80 to GX

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fstbll42

fstbll42

10 Year
Joined
May 24, 2013
Threads
27
Messages
188
Location
Broken Arrow, OK
Hey guys,

I have been on the forum for a while now but mostly in the 80 series. I have been using my 1994 Land Cruiser 2" lift, 35" tires with 262K as a DD for a while now and thought I might get something that is a little more road friendly.

I will be picking up a 2003 GX 470 with Nav, 140K and all maintenance done at the Tulsa, OK Lexus dealership with a clean car fax tomorrow and I am looking forward to the change. My wife had a 2004 with 180K on it before we traded it in for a 2010 GX 460. So I am fairly familiar with the older GX.

The questions I have are:

Bluetooth options - like I said it is a DD and I would like to be handsfree.

Spring Conversion - How difficult is the conversion to do (the rear air suspension failed a couple of times on the 2004 we had)

What is the biggest tire you can run with out rubbing?

Is the HIR headlight conversion the same as the 80 series?

Is there anything else that I should be concerned about or looking for?

Thank you in advance,

Travis
 
Oh boy, I may be the first to tell you to search in this forum! :P

Seriously, there is a ton of these types of questions asked and answered.

Not being cold, just being efficient for you...there is a ton of info.

- Yes, there are BT options depending on your current kit. 2003 w/ Nav makes aftermarket stereos harder, but BT with GROM, etc.
- Not hard. Have to weld on lower mounts and bolt on upper cups (metaltech sells em)
- NO rubbing limits you. You can do minimal trimming and go larger. My advice is to just save money and get the lift first before tires and go to 285s
- You wont need HIRs if you swap to the latest bulbs, but there are plenty of people playing with lights/bulbs/conversions
- That year...100k service, radiator, there is a recall on the dash for cracks, center lock actuator leak, otherwise PM stuff.
 
GXO said:
Oh boy, I may be the first to tell you to search in this forum! :p

Seriously, there is a ton of these types of questions asked and answered.

Not being cold, just being efficient for you...there is a ton of info.

- Yes, there are BT options depending on your current kit. 2003 w/ Nav makes aftermarket stereos harder, but BT with GROM, etc.
- Not hard. Have to weld on lower mounts and bolt on upper cups (metaltech sells em)
- NO rubbing limits you. You can do minimal trimming and go larger. My advice is to just save money and get the lift first before tires and go to 285s
- You wont need HIRs if you swap to the latest bulbs, but there are plenty of people playing with lights/bulbs/conversions
- That year...100k service, radiator, there is a recall on the dash for cracks, center lock actuator leak, otherwise PM stuff.
Click to expand...

I didnt have to weld anything for my spring conversion unless something is different from 03 to 05 ...
like he said i used the metal tech kit $250 ....
as far as no rubbing your limited ... biggest tire with out rubbing? w/o lift? probly not much bigger than what you've have on there now... Im running 275-70-18 with 3" coil over in front and still had rubs ... your gonna have to trim or what i did was use a heat gun and moved some things around ...
 
Thank you DanKunz- I will continue to check the site as that is what I did most of last night. I was just trying to consolidate some pertinent answers to a page. I appreciate your input as your rig is probably one of the most aftermarket rigs on the 120 forum. I really think that after the PM stuff is taken care of I will focus on the Aftermarket BT.

Driving all day in this rig for work I will need to be hands free first and foremost, so I will check out the BT with GROM.

THeGeNTeMaN - When I get to the lift portion of this build / maintenance I will be reaching out to you for some pictures and guidance to see if the 03' and the 05' are the same. I appreciate the responses and look forward to being part of the 120 / Prado Group.

Travis

 
I live in Iowa but picked up my 2007 GX470 in January this year from Lexus in Tulsa with 41k miles on it. Super clean, no rust, full history. They were easy to work with and said they get a bunch of GX470s for you folks looking for them. Give them a call if you are hunting for something specific and it may come though their lot. Lots of guys here have moved from an 80 to the GX470 including myself. Enjoy.
 
Sleepy - thank you for the info. I have a "guy" Kent. We have bought and sold 3 Lexus' with him and he always keeps and eye out for me.
 
DanKunz - What head unit did you go with. I am not impressed in the least with the factory NAV system, although coming from the 80 having more than the driver side speaker working is a huge upgrade. LOL
 
Over on the club lexus forum there's a popular HID conversion kit for about 100 bucks.

It's been mentioned already but check out the radiator for leaks, particularly around the bottom driver's side...
 
Mlachica - Thank you for the Heads up on the Head unit. lol

I am going to stay away from the HID kits, I tried it in my wife's 2004 and even with the wiring harness and anti - flicker connections I still ended up having only one head light coming on most of the time. And being that it was my wife's SUV at the time I didn't want her driving our new born without having the full light capabilities.

Now with that being said that was 3 years ago so I am sure things have changed quite a bit.
 
ya I'm a bit leery of the kits myself, I always find myself considering it but could never pull the trigger. check it out on that forum, from what I've read they're pretty reliable. It's plug and play, no cutting necessary. They also project the correct beam pattern, so you'd be a responsible HID converted driver haha.
 
I have a 7" screen head unit without nav (alpine). The shop that did it used an ES350 faceplate to blend it all in.

I run nav on an ipad mini I have mounted to my dash on a RAM mount that holds my phone and HAM radio.
 
I dont need Nav, I have a tablet or phone that in most cases does a better job anyways.

I guess the major problem is the HAVC issue.
 
123ROBERTELEE said:
Unfortunately we did not have time to search around for a non nav model and settled. I wish we could have searched for a little longer. The nav system sucks on ours. :bang:
Click to expand...

I'm happy enough with the interface on my 07 (5th gen nav), but I don't typically use the nav (ever). My phone is much faster than any nav system I have found.
 
74213_10151426115818123_1768122216_n.jpg


I have improved since this pic...I have a mini vs. full ipad (similar mount, just smaller) and the phone holder is now a HAM radio and the phone is held on with magnets just below the ipad. You get the idea.
 
fstbll42 said:
Sleepy - thank you for the info. I have a "guy" Kent. We have bought and sold 3 Lexus' with him and he always keeps and eye out for me.
Click to expand...

Yup, Kent is who I worked with. Nice guy.
 
I've got the XenonDepot HID conversion on the lowbeams in my wife's GX, it's a great kit, truly plug and play, and zero issues in a couple years of use now. MUCH improved low beam output too, I recommend the 4300k bulbs if you choose to go this route.

Too bad about the Navi, ours is stuck with it as well. I've got the GROM USB2 w/ BT setup and it's got some glitches, but works alright.

I'm running 265/70/17 GY Duratracs on FJCruiser wheels with zero rubbing. For how I actually use this truck, I'd go back to stock size tires when they eventually wear out for the fuel economy and trailer pulling(gearing) gains.
 
You can always downgrade the nav to the non nav system, but it'll cost you about 400 to do that before you can upgrade. I've been heavily considering it, but no time for now.

Also, I'll +1 the Xenon depot HID kits. I've been running them in my trucks with no problems and I constantly get compliments on how incredibly bright the system is.

There is also no difference in frame/suspension/drivetrain from 03-09. (except vvti)
 
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Sleepy- Kent is great to work with, like I said he helped us with 3 different transactions. stand up dude.


SouthernSS - I honestly might be interested in downgrading to the non nav. I drive all day and the Bluetooth is very important to me (and my family) and those around me. If I have to conduct work while driving I would like to have the best option for doing so without using my speaker phone, messing with headsets, or asking someone to repeat something because the connection is no good.


With that being said I will let you tackle it first :grinpimp: so that you might:worms:. Seriously though I think if I had the parts list of things to get I could get it done one way or another with the people here locally that are pretty good with audio stuff.


DanKunz - you my friend are not messing around!!!! It must be like being in a jet with all the buttons and screens.... my ADD would kick in and I would surely end up in a ditch somewhere. lol
 
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