Thank you. I purchased them about a year ago. They’ve been sitting in the shop. I bought them from Megazip.net. Best prices I found for Japanese direct distribution.
LX570 AHC Globe/Accumulator Replacement (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter NKP Garage
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Sorry for the essay length post ahead of time.. at least I stayed under the 25k character limit.
Changed my globes out this weekend. They had been sitting on my shelf for about a year. Anyone else wonder why all 4 globes look exactly the same. Why in the world wouldn’t Toyota have them marked in some way so that you can tell them apart?
The ones on my truck did not have backup washers, and had the same play in the washer area as my new ones. So I didn’t bother using them (I purchased them a year ago as well). I have suspected my globes may have been swapped in the past., but no idea when.
I’d say I can tell a difference, but it’s hard to quantify, so possibly just placebo affect. Or, I may just be feeling my AHC system working itself back to normal.
My method was to put a jack under the corner I was working on. No lifting, but taking weight of truck off suspension. Opening bleeder until fluid stops (about a half liter). Swap globe and add fluid to reservoir. Start truck, let it fill that corner back up. I then did the other side of the same axle, And took it for a drive. Then repeat on the other axle. Then after the drive I bled all 4 corners. Not sure what affect if any that had. At this point I think the best way to bleed the system is to keep cycling from high to low. I also think it doesn’t matter at all which corner you start on. All 4 corners are fully independent most of the time. So I can’t think of a good reason why it would matter.
I used the jack to keep from draining the shocks. I wasn’t trying to flush all my fluid, since I’ve done that recently. I was able to change all 4 globes with a little over 2L of fluid swapped.
I recommend having the OBD fusion app to monitor the AHC ECU whenever you are releasing system pressure. It goes a long way in solving mysteries when you can actually watch what the truck is doing once you get it started. One thing I noticed that there’s no way you’d ever know it was happening, is If you lowered the truck to L and then were trying to get it back up to N and it complained, either running too long and not getting all the way back up and giving up or actually triggering the AHC warning. If you do a restart, usually the truck will think it’s in N and be in a ready state even though it’s low. If you start driving around the pump will continuously cycle on and off until the truck is back up to height. The dashboard won’t indicate but it happens. What I found is the accumulator would get out of sync (for lack of a better explanation) And then the truck would have trouble lifting. I assume a combination of not utilizing yhe accumulator and air in the system possibly making it difficult on the pump. So it would eventually stop lifting and actual height would be low and the dash would say L and no response basically when hitting the switch anymore. I restarted the truck so that I was in N and “ready” arrows up and down and just drove the truck. After about 5 minutes the pump cycled on and off enough that the truck got back to N. I had to repeat that again. Then after another restart the ECU checked the accumulator on startup and charged it. Then my next lift used the accumulator again and everything was back to normal.
I think the accumulator can get out of sync when you do a height change up and the don’t let the change complete (either because it was taking too long or AHC error occurs, or possibly you turned the truck off too soon after a height change. An accumulator refill only occurs after a successful height change, or apparently after a system check on startup. I think if all heights are norMal and the ECU detects the accumulator is not fully charged on startup it will then recharge it.
The only other thing abnormal I did, and I hesitate to bring it up, is a few times it seemed like the truck would build pressure and keep pumping but the pressure wouldn’t continue to build (stopping at 5-6 mPa). A couple time when that was happening I went to the reservoir and pulled the “fill cap” and an audible release in vacuum occurred. I thought to do this because in some previous threads when people were dealing with gunked up fluid and cleaning pumps, that one forum member had noticed he had a vacuum being formed in his reservoir because there is a check valve on that connection. I honestly don’t know if it was necessary, but it seemed to help. I suspect maybe this is necessary when you are attempting to displace a lot of fluid due to changing out suspension components.
Changed my globes out this weekend. They had been sitting on my shelf for about a year. Anyone else wonder why all 4 globes look exactly the same. Why in the world wouldn’t Toyota have them marked in some way so that you can tell them apart?
The ones on my truck did not have backup washers, and had the same play in the washer area as my new ones. So I didn’t bother using them (I purchased them a year ago as well). I have suspected my globes may have been swapped in the past., but no idea when.
I’d say I can tell a difference, but it’s hard to quantify, so possibly just placebo affect. Or, I may just be feeling my AHC system working itself back to normal.
My method was to put a jack under the corner I was working on. No lifting, but taking weight of truck off suspension. Opening bleeder until fluid stops (about a half liter). Swap globe and add fluid to reservoir. Start truck, let it fill that corner back up. I then did the other side of the same axle, And took it for a drive. Then repeat on the other axle. Then after the drive I bled all 4 corners. Not sure what affect if any that had. At this point I think the best way to bleed the system is to keep cycling from high to low. I also think it doesn’t matter at all which corner you start on. All 4 corners are fully independent most of the time. So I can’t think of a good reason why it would matter.
I used the jack to keep from draining the shocks. I wasn’t trying to flush all my fluid, since I’ve done that recently. I was able to change all 4 globes with a little over 2L of fluid swapped.
I recommend having the OBD fusion app to monitor the AHC ECU whenever you are releasing system pressure. It goes a long way in solving mysteries when you can actually watch what the truck is doing once you get it started. One thing I noticed that there’s no way you’d ever know it was happening, is If you lowered the truck to L and then were trying to get it back up to N and it complained, either running too long and not getting all the way back up and giving up or actually triggering the AHC warning. If you do a restart, usually the truck will think it’s in N and be in a ready state even though it’s low. If you start driving around the pump will continuously cycle on and off until the truck is back up to height. The dashboard won’t indicate but it happens. What I found is the accumulator would get out of sync (for lack of a better explanation) And then the truck would have trouble lifting. I assume a combination of not utilizing yhe accumulator and air in the system possibly making it difficult on the pump. So it would eventually stop lifting and actual height would be low and the dash would say L and no response basically when hitting the switch anymore. I restarted the truck so that I was in N and “ready” arrows up and down and just drove the truck. After about 5 minutes the pump cycled on and off enough that the truck got back to N. I had to repeat that again. Then after another restart the ECU checked the accumulator on startup and charged it. Then my next lift used the accumulator again and everything was back to normal.
I think the accumulator can get out of sync when you do a height change up and the don’t let the change complete (either because it was taking too long or AHC error occurs, or possibly you turned the truck off too soon after a height change. An accumulator refill only occurs after a successful height change, or apparently after a system check on startup. I think if all heights are norMal and the ECU detects the accumulator is not fully charged on startup it will then recharge it.
The only other thing abnormal I did, and I hesitate to bring it up, is a few times it seemed like the truck would build pressure and keep pumping but the pressure wouldn’t continue to build (stopping at 5-6 mPa). A couple time when that was happening I went to the reservoir and pulled the “fill cap” and an audible release in vacuum occurred. I thought to do this because in some previous threads when people were dealing with gunked up fluid and cleaning pumps, that one forum member had noticed he had a vacuum being formed in his reservoir because there is a check valve on that connection. I honestly don’t know if it was necessary, but it seemed to help. I suspect maybe this is necessary when you are attempting to displace a lot of fluid due to changing out suspension components.
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It doesn't sound like jacking up each corner helped save much fluid if that was the goal. I know I used just under 2.5L letting it drop all the way on each side. With regard to the vacuum in the reservoir, I assume you had the fill cap back on? I leave the system open while bleeding and replacing. Perhaps that should be the recommended method considering how much fluid it pulls after globe replacement. If I recall, there is a check valve that could restrict air flow and create negative pressure. Good info. I think we all learn a little bit from each experience.
I was wondering about that cap w/ hose for the AHC filler.
When I removed the cap each time to pour in more AHC fluid, I could feel the vacuum and also hear air sucking into the AHC reservoir.
So, the recommended method is to remove the filler cap until you finish all your work with AHC fluid exchange?
That makes sense.. probably only saving a few inches of fluid.
I think so. It makes sense anyway.
Thanks...I will try that method on my next AHC fluid exchange.
Your write-up was spot on and super easy to follow... my hats off to you.
Don’t give me too much credit. I’m not the sharpest crayon in the box. Without this forum and the posts of others I’d be bottomed out in the garage with all kinds of lights flashing. Glad it helped though.Thanks...I will try that method on my next AHC fluid exchange.
Your write-up was spot on and super easy to follow... my hats off to you.
Just to add some insight from my experience, I was “bottomed out in the garage with all kinds of lights flashing”. Last weekend I serviced my AHC system. Did a flush prior to replacing globes. Probably overkill but since the truck is new to me I wanted to make sure everything was operational after a flush and prior to me pulling parts off with nothing but some wrenches and YouTube, oh and the wealth of knowledge from Mud. Flush went well, globe replacement went well but when I went to fire the system back up I could not clear the AHC warning light. Tried to start the truck while flipping the AHC switch multiple times to activate the pump, no luck with this method. Decided to pull the battery cables to try and reboot the system. That worked! I was very relieved to not have a low rider.
tincan45- nice write up. Thanks all for sharing.
There are two ways to learn. From your own mistakes and the mistakes of others.
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Mine took 5-6 hrs with extra stuff added in. Cleaning skid plates, figuring how to “clear” the dash lights, sanding and repainting an actuator, and I spent usual 20-30 minutes trying to Get the back bolt off of the AHC protective rails. And I spent a good 15-20 trying to read the fluid level in the reservoir as my flashlight was dying and the sun was beating down on the back of the truck. Budgeting 4-5 hrs for your first time is a good idea. I could probably do it again in half the time.
Pics are actuator i “refurbished” with a sanding wheel on the grinder and a can of spray paint. Funny story- when I was negotiating buying the truck i showed the first pic to the salesman and told him that replacement was $2K. He knocked $1500 off in final negotiations.
Very very easy job. Hardest part is getting the portion of the sliders* off that is necessary. I spent more on the bolts towards the rear than I did anything else-have all your wobble extensions, ratchets, and sockets ready…there’s a particular combination that gives you perfect access to those rear bolts on the sliders*.
Also the most headache part of it was merely trying to bleed the rear accumulators without making a mess. Very little space back there to turn the wrench…and very little grab that the tube had on the nipple…so the bleed tube falls off…while you’re trying to money with getting a angle angle to “crack” the bleeder with a wrench.
Spend some money and get a proper bleed kit…and perhaps modify a bleed wrench. I ended up cutting down a harbor freight angled wrench to the perfect length for specifically that job…
I purchased the following brake bleed nipple thing for next time..and modified a harbor freight version of the following wrench (basically shortened it to the perfect length to fit and turn) which seemed to work marginally well.
FIRSTINFO Automotive Brake Fluid... Amazon product ASIN B08X1WDR3J
DURATECH Offset Box Wrench Set, Metric, 9-Piece, 6-23mm, 75-Degree, Cr-V Constructed, Organized in Rolling Pouch https://a.co/d/1PmLY1Y
Next time, if the kit I sort of put together doesn’t work well, I may try the following tool to make the bleeding less messy/tedious
FIRSTINFO Patented Brake Bleeder Wrench Set 7-12mm & 3/8-Inch 12 Point Socket Brake Bleeding Wrench with Oil Drain Hose & Non-Return Check Valve https://a.co/d/ceXajTB
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Thanks @TR4RUNNER and @highfructose! I’ve ordered globes and fluid and will be doing this job in a few weeks. I purchased my globes from Megazip.net for $667 shipped and got the fluid from Daytona Toyota via eBay.
Nice work. While you are waiting for the parts to come in, try getting the slider bars off or at least the bolts loosened. Will save you lots of time when you do the real job. Might want to see if your bleeders and slider bolts need some penetrating oil. There are a few good videos on YouTube that I watched multiple times. Good perspective on what you will encounter.
I actually replaced my globes on my 2011 about 2 months ago and have been meaning to add my experience to the thread. It's definitely not a complicated job, just a pain to get the sliders off like previously mentioned. I did have one accumulator that was stuck on and would have been a real problem had I done this job in my own driveway. Thankfully, I did it at my brothers shop and he was able to use a hammer drill to get it to turn so we could spin that one off. I did screw up and may have gotten air into the system when starting things up and charging the system by not putting enough fluid in the reservoir. Nonetheless, I added fluid and was able to raise and lower and figured I would just need to bleed as many times as needed to clear any possible air.
Back in my own driveway at a later day, I verified plenty of fluid in the reservoir and did the normal bleeding procedure (minus the 5th accumulator) and had no issues until the 3rd time when the pump was screaming and unable to charge along with the check AHC light. I suspected the pump was clogged. Drive of shame to my brother's shop with the system in low and riding the bump stops. He was able to reverse the pump and clear the clog, picture attached of what was cleared out.
Also should mention that I had used some fluid from the 1 Liter plastic bottles. I used a glass container to make sure the fluid looked good. Out of the 4 bottles, 2 were good, 2 were not. The rest of the fluid was from the 2.5L metal canister that we now know does not appear to have issues.
After clearing the debris from the pump, the AHC functions as normal. I suspect I may still have some air in the system as sometimes it drives amazing, and other times it is noticeably much harsher on the same roads.
One week after getting everything resolved, my radiator blew, which I knew was coming. A new radiator, water pump, starter, tensioner and accumulators later...it's back to running wonderfully.
I can absolutely tell the difference between the original accumulators and the replacements, especially when braking and turning.
Apologies if this was a little all over the place, time is short and just wanted to add to the knowledge base here.
Back in my own driveway at a later day, I verified plenty of fluid in the reservoir and did the normal bleeding procedure (minus the 5th accumulator) and had no issues until the 3rd time when the pump was screaming and unable to charge along with the check AHC light. I suspected the pump was clogged. Drive of shame to my brother's shop with the system in low and riding the bump stops. He was able to reverse the pump and clear the clog, picture attached of what was cleared out.
Also should mention that I had used some fluid from the 1 Liter plastic bottles. I used a glass container to make sure the fluid looked good. Out of the 4 bottles, 2 were good, 2 were not. The rest of the fluid was from the 2.5L metal canister that we now know does not appear to have issues.
After clearing the debris from the pump, the AHC functions as normal. I suspect I may still have some air in the system as sometimes it drives amazing, and other times it is noticeably much harsher on the same roads.
One week after getting everything resolved, my radiator blew, which I knew was coming. A new radiator, water pump, starter, tensioner and accumulators later...it's back to running wonderfully.
I can absolutely tell the difference between the original accumulators and the replacements, especially when braking and turning.
Apologies if this was a little all over the place, time is short and just wanted to add to the knowledge base here.
“After clearing the debris from the pump, the AHC functions as normal. I suspect I may still have some air in the system as sometimes it drives amazing, and other times it is noticeably much harsher on the same roads.”
I have had similar experiences With harsher rides on same roads. Like you I’m thinking air in the system or impurities in the fluid. My fluid change was all from cans and looked good. I possibly could have gotten road grime/debris into the reservoir when filling. There was some grime on top of my can from the wheel well after I was done filling. Hoping things work themselves out, have only had the “rough” ride maybe 1 out of 10 trips.
Just completed an overnight 800 mile road trip and can confirm there is a significant improvement in ride and body control. The improvement wasnt as apparent on local roads, but on the highway, particularly a highway in poor condition and with multiple turns/weaves through Eastern US mountain passes - the body movement and wallowing is significantly improved. High speed turns feel more controlled and body roll is reduced.
Comfort mode really feels like comfort mode. Previously, is was actually quite a jarring experience.
Comfort mode really feels like comfort mode. Previously, is was actually quite a jarring experience.
Well I'm in a bit of a pickle...
Started the accumulator replacement project on my LX, and have been unable to remove the DF accumulator. The bolt keeps wanting to round out (pic attached). I've tried just about everything - breaker bar, impact gun, torque wrench, vise grips. Each time the bolt seems to want to give way, but no movement from the accumulator. I've ordered a bolt extractor socket, and am waiting for that to come in. Has anyone else had this much trouble? I tried locating a socket with non-tapered corners but had no luck.
On a side note, is there any issue in attempting to move on to the other globes before getting the DF off? Obviously from a bleeding standpoint, you want to go DF, DR, PF, PR.
Started the accumulator replacement project on my LX, and have been unable to remove the DF accumulator. The bolt keeps wanting to round out (pic attached). I've tried just about everything - breaker bar, impact gun, torque wrench, vise grips. Each time the bolt seems to want to give way, but no movement from the accumulator. I've ordered a bolt extractor socket, and am waiting for that to come in. Has anyone else had this much trouble? I tried locating a socket with non-tapered corners but had no luck.
On a side note, is there any issue in attempting to move on to the other globes before getting the DF off? Obviously from a bleeding standpoint, you want to go DF, DR, PF, PR.
