Builds Hokie's 2003 LX470 (2 Viewers)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Just to update. Burped the system again right after the original post and after just driving it to Buffalo, NY and then back to NC last weekend, it's still running as good as ever!

Gave her a bath yesterday.


 
Last edited:
So after trying the Dorman height sensors, I can't get them to last longer than ~3-4 months. I ended up buying two new AISIN Toyota sensors for the front and installing them. $300 shipped for both from RockAuto.

While the dorman's are essentially the same sensor but are branded for use in headlights, there are obvious differences. For me, the contact coating on the lid of the sensor kept wearing through from the contact with the metal contact on the rotating assembly inside the sensor. This led to an intermittent signal and the AHC acting up. The OEM sensors have a much thicker and stout coating which does not wear through, even on the OEM sensors with well over 100k miles!

Will be using AISIN sensors from now on when the Dorman sensor in the rear fails.
 
So after trying the Dorman height sensors, I can't get them to last longer than ~3-4 months. I ended up buying two new AISIN Toyota sensors for the front and installing them. $300 shipped for both from RockAuto.

While the dorman's are essentially the same sensor but are branded for use in headlights, there are obvious differences. For me, the contact coating on the lid of the sensor kept wearing through from the contact with the metal contact on the rotating assembly inside the sensor. This led to an intermittent signal and the AHC acting up. The OEM sensors have a much thicker and stout coating which does not wear through, even on the OEM sensors with well over 100k miles!

Will be using AISIN sensors from now on when the Dorman sensor in the rear fails.

Have you or will be doing a AHC sensor lift, would like to follow your review if you do.
 
Have you or will be doing a AHC sensor lift, would like to follow your review if you do.

No I will not be doing a sensor lift. I have no reason to lift the truck with my needs and I don't like the idea of raising it above it's operating range without upgrading additional components. In my mind, when it's artificially lifted higher by the AHC system by fiddling with the sensor linkage position without new/longer springs, less load is being carried by the springs and more by the AHC system, thereby putting more stress on the system. My truck has almost 190k miles on it and my AHC functions perfectly with pressures within spec. I hope to keep it that way for the foreseeable future. If I were to lift the truck it would be by swapping in an entirely new coil setup.

There are some how-to's on MUD already and I think DirtDawg did one on his truck but he used newer springs and spacers to take load off of the system.
 
Ever since I've bought my truck in 2016 the sub has been blown and the front passenger lower door speaker has rattled. I recently got the motivation to order the re-foam kits from simplyspeakers and installed them tonight.

I ordered the 6" kit for the sub and 1 front door speaker. $22 shipped from their eBay store.

I also ordered a 4" kit for the rear door speakers and may do them this weekend.

When I bought the truck, I got it home and realized the sub was actually the upgraded JL sub that the PO had had installed. It was blown though so I just unplugged it.
Here it was torn down:


And the foam piece that was used:


After removing the old adhesive and foam bits with a razor blade, I installed the new foam and whallah! New speaker foam! I used a little too much adhesive so it dripped down into the cone a bit...whoops.




Next up was the front door speaker. I had already checked the driver side one for another project shortly after buying the truck and it looked like the PO had replaced that speaker already with OEM ML or had it refoamed already. I pulled the passenger door card however and was greeted by this...


The foam had completely disintegrated! No wonder it sounded like crap. That foam was replaced as well.



I let the adhesive set for the 1 hour per surface and briefly tried it out. Sounds way better! No more rattles. Will let it finish setting overnight and will work it out on the way to work tomorrow. Initial impressions are very good though, especially for only $22!
 
Last edited:
Well after spending most of the weekend prepping my 2009 335i for sale with a full paint correction and detail, I got around to replacing the foam on my rear door speakers.



When I opened up the door panels I was once again greeted with completely blown speakers.



And all fixed!



The rear sub also still sounds like it's blown so it may be something else wrong besides the foam. I ordered a cheap amazon Pyle sub to throw back there to see if it will give the system a little kick. If it doesn't cut it then I'll wire in my 10" JL sub that I have leftover from my old Tahoe.

Pyle Sub: https://www.amazon.com/Pyle-PLPW6D-...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=D8T2XGRN1CDPHC2YSCGY
 
Tore apart the rear to take the JL sub out again. Found out the "blown" sound was actually just the spacing between the sub and the box due to the shotty trimming job the PO did. Did some work and took some foam and sealed it up. Sounds great now!.....or as good as a 6" sub can sound...


Got some more maintenance done. Replaced the cabin filters...gross.


Also pulled the blower motor and cleaned it out, removed the plastic fan and soaked and cleaned it as well.



Then replaced my rear hatch struts so they actually work now which is nice. They've been weak since I bought the truck in late 2016. Used the "liftsupportdepot" struts from Amazon which were $34 or so.

 
My girl got some new stopping power yesterday.


UPDATE: THESE ARE CHEAP TRASH! I DO NOT RECOMMEND THEM! Went back to OEM rotors and pads and have had no issues.

New PowerStop rotors/pads on all 4 corners. Also repacked front bearings and cleaned/lubed caliper slide pins. Did the bedding process last night. Seems to stop pretty good with some tire chirping as the ABS kicks in. Pedal feel isn’t great though so may look into some stainless lines and refill the system with new fluid.

7B07E098-684E-4EDA-BE19-50D19E6AEC67.jpeg


1429EDDD-9339-45BD-88BF-4D34AADC21C4.jpeg
 
Last edited:
@Hokie LX - well documented maintenance! Enjoyed the write up. It inspired me to get after some of the misc maintenance items I need to do. Keep up the great work. Sub'd
 
@Hokie LX - well documented maintenance! Enjoyed the write up. It inspired me to get after some of the misc maintenance items I need to do. Keep up the great work. Sub'd

Appreciate the kind words! Planning to keep it for the long haul so trying to stay on top of it all.
 
How many miles you got on those power stops?? I went with EBC, have used them on other vehicles with no issues, but these front rotors warp within ~2-3000 miles. They sent a replacement set, they did the same thing, using their Green pads. Brakes really well, just annoyingly makes the steering wobble...

Also, what Battery is that? Size-wise?
 
How many miles you got on those power stops?? I went with EBC, have used them on other vehicles with no issues, but these front rotors warp within ~2-3000 miles. They sent a replacement set, they did the same thing, using their Green pads. Brakes really well, just annoyingly makes the steering wobble...

Also, what Battery is that? Size-wise?

Pretty sure it's this one: a Group49

Battery - NAPA Legend 75 Month 12 Volts Group 49 900 CCA Top Post
 
How many miles you got on those power stops?? I went with EBC, have used them on other vehicles with no issues, but these front rotors warp within ~2-3000 miles. They sent a replacement set, they did the same thing, using their Green pads. Brakes really well, just annoyingly makes the steering wobble...

Also, what Battery is that? Size-wise?

Brakes have ~500 miles on them so far. Liking them so far with no issues. I'll report back after 5k miles or so and update.


Yup, that's the one. Fires up the truck and all 4 of my HID's in below ZERO temps with no issues. Spent 6 weeks in Buffalo NY from January to mid February and worked flawlessly. It's a monster battery.
 
Brakes have ~500 miles on them so far. Liking them so far with no issues. I'll report back after 5k miles or so and update.



Yup, that's the one. Fires up the truck and all 4 of my HID's in below ZERO temps with no issues. Spent 6 weeks in Buffalo NY from January to mid February and worked flawlessly. It's a monster battery.

I take it that you're pretty happy with it then? I'm in the market for a new battery and this one is now at the top of my list. Was considering going the AGM route. But, as I understand it, they don't like being "jumped" (I have a NOCO battery jumper as a backup) and they are CRAZY expensive.

The CCAs on the NAPA definitely more than cover the J100 needs. Very curious about the reserve capacity. I don't run a ton of electrics when I camp (most of my equipment runs off the Ryobi 18v portables). Do you think the RC on the NAPA is enough to run some LED camp lights and the stereo for a few hours without killing it?
 
I take it that you're pretty happy with it then? I'm in the market for a new battery and this one is now at the top of my list. Was considering going the AGM route. But, as I understand it, they don't like being "jumped" (I have a NOCO battery jumper as a backup) and they are CRAZY expensive.

The CCAs on the NAPA definitely more than cover the J100 needs. Very curious about the reserve capacity. I don't run a ton of electrics when I camp (most of my equipment runs off the Ryobi 18v portables). Do you think the RC on the NAPA is enough to run some LED camp lights and the stereo for a few hours without killing it?

The CCA are definitely overkill but the truck was with my girlfriend in NY so figured more can't hurt.

I can't really comment on the RC of the NAPA and ability to run the lights and stereo as I haven't really subjected it to that kind of use. I have kept the interior lights on with the stereo on sporadically over the course of an hour or so while installing my new speakers and the truck had no issue firing back up after.
 
The CCA are definitely overkill but the truck was with my girlfriend in NY so figured more can't hurt.

I can't really comment on the RC of the NAPA and ability to run the lights and stereo as I haven't really subjected it to that kind of use. I have kept the interior lights on with the stereo on sporadically over the course of an hour or so while installing my new speakers and the truck had no issue firing back up after.

Price is right for sure and everything else seems in order. Think I'll go get one before HIH8. Fitment looks like it wasn't much of an issue at all.
 
Price is right for sure and everything else seems in order. Think I'll go get one before HIH8. Fitment looks like it wasn't much of an issue at all.

Battery fits fine. It is larger than the tray underneath but I just left mine as is. The better thing to do would be to get a larger tray.
 
The lady and I decided to buy some kayaks so went out and bought a Yakima rack and some kayak holders. Scored the whole setup of Yakima Timberline feet, Aero bars, and 4 JayLow kayak holders off of Craigslist for cheap. Everything in great shape! Just bought my kayak yesterday and still shopping for hers. Pics of rack.

IMG_8651.JPG


IMG_8652.JPG
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom