'14 LX570 AHC Bleed/Fluid flush...by an unprofessional (1 Viewer)

[CoolPrius]

Hey guys and gals,

My LX is now 6 years old (45,000kms) and I'm going to attempt to flush the AHC system to hopefully smooth out driving. Tires are Geolander G015's at 38psi.

Maybe its all the job walk-thru's available online, but I'm feeling a bit over confident...and I don't think I should be.

Any words of wisdom from you legends would be much appreciated!?

My mechanical knowledge - I'm the guy that magically has extra pieces after assembling Ikea stuff.

Current items on hand - 2 Litres of AHC fluid...

 

[grinchy]

i'd say get up to 5 liters on hand and expect to use 3 or 4.
It's a lot easier with an easy way to move the fluid around, suggest getting a 1 liter transfer pump and a large 200 to 300 ml syringe. Get tubing that fits the syringe and pump and also fits the bleed nipples.

Have a 1 gallon or 4 liter container standing by for old fluid. Fat, flat, and low is a good combination - think an oil change container

Get a beer in hand and a spare beer in the cooler on standby.

You'll need backlight for the reservoir and a torx to get the access door off.

It isn't any harder than bleeding brakes . . . and it can be done by one person.

 

[eatSleepWoof]

Any words of wisdom from you legends would be much appreciated!?

Yes, pay the dealer to do it. But not the one in Kelowna .

I had my dealer do the AHC flush (as part of a large set of preventative maintenance procedures) about a week ago. On the drive home, the AHC stopped working and threw up an error message. They have been dealing with the problem and throwing parts at it (at their expense) ever since. So far no one has any idea what happened, but had I done the flush myself and caused the same issue, by now I'd be thousands of dollars out of pocket. They still have my LX and are still dealing with it (unsuccessfully, as far as I know). See the last ~3 pages of my build thread (link in signature) if you want to read up on the ordeal.

 

[tincan45]

It's an easy job. Everything @grinchy said plus you may have a little trouble getting to the rear 10mm bleeders. I would recommend a ratcheting flex head. It can be done with a standard 10mm though.

 

[coleAK]

It’s extremely easy. My 12 year old did it Her self (with my guidance) last year at 60k miles on my ‘13 LX. Here is a video, it’s not perfect but gives you the idea of the process

 

[grinchy]

Yes, pay the dealer to do it. But not the one in Kelowna .

I had my dealer do the AHC flush (as part of a large set of preventative maintenance procedures) about a week ago. On the drive home, the AHC stopped working and threw up an error message. They have been dealing with the problem and throwing parts at it (at their expense) ever since. So far no one has any idea what happened, but had I done the flush myself and caused the same issue, by now I'd be thousands of dollars out of pocket. They still have my LX and are still dealing with it (unsuccessfully, as far as I know). See the last ~3 pages of my build thread (link in signature) if you want to read up on the ordeal.

I personally think they screwed up, pulled air into the system or did some other dumb thing. However in any maintenance process it is always possible to dig a hole. I sure have with front differential fluid replacement and that damn drain plug.

 

[CoolPrius]

Thanks for the quick responses guys! Dealer quoted me $325+tax for the job and 3 hours work. What I'm most worried about is a shop tech rushing a job they rarely see, and accidentally getting air in the system. Besides...I've got a 4yr old and a 2yr old...so figure if i let them have a go they'll at least do half as good a job as Cole's 12yr old.

Here is the master game plan: (Please chime in on what looks a bit dodgey)

- Clean area near tank behind rear wheel.
- Stick vehicle in "LOW" mode, wait awhile...then turn it off.
- Open white knob
- jam a soft hose down the black tube and into the tank, and suck the old stuff out (using a syringe type thing)
- use a oil pump thing filled with the new AHC fluid, and fill up the tank to as much as I can...and "close white knob?"

- on DRIVERS side FRONT bleed valve put a "spanner" on and then some connect some clear PVC tube draining to an old bottle
- open valve and keep my damn body out of the way
- when it stops dripping close it back up (? or does this just keep bleeding until the rear main tank is empty?)

Repeat on PASSENGER front, then DRIVER rear, then PASSENGER rear.

-Turn vehicle back on. Keep eye on tank to make sure fluid doesn't run low as each "bladder"? refills.
-Put more new AHC fluid in tank and re-bleed all 4 bleed valves in same process as above.

Main thing to avoid is air into the tank? Or busting the bleed valves?

 

[coleAK]

Thanks for the quick responses guys! Dealer quoted me $325+tax for the job and 3 hours work. What I'm most worried about is a shop tech rushing a job they rarely see, and accidentally getting air in the system. Besides...I've got a 4yr old and a 2yr old...so figure if i let them have a go they'll at least do half as good a job as Cole's 12yr old.

Here is the master game plan: (Please chime in on what looks a bit dodgey)

- Clean area near tank behind rear wheel.
- Stick vehicle in "LOW" mode, wait awhile...then turn it off.
- Open white knob
- jam a soft hose down the black tube and into the tank, and suck the old stuff out (using a syringe type thing)
- use a oil pump thing filled with the new AHC fluid, and fill up the tank to as much as I can...and "close white knob?"

- on DRIVERS side FRONT bleed valve put a "spanner" on and then some connect some clear PVC tube draining to an old bottle
- open valve and keep my damn body out of the way
- when it stops dripping close it back up (? or does this just keep bleeding until the rear main tank is empty?)

Repeat on PASSENGER front, then DRIVER rear, then PASSENGER rear.

-Turn vehicle back on. Keep eye on tank to make sure fluid doesn't run low as each "bladder"? refills.
-Put more new AHC fluid in tank and re-bleed all 4 bleed valves in same process as above.

Main thing to avoid is air into the tank? Or busting the bleed valves?

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Also helps to drop the spare tire and put a light on that side of the fluid tank so you can better see the fluid level from the wheel well side.

 

[grinchy]

Make sure to keep an adequate amount of fluid in the reservoir.
there may be afilter to pick out of the way on your fill tube.

 

[Bunga]

It is not worth 300 ever. But definitely get several qt/L. I've done it twice and it is like a basic brake job. Keep in mind that getting the light tucked in behind the fluid reservoir(u) is the hardest part to make it obvious what the fill is. (And remembering to remove the light...) I wouldn't remove the tyre/tire exc to be sure you have all the factory tools and know how to do it.

 

[CoolPrius]

Some progress...at a snails pace but moving in the right direction.

- Dropped the tire...and sent wine and chocolates to the design team at Lexus for such a slick "get the spare" process.

- Took out a mortgage on 5 Litres of Toyota suspension fluid. @ $45cad per litre it's more expensive them my usual bottle of Rum....so I'm currently enjoying it in a small glass over ice.

Cheers! (and as always thanks for the info)

 

[GordJ]

I made the mistake of asking Lexus to do a flush and was surprised that it was only $300 Canadian. However when I checked the invoice I noticed that it took only 1 liter of fluid. Learned my lesson. After that I changed it myself and the only issues that I had was that I had to have my grandson use his eyes to check the reservoir levels and the bleeders are too short to hold the hose on properly. All in all it was a great time with the grandson.

 

[Tadem]

Used break fluid replacement bottle to catch old fluid. Expect 450-500ml per corner. I remember first one taking forever until i finally got clear fluid.
Clean area around full tube to avoid dropping debris inside reservoir. I had to remove filter mash from inlet, with it inside it was impossible to add fresh fluid. I used vinyl tube attached to funnel.

 

[LXCruza]

Here is my semi-interesting story on talking to my dealer about AHC fluid flush job: they quoted me a random ~500 CAD. However, they were honest about it and said: I don't think our techs ever done this before as LX570's usually get shipped overseas before they reach the mileage that need AHC maintenance (LOL). Also, they couldn't source the fluid anywhere in Ontario so they said we might need to order it from California!
I decided to do it myself. I'll probably mess something up, but I'll at least save some pennies.

 

[stevenjj71]

It’s extremely easy. My 12 year old did it Her self (with my guidance) last year at 60k miles on my ‘13 LX. Here is a video, it’s not perfect but gives you the idea of the process

I'm feeling pretty bad about myself right now - apparently your 12 year old daughter is a more competent mechanic than me

 

[Bunga]

After using extensively on- and off-road, ACH is not a set of long travel Kings/Bilsteins. But it is far more usable on a daily driver. It can be driven hard with heavy loads and does amazingly well. Full lift is great stock and incredible with spacers, and it still drops for parking garages and less than tall people, and self-adjusts for junk in the trunk.

The time and cost needed to bleed it every 30k (bleed not replace) is *far, far less than I ever spent time or money wise on racing struts/shocks. Seals, bushings, bearings are all wear parts on serious suspensions. Once I added 17" rims and tires, I really can't understand doing more with an LX (although hydraulic bumps are still on my mind). A full nuts LC is very cool. But also full of compromises. The 570 is a have it all vehicle with ACH.

 

[CoolPrius]

Thanks guys! Job complete...full update in a bit.

URGENT question though! Can I put TOO much Suspension fluid in the reservoir? It's currently above the MAX line by about a few cm's.

Vehicle was put in L mode, tank was filled to the very top with new fluid, then i did final bleed, So I guess its about 500mls or so down from the max fluid you can put in the damn tank. Hope this makes sense...

 

[grinchy]

If it isn't overflowing in L you should be fine.

 

[CoolPrius]

Aight fine people of these forums!

Job is done. Time to switch H/N/L significantly reduced. There are about 5 speedbumps close to my house that the LX used to ride over a bit rough. Night at day difference with the new fluid. I really didn't expect much but wow...so happy with the results.

Job took 3 hours. A lot of triple checking things and cursing was done. If I had to do this job again tomorrow I'm sure 1 hour is all it would take.

All the stuff I had on hand:

Old fluid in tank:

Drained it all out:

Tank sitting empty:

Comparison between old and new:

 

[CoolPrius]

Went a bit crazy putting in the new stuff:

So crazy I cut my finger: (MyMedic kit to the rescue):

The shop seat covers are a bit interesting. The kids are going to be stinking of oil for awhile I guess: