Undercarriage Overall Condition Community Inspection / Suggestions - '14 LX 570

[wooji]

Hey folks,
Would you guys mind taking a look at this undercarriage and help me understand what I'm looking at / what potentially can be easily fixed with some elbow grease + paint prep + undercarriage spray, as well as what is potentially rusted through and needs an entire replacement?

About to purchase this '14 LX 570 from a friend and wanted to get some help from the community. This has lived it's entire life outside on the streets in NYC and has been driven as a daily work vehicle in all 4 seasons. Most recently, it's been covered in salt/snow/dirt from everyday use. A few weeks prior, the radiator failed, which seemingly caused a misfire, which causes a head gasket to fail, and coolant leaked into the engine, which caused catastrophic failure. A used engine with <60k miles was purchased and on it's way to a shop Toyota / Lexus specialist to install. Car is now in GA awaiting it's new heart.

Additionally, I purchased Slee aluminum skid plates to replace the rusted through covers (at least what I can identify as the corroded OEM sliders, but pls correct me if I am wrong in my identification).

SLEE- Skid Plate System -Aluminum - '08 - '21 Land Cruiser / LX 570 - Slee Off Road

Features Bolt On Design 5052 Aluminum Easy access to engine drain plug location Fins for venting to reduce heat build-up Powder coat finish

sleeoffroad.com

Photo album for reference:

Also, what is the clearly rusted through pipe in the middle of the attached photo? Is that easily replaceable?

If anyone could also share a diagram + component list of the undercarriage components, that would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

 

[wooji]

Album might not have loaded properly - new link here:

 

[77pantera]

Took a little doing but this is the link you want: ht tps://imgur.com/a/2014-lx-570-help-gRwFRLq#aGN2xw4 - remove the space and it works, mud seems to modify it every time.
Why would you buy a car from the salt belt if you live in GA? It's the exact opposite of what we salt belters do.
It isn't terrible, a turbo tip on a regular power washer would knock 90% of the crusties off. Then some wire wheeling/needle scaling and clean and paint.
I believe that "pipe" is just part of the factory transfer case skid.

It would have to be a damn good deal for me to buy a crusty salt belt 200 with a replacement engine, but it is completely save able.

 

[Blackwater]

Did you already purchase it? Or are you planning on the purchase?

I'm with @77pantera
Respectfully I'd find another one from the south if your open to that

 

[TomEf]

Just surface rust as far as I can see. An afternoon with a wire wheel and some rust converter paint would take care of that. I don't see real rot or anything to actually worry about. The "worst" of it is the gas tank skid, and if you already have a replacement then that saves some work.

Those appear to be Slee sliders with the added AHC protection.

You could probably find a cleaner one down south where you are, but if you're getting a screaming deal based on the new motor and all that then I wouldn't sweat it. If it had been neglected and not washed through salty winters for 11 years, it would look much worse.

 

[Mingus Dew]

Just surface rust as far as I can see. An afternoon with a wire wheel and some rust converter paint would take care of that. I don't see real rot or anything to actually worry about. The "worst" of it is the gas tank skid, and if you already have a replacement then that saves some work.

Those appear to be Slee sliders with the added AHC protection.

You could probably find a cleaner one down south where you are, but if you're getting a screaming deal based on the new motor and all that then I wouldn't sweat it. If it had been neglected and not washed through salty winters for 11 years, it would look much worse.

Fully agree with this - rust isn't too bad outside of the gas tank skid which you are better off replacing rather than trying to fix.

Probably $500-$1000 for a good autobody shop to clean up the frame and other underbody surface rust and then prime and paint. After you are done do yearly applications of Fluid Film, Wool Wax or Cosmoline for added piece of mind (a bit belt and suspenders in GA to be sure).

I'd be more concerned about buying a truck with a used engine swap. Like way more concerned.

 

[wooji]

Thanks everyone.

We had already agreed to do the engine swap, and unfortunately, the engine is already on it's way. He's agreed to pay for the cost of repairs so I'm not too concerned about that bit.

To that point, since the car already is in GA, I dont think there's any turning back now. It has become a repair and preservation effort.

My hope is that this specialty shop, that mostly works on Toyota/Lexus will do a good job with the swap. We also have VIN researched the car from which the engine was sourced from, and it's previous life was in a 2018 LX 570 that got rear ended, and was totalyed by insurance. Front end looked fine and was not damaged in any way.

After all the repairs + undercarriage shaving + undercoating, I anticipate a close to a well-conditioned vehicle, if not better than average. It'll also get a thorough interior/exterior detail, so will share the updates once its all done!

Excited to get this on the road and living it's life out in a salt-less climate. Thank you again to all for your feedback!

 

[wooji]

Just surface rust as far as I can see. An afternoon with a wire wheel and some rust converter paint would take care of that. I don't see real rot or anything to actually worry about. The "worst" of it is the gas tank skid, and if you already have a replacement then that saves some work.

Those appear to be Slee sliders with the added AHC protection.

You could probably find a cleaner one down south where you are, but if you're getting a screaming deal based on the new motor and all that then I wouldn't sweat it. If it had been neglected and not washed through salty winters for 11 years, it would look much worse.

Correct, those are Slee sliders with AHC covers. it did protect the balls a bit, but two of them will need to be replaced. my main concern was chassis damage, but given we have a few eyes from here on it saying its mostly surface rust that can be fixed, I think i'd be ok with it.

Thank you!

 

[TomEf]

Correct, those are Slee sliders with AHC covers. it did protect the balls a bit, but two of them will need to be replaced. my main concern was chassis damage, but given we have a few eyes from here on it saying its mostly surface rust that can be fixed, I think i'd be ok with it.

Thank you!

I was due for AHC globes at about 160k and it was no big deal. Removing the AHC protection plates from my Slee sliders was more annoying than any other part of the job, and that wasn't particularly difficult with the right tools. I have a little more surface rust than what you shared, and the globes weren't frozen on and came right off with a good socket or wrench.

If the shop swapping the motor has a warranty and stands behind their work, AND you're getting a good deal, I'd have no reservations. What surface rust there is already isn't likely to advance much, but getting that surface rust busted and refinished/repainted is probably worth the peace of mind.

 

[wooji]

Hello everyone.

Sorry for the wait and wanted to share a few photos of the work that was completed to date!

1) Engine was replaced
2) New Radiator and Water Pump was added
2) New brakes and pads replaced with OEM parts
3) Sandblast and undercoating was applied
4) Car had a full interior / exterior detail + polish and Ceramic Coat ($700 job - fairly reasonable for the size). I don’t think the car was ever washed in its lifetime, so it felt like the paint breathed a sigh of relief after the wash. I will give it another deep clean with detail brushes (in and out) once the ceramic coat clears in 2 weeks.

For now, I’m very happy with how it looks and drives!

For figures of $ spent to bring this back to life:

Sale Price (paid)	$30,000.00​
Repairs Total (friend paid)	-$18,521.7​
Auto Repair #1​	-$7,802.29
New engine(58k miles) radiator, water pump	-$7.415.86
Rust Removal​	-$1,151.22
Slee Plate Covers​	-$2,152.30

Friend paid for everything on repairs (tranny flush, brake flush) netted back $11.5k.

I paid him $30k in total as the agreed price.

Out of pocket, I paid $1.5k for new parts, labor, and replaced the front windshield tint

It’s been a wild month to get the car back up and running between all the vendors.

Here’s some photos!

Hope this car is bullet proof for the next 100kmiles with regular 5k/30k maintenances!

 

[wooji]

Hello everyone.

Sorry for the wait and wanted to share a few photos of the work that was completed to date!

1) Engine was replaced
2) New Radiator and Water Pump was added
2) New brakes and pads replaced with OEM parts
3) Sandblast and undercoating was applied
4) Car had a full interior / exterior detail + polish and Ceramic Coat ($700 job - fairly reasonable for the size). I don’t think the car was ever washed in its lifetime, so it felt like the paint breathed a sigh of relief after the wash. I will give it another deep clean with detail brushes (in and out) once the ceramic coat clears in 2 weeks.

For now, I’m very happy with how it looks and drives!

For figures of $ spent to bring this back to life:

Sale Price (paid)	$30,000.00​
Repairs Total (friend paid)	-$18,521.7​
Auto Repair #1​	-$7,802.29
New engine(58k miles) radiator, water pump	-$7.415.86
Rust Removal​	-$1,151.22
Slee Plate Covers​	-$2,152.30

Fried paid for everything on repairs (tranny fish, brake flush) netted back $11.5k.

I paid him $30k in total as the agreed price.

Out of pocket, I paid $1.5k for new parts, labor, and replaced the front windshield tint

It’s been a wild month to get the car back up and running between all the vendors.

Here’s some photos!

Hope this car is bullet proof for the next 100kmiles with regular 5k/30k maintenances!

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View attachment 3966674

View attachment 3966675

View attachment 3966676

View attachment 3966677

 

[Taco Supremo]

Congrats on the new LX! Looks great. Do you have the covers for the front part of the engine under the hood? Part of their function is to keep road grime and debris out of your engine bay and also to direct cool air through your radiator. I'd maybe look at replacing the front pieces responsible for directing air flow. Enjoy your new ride!

 

[stonepa]

The ‘pipe’ that appears rusted through is the transfer case protector. They seem to rust on most 200s even those that have never seen salt. I have one sitting in my garage awaiting a free weekend to be installed.

 

[wooji]

Congrats on the new LX! Looks great. Do you have the covers for the front part of the engine under the hood? Part of their function is to keep road grime and debris out of your engine bay and also to direct cool air through your radiator. I'd maybe look at replacing the front pieces responsible for directing air flow. Enjoy your new ride!

Thanks! I took the covers off for the detailer to give the engine bay and various liquid holders a cleaning as the sand blasting left a ton of residue and grime.

I did give it a dry brush and vacuum before he came so it didnt get cakey with mud, so worked out very well!

Do you happen to know the part number for the front center piece? Mine is busted up pretty bad around the areas that accept the hood latch, but the hole alignments are perfectly fine.

 

[wooji]

The ‘pipe’ that appears rusted through is the transfer case protector. They seem to rust on most 200s even those that have never seen salt. I have once sitting in my garage awaiting a free weekend to be installed.

Thanks! I think the SLEE plate replaces that cover anyway, so hopefully it's not an issue as I didnt even see it after they installed the plates.

 

[Taco Supremo]

Thanks! I took the covers off for the detailer to give the engine bay and various liquid holders a cleaning as the sand blasting left a ton of residue and grime.

I did give it a dry brush and vacuum before he came so it didnt get cakey with mud, so worked out very well!

Do you happen to know the part number for the front center piece? Mine is busted up pretty bad around the areas that accept the hood latch, but the hole alignments are perfectly fine.

Sorry i do not. But there is a thread in this forum where an awesome Mud member will get you any part # you need. Just post a reply on the thread with what you're looking for.

 

[04UZJ100]

Why did it need a new engine?

 

[wooji]

Why did it need a new engine?

My friend fried the radiator because it had ran out of coolant, causing the engine to overheat and blow the head gasket, causing catastrophic failure.