I measured it in the LOW setting, and also again back in the NORMAL setting. It still seems to register low, when I had it in the high setting, the box was empty. hmmm... I'm doing my flush this week if I get the chance...
AHC Problems on the LX470: How common? (1 Viewer)
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I measured it in the LOW setting, and also again back in the NORMAL setting. It still seems to register low, when I had it in the high setting, the box was empty. hmmm... I'm doing my flush this week if I get the chance...
I just changed the Accumulator Spheres on mine at about 115,000 Km as I they had lost gas and I had a hard and bouncy ride, particularly at the rear. (I'll find time to write up that story sometime.) This is the common mode of failure, and Lexus had confirmed that the rear spheres had failed some time back. Note though that my LX weighs about 3200 Kg with full tanks of fuel, as I have a lot of gear on it. I have also used it on some pretty tough tracks, so it got a real workout.
However, before I actually changed the spheres I measured pressures in the system at all four corners, then tightened up the torsion bars to minimise the oil pressure that the AHC had to provide. I already had OME 862 springs on the rear to lift the extra weight. Just tightening the torsion bars improved the ride enormously. They were originally adjusted at about their minimum setting, and I tightened them up to near their maximum, using the standard LX torsion bars. Just doing that, if I had a full load of fuel in both tanks (278 Litres), the ride was good enough not to worry about the spheres, although I went ahead and changed them anyway. With no load in the back and empty tanks, the 862's make the rear ride a bit harsh, as the springs don't compress much.
So the upshot: Yes, they fail through loss of gas in the spheres when you work them hard, but maybe a little bit of adjustment at the front could have made my AHC serviceable for some time to come, without changing the spheres. Maybe you should try that 1LoudLX?
However, before I actually changed the spheres I measured pressures in the system at all four corners, then tightened up the torsion bars to minimise the oil pressure that the AHC had to provide. I already had OME 862 springs on the rear to lift the extra weight. Just tightening the torsion bars improved the ride enormously. They were originally adjusted at about their minimum setting, and I tightened them up to near their maximum, using the standard LX torsion bars. Just doing that, if I had a full load of fuel in both tanks (278 Litres), the ride was good enough not to worry about the spheres, although I went ahead and changed them anyway. With no load in the back and empty tanks, the 862's make the rear ride a bit harsh, as the springs don't compress much.
So the upshot: Yes, they fail through loss of gas in the spheres when you work them hard, but maybe a little bit of adjustment at the front could have made my AHC serviceable for some time to come, without changing the spheres. Maybe you should try that 1LoudLX?
Thats a pretty good price, definitely try to bring it down more though. If it spent its life in Florida, then it has probably had a fairly easy 93K miles. I would check into if has done any towing though.....florida....boats.....would be good to know before hand.
Just to confirm, the AHC fluid level is definitely supposed to be measured at the NORMAL position. There is also a fair bit of tolerance to overfilling without causing an overflow when you set it to LOW, so I run mine at the very top of the allowed range.
215K miles on mine, and I have only replaced the rear sensor and the AHC Fluid.
i'll give my $.02 worth; 1 is good and 1 is bad. I had a 99 lx which I purchaed in 2000 with 8k miles. No problems all the way up to 90k miles with moderate off roading, carrying camping gear, and towing a few times. Now I have an 06 lx and this has been nothing but problems. Some background info that I have found. The 06 and later models did not use denso for the parts of the system (decide what you will from that; their are people on this board that work for the companies that are now in use so I won't beat that issue). I also disagree with others in the fact that my 99 lx did not do as much movement on its own as my 06 model does. So I believe different control modules are in use for later years. I have not yet swaped my ahc out which I plan to do. As for the truck you are interested in the lx has more creature comforts which are nice if you spend lots of time in the vehichle. Forgot this point that many think the living in the rust belt area affects the units; I think water is more of an issure then the winter salt stuff used on the roads. The spheres in use now are not as good as the old ones. Hey by the way does anyone have info on the 200 series??? what spheres are used on that model and WHO makes them?
You're definately low on fluid. My car was in the same situation as yours and was giving an error (flashing the OFF symbol and dropping back into normal) every time I put it in high. Turns out it was because I was so low on fluid that it would run out and the pump would try to push air through the system. I know for sure you're definately supposed to check the system in normal position, though.
I've got the same problem but it's the pump failing not lack of fluid
Are you sure? You said you were checking it while in low. Try the FSM procedure i detailed earlier and top it up. You might just fix it. When you put it into high, the fluid shouldn't completely disappear from view. There should be at least a centimeter or two of fluid left in the reservoir. Try putting it into high while watching the reservoir. You might find that you have the same issue as me.
