Salvage vehicle purchase 2005 Lexus GX 470

[GON]

I think you may have a problem sir but I love your builds and threads!

Is this replacing the Lincoln?

No, not at all. The Lincoln is super nice to have and with it's trailer towing package, it is a dedicated tow vehicle for my next move.

 

[The Critic]

Have you already retained a divorce attorney?

 

[GON]

Spent a few hours earlier today trying to straighten the upper radiator support. I ordered a replacement support, but the wrong one arrived. I found working on the existing one pretty easy. The first picture was before I started to try and get the support back to normal, second pic is after some reshaping (I have more to do), and the third pic is seeing how the hood closes. I pulled the condenser before doing this, and will start a separate thread on the condenser.

So far the biggest challenge is finding a silver hood. Seems almost impossible. For some reason almost all of these vehicles that are totaled, are totaled with front end damage. I found the exact vehicle with no damage, and a must destruct title (Florida hurricane damage), that is going on the auction block in five days. The issue is I am OCONUS for six weeks starting tomorrow, and no way to transport the vehicle from FT Myers to Seattle .

 

[GON]

Started to remove the radiator support panel earlier this afternoon. It is pretty labor intensive. I have both a new and a used radiator support panel. I will be using the new panel, but it is great to have the used panel as it has extra parts attached and I can locations of "hidden" spot welds I can't easily see on the damaged panel, and do not have marked locations on the new panel.

Of note, I could have "rigged" this job and gotten away without replacing the radiator support panel. If I kept the damaged panel in place, it would not have been visible with a common visual inspection. I only mention this as I suspect most flippers would have kept the damaged panel in place, and just bent to make it work.

 

[GON]

Pulled half the radiator support out today. A lot more work than I bargained for. The denso radiator, although bent like crazy, was not leaking. But the bend prevented the radiator from being removed.

On a good note, I will be doing the timing belt. Should be much easier with free frontal access to the engine.

Hoping to finish the removek if the passenger side of the radiator support tomorrow, and do a assessment of what parts I made need that I will have to order. I leave at 0300 Sunday morning oconos for work.

What I have yet to figure out is how I am going to weld the replacement radiator support back in place.

 

[GON]

Pulled off the old radiator support. First time I have had the remove spot welds. Removing the welds not so hard. I was not as successful keeping the good side without holes. I am to worried, all is accessable for a any supplemental plate as needed. I was a bit surprised at how very strong even a single spot weld is.

I have to figure out how I am going to mount the replacement radiator support. One course of action is to hire a professional welder with a mobile rig. Another course of action is simply bolts with lock washers, compuned with a sealant. Another coa is pop rivets with a sealant.

I found a slight bend on the driver side sub body structure. Something I likely can get true with just a 2x2, hammer, and a few minutes. I will study this, as I like to do things right, so I may just replace the piece. It is really nice to have an entire spare used radiator support unit with other pieces mounted, gives me a great reference to compare how aqaure or fabricated a assembly should be.

As much as I want to get the body back together, I need to suspend body restoration activities. Time to clean the major mess I have in the garage, and start the timing belt replacement. With so much accessibility, I will likely do other activities to include spark plug change.

 

[maineiac]

I have a '04... maybe the best vehicle I've ever owned (and with the worst gas mileage )

 

[GON]

Welded the radiator support in place earlier today. Working out of state the rest of the week, so things back on hold until this- weekend I will do the timing belt kit, and then start reassembly.

 

[GON]

Replaced the timing belt yesterday. Getting in there, I discovered during the teardown the timing belt had a "recent" replacement, but it was not documented so I had no choice but to replace the belt. I also replaced the timing belt tensioner and pully. I did not replace the water pump, I could see it was recently replaced, and the tech used gasket maker- I decided not to replace the water pump as cleaning the old gasket was going to take a lot of time I did not have.

Leaving for working out of town tomorrow, so policed up all the parts, washed what needed cleaning, and put tools away. I am a bit surprised that techs don't clean covers, etc when doing a job of this nature. If the area was cleaned, I likely would have skipped this belt replacement. I watched two awesome techs do this job on youtube, and they also did not clean covers, etc.

A few notes- a lot of conflicting information on the timing belt alignment. Even the FSM is weird about it. In the end I just put the replacement belt with the cams and crankshaft back where the old belt was. One of the cams "spun" when I removed the old belt. So I hop it didn't have a valve to piston hit. But not much I can do about that.

Also am going to replace the alternator. No issues known with the alternator, but it is covered in dirt, and appears to be a lot of work to replace. I have it out, so might as well put a rebuilt DENSO from RockAuto in there. I am also replacing all the serpentine belt parts, and the fan bearing cover.

 

[Vil_Riker]

I like how simple it is under the hood for Toyotas.

 

[KGMtech]

You said one of the cams spun when the old belt was removed....did you get this sorted before the new belt was installed?

 

[GON]

You said one of the cams spun when the old belt was removed....did you get this sorted before the new belt was installed?

I was able to put it back exactly where it was supposed to be. Only concern, was any damage done when the cam.spun.

 

[drtyler]

When you get it running, you may consider a set of shields for the catalytic converters if it is parked in the open very often. The ones on Toyota trucks and Prius cars seem to be in high demand with thieves. Of course, Steilacoom may be free of low-lifes and this would not be a concern.

 

[KGMtech]

When you get it running, you may consider a set of shields for the catalytic converters if it is parked in the open very often. The ones on Toyota trucks and Prius cars seem to be in high demand with thieves. Of course, Steilacoom may be free of low-lifes and this would not be a concern.

When I lived in Vancouver, yes Seattle had their share of drug addicts.

 

[KGMtech]

I was able to put it back exactly where it was supposed to be. Only concern, was any damage done when the cam.spun.

Not at that low rotational speed.

 

[John105]

Replaced the timing belt yesterday. Getting in there, I discovered during the teardown the timing belt had a "recent" replacement, but it was not documented so I had no choice but to replace the belt. I also replaced the timing belt tensioner and pully. I did not replace the water pump, I could see it was recently replaced, and the tech used gasket maker- I decided not to replace the water pump as cleaning the old gasket was going to take a lot of time I did not have.

Leaving for working out of town tomorrow, so policed up all the parts, washed what needed cleaning, and put tools away. I am a bit surprised that techs don't clean covers, etc when doing a job of this nature. If the area was cleaned, I likely would have skipped this belt replacement. I watched two awesome techs do this job on youtube, and they also did not clean covers, etc.

A few notes- a lot of conflicting information on the timing belt alignment. Even the FSM is weird about it. In the end I just put the replacement belt with the cams and crankshaft back where the old belt was. One of the cams "spun" when I removed the old belt. So I hop it didn't have a valve to piston hit. But not much I can do about that.

Also am going to replace the alternator. No issues known with the alternator, but it is covered in dirt, and appears to be a lot of work to replace. I have it out, so might as well put a rebuilt DENSO from RockAuto in there. I am also replacing all the serpentine belt parts, and the fan bearing cover.

View attachment 150779View attachment 150778

I have an '06 LS and have not done the timing belt myself, but the setup is quite similar. An indie did the job for $900 when Lexus wanted $1800 at the time, and I got all the old parts back in a box. The belt looked new at 86k....I did some of the idlers for the serpentine when the pandemic started since an annoying squeal/whine developled. Had to take one the parts off of a tensioner, which was not it. It was the smaller wheel but I did both along with another serpentine (was already removing it why not...)

btw I'm 48k further down the road since that timing belt job I doubt I would do it again at 90k, push it further which I think is safe

 

[GON]

The rebuilt denso alternator arrived. It is replacing a very dirty but working oem denso.

I put the two alternators side by side and spun them. The old alternator did not spin freely, and sounded like it had flat spots. The replacement alternator spun effortlessly.

Replacement of the alternator looks like a good action.

 

[Brons2]

Friend of the family put 400K on one of those things, daily driving between the far out Dallas suburbs and the 635/75 area.

 

[GON]

Continuing to make progress. The timing belt, and all the replacement preventive maintenance parts have been installed/ completed. New thermostat, serpentine belt, idler, etc. All put back together.

Installed the hood latch stuff, and the airbag crash sensors.

Physically installed the condenser earlier this evening. Did not hook up the lines. Started to install the radiator but couldn't recall the mounts (which are the top/ which are the bottom), so decided to call it a night.

 

[GON]

The Gx 470 is mechanically road worthy. Filled the coolant, and went on a ten mile drive, at speeds up to 55 MPH. No issues, steered straight, ran quiet.

I likely could get her back together tomorrow if everything went flawless in reassembly. I decided to install an aftermarket trans cooler, which will arrive tomorrow and requires some fabrication. I also need to reconnect the lines to the condenser, evacuate the AC system, and charge with freon.

Discovered something during the test drive. The driver's seat belt is "frozen". It may be a safety feature, I will need to do some research, but I may need to buy a new seat belt.