AustinHusk

Took my 15yr old 06 GX with 212k miles for regular service. Car is in great condition with no issues whatsoever. All major components (shocks, timing belt, cv boots etc replaced recently and over time)

Dealership comes back with this (labor + parts):

1) Replace valve cover gasket: $1300
2) Front+rear diff. svc: $500
3) Xfer case svc: $150

#2 and 3 are not critical but tech says that #1 is leaking oil and if I choose not to do the repair I'll have to keep checking the oil level.

Looking for advice from the you all: The car appraised at about $8k. Should I do #1 or is it not worth it given the age of the car? I'm in 2 minds bec. what if something else goes wrong in 1 yr or 2? Now, I'm almost $3-4k in the hole. Should I just ride it out to the EOY and buy a new/used vehicle in Dec?

chiph9

I did the valve cover seals earlier this year (plus the spark plug tube seals). They were stiff as a board and weren't sealing all that well any more. For a 15-16 year old vehicle, this is not unexpected. The valve cover seals were easy - you just need some Toyota FIPG to go where there are some joins on the block, and the gaps on the half-moon cutouts on the rear. The spark plug tube seals needed to have some retaining tabs bent out of the way. Parts cost was about $150 I think?

So far as the 4x4 service - this should be done every 30k miles (more often if you tow or go off-road). Front + rear differential fluids, transfer case fluid, and grease the zerk fittings on the prop shafts. And seriously consider doing a drain + fill on the transmission (gets about 1/4 to 1/3 of the old fluid out). This is routine maintenance on vehicles like this (Jeep Wrangler, Range Rover, Mercedes G Wagon, etc).

I'm not sure how good the new owners of Lexus of Austin are. I noticed that the service writers I used to deal with aren't there any more...
Why not stop by LandCruiser Specialist on 183 and let us know what they say? They have good reviews.

Chip H.

CLPDX

I not an expert on the value covers but if you would like to save some money I recommend you do the transfer case, front diff and rear diff yourself. It’s just like changing oil. There is a fill plug and a drain plug. Multiple videos on YouTube to guide you right through the process. I was able to get a case of 12 Mobil 1 75w90 for $120. It takes 6.5 bottles for one full service. Basically this should cover you for 50-60k miles. Here’s the link. Mobil 1 104361 75W-90 Synthetic Gear Lube - 1 Quart (Pack of 12)


cheers.

chiph9

Mobil-1 is good. Pick up some hose to attach to the nozzle - there's not enough room under there to be able to tilt + squeeze the bottle.

For the transmission (if you choose to do it, and you should) use only Toyota ATF-WS (world standard) fluid. It's sensitive to the quantity, so measure how much you drain precisely, then put that exact amount of new fluid in.

There's a lot of different part numbers for the various drain + fill plug crush washers - just give your dealer your VIN and ask for a full set (8 for the 4x4 system & transmission, and one more for engine oil), and write down the part numbers for next time. There's probably some overlap...

Chip H.

Editted: I meant crush washers, not the plugs

Lexus4321

I use one of the bottle screw on toppers that have clear tube coming off, then just hold bottle horizontal and as high up as possible, etc. It's not super fast, but definitely need a bottle topper. Not sure where I got it from, but it looks like this one (they also sell the pump ones too).

IanB2

A pump for servicing the lower leg of an outboard boat motor works well for pumping gear oil, as long as the top threads onto the gear oil bottle properly. They can be found for about $10, here's an example:



Changing differential and transfer case oil isn't a difficult job, but you need to get the truck up on jackstands and level, and the plugs in the housings can be crusty and give people problems. Pro-tip: Always loosen the fill plug FIRST, to prevent draining the fluid but being unable to refill.