Builds Keaton's '03 LX470 Thread (4 Viewers)

[128keaton]

Looks awesome, thanks for sharing!

Thank you for making an actual solution!
I ended up having two spare clips and I got the other side done within 15 minutes. Really easy and worth every penny!

I was worried about the pockets not sitting flush after install but that wasn’t an issue—also made the seat backs super rigid!

 

[Trapper50cal]

These are so on my list.

 

[plaidwagon]

Thank you for making an actual solution!
I ended up having two spare clips and I got the other side done within 15 minutes. Really easy and worth every penny!

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I was worried about the pockets not sitting flush after install but that wasn’t an issue—also made the seat backs super rigid!

Looks like you nailed it! It does take a little care to spread the frames perfectly vertical to keep the alignment correct while drilling. Seriously love how the grey ones blend into the seats.

 

[128keaton]

Looks like you nailed it! It does take a little care to spread the frames perfectly vertical to keep the alignment correct while drilling. Seriously love how the grey ones blend into the seats.

Same here, they look factory. So the only two holes I needed to drill were the upper 2x. I fully bolted it to the back with the bottom holes. You just have to punch through the leather/vinyl but the holes are there for the lower portion. Wish I snapped a photo, I was worried about the alignment too, but it’s easy if you bolt the lowers first.

 

[plaidwagon]

Same here, they look factory. So the only two holes I needed to drill were the upper 2x. I fully bolted it to the back with the bottom holes. You just have to punch through the leather/vinyl but the holes are there for the lower portion. Wish I snapped a photo, I was worried about the alignment too, but it’s easy if you bolt the lowers first.

I just installed a set for my friend’s LX the other night. Did it the same way, secure the bottom bolts first then align and drill the tops.

 

[128keaton]

Did some more work on the truck today. I’ve been dealing with an intermittent popping noise while turning/going over small bumps/braking/accelerating. Replaced front sway bar bushings and end links which mostly solved the issue but I am wary. Previously I’d replaced the control arms with BeckArnley (supposedly OEM though I kept my old arms just in case) about 20k miles ago. Maybe I need to adjust the torsion bars back down a tad—previously I cranked to get away with having the heavy front bumper with the AHC. I need to look up and read how to set them equally since I’ve definitely messed with them off and on over the years. Now I’m just down to a single pop while turning/braking which is better but it’s still annoying. I have a heat shield rattle I need to find too.

In two weeks I finally replace the A/C comp—there is a small leak around the compressor clutch seal that has been leaking for a while now. I purged the lines and refilled it last summer hoping it would last but there isn’t enough Freon in the system now.

Powerstop rotors are pretty nice but I’ve warped these too finally. Ugh. Any suggestions? I warped these thanks to a few too many panic stop situations (aka someone has pulled out in front of me going 20 under, sudden vehicle debris in the road, etc. Memphis is not an easy place to drive). I could have them turned here locally but it’s a crap shoot whether or not they will actually turn them and if they can at all (I.e so and so isn’t here and he is the only one that knows how to use the machine). Maybe I should just find my own brake lathe lol

 

[128keaton]

Ended up swapping compressor and condenser and lol, found the leak!

Very slow small leak, happy to find it. Pulled off compressor too and then flushed all the lines with a few liters of A/C flush and compressed air. Honestly, I expected the compressor to be difficult to remove, but if you move the radiator around a bit, you can get it on and off easily. I'm just thankful for the modern line fittings, as I am coming from older cars with 2x hex head fittings you had to twist in an impossible area. Took way too long to wrangle the condenser in/out compared to compressor labor. New Denso compressor has 8oz of new oil ready to go, and I flushed the entire system, so I just hooked everything back up and let it suck down three 8oz cans of R134a. Happily spitting out 32F air now. Last summer I swapped out the expansion valves, so I should be running comfortably for a while.

 

[128keaton]

Did a nice ~4000 mile road trip out to Texas, Colorado, and Oklahoma to visit a few friends and relatives. Car did fine enough, A/C was nice and cold. I have about ~3 annoying noises/vibrations to find but she just hit 290k!

On the way out of Colorado, I noticed a rotational grinding:

Had to finish driving home and order parts. Opted for PS discs and pads, went together well. I took apart and greased the caliper slide pins with new grease, put the new boots on, and put new pads on both sides (with discs) in short order:

 

[128keaton]

I did the rear brake pads and rotors around 228k I think, but I got my money's worth:

Next, I need a replacement CV for the driver's side

 

[Foehammer]

Good stuff, a lot of useful info here man. I also am chasing down that annoying vibration, I'm not gonna do too much tho until my rig goes in for suspension and new tires/alignment. Kinda set a baseline and work up from there.

 

[128keaton]

Good stuff, a lot of useful info here man. I also am chasing down that annoying vibration, I'm not gonna do too much tho until my rig goes in for suspension and new tires/alignment. Kinda set a baseline and work up from there.

Its either bearing somewhere or related to exhaust booming TSB, I do not have the flux capacitors

 

[128keaton]

So front UCAs are shot again. Not sure if I received counterfeit parts or just bad COVID parts—these were supposedly Beck-Arnley which are _supposed_ to be OE/M.

Video of the truck on jackstands:


Almost 3 years of wear and tear.

Going to purchase OEM/upgrade arms I think. Does anyone know anything about these?

Front Upper & Lower Control Arm Kit- Fits 1998 - 2007 IFS 100/470 Applications (SUS100FCAKITJP)

Control Arm Kit for Toyota Land Cruiser

cruiserteq.com

Assuming my LCAs are just as bad too since they were replaced at the same time with the same brand.

$1700 from Toyota for the arms makes my eyes water a tad.

Next I’ll purchase new OEM CVs and hub flanges.

Getting pricy.

 

[Jack90210]

So front UCAs are shot again. Not sure if I received counterfeit parts or just bad COVID parts—these were supposedly Beck-Arnley which are _supposed_ to be OE/M.

Video of the truck on jackstands:


Almost 3 years of wear and tear.

Going to purchase OEM/upgrade arms I think. Does anyone know anything about these?

Front Upper & Lower Control Arm Kit- Fits 1998 - 2007 IFS 100/470 Applications (SUS100FCAKITJP)

Control Arm Kit for Toyota Land Cruiser

cruiserteq.com

Assuming my LCAs are just as bad too since they were replaced at the same time with the same brand.

$1700 from Toyota for the arms makes my eyes water a tad.

Next I’ll purchase new OEM CVs and hub flanges.

Getting pricy.

I bought mine from Impex Japan a bit over a year ago when the yen sank dramatically against the dollar. It's gotten even weaker recently.

Not all parts listed on Impex are discounted enough to make up for the shipping costs, but the LCAs/UCAs definitely were.

 

[128keaton]

I bought mine from Impex Japan a bit over a year ago when the yen sank dramatically against the dollar. It's gotten even weaker recently.

Not all parts listed on Impex are discounted enough to make up for the shipping costs, but the LCAs/UCAs definitely were.

Good call. I ran all the parts I needed through it and ended up with the following breakdown:

The UCAs/LCAs are pretty heavily discounted, even with shipping included. UCAs are light and can more or less fit together when shipped, I'd imagine IMPEX is creative with their packing as much as Toyota is creative with their packaging. Tried to add in a margin for shipping pricing, this was best I could do with their calculator. Was surprised to see US dealers shipping/selling CV axle cheaper.

Placed an order with cart 3 just to see what the process is. You wouldn't happen to be able to share the shipping cost you paid for your LCAs/UCAs?

 

[128keaton]

Finally months later, I've replaced the upper/lower front control arms, lower control arm frame side bushing (what a bitch), hub flanges, and the CV axles.
I got the UCA/LCAs, bushings, and hub flanges through impex since that was the cheapest option. Highly recommended. Got the CVs through a dealer online running a sale so they were like $600 total which was nice. The tool from cruiser patch is nice for the frame bushings, just don't waste the money on the all thread kit--they use fine thread (for some damn reason) which of course ended up binding and it got so stuck I had to cut it off the truck. Need to get it aligned now, but it already drives much better. Also need to cross level it properly since theres about a half an inch difference between L/R--thought I got the torsion bars set right (didn't even pull them out of the bracket to the LCA) so maybe at one point I messed with the heim joint for the AHC sensor, not sure.