Highly considering selling

[nocturnalVX]

Ultimately I agree with Gill, do what makes you happy...

AFAIK Toyota doesn't have lifetime drivetrain warranty, for sure my RAV4 doesn't...unless that is something special to the FJ.

BTW If you do want a slick daily driver look at the V6 RAV4, the AWD will get you around in the snow, 269hp has a nice Wheeeeeee factor, and it gets upper 20s mpg highway, lower 20s around town. But it isn't an off-roader.

Toyota warranty on the FJ is 3 yr /36K bumper to bumper and 5 yr / 60K on the drivetrain. You would be looking at mid 20's for a 4x4 basic package new. 'Course I've pretty well modded my warranty away by now.

Thanks for the support! We found a dealer in Florida that adds a lifetime powertrain warranty (good at any dealer in the lower 48), but you are right about the standard warranty. My VX is still covered after all these years! Having a long coverage period is nice if you plan on keeping your ride & don't wrench. Looks like balancing the driveshaft helped, but did not get rid of the noise completely. Our mechanic did not want to tear into the rear diff or transfer case until making sure the drive shaft was not causing the vibes on either end. Your old Ironman was a beast Jay. Cece's Proton isn't lifted that much, but the PO did not maintain it very well at all. She's been lavishing TLC and $$$ on it since she got it and it's just getting frustrating. We shall see...

Thank you everybody for your advice!

[LittleBeast]

I'm not sure the "grinding" you describe is a problem. Lots of vehicles make extra drivetrain noise at light throttle at highway speeds, including my Trooper. OTOH, if I were to actually hear your noise, I might have an entirely different opinion.

Yupe mine too, but only after a slight lift did the slight grinding start, and it sounds exactly like you are describing. My dad thinks it has something to do with the larger heavier tires/wheels and different tread pattern.

My VX also had a hard to locate grind when driving with no load (Accel. or Decel.) and it turned out to be the front drive shaft had too much angle after the lift. An easy way to check it is to pull all the plugs off of the TOD module under the pass. seat and drive it. You will lose ABS when unplugged so don't panic. What I did to make it easier to live with day to day was to put a TOD disconnect switch wired to a 10 watt resistor to simulate load. There's a good write up for that on here somewhere. You just have to remember to turn the TOD back on in the slick stuff, that short wheelbase can swap ends REAL quick! Another thing to check for driveline noise in the rear is the clutch packs for the LSD. I toasted mine rallycrossing for a few years and had some noise there as well.

Jay and I have talked about this before, and I totally agree with him and this grinding may sound like it is coming from the rear, but actually is occuring because of the lift/change in axle angle, even a slight change.

[pbkid]

Jay and I have talked about this before, and I totally agree with him and this grinding may sound like it is coming from the rear, but actually is occuring because of the lift/change in axle angle, even a slight change.

ive talked to a drivetrain shop friend about the 'grinding sound' the VX gets when lifted.... its due to a difference in 'rake' of the vehicle.
the VX has to have a minimum of a 1 percent rake from back to rear (rear has to be 1 percent higher than front) otherwise the drive-axles will have problems.

[CrnCnn]

ive talked to a drivetrain shop friend about the 'grinding sound' the VX gets when lifted.... its due to a difference in 'rake' of the vehicle.
the VX has to have a minimum of a 1 percent rake from back to rear (rear has to be 1 percent higher than front) otherwise the drive-axles will have problems.

That would make sense, I remember seeing this discussed before now. I just cranked my front a little after the diff brackets and now its noisey at ~65...hmmm.

Sorry, CeCe. We arent thread jacking, we are problem solving so you dont sell... yeah thats the ticket, yeah

[djvx]

ce/gil---keep us posted

[iamironman]

Seriously... If I were in the same exact position you are in, this is what I would do...

You say $8k in savings and either way you're going to go with student loans to continue school anyways...

I would sell the VX... and with that money and HALF of the ($8k) savings, and ALL the knowledge, wisdom and experience you now have with having owned 2 VX's, (3 with Gil's), go find the best VX that budget will buy... You know more now than ever before what to look for and what red-flags to run from... then after finding a better more reliable VX, I would just drive and maintain it (as is with no $$ spent on mods) till I resaved up 50-80% of what you spent on the new VX to replensh the savings... then and only then would I start modding the new VX. I would set a budget as to how much I wanted to spend to mod it to my satisfaction without spending ALL my savings... what would give me the most pleasure and satisfaction bang for buck without breaking my bank account. THAT'S the VX for you.

That's what I would do if I was in your exact situation. In my opinion... you have a 90/10 chance of gettng a way better, GREAT VX, better than what you have now and maybe even better than Gill's if you find the right one with an excellent PO that took care of his/her VX. Those are pretty damn good odds.

How many miles are on your current VX? Just think, there are deals to be had out there for an extremely low milage (< 50k miles?) VX for less than $10,000.00, which your budget should at least be, with the sale of the current VX and half of your ($8k) savings, and oods are that this new VX,(if you assuredly could find one with <50k miles), would have very few problems you would have to spend $$ on to "Fix" problems/breakdowns. This soulution results in NO payment and a healthy savings account and, again, in my opinion, peace of mind overall on the BIG picture.