I'm pretty sure it's been asked a million times but, my search isn't working on my cell phone. Just asking for advice in best aftermarket conversion kit. Have to do rack & pinion, lower control arms, struts and coils(all at once)! So, figured I'd just go with conventional suspension since I gonna spend so much $$$$ at once. Thanks for My help guys
98 LX470 suspension conversion
- Thread starter Dame1919
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Who is telling you this "rack & pinion, lower control arms, struts and coils" sounds like they are mining for gold in your wallet.
How many miles on your rig?
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- #3
Ok, If you want a standard ride height like the land cruisers came with just replace the shocks and remove the lexus hydraulic suspension components. Lots of write ups here. No need to replace your rack or control arms etc. Just buy new shocks.
Ok, not sure that Bilstein makes control arms. Could be wrong. But I would just buy land cruiser shocks and remove the lx suspension stuff.
I have 160K on my LX470, the rack and pinion had so much play it caused VSC to activate and nearly crash on several occasions so replacing the rack and pinon and control arms is not a bad idea. I had to fork $2800 to the Riverside Lexus dealer. To replace AHC I purchased the OME torsion bars and coils, used standard Gabriel shocks the ride is smooth and the height remained at normal. I spent around $600 by doing it myself, let me tell you taking the rear shocks was a royal pain, other than that it went well.
Then again the bulk of the play in the steering on my son's 2000 TLC was caused by worn rack bushings, the rack itself was fine. No doubt that a bad steering rack can cause play in the steering, but I would suggest troubleshooting the issue a little further than "play in steering" = "bad steering rack & give dealer $2800".
You are right "play" can mean anything, in my case the steering wheel had about 15 degrees to either side of play, this randomly caused the VSC to lock the tires as the car computer thought the car was in a skid when entering gentle turns on the road and nearly got me into several accidents. When I took my SUV to the dealer, I rode with the Lexus technician and explained the symptoms, he pointed out the play with the steering which was really exaggerated, other symptoms included power steering leaking from the rack and pinion (not the hoses). Worn rack bushings do not amount to that much of a steering lack of response so I agree that troubleshooting is a must. On the other hand I could have taken the vehicle to Brake Stop, they quoted me $1,400 for replacing the RP with aftermarket parts but chose not to.
