Builds FerrisBueller's 2018 LC Build - "Moby" (1 Viewer)

[FerrisBueller]

I've been through several Toyotas (4Runners and Sequoia), and always wanted a Land Cruiser. My wife grew up in a family with an old LC, too. So finally ending up with our own LC was just going to happen one way or another.

I purchased my used 2018 LC during the big price dip when no one was visiting dealer lots right after the pandemic lockdowns started happening (May 2020). I had been tracking LC prices for about 6 months prior to that, and the early pandemic price dip moved my purchase schedule up a full year!

I was lucky that the LC I found local to me already had 3 out of the 4 initial mods I knew I wanted to do. And I don't mean "well the mods are close-enough to what I want". It was exactly what I wanted: 2018 LC, white exterior, black interior, black Tundra TRD Pro wheels, slightly oversized LT285/65R18 tires, and good tint. The only thing missing from my initial “I want” list was Slee formed slider steps (but I soon corrected that).

Trying to keep this intro text short, so lets skip to the “original” vs “now” photos:

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Skip Ahead: Links to Specific Details
I'll keep a list here with links to individual mod-specific posts, so you don't have to read through things you're not interested in. This is grouped by category, then chronologically within each category. By chronologically, I mean the order that I installed / applied each modification.

I will note that I was initially intimidated by the sheer amount of equipment everyone else on this forum already had. I did not plan to purchase very much equipment, but the list does slowly grow as I come across a need and add to my gear.

***Some of the links point to really brief content. I'll expand the explanation of most of these over time in this thread.***

Offroad / Onroad Ability

• Wheels - black 2018-ish Tundra TRD Pro (previous owner already had installed these)
• Tires - Mickey Thompson Baja Boss AT - LT285/65R18 E
• Full-size, matching spare wheel and tire
• Pedal Commander
• Slee formed Slider Steps
• WeBoost Drive Reach cell signal booster
• 2" lift - Bilstein 6112/5160 front & rear suspension (link 1, link 2, link 3)
• 1.25" Spidertrax wheel spacers - anodized gray
• Rhino 4x4 front bumper (color-matched) (link 1, link 2, link 3)
• ComeUp Seal Slim 12.5rs winch w/ Blue Sea Systems 3000 cutoff switch
• SDHQ battery terminals
• Factor 55 FlatLink (black) w/ Rope Guard (and Knipex 4411J1 circlip pliers)
• Trail Tailor rear lower control arm mount skids
• Firestone 4164 helper airbags
• Rear lower control arm skids
• Slee skids (engine, transmission, transfer case)
• E&E Off-Road rear bumper (link 1, link 2)
• 12-gallon factory fuel subtank (link 1, future link 2)
• DR KDSS panhard / track bar correction kit

Preventative Care

• Toyota all-weather mats - all 3 rows and cargo area
• LPS-3 coating on KDSS valve body + bolts
• Aluminum oil filter housing
• "Stop!" vinyl sticker for cabin air filter door
• Tailgate lip / edge protector
• XPEL PPF on headlights & foglights

Aesthetics

• Window tint - don't know what tint level it is (previous owner already had installed it)
• White silicone license plate frames
• Foreign TRD Sport front grille

In-Vehicle Gear

• Tools / Gear:
  • Baofeng handheld radios
  • Leather work gloves
  • Tools for tailgate storage (hatchet, shovel, spare serpentine belt, ratchet straps, etc.)
  • DEX FIT Cru553 cut-resistant gloves
  • Flat repair kit (ARB)
  • Rhino USA hitch receiver shackle & 30' tow strap
  • Shackles / soft shackles
  • Solar panel (for charging phones, radios, etc.)
  • Fire extinguisher (Element E50)
  • LCP Jack adapter
  • Tire rapid deflator (ARB)
  • Trimax SXT3 stainless steel hitch receiver lock (5/8” pin)
  • Curt 23580 stainless steel hitch receiver lock (1/2” pin)
  • Hi-Lift jack base (Amazon Warehouse = same price as generic brands)
  • Stubby wide-mouth adjustable wrench
  • Maxtrax w/ Rightline carrying case
  • EC Offroad Carplay / Android Auto
  • Lifestraw / Sawyer MINI
  • Drop Stop seat gap filler
  • ARB Roller Drawer with Roller Floor (ARB-RDRF1045) w/ side kit (ARB-200FK)
  • VIAIR 450P-RV
  • Factor 55 Fast FID rope splicing tool
  • Factor 55 rope retention pulley snatch block
  • Rhino USA 8’ tree saver strap
  • Agawa 21” folding bow saw
  • Zippo solid fuel firestarter
  • Zippo Typhoon 30-second waterproof matches
  • Colby emergency tire valve replacement
  • OzCharge RescueMate supercapacitor jumper
  • H3R Performance MaxOut dry chemical fire extinguisher (black)
  • Garmin GPSMAP 67i with inReach satellite connection
• Convenience:
  • Center cooler box storage insert
  • Center cooler box mesh divider bags
  • BH3D center console cup holders
  • USB-to-HDMI for streaming devices to rear screens
  • Funtreks trail books

In-Garage Gear

• Jack
• Jack stands
• Yakima Skybox 16 Carbonite roof box & elastic net
• Techstream - VCX Nano
• Leatherique
• Oil filter wrench
• Scepter mil-spec water container
• Bushranger X-Jack
• Raingler cargo net
• The North Face Wawona 6 tent (link 1, link 2)
• QOMOTOP camping matresses
• VelociRAX 5 hitch bike rack (link 1, link 2)
• ROLA 59502 Vortex hitch-mount basket, bag, LED lights
• Ryobi grease gun
• Rhino USA 1-in x 30-ft kinetic recovery rope (w/ carry bag)
• Motive 1745 pump for filling diff & transfer case oils

Skip Ahead: Links to Specific Trips
I'll keep a similar list for places I've taken the family in the LC.

2020

• Great Smoky Mountain National Park - Gatlinburg, TN (link 1, link 2)
• Grand Canyon National Park / South Rim / Flagstaff
• Southern Utah:
  • Grand Canyon National Park
  • Zion National Park (and surrounding area)
  • Bryce Canyon National Park (and surrounding area) (link 1, link 2)
  • Capitol Reef National Park (and surrounding areas) (link 1, link 2)
  • Arches National Park
  • Canyonlands National Park
  • Moab
• Fruita / Grand Junction, Colorado

2021

• Texas Hill Country Overland Route
• Cedar Canyon -> Kolob Road -> Kolob Reservoir
• Bastrop State Park
• Brazos Valley Off Road Ranch (BVORR)

2022

• Brazos Valley Off Road Ranch (BVORR)
• Hidden Falls Adventure Park
• Palo Duro Canyon State Park

2023

• Ouray (Ophir Pass, Cinnamon Pass, Engineer Pass)
• Rattlesnake Arches
• Moab (Hurrah Pass, Hell's Revenge)
• National Parks: Petrified Forest, White Sands, and Carlsbad Caverns

Future Plans
Thoughts about what will come next - mods, trips, etc.

• ARB Twin Compressor
• Garmin PowerSwitch
• PET toilet
• Toilet tent
• D-ring tie-down points on ARB drawer

 

[FerrisBueller]

I don't remember seeing a thorough install thread for airbags on here, so I'm making this description very detailed.

I added Firestone 4164 helper airbags (and added 1/4" wire loom to protect the air tubes). These are rated for up to 35 psi. You can get the same ones, but with sleeves that bring them up to over 60psi max if you purchase the HD version from Airbagman (but it's like 3x more expensive shipped from AUS). They do seem to be the correct item to go with my 2" lift (this was the advice from a few other comments throughout the forum). Whenever we would go on family trips the past couple years, the gear would make the back sag 1" - 2", so this is to alleviate that problem and make it handle better but otherwise keep my non-harsh ride when the LC is not loaded up.

First, here's a really brief summary of the steps, before I get into more detail:

Prep work:

1. Jack up rear frame on both sides and place jack stands.
2. Remove both rear tires AND spare tire (creates a ton more room, I waited too long to do this).
3. Loosen KDSS bolts 2.5 turns.
4. Remove top breather bolt (12mm) to avoid damage when axle droops (I prefer removing the top bolt instead of the bottom clamp, since clamps often aren't airtight anymore after removing them).
5. Remove the first 2 bolts (12mm) holding the brake line (passenger side) where it arrives at the axle.
6. Remove the bolt (12mm) holding the emergency brake line to the axle.

Spring removal work (an extra set of jack stands can be useful for all axle work, but not required):

1. Jack up rear axle by the diff slightly to avoid make sure you're in control of the droop at all time.
2. Remove bottom shock mount bolts (17mm) and hammer shock off the pin.
3. Remove driver side sway bar linkage bolt - 19mm.
4. Remove passenger side sway bar linkage bolt - 14mm (be careful on this one, the washers and bushings like to fall off and roll away).
   • NOTE: This is the important step to make removing the passenger side rear spring really easy, and that usually is not mentioned in instructions anywhere.
5. Jack up the passenger side of the rear axle, and let the driver side droop.
6. Push down on the driver side wheel hub with your knee, the axle should droop enough to get the spring out.
7. Jack up the driver side of the rear axle, and let the passenger side droop.
8. Push down on the passenger side wheel hub with your knee, the axle should droop enough to get the spring out. You might need to brace your back against the wheel well.

Airbag work (just following the included instructions):

1. Take the pyramid-looking bump stops out of the springs and cut off the lower 4 sections.
2. Put the airbags in the springs (hole toward the top).
3. Cut the provided tube in half, and add the wire loom now if you have some.
   • NOTE: leave at least 1" bare without loom on one side for the next step.
4. Push to securely connect each section of tube to the easy-connect fittings on the airbags.
5. Thread the tube through the hole in the shortened bump stops, placing the bump stops where they belong on the springs.
6. Stand the spring/airbag/tube combination on the ground near where they belong on the axle.
7. Thread the tube through the top frame hole where the springs will rest, and temporarily bring them out through the gap in above the frame into the wheel well. This will make routing a lot easier.
8. Install the spring/airbag/tube combinations back onto the axle. Do passenger first, then driver. Same procedure as when you removed them - push on hub with knee and insert springs (make sure to align correctly).
9. Route and zip-tie along the top or outside edges of the frame (there are lots of other tubes and cables in there that you can bundle them with), until you reach your target where you'd like to install your air valves. You'll have a ton of extra tubing, just leave the extra for now.
   • NOTE: Make sure you consider spare tire clearance.
10. Install your air valves (1/2" top and bottom).
    • NOTE: A super convenient valve install point is in a little metal tab that is hidden but easily accessible under the plastic flap when you have your tailgate open. The existing holes are just barely too small, and need a tiny bit material drilled out first (and paint to protect from corrosion).
11. Trim the tubing to the correct length to reach the air valves, but leaving a little slack. Remember to trim the wire loom back at least 1" from the end.
12. Securely press the tube ends to the easy-connect fittings on the air valves.

Finishing up:

1. Connect the sway bar linkages in the reverse order that you disconnected them. First the passenger side (jack up driver side axle first, then should be easy to manually place with the washers and bushings).
2. Leave the passenger side axle high, this will push the driver side sway bar down, making it easier to bolt it back up to the driver side linkage (do this now).
   • NOTE: you'll probably need to use a jack or ratchet strap to push the linkage up the rest of the way to the sway bar. I used a jack.
3. Replace lower shock mount bolts. Raise or lower each side of axle to make the hole line up, hammer the shock onto the mount, then install bolt.
   • NOTE: Make sure the tops of the springs stay inserted on the mounting lip, as they like to fall out during this.
4. Reinstall emergency brake line bolt.
5. Reinstall 2 brake line bolts.
6. Reinstall breather bolt.
7. Reinstall wheels & spare.
8. Lower vehicle, and let it sit on level ground for 10 - 15 minutes (maybe even bounce around a little on the rear, too) so the KDSS system settles.
9. Tighten KDSS bolts.
10. Inflate airbags to 5psi (minimum when not using them.
    • NOTE: I added a hand pump to my gear that goes up to 30psi, since the airbags max out at 35psi. The hand pump works pretty good, and I will use it only when I need to make small increments (15 pumps for 5psi) or don't want to get out my bigger compressor.

Lots of pictures coming next...

 

[FerrisBueller]

Removing breather bolt:

Removing 2 brake line bolts:

Removing e-brake bolt (or are those ABS / slip sensor lines?):

 

[FerrisBueller]

Removing shock bolts:

Removing driver side sway bar linkage bolt:

Removing passenger side sway bar linkage nut:

Cutting the bumpstops:

Spring / airbag / tube combo:

 

[FerrisBueller]

Where the air valves go (need to slightly drill bigger):

... But need to bend it down slightly so that it's easier to access:

Air valves installed:

 

[FerrisBueller]

Passenger side routing:

Driver side routing (avoid the exhaust pipe as much as possible!):

(next pic show tube going through driver side rear bumper wing, then over the frame rail to avoid exhaust):

And that's it for that!

 

[FerrisBueller]

When I banged up my rear lower control arm mount locations on the frame, I installed Trail Tailor's mount skids. But since then, I've been worrying a lot about my rear lower control arms, since it seems everyone hits and bends them eventually. So I picked up these stainless steel control arm skids from turbo8. One less thing to worry about now.

Painted them black so they would be more subtle, since they're the one undercarriage item that's easily visible from the side of the vehicle.

Felt like it would be best to clean off the control arms first.

Well-protected now, and not really noticeable from the side:

 

[FerrisBueller]

This past weekend I installed Slee skids. I considered all the skids listed here:

200 Series Skid Plates - pics and install notes

Now (May 2020) that there are a few different sources and fabs making 200 series skids post up your pre and post install pics, weights, and install notes and sourcing info.

forum.ih8mud.com

I narrowed it down to the Slee skids for these reasons:

• More airflow (I recently had a gas boiling event, and don't want to restrict undercarriage airflow if I can help it).
• Water, mud and dirt easier to drain out.
• Not crazy heavy
• Covers the transmission and transfer case sufficiently, without going overboard in how far it reaches to the frame rails (affects weight, temperature, and ease of maintenance).
• While it was not obvious if it would be compatible with my Rhino 4x4 bumper + bash plate, it looked like it would work fine, with minimal modifications if any at all.
  • It ended up being true that minimal modifications were needed, and this is mostly what I'll describe here.

They arrived packed very well, as would be expected from Slee.

A few of the welded nuts had powdercoat covering the holes, but that was super easy to clean out with a pointy object:

Here's the area where I was concerned about whether the skids would be compatible with my Rhino 4x4 bumper and bash plate (the lower Rhino skid gets removed, and the upper bash plate stays on). The Slee skid is supposed to attach to (1) the radiator support that's behind the Rhino bash plate, which is fine, but the two little forward-facing arms on the Slee skid are supposed to get sandwiched between the front recovery points and the frame, but (2) the Rhino bumper gets rid of the recover points and won't install correctly if you try to sandwich something between it and the frame:

So I would have to install the Slee skid arms so that the Rhino bumper's bracket stays where it is and gets sandwiched between the skid arm and the frame, instead of the skid arm getting sandwiched between. That does slightly increase the distance of the skid from the frame, though, and would put some extra strain on the skids and its bolts because of the difference in offset between the skid's arms and the nearby skid's front lip that attaches to the radiator support.

The solution was pretty simple. The Rhino bash plate has an extra section reaching toward the engine that is no longer needed (this is different from the older style of Rhino bumper), so I decided to cut that little piece off and use it as a spacer between the Slee skid's front lip and the radiator support. It worked just like it should. I cut the piece off like shown below, and drilled two holes to match the radiator support holes that the skid needed to attach to:

Now the only problem was that the original recovery point's washers are too small for the Slee skid's slot hole. I need to go to the hardware store to pick up some bigger ones, but that's an easy fix:

Besides those adjustments, I followed Slee's instructions how they've documented, with minimal problems. I did struggle a little with the 5" bolts at the very back being slightly too short for the nut to engage any threads, because the lock washer pushes the nut far enough away from the end to make it almost impossible. I had to use a c-clamp on one side to push the nut against the bolt end to compress the lock washer enough to engage the threads.

Finished product:

 

[FerrisBueller]

Replaced the washers with larger outer diameter ones (same inner diameter). The slot on the skid is so wide that it would still bend the bigger washer when tightening, so I stacked the smaller and larger washer together. Seems to be just right now.

Old:

New:

 

[DPA200]

When I banged up my rear lower control arm mount locations on the frame, I installed Trail Tailor's mount skids. But since then, I've been worrying a lot about my rear lower control arms, since it seems everyone hits and bends them eventually. So I picked up these stainless steel control arm skids from turbo8. One less thing to worry about now.

Painted them black so they would be more subtle, since they're the one undercarriage item that's easily visible from the side of the vehicle.

View attachment 3009045
View attachment 3009046

Felt like it would be best to clean off the control arms first.
View attachment 3009047


Well-protected now, and not really noticeable from the side:

View attachment 3009048
View attachment 3009049

How have you like these since then? Do they just wrap around the rear LCA's. This is my 1st time Ive seen this option

 

[FerrisBueller]

How have you like these since then? Do they just wrap around the rear LCA's. This is my 1st time Ive seen this option

Yes, they just wrap around. I absolutely recommend them. Look at the reviews on the web page, which are candid observations grabbed directly from user posts on this forum. Everyone should have a set.

Toyota Lexus RLCA Braces Skids | E&E Off-Road

These increase the stiffness of the rear lower control arm and decrease the chance of the arms getting bent from impacts. Brackets 6061-T6 Aluminium Skids 304 Stainless Steel They come with metric stainless steel mounting hardware, can be installed in under an hour and the only tool required is...

www.ee-offroading.com

 

[FerrisBueller]

Going to start documenting factory fuel subtank installation here as I make progress.

I'm fully committed - ordered $1,000 in oem parts (plus $700 shipping). Expecting to receive them in a couple weeks, then the fun begins! Stay tuned. And thanks to @grinchy for paving the way:

Factory sub tank - sourcing and fitment discussion

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[FerrisBueller]

OEM fuel subtank parts starting to arrive.

Ordered the majority of parts on the April 9th from Partsouq, and they shipped 3 days later. Arrived today (19th), which was 2 days late due to customs - but still really good in my book! Only things they didn't have in stock that I had to order elsewhere are the subtank suction tube and the subtank float / gage / sender assembly. I purchased those two from fitinpart.sg, which is a parts middleman that lets you select which of its sources to purchase from, and they've ranked their own sources based on how reliable those sources are (in terms of if they historically actually have the parts in stock and ship on time). Those sources then ship to fitinpart, which then combines and ships directly to you. We'll see how it works out, but it does seem legit.

Yes, they actually put wood around the Toyota cardboard box for the subtank, and then completely surrounded that with plastic and tape!

The top part of the filler tube has a plastic piece that was cracked, but that's okay since I'm planning to only cut out and use the middle section of the tube where the bung is, and then hook that into my existing filler.

 

[grinchy]

shame that the filler had that cracked plastic bit, is it cracked where the filler cap gasket would sit?

 

[FerrisBueller]

shame that the filler had that cracked plastic bit, is it cracked where the filler cap gasket would sit?

I'm not sure what surfaces on this end of the filler would contact the filler cap gasket. This plastic piece spins freely, so I'm not sure if it's meant to seal anything.

 

[grinchy]

on the oem filler the canister output (post processing and post smell filtering) plugs into that and is vented to atmosphere always (ie the vents are not behind the filler cap oring). Looks to be only for cosmetic reasons on the ROW filler. Probably could bond it up with your favorite fuel non reactive plastic epoxy and move on.

What did partsouq say about replacement?

 

[FerrisBueller]

on the oem filler the canister output (post processing and post smell filtering) plugs into that and is vented to atmosphere always (ie the vents are not behind the filler cap oring). Looks to be only for cosmetic reasons on the ROW filler. Probably could bond it up with your favorite fuel non reactive plastic epoxy and move on.

What did partsouq say about replacement?

I emailed partsouq to see if they would replace it, but they are closed for the next several days for a holiday, so I'm not expecting to hear back until after that.

I think I'm still going to prefer just cutting out the bung section to use instead of using this filler as-is, per my original plan. Doing it this way: (1) avoids temporary body lift to get the foreign filler in place, (2) preserves the canister vent through the filler so I don't have to install and deal with cleaning or replacing a separate filter (like on the LRA), and (3) makes it so I'm adding fittings / adapters in the middle sections of pipe & hoses instead of at the end points (which at least in my mind seems easier?)

 

[empty80]

Going to start documenting factory fuel subtank installation here as I make progress.

I'm fully committed - ordered $1,000 in oem parts (plus $700 shipping). Expecting to receive them in a couple weeks, then the fun begins! Stay tuned. And thanks to @grinchy for paving the way:

Factory sub tank - sourcing and fitment discussion

forum.ih8mud.com

Did you order a new main tank fuel pump or are you going the rebuild route? If you did or a new pump, which part number did you go with?

 

[FerrisBueller]

Did you order a new main tank fuel pump or are you going the rebuild route? If you did or a new pump, which part number did you go with?

I ordered a new pump. There were two part number options listed. 7702060550 was consistent with the year range for all the other parts I ordered (2015 - 2021, for general LC destinations) but was unavailable. 7702060590 was the other number, and was available so I ordered it. It was listed as a slightly narrower year range (2015 - 2017, for UAE destination), but I figured I may as well try it since it was available. If for some reason it isn't fully compatible, I'm guessing that I can at least rebuild my original one with parts from this one.

I could not find availability for only the parts that would be used for a rebuild.

Note that I'm specifically ordering parts that are listed for model year 2018 (or at least trying to). That means that many of the part numbers are different from the ones @grinchy used.

I am running into problems getting the subtank's suction tube and the subtank's gauge / sender. Everywhere that has showed them as being in stock have cancelled because they didn't really have them. Partsouq even briefly showed stock for one of them a couple days ago, but then immediately cancelled the order when I tried to buy it. I'm not too worried about the gauge / sender, since other versions of it are available (like the one grinchy used) and I won't actually use the sender signal. But the suction tube is problematic since it appears to be the same part number for all model years (the same one grinchy used), and simply is not available anywhere right now. I will basically just hold off installation until I can get that. I am glad to have all the other parts now, though, since I'm guessing that there will always be something with supply issues.

I am planning to provide the full parts list that I used (which should be good for all 2016+ model years) once I have everything and verified it all fits & works 100% correctly.

 

[empty80]

I ordered a new pump. There were two part number options listed. 7702060550 was consistent with the year range for all the other parts I ordered (2015 - 2021, for general LC destinations) but was unavailable. 7702060590 was the other number, and was available so I ordered it. It was listed as a slightly narrower year range (2015 - 2017, for UAE destination), but I figured I may as well try it since it was available. If for some reason it isn't fully compatible, I'm guessing that I can at least rebuild my original one with parts from this one.
View attachment 3308689


I could not find availability for only the parts that would be used for a rebuild.

Note that I'm specifically ordering parts that are listed for model year 2018 (or at least trying to). That means that many of the part numbers are different from the ones @grinchy used.

I am running into problems getting the subtank's suction tube and the subtank's gauge / sender. Everywhere that has showed them as being in stock have cancelled because they didn't really have them. Partsouq even briefly showed stock for one of them a couple days ago, but then immediately cancelled the order when I tried to buy it. I'm not too worried about the gauge / sender, since other versions of it are available (like the one grinchy used) and I won't actually use the sender signal. But the suction tube is problematic since it appears to be the same part number for all model years (the same one grinchy used), and simply is not available anywhere right now. I will basically just hold off installation until I can get that. I am glad to have all the other parts now, though, since I'm guessing that there will always be something with supply issues.

I am planning to provide the full parts list that I used (which should be good for all 2016+ model years) once I have everything and verified it all fits & works 100% correctly.

Awesome! Thanks for the sanity check. I’m building my cart as well, and the senders are the issue. I can’t fathom why the GCC part numbers wouldn’t work, but Mr. T is full of surprises. It’s only a couple hundred dollars if we are wrong!