Builds "Rednexus" - 2007 GX470 Build Thread (2 Viewers)

[Rednexus]

And she is 98% done!

Friday night included removing the aftermarket hitch, pulling the rear bumper, and pressure washing the underside of the GX. This is what a MO GX looks like underneath. It really was not that bad, all of it was surface rust and zero areas were structural compromised. The inside of the frame was perfect, I think these rust issues are due to poor quality OEM frame paint.

Next was undercoating. I used Woolwax Black on all chassis parts and Fluid Film everywhere else, including inside the frame. I sprayed it with the Kellsport gun and my 8-gal compressor, which work great. I chose the lanolin undercoatings as they are self-healing, non toxic, require minimal prep, act as a penetrating oil, and are easy to touch up. This job would have been a nightmare with wire wheels and paint, and the rust would easily come back unless prep is perfect. One shot of lanolin wax and the rust is dead.

 

[Rednexus]

Next was the hitch install. I bought a 6500# OEM hitch for a '07 4Runner, which fit perfect, and was $100 cheaper than a Lexus hitch. The new hitch looks much better than the Curt hitch it had and gives the GX 1500# more towing capacity.

Then I bolted up the Apex 5th gen T4R rock sliders, with help from my wife. They blend in with the GX body lines nicely and function well as a step.

And a shot of the front with the ARB skids, SRQ recovery points, and glossy Woolwax. The GX is now ready for our summer trip to CO and UT. I'm ready for a break from wrenching and plan to now spend time using the GX to haul bikes around, take the kids to the river, and go camping with the family. She'll get minor upgrades over the next few months, but nothing major is planned.

 

[Rednexus]

Installed a fire extinguisher in the rear cargo area today. While I have no preconceived notion that my GX will burst into flames, you never know when something might catch on fire at the campsite, or when you may encounter another motorist having a vehicle fire.

The extinguisher came with a nice vehicle bracket, which I attached to the rear plastic with eight 1/4-20 jacknuts, washers, and bolts. It's pretty sturdy and arranged in a "quick draw" manner, where it can be popped out in around a second or two. The install only took 30 minutes.
Amazon product ASIN B001VXRYCMAmazon product ASIN B00NUFMIIO

 

[Rednexus]

Installed new black door window trim today ($35 on eBay). Not bad for a 20-minute mod, and the GX is now de-chromed other than the Lexus logo in the grille (that I'll leave as-is) and the inner headlights (that I'll open up and black out sometime this fall/winter). I plasti-dipped the rear window trim earlier in the week, as it's not part of the kit and apparently a bear to get out.

Before:

After:

 

[Rednexus]

Spent today off-roading/back-roading with the kids along the Black River / Clearwater Lake in Reynolds County, MO. There are miles and miles of county roads along the virtually undeveloped lake. The roads are anything from groomed gravel to unmaintained 4-wheeler trails with deep creek crossings and mudholes. Prior to hitting the gravel, I aired down the Wildpeaks to 18 psi, and noticed a HUGE difference in performance vs. 32 psi. I only lost traction once - on a 30-degree muddy, off-camber climb, and ATRAC kicked in and pulled me right up it. There is no way I would have made it up at 32 psi. Also went through several 2-2.5-ft deep creek crossings and mudholes, without an issue.

Playing with the kids on the gravel bar. It was ~50 degrees out - pretty unusual for Memorial Day Weekend.

Driving along the river

One of the creek crossings I did not attempt. I waded all of them first. This one was ~2.5 ft deep, but had not been driven since the last flood. The gravel was super loose, and there was a bunch of loose sand at the other bank that I sank in on foot. Maybe with a winch or another vehicle for the recovery, but not solo with kids in the GX.

Stopping to play at one of the creeks.

One of the many, many mudholes around the road. Lots of people on 4-wheels and side-by-sides were squeezing around the edges to try and stay dry. We just rolled right through them in luxury. They all had a pretty firm gravel bottom.

 

[Rednexus]

This is my $110 air-up/air-down setup. The deflator was $25 on Amazon (knockoff of an ARB) and works great. The inflator is a Harbor Freight special - nice to use the same batteries as my impact driver, weed-eater, etc. It was able to air up each tire in around 3-4 minutes from 18 to 32 psi and still had 2/3 of a charge after all 4 (using a 5 amp-hr batter). Total cost was $25 for the inflator and $60 for the battery.

 

[NJGX470]

This is my $110 air-up/air-down setup. The deflator was $25 on Amazon (knockoff of an ARB) and works great. The inflator is a Harbor Freight special - nice to use the same batteries as my impact driver, weed-eater, etc. It was able to air up each tire in around 3-4 minutes from 18 to 32 psi and still had 2/3 of a charge after all 4 (using a 5 amp-hr batter). Total cost was $25 for the inflator and $60 for the battery.

View attachment 2688328

That's great. did not know that option existed for inflating. Very nice to know. I air down in my woods truck for everything but I always end up going back to the house to air back up (I live in the woods by the trails). Does this take the Milwaukee 18V battery pack?

 

[Rednexus]

That's great. did not know that option existed for inflating. Very nice to know. I air down in my woods truck for everything but I always end up going back to the house to air back up (I live in the woods by the trails). Does this take the Milwaukee 18V battery pack?

It probably does not take the Milwaukee pack but Milwaukee might have their own version. I'm surprised more people don't go this route. It's marginally slower than an onboard compressor and much more versatile. You can run lights, chainsaws, impact drivers, etc off of the same battery pack.

 

[Rednexus]

We just returned from a ~3K mile road trip / family vacation to Durango, CO, Moab, UT, and Ouray, CO with one-night stops in La Veta, CO and Creede, CO. The GX470 was amazing and hauled around our family of 4 (including our 3 and 6 y/o kids) in comfort both on the highway and off-road. We did have to watch the transmission temp on a few of the passes, but otherwise it was way more solid than any 14-y/o vehicle has a right to be.

Durango and Ouray included some relatively tame trails (Lime Creek Road, Yankee Boy Basin, and Ophir Pass) that could probably be driven in a Subaru with good wheel placement (except the last 1/3 of Yankee Boy that needs a real 4x4 IMO). We did all but the last 1/8 mile of Yankee Boy as it was raining/sleeting and getting really, really slick. Moab included Crystal Bridges (an amazing trail as far as scenery is concerned, but probably doable in a Subaru), Willow Springs Road into Arches (which needs a real 4x4 and lets you skip the entry fee into Arches), and Dome Plateau Road (also needs a real 4x4 and had some really fun slickrock). Overall, Moab was amazing, the landscape might as well be Mars, and we saw very few other rigs on the trails. Grip on the slickrock was crazy, A-TRAC only had to kick in on 2 minor instances.

Future upgrades will be a better suspension (a 2" lift and better performance on washboards would have been nice) and a larger transmission cooler. Other than that, a stock GX can really wheel. I bashed the middle ARB skidplate hard and bent it around 1/2", but never hit the rock sliders. Also made one minor scrape on the bottom of the front bumper on Dome Plateau Road. It will be a few years til we make it back to CO/UT, but I'll be more comfortable hitting the harder trails with a lift and slightly better clearance.

Ophir Pass

Ophir Pass Snow

Moab Slickrock

Dome Plateau Road

Yankee Boy Basin Overhang

 

[MrTorgue]

Funnily I saw snow too a few days ago while in CO. Looks like you had fun! Our trip was just over 5,400mi and was overall great. Your rig looks good dirty.

 

[Rednexus]

Funnily I saw snow too a few days ago while in CO. Looks like you had fun! Our trip was just over 5,400mi and was overall great. Your rig looks good dirty.

Everyone is heading west this year! It's covered in Moab and Ophir dust still. Have a few local trips planned so it has yet to be cleaned.

 

[Rednexus]

Finished 1/4 of the Ironman FCP Stage 2 lift install tonight. Also installed new Moog LCAs, OEM Toyota cam bolts (old ones were siezed and had to be cut out), Moog sway bar end links, tie rod ends, and Energy sway bar bushings. I did not install the Ironman sway bar relocation kit as it did not work with my SRQ Fab recovery points and I didn't seem to have any interference between the sway bar and front struts (probably due to the recovery points acting as a spacer already). Overall, it was not too bad of an install and relatively easy, other than having to slice out the old camber bolts with a sawzall (not hard, just tedious).

The biggest takeaway from the install is that my OEM suspension with 145k on it was shot, despite the GX driving pretty well (albeit a bit floaty lately). Both front shocks were blown, all tie rods felt pretty loose, and the sway bar end links were also loose. The only parts that seemed decent still were the tie rod ends. By "loose" I mean the spindle of the joint/end link had almost no resistance to movement and felt limp with a lot of slop in it. The new ones joints were all very tight and difficult to move at all by hand.

I think my trip to CO/UT with 100+ miles of actual wheeling blew the OEM front shocks and caused the rear air bags to start leaking. The other stuff was probably loose when I got the GX last fall. So if you have a GX with 100k+ on it, even it it seems to drive OK, your suspension is probably worn out. I would recommend replacing just about everything as opposed to just throwing a shock/spring lift on it and retaining the rest of your worn out suspension. I can't wait to drive it with everything replaced!

 

[Rednexus]

Finished the complete suspension refresh around 9:30 PM last night! The back was actually harder than the front as I replaced all of the factory control arms, which was finicky with needing to adjust the rear axle to get everything lined up. The adjustable coil spring seats and the upper rear shock mounts were also kind of tricky in terms of getting things aligned and nuts started in very tight spaces. The eimkeith panhard bar correction kit went in really well (perfect fit and took just a few minutes of welding), and I also fabbed some DIY adjustable rear sway bar endlinks.

This morning I took the long way to and from church on some rough paved and gravel roads. The difference is huge....the GX feels much tighter, more planted, and more controlled. Huge reduction in body roll and nose dive and huge a improvement in stability when hitting a low-water crossing, pothole, or other rough patch. It also handled washboards much better than the OEM suspension. Definitely a worthy upgrade. I'll get it aligned next week and take it camping this upcoming weekend to see how it handles a load.

 

[sandcruiser]

what length are those sliders? they look like they fit pretty well.

 

[Rednexus]

what length are those sliders? they look like they fit pretty well.

They are All-Pro Apex sliders for a 5th gen 4Runner. They fit perfect but do require drilling around 14-15 additional holes and adding rivnuts in the frame (see the first page of my build thread). They are also cheaper than just about any GX470-specific sliders. I've been happy with them but have yet to encounter a rock big enough to actually hit them.

2010-Current Toyota 4Runner Rock Sliders

2010-2021 Toyota 4Runner Rock Sliders Rock Sliders: 10-21 Toyota 4Runner Our Rock Sliders have been trail tested on some of the most grueling trails around, from the Rubicon to the Hammers. They are built from heavy-duty .120″ wall tubing.

allprooffroad.com

 

[Rednexus]

Tonight I completed the rough install of a DIY rear door table. This one is 100% metal-mounted. I drilled out the rear door panel plastic fasteners at 4 locations on the bottom and 2 on the top and installed M8x1.25 rivnuts in their holes within the actual door. I then used studs to attach 1.5" steel flat stock at the bottom, attached hinges to that, and made some angle brackets at the top. The table is supported by two pieces of chain and charabiners, and held in place with some plastic cooler latches. The actual table is 3/4" oak plywood. Overall, it is super sturdy, although I may swap the chains out for some paracord. We're going to the river this weekend so I'll test it out before disassembling, painting the metal, staining the wood, and coating it with polyurethane.

 

[ArBrnSnpr]

I really like the rivnut idea. My table is a similar design, but doesn't cover the factory tool kit. I had parachord on mine for quite a while and recently just swapped it for nylon coated cable. The 550 chord had too much spring to it for my tastes. Ace hardware sells the cable by the foot. You just swage the collars wherever you like. Very easy to work with, they can be crimped with a hammer and a drift/punch.

Tonight I completed the rough install of a DIY rear door table. This one is 100% metal-mounted. I drilled out the rear door panel plastic fasteners at 4 locations on the bottom and 2 on the top and installed M8x1.25 rivnuts in their holes within the actual door. I then used studs to attach 1.5" steel flat stock at the bottom, attached hinges to that, and made some angle brackets at the top. The table is supported by two pieces of chain and charabiners, and held in place with some plastic cooler latches. The actual table is 3/4" oak plywood. Overall, it is super sturdy, although I may swap the chains out for some paracord. We're going to the river this weekend so I'll test it out before disassembling, painting the metal, staining the wood, and coating it with polyurethane.

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I really like the rivnut idea. My table is a similar design, but doesn't cover the factory tool kit. I had parachord on mine for quite a while and recently just swapped it for nylon coated cable. The 550 chord had too much spring to it for my tastes. Ace hardware sells the cable by the foot. You just swage the collars wherever you like. Very easy to work with, they can be crimped with a hammer and a drift/punch.

 

[Rednexus]

Thanks, I'll skip the paracord then. The chain is good but not adjustable at a fine level - although looking at my pics again the upper bracket on the left is not quite level, so maybe that's why my table was a bit off of level too .

So far this seems sturdy, but I think the failure points are bending the sheetmetal around the rivnuts, and probably at the top. A heavy load would bend the studs down. It's still probably sturdier than a plastic-anchored table, however.

 

[Rednexus]

Finally finished the DIY rear table today, and broke it in by roasting ~2/3 lb of Sumatra beans (90% of the use of my Coleman stove, the rest is actual camping). Overall it turned out great and I'm very happy with it. It's super-sturdy and I'd be comfortable putting 40 lbs on it or so. The chains rattle quite a bit, so they get pulled off after use and dropped in the canvas pouch.

The bottom of it will be our family vacation map, though just limited to trips in the GX (we've been to quite a few more states, prior to purchasing the Rednexus). I like stickers, but not necessarily plastering the outside of a vehicle with them, so having something more secluded (and not painted) is ideal. We have a camping trip to Arkansas planned later this month and will get to add another state and use the table more.

 

[Rednexus]

Started another minor weekend project (perhaps I've mentioned this before but wrenching is great stress-relief after a long work week). I love the blacked-out look of my GX except for the chrome headlights. I spent 15 minutes pulling off the front bumper and around 10 minutes per light with a heat gun to get the Depo headlights opened up. They are de-chroming in some oven cleaner right now and will get a coat of satin black wheel paint tonight or tomorrow. Then a full week of off-gassing before it goes back together. So far this seems like a much easier "mod" than I was expecting - I thought the bumper and lens removal would be much more complicated.