Builds 2014 GX460 Incoming Baby Build (1 Viewer)

[Unitsmoke]

Hey Guys,

We just picked up a 2014 GX460 Luxury with 90k miles after 9 months of searching. We are coming from a 2006 Jeep Liberty which was an excellent gateway drug to off roading. We honed in on the GX platform very early in the process because of the capability with creature comforts. We decided that we wanted something that was larger and newer since we are also going to have our first tax deduction in November. This also means that I basically have 4 months to get everything situated!

Goal Of Build - Make a functional off road vehicle that is also an excellent daily driver. The off wheeling that we typically do is light to moderate and would probably be best classified as overlanding. We plan on using the vehicle to get to amazing places for hiking and camping. We have basically transitioned from backpackers to car campers at this point.

Goal Of Thread - Document the process of building the vehicle and provide the important/difficult things that seem to be left out of YouTube videos and posts. Also, contribute to an online community that I have been lurking on for at least the past year.

Without further delay. Here she is -

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipPpm1J73CvXinbDAnD_f8z_hai9PPUXc1MUK_0

 

[GreenbowCounty]

Congratulations and welcome aboard; great color and starting point. Thank you for not buying a 4Runner

 

[iheart8mud]

Congrats. This truck looks like members truck thats listed on Clublexus. Look forward to your project!

 

[Unitsmoke]

Step 0 - Cabin Air Filter

Please change this immediately after buying a used car. Ours was disgusting and it is shockingly easy to change. It is located in the glove box and can be replaced in under 5 minutes.

Step 1 - Fluids

Since the car has close to 100k miles, my first project was to change the fluids. Oil was changed by the dealer so it should be good. Here are the details on everything else:

Brake Fluid - Looked very clean. Performed a turkey baster replacement of what was in the reservoir. Ended up using the Lucas Oil Synthetic Dot 3 Brake Fluid.

Coolant - Overflow reservoir was extremely low. The non-Lexus dealer ignored it because it was under the splash cover. I used the Genuine OE Toyota Super Long Life Cool. It turns out that it was extremely low and took three rounds of fill and drive to get it to a stable level.

Interesting Note - Cost of the coolant is very dependent on the Toyota or Lexus dealership. It varied from 20-25 per gallon. My local Lexus dealership was actually cheaper then the Toyota dealership across the street.

Power Steering Fluid - I tried to perform a drain and fill by removing the return line, but the line wouldn't come off without destroying it. I ended up using Amsoil OE Multi-Vehicle Synthetic Automatic Transmission Fluid which meets Dexron II and III requirements. For Toyota, it is correct that you use ATF and not power steering fluid per the service manual. I used a hand pump off of Amazon to remove the old fluid from the reservoir and refill. I plan to do this three or four times to replace the majority of what was left in the system.

Rear Differential - This was shockingly easy compared to the Jeep. All it takes is removing the two 24 mm drain and fill bolts with the air ride set to the highest height for better access. I used Mobil 1 Synthetic 75W-90 gear oil. This is a bit weird because the service manual requires 75W-85, but most forums and Amsoil recommend the 75W-90. Mine took about 2.5 quarts. Don't forget to clean the magnet on the drain plug.

Transfer Case - Liquid gold! The requirement is Transfer Case Gear Oil LF 75W by Toyota (Part Number: 0888581080). From what I was able to determine, the Toyota formulation has a very robust additive package to help with gear wear. Half the dealers you call won't even know what you are talking about. The other half will charge you your first born as it is 50+ per liter. The job takes slightly over 1 liter so you need two cans. Yes - it comes in a metal can so make sure you have something to open it with. I transferred the oil from the cans to the empty Mobil 1 containers so that I could pump them out. Very easy as well with two 24 mm bolts for the drain and fill.

Front Differential - I plan on using the same Mobil 1 75W-90 for this job. For whatever reason, one of the fasteners for this case uses a hex head instead of a standard socket. On our Jeep, I had a heck of a time with this because they are extremely shallow and easy to strip when they get welded in place by corrosion. I ended up buying Kaon Diff Drain Plug Removal Tool to suit Toyota Hilux Prado FJ Cruiser and replacement 24mm drain plug from Australia off of Ebay. Should be here in about a week.

One last thing, don't forget the crush washers. I got a set of generic washers off Amazon for under 10 dollars which covers the differentials and transfer case.

What fluids did I miss?

 

[Unitsmoke]

Interior LED Light Upgrade

This was very easy. Ended up getting these: Aucan 194 LED Light Bulb 6000K White Super Bright 168 2825 W5W T10 Wedge 24-SMD 3014 Chipsets LED Replacement Bulbs Error Free for Car Dome Map Door Courtesy License Plate Lights (20, White) off of Amazon.

There are a total of 16 bulbs to replace that are all the same size. I think it breaks down as follows:

Door Courtesy Lights - 4
Visor Lights - 2
Map Lights - 2
2nd Row Courtesy Lights - 2
Trunk Courtesy Lights - 2
Running Boards - 4

This whole process took under 20 minutes and was very straight forward. The halogens get very hot so be careful when removing the old bulbs if they have been on for any length of time.

 

[Tex68w]

I have the Aucan LED's in my interior, they are holding up well but I am not sure that I like the color or brightness compared to the Philips I have used in the past.

 

[r2m]

Interior LED Light Upgrade

This was very easy. Ended up getting these: Aucan 194 LED Light Bulb 6000K White Super Bright 168 2825 W5W T10 Wedge 24-SMD 3014 Chipsets LED Replacement Bulbs Error Free for Car Dome Map Door Courtesy License Plate Lights (20, White) off of Amazon.

There are a total of 16 bulbs to replace that are all the same size. I think it breaks down as follows:

Door Courtesy Lights - 4
Visor Lights - 2
Map Lights - 2
2nd Row Courtesy Lights - 2
Trunk Courtesy Lights - 2
Running Boards - 4

This whole process took under 20 minutes and was very straight forward. The halogens get very hot so be careful when removing the old bulbs if they have been on for any length of time.

How long to replace all the lights?
Are they all the same bulb?

 

[Unitsmoke]

How long to replace all the lights?
Are they all the same bulb?

All the bulbs on the 460 were the same size which also made it super easy and cheap. All the interior lights can be changed in under an hour.

 

[Unitsmoke]

Changed all the brake pads and rotors due to a brake pulse at low speeds. Decided to go with the Power Stop K5874-36 Front & Rear Z36 Truck and Tow Brake Kit from Amazon. Recommend getting some additional brake lubricant as the amount in the kit is extremely small.

 

[Acrad]

I noticed you mentioned brake fluid change in other thread.

What kind of brake bleed did you perform? Did you use a power bleeder, two person old school, or leverage Techstream for brake bleed option?

Mine had a dealer service at around 32K miles but wanted to change mine again. I've heard all methods leveraged. I'd like to do power bleed myself but TS option seems like it could be easy as well.

I thought I read with this brake system while doing a two person setup the electro hyrdraulic unit will just keep pumping fluid as long as person in vehicle is pressing the brake pedal.

 

[Unitsmoke]

After doing some research, I decided to go with RSG Metal Works bolt on sliders. My first choice was CBI for the look and fit but I couldn't justify the additional cost. The RSG option with a coupon code came out 800 shipped vs CBI which was going to be 1350 shipped. Bummer that it will be 6 weeks before they will be delivered.

I also had Lexus look over the vehicle during the fuel pump recall service and the only issues that they identified were replacement of fluids and windshield wipers. Stuff on the agenda for the next couple of weeks since the truck is at 93k miles:

• Spark plugs from Rockauto. Went with Denso 5344 plugs and also bought new spark plug tube seals. Do most people apply anti seize to the plug threads during installation?
• Transmission fluid and filter. Any tips or recommendations would be appreciated. What fluid do people typically use for the replacement?
• Replace the power steering return hose with a Sunsong 3404481. The old hose looks brittle and probably needs to be replaced.

Still need to make a decision on suspension, UCA's, armor and wheels/tires.

• Suspension currently is between Dobinson IMS and Radflos.
• UCA are either going to be JBA or Dobinson.
• Armor is trending towards a full set of RCI aluminum.
• Wheels = Toyota TRD 17" in gunmetal grey.
• Tires are going to be some version of 255. Kendas in 255/75R17 or Wildpeaks in 255/80R17.

 

[Acrad]

I just used the Toyota WS for AT on 4 drain and fills. I'll change the filter at 100k miles (currently at 65k on my '12).

I also added a AT cooler. Have you thought about that?

GX460 Transmission fluid cooler

Does anyone run a transmission cooler on their truck? My GX runs around 190-200 degrees on a normal daily drive. I’m worried that when I tow long distances that my trans will hate me. I’m looking into the Hayden 679 cooler but I wanted to see what others are running. Thanks.

forum.ih8mud.com

Here are OEM AT service area PNs.

[Automatic Transmission]
PN: 90301-15004 / Fill plug O-ring
PN: 35178-30010 / AT pan drain plug washer
PN: 35178-30010 / AT pan fluid level check plug washer
PN: 00289ATFWS / ATF Fluid
PN: 9034110011 / AT Pan drain plug
PN: 9034110021 / AT Fluid Level Check Valve
PN: 3533060060 / AT Filter
PN: 35106-35170 / AT Pan
PN: 35168-60010 / AT Pan gasket

 

[Unitsmoke]

I noticed you mentioned brake fluid change in other thread.

What kind of brake bleed did you perform? Did you use a power bleeder, two person old school, or leverage Techstream for brake bleed option?

Mine had a dealer service at around 32K miles but wanted to change mine again. I've heard all methods leveraged. I'd like to do power bleed myself but TS option seems like it could be easy as well.

I thought I read with this brake system while doing a two person setup the electro hyrdraulic unit will just keep pumping fluid as long as person in vehicle is pressing the brake pedal.

I ended up doing the two person method because it was what I am most familiar with. The Lexus service manual has you perform it in the following order: right front, left front, right rear, left rear which I assume is because the ABS module is closer to the rear. The rear brakes are power assisted (not sure if this is the correct term) so you just hold the peddle to down and it continues to pump fluid. Two notes for the the rear: the fluid comes out quickly so don't run your reservoir dry and don't run the pump for more then 30 seconds without allowing it to cool.

 

[Tex68w]

I ended up with RSG sliders as well even though they weren't my first pick. That said, I couldn't be more pleased with the product, the quality of the build, the fantastic packaging and the stellar all-around customer service I received. I credit Jason at RSG with his always available and willing to help attitude for selling me on their product.

 

[Unitsmoke]

I ended up with RSG sliders as well even though they weren't my first pick. That said, I couldn't be more pleased with the product, the quality of the build, the fantastic packaging and the stellar all-around customer service I received. I credit Jason at RSG with his always available and willing to help attitude for selling me on their product.

Looks great Tex. What did you use to get such a clean looking cut? What gap did you target between the slider and the body panel?

 

[Tex68w]

Looks great Tex. What did you use to get such a clean looking cut? What gap did you target between the slider and the body panel?

Thanks! Believe it or not I used a box cutter lol. I did clean up some of the underside with a Dremel but very sparingly. I tried to keep the gap as minimal as possible so I used the reinforcement ribs on the back side of the step trim as my guide for how high up I could cut. I mounted the sliders and then eye balled the trim a few times making some adjustments here and there until I got the gap I wanted. It's a snug fit.

 

[Mena661]

I am very happy with my RSG sliders as well. I got the flat one's.

 

[Unitsmoke]

Anyone seen Victory 4x4 skids in the wild? They are a bit more expensive, but they seem to be well designed and built. It is most likely either going to be them or RCI at this point.

 

[Unitsmoke]

Lots of good maintenance progress today in 100+ degree heat. Some good and some bad as with every car project.

Spark Plugs - Time consuming, but not difficult. The hardest part for me was getting the damn connectors off of plug boots. I was definitely not able to get them off with finger power alone. A small screw driver and needle nose pliers did the trick. The spark plug removal was best achieved with a combination of different length socket extensions. For the plugs closest to the fire wall, the recommendation from another poster to use a 3" extension with a universal joint did the trick. For better or worse, I also used anti seize on the threads and dielectric grease on the boot. Now the bad, one plug on each side had evidence of oil meaning that I will have to rip it back apart and do the gaskets once it gets cooler.

Front differential oil change - extremely easy since I bought this: KAON Front Diff Tool. Having stripped a hex head differential plug in the past, I can't recommend this enough. I also replaced the drain plug with a 24mm socket plug.

Power steering fluid flush - finally got the return line off after two failed attempts. The right tool for the job were these: Large Needle Nose Pliers . Rock the hose back and forth until you get it over the plastic barb. Once it was off, I plugged the power steering reservoir and attached a hose to the end of the return line which was routed to a Gatorade bottle. Once everything was attached, fill the reservoir with clean fluid. Turn the steering wheel from lock to lock with the wheels in the air to pump the fluid through the system. After about 1 quart, the fluid came out looking like new. Reattached everything and fill to the cold fill line.

After lots of research, most likely will be taking the truck to an independent Toyota mechanic for the transmission flush and fill. Anyone done this? 1-10 difficulty on the home mechanic scale?

 

[Acrad]

If you did all that... go for the AT fluid change. It's easy... I did 4 drain & fills with temp calibration on mine and just a turkey baster fluid swap over numerous drives for my power steering. I will drop pan at 100k miles (current 65k miles) and change filter but even that looks pretty simple.

Good to hear on KAON... mine wasn't stripped but didn't want to take any future chances and installed that 24mm plug