Salvage vehicle purchase 2005 Lexus GX 470

[drtyler]

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.

View attachment 153100

Thats good progress. Hopefully the rest will come together easy enough.

What’s wrong with the atf cooler on there now? It looks very similar in size to the one on my old Tundra. It was rated to tow 7500 lbs.

 

[GON]

Thats good progress. Hopefully the rest will come together easy enough.

What’s wrong with the atf cooler on there now? It looks very similar in size to the one on my old Tundra. It was rated to tow 7500 lbs.

DR. T,

It had some damage from the accident, but no leaks. Just read numerous people state an aftermarket cooler reduced transmission temperatures during towing up and down mountains. Figured since I am in there- why not....

 

[drtyler]

DR. T,

It had some damage from the accident, but no leaks. Just read numerous people state an aftermarket cooler reduced transmission temperatures during towing up and down mountains. Figured since I am in there- why not....View attachment 153108

I didn’t notice how it gnarly it looked earlier, but it would be a good idea to swap it with a new or larger one. No need to risk it springing a leak later. The ones from Toyota are stupid expensive considering there are good quality aftermarket options.

 

[dishdude]

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.

Did the pretensioner fire?

 

[GON]

Did the pretensioner fire?

I think so. I wasn't aware this generation had a pretensioner.

 

[Aredeeem]

Thanks 2k.

I haven't told my Wife yet.......

As Tom Petty would say, ” The waiting is the hardest part…

 

[dlundblad]

Looks like my kind of vehicle.

 

[GON]

Made some progress today. I installed the aftermarket trans cooler. Concern is that the cooler's input and output tubes are a size smaller than OEM.

Installed the windshield washer reservoir. I was a bit concerned because I scrapped the very top when I was removing welds. So I jb welded where the reservoir was scratched. This was at the very top. Had this been at the bottom I would have replaced the reservoir.

Installed the hood. Not a easy job for one person. Went to fit a headlight and that did not go easy. Hopefully I am missing something. Wife wants to do something, so I am cleaning up and taking her to Olympia, so work stopped for today.

 

[97K15004WD]

Looks Awesome!!

 

[GON]

Having to suspend the headlight installation over missing four grommets, I moved onto a list of other todos.

One of the todos was replacement of the power steering reservoir. Nothing was mechanically wrong with it, but it was permanently stained, as is common issue. The stain prevents getting a quick read of fluid level.

There are numerous aftermarket reservoirs, but went with a OEM after reading reviews many aftermarkets use thinner material.

 

[Marbles_Garage]

I replaced my reservoirs for coolant and P/S on my LS 430 as well; It was so satisfying to see the clean fluids and their levels on a 15+ year vehicle with over 250k miles.

 

[drtyler]

That new PS reservoir does look better. Got any plans for this one?

 

[DuckRyder]

Nice work, curious why we didn't paint eh radiator support prior to putting it back together?

Guessing your still into this one for a good deal...

 

[GON]

That new PS reservoir does look better. Got any plans for this one?

View attachment 153478

DR T,

I avoid replacing brake fluid reservoirs because of ABS systems..... maybe someday I will try it.

 

[GON]

Nice work, curious why we didn't paint eh radiator support prior to putting it back together?

Guessing your still into this one for a good deal...

DR,

Good questions. Two reasons I didn't paint the radiator support. One, there are two colors under the hood, silver and black, so figured either color worked. Second reason is the radiator support is covered with a black plastic cosmetic cover, so it is not so visible unless one removes the cosmetic cover.

This may be a lesson learned for me for not painting the support- we shall see....

 

[paulo57509]

DR T,

I avoid replacing brake fluid reservoirs because of ABS systems..... maybe someday I will try it.

If the ABS on your 470 is anything like the one on the LS, it appears as simple as taking its blood pressure.

 

[GON]

Replaced the clockspring and the driver's airbag. very easy to replace. Hooked up the scanner and have the driver seatbelt error. No longer have a driver airbag error.

This vehicle is 18 years old. Seatbelts can get nasty after 18 years. And the driver's seatbelt gets the most use.

Used seatbelts on eBay run about $150. A new OEM seatbelt, purchased online is about $300. Thought it best to replace the seatbelt with a new belt.

 

[GON]

Made some progress today. Have a few hours of better fitting the bumper, etc. Went on a 69 minute drive, no issues. Still have a few days worth of work to get everything done.

 

[GSCJR]

You must have been smiling ear to ear on that test drive, nice job!

 

[GON]

The gx470 passed Washington State inspection this morning. Just completed the title and tag. About $750 to get this done. Celebrating by getting a tank of fuel at Costco.

This will close out this thread. Thanks for all the great comments,tips, and encouragement!