Having a weak moment with my car
12-22-09, 03:07 PM
#31
Driver
Exactly, it's just down to the cost/return ratio comparison. Spend 1-2 hours and $2 to fix a door lock actuator. Or just drop it off at shop or dealer to let them mess with it for 2hours and pay $250-300. Then use those 2 hours to do something else more productive. I'm still at the point of doing stuff myself because I'm still young and am not making the big bucks....yet lol. I think maybe in 10-15 years I won't be so willing to fix stuff myself. Original poster said he was in college, so that's why I suggested for him to DIY.
12-22-09, 08:10 PM
#32
I have a feeling you might got water near your NAV. Open the trunk and on the right side, lift up the covers and below there should be a steep hole. Check to see if there is water there. If yes, water is coming up from underneath from splashing. There is an oval shaped rubber that is suppose to plug that hole so water can't splash up. It's located before the right rear wheel. You would have to lift the car up to see it GL!
12-22-09, 08:22 PM
#33
Lead Lap
some parts like the the door actuator and ball joints need to be replace, but it depends on how you drive as well, for the exhaust manifold, it also depends on the climate you live in, causing rust and molds...
12-23-09, 08:39 AM
#34
I have a feeling you might got water near your NAV. Open the trunk and on the right side, lift up the covers and below there should be a steep hole. Check to see if there is water there. If yes, water is coming up from underneath from splashing. There is an oval shaped rubber that is suppose to plug that hole so water can't splash up. It's located before the right rear wheel. You would have to lift the car up to see it GL!
12-23-09, 10:00 AM
#35
Lead Lap
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I've replaced lower ball joints, outer tie rods, motor mounts, trans mount, differential, pvc valve, 2 air filters, knock sensors, tires, oil changes and just last friday I did the upper control arms on both sides. I drive the car on sunday and the VSS breaks. Trust me, I feel your pain.
12-23-09, 01:24 PM
#36
I will be the first to admit that I am far from someone like Jeff who is ready to prop the car up and go in for surgery. For one, I live in an apartment in the middle of Atlanta so I do not have the space or tools that are needed for this type of maintenance. I don't even have anywhere to keep a jack or anything like that. Two, I am just not that mechanically inclined though there are several things that I have taken apart, messed with, fixed, put back together, etc.
I am still waiting on my service advisor to get that code but he has been in and out due to the holidays. Also, his boss is my old boss and I consider all of them friends so I really don't think anyone is trying to rip my off. Retail cost for replacing the exhaust manifold is close to $2,000 with parts and labor and the price he quoted me is about half that. Still expensive, but I certainly don't feel like I am being taken advantage of.
Also, from the research that I have done it seems like exhaust manifold = headers in layman's terms. Is that correct?
I am still waiting on my service advisor to get that code but he has been in and out due to the holidays. Also, his boss is my old boss and I consider all of them friends so I really don't think anyone is trying to rip my off. Retail cost for replacing the exhaust manifold is close to $2,000 with parts and labor and the price he quoted me is about half that. Still expensive, but I certainly don't feel like I am being taken advantage of.
Also, from the research that I have done it seems like exhaust manifold = headers in layman's terms. Is that correct?
12-23-09, 01:25 PM
#37
I've replaced lower ball joints, outer tie rods, motor mounts, trans mount, differential, pvc valve, 2 air filters, knock sensors, tires, oil changes and just last friday I did the upper control arms on both sides. I drive the car on sunday and the VSS breaks. Trust me, I feel your pain.
12-23-09, 01:38 PM
#39
I also don't think the "it's a Lexus so it's more complicated" excuse works here because parts like ball joints, exhaust manifolds, and O2 sensors are really not complicated at all. If anything, the 4Runner, which was 4WD, would be the most complex car of them all and it was also the most rock solid.
12-23-09, 02:56 PM
#40
If you do end up needing to replace the exhaust manifold. I have like 3 laying around in storage. Took them off of cars that went NA-T. I think they all have under 40-50k miles. The one off my own car was removed at 15k miles, but I'm keeping that as a spare for myself lol. I'll sell to you for muuuuuch less than what retail is. That's the last resort though, hopefully it's just that your O2 sensors went bad or something.
