2000 LX470 - Karma - Build (1 Viewer)

[ktmracer01]

After being on iH8MUD for soo many years, I know that the first thing we're supposed to do is post photos of anything and every Land Cruiser related...so, figured I'd introduce my 'New to Me' 2000 LX470 with 117K on the odometer. Still thinking of a name for the ol'gal, I'm thinking about calling this one, Karma. We'll see as time goes on and what sticks...

It's a new step in LC ownership for me to jump in an LX470 from all the FJ40's and FJ80's I've had over the years.

Obviously, the first thing I need to do is re-baseline with new fluids, etc. I bought it 3 days before I went overseas, so I'm slowly stockpiling parts to replace when I get back home. The GF has been hinting at an engagement ring and she's starting to ask about how much all of these parts cost... :/

The good:

Paint is excellent
-2 Owners and appears to always be garage kept
-No rust
-No accidents reported
-Leather and interior are all in good shape
-AHC works
-All windows operate like they are supposed to, Including the two rear vent windows and moonroof
-All the lights work
-Guy I bought it from says the timing belt has been replaced
-No major leaks that I can identify yet
-A/C blows cold air

The bad:

-Driver side door lock doesn't work - I already have a new one waiting to install - REPLACED - DONE
-Passenger side mirror back-up feature will not return it to neutral after backing up - trying to figure this out still - any suggestions? I already looked up passenger mirror, motor, fold, gears, etc. Most of the topics I found address the fold in feature
-Antenna wont go up or down - plastic is broken and coiled up in the motor - I have a replacement mast to install once I get the motor pulled out and remove the old broken antenna plastic - REPLACED - DONE
-Transmission has been replaced..? I looked up the VIN on the Lexus website for maint. history and one of the descriptions says that the transmission was replaced... haven't decided how I feel about this yet.
-All (5) tires have a DOT date from 2007. When I took it to Toyota to get a nail out of one of the tires when I was picking up parts, the technician managed to tear a huge chunk out of the inner bead. resulted in having to replace w/a stock Michellin until I decide to go up in tire size. I hope they hold air long enough for me to decide.
-One of the key fobs doesn't work even after I replaced the battery


First things first:
-Already replaced the engine air filter with a K&N - Done
-Oil change with Toyota Filter - Done
-Replaced Fuel Filter - Done
-Replace Cabin airfilters - Done
-Crawl under it and grease u-joints and anything else with a grease zerk - Done
-Replace Serpentine belt & idler pulley's - Done
-Replace heater T's and hoses - Done
-Flush coolant - Done
-Replace antenna mast - Done
-Repair driver side door lock - Done
-Service transmission
-Service AHC - Done
-Replace radio with something that has a backup camera so the GF can park it - Done
-Replace speakers - Done

Update for October 2019:
-Timing belt & tensioners @ 121K - Done
- Water Pump @ 121K - Done
- Radiator Hoses @ 121K - Done
- Brake Fluid Flush & Bleed @ 121K - Done



Photos of it a couple days when it was purchased..

 

[UltraFJ40]

I don't know if you've already ordered the actuator but these are what I've used to fix my locks. Luckily another one just died. They are supposed to be Denso but the ones I got were Mabuchii. Pay attention to the shaft on the little motor, some are flat and other are not. The ones I'm linking have a flat edge on the shaft.

Nice looking truck, I think you're going about it the right way.

 

[ktmracer01]

I don't know if you've already ordered the actuator but these are what I've used to fix my locks. Luckily another one just died. They are supposed to be Denso but the ones I got were Mabuchii. Pay attention to the shaft on the little motor, some are flat and other are not. The ones I'm linking have a flat edge on the shaft.

Nice looking truck, I think you're going about it the right way.

I already ordered the actuator, but I figured I'd use the old one to pull apart to know what to buy for any of the other motors that stop working in the future. Everything I've read on indicates that this is a common problem.

 

[Rolocado]

You’ll grow to really like the color if you don’t already. Welcome to the club!

 

[BEG]

Congrats on the LX! With regard to the replaced trans, many 2000 MY 100 series received a thrust bearing from a bad batch that caused trans failures. The issue is maybe a little overblown, but if the trans was replaced before 100k miles, that's usually the reason. I'd breathe easy, since the Toyota/Lexus replacement transmissions fixed the issue.

 

[MiyamotoMusashi]

I bought mine in 2009 with 107,000 from a friend. Had it shipped from Honolulu. Changed the timing belt and brakes immediately and since then have done good maintenance on it. Been up and down the West coast a bunch and mild off road stuff but this has been by far the best vehicle I've owned. Plows through snow. Sticks to the road very well in freezing rain and is just generally an awesome vehicle.
Good luck and congrats on yours.

 

[ktmracer01]

So, I finally made it back State Side and didn't waste any time. Jumped straight in to cabin airfilters and the heater T's and coolant flush. Followed that up with rear brakes, front brakes, greasing all of the u-joints and drivetrain, threw on 5 BFG K02's (285-75-R16), installed a new head unit, and installed 6.5" Infinity's in each of the doors, amp bypass, and now I'm installing the rear backup camera. Here area a few photos...

 

[ktmracer01]

Here's the radio install

 

[ktmracer01]

Speakers with a side by side to show size difference

 

[ktmracer01]

Amp bypass wiring photos

 

[ktmracer01]

This week the weather cleared up enough to get some stuff done on Karma...

Blacked out all of the rear badges and front Lexus "L" badge. I noticed the rear chrome trim is starting to bubble and I don't know if it should get blacked out as well.

Installed the tweeters in the rear doors

Installed a power block on the firewall

Fabbed up a bracket for my Fuse block next to the battery without limiting access to the factory fuse box. Anxious to get some electrical goodies to start wiring in. think I'll start with under hood lighting.

 

[ktmracer01]

Installed a Cobra 75WXST....trying to find a rear antenna mount was the most difficult part of the whole project. I ended up going to a shop here in Washington that had various brackets, the one I ended up with was meant for a CB to be mounted at the hood on a Chevrolet. With a little tweaking and modification, I made it work.

Ran the coax cable on the passenger side and in to the center console where I cut out a small section of the lower driver side of the console to run the wiring.

The most difficult part of the connector box was trying to figure out how to remove the rear cup holder. After a few minutes I was able to locate the two screws on the inner bracket that had to be removed to get it out.

View attachment 1814770

 

[ktmracer01]

I also ordered the Slee AHC control module, at the same time I decided to install the Slee wheel spacers to widen the stance while it's in 'H' mode.

 

[ktmracer01]

Just installed Slee's AC Controller. I haven't been able to find any wiring photos from previous searches, so I thought I'd go ahead and share.

All in all, it was a pretty straight forward install, but you'll need to practice "Toyota Yoga" to be able to get up underneath the dash to get to the height control module. The LED on the Slee module is pretty bright, so keep that in mind. Also, I may not keep the AHC on my rig, so I installed the switch and LED in a convenient location that wont be an eye sore if/when it makes the change next to the cog lighter justa bove the center console.

Now I'm anxious to get down to Metal Tech and pick up my sliders, and Total Chaos upper control arms. Then I'll be headed over to get an alignment.

 

[ktmracer01]

Installed my Metal Tech Sliders. Pretty straight forward as long as you make sure to remove the hardware for the shields on the AHC globes. Very happy with how well these are built.
Took more time threading and tightening the hardware on the u-bolts that go around the frame. I'll definitely be trimming down the excess.

 

[ktmracer01]

Installed my Dissent front bumper today. Worked with a local powdercoater over several days to find a color that matched my trim. The color wasn't perfect, but that was my own fault. The powdercoater did an excellent job and the turn around was less than a week. It cost about $450.00 after tax for two different colors. The staff were great to work with and very eager to help me decide on colors.

Ben @benc has an amazing product. Its very easy to tell how much effort he put in to designing a great product. A few lessons learned along the way, but great none-the-less.

 

[ktmracer01]

Made fog light brackets for a true fog light to fit in the Dissent front bumper cutouts.

 

[ktmracer01]

A few things that have been done this week to make it easier to add on some other accessories in the future as well as adding a little sound deadening in the rear quarters. Now I have a dedicated 12v power source in the rear for USB or for a 12v socket with a voltmeter to keep an eye on voltage until I install dual batteries. I have to admit at the big difference the dyna mat material made

 

[ktmracer01]

Finally added my ARB compressor. This has been on the 'to-do' list for months. Overall, I'm happy with the install. Made my own bracket to mount it between the airbox, AHC reservoir, and the power steering fluid reservoir. It isn't exactly what I wanted, but I was able to mount the compressor without relocating any of the big stuff.

 

[ktmracer01]

Ordered a @trailtailor front dif. drop and rear antenna mount. I can't believe how fast they shipped. I had everything here within two days of ordering.

The quality was even better than I expected.
Overall, the diff. drop install was a 1 job. It took me longer to get the truck on jack stands and break the factory hardware loose. I noticed some oxidation around the factory bolts, so I cleaned them up with a wire brush and coated them all in grease before I re-installed them.

Now I'm just anxious for Ben @Dissent to do another run of his skid plates so I can get rid of the aluminum spacers on my factory skid.