Hi everyone! New 06 GX owner. There are a couple of wires/harnesses in the engine bay that seem to be stripped. Can you help me figure out what they are so I can buy new ones.
The orange connector seems legit, I just don't know what it's called. It's connected to the air filter housing. The second purple wire seems really sketchy. It's also connected to the air filter and it goes all the way to the other side of the engine into the fuse box. I appreciate your help!

 

I can't say what's going on there exaclty, but the device between the airbox and the engine the wires are running to is your MAF (mass air flow sensor), that tells the engine ECU how much air is entering the engine so it can meter fuel to suit. Makes me wonder if the PO has installed one of those cheesy "tuning chips" that leans out the engine?

 

That whole thing looks sketchy.

Where does the purple wire go?

Chip H.

 

That looks like a secondary air injection bypass kit (Hewitt brand). It stops the 'hoover vacuum' sound at cold engine start when the secondary air injection pump starts to fail. That pump is part of the emission control systems and only runs for 10 seconds at cold car startup. It does not cause your car to run dirty under normal driving. You will be able to still pass smog checks with this kit if your state requires a smog.
A lot of people do this 'bypass' because the 'proper' fix requires the intake manifold to be removed to replace the pump since it sits UNDER the manifold. The pump is only about $70 but the labor is $$$$ due to the manifold removal.
The install looks crappy and should have been done much cleaner where the wires are wrapped and tucked. You probably want to clean it up and make it more 'stock looking'.

I don't recommend removing it because if your injection valves are not blocked off with plates and the valves get stuck open, you can do some expensive damage to associated systems. That kit also stops the valves from actuating by 'bypassing' the air injection process.

See the link below:
https://hewitt-tech.com/store/index....uct_detail&p=7

 

Wow thanks!! It looks exactly like that kit. Very interesting. So if the pump gets replaced then I can get rid of that setup?

 

MAF to Fuse box routed behind the engine.

 

That is the trigger wire that goes to the starter relay in the fuse box.

 

Pretty much. You get the pump replaced and then have to make sure the SAIS valves are not clogged.
I don't know why you would want to do that though. I have been told the cost of parts and labor for the 'proper' fix is about $2,000 with labor being the majority of the cost due to taking off the intake manifold to get to the pump.
Just so you know, that secondary air pump system only adds air to the exhaust system ahead of the catalytic converters to help them heat up and get to operating temp faster so they can be more efficient faster at scrubbing the exhaust gases. It literally only functions at cold start up (usually the first startup of the day) for ten seconds. It does not affect performance, gas mileage, tailpipe cleanliness at operating temp or anything other than the exhaust being a little smoggier for a couple minutes at cold start up. I could think of tons of other things for the GX I would rather spend $2k on.

 

Oh I'm not saying that I will be spending money on that. New to the model type. Seems like a genius 200 dollar fix for something that basically matters only in places where there's emissions. I'm military so I will only be in Cali for a couple of more years. Glad that someone put the effort into buying a legit workaround! I just wish the wires are little more insulated/concealed. Will probably have to do something about that. Thanks a ton for your help!

 

Sorry about that. I should have said "I don't know why anyone would want to do that though."

If you get some electrical tape and about 30 min of time, you can get the wires looking all nice and pretty.

Nice looking car. Your GX is the same color as mine.

How many miles are on it? Since you are new to the platform, there are a few things you may want to address that are not normal 'service' items. One of them being changing the ATF fluid from the 'sealed' transmission. Although it is stated the fluid is good for the life of the transmission (unless it was used to tow), I personally don't believe any fluid is good forever. Although I have never towed, I drain and filled my tranny fluid at 80K miles and the fluid was dark and had a little burnt smell to it. I did another tranny fluid drain and fill at 170K miles and it was the same (dark with a little smell). Be warned though, you cannot do a transmission fluid drain and fill like typical transmissions. You have to use Lexus/Toyota WS ATF fluid and there is a very specific process to confirm fill level since there is no dipstick.

 

No worries, i understood what you meant! The GX has 143,000 miles. Put Toyo open countries AT3's on it right away. I wanted white but dang it was very hard to find a good one that's still affordable. My wife and I like the color on the car though! Theres a few issues here and there that I have to address but other than that it runs great. The trails I hit yesterday I wouldn't even take my YJ.

Thanks for the transmission fluid heads up! Honestly if it comes to changing it I will have the dealer or a toyota/lexus shop do it. I don't have the time for stuff like that. I recently had the timing kit done and the lower control arms. However, after the off-roading yesterday I noticed that one of the inner cv axle boots is torn so now I will need to replace that. Very happy with how relatively inexpensive the parts are on rockauto, although I don't think they are OEM. Also when I was swapping the spare tire the spare tire carrier cable broke so I have to get a new one for that as well. It was all frayed and twisted in a weird way. My buddy's 04 4Runner had the same issue with the tire carrier. I have a blower motor/fan coming in as well since mine is starting to make a weird ticking sound.

Do you know why the AC doesn't blow cold (still blows air) in the rear but works perfectly fine in the front? It's got me puzzled.

 

I just had to replace the spare tire carrier because it got bound up.
The new design uses a chain instead of a cable. I think the part was about $200.

So far as your A/C - the front and rear systems share refrigerant. At this age it's not uncommon for it to need a top-up. Go to an auto A/C specialist who will properly weigh the charge after drawing a vacuum and checking for leaks. Don't use the "cans" of A/C recharge you see at the parts store - there's no way to know how much to put in with them.

Chip H.

 

Chip thanks for the wisdom! Do you happen to know what part number the carrier is? I assume it's the same as the 4Runner?

 

I replaced my front axels with Cardone HD aftermarket ones. I think I actually bought them from Rock Auto. My CV joints were too far gone and I did not want to rebuilt them. So far I have 50K miles on the Cardone axels and they are working fine.

Regarding the ticking noise, if it is making noise near the center console by the GPS screen, it is probably the vent solenoids. If you change the air flow to feet or something else, does the ticking change or stop for a while? They get dirty and then get stuck trying to open or close. The solenoids either need replacing or I heard there is a way to clean and rebuild them but I have not looked into that. I know mine is making that noise also.

I know you said you are stationed in CA. Not sure if it is Pendleton or not. If you are near the OC and looking for an independent Lexus mechanic, I recommend taking your car to Tashmo Auto in Santa Ana. They are WAY cheaper than the dealer and do a good job. I had them do my second timing belt and water pump replacement (I am at 191K mikes) and the cost was less than half of the cost two different dealers quoted me. I dropped it off in the morning and they had it back to me at closing the same day. They even sent me pictures of the job while the car was apart.

As you can see in the pic, no purple wire visible from my bypass kit. I try to do clean work.

 

Engine bay looks great! Have the Cardone axles held up to off-roading as well or do you use it more for street driving? I am actually up at Ft. Irwin. 30 miles north of Barstow. It really sucks being so far from repair facilities. I will definitely check those guys out! The ticking noise is coming from the glovebox and that's what gave it away.