1999 LX470 - Suspension Dilema - Could use some part numbers and advice.

[incucrash]

Hello everyone, My name is Steven and I am a new owner of a used 99 LX470.

I jumped fast in to what I consider a very nice, 2 owner, well maintained LX.

165,000 miles, $8000, clean Carfax, and just had the "90k service" done at 140k. Lots of preventative maintainence, a report of a leaking Shock at around 50k but never saw a resolve, so I planned on calling dealer and seeing if they could pull the resolution for me.

I did not do my research far enough to know the land cruiser (what I really wanted) and LX are different, on the AHC and potential problems (Seems to be working really well). I plan to go in to LO and HI and mark the fluid levels as my first test...

Anyways, a few questions. I will try to contain my questions and excitement to a minimum.


With the height mode in OFF, will the auto adjustments made with weight changes also stop?

Is anyone still using the original AHC system? How many miles/age?

If I decide to keep the AHC:

A good source for the AHC fluid? If the system appears to be healthy, I plan to flush it at bare minimum to get as much life as I can from the AHC system.

Where can I acquire the part numbers for the components, actuator and accumulator, should they begin to go bad?

If I find a lexus dealer to change everything at a reasonable price, what's the warranty period?

If I decide to convert the suspension:

Does anyone have a list of widely accepted part numbers for the conversion kit? More specifically, the stock Land cruiser suspension parts needed? Are the mounts the same and hardware? If not, besides shocks and springs, what will I need? Complete list would be nice, I have a friend who is really good with R and R on suspension and was trained with Toyota... Hopefully he can be of help.

Do LC lift kits install the same? Any threads to such info and parts?

Other then that, the Tilt does not work, That's for another thread on another day.

Sorry for all the questions, thanks for any and all help.

Glad to be a member here, hope I can be of help.

 

[uHu]

You'll find answers to all those Qs in the Owner's Manual, the FSM, and in this forum, by searching and reading for a few hrs.
Here are some of the As, to help you on your way.
Part ##: Several dealers have on-line part catalogs.
The AHC-off button switches everything off, but it will turn on by itself when you get up to speed.
AHC fluid only at the Toyota dealer. (BTW, later LCs also came with AHC; and on this side of the Atlantic, they did since 1998).
There are many early LC100 and LX470s which still have the AHC. Most of them in fact. And at 200-300 k miles.
Suspension parts are the same between LX and LC, generally.
For converting to conventional, you need only 4 springs (2 coil, 2 TB) and 4 shocks. You would also want to dump some useless pipes, hoses, accumulators, valves, sensors, pump, etc. The Anti Roll Bar is slightly thinner on the AHC version, but sufficient if you don't need a street racer, better off-road in fact.

 

[PADDO]

^^ yes all this, the only thing I might add is that you can register your LX with Lexus.com and see dealer reported service history, download PDF manuals and order hard copy manuals (or at least you use to be able to, hopefully they still provide hard copies). The Manual is your friend!

 

[incucrash]

Gentlemen, thank you very much for your replies and time doing so.

Good to hear AHC systems are still working in the older LC/LX. I have read some horror stories!

I will continue to sift through this forum, my salesman was nice enough to hold the Owners Manual for me, as they removed it to detail. That should be a good reference once in hand.

I also did make the lexus account, and looked at the notes but some seem chopped off so maybe I can request a print out.

AHC Flush for now, and my secret savings account for if and when the system goes bonkers.

I really love the LX system, and as I have no baseline for comparison, to me, it rides like a cloud and does not feel bumpy or roller coaster like, but again, I do not know what it should feel like, I imagine I would know if something was bad.

I really would love to keep the system intact, it's useless most of the time but being able to raise for higher ground is a big plus, and lowering for people to get in a little easier who may be older, is nice too.

I don't do heavy off roading but I like to know what I am driving is capable of such, and I drive on the beach every now and then. It seems like a perfect vehicle for this, and a lot stronger feeling then thr V6 Jeep I own.

Thanks again...