What to do’s (1 Viewer)

[Shiggy]

Been a while (definitely didn’t forget my password lol) and after getting my 300k mile LX back from an inspection I’ve got quite the to do list. Curious what else I can/should do while I’m at it (plus some questions on OEM vs aftermarket here and there) and appreciate any help I can get!

The LX currently needs (to varying degrees):
Rack & Pinion - 4425060050
CV boot kit - 0443860021 (believe the mechanic had called these out but they didn’t quote for them, that said seems reasonable to add on as a while-I’m-at-it anyways)
Lower ball joints (just gonna do the complete LCA) - 486(2/4)060010 although the 555 LCA set is enticing, not sure about 555 vs OEM
exhaust manifold…(per mechanic, still suspicious but after some reading I’m not going to continue to be stubborn and will follow through with this before going back to my original fear of lifters/valves for “the tick” that it currently has)

Main add on I have planned is doing outer tie rods. Also gonna do the brake master rebuild kit (0449360330) for some preventative maintenance some time soon-ish.

So…all that out of the way, for the manifold tick my understanding is that it is the L/R exhaust manifold (1710550121 & 1710450121) that leaks. What are opinions on doing Doug Thorley headers instead of OEM?

Per the title I’m also curious what else I may want to knock out while I’m tackling the currently planned set of work. No AHC anymore so not gonna be refreshing that, though I will eventually swap over to LC OEM suspension instead of the cheap crap it’s currently on. Going to be doing the R&P, outer tie rods, LCA, and CV Boot kit in one go since it all seems to be fairly interconnected.

Any thoughts or recommendations would be much appreciated!

 

[cwmoser]

OEM parts are going to be expensive.
Labor going to add up to.
How much do you think the total bill will be?

 

[awesomeissquid]

For the tick, I would check your spark plugs before doing anything else. Very possible they are loose and the tick noise is gases escaping past the seals.

OEM parts for most everything is what everyone is going to say for good reason. Many have had good luck with 555 ball joints, but that is about it.

What is the reasoning for the rack needing to be replaced? Is it leaking or does it just seem loose? Did they check that the mounting bushings are not disintegrated?

 

[Eddy20]

Just purchased OEM parts form Lexus dealer, very expensive. But, there are horror stories about after market or cheap knock offs causing problems. Since I don't do my own labor I went straight OEM and figured the first OEM lasted 20 years so if I get 20 years from the replacements I way ahead of the game. Now if I did the wrenching myself I would risk the cost savings by going non OEM. My parts bill from Lexus was close to 2800! Water Pump, timing belt etc, radiator plugs and all fluids all Lexus or Toyota brand. Just my .02!

 

[Shiggy]

OEM parts are going to be expensive.
Labor going to add up to.
How much do you think the total bill will be?

Fine with the parts cost and doing what labor I can myself (basically all except for maybe new shocks). The first set of repairs i'm gonna do all together - R&P, CV boot kit, outer tie rods, and front LCAs are gonna land at 800-1k in part cost (the R&P has a $150-200 core charge that gets refunded when i return the part) which i'm totally fine with. Don't mind paying what I need to to get it back in shape

For the tick, I would check your spark plugs before doing anything else. Very possible they are loose and the tick noise is gases escaping past the seals.

OEM parts for most everything is what everyone is going to say for good reason. Many have had good luck with 555 ball joints, but that is about it.

What is the reasoning for the rack needing to be replaced? Is it leaking or does it just seem loose? Did they check that the mounting bushings are not disintegrated?

I had seen that here and there recently actually, planning to check that once i'm off work in the morning. Think i've read I want them torqued to 16 or 18ftlb?

Planning to stay mostly OEM, the 555 Lower+Upper control arm set seems attractive given the price and decent reviews at least. The doug thorley headers are intriguing too, get a smidge more power and even if the tick is spark plug related (which it runs smoothly but not a hard check) I can head off any potential future leaks.

Rack has a tear on one of the boots and you can certainly feel it a bit while driving. I've seen some stuff about replacing the boots on it and whatnot but if i'm gonna pull it out I don't mind the cost of replacing that with a brand new part while i'm under there and already at it. Long term is the goal here, so even after I replace everything that's showing wear i'll probably slowly buy known wear items over time and replace them as needed, or in the case of the brake master rebuild kit i'm throwing in, do some preventitive maintenance to prevent an even more extensive repair down the line.

Just purchased OEM parts form Lexus dealer, very expensive. But, there are horror stories about after market or cheap knock offs causing problems. Since I don't do my own labor I went straight OEM and figured the first OEM lasted 20 years so if I get 20 years from the replacements I way ahead of the game. Now if I did the wrenching myself I would risk the cost savings by going non OEM. My parts bill from Lexus was close to 2800! Water Pump, timing belt etc, radiator plugs and all fluids all Lexus or Toyota brand. Just my .02!

Lmao I definitely agree with that! OEM cost isn't too terrible on this anyways, especially with 90% of the parts being the toyota parts...Now OEM Audi? That was expensive. Still remember when my V8 S5 had it's dif blow up. s*** was gonna be $10k new...thankfully found used one

Some stuff I am definitely still thinking non-OEM that said, the doug thorley headers are certainly intruiging and seem to be similar cost to OEM and aren't atrocious to replace like I suspect and read the R&P will be (thus, brand new on that - not even gonna risk going reman).
Only done super minor work on cars before so definitely going to be a learning experience wrenching on this LX but i'm looking forward to it.

 

[cwmoser]

If you are going to replace the Rack, might as well do the CVs at same time.

I replaced, well had replaced, the CV Axles with Cordone HD CV Axles.
My LX has only 73K miles on her and has never been off road, and garaged its entire life.
Right side both inner and outer boots split, Left side the outer boot split.
Really not impressed that they went out this early and being just a Mall Cruiser.
Cordone mentions that their CVs have more rubber boot bellows than OEM so I am going to see how they hold up.
In any case, each axle was $100 and the Labor to install both was $268. So we'll see.

 

[Shiggy]

If you are going to replace the Rack, might as well do the CVs at same time.

I replaced, well had replaced, the CV Axles with Cordone HD CV Axles.
My LX has only 73K miles on her and has never been off road, and garaged its entire life.
Right side both inner and outer boots split, Left side the outer boot split.
Really not impressed that they went out this early and being just a Mall Cruiser.
Cordone mentions that their CVs have more rubber boot bellows than OEM so I am going to see how they hold up.
In any case, each axle was $100 and the Labor to install both was $268. So we'll see.

Watched a video of someone replacing their axles earlier and you're right, it'll already be 90% of the way to doing that repair so I may just do it to have it done. Hell may add in the new shocks while i'm at it and have an alignment done once so i can just have that be that lol

 

[Shiggy]

Saw some Toyota dealers have 25% off on their parts at the moment. Took the jump and bought essentially a brand new front end lol, following a comment here I also got everything up to the flanges. The secondary hardware PNs can be found in the link above, prices listed were similar with most parts being a touch more expensive. Costs in the attached pictures had an additional 25% off in the cart which was super
Rack and pinion 4425060050
Front LCA Left 4864060010
Front LCA Right 4862060010
Right Tie Rod (#1) 4504669195
Left Tie Rod (#2) 45047-69100
2x Front CV Axle 43430-60040

I will note that the part number for the RH Diff seal (9031147013) was able to be found on their store, but the left hand side (9031147027) could not be found. Funnily enough saw it on Amazon so instead of going with the alternative it recommended I bought that seal from amazon. Otherwise followed the related hardware PNs in the post I linked above to a T