Worth an investment?

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

ElHefe

ElHefe

SILVER Star
10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Feb 4, 2011
Threads
96
Messages
2,109
Location
Oak Park IL
Website
www.austinlwright.com
Dear all,

I picked up a 2000 LX470 a few days ago from the original owner with 226K. The vehicle was Lexus dealership serviced from day one (mile 4). I got a good/great deal IMO and it left a lot of room for scheduled maintenance items.

Just took it on a long camping trip and it ran great, except it lost power five miles from home and the dash lit up like a Christmas tree. Pulled over, turned it off, started it up and it ran fine the rest of the way home but a CEL was on and the idle dropped to 500/600 RPM. The code was for the input/turbine speed sensor.

It is due for a major interval service (WP, TB, spark plugs, all fluids, etc) as the last major service was at 127K. It also has some driveshaft clunk, head unit isn't working great (they're notoriously bad) and the AHC just makes me nervous (wish there was an easy fix).

Is it worth the investment or should I keep it for a while and resell it? The wife absolutely loves it (huge shocker, really) and we would just jump into another 100 series (probably an 03) if we did sell it. I really want a rig that I can build up for camping and mild offroading.

Thanks for the thoughts gents.

-Austin

IMG_20140618_083500.webp
 
Last edited:
I'd fix it and keep driving it. If you really want a 03+, I don't know that you would get your money back from a full blown 90k, plus seals, water pump, tensioners, etc (which would probably be wise with those miles) and were to try and sell it soon.
 
If you think you can sell it for more than you bought it for, sell it and let someone else do the work, since it sounds like you'd prefer something newer and better cared for. Go find a good 2003.
 
Thanks guys. I think I'll hold on to it for at least a couple months while I make up my mind. Wife keeps calling it "Ms. Pearl".
 
Hey Austin - glad it worked out with this rig! Sorry to hear about the CEL so soon. It sounds like a very well kept example and the wife likes it so I think it's a keeper. If it's a sensor, shouldn't be too much $$. How's the AHC functioning?

-Rob
 
Thanks Rob. Yeah, wife was over the moon when we drove it for the first time. So much so that we took it on a camping trip the next day. Hopefully it's just one of the sensors (they're around $175 for both from Lexus). Might just have both replaced.

AHC is stuck in Neutral, although it'll drop front and rear occasionally when I'm parked and the engine is running. If it were a 2000 LC, I'd definitely keep it (hate the AHC and terrible factory head unit with its proprietary connector).

Spent the last hour going through the high mileage 100s thread. I'm feeling inspired.
 
If the sensors are easy to get to, contact Cdan or Beno for pricing - prob 30% less than your local dealer.

Yea, that high mileage thread is inspiring and yours is just a baby :)
 
Got it back from the shop today. I had them do a full inspection of the mechanical components, replace the sensor and lube the driveshafts. The inspection didn't turn up any surprises and the drive is much smoother; the driveshaft clunk is almost gone. The mechanic who did the inspection and sensor replacement couldn't believe it had 227K on it.
 
Anybody in the Princeton area available to swap my AHC to manual suspension? Any shop recommendations? I don't have most of my tools with me and the landlord doesn't want me working on the LX in my designated space.
 
With AHC off, I'm at 33.5 inches from floor to top of the wheel well on the driver front and 34.5 inches on the passenger front. Rears are both right at 35 inches. Any thoughts?
 
Perhaps I'm losing my mind, but the temp gauge moved ever so slightly while I was driving around (went up and down by 1/32" or so). Ever since my 40 stranded me, I've been way too cautious about coolant temp variation. Anything I should be concerned with or is this normal (like the oil pressure fluctuating)?
 
It should remain steady and not fluctuate. Get yourself a scan gauge or ultra gauge so you can watch the coolant temp real time.

I'm the same way. My Supra and Corona had some overheating issues so I compulsively watch my gauges.


...via IH8MUD app
 
Thanks 88. The needle stayed over the same tick mark, but moved just a tad. Small enough variation that I thought it might have just been me settling into the seat. I suppose a scangauge would be a nice toy to have around either way.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom