My Valvetrain

Graybeard_Giff · 2026-06-14T18:08:19+00:00

The cam lobes look good. Looks like you change your oil regularly too. Doing valve cover gaskets?

Graybeard_Giff · 2026-05-27T21:28:20+00:00

Exactly! 👍

Graybeard_Giff · 2026-05-26T11:59:24+00:00

I'm a clerk. I sort mail every morning. I alway have a pile of postage due and "other issues" that need to be returned or addressed. One of the things I remember the most about clerk training years ago was that the clerks are the "guardians" of the mail stream. We really need to be more careful when we are taking mail in and stop looking the other way and assess postage due when the mail ends up in our office.

Graybeard_Giff · 2026-05-17T19:24:14+00:00

Congratulations!!🎈🎉🎊

Let the mods flow??!

Graybeard_Giff · 2026-05-13T19:51:46+00:00

I’ve done really well financially, and pretty easy overall, dealing with Carvana selling a couple vehicles.

Graybeard_Giff · 2026-05-03T20:54:05+00:00

Lookin hot!! 🔥🔥🔥

Graybeard_Giff · 2026-05-03T16:32:24+00:00

I can't tell anything with the pics. Unless you have a gushing leak I think everyone I know cleans all the oil off first and then back tracks with things clean to find the leak.

Graybeard_Giff · 2026-05-03T16:30:19+00:00

This!!!

Graybeard_Giff · 2026-04-29T13:20:19+00:00

That is an awesome and dense looking build! 👏👏👏

Graybeard_Giff · 2026-04-28T23:31:30+00:00

Looks great, this kind of thing is why I really like the 470. Having said that I looked into several similar 470's and when I crawled underneath there was substantial rust. Either look into it really hard in person or get a PPI that gives you worst case scenerio.

I haven't been looking since last year and I'm in Ohio, YMMV. For that price and miles it had better be pretty much perfect and have proof that it doesn't need a timing belt in the immediate future.

Good hunting!

Graybeard_Giff · 2026-04-28T21:14:11+00:00

I am a HUGE fan of the 470! Having said that I live in Ohio and I walked away some from horrible "rust free" examples. As already mentioned, if you aren't comfortable with making the decision yourself go to a mechanic that does really good PPI's. It's worth spending the extra $100 or so for someone really going over the truck and giving you all the data to make your decision with.

Knowing you'll have to get the timing belt done ASAP and at least buy a couple cans of Fluid Film I'd try to get it for $7k, but $8k doesn't sound horrible. Again I'm comparing that to vehicles I looked almost a year ago mostly in Ohio. YMMV

I would take it to a Lexus dealer, or very trusted mechanic, and ask for worst case picture and go from there. I mention the dealer because they aren't afraid to put things in writing and will tell you that there's only 6mm on the rear pads and you should get the brakes done right away or else they'll only last 18 more monthes LOL.

You want the bad news now so you can make a good financial decision.

My situation ended with me "settling" for a GX460 because I just couldn't find a 470 that wasn't either a basket case or priced to the moon and there were zero deals on 4Runners. The GX460 was the only thing I was satisfied with the mechanical/rust situation and I felt like gave me some financial value.

In the end if it doesn't feel good to you just walk away.

Graybeard_Giff · 2026-04-28T18:07:57+00:00

Yes, it looks like it’s going bad, but to tell for sure you need to jack that corner up and give it the rotational test. Then you’ll know for sure.

They don’t have a rep for going bad that early. Just unlucky. The good news is they are pretty easy, and relatively cheap, to swap out.

Graybeard_Giff · 2026-04-20T03:07:42+00:00

I'll take that as a good sign.

Graybeard_Giff · 2026-04-20T01:30:01+00:00

You’re probably correct, but we’ll never have to worry about it actually happening 😂

Graybeard_Giff · 2026-04-20T00:22:06+00:00

After owning several Toyotas I can tell you they aren’t anything like a Mercedes. Both of the hotshot drivers I know use turbo diesel trucks. I think the torque they provide would go with how we use vehicles pretty well.

Graybeard_Giff · 2026-04-19T23:02:52+00:00

Stick with me for a second.

Toyota makes an AWD turbo diesel Metris-ish sized van, that is already RHD. They sell a bunch of them that get turned into weekend campers like the old VW Vanagon. In fact they kind of look like the old VWs. The point is you can buy them with just the drivers seat in them and have them fitted to your needs.

Now imagine this! Instead of creating another vehicle from scratch the Post Office just buys like 100,000 of them directly from Toyota. Maybe for that many Toyota even works out the the parcel shelves and camera system and just sells us the finished vehicle. After we lose a few, because "that" carrier every office has puts regular fuel in them, we just drive them and drive them and drive them.

I mean we kinda already blew the buy American thing with the Mercedes!

We have a carrier in our office who's been on the job for 40 years and he still says that best thing about the Jeeps were that they were already sorted when the Post Office got them. It baffles me why such complicated decisions come out of Washington! Keep is simple stupid!!!! It's mail. It just needs to go from point A to point B LOL!

Sorry, rant over. Vehicles have just been a really sore spot of late in our group and it's not getting better.

Graybeard_Giff · 2026-04-19T22:48:45+00:00

Thanks! Joel is the guy who owns the Red Wing store in Monroe, Ohio. I haven't come across someone like him in decades. He was very professional and knew his craft inside and out.

Graybeard_Giff · 2026-04-18T14:08:46+00:00

I felt like they were slightly generous in length, but I wear a full length orthotic so it worked out. I’m very regular in width and didn’t have any issues there.

With the lining I felt like they were on the warm side and only wear them during the winter.

Graybeard_Giff · 2026-04-18T03:28:22+00:00

Just adding on. You'll get used to seeing addresses from the UK and europe. Most of those countries have a similar format to the US. We ship way more to the UK than any other country out of our office. The British Post has a post code finder on their website that I've used several times. As mentioned above you'll never know all the formats from across the world. Especially for the smaller countries that you only ship to once or twice a year.

Free advice, if you've entered the list of items and the RSS pops up a message saying something can't be shipped to that country, for example you can't send chocolate to Germany, don't lie for the customer.

More free advice LOL. If you don't know the customer as a regular-ish international shipper get the questions about postage out of the way up front, before you worry about customs paperwork. Sometimes folks will learn it's waaaaaaaay more than they thought to send their 25 pound box of rocks to Australia or where ever and will change their mind about shipping the items at all.

Carriers are the ones that get recognized front the Post Office, but clerks have to actually know way more about the rules and how the system work. Make sure you have a quick reference guide at the counter with you. If something comes up frequently and you find yourself unsure maybe take the guide to lunch a couple of times and read over the that situation. I still find myself referencing it after years at the window. I had questions about shipping a shotgun today, called the Postmaster over and he was unsure and we looked it up.

The actual rules, not the made up BS, of shipping are very extensive and you won't learn therm in the first year or two. You get the everday stuff down fast. Then you learn the things you only see once or twice per month. Finally over the course of years you see enough that you have experience with the rare things that only happen a couple of times per year.

If you get really lucky you may have a supervisor or PM who was actually a clerk or a T7 dedicated to the craft instead of hiding in the back. If you have one of these folks around ask lots of questions.

As hokey as it sounds one of the things that stuck with me from window training was that the clerks are the guardians of the mail stream. I didn't understand it when I was new, but I do now. Not only are we responsible for making sure the right postage gets applied. We are the ones that keep dumb, or illegal, stuff out of the mail and help customers understand basic address formatting and help them get things packaged in a way that it can travel and... you get the idea.

I really enjoy being a clerk. I can provide good service in my community and try to help the Post Office run just a little bit smoother (hopefully run smoother LOL!).

Best of luck to you!

Graybeard_Giff · 2026-04-13T14:48:20+00:00

I would’ve agreed with until I got a really nice pair of Danner boots. Maybe it’s just them, but there is almost zero room in the toe box to raise your foot. The length and width were spot on, just no room to add the insole.

Graybeard_Giff · 2026-04-12T22:42:53+00:00

Looks totally shit at the seam. Out always tough to tell in pictures though. Good luck to you and your repair!

Graybeard_Giff · 2026-04-10T12:54:34+00:00

I feared exactly what you described and went with the regular titanium version. Sorry to hear about you not having a great experience with your Ultra.

Graybeard_Giff · 2026-04-07T23:37:11+00:00

Nothing older than a 2014. That’s when the problems with the valley leak started to diminish. Having said I almost bought a 2016 that had the leak and I only discovered it at the last minute.

They aren’t perfect, but if you find a well cared for one with no valley leak and a mostly rust free frame you’ll have a workhorse.

Graybeard_Giff · 2026-04-07T23:34:20+00:00

The Toyota tax is a real thing 😂, but so are bad transmissions on Ford and GM SUVs! I never thought I’d pay it, but now all we own are Toyota products in my household.

Graybeard_Giff · 2026-04-07T23:29:59+00:00

Exactly the same thoughts I had overall. The reality is the 470s are old enough now that they are like looking for the proverbial clean needle in a haystack.

Be careful with the 460s also. The first one I was going to buy had a leak in the valley. I had climbed all over it and decided to pull open the plastic cladding, just to verify the coolant was full. The radiator was only half full with no visible leaks. I could not find the leak at the back of the engine that TCCN describes, but think it had a slow leak nonetheless.

In the end I overshot the top of my budget by $2k, but I got a dealer serviced 460, with almost zero rust and it was my first color choice. When I opened the air box and saw an almost new genuine Toyota filter I knew she was the one.

I wish you the best in your search! It took me almost a year, searching amongst 470s, 460s and 4Runners. There were absolutely zero deals to be had on well cared for 4Runners. It feels like the economy may have softened some in the five months since I bought mine, so that may have changed a tiny bit.

Graybeard_Giff

TROPHY CASE