction-control/performance-brake-pads-rotors-kit/p/power-stop-performance-brake-pads-rotors-kit-kc1133-36/1051841_0_0

Your thoughts? Any experience with this kit, or is there something better for around the same price?

I was planning to paint all the calipers anyway, so something like this will save that step, but is this kit any good?

3) On the slight rear main seal leak, there's no noticable oil loss at the dipstick and nothing leaking under the truck, so does this sound legit?


Thanks in advance for your comments.

What. This shop doesn't seem to know 100s. Is it an independent shop or a dealer?

Rear main is probably misdiagnosed valve cover seals. Very rare on a 2uz to have a rear main seal issue.

New OEM CVs about $900, install yourself and do a bearing repack and front diff fluid while in there for about $50 more. Or just get new boot clamps if they aren't torn for $30. Or pull the CVs and do a CV repack and reboot for $200.

Caliper is easy to do. 100 series rear brakes practically bleed themselves, just keep the reservoir topped up and then set fluid level correctly. Forum resources on this are great. Replace calipers as needed; these aren't a common issue so if you have a bad one that doesn't mean they all are.

Replace rotors. $200 for new OEM vs resurfacing a set that may be aftermarket or that have memory.

 

[medtro]

They should of given you a break on the price, since they have to pull the rotors anyways to get to the CV boots. Probably charging you labor time to lathe the rotors and pull the CV to get to the inner boot. Which by the way we average $160 for aftermarket cv axles installed each, of course we aren't in a great neighborhood, hence the prices.

No need to remove rotor for CV axle job.

 

[snowglobe]

May be a long drive from Bastrop, but consider driving it to Denver to have @2001LC diagnose and service it, if you’re going to pay a shop.

 

[AlpineAccess]

May be a long drive from Bastrop, but consider driving it to Denver to have @2001LC diagnose and service it, if you’re going to pay a shop.

It would be a 29 hour drive

 

[Gryphon]

What. This shop doesn't seem to know 100s. Is it an independent shop or a dealer?

Rear main is probably misdiagnosed valve cover seals. Very rare on a 2uz to have a rear main seal issue.

New OEM CVs about $900, install yourself and do a bearing repack and front diff fluid while in there for about $50 more. Or just get new boot clamps if they aren't torn for $30. Or pull the CVs and do a CV repack and reboot for $200.

Caliper is easy to do. 100 series rear brakes practically bleed themselves, just keep the reservoir topped up and then set fluid level correctly. Forum resources on this are great. Replace calipers as needed; these aren't a common issue so if you have a bad one that doesn't mean they all are.

Replace rotors. $200 for new OEM vs resurfacing a set that may be aftermarket or that have memory.

Thanks for responding.

The shop is the Lexus dealership.

What. This shop doesn't seem to know 100s. Is it an independent shop or a dealer?

Rear main is probably misdiagnosed valve cover seals. Very rare on a 2uz to have a rear main seal issue.

New OEM CVs about $900, install yourself and do a bearing repack and front diff fluid while in there for about $50 more. Or just get new boot clamps if they aren't torn for $30. Or pull the CVs and do a CV repack and reboot for $200.

Caliper is easy to do. 100 series rear brakes practically bleed themselves, just keep the reservoir topped up and then set fluid level correctly. Forum resources on this are great. Replace calipers as needed; these aren't a common issue so if you have a bad one that doesn't mean they all are.

Replace rotors. $200 for new OEM vs resurfacing a set that may be aftermarket or that have memory.

Thanks for responding and for your advice.

The shop is the Lexus dealership.

I'm suspect on the rear seal myself as, like I said, there are no indications of fluid leaks on the concrete under the truck and no noticable oil usage at the dipstick.

The CV work may be beyond my available time and/or technical competence. I was hoping there was some high quality kit that would be an easy install. I helped the girlfriend's kid replace the entire assembly on a Volvo and it came fully assembled and was just a matter of removing the old CV/axle assembly and replacing it with the new one. So, I was hoping for something similar here. I guess it's more involved than that. Given that I work out of town 5 days a week and it's my driver, I probably shouldn't tackle such a project myself unless it's a simple and quick job.

They were supposed to have repacked the front bearings as part of the 90K service. But I do want to replace the standard differential fluid with AMSOIL, and the dealership won't do it. So, if I get this work done somewhere else, I'll definitely have them do that then.

I can do the rotors and caliper myself. I've done similar work before on different vehicles, but it's been awhile. My only concern with me doing it is bleeding the brakes. Its been MANY years since I've done that.

I've never been a fan of resurfacing rotors and since, I was planning to paint all the calipers, when I saw the full kit I posted with the calipers already painted, I considered just getting it and replacing everything along with installing some Slee stainless brake lines.

But I can paint the calipers myself and just replace the front rotors and rear caliper. The rear rotors are only a year old. And the issue with the rear caliper is just the piston. If I could just replace the piston, I would just do that and be done. I guess the stainless brake lines can wait for now. The OEM Lexus caliper is less than $200, so there's no way I'm gonna pay them $700 to replace it.

Thanks again for your advice, I really appreciate it.

 

[snowglobe]

It would be a 29 hour drive.

Round trip, but yes it’s long. Some people drive all the way to Slee for upgrades.

His vehicle is not stuck on the side of the road or in pieces. For the dollar amounts quoted to pay someone else to service your land cruiser, including pulling the transmission to do a rear seal, finding someone knowledgeable you can trust is worth a lot. @2001LC may save him money by telling him the rear seal isn’t needed, etc., as others have advised sight unseen. Quality of work will be great regardless. The rear main seal in my 80 has leaked for a while, I’m waiting to do it myself and just check oil in the meantime.

 

[Gryphon]

It would be a 29 hour drive

Yeah. That ain't gonna happen!

 

[Gryphon]

Round trip, but yes it’s long. Some people drive all the way to Slee for upgrades.

His vehicle is not stuck on the side of the road or in pieces. For the dollar amounts quoted to pay someone else to service your land cruiser, including pulling the transmission to do a rear seal, finding someone knowledgeable you can trust is worth a lot. @2001LC may save him money by telling him the rear seal isn’t needed, etc., as others have advised sight unseen. Quality of work will be great regardless. The rear main seal in my 80 has leaked for a while, I’m waiting to do it myself and just check oil in the meantime.

I'm sure you're right, and I appreciate your advice.

Unfortunately, I just don't have that kind of time. And, yes, I would also love to take the truck to Slee and have them outfit it. But I don't have that kind of time or money either.

 

[97 AZ LC]

You shouldn't be taking an old vehicle like that to a dealer. It makes about as much sense as the 29 hour drive. Find an independent shop. This is not rocket science.

 

[snowglobe]

Land cruiser specialists is relatively close to the OP.

Mechanics trusted in Texas (ideally Austin?)

Hello! I'm in Austin for the next 4-6 months and was hoping to make a pitstop to a trusted mechanic to help with the front end wheel work (bearings, cleaning, axles). Does anyone have recommendations? Much appreciated!

forum.ih8mud.com

Maybe someone in south Texas can provide an alternative local recommendation.

 

[Gryphon]

You shouldn't be taking an old vehicle like that to a dealer. It makes about as much sense as the 29 hour drive. Find an independent shop. This is not rocket science.

Thanks for your opinion.

 

[AlpineAccess]

This vehicle just needs to be seen by someone competent who knows the platform, and isn't a dealership. 100s aren't mysterious or difficult to work on, just have to follow the FSM.

 

[nissanh]

This " I didn't know if someone made better than OEM parts" is NEVER true for a toyota. Absolutely no one makes a better part than toyota. I find even BMW and Honda has started sourcing toyota parts to their vehicles now (denso is a company owned by toyota). I have personally experienced their precision on parts (OEM).

Now to the prices, RUN!
Why do you need to replace calipers Toyota calipers last a lifetime. Are those frozen? the yes. It's easy to rebuild those. Just one washer inside the caliper and then slide the dust boot (4 per front caliper and one per rear). OEM rotor is about $80 and pads about $80 per axle. Try McGeorge toyota in VA or camelback Toyota in AZ.