That's exactly how I described the sound when my spindle bushing failed. Coincidentally right after my lift.
LX450 Newbie - Intro thread (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter missbarilov
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Since you just did a lift, the FIRST thing I would check would be the U-Joints. They can sometimes make noises like this and since you have changed your driveline angle, they are now operating in a new wear pattern. Also check the slip yokes for grease.
Otherwise, it sounds like the spindle bushings in the front hub. Has your front axle been recently serviced? Check your grease levels in the knuckle balls. Adding grease may help, but not eliminate the problem. The reason the lift may have brought this on is because the caster angle has changed, so the wear pattern is in a new spot for the internal on the axles as well.
If you have not serviced the front axle, it's time.
Otherwise, it sounds like the spindle bushings in the front hub. Has your front axle been recently serviced? Check your grease levels in the knuckle balls. Adding grease may help, but not eliminate the problem. The reason the lift may have brought this on is because the caster angle has changed, so the wear pattern is in a new spot for the internal on the axles as well.
If you have not serviced the front axle, it's time.
Did it make that noise even if you had it in neutral ...and did the noise stop as soon as you applied the braie?
- Thread starter
- #44
yes and yes
Hmm I am leaning towards a bearing then ...
Interesante. I had that issue with loose lugnuts once. Applying the brakes would line things back up on that car. It was my sisters nissan. Different style brakes than an 80 though. i am sure you already ruled that out.
Interesante. I had that issue with loose lugnuts once. Applying the brakes would line things back up on that car. It was my sisters nissan. Different style brakes than an 80 though. i am sure you already ruled that out.
This is a good point. It would also indicate loose front wheel bearings and could be causing the spindle to bind. Check and correct front wheel bearings.
Jack A front corner up and block the axle (jack stand) grab the tire at 9 and 3 o'clock and wiggle/ push pull side to side...if there is slop it's a wheel bearing or needs tightened up, do the same at 12 and 6, slop equals same as above. You can remove the drive flange and spin that individual tire to check for grinding or catching that may indicate a bearing failure or excessive spindle wear. Last time I heard a noise like that the bearings had gone dry and the inner race was intermittently spinning on the spindle which is bad news. It will either wear the spindle eccentric or temper it to the point of weakening to failure. Definitely check wheel bearings with the tires on first and if you're unsure work your way inboard. Best of luck.
Too bad I moved, I would totally helped you on some of the stuff. I was in Newbury Park, just a short skip and hope away from Santa Paula. Think there are a few Mudders near by, try some of the club houses. Most mudders are cool and willing to help. Definitely get a jack, and some jack stands. I turned to DIY after multiple paid repairs that I had to do over myself.
If you don’t mind the drive Brandon at TDC motors in Santa Clarita has done a bunch of work on my cars that I am happy with. He is honest and won’t over charge.
If you don’t mind the drive Brandon at TDC motors in Santa Clarita has done a bunch of work on my cars that I am happy with. He is honest and won’t over charge.
- Thread starter
- #49
Hello friends, gents, ladies, fellow countrymen! I thought it’d be fun to look back on this thread after so many years with an update on my personal journey
Since I posted this, my husband and I took the truck all over Nevada and through most of Death Valley, Mojave and the Inyo mountains. We never did get sliders or bumpers and just stuck with the 2” OME on 33 AT BFG KO2s with no running boards.
For 6 years we didn’t find a trail we wanted to go on that the truck could not handle. We never got stuck, although we did take some wrong lines and learned some lessons.
The engine continued to struggle with overheating even after a blue fan clutch swap and in November 2022, it finally error coded misfire on cylinder 6. After I back-flushed the coolant, the gunk holding it all together came loose and we got the dreaded milkshake.
We decided that we would do the head gasket ourselves and with the help of OTRAM, the good guys at the Toyota parts desk, and the holy book of FSM, we got it done. The long pole in the tent was the machine shop which took 3 weeks to turn it around, so the whole process took about 2 months.
We discovered that the coolant system was not upgraded like we thought and replaced all the coolant hoses, engine hoses, sent the fuel injectors to be cleaned, got new spark plugs, new gaskets all over the place, flushed the power steering and got new hoses, rebuilt the starter, etc etc etc. basically rebuilt the entire top end with all the “while we’re in there’s” all OEM from Toyota.
It runs like a top now! And I feel like a lot less of a “newbie” although we are still very much learning.
A few months ago I finally convinced my husband to consider lockers or going up to 35s after we finally ran into a problem we couldn’t comfortably meander
So we placed an order for White Knuckle sliders and I am googling various components of the suspension system to learn what the heck castor is and what I need to get up to 35s.
Very grateful to this community and all the help I’ve gotten over the past years to get to this point. Looking forward to leaning and doing more with this beastly machine.
Since I posted this, my husband and I took the truck all over Nevada and through most of Death Valley, Mojave and the Inyo mountains. We never did get sliders or bumpers and just stuck with the 2” OME on 33 AT BFG KO2s with no running boards.
For 6 years we didn’t find a trail we wanted to go on that the truck could not handle. We never got stuck, although we did take some wrong lines and learned some lessons.
The engine continued to struggle with overheating even after a blue fan clutch swap and in November 2022, it finally error coded misfire on cylinder 6. After I back-flushed the coolant, the gunk holding it all together came loose and we got the dreaded milkshake.
We decided that we would do the head gasket ourselves and with the help of OTRAM, the good guys at the Toyota parts desk, and the holy book of FSM, we got it done. The long pole in the tent was the machine shop which took 3 weeks to turn it around, so the whole process took about 2 months.
We discovered that the coolant system was not upgraded like we thought and replaced all the coolant hoses, engine hoses, sent the fuel injectors to be cleaned, got new spark plugs, new gaskets all over the place, flushed the power steering and got new hoses, rebuilt the starter, etc etc etc. basically rebuilt the entire top end with all the “while we’re in there’s” all OEM from Toyota.
It runs like a top now! And I feel like a lot less of a “newbie” although we are still very much learning.
A few months ago I finally convinced my husband to consider lockers or going up to 35s after we finally ran into a problem we couldn’t comfortably meander
So we placed an order for White Knuckle sliders and I am googling various components of the suspension system to learn what the heck castor is and what I need to get up to 35s.
Very grateful to this community and all the help I’ve gotten over the past years to get to this point. Looking forward to leaning and doing more with this beastly machine.
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Seems like your husband knows how to play the game!
Congrats on getting it all done yourselves!
Awesome posts!
Going w/lockers and staying with 33s might be the easier play. Even "just" rear lockers open up a whole bunch of terrain.
Going to 35" IS badass, but really will require a gearing change.
Happy trails,
Enjoy the journey
Agreed with this. 33s, lockers, and stock height has gotten me everywhere I needed to go so far. Just scrape the hitch and rockers every once in a while.
If you getting Lockers now's the time to do the gears, 35s are a easy fit and the way to go. 37s are where most people end up.
With 35s you could also do the 10* under drive gears in the transfer case !
With 35s you could also do the 10* under drive gears in the transfer case !
- Thread starter
- #54
This was my reasoning exactly - if we’re getting into the weeds to put in lockers, we might as well re-gear now if we know we will eventually go up on the tire size, which I think will give us more confidence on tricky stuff and a smoother ride in the desert.
I totally agree with the sentiment of lockers are probably all we’ll need to get through 99% of whatever we’ll encounter though!
- Thread starter
- #55
Hi friends! Popping in here to update my LX450 diary for anyone interested hah.
After my husband finished the head gasket, we got some White Knuckle sliders and I took over with the interior and build. We came upon a little of free cash and wanted to put it into making the truck more comfortable so I really went at it:
We hit an overhanging branch a few years ago choosing a bad line on a drop and there was a leak in the windshield which crept into the floor and started rotting the jute so I figured it was time for a new carpet. I pulled off all the panels and stripped the entire interior and lined it with sound dampener. This was a JOB. I think the whole thing, cleaning and stripping took about a week.
Then my husband and I installed a brand new used sunroof. I had to paint it to match our interior and it was a B**** to put in but it works!!! We are now part of the lucky few 80 series owners who have a fully functional sun roof!
Here's what it looked like before the carpet went in (so clean and so fresh!)
Once I was done with the interior, we decided to bite the bullet on some high ticket items - a new rack and a RTT. We decided to go with Front Runner Slimline II because everyone seemed to rave about it and I really liked all the accessories. We bought the truck for $4k in 2017. Just the RTT+rack was more than what it cost us to buy the truck!
This is where our troubles began....
My husband is 6'8" so he insisted we needed the absolute largest RTT we could get, and I found a used James Baround XXL Evade on fb marketplace. Then I found a used JB awning to go with it. Guys, mounting this thing on the FR Slimline with the awning was a HUGE PITA. Dealing with how to manage this set up has been more challenging than replacing the head gasket I swear to god.
The mounting brackets FR sold us weren't tall enough to reach the tent from the little lip that goes around the rack, and the tent weights like 400 lbs so it was impossible to get it right. We finally ended up getting Front Runner to install it for a hefty price and the whole build resulted in a 1" gap between the rack and the tent - the whole set up is SO LOUD and top heavy that we lost like a quarter of our gas mileage and all the work I did insulating the interior seems like a total waste. I am now in the process of figuring out how to reduce wind noise (solution TBD) and deciding if we should invest in a different RTT. I guess this is what they mean to be careful what you wish for!
On a more successful note, I am really pleased by the way the back is built out - I sourced two short ARB drawers, a fridge and a kitchen slide-out system all on fb marketplace and honestly, I really like this set up. It offers SO MUCH table space when you telescope the kitchen out and the drawers are short enough that you can put a massive battery behind them and access it by folding the seat down. It's GREAT. we still have our row of seats, plenty of room for additional miscellaneous gear and a neat spot for everything and I think we paid less than $500 for the whole set up.
I made a heavy plywood base for it that I mounted on the brackets for the seats and then bolted everything to that.
Anyway, we've been running this set up for a year and a half now and I am REALLY starting to hate the wind noise and the weight of that RTT. We just cannot go up hills as well as we used to and it takes a while for it to get up to speed. The whole thing sits about an inch above the rack which is just high enough to howl at speed and not high enough to store a hi-lift. Which I have no idea where to mount because I dont want to add even MORE weight with a swing-out bumper. This last weekend we went out to Monache and 3 of our friends had flats or got stuck which now makes me nervous about how we don't carry any real recovery gear.
Ugh. If anyone wants to buy the RTT off us, please hit me up. OR if you have any ideas of where to take things from here, please weigh in.
Sticking with our well-loved 33s for now! Next up - seat re-upholstery! I will be trying to DIY this (wish me luuuuuuck)
After my husband finished the head gasket, we got some White Knuckle sliders and I took over with the interior and build. We came upon a little of free cash and wanted to put it into making the truck more comfortable so I really went at it:
We hit an overhanging branch a few years ago choosing a bad line on a drop and there was a leak in the windshield which crept into the floor and started rotting the jute so I figured it was time for a new carpet. I pulled off all the panels and stripped the entire interior and lined it with sound dampener. This was a JOB. I think the whole thing, cleaning and stripping took about a week.
Then my husband and I installed a brand new used sunroof. I had to paint it to match our interior and it was a B**** to put in but it works!!! We are now part of the lucky few 80 series owners who have a fully functional sun roof!
Here's what it looked like before the carpet went in (so clean and so fresh!)
Once I was done with the interior, we decided to bite the bullet on some high ticket items - a new rack and a RTT. We decided to go with Front Runner Slimline II because everyone seemed to rave about it and I really liked all the accessories. We bought the truck for $4k in 2017. Just the RTT+rack was more than what it cost us to buy the truck!
This is where our troubles began....
My husband is 6'8" so he insisted we needed the absolute largest RTT we could get, and I found a used James Baround XXL Evade on fb marketplace. Then I found a used JB awning to go with it. Guys, mounting this thing on the FR Slimline with the awning was a HUGE PITA. Dealing with how to manage this set up has been more challenging than replacing the head gasket I swear to god.
The mounting brackets FR sold us weren't tall enough to reach the tent from the little lip that goes around the rack, and the tent weights like 400 lbs so it was impossible to get it right. We finally ended up getting Front Runner to install it for a hefty price and the whole build resulted in a 1" gap between the rack and the tent - the whole set up is SO LOUD and top heavy that we lost like a quarter of our gas mileage and all the work I did insulating the interior seems like a total waste. I am now in the process of figuring out how to reduce wind noise (solution TBD) and deciding if we should invest in a different RTT. I guess this is what they mean to be careful what you wish for!
On a more successful note, I am really pleased by the way the back is built out - I sourced two short ARB drawers, a fridge and a kitchen slide-out system all on fb marketplace and honestly, I really like this set up. It offers SO MUCH table space when you telescope the kitchen out and the drawers are short enough that you can put a massive battery behind them and access it by folding the seat down. It's GREAT. we still have our row of seats, plenty of room for additional miscellaneous gear and a neat spot for everything and I think we paid less than $500 for the whole set up.
I made a heavy plywood base for it that I mounted on the brackets for the seats and then bolted everything to that.
Anyway, we've been running this set up for a year and a half now and I am REALLY starting to hate the wind noise and the weight of that RTT. We just cannot go up hills as well as we used to and it takes a while for it to get up to speed. The whole thing sits about an inch above the rack which is just high enough to howl at speed and not high enough to store a hi-lift. Which I have no idea where to mount because I dont want to add even MORE weight with a swing-out bumper. This last weekend we went out to Monache and 3 of our friends had flats or got stuck which now makes me nervous about how we don't carry any real recovery gear.
Ugh. If anyone wants to buy the RTT off us, please hit me up. OR if you have any ideas of where to take things from here, please weigh in.
Sticking with our well-loved 33s for now! Next up - seat re-upholstery! I will be trying to DIY this (wish me luuuuuuck)
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Nice work on the various projects; chalking some up to "live and learn."
Speaking of learning, after you've practiced on your seats, you can do mine, I won't even charge you much
That tent is up high and wow is that heavy. I think it is 2x as heavy as mine. I don't leave mine on all the time and just put it on when I need it. The rack I have is a Bowfin and I just leave the crossbars attached to the tent so when I install the tent I am only reattaching the crossbars.
I am sure you can find a rtt that is better suited for your setup.
I am sure you can find a rtt that is better suited for your setup.
- Thread starter
- #59
haha yeah once I learn I can make a killing reupholstering 80 series seats because I think everyone I know who has one needs itNice work on the various projects; chalking some up to "live and learn."
Speaking of learning, after you've practiced on your seats, you can do mine, I won't even charge you much
FWIW The guy that did ours last April says it is under 2 hours per seat and that the key was to keep the car warm in the hours prior to starting either indoors or out. We were in by 8am an out at 5pm.
