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Today's the day! I'm off work at noon, give the truck a thorough undercarriage spray down to get all the road grime out from underneath it as we are in the beginning stages of spring melt here and the roads are a mess, then into the garage and up on jackstands! My plan is to get it all torn apart this afternoon (fingers crossed no broken bolts!), and I've got a few buddies coming by this evening so I can get a hand getting the new springs/shocks into place, then finish reassembly tomorrow at a leisurely pace. I'm going to give the brakes another bleed as well before putting the tires back on and getting a test drive in. I've been spraying all the bolts down with PB Blaster all week, so I'm really hoping things come apart nicely for me.
Once it's together I'll get it booked in for an alignment, no point doing that until I know I'm not waiting on anything to replace parts that broke.
I'll try and remember to snap some pics along the way. Wish me luck!
This has been a big job, lots of stiff bolts, but no broken bolts.
The LCA's cam adjustment hardware was all seized up and I was going to have to cut them out when I shut er down on Thursday night around 11. Also, the spring/shock assemblies were seized at the tophats into the perches and I couldn't get them out of there. No room to swing a hammer, didn't want to try and pry against the inner fender as it's thin. I was stuck. I had an extra set of hands around, so I busted out the rear springs quickly, that's a 20 min job tops if the truck is already on jackstands and you have someone to step on the ends of the axles while you pop the springs out/in. Spent the rest of the night trying to overcome the 2 hurdles from earlier. Some other friends popped by with a cordless sawzall, and I started cutting out the front bushing and hardware, which sucks while lying on your back under the truck. That's where I stopped.
Today I got a late start, I was reminded that someone had given me a set of airtools that had an air hammer, and to try that. I forgot I had it, I've never used an air hammer before, and didn't think of it as an option. I used the round/flat tip rather than the chisels, and tried hitting the old tophat from above, but it jumps around pretty good, a 2 handed tool for sure. I then tried sticking it between the tophat and perch from below, a short buzz and it released! I then looked to the rear LCA hardware that I had been trying to hammer through with a 3lb sledge and got nowhere, I had a nut spun on flush with the end, but the bolt had an indent in the tip which was perfect, and I gave it the gusto. It started moving! Things had really turned around, lol! I was able to get the other strut and LCA hardware out as well, which cut down on my cutting by half! I then repositioned the truck on the jackstands to bring the rear down, and the front up as much as I could, and I was able to use the sawzall from a seated position rather than having to lie on my back, much better!
Our savior!
I got the driver's side all put back together, nothing is tight yet though, just together. The passenger side is ready to have the LCA put back in, then the swaybar can go back on with fresh D-bushings. I spent another hour just now cleaning up, organizing, and running all the hardware through the wire wheel on the bench grinder to clean up the threads. All ready to hit it hard and torque everything down tomorrow! I'm going to give the brakes another bleed while it's on jackstands, and rotate the tires as well. It will end up being the better part of a 3rd day I'm sure.
Man, poor GX with left front bumper in chunks looks like a terminator! Pretty intimidating looking. If I see you in my rear view mirror, I'd pull over to the right and will let you pass me!
Man, poor GX with left front bumper in chunks looks like a terminator! Pretty intimidating looking. If I see you in my rear view mirror, I'd pull over to the right and will let you pass me!
We will rebuild it, stronger, taller, better.
It also looks a bit crosseyed as the left headlight got tweaked as well, lol.
Got it aligned yesterday, and I've had a chance to put some miles on it. Definitely feels taller when you get out of it, the ground isn't where it used to be, lol. I gained 1.5" up front, and 1" rear, exactly as advertised. I do have the same 1/2" discrepancy side to side in the rear that I had prior to install, so I may add some of the spacers from the SSO kit to level it.
It's much firmer, but I like it, and once the rear shocks are on I think it's going to be just what I was hoping for. I'll get some new pics once I wash it again, the roads are a mess right now and so is the truck. Plus it's still all smashed up, so not quite ready for its closeup.
Nice work! BTW where did you get the 'pocket' to replace the air suspension buttons on the console?
Toyota part # 58839-60040, should be able to get from the dealer, amazon, etc. There are also guys 3D printing switch panels for that spot now too, FYI.
Got the rear shocks replaced yesterday, the upper studs had to be cut off, they've been together for 15 years and this truck is salty underneath I'm afraid. Also added a .25" spacer to the driver's side SSO coil conversion kit as it measured lower than the passenger side before and after the Dobinsons springs went in, so it should be close to level after everything settles in.
The results are excellent! It's firmer, handles better, less bodyroll, but it's smooth as well. You feel the bumps, but even potholes and speedbumps aren't jarring. If the factory adjustable struts had another 8 settings, this would be 8 in comparison. The fronts came assembled, so I didn't really notice it, but these components are robust! The rear shocks weigh 1.5X the stock ones, which were both blown completely, and have nice heavy paint or powdercoating on them, they should stand up well to MB winters. I special ordered the black body shocks as I didn't want the standard yellow ones, and they are also the comfort valved ones in the rear, great combo! There are zero clunks or rattles, it is tight as a drum. The truck drives nicer right now than when I bought it 6 years ago, I'm very happy with it.
Taller tires would smooth out the ride some, but it doesn't need it. I regret going back to stock tire size as a practical measure, I didn't record any increase in fuel economy as I'd hoped after odometer correction factor is applied. I like the 255/75/17 Duratracs I put on the 5th gen 4Runner, which is a tall 32" with a SL load rating...I was worried the taller, lighter sidewalls would be flimsy and squirmy, but they hold things together very nicely on that truck, and I think I'd go with them on this truck as well.
Some confusions here. I was looking at the Lexus f sport wheels for my 2004 gx470. Some said would fit others said would not. It would rewauire the 18 inch tires which I’m fine with . The offset and all that seems close. Will this work?
I was deciding between these and the toyota trd wheels in black. Open to suggestions and main thing is trying to confirm if the f sport wheels will fit. I believe I saw pictures here of a gx470 with them on. Was unclear what year gx it was though.
New here to iron this out because about to order the wheels and tires within the next 1-2 weeks. A dealer on eBay just told me the f sport wheels would not work but I think he was just going by the book onnwhat it shows in his end. (As far as what vehicle ). Another ad on eBay out of Arizona dealer says will fit older gx models. I’m aware of the separate kit for lug nuts and all that. I just wanna ant to make sure they will fit once I purchase. Tire size seems to be 265 60 r18 . I’m going with michelin premiers. (Over the defenders ) because do not need long tread life as am only keeping the car 1-2 years more do to rust worry on under carriage. They seem to have some edges in the rain and “noise “. And are cheaper.
Any info before i make my move would be GREATLY , appreciated . Been reading this forum on and off for years and a lot more lately but first post. Giving my gx a makeover. Brakes , tires , wheels , etc. TY
Finally got it booked into the body shop in 2 weeks! I'm very excited to have it looking nice again, I had completely removed what's left of the grille as it was making a bunch of noise over bumps that was making me crazy now that it's nice enough to have the windows open, and it looks like garbage.
I'm not sure what to do about foglights/driving lights, I ended up snagging a set of OEM foglights (non-sport) and was going to polish them out and spray them with some VHT Nightshades to tint them to try and match the Sport headlights...and then decide if I will add driving lights in the little grille section beside them, or remove the fogs altogether and add driving lights where they were. I've seen a few setups running 2X pods on each side, but I'm not completely sold on it as it looks unfinished. It's a hard hole to fill, shaped strangely. I just found this pic, and it's the best I've seen to date, but I'm guessing he's got upwards of $1000 worth of lights in the bumper and that's not happening.
I'm thinking I'll likely end up doing something like the bottom picture, assuming the fogs turn out the way I'm hoping and match the Sport headlights OK.
Well, today is the day! Dropping the GX off after work to have the body work done. The new Sport headlights are in the back, new bulbs as well. I'm told it should take a couple of weeks, let the countdown begin!
Got an update yesterday, bodywork is finished, should be going in for paint today! I'm hoping to have it back for the weekend, but not holding my breath.
In other news, I got the replacement Gturbo installed on my Land Cruiser, so I've been driving that again since the weekend, and LOVING it!
03-21-19, 07:34 AM
