Looks like a ton of fun. Been following this build for a while.
Builds "Rednexus" - 2007 GX470 Build Thread (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter Rednexus
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- Thread starter
- #162
Another Lexus weekend in the woods with the kids. Today's visit was to some of the most remote areas of MO - a good hour from pavement, with tons of creek crossings. Did a nasty side trail to see a natural arch, which was the hardest I'd done with my rig so far (pics aren't close to doing it justice). A-TRAC pulled me up a few sections and I was a few inches from body damage. My kids absolutely loved it - feel very fortunate they like a day in the woods as much as I do.
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Looks like fun. Where’s your camp setup?
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- #164
Just did a day trip today, so no camping. Fortunate to live pretty close to a lot of public land to explore.
So jealous of the beautiful land you guys get to explore! It real hard to do in the NY metro area. Truck looks fire.
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I’m jealous too. My closest option is an off-road park and it’s over an hour away now.
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- #168
My GX had become quite noisy while driving, which I attributed to my Wildpeaks getting a bit worn. Until I started to feel some feedback through the steering wheel....and it kept getting louder. Yup, it was front wheel bearing replacement time. Got a pair of new assembled bearings and hubs from Yota Bearings and Hubs, with NSK bearings and a Doorman hub, for $150/shipped per side.
Removing the old hubs was super easy, maybe 20 minutes per side. Nothing was seized on either side.
Both the DS and PS hubs were non-OEM replacements. The DS (which looked new when I bought the GX) was a complete no-name hub. It had a lot of play and grinding, and was missing the O-ring. The PS hub has a "Precision" marked bearing. It didn't have much play but was pretty noisy.
I put things back together, for a total replacement time of around 45 min per side. The GX drives much quieter now with only minimal AT tire noise.
Lesson learned - cheap wheel bearing suck. The DS bearing couldn't have had more than 40K on it and it was already shot. These are easy enough to replace but should last more like 100K. We'll see how the NSK bearings/Doorman hubs last.
Removing the old hubs was super easy, maybe 20 minutes per side. Nothing was seized on either side.
Both the DS and PS hubs were non-OEM replacements. The DS (which looked new when I bought the GX) was a complete no-name hub. It had a lot of play and grinding, and was missing the O-ring. The PS hub has a "Precision" marked bearing. It didn't have much play but was pretty noisy.
I put things back together, for a total replacement time of around 45 min per side. The GX drives much quieter now with only minimal AT tire noise.
Lesson learned - cheap wheel bearing suck. The DS bearing couldn't have had more than 40K on it and it was already shot. These are easy enough to replace but should last more like 100K. We'll see how the NSK bearings/Doorman hubs last.
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- Thread starter
- #170
I have 2 Brauns....neither holds a charge that well and the end light on one does not work. Thanks for the Icon link - might pick up one of those!
I've thought this for a while, but now I'll say it. That's the best looking GX I've ever seen. The cypress pearl...the bronze wheels...the amber fogs...the tight sliders...mmmmmmmm
- Thread starter
- #173
Thanks man!! Definitely has been a labor of time and love to get it like this.
- Thread starter
- #174
Here's an odd one. Opened up my CAI to notice what appears to be a small hole burned in the pre-filter sock and some more melted/burn damage to the actual filter. Nothing else in the airbox showed any evidence of being burned. The only thing I can think is that I somehow pulled an ember/lit cigarette butt into the air box which came close to torching the filter? The damage was on the underside of the filter. Kind of sucks as a new filter and sock were $130. The burned area is covered with tape until the new filters arrived.
But......the silver lining is that my rig is not burnt to the ground. Think I'm gonna follow @BigNick and mount a real extinguisher near the front seat instead of a tiny one in the rear drawers where it is harder to get at.
But......the silver lining is that my rig is not burnt to the ground. Think I'm gonna follow @BigNick and mount a real extinguisher near the front seat instead of a tiny one in the rear drawers where it is harder to get at.
That’s crazy. Im glad nothing really bad happened to you, but this got me thinking if this only happens to modified air intake filters or also with factory stock air intakes.
It’s so unlikely for this to happen in general and it happened to you. Buy a lottery ticket!
- Thread starter
- #177
The CAI pulls from the same place as the OEM intake, so it seems it could be a one-in-a-million chance that it just happen to somehow suck in an ember. Lots of smokers here in MO (one of the highest smoking rates in the nation) and lots of people carelessly throw them out on the highway. Maybe a snorkel would reduce the chance of it happening
. Perhaps the whoosh of air "blew out" the ember or the filter media wasn't that flammable.Ordered a under-seat extinguisher mount
Toyota FJ Cruiser 4Runner Tacoma GX470 Front Seat Fire Extinguisher Mount FM2 | eBay
New design allows the front seat to slide ALL of the way forward IF the fire extinguisher you use is short enough to fit between the rails, such as the WHITE extinguisher shown in the pictures. Manufacturer's Product Number: FM2.
www.ebay.com
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- Thread starter
- #178
Used the HF 25% off coupons and a couple of different trips to get a Badland 3"×30' recovery strap (20% stretch so almost a kinetic rope) and a couple of soft shackles. Before I had just cheapie yellow nylon 2×20 straps. Both are super-beefy. The strap is pretty bulky, but i had room for it between the seats and drawers. The total cost was around $120 with tax for everything.
Yeah those coupons come in handy. I used the 25% to buy the badlands offroad jack and another to buy some Icon 1/2” impact driver joint and extensions.
What recovery points you have? And do those beefy soft shackles fit the front recovery points?
- Thread starter
- #180
I have SRQ Fabrication front recovery points and a rear aluminum receiver-mounted D-ring in the 6,500# OEM trailer hitch. If I happen to get stuck, the soft shackles are probably a bit too big for the SRQ fab points, but I keep a set of D rings in them at all time and would hook them up that way. I mainly got the soft shackles for hooking up to other rigs, but do want to get one of these for the rear to replace my existing receiver mount and allow the D-rings to be skipped.
Also mounted up the Refined Cycle & Off-road front fire extinguisher mount and a 2.5-lb extinguisher. This is a pretty simple, $50 mount (CNC-cut and powder coated steel), and it fit perfectly (but does require cutting the interior trim - which I used a Dremel for and could have done a cleaner job on).
I got the Refined mount as it was a bit cheaper than other mounts and made here in Missouri. In taking a few short trips, the extinguisher isn't really noticeabe, but I'll probably need to remove it when I sleep inside the GX and move the seat all of the way forward. It definitely seems easy to get to for emergency use (my rig or someone else's).
