rwdnp

Just bought my first Lexus and will be shipping it overseas. Year 2000 with 55K miles. Any recommendations on parts I should buy and ship with the vehicle? Probably everything where I am going will be more expensive. As far as I know it was serviced properly until now. Thanks.

Hoser

I would throw in OEM maintenance items in there:

AHC Fluid, in-cabin air filter, t-belt since your LX is 9 years old, water pump while you are at it, fuel filter, brake pads/rotors, Toyota/Lexus RED coolant.

One of the biggest ticket items to fix down the road are the AHC suspension components. If anything were to break, I'd just replace it with a conventional suspension set-up (no AHC). Maybe something from Old Man Emu.

pagemaster

Is this actually possible? I didn't think it was.

Hoser

Yes, possible. Many have done it already.

rwdnp

Thanks. This is really helpful. Is there a site or existing thread that would walk me through what I would need to replace the suspension with a conventional type?

Hoser

You would replace the AHC springs and torsion bars. The shocks would be replaced by conventional shocks and the hydraulic lines would either be capped off or you would remove as much or as little of the AHC system as you wanted. You would also need to disconnect the power to the AHC components. The sway bars are the same. I would not go with OEM parts but rather OME (Old Man Emu) or another aftermarket brand.

Around here, the going rate to install new suspension and remove all the existing AHC components is about $500 in labor. And OME kit is roughly $800-$1k depending.