Aloha! I'm a long-time lurker on these forums, previously owned some Toyotas built for mild off-roading (a 2004 Sequoia, a 2022 GX460), but have been absent for a few years. I got an opportunity recently to jump back into the GX460 world and couldn't resist. I'm posting to get a general idea of where I'm at, and see what you all think of my course ahead.
I live on Oahu, Hawaii. Toyotas are EXTREMELY popular out here (and for good reason). One of my bosses owned a 2012 GX460, that I helped him with a bit from time to time. It's a total Hawaii vehicle (been here its entire life), and all things considered, is in decent shape. I wouldn't call it cherry by any means, but it's straight, rust free, has a short list of niggling issues, and one big issue (the transmission code). It was his daily driver, never failed him, but PCS time came and he had to figure out a plan for what to do with it. A vehicle has to be in more or less perfect shape to ship back to the mainland, and this one isn't. It also has popped the P2714 code, twice. He offered to sell it to me, and I took it for $10k. This is a third car for me, total project flyer. I want to get it in excellent running shape so people around my office can use it as a "new to the island" vehicle, knock around vehicle, etc, for the next year. Then, I'll sell it locally before I PCS back to the mainland. I have access to a full shop with a lift here on Hickam, so working on this thing is easy!
The good; the engine is strong, no issues there. Maybe a small coolant leak, but doesn't seem to be the valley plate. Air conditioning front and back works fine, could be stronger at idle, but nothing fatal. All the power stuff works fine. They physical condition is generally fine, but has all the typical dings and selling chrome and whatnot you'd expect for a 14 year Hawaii vehicle. Tires have <10k miles on them, all match. Brakes are good, probably need to be bled/flushed to get pedal feel totally back to full.
The bad; needs some small stuff. Driver door lock actuator, a few trim pieces, door handles are peeled, needs new headlight bulbs. Likely needs new shocks and some suspension general refresh.
The really bad: it's popping the dreaded transmission codes. Generally the prior owner (who I trust implicitly) said it drove fine, MAYBE slipped once in the 3-4 range when it popped the code.
Here's my general plan, let me know what you think:
(1) Full maintenance reset. I have some records from the prior owner, but I'm just going to zero everything out. Filters (engine and cabin), serpentine belt, spark plugs (factory), differential and transfer case fluid changes, power steering fluid change, oil change, coolant drain & fill, transmission drain & fill (more on this later).
(2) Fix small stuff. I'll start with the driver door lock actuator, while I'm there I'll replace the door handles with better looking ones. Grease the squeaky window tracks. Clean and inspect as I go. I think the weak A/C is probably a condenser fan or the main fan clutch, I can do those. Otherwise just go through and fix all the niggling small things I possibly can.
(3) Sort the transmission. Obviously I got a deal on the vehicle because of the transmission unknown. I'm going to start with just a drain and fill using ATF WS. I would start with a pan drop and filter change, but the lead time to get a filter here to Oahu is like a month (unless someone wants Priority Mail me one...), and I'd like to just see what I can accomplish with ~4 quarts of ATF. I'll reset the code and drive. If it comes back, I'll try a pan drop, filter change, and some additional fluid. If it comes back, I'll either take it to a trans shop to do the valve body and solenoids, or I'll just bite the bullet on a remanufacture or a used one. I have sourced a used (allegedly good...) transmission here on the island, but they want $3500 and I'm not willing to buy it just yet.
(4) Sort the suspension. Once I have the transmission well and truly fixed, I'll figure out what to do on the suspension. Leaning towards whatever about $1.5k will buy me, installed myself at the auto hobby shop. Not really intending to do any off-roading, but mild lifts are very popular here on Oahu, so probably a Bilstein 5100 type upgrade?
Thoughts? I'll post some pictures in the thread later, part of the deal was letting my boss drive it all the way until his family is off the island, so I should have physical custody of the rig later this week!
I live on Oahu, Hawaii. Toyotas are EXTREMELY popular out here (and for good reason). One of my bosses owned a 2012 GX460, that I helped him with a bit from time to time. It's a total Hawaii vehicle (been here its entire life), and all things considered, is in decent shape. I wouldn't call it cherry by any means, but it's straight, rust free, has a short list of niggling issues, and one big issue (the transmission code). It was his daily driver, never failed him, but PCS time came and he had to figure out a plan for what to do with it. A vehicle has to be in more or less perfect shape to ship back to the mainland, and this one isn't. It also has popped the P2714 code, twice. He offered to sell it to me, and I took it for $10k. This is a third car for me, total project flyer. I want to get it in excellent running shape so people around my office can use it as a "new to the island" vehicle, knock around vehicle, etc, for the next year. Then, I'll sell it locally before I PCS back to the mainland. I have access to a full shop with a lift here on Hickam, so working on this thing is easy!
The good; the engine is strong, no issues there. Maybe a small coolant leak, but doesn't seem to be the valley plate. Air conditioning front and back works fine, could be stronger at idle, but nothing fatal. All the power stuff works fine. They physical condition is generally fine, but has all the typical dings and selling chrome and whatnot you'd expect for a 14 year Hawaii vehicle. Tires have <10k miles on them, all match. Brakes are good, probably need to be bled/flushed to get pedal feel totally back to full.
The bad; needs some small stuff. Driver door lock actuator, a few trim pieces, door handles are peeled, needs new headlight bulbs. Likely needs new shocks and some suspension general refresh.
The really bad: it's popping the dreaded transmission codes. Generally the prior owner (who I trust implicitly) said it drove fine, MAYBE slipped once in the 3-4 range when it popped the code.
Here's my general plan, let me know what you think:
(1) Full maintenance reset. I have some records from the prior owner, but I'm just going to zero everything out. Filters (engine and cabin), serpentine belt, spark plugs (factory), differential and transfer case fluid changes, power steering fluid change, oil change, coolant drain & fill, transmission drain & fill (more on this later).
(2) Fix small stuff. I'll start with the driver door lock actuator, while I'm there I'll replace the door handles with better looking ones. Grease the squeaky window tracks. Clean and inspect as I go. I think the weak A/C is probably a condenser fan or the main fan clutch, I can do those. Otherwise just go through and fix all the niggling small things I possibly can.
(3) Sort the transmission. Obviously I got a deal on the vehicle because of the transmission unknown. I'm going to start with just a drain and fill using ATF WS. I would start with a pan drop and filter change, but the lead time to get a filter here to Oahu is like a month (unless someone wants Priority Mail me one...), and I'd like to just see what I can accomplish with ~4 quarts of ATF. I'll reset the code and drive. If it comes back, I'll try a pan drop, filter change, and some additional fluid. If it comes back, I'll either take it to a trans shop to do the valve body and solenoids, or I'll just bite the bullet on a remanufacture or a used one. I have sourced a used (allegedly good...) transmission here on the island, but they want $3500 and I'm not willing to buy it just yet.
(4) Sort the suspension. Once I have the transmission well and truly fixed, I'll figure out what to do on the suspension. Leaning towards whatever about $1.5k will buy me, installed myself at the auto hobby shop. Not really intending to do any off-roading, but mild lifts are very popular here on Oahu, so probably a Bilstein 5100 type upgrade?
Thoughts? I'll post some pictures in the thread later, part of the deal was letting my boss drive it all the way until his family is off the island, so I should have physical custody of the rig later this week!
