New suspension/lift - going in this weekend, talk to me all you DIY'ers....

[GXO]

Rears - we're down to buttoning things up (bleed brakes due to extended lines, a few brackets to get back in place, figure out lengths of all adjustable arms to ensure everything is equal - important since the panhard currently won't reach the frame mount).

If anyone's experienced an inability to have their panhard connect when performing a rear suspension upgrade/lift, I'd appreciate insights.

I assume you are not on a lift fully extended at this point. The panhard 1) shouldn't have been removed (unless you are installing a new one?), 2) should reach once the weight of the truck is on the springs to compress everything back, 3) may be too short depending on the height of your lift. If that is that case your axle will be offset and you will have to "squat" the truck to get it to fit. How shy is it?

 

[tlin]

@DanKunz - that's what we surmised, need to get the truck loaded again. No, not on a lift and hasn't been dropped off the jacks yet. It was removed by my buddy's helping me out (not pointing the finger), I think it purely seemed like a good idea at the time. Off by about 1/4"....

@kbahus - thx for this - we didn't lose a ton of fluid, the procedure above isn't terribly different than what I've done in the past so good to see this should be consistent with successes in the past.

thx guys!

 

[jonshonda]

That bleeding procedure should be stickied here, and elsewhere. Great info...thanks for taking the time to write it.

 

[tlin]

She's up in the air, looking great, have some dialing in to do (front height, darn panhard isn't yet ready to cooperate but CLOSE). Just wanted to say thx again to the group, some of my intermediate posts above are entertaining to reflect upon as we were in the midst of making progress......

Bleeding was super easy, did as prescribed above (rear corners only: IGN ON, depress brake pedal, buddy with bottle catching fluid - did multiple times just to be sure but brakes are just as they were before the lift).

Here she sits...

 

[kbahus]

Nice work!

 

[tlin]

I assume you are not on a lift fully extended at this point. The panhard 1) shouldn't have been removed (unless you are installing a new one?), 2) should reach once the weight of the truck is on the springs to compress everything back, 3) may be too short depending on the height of your lift. If that is that case your axle will be offset and you will have to "squat" the truck to get it to fit. How shy is it?

How does one "squat" the truck? I need to get out and take some measurements on both sides (front-to-rear) to see if there are inconsistencies there.

I'm still ~1/3" short with the OEM panhard, 3" lift in the rear (or thereabouts).

I'll call MT this week but am out for work so nothing to be done for the next 5 days. It's not going anywhere right now and no offroading at all anytime soon so not worried.

 

[tlin]

Ahhh forgot to mention how much better it drives right now. Sooooo much nicer a ride than the 100K miles of suspension it was sitting on!!

 

[Toyoland66]

You should not be driving with the Panhard disconnected

 

[tlin]

Nice work!

Thx man!! First time I've done something this big - felt great getting that done. Couldn't have done it without my buddy Bob and his brother Chris who showed up midway through the rears. Good to have willing and able friends!

 

[tlin]

You should not be driving with the Panhard disconnected

Yes, only went on some 20 mph runs in the neighborhood to ensure everything was settled, just sitting in my driveway until I get back from work this week and can get this figured out. Not going anywhere until so.....thx for the note!!!

 

[GXO]

Throw concrete in the back or have fat friend stand on the bumper = squat

 

[tlin]

Just rounding out my own suspension thread here:

1. No brake fluid leaks, drip I found was just residual inside skid when we did braided line extensions.
2. Pulled fuses and relay to completely disable AHC (3 in engine bay, 1 20A TEMS in cabin fuse panel).

To-Do's:

1. Fronts - replace dual-boot link with new OEM pieces (PS side boots torn, parts already ordered).
2. Panhard - fat-friend/squat later this week. DONE - EASY. DS rear up on rock in front yard (hillbilly style), slight tug with ratchet strap, a tiny wiggle of the bolt and she was in.
3. Rear ABS lines - not terribly comfortable with their routing (stock), seems prone to rip when flexed.
4. Rear adjustable links (U's and L's) - talk to MT about dialing these in and taking advantage of long throw ICONs, currently set to shortest distances.
5. Completely remove AHC compressor, pancake bladder. Would like to get all electrical out of there, not sure how far up to trace looms.
6. Figure out what the mystery 'black box' is that sits above spare tire. AHC ECU? If it can go, get rid of it, TBD. Charcoal canister, leave it alone.
7. Replace AHC switch in cabin with blank or coin holder.
8. Tires and alignment....DONE

 

[GXO]

That is your charcoal filter. Emissions and no stink. Leave it

 

[tlin]

Gents - who did your alignments post-lift? Will Lexus do it or did you feel the need to go to a 4wd shop? Quote I got from Lexus here is fine ($$) but came with some slightly-too-cautious statements about possibilities of being out of spec, etc so just not positive they are comfortable aligning lifted rigs.

Also, I'm doing alignment right after I throw bigger tires on but if there's reason to do it beforehand please LMK.

Long week out of town for work, anxious to get things buttoned up on the GX. Thx!!

 

[co4wheel]

I use a firestone lifetime alignment

 

[tlin]

I use a firestone lifetime alignment

Never heard of that, thx for this. Hard to believe you can get a lifted rig that obviously goes offroad backed by a lifetime alignment service .

Glad I asked!

 

[mtwilly87]

I just ordered the iron man pro complete lift kit and the air bag conversion. A few questions-how's your ride feeling a couple of weeks after install? Did you adjust the height of the front coilovers at all? Or just you just install them as they came from MT? I'll be attempting to install this lift in a few weeks-I'm kinda nervous about it. Thanks for the help!

 

[GXO]

It will settle over time, probably not for a few months. Depends on use, weight of the truck, etc.

There are some videos I made on GXOR to explain some of the major steps of lifting a GX if you get a chance to check them out.

 

[mtwilly87]

It will settle over time, probably not for a few months. Depends on use, weight of the truck, etc.

There are some videos I made on GXOR to explain some of the major steps of lifting a GX if you get a chance to check them out.

Awesome I will definitely check those out. I'm wanting 2-2.5" lift, and a leveled out truck, hoping I don't have to go buy anything to adjust the coilovers, or have to mess with rear abs lines.

 

[tlin]

@mtwilly87 - updates for you:

1. LOVE IT! ~97K miles on the ODO at time of replacement - wouldn't say the original fronts were terrible but DS air bag (rear) was definitely slowly leaking (would exhibit a lean if not driven for 2+ days or so). It would also bottom-out on speed humps at our business park in the rear. All of that is gone now with the new pieces installed.
2. Got tires on Tuesday (255/80/17 BFG KM2's), alignment (Firestone lifetime) later that same day.
3. Took it out for a small shakedown run yesterday. A washboard road and dry wash out near me, great ride. Soaks up the bumps well (offroad) and the road ride itself (surface streets) is much improved (IMO) over what the aging stock setup felt like. I'm not embellishing, I really like it. Not at all too firm on the roads, really just feels great so far.
4. Install:
   • BE SAFE - just tossing that out there but the rig sits atop the jack/jackstands all day....
   • @DanKunz 's videos are great starters since you haven't done this before (I hadn't either). They aren't "end-to-end" in nature but do a great job of setting you up for success and showing some tips along the way. Watch them all several times each.
   • Don't do this alone, you likely won't get through it in a weekend otherwise (my $.02). The job itself is totally doable if you're comfortable wrenching but it's also not a 1-banana job by any stretch (you'll see in Dan's videos there are what appears to be at least four people there, I did most of this with one buddy on the fronts and later joined by his brother about the time we started the rears).
   • Make sure you've got tools and everything is ready to go! Jack/jackstands, breaker bar, gloves, towels, metric sockets (including larger 17-21mm) with several extensions, 4.5mm allen head nuts atop the electronic assemblies in front were waaaaay harder than they should have been on the passenger side for me (just one of those stupid little hiccups that happen) - lots almost an hour on that alone whereas the driver's side took 5 minutes, have all your parts out you ordered and know what everything is before you start (my UCAs for the front and all sets of adjustable MT links for the rear all had to be put together - should have had that done before we started), air tools are really helpful, gear wrenches are AWESOME if you have them, etc......I'm sure I'm missing something.
   • The clips to release the rear air bags - a bit difficult to describe but you access those clips through the wheel well, NOT underneath the truck itself. Once you get a flashlight and see what's holding those in, they're pretty easy to undo but if you're under the rig trying to figure it out you'll never get them.
   • Do NOT remove the panhard in the rear - these guys will chew you up and make you feel like a 6th grader who shouldn't be touching things if you do (and are dumb enough to admit it) - kidding... . If you DO remove it and have a hard time getting it back in, it's EASY to resolve.....but since you won't remove yours I'll move on.
   • Inspect the rig well before you get started - torn CV boots or anything else leaking, brakes need attention while things are apart, etc.???

I haven't played with the fronts (just installed the coilovers as they were shipped to me) and also didn't (yet) adjust any of the rear links to maximize the long-throw Icon's I've got back there. For now, just getting used to things and want to get a few light trails under my belt before I start further dialing things in. It's a very different rig than my 80 so I'm not rushing things...

So.....I think it took us a total of 30 man-hours to get mine done (at the most). That's two guys on the fronts alone, joined by a third to work on the rears and we had to stop the project by ~2am on day 1 because we were all stupid-tired. Day 2 was only ~4 hours total to do some finish work and the panhard was 30 minutes by myself once I knew what I was doing and had some free time after a long week away for work.

If any of this is discouraging, don't worry. Again, this is totally doable and I'm really glad I worked on this myself. We could easily do all of this again inside one day, the first time is simply slow (like most things in life).

--t