LX570 to Tundra front end swap. (1 Viewer)

[turbo8]

I went ahead and did this to my LX. Took about 15 hours over the week to do.

For the Land Cruiser version see @TexAZ (Thanks Tex!) thread 200 Series Lift using Tundra front IFS and Icon shocks

Got the upper and lower arms from Offer Up locally for $150
Axles from rock auto (Cardon HD for $130, no Core!)
Tie rod ends from amazon (moog) for $50
I also replaced the front diff output seals since the axles were out. Toyota OEM (same exact seals as my 97 4runner, if they work, don't change them )

Notes:
You need to cut off height sensor bracket from stock upper control arms and weld them back onto the Tundra arms. I welded it back on in the same position as stock. I guess if you weld it in closer towards the frame you would possibly get more lift out of the AHC.
Sway bar links need to be slightly modified to fit into Tundra arms. Grind about 1/16" off the lower inner metal sleeve(each side ~1/32").
The shock and sway bar mounts are about and inch farther outboard on the Tundra arms, and the stock bolt sticks out about an inch farther than the stock arms, I put an 1/8" washer on both sides of the bolt as there wasn't enough tread on the bolt to tighten the nut down all the way.

1 concern:
The shock mount sticking out farther might be a problem, as the shock might bottom out before the arm contacts the bump stops. You may bend\break your shocks without bump stop spacers if you're jumping\blasting through woops in your vehicle.

My goal is to ditch the AHC system and install King 3"Ø shocks. (Tundra front, LC rear)

Tires are Bfgoodrich a/t KO2 275/65r20 --34" tire

 

[tbisaacs]

Super cool to see this swap. Are you going the change the bump stops?

Curious as to why you’d want to rip it out vs getting a TLC? There are a couple of threads here from folks in UAE that have done it by unplugging the suspension module in the back but they have to live with the warning in the info cluster and flashing AFS light.

 

[turbo8]

Super cool to see this swap. Are you going the change the bump stops?

Curious as to why you’d want to rip it out vs getting a TLC? There are a couple of threads here from folks in UAE that have done it by unplugging the suspension module in the back but they have to live with the warning in the info cluster and flashing AFS light.

I need to cycle the suspension to see if it matters or not.

I could not find a reasonable priced LC anywhere near me so I settled for the LX.

I saw your post about them disabling the AHC. Gives me more hope.

Thanks!

 

[bloc]

Were the cardon axles just the shafts or the whole assembly? Could you not find used original tundra axles?

I’d be worried about aftermarket being as strong as stock. CVs tend to have a bad track record compared to other cheaper aftermarket parts.. in my experience at least.

 

[TexAZ]

Definately stick with OEM axles. I have two napa axles that didnt survive a week.
One was my fault, but the second was just cheap boot material. There should be plenty on Ebay.
I went with the energy suspension bump stops up front. They have held up well and keep 35s from touching anything they shouldnt.
If you can, post some pics of the upper arms with the sensors welded on. Curious about that system.

 

[40TUDE]

Thanks for posting this, interested in seeing more. Please post results about the suspension cycling.

 

[bloc]

Definately stick with OEM axles. I have two napa axles that didnt survive a week.
One was my fault, but the second was just cheap boot material. There should be plenty on Ebay.

It isn’t just the boots.. not sure about a truck/cruiser but on other cars they aren’t hardened to the same level, and probably inferior materials. I put aftermarket CVs on a customers car before and they were trashed and clicking within 30k miles. Boots were fine in that case.

 

[Atwalz]

I would go with a brand new OEM Tundra Axles. I have had mine for three now. No issues. I initially put ebay stuff. It didn't even last two months.

 

[turbo8]

Definately stick with OEM axles. I have two napa axles that didnt survive a week.
One was my fault, but the second was just cheap boot material. There should be plenty on Ebay.
I went with the energy suspension bump stops up front. They have held up well and keep 35s from touching anything they shouldnt.
If you can, post some pics of the upper arms with the sensors welded on. Curious about that system.

Sensor bracket welded on to Tundra upper arm. (Just like how it is on the stock LX arm)

 

[TeCKis300]

Nicely done. Did you measure fender height before and after mod? Curious what kind of additional lift the Tundra arm gives. Probably only an incremental height advantage.

Did you notice any difference in tire clearance, specifically as it turns? I would think the Tundra setup gives more clearance than adding spacers or low offset wheels.

If you change your mind and keep AHC, putting the LC shock spacer might be a great thing while performing this mod as I suspect you might do a sensor lift too?

Did the brakes drop right in?

As you can tell, I've been toying with doing this mod.

 

[turbo8]

double post delete

 

[turbo8]

Nicely done. Did you measure fender height before and after mod? Curious what kind of additional lift the Tundra arm gives. Probably only an incremental height advantage.

Did you notice any difference in tire clearance, specifically as it turns? I would think the Tundra setup gives more clearance than adding spacers or low offset wheels.

If you change your mind and keep AHC, putting the LC shock spacer might be a great thing while performing this mod as I suspect you might do a sensor lift too?

Did the brakes drop right in?

As you can tell, I've been toying with doing this mod.

If the height changed, it was by no more than a 1/4".

In normal mode with my AHC bracket lift, I'm sitting at 20.5" hub center to fender.

I don't have tire clearance issues, but the front and rear mud flaps were removed prior to this mod.

What do you mean by "Did the brakes drop in"? I am using the stock brakes.

I didn't think extended brake lines were necessary when using AHC shocks.

 

[drftsub]

Just as a heads up if you (or anyone reading) is looking for properly rebuild OEM axles , Tacoma / 4 Runner guys run CVJ often and have had good luck.

https://www.cvjreman.com/toyota-trucks-products/

 

[TexAZ]

With the tundra arms at full droop the brake lines get stretched. It is a good idea to get longer lines. I think I still have mine in a box somewhere. I think I went with stoptech, then crown custom brake lines when I swapped over to tundra brakes. Both are good quality.

 

[ChuckB]

Can someone summarize the pros/cons of this swap for us lowly LX470 owners? I'm curious about this development and didn't see any discussion in the linked threads, although I may have missed it? Asking for a friend TIA.

 

[bloc]

Can someone summarize the pros/cons of this swap for us lowly LX470 owners? I'm curious about this development and didn't see any discussion in the linked threads, although I may have missed it? Asking for a friend TIA.

Tundra upper and lower arms, CVs, tie rod ends. Stock LX570 height sensor bracket tab needs to be added to the upper tundra arm, otherwise it all bolts in.

Gain 3” of track width over a stock 200-series, without the turning radius issues of spacers up front or wider offset wheels. (Those tend to arc forward and backward on turning more than stock offset).

Also a given ride height doesn’t need as much angle out of the control arms which helps geometry.

Most people use a hub spacer in the rear to match, though bjowett was working on a bearing/axle housing spacer for us to use a Tundra axle shaft and avoid often problematic and arguably not as strong as stock hub spacers.

 

[ChuckB]

Thanks @bloc, appreciate it!!

 

[JZelnick]

Gain 3” of track width over a stock 200-series, without the turning radius issues of spacers up front or wider offset wheels. (Those tend to arc forward and backward on turning more than stock offset).

This does not seem to be entirely accurate. From what I have seen, the Tundra track width impacts the turning radius considerably. I have a lifted Cruiser with 1.25" spacers and my turning radius seems much better than the Tundra swapped trucks.

 

[bloc]

This does not seem to be entirely accurate. From what I have seen, the Tundra track width impacts the turning radius considerably. I have a lifted Cruiser with 1.25" spacers and my turning radius seems much better than the Tundra swapped trucks.

You are correct.. I wrote turning radius but that's not what I was going after.. I was thinking "scrub radius", which should be much better with a tundra swap and standard offset wheels than spacers or significantly offset wheels.

 

[VooDoo2]

Have you got your 3.0's in?