AHC/AVS Advice

[ishore33]

OK - need some advice on how to proceed with the AVS/AHC on my new to me 2008 LX. I just purchased my LX a couple days ago, and before I did I had some concessions made in pricing due to apparent AVS/AHC leak. (It's a 2008 with 113k, full Lexus service history). Based on pulling the service history from Lexus, it was recommended to the PO (at 110k) to replace at least one of the "shock absorbers" due to a leak. After taking a look and mechanic review, it seems more like "seeping" instead of actually full on leaking. I took it out for a couple hours of trails the day I bought it as a sort of mini torture test. Fluid Level stayed constant, and no additional evidence of leaks appeared.

Both the AVS and AHC functions are fully functional, and don't seem to have any issues at this point. The dampening levels change as expected, and the height control function works perfectly.

The concession was to have the two fronts replaced at the selling dealer's expense. He has the parts, and is waiting for my direction on how to proceed.

I am trying to get some input as to the best course of action here...

Option 1: Do nothing (wait to replace), keep the parts on hand for later down the road when/if leaks become an issue
Option 2: Replace two fronts, flush AVS/AHC system fluid and proceed from there
Option 3: Replace all four, flush AVS/AHC fluid and be good to go indefinitely

If I proceed with Option 2, or 3, is there anything else that should be done maintenance wise while they perform the swap? Any other recommendations?

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[SWUtah]

If dealers paying I would do number two.

 

[chipsterguy]

Keep in mind this is not an urgent repair. with that said, if you plan to keep the rig for another 100k miles, I would do the repair on the two fronts. Especially if the dealer is paying. This is about a $1k+ job. You might consider upgrading the springs or adding spacers while you are in there, especially if you plan to build the truck, ultimately adding weight. Rear springs/spacers are easier if you decide to DIY. But the fronts require breaking open the hydraulic lines and require bleeding. And the dealer is already going to do this for you, as part of your purchase agreement.

BTW, when I purchased my 2010 LX with 100k miles, I too had the seepage issue on one of my front shocks. I paid to have both fronts replaced and the fluid flushed. To be honest, flushing the fluid made a huge difference in performance. Very noticeable.

Good luck with your LX! AHC is really amazing on these vehicles.

 

[ishore33]

Keep in mind this is not an urgent repair. with that said, if you plan to keep the rig for another 100k miles, I would do the repair on the two fronts. Especially if the dealer is paying. This is about a $1k+ job. You might consider upgrading the springs or adding spacers while you are in there, especially if you plan to build the truck, ultimately adding weight. Rear springs/spacers are easier if you decide to DIY. But the fronts require breaking open the hydraulic lines and require bleeding. And the dealer is already going to do this for you, as part of your purchase agreement.

BTW, when I purchased my 2010 LX with 100k miles, I too had the seepage issue on one of my front shocks. I paid to have both fronts replaced and the fluid flushed. To be honest, flushing the fluid made a huge difference in performance. Very noticeable.

Good luck with your LX! AHC is really amazing on these vehicles.

Thanks for the detailed response! Potentially Upgrading springs or adding spacers is one of the reasons I actually held off until I could do a little more research. Any idea on what springs I could source, or what effect spacers would have? I am considering adding front bumper in the next couple of months, so this is part of the thought process....

 

[TeCKis300]

I'm with the others to repair right away as the dealer is taking care of it. Which will be nice as they will need to flush the system too, so it'll be baselined. I would impress upon them that only AHC fluid should be used. It doesn't likely happen anymore, but early LX470's had some dealers putting the wrong fluid in the system.

There's a thread somewhere, but someone confirmed that the same LC spacers can be installed to the AHC front suspension. I would do this while in there. It's not completely necessary but it won't hurt anything either, and should help with planned higher loads in the future.

 

[gaijin]

If dealers paying I would do number two.

Man, context is everything, isn't it?

 

[lxid]

I have similar issues on mine with 142k. The fronts have to be a very slow seep since I haven't noticed any loss of fluid. I am not planning on replacing them unless it gets worse. The rears on the other hand need replaced. Seems like the rears for sure are going to be an ongoing maintenance issue after about 100k.

 

[ishore33]

I have similar issues on mine with 142k. The fronts have to be a very slow seep since I haven't noticed any loss of fluid. I am not planning on replacing them unless it gets worse. The rears on the other hand need replaced. Seems like the rears for sure are going to be an ongoing maintenance issue after about 100k.

This is kind of why I was wondering if I should just do the rears while the system is drained/flushed, and then not have to worry about it for a little while...

It makes sense to have what is being covered done, but will it save me $$ and time to do the whole thing now if I start having issues in 10-20k. It's a 10 year old system at this point, so totally understand that it may need some maintenance or replacement.

 

[ishore33]

Better pictures of condition of all 4

 

[chipsterguy]

You are not saving much in the way of labor costs by doing the rears now. They seem fine by the pics. Wait until next ahc flush and evaluate the rears at that time. Other things to baseline now include exchanging fluids (brake, steering, trans, diffs). This would be better money/effort spent at this mileage, IMO. Especially if you have no record of these things being done.

 

[ishore33]

I'm with the others to repair right away as the dealer is taking care of it. Which will be nice as they will need to flush the system too, so it'll be baselined. I would impress upon them that only AHC fluid should be used. It doesn't likely happen anymore, but early LX470's had some dealers putting the wrong fluid in the system.

There's a thread somewhere, but someone confirmed that the same LC spacers can be installed to the AHC front suspension. I would do this while in there. It's not completely necessary but it won't hurt anything either, and should help with planned higher loads in the future.

Got any idea where I can find the right spacer? Also, recommendations on size? I may do the sensor lift, and I think it would make sense to compensate for that as well.