New to me LX470

[krispykritter]

Super easy "mod" I did today. If you have the trail tailor lower links (or anything exposed with johnny joints) and are scared of scraping off a zerk fitting while wheeling, grab a few of these:

For the last couple of years, I've been installing the zerks for greasing, then removing them and covering the hole with whatever tape I have available. These little bolts screw in perfectly (I had to guess at the thread specs) and seal the holes until the next time you need to grease the links.

 

[krispykritter]

In my forever quest to make the 100 'better', I got hooked up by someone on the rising sun forums with a takeoff set of rear springs from an 80 LC. My research on the spring rates are summed up below

Name	Rate	Free Length
OEM 100 AHC Rear Springs	90 lbs/in	OEM specs say ~19 inches
King KTRS-79	130 lbs/in	17 3/8 inch (after 2 years of use)
80 Series LX450	150 lbs/in	D 18 1/2, P 17 1/2 inches (used springs)
80 Series LC	170 lbs/in	Didn't measure when I had them out (used springs)

I've worked my way up this table to my yesterday install of the 170 lbs/in rear springs from an 80. The motivation for this was the pretty large difference between the non-AHC 100 t-bars and the relative softness of the Kings and then LX450 springs.

I do carry around a bit of extra weight in teh 100 all the time: 35 liter engel fridge + slide, plus a plywood contraption with storage and drawers, a large socket set, tow straps, compressor, tire kits, etc. Probably 300+ lbs of extra weight in the trunk and a 33" spare tire underneath, but no tire carrier bumper yet.

I have a full set of aluminum skids from Asfir, and a trail tailor winch plate + 12k smittybilt winch behind the stock front bumper.

The rear 80 springs (and poly spacers) required me to lift the rear of the LX by at least another inch to get the rear AHC into spec. Then I did the same to the front. My current hub-to-fender measurements are 21 7/8 in front and 22 1/4 at the rear.

Here's how it flexes as of yesterday with the cranked t-bars and stiffer rear springs:

(I love this photo)

It definitely doesn't tuck the front or rear the way it used to before cranking the b-bars and adding the stiffer springs, but I haven't measured to see the actual travel numbers. Also, this rock isn't as large as the one I used previously, so it's hard to draw a comparison.

The ride is still pretty darn cushy without being boaty, but I do feel the extra stiffness. On the road it's really good, and offroad, I didn't even notice I had the suspension set to 3/4 stiff until I was on my way back out. It rides that good.

I'm looking forward to the extra stiffness in the rear when I get the camping trailer hooked up again this summer.

Also - I broke the AHC sensor linkage up front. Zip ties to the rescue.

 

[krispykritter]

Finally did some hub to fender measurements a couple days ago, mainly for my own notes:

Front

Rear

Also bought some cheapo front AHC sensor linkages off eBay and massive metal rear upper control arms. Turns out when you up the rear flex and keep upper links with 186k miles on them... The rubber tends to turn to dust.

 

[krispykritter]

New upper links in. This truck has been a ridiculous maintenance hog lately. Still need to replace my steering rack, and probably front lower control arms.

Old links were quite toast.

The Johnny Joints in these should let me flex the rear end more without torqueing the bushings all out of shape.

Currently working on breaking loose the center rear brake line fittings so I can get my extended brake lines in.

 

[krispykritter]

Well - quick trip report!

I went with a buddy to Moab for the weekend. We spent a day in Arches (including driving the rather gnarly trail out to tower arch), then ran Fins n Things and Onion Creek on Friday, then Dome Plateau on Saturday before running the I70 gauntlet on Sunday.

Good things: the mishimoto radiator + dual electric fans + HPC fan controller worked a treat on keeping the coolant temps down in the 100. While crawling along, I rarely saw the coolant exceed 200 degrees and the AC stayed nice and cool despite outdoor temps exceeding 100 degrees. Also, the eaton rear locker removed all the ATRAC drama when lifting a tire off the ground or struggling up a vertical step. We did every single obstacle of fins n things, taking nearly every hard line along the way. I did rub both front and rear bumpers and rode the hitch down (and up!) many steep walls, but it did everything just fine.

Bad things: yet again, I boiled the fuel in the tank and ended up with a non-start for about 30 minutes during our Dome Plateau drive. Also, during the long climbs heading east out of Vail and Silverthorne, my coolant temps climbed into the low 230s and I had to let off the gas and cruise at 55 mph to keep from overheating. To be fair, I was flying up these rises at around 75 mph at 4000 rpm, so I was far from taking it easy, but I've also got decent upgrades on my cooling system and it still can't handle long-term heavy throttle at altitude with warm temps.

For the fuel system, I'm planning the nuclear option of adding an inline transmission cooler to the front of the radiator to cool the fuel returning to the tank after the regulator.

For the engine temp issue - I don't really know what to do besides let off the gas. I'm considering hood vents, a larger transmission cooler, ducting the radiator, and ???? no idea what else. Most threads say the 100 does not have heat issues, but mine sure does. I wasn't even towing! If I was, I almost certainly would've been hanging out with the 18 wheelers in the right lane all the way up. Since this has never happened before, perhaps the electric fans are the cause of the issue - better performance at low speed but way less airflow at high speed?

Anyway, the 100 did perform great in Moab! I had a great time and everything and everyone came back in one piece.

 

[krispykritter]

Finally going nuclearon the fuel boil issue.

 

[Chrisek]

Loving your thread! When you get a chance, check the transmission mount as well. Mine (04 LC) was destroyed and has only been a pavement pounder its whole life.

 

[krispykritter]

Loving your thread! When you get a chance, check the transmission mount as well. Mine (04 LC) was destroyed and has only been a pavement pounder its whole life.

Hey, thanks!

I did actually just check the trans mount since I replaced the steering rack a couple weekends ago. For whatever reason, mine still looks like it's in fine shape. I may just replace it for the heck of it though since it's a relatively easy job!

 

[krispykritter]

New nuclear option fuel cooler installation complete.

I ended up "cheating" and using the plastic quick disconnect fittings from the PVC line between the fuel rails and the return on the body.

If this doesn't stop the boiling... Not sure anything will!

The fuel leaves the rail, goes into the bottom of the cooler, flows up, then returns to the body line. I put it on the return side since it'll have minimal pressure at that point. Also, because reason, the two ends of the PVC hose are different sizes... Rail side is 5/16ths and body side is 1/4. Using the QD fittings made that a non-issue.

Original plan was to use the special AN fittings on both ends but then I'd need a AN fitting to a barb adapter, then regular fuel hose, and two hose clamps, as well as all the an connection points. This way it's a single hose clamp and one QD on each end... Fewer failure points.

 

[menancyandsam]

Neat, would love to learn how this works out. Please keep us up to date.
Any worries on blocking the radiator from air flow?

 

[krispykritter]

Neat, would love to learn how this works out. Please keep us up to date.
Any worries on blocking the radiator from air flow?

I do my best to keep up with this thread but definitely forget about it from time to time! I'll update with results next time I decide to run this thing through Moab at 100+ degrees!

No worries on blocking the radiator. It's pretty common to add other coolers in front of the radiator. If I could find better spot for it I definitely would but there's only so much space. This mod would be harder to do on an LC since the LX grill comes up with the hood. LC doesn't. The clearance is quite close here

 

[krispykritter]

Quick update (mostly for my notes):

• No issues with fuel cooler. Have not become fireball traveling down road
• Gets rather warm (230+) when trying to maintain high (65+) speeds up Ike Gauntlet or on the climb heading east out of vail. Has to do hills in 3rd gear which has the torque converter unlocked - maybe bigger transmission cooler?
• Finally replaced steering rack with Detroit Axle part I ordered years ago. Works fine, no leaks, feels stiffer than the OEM one I pulled out at 188k miles. Haven't felt the weird stiff steering/lock up thing since I put in the new part
• Dynamic front end steering remains, going through front lower control arms now, doing tie rod ends, arm bushing, and frame bushing, and all new bearings and seals
• Sent message to Sway-a-way about custom t-bars to replace the non-ahc bars I'm running now - hopefully order this week

 

[krispykritter]

Finally decided to tackle the front end bushings and fully expected it to be a monster of a job. And it was. But, I set aside two weeks of time to do it, so that any time I got frustrated or annoyed, I could just drop it all and come back later.

I bought a bushing removal/installation kit that greatly helped the process along:

I highly, highly recommend a kit like this to anyone who wants to tackle this job. It did not make removal easy by any means, but it made it possible. On frame bushing came straight out. The second one, not so much, but a lot of resetting and adjusting and soaking in kroil, and it finally broke free. I also made sure to use some moly grease on the threads of the rod to avoid seizing as much as possible.

This kit made pressing the new bushings into the frame a ten minute job.

The control arms were a monster. With no real way to brace the extraction cup against the control arm, I first tried to push the bushing out by bracing the rod against the far side of the control arm. The control arm just flexed away (plus steel isn't super strong in compression so I worried I'd deform the rod). After much staring and dreading, I finally gave it and broke out the air chisel. First, I drilled a ton of holes in the rubbed itself and used the above kit to drive the center out of the bushing. Then I used the air chisel to bend the flange away from the control arm, then just hammered away on the inside edge of the metal sleeve until it came out. Probably and hour of chiseling per control arm:

NOTE! I used a punch/drift in the hole in the end of the control arm to hammer the metal sleeve as far in as possible (see the dimple in the side above). This was just to decrease the amount of material in contact with the control arm wall.

To drive the new bushings in, I anchored the rod to the far side of the control arm and used that to pull the new bushing into the arm nice and slow.

Despite it being just a long, monster of a job, I got it all finished and put back together. I also did both lower tie rods, and all bearings and seal while in there.

FINALLY my dynamic steering is gone! I can stomp the gas and no steering adjustments are needed to keep in a straight line! I couldn't find anything that looked like the bushings were obviously toast, but the new bushings made all the difference in the front end.

The only other thing currently on the "to do" list is to wire in the condensor fan a friend grabbed for me from a local junkyard. Otherwise - I'm looking forward to not working on this thing for a while!

 

[krispykritter]

Went out with a friend to do Red Cone, then followed it up with Radical hill.

Red Cone was great! Radical hill was a beating.

Bashed the underside good and wrecked my driveshaft.

 

[krispykritter]

Well, @J1000 suggested I do the fuel pump relay mod he figured out - I honestly had no idea our fuel pumps used two different voltages to control run speed.

I used his method first, but didn't like how loose the spade connectors were when inserted into the relay socket, so I came up with my own mod. I had a spare fuel pump relay because I sorta mangled the plastic case when removing the relay a couple years ago, so I modified the spare to always stay in the higher-flow position. First I verified that the default position of the relay is high-speed operation (IE the large spade on the end was connected to the middle small spade), then I carefully snipped off the connections (one on each side) that went through the coil, and shoved a tailor-cut piece of heatshrink into the relay to ensure the contactor can't move.

Before:

After:

I cannot comment on the efficacy of this mod but the truck cranks up and runs fine with this dodgey'd up relay in place so I'm happy enough. I've also got a spare relay (they're like 15$ off amazon) and the jumper wire as well, in case anything acts up.

 

[krispykritter]

We did a thing....

It's a 2024 MDC X15 camper - quite a load on the 100 though! Dry weight is around 5100 lbs. We've finally decided to try out a travel trailer and this one does everything we think we'll need/want.

The 100 does reasonably well towing this. Definitely warmed up the engine and transmission going over mountain passes - 195 trans temp and 220 coolant temps while maintaining 35-40mph over long distances. On flat (ish) ground, it chugs along happily in fourth gear at 3000 rpm and 70 mph, with coolant hanging out around 185 and trans around 145.

Some other notes - I ran with and without weight distributing and didn't notice enough of a difference to justify the extra work to get the load bars on. I'll probably still use them on long trips but stick with a standard ball mount for short trips. The extra weight carrying in the suspension of my 100 coped with the 450 lbs tongue weight (plus everything already in the trunk - at least 200 lbs) without ever upsetting the AHC.

Also, this trailer just tows incredibly well. Heavy, but very stable behind the 100.

 

[kevgentile]

We did a thing....

View attachment 3545379

It's a 2024 MDC X15 camper - quite a load on the 100 though! Dry weight is around 5100 lbs. We've finally decided to try out a travel trailer and this one does everything we think we'll need/want.

The 100 does reasonably well towing this. Definitely warmed up the engine and transmission going over mountain passes - 195 trans temp and 220 coolant temps while maintaining 35-40mph over long distances. On flat (ish) ground, it chugs along happily in fourth gear at 3000 rpm and 70 mph, with coolant hanging out around 185 and trans around 145.

Some other notes - I ran with and without weight distributing and didn't notice enough of a difference to justify the extra work to get the load bars on. I'll probably still use them on long trips but stick with a standard ball mount for short trips. The extra weight carrying in the suspension of my 100 coped with the 450 lbs tongue weight (plus everything already in the trunk - at least 200 lbs) without ever upsetting the AHC.

Also, this trailer just tows incredibly well. Heavy, but very stable behind the 100.

Are you using any airbags in the rear to help take some of the load off from the high tongue weight?
How much effect on the front end did you experience?

 

[krispykritter]

Are you using any airbags in the rear to help take some of the load off from the high tongue weight?
How much effect on the front end did you experience?

No airbags, but my AHC system is very far from stock - the rear springs are from an 80 series LC (~170 lbs/in) plus poly spacers (whatever the tallest size is - 2 inches?). AHC has been pretty happy with this setup even with the camper trailer and drawer set with tools and fridge in the back. Front end has stock non-ahc T-bars for a 100 series.

There's no doubt you can feel the weight making the front end lift a bit more than I'm used to over large bumps, but nothing alarming. I tried with and without the WD hitch and I'm unlikely to use the WD hitch for any trips within colorado. On longer trips (I'm going to Arkansas this summer) I'll probably still use WD hitch just for peace of mind.

 

[krispykritter]

Went camping in Phantom Canyon and spent a day with the Colorado Land Cruisers checking out Phantom Canyon, Shelf Road, and Cripple Creek.

 

[krispykritter]

Had to go to Moab to show a bunch of jeep guys that you don't need a Jeep to tackle some tough trails:

Backwards Bill - after Wipeout hill, sitting between Monitor and Merrimack buttes.

Top of Metal Masher - 35's and dual locked not actually required, but definitely takes a bit more care with 33's and just a rear locker. Had to wait at mirror gulch for about an hour while the group ahead of us winched their bronco with a busted tie rod out of the way.

And, to be fair, I could use a little more tire...metal was mashed:

I dented both front skid plates and the fuel tank skid, both lower link mounts, scratched up the front and rear bumpers again, and put a few more knicks in my driveshaft.

Now that I have the underdrive gears in, the Lexus feels spry again and I'm able to use cruise control on a lot of I-70. I'm debating whether I want to go to 35s or not - the extra power of my shorter gearing feels really good right now, and going to 35s it going to gear it back down to just about stock....but a tiny bit more clearance sure would be nice.