NorCalDoug
problems solved daily...
NorCalDoug – Locked 1997 Lexus LX 450 in Northern California – Sacramento Area.
Hey guys, sorry for the delay in getting my ROTW out to you all. On top of being late this week, I will be away with no ‘net access beginning Thursday night and going through Sunday – I’ll be at the 4th Annual Surf-n-Turf; I hope you understand. That said, I’ll be more than happy to answer questions about the rig any time after I return.
Here goes.
I owned a 1994 Land Cruiser, (purchased in 1996), for about 5 years and enjoyed it. It was stock the entire time I owned it (yeah, it had lockers
). I took it on what I would now consider to be very mild trails, but at the time, they seemed pretty tough. I thoroughly enjoyed that cruiser. However, little things started to need replacing. Although I was active on the 80s_cool email lists, the community was nothing like what we have here at IH8MUD.com (many thanks to Woody for letting us hang out here and for letting the forum grow into what it is today). So, when things started to break, I did what most vehicle owners to…take it to the mechanic. Well, after spending around $3000 on various repairs and maintenance work, I decided that it might be a good time to get something newer. I started shopping around for locked 80s. It was slim pickin’s in California at that time. I searched for almost 3 months before finding a locked 1997 LX 450 at my local Lexus dealership. It had 51,000 miles on the odometer. It was being sold as a “Certified Pre-Owned Lexus.” The CPO warranty covered every item, from bumper to bumper, except for the clock and anything chromed (essentially the antenna).
Once I sold the 94 LC, I had some funds to begin adding some of the fun stuff.
I my research and came to the conclusion that there was really only one shop available, whose work I trusted, and also had everything I wanted; that shop was Slee Offroad. I knew Christo from the 80s_cool email days and remembered how he started his business out of his garage. I knew I wanted a front bumper, rear bumper, sliders and a lift. The OME 2.5 was pretty much my only choice unless I wanted to go up to th 5” kit.
I thought about getting everything shipped out to California, but given the shipping cost for all the heavy items I was getting, I thought it might be fun to just drive out to Colorado. I mentioned it to my wife…I thought she would shoot down the idea immediately, but the next day, she started talking about all the placed she’d want to visit on OUR trip to Colorado.
The deal was done. We drove out to Golden, dropped the rig off for in the morning and when I returned later that day, it was ARB’d, Slee-slider’d, Slee-rear-bumper’d, and OME’d…it was also OEM-cupholder’d then too. What a transformation!
I see that I’m getting pretty long winded…so I’ll cut this short for now. Since then, I’ve added a few more things:
Lightforce 240 Blitzs
Safari Snorkel
Extended Diff Breathers
Drawer for rear cargo area
ARB fridge
2 12-volt outlets in the cargo area
XM Radio “Roady”
Garmin GPS V
FIAMM horns
Wheelskins (steering wheel cover)
Center diff lock switch
Husky floor liner -- front, 2nd, and cargo (cargo mat is not currently installed)
Replaced OEM Lexus Body Armor and Wheel Flares with black bedliner
I also carry:
- VIAIR compressor
- 110 v inverter
- Staun deflators
- digital tire air pressure guage
- tow strap, shackles, etc., etc., etc.
Need to install:
- Mildord Cargo Barrier that I haven’t installed yet
- Heavy duty rear control arms (I've had these guys for a couple years now)
Future plans:
- Slee 6" springs and all the bits that go with it
- Outback/Hannibal/Inti/Tradesman/etc. roof rack
Occasionally, I'll have a set of Yakima bars with a MegaWarrior rack (3 bars and rack with the extension added) on top.
She’s running on the OME Heavy springs (2.5” lift), 315/75 R16 Goodyear MT/Rs on cheap, black, steel wheels.
Stuff that I’ve had repaired since I’ve owned it (most of the work done under the CPO warranty):
- Windshield washer dirverter replaced 2 times (first replacement part
was bad).
- Rear driveshaft retubed (my fault for damaging on off-road trip)
- EGR valve (MIL came on during my test drive)
- Antenna motor/cable replaced
- Cruise control sensors replaced.
- Cruise control control stalk (on steering colum) replaced as part of
the cruise control sensor replacement.
- Turn signal stalk replaced (mistake by Lexus when diagnosing washer
diverter problem -- they thought problem was in the controls at the
stalk)
- Power steering pump -- was groaning alot -- replaced under warranty
- Starter - replaced under warranty (contacts were going bad)
- Clock spring under steering wheel -- wheel was clicking on turns.
- Rotors on all corners.
I might've left a few things out...if I did, I'll add them in later.
Hey guys, sorry for the delay in getting my ROTW out to you all. On top of being late this week, I will be away with no ‘net access beginning Thursday night and going through Sunday – I’ll be at the 4th Annual Surf-n-Turf; I hope you understand. That said, I’ll be more than happy to answer questions about the rig any time after I return.
Here goes.
I owned a 1994 Land Cruiser, (purchased in 1996), for about 5 years and enjoyed it. It was stock the entire time I owned it (yeah, it had lockers

Once I sold the 94 LC, I had some funds to begin adding some of the fun stuff.
I my research and came to the conclusion that there was really only one shop available, whose work I trusted, and also had everything I wanted; that shop was Slee Offroad. I knew Christo from the 80s_cool email days and remembered how he started his business out of his garage. I knew I wanted a front bumper, rear bumper, sliders and a lift. The OME 2.5 was pretty much my only choice unless I wanted to go up to th 5” kit.
I thought about getting everything shipped out to California, but given the shipping cost for all the heavy items I was getting, I thought it might be fun to just drive out to Colorado. I mentioned it to my wife…I thought she would shoot down the idea immediately, but the next day, she started talking about all the placed she’d want to visit on OUR trip to Colorado.

I see that I’m getting pretty long winded…so I’ll cut this short for now. Since then, I’ve added a few more things:
Lightforce 240 Blitzs
Safari Snorkel
Extended Diff Breathers
Drawer for rear cargo area
ARB fridge
2 12-volt outlets in the cargo area
XM Radio “Roady”
Garmin GPS V
FIAMM horns
Wheelskins (steering wheel cover)
Center diff lock switch
Husky floor liner -- front, 2nd, and cargo (cargo mat is not currently installed)
Replaced OEM Lexus Body Armor and Wheel Flares with black bedliner
I also carry:
- VIAIR compressor
- 110 v inverter
- Staun deflators
- digital tire air pressure guage
- tow strap, shackles, etc., etc., etc.
Need to install:
- Mildord Cargo Barrier that I haven’t installed yet
- Heavy duty rear control arms (I've had these guys for a couple years now)
Future plans:
- Slee 6" springs and all the bits that go with it
- Outback/Hannibal/Inti/Tradesman/etc. roof rack
Occasionally, I'll have a set of Yakima bars with a MegaWarrior rack (3 bars and rack with the extension added) on top.
She’s running on the OME Heavy springs (2.5” lift), 315/75 R16 Goodyear MT/Rs on cheap, black, steel wheels.
Stuff that I’ve had repaired since I’ve owned it (most of the work done under the CPO warranty):
- Windshield washer dirverter replaced 2 times (first replacement part
was bad).
- Rear driveshaft retubed (my fault for damaging on off-road trip)
- EGR valve (MIL came on during my test drive)
- Antenna motor/cable replaced
- Cruise control sensors replaced.
- Cruise control control stalk (on steering colum) replaced as part of
the cruise control sensor replacement.
- Turn signal stalk replaced (mistake by Lexus when diagnosing washer
diverter problem -- they thought problem was in the controls at the
stalk)
- Power steering pump -- was groaning alot -- replaced under warranty
- Starter - replaced under warranty (contacts were going bad)
- Clock spring under steering wheel -- wheel was clicking on turns.
- Rotors on all corners.
I might've left a few things out...if I did, I'll add them in later.
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