Any luck on that bolt?
Lexie the Comfort Cruiser (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter DirtDawg
- Start date
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DirtDawg
"It'd be alot cooler if you did"
- Thread starter
- #62
Unfortunately no... the broken off bit just made things too difficult. Didn't really want to go the torch route because I didn't want all the blowout in the frame. Ended up having my good buddy @SUMMIT CRUISERS Jr and his dad @SUMMIT CRUISERS help me weld the sway bar mount to the frame. I don't see any reason I would ever need to remove it again, so this seemed like the easiest option. 1 hour later and I was good to go.
DirtDawg
"It'd be alot cooler if you did"
- Thread starter
- #63
Well, huge update to Lexie!
I finally decided to go away with my AHC in preparation for future mods and to not invest further into the system. Here's why I decided to rip it out: For starters my shock bushings were worn down like crazy, resulting in feedback from every small bump and vibrations at high speeds. Secondly, my rear globes had definitely lost some of their charge, resulting in the usual bouncy ride. The system was also just to soft for my liking. When I had 4 ply tires on (Michelin LTXs), the AHC was great, but once I upgraded to E-rated tires (BFG KO2s) and lifted the AHC, the suspension was too soft for my liking.
After evaluating all my options, and my budget, I decided on Tough Dog from @reevesci (Trail Tailor). Me and Jason had already discussed the system at length when he first started to bring the system to the states. The system was well priced compared to other options, and Jason had nothing but good things to say once he installed it on his 100. Based on all the above, this is why I decided to go with the kit. Heres what I ended up with:
-53mm RALPH Foam Cell Front Shocks
-41mm Foam Cell Rear Shocks
-Light Duty Rear Coils
-Torsion Bars and Strengthening Brackets
The install was BRUTAL, taking about 3 full days of work with the help of my good buddy @WillGentry . Even @SUMMIT CRUISERS Jr showed up for a little bit. Now the AHC system itself wouldn't have been too difficult to remove hadn't it been for the minor amount of rust on my vehicle. Regardless, I managed to get almost everything off without breaking any bolts off in the frame. One thing that really sped up the process was my willingness not to save the shocks. After trying to loosen the top nuts on the shocks, out came the reciprocating saw and made quick work of both the front and back shocks (after removing the hydraulic fittings of course). I also chose to remove everything, aka: fluid reservoir, accumulators, globes, shocks, control valve, ALL lines, and the sensors. As far as the electrical system goes, I only unplugged the AHC computer and so far so good.
Some tips:
-Presoak everything (Kroil is my drug of choice)
-Buy a 12mm 6 point ratcheting wrench (this will be used the most)
-Cut off your shocks unless you really just want to save them. Took me 30 mins per shock max.
-I suggest removing all lines (seemed incomplete just leaving them in there)
-The accumulators have 3 mounting bolts (12mm) and one is on the top of the frame rail..
-The hydraulic line to the rear shock is bolted in a place that is practically inaccessible. Good luck, I was laughing the whole time because I couldnt believe how awful the placement was. Use the above 12mm wrench to remove.
-Be prepared to get dirty.
-I put plastic sheeting down under the cruiser to minimize stains and whatnot on the garage floor.
Onto some pics:
BEEFY
I finally decided to go away with my AHC in preparation for future mods and to not invest further into the system. Here's why I decided to rip it out: For starters my shock bushings were worn down like crazy, resulting in feedback from every small bump and vibrations at high speeds. Secondly, my rear globes had definitely lost some of their charge, resulting in the usual bouncy ride. The system was also just to soft for my liking. When I had 4 ply tires on (Michelin LTXs), the AHC was great, but once I upgraded to E-rated tires (BFG KO2s) and lifted the AHC, the suspension was too soft for my liking.
After evaluating all my options, and my budget, I decided on Tough Dog from @reevesci (Trail Tailor). Me and Jason had already discussed the system at length when he first started to bring the system to the states. The system was well priced compared to other options, and Jason had nothing but good things to say once he installed it on his 100. Based on all the above, this is why I decided to go with the kit. Heres what I ended up with:
-53mm RALPH Foam Cell Front Shocks
-41mm Foam Cell Rear Shocks
-Light Duty Rear Coils
-Torsion Bars and Strengthening Brackets
The install was BRUTAL, taking about 3 full days of work with the help of my good buddy @WillGentry . Even @SUMMIT CRUISERS Jr showed up for a little bit. Now the AHC system itself wouldn't have been too difficult to remove hadn't it been for the minor amount of rust on my vehicle. Regardless, I managed to get almost everything off without breaking any bolts off in the frame. One thing that really sped up the process was my willingness not to save the shocks. After trying to loosen the top nuts on the shocks, out came the reciprocating saw and made quick work of both the front and back shocks (after removing the hydraulic fittings of course). I also chose to remove everything, aka: fluid reservoir, accumulators, globes, shocks, control valve, ALL lines, and the sensors. As far as the electrical system goes, I only unplugged the AHC computer and so far so good.
Some tips:
-Presoak everything (Kroil is my drug of choice)
-Buy a 12mm 6 point ratcheting wrench (this will be used the most)
-Cut off your shocks unless you really just want to save them. Took me 30 mins per shock max.
-I suggest removing all lines (seemed incomplete just leaving them in there)
-The accumulators have 3 mounting bolts (12mm) and one is on the top of the frame rail..
-The hydraulic line to the rear shock is bolted in a place that is practically inaccessible. Good luck, I was laughing the whole time because I couldnt believe how awful the placement was. Use the above 12mm wrench to remove.
-Be prepared to get dirty.
-I put plastic sheeting down under the cruiser to minimize stains and whatnot on the garage floor.
Onto some pics:
BEEFY
Last edited:
DirtDawg
"It'd be alot cooler if you did"
- Thread starter
- #64
So now that I have had the suspension on for about a week now I wanted to give a fair honest review. So far I am pretty pleased with the system. Having driven a lifted AHC rig, a rig with OME setup, and a stock 100, this is by far my favorite ride.
Ride Quality:
The front is perfect. In my opinion, it has the perfect compression and rebound valving. It soaks up bumps, but is never jarring. The rear can be a little bouncy at times, but settles quickly and is still nice and firm. Despite getting the light duty coils, I think once I get some more weight in the rear it will calm down a bit. I am currently running super light in the rear (no rear seats, removed rear tire and crossmember due to failed lowering mechanism), but plan on adding a swing out and full size spare this summer. Also I plan on upgrading to the 45mm adjustable rear shocks, which should help dial in my ride perfectly. Keep in mind I am super sensitive when it comes to cars.. Overall I would compare my ride to my buddies stock tacoma, firm but not uncomfortable.
Parts Quality:
The shocks are BEEFY. The front 53mm shocks are absolutely huge which I appreciate considering the super short travel length of our front shocks. The rear 41mm are just as impressive. They come with a 24mm top nut, which is an upgrade over the 22mm stock size (the threads are YUGE). Not too much to share with the coils, other than they sit perfectly level and I kind of dig the honey-mustard color. Same with the torsion bars. They are super beefy compared to stock LX bars (see above photo) and have a great spring rate for the front end, with plenty left for handling future weight.
Other notes:
It doesnt ride as plush as a stock/AHC 100. This is EXPECTED. This heavy duty suspension was installed to give more stability, anticipate for future heavy mods, and to replace my worn system. There is more initial harshness at first bump compared to before. I am attributing this to my height and not the suspension, later on I will be extending my sway bar links which others have claimed solves this initial harshness. I will also be adding aftermarket UCAs down the road to correct alignment and replace UBJs, even though it tracks/drives fine right now.
Height Change:
Before:
-Front: 21.5"
-Rear: 22"
After:
-Front: 21.75"
-Rear: 23"
Ride Quality:
The front is perfect. In my opinion, it has the perfect compression and rebound valving. It soaks up bumps, but is never jarring. The rear can be a little bouncy at times, but settles quickly and is still nice and firm. Despite getting the light duty coils, I think once I get some more weight in the rear it will calm down a bit. I am currently running super light in the rear (no rear seats, removed rear tire and crossmember due to failed lowering mechanism), but plan on adding a swing out and full size spare this summer. Also I plan on upgrading to the 45mm adjustable rear shocks, which should help dial in my ride perfectly. Keep in mind I am super sensitive when it comes to cars.. Overall I would compare my ride to my buddies stock tacoma, firm but not uncomfortable.
Parts Quality:
The shocks are BEEFY. The front 53mm shocks are absolutely huge which I appreciate considering the super short travel length of our front shocks. The rear 41mm are just as impressive. They come with a 24mm top nut, which is an upgrade over the 22mm stock size (the threads are YUGE). Not too much to share with the coils, other than they sit perfectly level and I kind of dig the honey-mustard color. Same with the torsion bars. They are super beefy compared to stock LX bars (see above photo) and have a great spring rate for the front end, with plenty left for handling future weight.
Other notes:
It doesnt ride as plush as a stock/AHC 100. This is EXPECTED. This heavy duty suspension was installed to give more stability, anticipate for future heavy mods, and to replace my worn system. There is more initial harshness at first bump compared to before. I am attributing this to my height and not the suspension, later on I will be extending my sway bar links which others have claimed solves this initial harshness. I will also be adding aftermarket UCAs down the road to correct alignment and replace UBJs, even though it tracks/drives fine right now.
Height Change:
Before:
-Front: 21.5"
-Rear: 22"
After:
-Front: 21.75"
-Rear: 23"
Last edited:
DirtDawg
"It'd be alot cooler if you did"
- Thread starter
- #67
The review is posted! Once again I would like to thank @reevesci for being super accommodating throughout this purchase. I recommend Trail Tailor and Tough Dog suspensions to everyone looking for suspension, links, sliders, etc, Jason will hook you up and runs some great deals.
Hopefully I will get some good pics up soon of the new lift height once I get a free minute to wash it.
Hopefully I will get some good pics up soon of the new lift height once I get a free minute to wash it.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2011
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You are more than welcome C!
The light springs even though rated 0-660# load range will seem bouncy/light with zero load. IMO, just adding 100-200# is where there ride becomes extremely smooth. While a good ride unloaded, it becomes better the more you load it up.
Jason
I broke the same hose on my rack this weekend... glad to see I'm not alone, and thanks for the guidance. I also ordered the same return line & pressure line set from Rock Auto...should be here by Wednesday for a fresh rack install. I'm also having PITA getting the coupling from the column detached...I'm sure I'll get her done today.So heres some photos from my steering rack job. Started it two weekends ago, everything came off smoothly except for the rear pressure line coming from the rack. The line twisted off inside the sleeve, making it impossible for me to know it was twisting until it was too late. Nobody in town had a replacement and I could not form one myself.
I had to leave the cruiser in the garage all week while I waited on replacement hoses from Rock Auto. I went with the Sunsong lines, others have used these on the forum. The lines showed up and were honestly good quality. Everything lined up and works great, I couldn't justify spending another $600 on new OEM lines.
As I was removing the old pressure line from the pump, the banjo wouldn't break before the pressure port union it was screwed into turned. Well after 30 minutes of cussing and cut up fingers, I got it loose. Once I pulled it out, I realized the turn stop thats attached to the line had bent, allowing the pressure air control valve to break..At this point I am just completely frustrated, thinking I was going to have to have the cruiser down for yet another week waiting on parts. Thankfully the local napa warehouse had one in stock!
With basically a completely whole new steering system besides the pump and reservoir, I figured I would flush out the reservoir real good. I was surprised at how well my fluid looked when emptying it from the system, but I was even more amazed at how clean the reservoir was before cleaning... This pic is before cleaning with degreaser and water.
Hooked everything back up and filled the system. As I began to bleed, the system came to life with the apparent ps pump whine, which disappeared once I bled all the air out of the system.
Wow! I am so happy to have a fresh steering rack in there! It made a huge difference on steering precision and tracking on the highway. Didn't solve all of my issues, but I think they are primarily alignment related. More pics from the install:
About to dig into this very same job this weekend. I plan to cut the ahc shocks as well, already invested in a mucho sawzall blades.
Hey... it looks like I need to go down that route. The AHC delete. One of my rear shock is showing rust through. Anyway almost every other thread I find off the web did not bother to replace sway bar. Why did you choose not to do so?
I came across one of the web says he wished he had replaced sway being that the sway in Lexus is smaller than the Land Cruiser.
I came across one of the web says he wished he had replaced sway being that the sway in Lexus is smaller than the Land Cruiser.
DirtDawg
"It'd be alot cooler if you did"
- Thread starter
- #74
Best place I found to cut the shocks were right through the bushings and then stem. Its a messy job and the melted rubber from the bushings gums up the blade, but keep a sharp blade on the sawzall and have some patience and it goes by pretty fast.
The front sway bar is the same between LC/LX, so no need to replace that. The rear bar is different by less than 1mm, I couldn't imagine that having much affect. I have not noticed any more body roll than before I removed the AHC. In fact, I have less. I personally believe that your money is better geared towards extended sway bar links.
DirtDawg
"It'd be alot cooler if you did"
- Thread starter
- #75
Update:
Im in my 5th and final year of undergrad, so school had been consuming my time, I barely have time to keep the cruiser clean or get on mud. Everything on the cruiser is doing fantastic, it hasn't required any maintenance other than the usual. Since last updating I have done:
-Swapped out HID bulbs for the 4th time (I just like trying new bulbs), using OSRAM CBIs again.
-Received my 4x4 labs front bumper that I won at HIHs, waiting on some funds to get it color matched
-Oil change, amsoil of course.
-Got me a fancy YotaMD key fob
For anyone wondering how the Tough Dog suspension is doing: fantastic. @reevesci knocked it out of the park when deciding to stock their kits. Now that everything has had time to settle and break in, its still riding beautifully. Even though I am still lacking the proper weight in the rear, its not jarring at all, just a tad stiff over the big bumps. I am looking forward to trying out the adjustable shocks and tourflex springs in the future.
Im in my 5th and final year of undergrad, so school had been consuming my time, I barely have time to keep the cruiser clean or get on mud. Everything on the cruiser is doing fantastic, it hasn't required any maintenance other than the usual. Since last updating I have done:
-Swapped out HID bulbs for the 4th time (I just like trying new bulbs), using OSRAM CBIs again.
-Received my 4x4 labs front bumper that I won at HIHs, waiting on some funds to get it color matched
-Oil change, amsoil of course.
-Got me a fancy YotaMD key fob
For anyone wondering how the Tough Dog suspension is doing: fantastic. @reevesci knocked it out of the park when deciding to stock their kits. Now that everything has had time to settle and break in, its still riding beautifully. Even though I am still lacking the proper weight in the rear, its not jarring at all, just a tad stiff over the big bumps. I am looking forward to trying out the adjustable shocks and tourflex springs in the future.
Just drove past the "comfort cruiser" this morning after coffee and thought I'd say I love how it is looking. The 4x4 Labs front bumper looks amazing with the wheels!
PabloCruise
SILVER Star
I missed this thread earlier - can't wait to read about your build!
DirtDawg
"It'd be alot cooler if you did"
- Thread starter
- #80
Update:
Just been doing small stuff here and there to the cruiser on the weekends. Just bought a bunch of new parts to rebuild the rear parking brakes as well as to remove the roof rack.
Upgraded from the 41mm rear Tough Dog shocks to the 45mm super beefy Tough Dog adjustable shocks! Man these things are massive!
These things are amazing! I was impressed with the previous set I was running, but due to running no extra weight in the rear, they were a little stiff. Well, problem solved with the adjustable shocks! Ive got them set on 3 right now and the ride is sporty, not jarring. Definitely would recommend them to anyone who's seeking aftermarket shocks.
Just been doing small stuff here and there to the cruiser on the weekends. Just bought a bunch of new parts to rebuild the rear parking brakes as well as to remove the roof rack.
Upgraded from the 41mm rear Tough Dog shocks to the 45mm super beefy Tough Dog adjustable shocks! Man these things are massive!
These things are amazing! I was impressed with the previous set I was running, but due to running no extra weight in the rear, they were a little stiff. Well, problem solved with the adjustable shocks! Ive got them set on 3 right now and the ride is sporty, not jarring. Definitely would recommend them to anyone who's seeking aftermarket shocks.
