Builds Homer's 2003 GX470 Build (2 Viewers)

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You can just unbolt the wheel speed lines up near the body to give them more slack
 
In all honesty, i should have gotten a kdss model to address the extra articulation I want.

I’m trying to do small cost effective changes that will get me the articulation you get with kdss.

In the front, just want to extend brake lines and temporarily disconnect sway bars when off-roading.

In the rear, it seems more complicated and it involves too many changes.
 
Not that hard really. I run discos in the front, removed the sway bar in the rear, went with MT LT Dual rate rear coils and 80 series extended travel OME rear shocks. Adjustable RLLs will help you get the most out of it. Sensors wires can be rerouted and extended brake lines are a must. Lastly you’ll need to add bump stop extensions for the year and they can be fabbed out of just about anything if you don’t want to buy them. All-in not that expensive.
You could completely remove the front but you’d need 650-700lbs coils up front and limit straps for protection.
All said, having the discos and LT rear made a world of difference on the trail. Much more stable and planted.

Lots of ideas in this thread if your willing to sift through it. I’d personally stay away from pro comp but folks made them work.
 
Not that hard really. I run discos in the front, removed the sway bar in the rear, went with MT LT Dual rate rear coils and 80 series extended travel OME rear shocks. Adjustable RLLs will help you get the most out of it. Sensors wires can be rerouted and extended brake lines are a must. Lastly you’ll need to add bump stop extensions for the year and they can be fabbed out of just about anything if you don’t want to buy them. All-in not that expensive.
You could completely remove the front but you’d need 650-700lbs coils up front and limit straps for protection.
All said, having the discos and LT rear made a world of difference on the trail. Much more stable and planted.

Lots of ideas in this thread if your willing to sift through it. I’d personally stay away from pro comp but folks made them work.
I've been thinking about limit straps since I removed my front sway bar. Not sure I like the idea of my struts bottoming out. I'm not jumping my rig or anything but frequently hang a tire in the air. I just wish there was a bolt-on option for straps.
 
Yeah, another item to add to the front.
 
My Gobi ladder arrived
D7B5102C-BE3D-4172-A5E9-E70765C16E89.jpeg
 
One step at a time. I'll install the ladder and then I'll go back to figuring out the fuel canisters.
 
I wish I could say the install was easy and took 30 minutes, but I ran into a couple of problems that I eventually figured out and resolved. It took me about two hours total.

First, I should have gotten a car wash prior to this install. Since it's in the high 90s in my area, I wanted an early start at 7 am to beat the heat and didn't go get a car wash.

Second, the most troublesome part was getting the bottom plate that goes under the door to align with the ladder, so that you can screw in the bottom bolts. This is the part that took me over an hour to figure out. I kept checking my top mount and the ladder seemed to be about 1" too short to reach the bottom plate. I finally had to remove the bottom door inner pinch plate and use a screw driver to wedge in the plate and align the holes with the ladder. Once I did this I was able to screw in the bolts and tighten them so that the bottom of the ladder is touching the bottom plate. The bottom of the ladder and the bottom mounting plate were about 1" apart before tightening the bolts.

Finally, I just got back from a two week vacation from South America (Machu Picchu, Colombia, and Panama...unfortunately I flew there and didn't drive the GX470) and forgot to empty out my GoPro SD card. As a result, my video/time-lapse of this Gobi ladder install stopped after 10 minutes and I didn't realize I didn't capture any of my install! Arghhh.

GobiLadder_01.jpg
GobiLadder_02.jpg
 
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I wish I could say the install was easy and took 30 minutes, but I ran into a couple of problems that I eventually figured out and resolved. It took me about two hours total.

First, I should have gotten a car wash prior to this install. Since it's in the high 90s in my area, I wanted an early start at 7 am to beat the heat and didn't go get a car wash.

Second, the most troublesome part was getting the bottom plate that goes under the door to align with the ladder, so that you can screw in the bottom bolts. This is the part that took me over an hour to figure out. I kept checking my top mount and the ladder seemed to be about 1" too short to reach the bottom plate. I finally had to remove the bottom door inner pinch plate and use a screw driver to wedge in the plate and align the holes with the ladder. Once I did this I was able to screw in the bolts and tighten them so that the bottom of the ladder is touching the bottom plate. The bottom of the ladder and the bottom mounting plate were about 1" apart before tightening the bolts.

Finally, I just got back from a two week vacation from South America (Machu Picchu, Colombia, and Panama...unfortunately I flew there and didn't drive the GX470) and forgot to empty out my GoPro SD card. As a result, my video/time-lapse of this Gobi ladder install stopped after 10 minutes and I didn't realize I didn't capture any of my install! Arghhh.

View attachment 2041220View attachment 2041221
Used my poor mans step today... Do you have any plans to get a platform style roof rack or are you happy with your crossbars?

F7C7119A-4D15-448A-BFF6-129138D8D93B.jpeg
 
Nice step! I haven’t carried anything on my stock roof rack. If i ever carry anything on top it would be a heavy duty weather proof cargo bag.

So, I don’t have plans for any type of aftermarket roof rack.
 
Update: The first upgrade to try to improve articulation is going to be the Proforged 113-10144 rear sway bar end links ($50/pair on Amazon). Everything else stays the same like the rear airbags, rear lower/upper links, etc.

I went with the Proforged because they look just a beefy as the stock ones (or maybe even a little beefier) and the price was really good. Let's see how long these last and how they improve articulation or handling.

Amazon product ASIN B0096O8VSY
Also, the Moog sway bar end links don't look as good as the stock ones, so I decided not to get them. The Moog are like half the price of the Proforged ones.

Since my last offroad trip, I’ve been thinking about improving the articulation and traction on my GX470.

I still dont know what’s the best bang for the buck, but I’m still researching. I want to keep a mild ~2.25” lift in front and ~1.5” lift in rear to level things out. I don’t want to be too tall.

Rear:
  1. Still need to do more research...
  2. Convert to variable rate rear springs to better deal with carrying weight. Standard travel rear springs to get more articulation, but without the additional mods required to support máximum long travel. Dobinson 675v variable rate springs with MT conversion kit. Should get like 2” lift from stock or about 1/2” taller than I am with the tricked air bags.
  3. Anti-rock sway bars? Pricey option if you remove both front and rear sway bars. Skip this idea for now. Focus on other areas.
  4. Extend brake lines. A must.
  5. Standard travel rear shocks to match rear springs. Bilstein 5160s remote resi are a little longer than my OME 60004. Bilstein 25-227611 597mm/23.5” extended; 377mm/14.83” compressed. Match my Bilstein 6112s in front. Maybe go with longer rear shock?
  6. Panhard correction kit? No, panhard is to correct tracking of the rear axle and does not really impact articulation. Not now.
  7. Extend rear sway bar end links with either DIY kit or Dobinson extensions ($150/pair). A must.
  8. Bump stop extension brackets. Needed? Don’t know yet.
  9. Try upgrading the rear lower links first with metal tech ones to see what improvements I get. This is after extending sway bar emd links.
  10. Then try upgrading the rear upper links using metal tech ones
Front:
  1. 650 lbs/in standard travel front coils or better. The key is not to have too soft coils if you want to remove front sway bar.
  2. Keep my Bilstein 6112 shocks 2.5” diameter bodies. Standard travel.
  3. Keep total chaos UCAs.
  4. Keep new OEM LCAs.
  5. Limit straps to restrict travel and protect front shocks when removing front sway bar.
  6. Extend brake lines.
  7. Disconnect front sway bar only after making these listed mods in the front.
Will this give me more articulation in rear, so better traction? I don’t know yet.

Anyone have ideas please tell!
 
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Finished one side and then I had to attend to an emergency, so I didn't finish the other side. It will be done first thing this weekend.

RearSwayBarEndLinks_01.jpg
RearSwayBarEndLinks_02.jpg
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RearSwayBarEndLinks_04.jpg
RearSwayBarEndLinks_05.jpg
 
The driver's side rear sway bar end link is a little harder to remove. The gas tank takes away some needed space to fit the sockets, so I had to get a little creative with the tools I had. Anyways, rear sway bar end links have been replaced with the Proforged ones which give me new bushings and an extra inch in length.

RearSwayBarEndLinks_07.jpg
 
Starting to acquire the rear long travel components. First up...used Dobinson C59-675V rear coils.

C59_675V_05.jpg


Specs for these rear coils and other brands/models that I considered for comparison purposes.
  • Dobinson C59-675V - Variable rate comfort option, stock rear weight, 2.5" lift on 4R. 470mm/18.503” free height, 16mm wire, 157-230LB variable. Got 2.25” rear lift on my GX470 while empty (no rear seats, no added weight).
  • Dobinson C59-677V - Variable rate comfort option, 400+LB heavy rear load weight, 2.5-3" lift on 4R. 500/500mm 19.69”, 16mm wire, 157-230LB variable.
  • OME 2895e 375/14.76”; rate 260 lbs/in;
  • OME 2895 390/15.35”; rate 260 lbs/in;
  • MT-GSJ-4052 HD 19.25” 3” driver bias dual rate 104/300
  • MT-GSJ-4050 Med 19.25” 2.5” 104/220
  • Icon-52800 3” dual rate rear springs
 
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At least a couple of people on here have reported 1.75” to 2” lift in the rear with the c59-675Vs on GX470s.

I have the rear air bags tricked and I’m at 22.5” hub to fender in the rear. I expect to go maybe up to 23” max hub to fender in the rear with the c59-675v and a MT coil conversion kit.
 

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