Many lifts on the Toyota 150 platform don't increase total travel in the front. They just raise the static ride height within the stock travel range so the vehicle sits higher (the stock ride height is about halfway into the suspension travel). The shocks are what limit the downward travel of...
With the stock setup or a non spacer lift, when the front suspension bottoms out the lower A arm runs into a big rubber bump stop. That provides gradual deceleration of the suspension at the end of its travel. The stock shocks have a small amount of travel past the point of full bump stop...
I don't know what part the skid plate is bolted to so maybe it's not appropriate, but can you replace the nut with a rivnut that will stay in place? And maybe a longer bolt that's been ground down on the end to make it easier to find the rivnut?
My GX has become our road trip vehicle. It's quiet and comfortable. Fuel mileage is not good but its better than the Tundra. With that much mileage it might make sense to have two vehicles, one being a small car with good economy that you put most of the miles on and the other being a used GX...
Yep. In drive the trans is free to pick the gears that it wants. In manual (sport), the gear you select is the upper limit. It won't shift to a higher gear than that but it will shift to a lower gear if it wants.
I think the programming in manual may be a little more likely to down shift but...
Yep it locks in 6th. It unlocks for each shift and then after a few seconds, if the conditions are right, it locks again. If you pay attention you can hear/feel it as the engine drops a few hundred rpm. Of course if you have an OBD2 device on the dash you can also display TC lock status.
If...
Warped rotors are common on these. Mine came (used) with one front rotor warped. I got a vibration with moderate braking but not with light or heavy braking. I replaced the rotors and pads and bedded them in. The brakes work a lot better now!
There's a .4" diameter range between different 265/70R17 tires. Other sizes would likely show a similar range. You can find the actual mounted diameter on Tire Rack's web site.
I used moly when I did mine, at 62k. I think they got done at least a few times during Lexus services. It did not have much effect that I could tell, maybe a little smoother. I still feel a bit of vibration in the steering wheel at certain throttle settings.
The LockNLubes are great. I got...
Unless you also add taller bump stops, a lift on these won't change how far up the wheel travels. All it does is raise the static ride height. When the suspension travels up due to flex or bumps the wheel goes up just as much as stock. Stiffer springs and a taller ride height will make that...
Mine came used with the brake shudder, so I don't know what caused it. I think your friend's theory is a stretch. One explanation I have seen for "warped" rotors is getting them hot and then stopping with the brakes on so the pads are clamped against the hot rotor. According to this theory...
I had brake shudder on my GX too. Only at a certain intermediate level of braking. I think the left front rotor was warped or had deposits on it (depends on the theory you subscribe to). It wasn't that bad; my wife hardly noticed as a passenger or driver. But it bugged me. It went away when I...
When you do the brakes do not forget to release the parking brake before replacing the rear rotors. I forgot and wound up damaging one of the spring hold downs for the parking brake shoes. Those are a pain to replace! I managed without it with a lot of fiddling but there is a special tool for...
It looks like some sort of wax or petrochemical product. I'd clean it well with a good cleaner (I like Stoner Invisible Glass) and a microfiber cloth. It may take a number of cleanings to get it off.