Moderate 06 LX470 Soccer Mom SUV to Moderate Multi-Use Build (2 Viewers)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Quick Update:
We’re mostly just waiting on parts at this point. The Warn Zeon 10S Platinum is in the mail. The Dissent Front Bumper, ProSpeed Rack, and Warn Solenoid Relocation Kit should all be shipped out by the end of Jan. Then it’s time to really get to work!

We did knock out a few PM items in the interim:
- Wasn’t sure if the PO replaced the Heater Ts when they did the Timing Belt at 103K, so we knocked those out.
- Also put on some new hood struts because the old OEM ones were starting to weaken.
- And I swapped from LED Headlight bulbs back to HID just to get some more nighttime output.

More to come soon!

2D42B2D9-C37B-45B7-8EFF-11845463AC31.jpeg


BE234FDF-CE28-413B-89F7-A7E695B25FEE.jpeg


AFAFD6E6-5F1A-445C-8069-4C9C283CCE5B.jpeg


91B6AB99-3479-40DD-9DD6-77AE1CA98C2D.jpeg


2172CA8E-E410-4156-B588-C7C433A95B91.jpeg
 
Most parts finally arrived. Today we worked on squeezing the Warn Zeon 10-S Platinum into the Dissent High Clearance front bumper. They used to have a bracket for this, but Ben said they don’t have the CAD files anymore so I had to get creative.

More to come this weekend!

4FC896FA-7179-4013-90EE-CB8B274A2620.jpeg


BB6761A6-5FA3-4EDA-873D-CDE34C52C650.jpeg


2DF08F42-9501-4EB4-92EB-2CD9AD0FD246.jpeg


E1D02DE7-F9D3-4308-853E-69B4F957C3E4.jpeg


D880ADFA-953A-4160-80A7-D526623271D3.jpeg
 
How does one lose cad files these days?
Pretty common if the CAD labor is coming from an external source. Not sure if that's the case with Ben, but I've run into that multiple times with other business owners if they aren't doing the CAD work internally.

I was in talks with another business owner to buy his business a couple years back. I was keen on the CAD files. He barely knew what he had. He hired someone else to do almost all the CAD work and once tooling was made or a file was sent off to his vendor of choice, he barely cared what happened to the CAD files. I did not buy that business and the main reason was a lack of CAD files.

I do all my CAD work and I've got about 6 copies of every file spread across my main hard drive, back up internal hard drive, external hard drive and a small flash drive. I'm not sure how CAD files go missing so often, but it seems they do.
 
Good observation.

Having worked in that world, I guess I took it for granted.

I can definetly see confusion in configuration management due to the large # of files with any one model (cad, revisions, fea, etc etc), as well as loss of "back of the napkin" knowledge base.

Ah, the challenges of being a small business.
 
Put in a bunch of work on the LX the past few days. It was cold outside the first few days so I did all I could to stay indoors.

just realized I posited these pics over the weekend too. Sorry for the redundancy.

A5B1F16B-F6B5-4F51-816F-8244AEC7B25D.jpeg


C266482E-ADC5-4ACF-B774-5EB40DFCF0E6.jpeg


1E66257C-E495-4FBD-A234-838BAB19E5A6.jpeg


A17F884E-C8A7-4F97-A4F1-340BC220C3D1.jpeg


2B444048-FFD4-40A8-8659-D07E9EC8C362.jpeg
 
Since Ben didn’t have a mount, I just drilled some holes and made some simple aluminum extensions for mounting the control pack on the dissent bumper. I essentially positioned it so the front of the control pack was flush with the front of the bumper. It’ll be protected by the small stinger I ordered with the bumper.

1BF8F570-8F90-436A-B5CF-96651758FB2E.jpeg
 
Then I started assembling the Dissent front bumper. It’s super adjustable, which is good if
you like to tinker with it and want to get it perfect. I personally am not super patient and would have preferred to have had it more put together when it arrived (I’m used to Slee / 4x4Labs style) but understand why it isn’t. It just took longer than I had anticipated. But it’s the best front bumper for the LX out there IMO and was well worth the time and patience. And is super light in the Aluminum Ultra High Clearance version.
As an aside, it was a pain getting the Synthetic Rope in the Warn Zeon 10-S Platimum. 😡

F3210F28-4418-4696-BDDB-3348F3B4C5BE.jpeg


CE5465EB-E187-4A6F-A915-D87863D1C3D9.jpeg


37DFA339-1EBF-44DD-BA9E-1D498A744ED6.jpeg


065CAF32-42A5-457E-BC53-4D2E0BEC39E4.jpeg
 
I was really nervous to close the hood the first time, but it closes fine with a slight massage of the front grille. I was pleased - it sits as close in as possible while still allowing minimal clearance for everything to fit and work properly.

I then mounted the Rigid Amber SAE fog lights Ben at Dissent had recommended. Mounting was simple. For electrical, I just cut the wiring after the quick connect and wired it directly into the OEM Fog plug and they worked like a charm.
 
Next, I removed the factory running boards. Have AHC (love it!) which makes it a little harder to get to all the running board bolts. But patience and creativity with the socket set paid off.

I’ve never liked how the wheels/tires sit inside the fenders so much. Makes the LX/LC look fat and overweight more than it deserves. So I got 1.25” wheel spacers from BORA (fronts are cut specifically for our LX/LC hubs). They are a bit expensive, but we’ll worth it in terms of peace of mind.

Finally, late last night we assembled the ProSpeed rack on the garage floor and attempted to bolt it up. I ran out of silicon for the holes, so got more this morning and closed that project out too.

25D358AA-20C2-40A3-870F-302AB706D5C0.jpeg


625DA759-5DF0-4760-872D-86B77A7A6113.jpeg


B9F2CA7E-CDBD-4F99-8E81-DFF5FA8BB1CF.jpeg


251BF3E6-2375-4944-AB8A-20335D1D5C42.jpeg


D43111FD-1896-4231-ABFE-C046B62D2F8B.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Those with a keen eye will notice that the Dissent Front Bumper and ProSpeed Rack aren’t the normal powdercoat. I don’t like Black on a White vehicle, so I worked with Ben at Dissent on a Textured Gray Powdercoat from Cardinal. Then Brian at ProSpeed Racks was kind enough to match it for us too. I think it turned out perfect with the 06 Super White.
 
And finally, we dropped the LX off at the local PepBoys to get the new KO2s
mounted. They look and fit great with no rubbing on Normal AHC setting.

43510C2D-D4A7-4C60-82A2-4793D1BAE13B.jpeg


AAED2271-9D4A-4D1E-9D31-8506F80D8C33.jpeg


77F1D7DC-1625-4102-8C21-E2520BCDED4A.jpeg


B781C544-FFB4-4148-B112-087F2A323C13.jpeg
 
As a surprise, somehow Night Vision still works even though we removed the “eyes” on the front bumper. Maybe it works through 2 different technologies, 1 of which is still working fine. But maybe it just has less resolution than before or something.

So now we only have two small items left:
1) I ordered some LEDs and will wire them into the harness that used to power the LX running boards and under vehicle lighting. I just need to make some basic mounts and weld/bolt them on.

2) I completely missed the fact that my turn signals would be gone. So I need to fix that. I read a number of posts about wiring the marker lights so they do both market and turn signal. I was also thinking of just installing the old turn signal setup into the marker housing as a second bulb in there to make it even easier. But it’s a lower priority - I’ll just avoid making turns for a while 😂.

Other than the creativity in mounting the Warn winch and persistence required on the awesome Dissent front bumper, it was a pretty easy build overall. I’m really pleased with how it turned out - it drives just like stock (maybe feels slightly taller) and looks fantastic IMO.

D078B606-1AD2-4ABD-AD55-1B4889A65024.jpeg
 
Decided to add undercarriage lights back after removing the OEM ones on the factory LX470 running boards.

It’s been documented before and Owl sells a kit, but I did it an easier and simpler way. I just tapped into the OEM female plug, bolted the LEDs into the OEM AHC protector plate bracket (used a slightly longer ORM bolt I had laying around to make it easier), and secured all the wires. $25 Total and 5-mins max per side once I figured it out. 1 Bannana project.

Here’s the LED light I’m using if anyone wants to copy it:

AutoFeel LED Light Bar 2PCS 7... Amazon product ASIN B07FJSJMS3

Performs exactly like the factory undercarriage lights did. Fades on when the doors are opened. Fades off a few seconds after they are closed. Done!

D99E6229-E1A5-411E-B1FC-8714F6DFFC36.jpeg


C775825C-691A-4065-9099-654ED0EE8418.jpeg


B80F279E-C3EF-440B-BAB2-6AF515B27633.jpeg
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom