Max707

That's nuts Toyota makes this easy, since they have a drain hole, try it on a Dodge 1 ton it ain't that easy.

Max707

So if no towing are you saying just do the diff's and leave the transfercase alone?

valgs350

iTrader: (1)

My car is in great running shape at 105,000!

+

I drive it like a sports car and Baja 1000 trophy truck!

I only get creeks and sounds when its real cold or real hot!

I keep doing the service at the Lexus dealer every 5,000 miles if that makes a difference.

ryanp303

I had an independent mechanic look at the truck becuase I was experiencing a vibration in the steering wheel. He suggested that the shocks may be the culprit and I believe he ordered Toyota shocks instead of the more expensive Lexus parts. The cost was $608 for parts and labor. It seemed a little strange to me at the time but my wife was the one the took it to the mechanic and she told him to go ahead. It turned out that one wheel was way out of balance so I am not sure if the shocks ever really needed replaced or if I was the victim of a scam by the mechanic.

I have not been back to the local Lexus dealer here in Jacksonville, FL since I took my LX in for an oil change and the tech side-swiped a telephone pole and the dealership "forgot" to tell me. I am still searching for a mechanic I can trust to work on the LX. Anyone here from JAX that can recommend someone?

V8_Fan

No, because my old 4runner is part-time 4wd, so if I'm in 2wd w/ the front hubs set to "free," the entire front drivetrain (driveshaft, ring & pinion gears, axles) are not moving, nor is the transfer case being used. Just the front wheels turn, not the axles (this is not the case w/ 1990 toyota 4wd's and later). The transfer case on the LX is always being used since it's full-time 4wd, so you have to change the fluid. Personally, I'd put a quality synthetic 75w90 like Mobil 1 or Redline in the diffs and t-case and let it go longer than 30K mi next time. Since I have two 4x4's now, I buy Mobil 1 gear oil in a big 5 gal pail...cuts the cost down from $9/qt (Pepboys) to $6.50/qt. For comparison, cheapo Valvoline mineral-based gear oil is like $6/qt at Pep Boys.

Max707

I hear what your saying but when I changed the transfer case fluid in my FZJ80 and my 99 100 series it always looked new, compared to the diff's. There must not be much wear or stress involved with the transfer cases on these vehicles? If you don't tow Lexus/Toyota doesn't even recommended changing the fluid.

davidsong

well.... i just got my alignment done about 5k miles ago, and they said they also balanced my tires too. But that doesn't solve it. And no, i dont know if i've lubed the joints in my driveshaft since i dont do any of those... I just take it to the dealer and let them do it, too lazy and dont have time. And you say flushing fluids? What kind of fluids do u mean? The engine oil?? Bcuz 5k ago I've had my car done the 90k miles early when my car only 82k miles...lol

so yeah, i hope my information is enough to determine my problem....

V8_Fan

Can you feel it shake at lower speeds like 40-50mph? Does the shaking gradually worsen as your speed increases? If it's not the wheels (make sure they use the proper balancing machine for the hub centric toyota wheels), your driveshaft could also be out of balance. Did you have the driveshaft removed for any reason? The splines have to match up exactly how they were taken apart, or the driveshaft will be out of balance. Another way to get it out of balance is to whack it on a rock and dent it, or if the balancing weight fell off.

Last thing...make sure your driveshaft bolts are properly torqued. Lack of diff/t-case fluid changes shouldn't impact the way it shakes. Now if you had a bad U-joint from lack of maintenance...don't know. The driveshaft on my 4runner wasn't lubed in years before I got it, yet it's still in balance, original U-joints.

davidsong

icic.... thanks for advice.

um.... the shaking only starts when i am going high speed, i believe starting from 60mph. any speed below that I am fine, no shakes...

and i'll tell my dealer to take a look at the driveshaft. but i believe my driveshaft is intact. who knows???

Max707

Find a place the does the on the vehicle load force balancing. That balances everything together.

ColtSwitch

to get back on track, my 2001 has 87k.

No problems. Replaced the rear brake pads, that's about it. I also just dropped a Kenwood nav in with all the fix'ns =)

More pics when it stops snowing in Dallas. =/

V8_Fan

FYI, the drive shaft balancing weight is small. On mine, it's a single weight about about 1/8" thick and maybe 1.5"x 0.5", curved to contour the driveshaft.

mdt525

99 LX with 179,500

ktiger

2000 with 107490 miles and counting. I had the same problem with the starter with about 97000 miles. Lucky for me the vehicle was still under warrenty.

tella

My 2006 LX: 7000 miles as of today. Runs great.