LX570 AHC “Basics” - Added as sticky thread for AHC Issues (6 Viewers)

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This and the other AHC informative threads on how it works and it’s history need to be grouped and made a sticky on the front page of the 200 forum. Please
@admin @Onur
 
Had my AHC fluid flushed last year by a local independent mechanic. Ride has been rough lately where I can feel every little bump/crack in the road. Opened up the access panel to the reservoir, used a flashlight to backlight the reservoir. I can’t see any fluid in there whatsoever. Gently pushed the reservoir back and forth to try to see some sloshing. Nothing. Ordered 4 liters of fluid off eBay. After reading this thread I’ll probably order two more. Hoping it isn’t bone dry in there.
Best to power wash or at least spray with a soap and rinse. Makes much easier than, with a backlight, too see level.
 
I contacted the seller to find out the difference if any. I’ll see what they have to say.
It's even a little cheaper if you buy the fronts and rears separately from same seller. Let us know what they say!
 
Also, try putting in truck in low, to at least verify fluid in reservoir, in Low reservoir should have most fluid. Do you go to high often?

The first flush I did, my fluid level was so low I couldn’t see it either, but I believe there is some room in the tank that you can’t see from the front. Try looking at back of tank from underneath truck.
Either way, mine was very low, but had enough to function. But I did get issues with going to high. About 20% of time I’d get a pump error. I’m pretty sure I ended up with a lot of air in my system. This definitely made for a rough ride, once I cleared the air, it smoothed out considerably. I also have globes ordered from ebay waiting on shelf to install because I don’t think my suspension is as smooth as it could be and I’m at about 110k miles.
 
Also, try putting in truck in low, to at least verify fluid in reservoir, in Low reservoir should have most fluid. Do you go to high often?

The first flush I did, my fluid level was so low I couldn’t see it either, but I believe there is some room in the tank that you can’t see from the front. Try looking at back of tank from underneath truck.
Either way, mine was very low, but had enough to function. But I did get issues with going to high. About 20% of time I’d get a pump error. I’m pretty sure I ended up with a lot of air in my system. This definitely made for a rough ride, once I cleared the air, it smoothed out considerably. I also have globes ordered from ebay waiting on shelf to install because I don’t think my suspension is as smooth as it could be and I’m at about 110k miles.
I’m going to wash off the area in the panel, set in low and recheck tomorrow. Good idea.
 
It's even a little cheaper if you buy the fronts and rears separately from same seller. Let us know what they say!
They refunded my money. They said the only reason for the different prices is they have to pay fees to get certain products listed high on a search. Next time I’ll visit their store on eBay, search and sort appropriately.
 
Took some trial and error but after a rinse and proper backlighting I was able to see the fluid level, just a little below min. Driveway is a little slanted but it’s safe to say I’m low on fluid. This is in Normal “N” height.

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Man your truck is so much cleaner than mine 😛
Ha yeah I thought the pic looked really clean, probably because it was still wet in there. It’s an 08 with 150+ on it, and I have used it for a ton of camping and some light off roading. I do have a car wash subscription so it gets a bath quite often.
 
There are a lot of threads on AHC issues so I made this a sticky thread. Feel free to add links to other threads here
 
Got my AHC fluid this week, 6 liters from eBay. After I got it I saw the thread from a month or two ago about possible contamination, seemed like it might be more of a technician problem than a fluid problem so I planned to do the fluid change this weekend. Then I saw Wes’s thread about the white jelly in the fluid. So I did what any mud reader would do, I went to Walmart and bought a jar and a cheap strainer to see what the fluid looked like out of the container.

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I bought a transfer pump from autozone to pump fluid out of the jar and into the reservoir. If you are planning on doing this procedure drop the spare and put the flashlight behind the reservoir for backlighting. I’m lazy and I didn’t drop the spare and I had to go back a few times to wrestle wi the flashlight until it was in the right spot. Would of been much easier if I cranked the tire down.
 
I did this procedure in my driveway. All I had to get some extra height was two rhino ramps. My thought was if my goal is to get air bubbles might as well have the front wheels elevated since I am starting up there. Someone smarter than me can tell us if this is a bad idea or not.
 
I did not drain the reservoir. I was concerned about extra air getting in the system. I don’t know how much fluid gets ported back to the resevoir (if any) but I’ve heard other people say it doesn’t. If that’s true the resevoir fluid should be pretty clean so no need to take it out.
 
Filling the resevoir was a PITA. I tried it with the filter in and I was spilling fluid everywhere. I took it out but still had to go very slow. I was able to stick the clear tube from the pump way down the filler tube. When fluid started to back up I could hear it gurgling so I would stop and prevent a spill. Went to the front of the truck and started bleeding. Looked like a frothy cappuccino at first. Got better eventually.

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Used a brake bleed tube and had a little trouble getting it on the front bleed valves. Due to the location of the rear valves I couldn’t get enough pressure to push the tube in. It was dark anyway so I will need to finish tomorrow. I’m through three liters so far. Let me know if I’m missing anything. Thanks to everyone who helps out on this forum.
 

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