MNGX Build and Misc Musings (1 Viewer)

[MNGX]

Hey, y'all. This forum is definitely the best resource on the 120 GX, so thanks to everyone for your contributions - they've been really useful for preparing to get in on the platform.

I just wanted to say hi and convey the hilarious saga of my two weeks of ownership so far - at this rate this could be a compendium of all the things that go wrong on these.

I did all the things right to find a nice non-nav, non-KDSS, 110k '07 at the right price with a spotless frame, which was important here in the rust belt and really hard to find locally. Ended up having to go out of state, but did all of that right, too - clean independent PPI, got pics of everything, etc. I knew ahead of time it needed the timing belt done plus a couple other things I'm comfortable tackling myself - no problem, built into the price.

So far, since an uneventful 200 mile drive home from the dealer: the alternator went, I had the belt/pump and radiator replaced since the radiator and the alternator came labor-free. Four days later, driving home last night, yep, there goes the secondary AIP, valves open. I've put under 400 miles on it so far.

I'm fine with all this, I take it as karma for never having any of the classic issues with any of my other vehicles - no head gaskets on Subarus, no throwout bearing on the WRX, nothing. Plus, although I would have preferred to take care of all the common issues one at a time, this way my learning curve on the platform will be short and steep.

Anyhoo, the Hewitt bypass is in the mail, I'll let y'all know how that goes. Only issue I have is I'm looking at a 1400 mile round trip drive this weekend. Should be interesting!

Base-lining and build stuff and whatnot to come. I have front axles to rebuild at some point plus a front wheel bearing, so planning on documenting those for fun since I've never done either job.

Pics, too, of course.

ETA: Since this is my default build thread:

Non-stock stuff:

Front: Bilstein 6112s w/600# springs
Rear: Dobinson C59-675V w/GS59-701 shocks. Metal Tech coil conversion kit.
Tires: Cooper STMaxx Pro 265/70/R17E

 

[Arailt]

Welcome! That list isn't too bad.

If it makes you feel better, I had to have 2 wheel bearings, both front calipers, both exhaust manifolds, and one height sensor replaced within 5k of buying my GX. I bought mine with only 49k on it, but I out of state in the snow belt as well.

 

[MNGX]

Hahaha, that does make me feel a little better, thanks. Should I assume you've had smooth sailing since?

 

[Arailt]

Yep. Smooth sailing since. I do keep getting the driveshaft thump, but grease quiets it back down for another 3-4 months. Eventually I'll pay to have it replaced with the updated shaft.

 

[lgrt]

Welcome to Mud... When it rains it pours... and then the sun comes out and it is all rainbows and unicorns. haha.

 

[MaverickFiveO]

My rear diff blew within 200 miles of picking mine up (had 105k on it). Then I got the CEL/VSC/TCS lights for the gas cap after another hundred miles. Then I swapped my stabilizer bar links.

I feel like the initial flurry of issues is a bit of a tradition here. The good news is the 4500 miles since then have been great and after some wheeling this Fall, my buddy with a brand new 4Runner TRD Pro has been wondering what his extra $30k was for! Hopefully you love your GX as much as the rest of us. Welcome!

 

[FurleyRosa]

I bought an 05 with 197k that had just had timing belt/water pump done before purchase for. I did every fluid at a Toyota dealership the first week I had it. Decided to “stress test” it to get see if any other issues would pop up. Hit up hollister hills 4x4 park and pismo twice. Also drove every fire road I could find in between.

A week later rear air bags developed a massive air leak and the secondary air injection system failed. All within 5k of purchasing. Still a solid vehicle and I have no regrets on the purchase.

 

[joabmc]

Welcome! Sounds like once you have this sorted out, should be smooth sailing for awhile. All the heavy hitters will be behind you!

 

[MNGX]

Thanks, everybody. Hope you didn't just jinx, me. Smooth sailing...

Hewitt Bypass Kit has arrived, so I'll tackle this later tonight. This thread seems to have the best pics of the cutoff plates installation, but makes me wonder whether there is anything that folks would find useful for me to document as I do this. I'd be interested in other good GX-specific walk-throughs - there are tons for the LX and T4R.

Couple questions for the peanut gallery before I move forward, too:

I have valves open. I'm planning on just installing the cutoff plates anyway, just for peace of mind, but I guess my questions are:

1. Should I bother trying to get the valves to close before installing (my codes are P2440 and P1444, so both valves are stuck open)?
2. Is there any way to tell whether the pump itself failed? My concern is whether the valves could be stuck open because of debris.
3. If they are stuck open because of debris, is there a risk that something could have gotten past the valves and cause damage beyond them even after the bypass plates are installed?

I've always been curious about the distinction between a catastrophic pump failure with the fins grenading into the valves and a failure that doesn't involve physical obstruction. How would I be able to tell? I didn't notice any weird noises or anything before I got limp-moded, but I also was listening to music and not paying any attention.

 

[MNGX]

Welp, bypass install is done. All said and done, about an hour total. Got real intimate with the wheel wells to do the cutoff plates, but didn't need to raise the vehicle or remove the wheels, just turned each wheel to give more room to access the firewall area. I'd say this was a 4/10 on the PITA scale.

Cleared the codes, took one quick drive, will see whether there are any issues after another two or three cycles.

Nuts loose, ready to install cutoff plate:
IMG_1219 by B. Alec Hecker, on Flickr

Cutoff plate installed:
IMG_1221 by B. Alec Hecker, on Flickr

 

[tlin]

'08 bought with ~96K miles on it ohhhh, 2.5 years ago? Soon after my purchase:

• CEL/VSC/TCS dashboard indicators (christmas tree lights) - gas cap replacement quickly solved that
• radiator leak - replaced it myself - was surprised I got through it as easily as I did (first time)
• had the transmission fluid done at a dealer as preventative maintenance ("lifetime" fluid in the sealed transmission is a misnomer, it needs to be replaced), it's a bit involved to do it right so spent ~$350 to have it done

• Air suspension was sagging - motivated me to swap out entirely and just do my full suspension upgrade

More recently:

• replaced both sides of front CV boots this past summer - did it myself
• replaced brake fluid - much firmer brake pedal feel

That's really it - oil changes, diff fluid, suspension/sliders all done by me. Still need to get to swapping out my spark plugs, nothing else on my radar.

Smooth sailing....I'm pleasantly bored, nothing breaks unexpectedly. Welcome aboard!

 

[Docwyte]

Bought mine with 39k miles on it in 2012. At ~119k miles now. Recently had a water leak at the front left roof rack foot. Other than that just normal maintenance. Tires, brakes, oil, 1 water pump/timing belt, etc....

 

[DSRTRDR]

within 3 months of purchase of the DSRTGX:

water pump/timing belt - (knew this was coming) - but also needed new radiator
rear air bags leaking
left front strut broke
water corrosion in ECU
gas cap

within 6 months of purchase, the SWAMPGX so far only needed an oil change - PO had taken care of water pump/timing belt and A/C work

 

[MNGX]

So I replaced my tires with 260/75/17 Cooper STMaxx E's. I don't mind the ride at all, but I'm coming from a very tightly wound sedan. Still cushier than a Wrangler, so hey. Very, very minor rub, by the way. Only turning while compressed.

I have an axle and hub assembly on the way for my driver's side, but now my front passenger side has developed a pronounced clunk, so again it looks like I'll be forced to go ahead of schedule and look at suspension options. My guess is it's the heavier tires have hastened the end of the original shocks. Probably ought to do bushings, too.

I'm leaning toward Bilstein 6112s in the front and Dobinson progressives in the back, but still weighing that against just ordering the whole Dobinson's kit for slightly less money. I like the adjustable height and the diameter of the Bilsteins, though.

The other consideration is weight - at this rate it's going to be awhile before I move on bumper(s) or a winch, but I'd rather not get a medium weight suspension now and have to replace springs later. Hmm.

Never done axles or suspension, so I'm excited to dive in. Should be fun!

 

[HomersCanyonero]

@MNGX you might want to start a build thread unless you like your build thread be the "all issues" build thread! LOL

That's an unconventional tire size 260/75R17 = 32.36" tall by 10.24" wide per tire calculator compared to my 285/70R17s which are 32.8" x 11.5". Did you use the stock oem wheels? Pictures? What made you choose this tire size?

 

[Tak555]

good topic! i got my '06 GX about two months ago with 153K miles on it, and put about 2k miles on it since. the dealership i got it from already did the water pump and timing belt replacement. but here's what i got going...

stuff i've done or had done:
- replaced radiator
- replaced front inner door panels (bought it with cracked tops)
- replaced window door mouldings all around (including rear quarter panel)
- installed factory tow hitch
- changed oil/filter
- brake fluid flush

maintenance stuff that needs to be done in near future:
- endlinks (front and rear) - already bought moog front and dobinson rear
- tierod ends - not sure how bad they are, but one shop recommended i get them done
- LCA bushings/ball joint - already purchased replacement OEM LCA's so that i have new bushings and ball joint
- AIP bypass - for me, this will be preventative

fun stuff that i will do:
- coil conversion and refresh suspension - already have dobinson suspension (2" lift) and sso coil conversion... frankly, the stock suspension is original but doesn't feel too bad.
- new tires....

 

[MNGX]

Blerp, they are of course 265/70/17s, my bad.

Also, I thought about making a separate build thread but meh, this rings more true so far. I'm embracing the chaos for now. Maybe if things stop breaking and I'm free to actually build fun stuff.

 

[MNGX]

Mkay, so it turns out I blew out the strut mount, just fyi. I have 6112s and KYB strut mounts on the way.

Couple questions for the peanut gallery:

First,

1. Any reason to go with different strut mounts while I'm in there? KYB seem to be OEM standard, but is there a stronger option that would be better my heavier tires and the beefy Bilsteins? Seems like the mount will be working harder with the new setup.
2. Is there any reason the fact that the shaft has punched through the mount will make removing the strut more dangerous? The top nut is still on (I'd post a pic but my host is down), so I can't imagine there's a problem, but you know, I don't wanna blow my face off if I can avoid it.

Second, I'd like to do a 2" coil lift all around, but budget (thanks all the things going wrong at once!) is limiting me to the front for now. I'd rather not have to adjust the front height when I do end up installing a new rear suspension, sooo, I want to set the 6112s to 2" and trick the rear in the meantime. I've found a few ok resources on the two airbag trick options, but if anyone has gold standard videos or write-ups they like, I'd be interested. Is there consensus around which of the two options is better - moving the position of the bracket on the control link arm versus adding spacers to the sensor bracket itself? It sure seems like moving the control link bracket would be simpler. But then my control arm link is also seized, so. Whee!

Oh, and third, recommendations on where to set the Bilsteins to achieve a 2" lift for stock weight? I'd want to err on the low side.

TY

PS is there a way to retroactively make this my build thread? Pics will happen I swear.

 

[MNGX]

Started the front strut replacement tonight. I stopped for the night at the reinstall the new strut phase. I tried to get it seated but it's significantly longer than the original so I couldn't get the lower mount into the LCA seat. Any tips for either compressing the strut to fit or dropping the LCA? I'm working alone and just putting my body weight on the wheel didn't seem to do the trick.

IMG_1329 by T MNS, on Flickr

 

[GXO]

I'm 6'4" and 250. I just step on it. I have seen people use a jack. It isn't easy. More cowbell!