My 2009 GX470 ownership and build thread (1 Viewer)

[Toyoland66]

I thought it was time to create a thread to document the work I have done to my GX and have upcoming.

Current stats 6/23/24:

Suspension:
-Bilstein 5100 shocks
-OME 887 and 895 coils
-JD fab LCA mounts and UCAs
-rear coil conversion (SSO)
-35” Toyo RT trail tires on powder coated stock wheels

Armor/ body
-Ironman front bumper
-Warn M8000 winch with synthetic line
-homemade rear swingout
-running board delete
-prinsu roof rack
-color matched door handles
-prado belt moldings (chrome delete)

Drivetrain/ misc
-4.30 gears and rear e-locker
-GX460 front brakes
-OEM prado subtank/ aux fuel tank (45 gal total capacity)
-custom bussman aux electric panel
-rago rear door molle panel
-F-sport grill

Upcoming:
-more armor (skids and sliders)

 

[Toyoland66]

We bought this car used in 2012 and it was my wife’s daily driver until 2020 when we got her a 200 series. I need a car with the third row, so I sold my Tacoma and took over the GX as my daily driver. up to this point I had only done the rear coil conversion and powder coated the wheels. Otherwise it was pretty much stock.

One of the first things I did was swap in GX 460 front brakes which I repainted and rebuilt.

 

[Toyoland66]

The next thing to get addressed was the suspension. It already had the 5100 shocks on it with stock coils. I swapped in OME coils to get approximately 2 1/2 inches of lift.

I also swapped in the 255 tires shortly after this.

 

[Toyoland66]

The next thing to go in was a Grom Bluetooth adapter, and an owl expedition mount which replaces the stock tape deck and gives a spot to mount a ram ball for a phone holder.

 

[Toyoland66]

I discovered while trying to get an alignment that the driver side spindle was bent. I went ahead and swapped in a new OEM spindle.

I found a deal on eBay for a conversion set of icon, delta joints, and shortly after that a deal on a set of icon Tacoma uniball upper control arms. I swapped the uniballs out for the icon Delta joints and swapped the upper control arms.

 

[Toyoland66]

 

[Toyoland66]

My first major project that involved a bunch of research was swapping in the OEM sub tank from a Middle East spec Prado. Rather than going into detail here, the link to the thread is below.

Prado 120 sub tank in a GX470 - has anyone done it? Well I’m gonna try!

12/1/2021 edit: swap is complete and functional :cool: Has anyone added a Prado 120 sub tank in their GX470? I know there are aftermarket options available but the possibility of using the OEM tank is interesting and seemingly (possibly?) less expensive. Adding this sub tank increases the...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[Toyoland66]

The next major project was swapping in a front Iron Man bull bar for a 120 series Prado.

 

[Toyoland66]

To complete the look, I went ahead and did a running board delete.

 

[Toyoland66]

After I swapped on the 255 tires, the spare tire would no longer fit in the stock location. Also, the sub tank goes where the spare tire used to be. I got tired of having the tire pressure light on all the time and wanted to be able to carry a spare so I fabbed a swing out tire carrier. It uses a bearing style swivel and a 4x innovations latch. I also relocated the back up camera to the tire mount and added some Baja designs back up lights in the rear bumper.

 

[Toyoland66]

The next fun project was building an auxiliary electrical panel for future lighting, and other auxiliary electric needs. I followed a tutorial on Tacoma world linked below.

DIY - Build and install a Bussmann RTMR Fuse/Relay Block

Part 1 - Introduction [IMG] This is Part 1 in a series of tutorials that will show you how to build a Bussmann RTMR fuse/relay block. If you’re not...

www.tacomaworld.com

This also has the remote plug for the winch wired in. at this time, I also installed a solid state relay winch controller.

 

[Toyoland66]

This brings us to the current project which is swapping in 4.30 gears. Third generation Tacoma came with an option for 430 gears and the front clamshell swaps directly into the GX by swapping out the ADD axle tube for the full-time GX tube.

For the rear, I found a 430 locker out of a third GEN 4runner. In order to swap this in the pinion flange has to be swapped to accommodate the larger GX driveshaft bolt pattern. I checked backlash on this used third member with unknown mileage and it all tested within spec.

The Tacoma front differential comes with needle bearings on the driver side, which can cause vibrations in the Tacoma application. I’m preemptively swapping the needle bearings out for a bronze bushing which is a modification I did several years ago when I had my Tacoma.

The 35 mm collet is used to pull the needle bearing assembly out of the side of the differential.

 

[tlin]

Where does one actually find color-matched door handles?

 

[Toyoland66]

Where does one actually find color-matched door handles?

If they are still available you can buy the OEM part, I think I got them from a combination of partsouq in UAE and amiyama in Japan, you have to swap the handles and the cover plate on the end like where the key goes on the drivers door. You just have to know what your paint code is.

ETA Part numbers:

Color matched door handles	1d4 color code
	fr/rr handle lh/rh	6921128070B0
	fr handle cover	6921760020B0	no keyhole
	fr handle cover	6921728010B0	w keyhole
	pad no 1 - 4 ea	6924128060​	​
	pad no 2 -2 ea	6924233030​	​
	pad no 2 -2 ea	6924260030​	​
	rr handle cover	6922760020B0
black prado belt trim	7571160061​	fr rt	​
	7571260061​	fr lf	​
	7572160061​	rr rt	​
	7572260061​	rr lf	​
	7566060050​	rrr rt	​
	7567060050​	rrr lf	​

https://partsouq.com/en/catalog/genuine/unit?c=LEXUS00&ssd=%24%2AKwGarr-WxOOY7cvY-c_HiMLW9vHvnpGcnY-gk9vd7vrm4uDjprGd99nd2ej-5_awraeak-Lq8Pz9jLan15-Z0MHo0ozY08XB8ouCjcuLlJ-MgZbBze7UisrHyNPF0ISLyMbMi5SOx8jWm4uCjcHHjJbTydSakJiY7IvT0oeWh-jSjMzLi5SM08jbmZ2bn4qFjo6Yi8GSiYz_6fvv4dPTw4rEzY2SiYz5q7XSmpnigu_i7_a6vsGEiYzZy4uUjNPN15z-jIOIi8jFld3ZiJjTAAAAABnMm5k%3D%24&vid=0&cid=3&uid=402030&q=

https://partsouq.com/en/catalog/genuine/unit?c=LEXUS00&ssd=%24%2AKwEQJDUcTmkSZ0FSc0VNAkhcfHtlFBsWFwUqGVFXZHBsaGppLDsXfVNXU2J0bXw6Jy0QGWhgenZ3BjwtXRUTWktiWAZSWU9LeAEIB0EBHhUGCxxLR2ReAEBNQllPWg4BQkxGAR4ETUJcFAEIB0tNBhxZQ14QGhIdZgFZWA0cDWJYBkZBAR4GWUJRExcRFQAPBAQSAUsYAwZ1Y3Fla1lZSQBORwcYAwZzIT9YEBNoCGVoZXwwNEsOAwZTQQEeBllHXRZ0BgkCAUJPH1dTAhJZAAAAAFMpJXM%3D%24&vid=0&cid=3&uid=402034&q=

 

[Toyoland66]

The next stage of the build involves some suspension work in order to fit 35” tires.

Step 1 is to swap in the JD fab lower control arm pivots, for anyone unfamiliar with this kit it is essentially a subframe that replaces the LCA mounts with 3/16 plate mounts and tubular subframe that ties everything together with a high clearance skid plate.

GX460/470 Lower Arm Pivots

INSTALL INSTRUCTIONS YEAR-2003-2024 MODEL- Lexus GX460/470 WIDER PER SIDE- 0" TIRE SIZE RECOMMENDED- 31"-35" WHEEL TRAVEL- Dependent on suspension kit TIRES PUSHED FORWARD- 0.25" to 1" PARTS INCLUDED- Left and right lower arm pivots, front cross bar, skid plate with diff sump, cross bar tab...

jdfabrication.com

The advantage to this kit beyond strengthening a weak point in the Toyota suspension (weak barely better than sheet metal cam tabs that bend and fail) is that it allows the wheelbase to be extended up to 1” forward to gain additional tire clearance to the firewall and body mount.

The plan is to install this kit for the added clearance as well as swap the front 895 springs to 897 springs (same spring rate but longer) for a touch more front lift. Then install 35” tires which I am pretty much set on the nitto recon grapplers. The final step will be to swap in the 4.30 gears. The pivot kit shipped today and will be here Friday, the catch is the UCAs are still a few weeks out, so I am debating if I install the pivot kit in the next couple weekends or wait.

 

[MrTorgue]

If they are still available you can buy the OEM part, I think I got them from a combination of partsouq in UAE and amiyama in Japan, you have to swap the handles and the cover plate on the end like where the key goes on the drivers door. You just have to know what your paint code is.

View attachment 3615182
View attachment 3615183
View attachment 3615184

Partsouq is my go to for Prado / GX parts. Amazing service and fast shipping plus their packing for shipping is top notch.

 

[Toyoland66]

It was raining today so I spent some time building the elocker wiring harness. This uses 4 relays to control locking, unlocking, and the lights to indicate locking/ locked.

This uses a GEP 24 position fuse/ relay holder which is 4 spaces high x 6 spaces wide and holds 4 micro relays in a waterproof housing.

It uses tanged style Delphi Metri pack connectors.

Here it is all wired up.

I was fortunate when I bought my e locker that I got the wiring harness with it. I was able to depin the plug and rewire it with new Sumitomo terminals and weather seals so no wires need to be spliced. Here is the info for those terminals:

Here is the finished wiring harness, I still need to make the harnesses that go to the fuse panel and to the switches and indicator in the interior. I will be using the OEM dial switch.

I’m using weatherpack connectors for all the connection other than the OEM Sumitomo plug.

 

[Toyoland66]

Here is the wiring diagram, I got this from another forum and modified it by adding the wire colors.

 

[Rednexus]

Very nice wiring, came out a bit cleaner than mine when I undertook a similar project. The Delphi connectors look interesting - how do those compare in cost/ease-of-use to Deutsch connectors? I've gotten used to using the Deutsch connectors but they are a bit pricey, even on Amazon.

 

[Toyoland66]

I’m not very familiar with the deutsch connectors, it looks like the Delphi stuff might be slightly less expensive. A big part of the cost if your just starting out is in the crimpers and other tools, and a lot of the materials are easier to buy in bulk like heat shrink, wire loom, and wire, the economies of scale get better with the more stuff you build. It’s more expensive to buy a plug kit than to buy the individual components but you need to know what to buy.

For example a 4 pin weather pack kit is $12 on amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Fastronix-Pin-Weather-Pack-Connector/dp/B0051PM2D2?th=1

Individually the plugs are $1.31 and $.96

WP Connectors | Custom Connector Kits

All the store products

www.customconnectorkits.com

The terminals are $.26 each

WP Terminals | Custom Connector Kits

All the store products

www.customconnectorkits.com

And the cable seals are $.10 each

15324982 | Weather Pack Green Cable Seal for 20-18 AWG

15324982 Delphi Weather Pack cable seals in stock. Orders placed before 2pm PST ship same day. Free U.S. shipping on orders $25 or more.

www.customconnectorkits.com

So the same connector is $3.71 to build from components.

The metri pack and weather pack connectors are pretty similar, both are made by Delphi. They use the same crimper for both types of terminals and use the same plug seals. The only real difference is the metri pack uses a blade type terminal and the weather pack uses a round terminal.