Sticky's Second 200 - Elsa

[sticky iqqy iqqy]

Figured I'd start a new build thread for my latest acquisition!

I had a 2015 TLC which I sold back in 2023, but that itch never went away. Late last year when I was shopping for a GX460, I ended up purchasing an FJ62 with plans to turn it into an overlanding rig, but something was still missing. Ideas kept bouncing around and while the 62 and Tundra filled specific needs, I needed to come up with a solution for a "daily" (that was my sales pitch) since my son was about to start using the family commuter. There was this local LX570 listed that would not let me sleep at night... it was the same color as my TLC (White) and thankfully didn't have tan interior (no offense) . It had quite a few mods, not all mods that I would have done but good foundation to start from.

2009 Lx570 with 173K miles - A little concerning because I don't know ANYTHING about AHC and in quick previous research, I counted it out because I was stuck in old ways of thinking that traditional suspension is the way to go. I also know that ripping it out and switching to traditional suspension is always an option.

The LX was owned by the same owner since 2010 and a lurking MUD member. He also has a 2018 so this one isn't getting driven anymore. He said that maintenance is up to date but doesn't have records as his friend, who owns a shop, would do all his mods and maintenance for him. While this was comforting, I knew I had a long base-lining process ahead.

Also, at the time of purchase, AHC wasn't working. It wouldn't go up into high or really change heights at all successfully. He said that AHC fluid and globes hadn't been done so I knew where I had to start.

It also had the start of a very slight crack in the radiator at the usual spot. He said he had purchased a new radiator which was in storage, which he would be including.

List of mods that came on it:
Generic front bullbar bumper
Metaltech Sliders
CBI Rear swingout bumper
ARB Dual compressor under the hood
ARB Single drawer in the third row
Snorkel
Prinsu Roofrack
Amazon lightbar
Winch
Aux Beam 8 gang
ARB Rear Locker (installed 2 years ago but only used 2x to test)
5x Rock Warrior wheels

Known issues:
AHC - ????
Radiator Crack
Tires are shot (cracking and super old)

 

[sticky iqqy iqqy]

Pictures at purchase:

 

[sticky iqqy iqqy]

Step One - Make it safe to be on the road
I'm a little bit of a tire nut and the date code on the tires dated back to 2014, which didn't leave me feeling too confident. I swapped out the wheels and tires for a Tundra set from a friend. 18" TRD Wheels w/275/70/18's. This also buys me some time to figure out what my long term wheel and tire setup will be.
Trying to figure out if I want to keep the Rock Warriors or replace them with a different option.

Installed these with 1.25” spacers.

 

[sticky iqqy iqqy]

I've done one of my favorite things, spend countless hours learning the in's and outs of AHC and the nuances of the LX. Also, while i've owned multiple toyotas and done many builds, this is the first one i've bought with this many miles with the intention of having it as a daily and very capable off road. What this means for me is that the Base Line process will be quite extensive. Even though typically, I do base line rigs, I also plan and order mods sometimes even more quickly. Taking a different approach with this one, maybe I'm getting old? or maybe because it's not a stock rig?

Looking through the car, found some issues that I want to address.
The alignment was done last month but the tech couldn't get camber/caster into spec. Checked out LCA's, bushings look to be in horrible shape... which then led to looking at the rest of the bushings... welllll i've got my work cut out for me.

going to baseline in a 3 stages:
1. Suspension and Liquids
2. Cooling system -
3. Paint

Feel free to callout anything I'm forgetting...

Stage 1 list (not in order of priority) - All of these parts have been ordered:

General:

	To Do	Brand/Plan	Notes
1	PCV Valve	OEM
2	Key fob batteries	Amazon
3	Patch Radiator crack	JB Weld	Still haven't picked up new Radiator from PO and need to finalize list of "While you're in there" items
4	Rear Brakes	Powerstop Z36 pads and drilled/slotted rotors	(rear pads down to 2mm, Front have plenty of meat)
5	Wipers	Michelin	Costco... they're cheap and I replace often
6	Engine Air Filter	Denso	Might as well

Suspension:

	To Do	Brand/Plan	Notes
1	Rear suspension spacers	Nolathane? haha 30mm spacer	Planning for AHC lift
2	Front suspension spacers	OEM 10mm Spacer	Planning for AHC Lift
3	Front LCA's (both)	OEM	Bushing shot, Cam adjusters seized
4	Front Swaybar Endlinks	OEM	Bushings shot
5	Rear sway bar bushings	OEM	Might as well...
6	Rear sway bar bushings (endlinks)	OEM	Bushings shot
7	Rear LCA's (both)	OEM	Bushings seem to be cracking and don't look great
8	Panhard drop bracket	Dr. KDSS	With sensor lift, want to bring rear back to spec
9	4x AHC Accumulator Globes	Denso (OEM)	Seems obvious... 173K miles and haven't been done
10	AHC Fluid flush	OEM	Got 2 metal cans, hopefully that's enough
11	Cabin air filter	Amazon	I go with Amazon b/c i replace often
12	AHC Sensor adjustment AHC Height Offset adjustment	---	The Sensor were set all over the place with Height Adjust having offsetting values
13	AHC Sensor Lift	---	It had one when I got it but not satisfied with setting so will reset after baseline
14	Alignment	Firestone	Lifetime alignment - figure I may be playing with the suspension as I get it dialed in so this makes it less painful to have it realigned after changes.

Fluids:

	To Do	Brand/Plan	Notes
1	Front diff fluid	Mobil 1 75w90
2	Transfer Case fluid	Ravenol 75W	Have used this before in my TLC
3	Power steering fluid	ATF? PS Fluid?	Just suction and replace in overflow every oil change
4	ATF Drain and fill	Valvoline Maxlife	Use this in my Tundra as well and works well without issue
5	Oil Change	Mobil 1 0w20	Should I be going to 5w30? Still not convinced but can always switch later...
6	Brake Fluid	??? Suggestions?	Thanks Sandroad for the encouragement

 

[Sandroad]

Brake fluid?

If it was mine, I would jump on a coolant change right away, even if it meant doing it again in stage 2 when you do the radiator. Easy to do and a small price to pay for getting the potentially 17 year old stuff out of there.

 

[sticky iqqy iqqy]

Brake fluid?

If it was mine, I would jump on a coolant change right away, even if it meant doing it again in stage 2 when you do the radiator. Easy to do and a small price to pay for getting the potentially 17 year old stuff out of there.

So brake fluid was def something I considered... Of all the things I've done, i've never bled brakes and a friend always harps at me that, if you screw it up, your fluid will boil and you'll lose all brakes... hahaha so I figured I'd get the baseline done then take it somewhere to do the brake fluid?

The reason the coolant didn't make the stage 1 is b/c PO mentioned having replaced the WP at 100k and the stuff looks really fresh pink and cleeean. Given those factors, I figured I could wait a couple months until I got to stage 2 and was replacing the radiator, WP, TB, etc...

 

[Sandroad]

Brake fluid is easy if you have a helper to push the brake pedal.

S

Thread 'Brake flush experience'

Mar 22, 2021

In a scale of 1 to 10 this is a 2.
Steps:
1. Remove old fluid by sucking out from reservoir.. i used a big syringe... get as much without going below minimum
2. Fill up with new brake fluid.. i used the new bosch brake fluid. Compatible with dot 3, 4 or 5
3. Turn on ignition. Start bleeding in front right. Turn wheel to left most.. you can access bleeder. Have another person to pump and hold brakes. Bleed brakes until fluid clear.
4. Bleed left front. Turn steering wheel right most and bleed accordingly
5. Always check level of brake fluid in reservoir to make sure dont go below min.
6...

• slicky rick
• Replies: 22
• Forum: 200-Series Cruisers

• 

Glad to know the coolant is not original.

 

[sticky iqqy iqqy]

Brake fluid is easy if you have a helper to push the brake pedal.

S

Thread 'Brake flush experience'

Mar 22, 2021

In a scale of 1 to 10 this is a 2.
Steps:
1. Remove old fluid by sucking out from reservoir.. i used a big syringe... get as much without going below minimum
2. Fill up with new brake fluid.. i used the new bosch brake fluid. Compatible with dot 3, 4 or 5
3. Turn on ignition. Start bleeding in front right. Turn wheel to left most.. you can access bleeder. Have another person to pump and hold brakes. Bleed brakes until fluid clear.
4. Bleed left front. Turn steering wheel right most and bleed accordingly
5. Always check level of brake fluid in reservoir to make sure dont go below min.
6...

• slicky rick
• Replies: 22
• Forum: 200-Series Cruisers

• 

Glad to know the coolant is not original.

Well i have 2 kids... so i can probably convince one of them to help... and if I can't, i'll force them to

Ok, i'll add it to the list and let YouTube guide me through... but then this opens another can of worms... do i also do Stainless lines? haha

 

[sticky iqqy iqqy]

Well, did the rear brakes last night and have a rubbing scraping sound. Ran out of time to diagnose but thinking is either the dust shield or pad hardware rubbing... guess we'll see when i'm able to get the wheels off.

Edit: Seems like this is a somewhat common issue and fairly easily fixed: Strange scraping noise from he rear while turning - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/strange-scraping-noise-from-he-rear-while-turning.1251965/page-5

 

[Sandroad]

Well, did the rear brakes last night and have a rubbing scraping sound. Ran out of time to diagnose but thinking is either the dust shield or pad hardware rubbing... guess we'll see when i'm able to get the wheels off.

Edit: Seems like this is a somewhat common issue and fairly easily fixed: Strange scraping noise from he rear while turning - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/strange-scraping-noise-from-he-rear-while-turning.1251965/page-5

If it ends up being the aftermarket rotors too large, you might want to consider using OEM without the slots and holes. I’ve read some posts on here about slots and holes filling with mud. And some members have had no problems with that. Aftermarket pads can sometimes be a nice upgrade for some uses; aftermarket rotors maybe not so much.

 

[sticky iqqy iqqy]

If it ends up being the aftermarket rotors too large, you might want to consider using OEM without the slots and holes. I’ve read some posts on here about slots and holes filling with mud. And some members have had no problems with that. Aftermarket pads can sometimes be a nice upgrade for some uses; aftermarket rotors maybe not so much.

Yeah that might be the case, I'll know more once I pop the wheels off, might have time today.

For this build, I probably would have gone with OEM rotors... but I actually had these from when i bought a full set for my Tundra and ended up that the rears on the tundra were in great shape. Realized that the Tundra and LX have the same rear brakes so figured I'd throw these on since they were on the shelf... If it's going to be too much of an issue, I'll just swap these out to OEM.

 

[TeCKis300]

I've done one of my favorite things, spend countless hours learning the in's and outs of AHC and the nuances of the LX. Also, while i've owned multiple toyotas and done many builds, this is the first one i've bought with this many miles with the intention of having it as a daily and very capable off road. What this means for me is that the Base Line process will be quite extensive. Even though typically, I do base line rigs, I also plan and order mods sometimes even more quickly. Taking a different approach with this one, maybe I'm getting old? or maybe because it's not a stock rig?

Looking through the car, found some issues that I want to address.
The alignment was done last month but the tech couldn't get camber/caster into spec. Checked out LCA's, bushings look to be in horrible shape... which then led to looking at the rest of the bushings... welllll i've got my work cut out for me.

going to baseline in a 3 stages:
1. Suspension and Liquids
2. Cooling system -
3. Paint

Feel free to callout anything I'm forgetting...

Stage 1 list (not in order of priority) - All of these parts have been ordered:

General:

	To Do	Brand/Plan	Notes
1	PCV Valve	OEM
2	Key fob batteries	Amazon
3	Patch Radiator crack	JB Weld	Still haven't picked up new Radiator from PO and need to finalize list of "While you're in there" items
4	Rear Brakes	Powerstop Z36 pads and drilled/slotted rotors	(rear pads down to 2mm, Front have plenty of meat)
5	Wipers	Michelin	Costco... they're cheap and I replace often
6	Engine Air Filter	Denso	Might as well

Suspension:

	To Do	Brand/Plan	Notes
1	Rear suspension spacers	Nolathane? haha 30mm spacer	Planning for AHC lift
2	Front suspension spacers	OEM 10mm Spacer	Planning for AHC Lift
3	Front LCA's (both)	OEM	Bushing shot, Cam adjusters seized
4	Front Swaybar Endlinks	OEM	Bushings shot
5	Rear sway bar bushings	OEM	Might as well...
6	Rear sway bar bushings (endlinks)	OEM	Bushings shot
7	Rear LCA's (both)	OEM	Bushings seem to be cracking and don't look great
8	Panhard drop bracket	Dr. KDSS	With sensor lift, want to bring rear back to spec
9	4x AHC Accumulator Globes	Denso (OEM)	Seems obvious... 173K miles and haven't been done
10	AHC Fluid flush	OEM	Got 2 metal cans, hopefully that's enough
11	Cabin air filter	Amazon	I go with Amazon b/c i replace often
12	AHC Sensor adjustment AHC Height Offset adjustment	---	The Sensor were set all over the place with Height Adjust having offsetting values
13	AHC Sensor Lift	---	It had one when I got it but not satisfied with setting so will reset after baseline
14	Alignment	Firestone	Lifetime alignment - figure I may be playing with the suspension as I get it dialed in so this makes it less painful to have it realigned after changes.

Fluids:

	To Do	Brand/Plan	Notes
1	Front diff fluid	Mobil 1 75w90
2	Transfer Case fluid	Ravenol 75W	Have used this before in my TLC
3	Power steering fluid	ATF? PS Fluid?	Just suction and replace in overflow every oil change
4	ATF Drain and fill	Valvoline Maxlife	Use this in my Tundra as well and works well without issue
5	Oil Change	Mobil 1 0w20	Should I be going to 5w30? Still not convinced but can always switch later...
6	Brake Fluid	??? Suggestions?	Thanks Sandroad for the encouragement

Pretty good list.

If I can make some recommendations

• Get OEM wipers, so you don't have to change often. You will be surprised by OEM quality and how they'll last several seasons, while also doing a far better job. OEM wipers are engineered for the car, with consideration to aero and finer things
• For front spacer, look into the E&E Offroad 13mm spacer for 1/2" more overall suspension stroke and travel versus the OEM spacer.
• For suspension, prioritize swapping the rear upper trailing links. Those bushings take far more strain and will be worn ahead of any other link.
• Depending on how much sensor lift, you may not need panhard correction
• Add engine mounts. At that mileage, they'll be close to shot if not already shot
• Check for valley plate leaks.

 

[sticky iqqy iqqy]

Pretty good list.

If I can make some recommendations

• Get OEM wipers, so you don't have to change often. You will be surprised by OEM quality and how they'll last several seasons, while also doing a far better job. OEM wipers are engineered for the car, with consideration to aero and finer things
• For front spacer, look into the E&E Offroad 13mm spacer for 1/2" more overall suspension stroke and travel versus the OEM spacer.
• For suspension, prioritize swapping the rear upper trailing links. Those bushings take far more strain and will be worn ahead of any other link.
• Depending on how much sensor lift, you may not need panhard correction
• Add engine mounts. At that mileage, they'll be close to shot if not already shot
• Check for valley plate leaks.

• My issue with the wipers is that outside of driving around town, I’m either camping where it’s dusty or skiing in the mountains where wipers get chewed up… I guess I could give OEM a try.
• Do you think the the extra 3MM is worth it for the spacers? I already have the 10MM ones Enroute, and was waiting to do the globes and fluid until those got here.
• I really should have ordered the rear uppers! Now that I’ve gotten to look at things more in depth, the rear uppers are def in worse shape and should get done. I’ll def add them to the todo list. Recommend oem?
• Panhard bracket ordered but will wait to see if it’s needed.
• Oooo engine mounts, didn’t really think of those. Will add those to the todo list.
• Valley plate looks ok and Lexus PPI confirmed no valley plate issue (but feel like their PPI was trash so don’t really believe anything they said haha)

Also, got the rear brakes figured out! Popped them off and saw slight rub marks on the hand brake dust shield. It was so slight that instead of shaving anything down, I took a punch and hammer and hammered it back maybe 1/16” and problem solved.

 

[sticky iqqy iqqy]

Got one of the rear spacers in but ran out of time on the other spacer. The Passenger's side seems like it's def going to take someone standing on the axle to get out. One thought I had was, should I be considering extended bump stops?

Also, my huge parts order from Toyota (placed Feb 26th) still hasn't been shipped yet so it's really putting a damper on my progress... well, that and time to do these things.

 

[sticky iqqy iqqy]

Had a busy weekend with some frustrations, some success, but also some heartache.

I drained the ahc fluid, (taking off the protective plates from the Metaltech sliders took forever) and the front Driver's side looked very milky at first but turns out it wasn't milky but had a lot of bubbles/air which gave it that look. I'm guessing that an accumulator blew introducing nitrogen into the lines, which explains the high pressure fault code tech stream showed previously. The fluid looked fairly pink when it was flowing through the lines but when it was in the drain bottle, it was very dark. I had to make sure to drain into a different container so i knew it wasn't actually Dr. Pepper...

I got the front suspension apart, not without trying different approaches to separate the TRE, which finally came apart with muscle and a BFH. The LCA bolts all came out without too much gruf, giving me a false sense of hope but the front caster adjuster was seized in place. Lube and same BFH had no effect... so out came the Sawzall... couple blades and some time and i had them out (I can still feel my arm shaking from just going at it). If anyone runs into this (as it seems many have, best advice is to use quality blades meant for the job.

I installed the front spacer and replaced the front swaybar endlinks and got everything buttoned up and back together. I lifted from the LCA and torqued everything to spec.

Then came the globes, time to install the globes... when I removed the old ones (which thankfully broke loose without issue), I compared them to the new Denso ones I had ordered. They were obviously different and I got an inkling that they were fakes, so loaded the opened container of new fluid into the reservoir tank, and called it for the weekend. This morning, I ordered new OEM globes from Japan so until those get here, I'll but working on the other parts of the baseline, just have to make sure I don't turn on the car so it doesn't send the fluid from the tank to the lines and globes...

I'm taking the advice above and will be replacing brake fluid and since i'll be doing that, I also got extended brake lines for the rear.