Frank
Explorer
My Trooper's life ran a bit short and the wife insists we keep a 4wd in the family. In my search for a new 4wd vehicle, I stumbled across this beast. Before I go into one of "those stories" I will just list what I know of it and what should be considered. Pictures are worth 1000 words. In my opinion, I know I am going into this that SOMETHING will happen to this rig the moment it becomes mine. That is just how it goes. :coffeedrink:
Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Brief overview:
-97 Lexus LX450
-175xxx miles
-Lived a New York life for the first 75k miles and then came to Indiana. Has been family owned since.
-Autocheck (VIN check) shows 2 wrecks. One shows it had to be towed, the other just says frontal impact, police report filed.
-Very clean exterior and under carriage. You can see that components attached to the axles have been replaced. The seller states that the front axle has been replaced but did not say anything about the accidents being associated with the axles. He was very open about everything with the rig.
-I would say he is a shade tree mechanic and had a good bit of tools in his garage. He also was a 'large SUV' enthusiast, with 2 Monteros also ready to go. He said 'where he is from' everyone has vehicles like that and thats all he knows. I think he was from S. America but did not ask.
-Started fine, no hesitations. Drove nice.
-Coolant was clean
-All electronics worked except cig lighter. Non smoker, said he had no need to fix it and wasn't sure how long it had been that way.
-Routine maintenance seemed to be complete. (belts were new, new spark plugs, wires, distributer cap)
-All points of the chassis were very solid, especially for a midwest vehicle that has seen salt probably all of its life.
Things I am concerned about:
-Front axle. I have read that it needs to be serviced and maintained or be ready to scrap it. He did not say it was rebuilt, but was replaced. I can tell that parts of the front axle had junkyard parts attached. Also note the steering wheel in the photo. The front wheels were straight when the photo was taken. The seller said that it could be straightened out with an alignment, has always been that way. My guess is that when they put in the new front axle, the steering wheel wasn't straight. It still turned lock to lock. Also, there was not any fresh fluid outside of the axle, but you could see where gunk had formed. Is this anything to be concerned about?
-Not sure if it is an oil pressure or temp gauge in the cluster, but it never moved. Either the sensor is bad, or the temp/pressure is bad. The oil level read that it was low, but not out of the 'safe' zone.
-While the engine bay was spotless, but it did show signs of oil around the block, to the left of the filter and under the steering reservoir. No constant drip or anything serious, but for a spotless engine bay, this was somewhat fresh oil on the block.
-Mismatched tires. I understand that with an AWD system, it is critical that all 4 tires stay the same. The tread depths and type of tires were the same, but different brands and slightly different tread designs. Is this something to be concerned about? I would plan to put on new rubber day #1.
-Seller knew nothing of the PHH
So that is pretty much all of my concerns. I have never owned a Toyota, especially of this caliber. As mentioned, I know that there are things that will NEED to be done to the rig. I feel 100% comfortable with doing most maintenance myself.
What are your thoughts? I truly appreciate any input.
Oil was located under this:
See the gunk built up around axle ends
Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Brief overview:
-97 Lexus LX450
-175xxx miles
-Lived a New York life for the first 75k miles and then came to Indiana. Has been family owned since.
-Autocheck (VIN check) shows 2 wrecks. One shows it had to be towed, the other just says frontal impact, police report filed.
-Very clean exterior and under carriage. You can see that components attached to the axles have been replaced. The seller states that the front axle has been replaced but did not say anything about the accidents being associated with the axles. He was very open about everything with the rig.
-I would say he is a shade tree mechanic and had a good bit of tools in his garage. He also was a 'large SUV' enthusiast, with 2 Monteros also ready to go. He said 'where he is from' everyone has vehicles like that and thats all he knows. I think he was from S. America but did not ask.
-Started fine, no hesitations. Drove nice.
-Coolant was clean
-All electronics worked except cig lighter. Non smoker, said he had no need to fix it and wasn't sure how long it had been that way.
-Routine maintenance seemed to be complete. (belts were new, new spark plugs, wires, distributer cap)
-All points of the chassis were very solid, especially for a midwest vehicle that has seen salt probably all of its life.
Things I am concerned about:
-Front axle. I have read that it needs to be serviced and maintained or be ready to scrap it. He did not say it was rebuilt, but was replaced. I can tell that parts of the front axle had junkyard parts attached. Also note the steering wheel in the photo. The front wheels were straight when the photo was taken. The seller said that it could be straightened out with an alignment, has always been that way. My guess is that when they put in the new front axle, the steering wheel wasn't straight. It still turned lock to lock. Also, there was not any fresh fluid outside of the axle, but you could see where gunk had formed. Is this anything to be concerned about?
-Not sure if it is an oil pressure or temp gauge in the cluster, but it never moved. Either the sensor is bad, or the temp/pressure is bad. The oil level read that it was low, but not out of the 'safe' zone.
-While the engine bay was spotless, but it did show signs of oil around the block, to the left of the filter and under the steering reservoir. No constant drip or anything serious, but for a spotless engine bay, this was somewhat fresh oil on the block.
-Mismatched tires. I understand that with an AWD system, it is critical that all 4 tires stay the same. The tread depths and type of tires were the same, but different brands and slightly different tread designs. Is this something to be concerned about? I would plan to put on new rubber day #1.
-Seller knew nothing of the PHH
So that is pretty much all of my concerns. I have never owned a Toyota, especially of this caliber. As mentioned, I know that there are things that will NEED to be done to the rig. I feel 100% comfortable with doing most maintenance myself.
What are your thoughts? I truly appreciate any input.
Oil was located under this:
See the gunk built up around axle ends
Last edited:
