Builds LX450 Baseline and Build (1 Viewer)

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Str8Razor

SILVER Star
Joined
Apr 29, 2010
Threads
33
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463
Location
Chesapeake, Va.
Needing a kid hauler as my kids have outgrown my 2nd Gen 4runner, just got this gem.....waiting on it to get here probably by the 1st of the month...it's a 97 lx 450 175k miles open diffs...needs tires, want to add ome lift air lockers bumpers sliders....thinking toyos for tires, have Terra grapples on my wife's hundred and they have worn and performed well... what's the miles per gallon go to with 33s or whatever the metric equivalent is? what's the best mod you've done to your 80?
 
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Best mod. 2.5" lift and 35s :D

Congrats and welcome. Looks like a sharp rig and relatively low miles. Keep us posted on the a aquisition and build.

Myself and a friend consistently netted 12.5 when i was on 285s and he was on equivilent 33s. All depends on how well the truck is running/maintained as well how much you have your foot in it.

35s dont suck much more fuel down (~1mpg) and fill up the wheel wells just right at a simple proven ride height.
 
Have always had Toyo MTs. Started out with 285s and have had 315s for the last 4-5 yrs. Very happy with then in terms of noise, wear and toughness, but it comes at a price as they are very heavy - 68 lbs IIRC. Like the 315s due to look, but also have a 1" body lift. Best mod is 2 - 2.5" lift and larger tires.
 
I consistently get about 13.5 mpg with my truck, armored and on 285's (32.5" tire). Best mod is really dependent on how you want to use the truck. Yes lift and tires are great, but pulling the rock catcher running boards off and adding sliders will get you further. And the removal of the running boards is FREE!. For peace of mind I run an UltraGauge to give me a constant reading on my temp and for correction of my speedometer for the oversized tires. Also a Bluetooth capable stereo is an awesome upgrade.
 
Looks like the non-clapped-out version of my truck :hillbilly:

My advice would be to decide on your desired tire size and go from there. If 33's are in the cards, I would get OME 861/862 (stock height replacement, but actually about 1" lift) to keep it simple. Everyone who has these loves the heck out of 'em as far as I can tell.

If going 35's, then a 2+ lift would be appropriate. Pick your poison, but keep in mind the typical OME lifts will ride higher in the rear without a lot of extra weight, so mis-matched springs (heavy front, medium rear or J front, heavy rear, etc) are common. If you're feeling spendy, the slinky kits seem really nice.

Best mod: @bhicks cupholder
 
NICE! Grats, welcome.
My best mod has been 7w led reverse lights from Pfran.
 
Time to strip the stereo system out of the runner.
Yeah gonna work on it some this weekend, need to pull the double din and replace with a sindle, probably leave the door panels alone and hook the speakers back up to the head unit, can I get to the speaker wire runs for the seperates at the factory wiring or are they run straight to the back for the amp....
 
You should be able to get the wire at the kick panel then hook it to the factory wires or you could pull the wires back to the front and just hook them up to the radio less connections that way and no colors to figure out.
 
It's finally on the way, spose to be here on tomorrow, Thanksgiving delivery is something else to be thankful for, the shipping logistics was a nightmare, what a cutthroat industry. Any way here's a couple of receipt inspection pictures I got from the shipper, immediate upgrades include: needing a receiver hitch in the interim until a proper bumper can be gotten and new tires, I have a set of cooper sst's on my 4runner with about 10k miles on them and they have gotten a lot louder and it seems to be continuing to escalate, probably go with nitto terra grapplers or maybe some sort of toyo....so many options, looking for good on and off road performance but more towards on road most 4 wheeling will be done at the beach.... not gonna beat and bang this one for a while.... here's the pics....
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If you're going for new tires. I would go to 16s and look at the Duratracs.
 
Got some stuff happening, got a receiver hitch from a fellow mud member on the way, ordered 5 305 70 16 Nitto Terra Grapplers , was messing with the truck today and the stupid alarm has parasitic drain, tried to jumpstart it with my 4Runner and I'm guessing I popped the fusible link, nothing has power no lights no key chime etc...ended up getting two from Toyota South Atlanta @Kyle Toyota OEM (mud vendor) cheaper and quicker than the local stealership could get them...this forum is awesome, great resource and great benefits...no idea when tires will get swapped but will post a pic when I get em done, pulled the third row seats out today as I don't need them and it makes so much more room in the back of the truck... got.it registered today too so hopefully will get it back running this weekend and have it on the road next week, anybody got any good tricks for removing window tint? It won't pass inspection here in Va as the tint is way to dark...it's nice, but driving at night in the rain would suck...starting to compile a parts list for an ls swap hopefully be ready for that come summertime!!
 
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curious to hear how well it rides and turns on 12.5" wide tires on stock suspension. you will def want at least a stock height OME spring set and 2 sets of trim pads for the front. i used the bilstein shocks though instead of OME. not so many great reviews here about those. remove the running boards and everyone will be asking how big a lift you got. and you will probably want the wits end spare tire carrier kit that gets the spare underneath up higher with that 12.5er

my drivers mirror just started getting the fabled shakes this week. only 160k on it. gonna add heat pads to them when i do them.

i would baseline the be-jesus out of it though first before going all motor swap with it. the todo list is miles long for these trucks at yours/my mileage. congrats!! welcome to the 80 section! the rabbit hole to end all mud rabbit holes.
 
looking forward to the 305 pics :)
 
I tried to jumpstart my 97 LX450 and for some reason it popped the fusible link. Ordered a replacement from @Kyle Toyota OEM and am having issues, it seems the plastic quick connect is slightly different, and will not go back together, checked continuity on the plastic connector leg of the old one and it was fine so I figured I could us that to get me by until I get it sorted out only I can't get it back together as the female spade inside the plastic connector is not aligning with the male spade on the truck/harness side of the connector, I wouldn't think the spade could rotate in the plastic connector and tried to spin it back to no avail...here's a couple pics....Any assistance appreciated?

Here's the new part I got from @Kyle Toyota OEM, fast shipping super easy to deal with and i got two plus shipping cheaper than I could get from the local stealership and quicker too boot!!...excellent customer service!!!
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Old New Fusible Link vs New One, notice the difference of the internals

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Here's the truck/harness side of the plastic connector for the fusible link, notice how the spade is rotated, i can't get it to turn and line back up, but i know it worked as I took it apart 2 hours ago...

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Still waiting on tires to get here, the Xmas shipping rush must have them delayed, made some headway getting the old autopage alarm/autostart out but waiting on the wiring guru @tmxmotorsports to come give me a hand with it.... looking for options for a new keyless entry/remote start, any suggestions appreciated...
 
My buddy @tmxmotorsports came up today as I was off work, so it was a long weekend, got a bunch of stuff done, swapped my stereo out and got my new sneakers installed, 305 70 16 s it looked like LandCruiser Land around here today....he had some bad luck with is 62 today, the high pressure hose on his powersteering let go, item NLA...he's pretty resourceful so it shouldn't be down long, here's a couple of pics...including a gratuitous poser pic on the jack just to see how they stuffed.....no rubbing whatsoever, thanks to the forum for the advice...


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Gratuitous poser pic...
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Got my receiver hitch installed today, tinkered wth the power window switch cleaning contacts, fumbling with reassembly for over an hour, at least there is a thread on here that got me straight, be careful when you disassemble the window control switch, and the spring that goes in the window lock is a PIA, at least with my fat fingers and limited knowledge... have a windshield guy coming to take a look this week and see if he can't get her sealed up...lots of parts to order tomorrow including but not limited to, knuckle rebuild kit with bearings, have some burfield soup and clicking going on.... heater control valve as my heat is only lukewarm at best, already got my PHH kit from @NLXTACY , going to do a throrough flush and replace parts so hopefully it will keep the kids nice and warm this winter
 
I have been collecting parts for baselining and I think I have most of my stuff together, going to flush cooling system and replace PHH and Heater control valve, knuckle job with birfs, terrain tamer rotors and new pads all around, new master cylinder, window seals, going to look for a seat solution as my drivers seat does not travel and the padding is shot, and it's got a cheap leather bottom recover job on it, not sure if a seat swap is in order or just fix what's there and add heat.... Thanks to @NLXTACY , @reevesi, and georg @ valley hybrids, cruiser outfitters toyota of south atlanta, and the local napa for the quality parts ...... should make for a busy couple days....
Parts all together...
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