I will do a write up later. This is what I got out of my 2013 LX570 with 125k miles.
Did the AHC Flush (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Hillbilly Deluxe
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Milk looks expired to me
- Thread starter
- #3
Here is what I did-
1. I printed this PDF that TLCLVR compiled and posted here. This is a great start to familiarizing the procedure and shows you where the bleeder screws are, etc.
2. I used four Rhino Ramps to elevated the vehicle up high enough that I would have ample clearance. I put it up on all four ramps and used my creeper to roll around underneath to familiarize myself with all 4 bleeder screw locations, etc.
3. The best way I found to check the fluid level in the reservoir was to use my Icon Magnetic stick light with the end light running and to push on the inner fender well/frame of the right rear tire. This will help slosh the fluid around and give you a more defined look at the level. My reservoir tank is extremely opaque, IOW, I was like Ray Charles trying to shine any sort of light through it and see an acurrate level.
4. I couldn't get the hose off the reservoir tank. I removed the stopper and filter and shoved 3/16" ID tubing down the hose. This was difficult at times, I had to rotate the tubing to get the curled end past fitting obstructions. I tried and tried to remove the spring clamp on the hose, couldn't get it to budge.
5. I put the vehicle in L and sucked as much fluid out of the tank as possible using a 500 mL giant syringe and 3/16" ID tubing. I then cleaned the syringe and tubing with brake cleaner and dried it and used it to re-fill during the process. I drew out about 3-1/2 syringes of old fluid and pumped about 3/4 of a 2.5L can back in. Turned the vehicle on and let it get back to N.
6. I chose to bleed all the screws down from the N position rather than my initial plan of putting it in H. Since this was my first time, I wanted to go by the book.
7. I hooked a piece of tubing to the FR Bleeder and opened it up, draining the fluid into a 1/2 gallon plastic jug. Then I went to the RR Bleeder and this was a disaster. I got the screw loose with a Crow's foot line wrench, but it was cumbersome and tight. The screw loosened on it's own, spraying fluid all over my head/upper body. I managed to tighten the screw by hand and then got my crows foot wrench back up in there and tightened it good.
8. I refilled the tank with fresh fluid and started the vehicle again, letting it rise to N again (albeit on the right side only). I went to the left side and repeated this procedure, down to getting some fluid sprayed on me on the rear bleeder. Again, I refilled, started the vehicle and let it come back up. By now I was learning to let the fluid really bleed down all the way. I was hesitant on the right side to let it come all the way down.
9. I refilled the tank, bled the RF again, then the LF again, then the LR again, refilling when needed.
10. I bled the RR a little bit more and by this time, I had almost a gallon captured in my milk jug. This does not account for what sprayed and puddled on the driveway nor what I caught in a plain ole oil pan.
I was fairly pleased with the much better color/clarity of the fluid coming out by now. It wasn't pure clear pink new fluid, but it was much, much better. I had the wife crank the vehicle again and run through the motions of N, then H, then drop it to L, raise to H, drop to L, raise to H, then back to N, L, then H for a final check of the fluid level. I set the fluid level to just above MAX when it was in High and I feel good about everything.
Here's my advice-
1. Buy THREE 2.5L cans of fluid. I feel you really need more than two cans to properly flush in my experience.
2. Buy the pump that the Australian guy uses. It's on Amazon for about $30. Well worth it.
3. Remove the factory rock sliders (or whatever they are called). I regret not doing this. I think spending the 10-12 minutes doing this will cut at least 30-45 minutes out due to making all the screws much easier to access.
4. You can bleed all four screws at once, just make sure your reservoir is full, meaning you've sucked out ~2 liters of fluid and put nearly the entire 2.5L can in before bleeding. Check the tank after bleeding each side and refill as needed. Again, I found that shaking the vehicle while shining a small, direct light at the tank helped me determine the fluid level the easiest. It's a good idea to use clear containers with known volumes so you have an idea of how much fluid you are bleeding off, so you know about how much to refill when needed.
The fluid coming out of the front bleeders was pretty frothy the first couple of times. Not sure about the rear, I didn't have a hose hooked to them, but I can only assume they had air in them.
All in all, I learned a lot, there's a lot that all these write-ups can't or don't explain. I will do a video next time or when I can get a friend to the house to do theirs. I feel pretty confident about doing it again, it's like many things like this - once you do it and figure out the rights and wrongs, it's much better.
1. I printed this PDF that TLCLVR compiled and posted here. This is a great start to familiarizing the procedure and shows you where the bleeder screws are, etc.
2. I used four Rhino Ramps to elevated the vehicle up high enough that I would have ample clearance. I put it up on all four ramps and used my creeper to roll around underneath to familiarize myself with all 4 bleeder screw locations, etc.
3. The best way I found to check the fluid level in the reservoir was to use my Icon Magnetic stick light with the end light running and to push on the inner fender well/frame of the right rear tire. This will help slosh the fluid around and give you a more defined look at the level. My reservoir tank is extremely opaque, IOW, I was like Ray Charles trying to shine any sort of light through it and see an acurrate level.
4. I couldn't get the hose off the reservoir tank. I removed the stopper and filter and shoved 3/16" ID tubing down the hose. This was difficult at times, I had to rotate the tubing to get the curled end past fitting obstructions. I tried and tried to remove the spring clamp on the hose, couldn't get it to budge.
5. I put the vehicle in L and sucked as much fluid out of the tank as possible using a 500 mL giant syringe and 3/16" ID tubing. I then cleaned the syringe and tubing with brake cleaner and dried it and used it to re-fill during the process. I drew out about 3-1/2 syringes of old fluid and pumped about 3/4 of a 2.5L can back in. Turned the vehicle on and let it get back to N.
6. I chose to bleed all the screws down from the N position rather than my initial plan of putting it in H. Since this was my first time, I wanted to go by the book.
7. I hooked a piece of tubing to the FR Bleeder and opened it up, draining the fluid into a 1/2 gallon plastic jug. Then I went to the RR Bleeder and this was a disaster. I got the screw loose with a Crow's foot line wrench, but it was cumbersome and tight. The screw loosened on it's own, spraying fluid all over my head/upper body. I managed to tighten the screw by hand and then got my crows foot wrench back up in there and tightened it good.
8. I refilled the tank with fresh fluid and started the vehicle again, letting it rise to N again (albeit on the right side only). I went to the left side and repeated this procedure, down to getting some fluid sprayed on me on the rear bleeder. Again, I refilled, started the vehicle and let it come back up. By now I was learning to let the fluid really bleed down all the way. I was hesitant on the right side to let it come all the way down.
9. I refilled the tank, bled the RF again, then the LF again, then the LR again, refilling when needed.
10. I bled the RR a little bit more and by this time, I had almost a gallon captured in my milk jug. This does not account for what sprayed and puddled on the driveway nor what I caught in a plain ole oil pan.
I was fairly pleased with the much better color/clarity of the fluid coming out by now. It wasn't pure clear pink new fluid, but it was much, much better. I had the wife crank the vehicle again and run through the motions of N, then H, then drop it to L, raise to H, drop to L, raise to H, then back to N, L, then H for a final check of the fluid level. I set the fluid level to just above MAX when it was in High and I feel good about everything.
Here's my advice-
1. Buy THREE 2.5L cans of fluid. I feel you really need more than two cans to properly flush in my experience.
2. Buy the pump that the Australian guy uses. It's on Amazon for about $30. Well worth it.
3. Remove the factory rock sliders (or whatever they are called). I regret not doing this. I think spending the 10-12 minutes doing this will cut at least 30-45 minutes out due to making all the screws much easier to access.
4. You can bleed all four screws at once, just make sure your reservoir is full, meaning you've sucked out ~2 liters of fluid and put nearly the entire 2.5L can in before bleeding. Check the tank after bleeding each side and refill as needed. Again, I found that shaking the vehicle while shining a small, direct light at the tank helped me determine the fluid level the easiest. It's a good idea to use clear containers with known volumes so you have an idea of how much fluid you are bleeding off, so you know about how much to refill when needed.
The fluid coming out of the front bleeders was pretty frothy the first couple of times. Not sure about the rear, I didn't have a hose hooked to them, but I can only assume they had air in them.
All in all, I learned a lot, there's a lot that all these write-ups can't or don't explain. I will do a video next time or when I can get a friend to the house to do theirs. I feel pretty confident about doing it again, it's like many things like this - once you do it and figure out the rights and wrongs, it's much better.
Hold on. You got the factory AHC skids off in 10-12 minutes?! How did that last bolt go for you? I would never take those off unless I was replacing my accumulators. Bleeding all four at the same time seems like irresponsible advice as well, but you did keep your fluid levels up so that's good.
There is a pinned thread for AHC maintenance and issues, this would be a good place for a post like this.
LX570 AHC “Basics” - Added as sticky thread for AHC Issues
Point of this thread is to serve as a repository for 200-series AHC info, including LX570 and LC equipped with AHC (in select global markets). Let’s begin with a theory. The 200-series LC (without AHC) and the LX570 (or LC with AHC) are like New York & LA. LC “purists” are like New Yorkers...
forum.ih8mud.com
A little different than the process I did, but great to see you got it done. Your old fluid in the photo doesnt look terrible. How's it feel now that you've had some drive time?
- Thread starter
- #6
Hold on. You got the factory AHC skids off in 10-12 minutes?! How did that last bolt go for you? I would never take those off unless I was replacing my accumulators. Bleeding all four at the same time seems like irresponsible advice as well, but you did keep your fluid levels up so that's good.
There is a pinned thread for AHC maintenance and issues, this would be a good place for a post like this.
LX570 AHC “Basics” - Added as sticky thread for AHC Issues
Point of this thread is to serve as a repository for 200-series AHC info, including LX570 and LC equipped with AHC (in select global markets). Let’s begin with a theory. The 200-series LC (without AHC) and the LX570 (or LC with AHC) are like New York & LA. LC “purists” are like New Yorkers...
1. I was advising to remove the factory rock sliders to prevent larger problems with access to the rear bleeder screws. I have a pretty large assortment of tools, I doubt many have crow foot line wrenches, eh? I do. I also have short, long, offset and 90° flex ratcheting wrenches. I have 1/4" drive, 3/8" flex 10mm sockets, 1/4", 3/8" ujoints. NONE of this was helpful except the crow foot wrench in loosening/tightening the rear bleeder screws. I've yet to see a single member here, in that 30+ page thread you want to link to, speak about the difficulty with the rear bleeder screws. Maybe my 2013 model is a one off?
2.I know there's a pinned AHC thread. It's chock full of people quoting long, lengthy posts and saying "OK". It either needs to be locked or the chaff edited out. Where do you think I got the thread that I linked to? It's the MOST USEFULL POST in that thread and it's on page 12? 14? And there's 18+ pages after it?
3. I also repeatedly advised to check the fluid level after bleeding each side.... I advised that I refilled the tank after each side.
I desperately and honestly tried to write up a procedure to augment the post I linked to in order to help anyone else in the future. I had been putting this procedure off for MONTHS because there's just so much mystery surrounding it and so many posts doing nothing but posting PDFs or links to technical service manual pages.
- Thread starter
- #7
Thank you. I felt it was pretty nasty looking, especially compared to new fluid.
I felt like the ride was better. Not anything to write a newspaper headline about, but better. We took it out to eat about an hour later (after a hand cleaner bath/shower and a cooling off period) and then to the grocery store. Maybe it was my wishful thinking, but, again, I do feel it was riding better.
I plan on doing another flush in 15-20k miles.
where did you source your 2.5L metal canister ahc fluid? need to do mine and not having much luck finding any online.
32cls6speedmt
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I ordered three cans from mcgeorge and received it in two days. Well packaged.
Many thanks! Just placed my order, sold out everywhere else I looked.
So what did you do about the accumulator?
I agree it’s far easier to reach the rear bleeders with the AHC guards off. But also I was able to loosen and tighten my rear bleeders with a stubby 10mm wrench that one side was a “flex” end with the guards on.
I also agree that a lot of the sticky threads become somewhat useless because of all the noise. There’s also a lot of recent noise because of the bout owners had with bad fluid.. that started a lot of different threads..
The reality with bleeding is there isn’t much to it as long as you don’t let the reservoir run dry. That’s why there are so many different “how-to’s”.
I agree it’s far easier to reach the rear bleeders with the AHC guards off. But also I was able to loosen and tighten my rear bleeders with a stubby 10mm wrench that one side was a “flex” end with the guards on.
I also agree that a lot of the sticky threads become somewhat useless because of all the noise. There’s also a lot of recent noise because of the bout owners had with bad fluid.. that started a lot of different threads..
The reality with bleeding is there isn’t much to it as long as you don’t let the reservoir run dry. That’s why there are so many different “how-to’s”.
- Thread starter
- #12
I didn't touch the accumulator.
I'm sure it's not a huge deal, but if you never touched the accumulator, i doubt the truck used the accumulator to do any of the single side lifts to right the truck after you drained flud from the bleeders. So, it would have still been full of old fluid. Most likely the first time you did a movement from N to H, all the fluid from the accumulator was pushed into the leveling valve cluster.
- Thread starter
- #14
Can you provide a clear diagram/picture of where the accumulator is and what/when to bleed it?
Thanks.
It’s never mentioned in the manual for the bleeding process, I assume since there’s never really a time when it should get air in it. It’s located along the same frame rail as the leveling valve but closer to the driver seat. There is a panel over it that needs to removed to gain access. It does have a bleeder valve. There’s a few ways to approach it.
I just noticed your step 5 you start the truck and let it get from L to N before you bleed, but after swapping the reservoir. There is a good chance that action evacuated the accumulator into the system and then filled the accumulator with fresh fluid. If I was doing it again with that in mind, I’d do a full L to H. That would almost guarantee the accumulator evacuating, plus pushing more fresh fluid into the leveling valve, that way the accumulator would be filled with fresh fluid for sure.
When doing any height mode change to a higher position, the truck uses the accumulator to lift as much as possible along with the pump, then the pump finishes lifting to satisfy height sensors, then shuts the leveling valves and refills the accumulator as the last step. You could probably also use techstream to manually evacuate the accumulator, if you wanted to be sure it happened.
