Builds Chicken's GX (3 Viewers)

[stupidchicken03]

Arrived today, packaging was great, product box was inside a shipping box.

Dont feel much like being in the hot garage right now.. probably install it tomorrow morning lol

 

[stupidchicken03]

Welp, hopped under this AM only to find out the plug-n-play harness WILL NOT work on the 470..

Factory hitch wiring:

the inline harness from DD:

Guess i should have peaked under the car before hand lol.. I emailed DD and asked if they had anything else that would work, they responded within an hour stating nothing that directly states it would work.. but since im within the first 30 days, i can return it for a full refund.

Im tempted to make my own harness to make it work.. ill have to mull it over for a bit.

 

[stupidchicken03]

Welp, made everything work hah.

I bought these from amazon:
New plug for the trailer harness - https://amzn.to/3WO5K3Q
Small harness that I used to splice into the OEM harness - https://amzn.to/4bqudRq

First I took the small harness (from the 2nd link) and unpinned all the wires from the connector, then re-pinned them so the colors matched the orientation from the factory plug. Just made things easier when soldering - not having to think "oh yellow goes to red now" type thing.. so just red to red ect.

I cut the OEM trailer plug off the other two smaller plugs that tie into the car's harness

Now simply just matched color to color and soldered them all together

Video of my test to make sure everything was good to go before heating up the shrink wrap, all was good!

Finished the shrink wrap

The wrapped everything with some electrical tape

 

[stupidchicken03]

Took the dog in the GX on Sat, first time driving the car in a few weeks.
Noticed something for the first time... Now that it's getting warmer, I would like to leave the windows cracked open.

I left all 4 doors cracked open by about an inch. After I got the dog out, I used the key fob to lock the doors per usual, but all the windows rolled all the way up... I searched through the owners manual and didnt see any mention of this "feature" (or at least didnt come across it). I posted in the FB group but didnt get any real answers.

 

[stupidchicken03]

Got the Windows XP vm image with TechStream v12 pre-installed. Waiting for the cable to arrive so I can poke around and see if the window roll up is a set feature in there.

 

[stupidchicken03]

Well, no love in TechStream from what I can gather. No obvious option/setting to change. Posted again in the GXOR FB group to try and get additional help.

I did change one setting. I always found it annoying that whenever I parked the car, the doors were all still locked. So i was able to change that!

Here is a post with the video embedded in it.

 

[stupidchicken03]

So over the weekend, made a trip to Home Depot and woudlnt you know it.... the windows stayed cracked open when I locked the car... literally no clue.

But today got all the windows tinted just in time for the heatwave hitting us hah!

my local forecast...

 

[dovetails]

So over the weekend, made a trip to Home Depot and woudlnt you know it.... the windows stayed cracked open when I locked the car... literally no clue.

But today got all the windows tinted just in time for the heatwave hitting us hah!
View attachment 3668291

my local forecast...
View attachment 3668292

Dang that's hot! The tint will help sooo much though. the worst is your arms in the window when it's hot out on a long drive.. the tints are a game changer.

 

[Rednexus]

Fitted sunshades also help a lot. We've gotten them for 3 vehicles so far. Unfortunately, they've gone up in price quite a bit.

UVS100 Original Custom Sunscreen [Top Pick]

<p>Custom-made for your vehicle's exact year, make, and model, the Original Covercraft UVS100 Sunscreen provides precise windshield coverage, offering maximum protection from harmful UV rays and excessive heat.</p> <p>Unlike other car sun shades or heat shields, our UVS100 Sunscreens feature a...

www.covercraft.com

 

[stupidchicken03]

Dang that's hot! The tint will help sooo much though. the worst is your arms in the window when it's hot out on a long drive.. the tints are a game changer.

Yeah, a bit rough! It's typical to get 100-105 for a handful of days in a row, and multiple times over the summer.. but multiple days of 110+ is ehhhh

Im honestly, and most of my car buddies, are shocked it took me this long (7 or so months) to get tint done.. Im usually the guy in the group instantly getting tint done, and darker than i should lol.

Fitted sunshades also help a lot. We've gotten them for 3 vehicles so far. Unfortunately, they've gone up in price quite a bit.

UVS100 Original Custom Sunscreen [Top Pick]

<p>Custom-made for your vehicle's exact year, make, and model, the Original Covercraft UVS100 Sunscreen provides precise windshield coverage, offering maximum protection from harmful UV rays and excessive heat.</p> <p>Unlike other car sun shades or heat shields, our UVS100 Sunscreens feature a...

www.covercraft.com

Luckily that is something i bought early on when I got the car! They make a massive difference in keeping the car cool when parked outside.

 

[stupidchicken03]

When I bought the GX, a previous owner, converted the rear door locking mech to a gas piston. It was snappy, if you open the door and let go, it would flick open pretty hard. So I was just in the habit of slowly assisting the door open.
Took the GX thru a simple carwash a couple weeks ago. They probably just let the door fly open and it busted an end of the gas piston. I was more annoyed no one there said anything to me about it, since I had to find out on my own when I got home.

After searching here and the FB group, the kit used by most has shot way up in price, especially for what it is. So I found a comparable rated piston and bought a 2 pack off amazon:

https://amzn.to/3Y25UVU

They arrived and I went to install them, only to find out that the ball stud also got bent. So I ordered some new ones:

https://amzn.to/3xVnKPY

new vs bent

Installed the new stud and put the new piston on, and the setup did not clear the underside of the door when closing... Not idea what the real difference was, it looks like the new stud was a tiny bit taller above the nut vs the old one. So I removed the plate that the stud screws into, took a cutoff wheel, and trimmed it down a bit.

Shot it with a quick coat of paint on the raw metal

Brought it back to the car, bolted it back in, installed the stud, the piston, and everything worked fine.

 

[stupidchicken03]

well, Bell Lexus in AZ is having another sale. I ordered the sport headlights since mine are faded and cracking. Both LH and RH shipped for $478.
I also just ordered all the window trim replacements. 1 - to get rid of all the chrome (new ones are black) and 2 - the rubber has been cracking and falling off.

So some big visual updates coming lol.

I also still have the Diode Dynamics headlight bulbs from my buddy. I didnt feel like pulling the battery out to install, so the new headlights will be a good opportunity to do it as well.

 

[atoledo]

well, Bell Lexus in AZ is having another sale. I ordered the sport headlights since mine are faded and cracking. Both LH and RH shipped for $478.
I also just ordered all the window trim replacements. 1 - to get rid of all the chrome (new ones are black) and 2 - the rubber has been cracking and falling off.

So some big visual updates coming lol.

I also still have the Diode Dynamics headlight bulbs from my buddy. I didnt feel like pulling the battery out to install, so the new headlights will be a good opportunity to do it as well.

I was JUST thinking its about time to pull the trigger on some sport Headlights - what were the part #s that you went with?

 

[stupidchicken03]

I was JUST thinking its about time to pull the trigger on some sport Headlights - what were the part #s that you went with?

Straight off my invoice:

Order Contents:

P/N​	Quantity​	Price Each​	Description​
8117060A50​	1	$ 239.33​	Headlight (Left)
8113060A60​	1	$ 239.33​	Headlight (Right)

 

[atoledo]

Straight off my invoice:

Order Contents:

P/N​	Quantity​	Price Each​	Description​
8117060A50​	1	$ 239.33​	Headlight (Left)
8113060A60​	1	$ 239.33​	Headlight (Right)

Thanks you're a legend. I have found lots of useful info from your build thread. I appreciate you documenting everything. Will have to give the power adapter from the mirror a try.

 

[stupidchicken03]

Thanks you're a legend. I have found lots of useful info from your build thread. I appreciate you documenting everything. Will have to give the power adapter from the mirror a try.

Thank you!

 

[stupidchicken03]

Big difference!

 

[Sixto Lezcano]

Love it. Bell Lexus is such a good deal. I have a new pair of these out getting the retrofit, 2 month wait time almost over, can’t wait. Headlights on the gx are so awful, or I’m just getting old.

 

[Rednexus]

It's not too late to open them up and black out the chrome

 

[stupidchicken03]

It's not too late to open them up and black out the chrome

If they were the stock replacements, I sure would. But the Sport version come darker already.
Got everything taken care of on Sat morning.

20 year old OEM vs new OEM Sport