Hi, I'm new to IH8MUD, thanks for having me. I've been obsessed with 100 series Cruisers for over a decade and my wife picked up a 2003 LX470, and besides the cracked passenger side exhaust manifold and leaky right shock, it's in really nice shape, 205,000Km's all maintenance up to date, floats down the road like a dream, pulls better than I imagined it would. Wife is going to drive it for a few years and then I'm going to buy it off her and turn it into a beast. I dream of King Shocks, lockers, bumpers, tires, Hutchinson Wheels, flat paint or wrap, and some front seats with good bolsters. I'm not very mechanically inclined but I do know a couple people who are.
I am obsessed with reliability, and the one thing that concerns me about this unit is the AHC. I know replacing AHC has been talked about a million times on a million different forums, but I couldn't find the answer I was searching for. I want to replace the AHC with OE LC100 front and rear shocks and a new set of rear springs. I know I can just buy a new pair of OE LC100 springs and torsion bars, but they are bloody expensive, here's my questions...is there an inexpensive set of universal springs on the market to achieve OE height and decent ride for the LX470? OME is out of the questions because my wife doesn't want it lifted and wants the plush ride. I know Strutmasters sells an Eibach spring with their kit but they won't sell just the springs and they won't tell me the springs specs. Does anyone know what springs they use? Or has anyone ever used a Universal Eibach or Moog or similar quality spring for an LX470 or LC100? Or does anyone have the exact measurements/load rates of LC100 springs so I can shop the universal spring market to find something that may work? For the front end, I can possibly find a set of used LC100 torsion bars, but I'm curious if anyone has ever removed the torsion bars and put coils or coilovers in the front. Is this even possible? That last question may be a very stupid one, but I don't know. One of my friends is a pretty good fabricator but I'm not seeing him for a few weeks.
OK, that was long winded, thanks for your help. Look forward to being apart of the community.
Cheers!
JSP100
I am obsessed with reliability, and the one thing that concerns me about this unit is the AHC. I know replacing AHC has been talked about a million times on a million different forums, but I couldn't find the answer I was searching for. I want to replace the AHC with OE LC100 front and rear shocks and a new set of rear springs. I know I can just buy a new pair of OE LC100 springs and torsion bars, but they are bloody expensive, here's my questions...is there an inexpensive set of universal springs on the market to achieve OE height and decent ride for the LX470? OME is out of the questions because my wife doesn't want it lifted and wants the plush ride. I know Strutmasters sells an Eibach spring with their kit but they won't sell just the springs and they won't tell me the springs specs. Does anyone know what springs they use? Or has anyone ever used a Universal Eibach or Moog or similar quality spring for an LX470 or LC100? Or does anyone have the exact measurements/load rates of LC100 springs so I can shop the universal spring market to find something that may work? For the front end, I can possibly find a set of used LC100 torsion bars, but I'm curious if anyone has ever removed the torsion bars and put coils or coilovers in the front. Is this even possible? That last question may be a very stupid one, but I don't know. One of my friends is a pretty good fabricator but I'm not seeing him for a few weeks.
OK, that was long winded, thanks for your help. Look forward to being apart of the community.
Cheers!
JSP100
