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Just picked up a 2004 GX a couple weeks back, this would be my third truck and first build thread. Plans are for it to be a toy and camper. If you’re looking for a high end “look at me” setup, boy have you clicked on the wrong link. If however, you’re looking for a DIY build where someone wastes a bunch of time and money doing things 8 different ways and ultimately regrets not buying nice parts, this will likely be that thread.
Say hello to Jackson....
The good:
Only 95k miles
Single owner
Extensive dealer history including recent timing belt
Dealer replaced radiator, ps rack at 55k
Dealer repaired transfer case actuator at 74k
Clear film protection on the nose, door edges, headlights
Clearly never left pavement
ML sound option
My first car with automatic wipers. Woo.
The bad and ugly:
Brakes feel like ***
Steering has some vibration at speed
Power steering making a whining sound
Keyed on driver side
Sunroof not working
Passenger power mirror doesn’t always work
CDL not working
Cracked dash
Leaking driver side valve cover
Nav, rear seat entertainment
Chipped windshield
First order of business was to be able to play music without an aux-in jack. Premium sound, in-dash changer, navigation, DVD player.... how in the world does this thing not have an aux-in jack.
I had no idea they made Bluetooth cassette adapter til now...
Also a new owner member with a 2008. 145000 on it. Runs great Had to get both front axel cv boot assemblies done to pass inspection. The fronts should not have passed so doing those as well.
Battery was old so I picked up an Everstart and Puralator filters and Castrol synthetic high mileage 5w30 with a gift card I had.
Don't like the blistered wheels. Luckily I work in a shop with a huge blaster and powder coating oven. So I can do all 4 rims for the cost of powder used.
Had some fairly fresh Bridgestone Dueler HT's. So I will put off getting Falken Wildpeak AT3W tires which are great on my F150.
Overall nice condition, minor front seat wear from sliding in. Must have been garaged most of its life. Not a perfect Carfax , but hey I do basic service on my own . Clear exhaust fumes, no foaming overflow, fresh oil and coolant and test drove great for a high mileage SUV.
I was looking at FJ's and 4Runners, Truth is I was in no way selling my truck looking for a beater to save miles on the F150.
Gonna do the Asian belt pump an seal kit soon to be on the safe side.
Grandkids will love the DVD player. And the Mark Levinson sound system lives up to the hype.
Last edited by MDSteamer; 05-24-20 at 07:31 AM.
Reason: added
I’ve had terrible luck with FM transmitters, I think it’s a very location dependent deal with those. Living in a dense area is probably not ideal for them.
Originally Posted by coachstu
I had good results with an FM transmitter bluetooth. Much better than cassette. I switched to Tesla style radio last week so it's a moot point.
FYI, most of these BT cassette adapters have a battery that has to be charged for every few hours of use. There’s only one that I found on Amazon which allows it to be charged while in use.
Originally Posted by MDSteamer
That reminds me, I need to try some of my CD's out in the changer soon. Might try one of those usb adapters out. Thanks!
Fellow DIY’er, right on. My chrome wheels are peeling insanely badly and need to go. FYI on the timing belt, you can looking up dealer service history by putting your vin into drivers.lexus.com, another option is the black timing covers are pretty easy to remove. Pull one of them and “tap” the starter to rotate the belt around and hopefully you’ll get a hint about it’s age. Another weird note, if you see a little pink-white residue around the water pump, this is actually normal for Toyota’s.
Originally Posted by MDSteamer
Also a new owner member with a 2008. 145000 on it. Runs great Had to get both front axel cv boot assemblies done to pass inspection. The fronts should not have passed so doing those as well.
Battery was old so I picked up an Everstart and Puralator filters and Castrol synthetic high mileage 5w30 with a gift card I had.
Don't like the blistered wheels. Luckily I work in a shop with a huge blaster and powder coating oven. So I can do all 4 rims for the cost of powder used.
Had some fairly fresh Bridgestone Dueler HT's. So I will put off getting Falken Wildpeak AT3W tires which are great on my F150.
Overall nice condition, minor front seat wear from sliding in. Must have been garaged most of its life. Not a perfect Carfax , but hey I do basic service on my own . Clear exhaust fumes, no foaming overflow, fresh oil and coolant and test drove great for a high mileage SUV.
I was looking at FJ's and 4Runners, Truth is I was in no way selling my truck looking for a beater to save miles on the F150.
Gonna do the Asian belt pump an seal kit soon to be on the safe side.
Grandkids will love the DVD player. And the Mark Levinson sound system lives up to the hype.
Got a chance to investigate the sunroof issue which was barely moving and making terrible noises. Roof isn’t moving evenly, finding old posts about plastic worm gears stripping and it being a big job to replace. Meh, I don’t want to spend the time to deal with it and I’m too cheap to pick up new parts. Unplugging so it doesn’t end up not closing correctly one day.
I’ve had terrible luck with FM transmitters, I think it’s a very location dependent deal with those. Living in a dense area is probably not ideal for them.
I set mine to 87.7 and drove from NC to Kansas and never had a single issue. I know setting the frequency on the 90s brings problems with interference from other stations.
Thanks for that link LouieJDM ! Found out the alternator was replaced around 50,000 miles for noise.
I read somewhere there is a driveshaft upgrade?
Anyone know about that?
Thanks for that link LouieJDM ! Found out the alternator was replaced around 50,000 miles for noise.
I read somewhere there is a driveshaft upgrade?
Anyone know about that?
If you're talking about the driveshaft clunk - you'll hear it when you come to a stop and the transmission goes from 2nd to 1st. There is a TSB for it, which doesn't give you any warranty benefits, but indicates it's a common problem that dealers know how to solve .. in this case by replacing it with an upgraded part. I think I paid $700 for parts + labor.
05-23-20, 07:20 PM
New Owner and Build Thread!
