Builds The Guzzler - 2009 LX570 (32 Viewers)

[grinchy]

Just a thread for my LX build. Six weeks in I can see this project was misnamed. We call it the Guzzler. Seems to like Gas and Cash. A lot.

I started with a 209,000 mile black on tan LX570, created in 8/2008 for model year 2009.

Oddities include 20" non Lexus chromed wheels, and a dealer installed remote operated radar detector. The aftermarket headrest rear entertainment came equipped with an Elf and The Hangover (unrated) DVDs installed (one on each side).

On the first fillup still, but in mixed driving, unmoded, I'm getting around 12mpg.

<2018>

 

[grinchy]

Roughly a year into the build. Basically waiting on sliders at this point.

<2019>

 

[grinchy]

Another year another $. So got skids and armor, a snorkel, a rack and some almost done rack mounted lighting and stuff. A whole new amplifier setup and dsp and a subwoofer. Some maintenance completed. Also got sliders finally.

What's left? A front bumper. Even more maintenance. 17" steelies and some 33" muds for them. Some liveability things for organization.

<2020 and 2021>

 

[grinchy]

Four and a half years on.

<2022 - front bumper , 17" wheels, 35" R/Ts>

 

[grinchy]

2009 LX 570. 209,000 Texas miles. Black and Tan. Very clean inside, just some wrinkles on the driver seat. About 50 service records, all at the local Lexus dealer. Water pump and new (road) tires not long ago. Shocks and some other stuff a few years ago. Ventilated seats. It gets picked up by transport tomorrow.
$17,500 (not including inspection, escrow, transport, tax, title, license)
<edit: fix the pic>
View attachment 1659386

View attachment 1659387

From the Classified name your purchase price, page 17.

 

[grinchy]

Deleting the running boards (passenger side).
LX570 Running Board Removal

 

[grinchy]

Completed:
One bag recovery kit
Tan U-Ace 3D floor Mats Husky Liners WeatherBeaters Installed
High Beam, Lo Beam, Marker Light LED replacement, as layed out here by @UCrazyKid Headlight Retrofit for 2008 - 2011 LX570. Back to halogen high beams for drl compatibility
H11 Hikari LED fog lights (5/17/2018)
Trail Tailor Front Recovery Points (removed when front bumper went on 8/2022)
Five 275/80r18 Kenda KR28 AT Tires (35 inch inflated height) (5/10/2019) replaced 12/2021
Driver side and passenger side rocker step/running board delete
Rear brakes and pads. (5/6/2018)
Rlc rear bumper mostly installed 6/11/2018. Swingarm 7/25/2018. Camera 8/2018.
Rear hatch gas shocks 6/18/2018
Finally get the Tpms squared away 6/18/2018 in the Duratracs. Replaced 5/2019
Shorten tailgate supports 6/18/2018
Rear Diff Fluid 6/26/2018.
4.88s in rear 4/10/2019. Rear Auburn elocker 4/20/2019. Rear diff fluid again on 5/3.
Trailer Wiring Breakout Box 7/26/2018
Front bearings rotors and pads 8/4/2018
Optima Yellowtop (27F) 8/18/2018
Commercial group 31 sla 20feb2022
WiFi rearview / reverse camera 8/19/2018 removed 3/2020
Resonator delete 9/21/2018
Optima 400 charger 10/20/2018
ARB Twin 10/2018 added air tank 1.5 gallon 11/2018. Bluetooth switched. Deleted air tank when added fuel sub tank.
Front Diff Fluid 1/2019.
4.88s in front 4/10/2019. Front fluid again on 5/3.
Central Diff Fluid 75 90 Amsoil 3/21/2020 224k
AHC Fluid Change 2/2019
Driveline zerks 3/2019 (some Jan 2019)
AHC leveling 4/2019
35 inch 275/80r18 5x ordered 4/12/2019. Installed 5/10/2019. Removed 12/2021.
Alignment 5/2019
Exhaust Side exit 5/10/2019
Replace Mark Levinson Amp with DSPs and Amps 2/2020 - install Alpine PXE-DSP-850s. Replace subwoofer with JBL 1000 10 inch 4/2020.
Replace four low pressure accumulators 3/2020 + 2 liter AHC fluid
5 tire rotate 3/2020
TLC Roof rack with four crossbars 3/2020
@WildYoats light bar brackets 4/2020
One camera to tire carrier relocate 4/2020
42” 'Rigidhorse' light bar 4/2020 remove 10/2022
Asfir 4x4 aluminum transfer case skid 5/2020
Total Chaos Aluminum front and belly skid 5/2020 - replace front/engine piece 4/2022 due to trail damage. Transmission remains on.
Idler, tensioner, New vbelt 4/2020
Metaltech 4x4 LX570 Sliders 5/2020 (finally!)
26 qt fridge - 6/2020 - fits behind deployed 3rd row seat
LiFePo4 380wh power pack - 6/2020
Rear shock skids - 6/2020
RLCA right skid - 6/2020
Rival 4x4 Fuel Skid - 6/2020
Midpipe Heat shield - 6/2020
Glue up that radiator crack - 6/2020
CharGriller 17" griddle + LP conversion - 6/2020
5lb LP tank - 6/2020
1 Reef - 7/2020
270 Degree Awning - Rhino Rack Batwing - 7/2020 (sold 11/2021)
4 Rototrax - 7/2020
RLCA left skid 07/2020
Rototrax roof mount 08/2020
rotopax swing out mount 08/2020 removed summer 2021
5lb lp swing out mount 08/2020
swingout fold down table prototype 08/2020 (remove summer 2021) v2 3/2022
5 tire rotate 10/2020
move backup camera on top of tire 10/2020
roof shelf 11/2020
Factory sub tank 3/2021
Ironman en-suite 4/2021
new higher brackets for batwing 4/2021removed when sold the awning
4K dashcam 5/2021
0w-30 oil change. 4/2021
Five tire rotate 4/2021
Fridge slide 5/2021
Backup camera back under spare 3/2021
Transmission filter and full flush. 6/2021
Power steering fluid exchange 6/2021
Fridge cage 6/2021
Storage shelf v2 6/2021
Custom swing mounted five bike Vertical rack 10/2021
35x10.5r17 Kenda Klever RT 232.5k 12/2021
17” Alphaequipt Echo +35mm five of these 12/2021
Oil change 0w-30 and filter 233150 2/22
McGuard Splined lug nuts 2/22 Replaced with generic 2-2022
Cell booster 1/22
Reese Towpower IQ Brake Controller 3/2022
Interior diff lock, air compressor , winch control 3/2022
Ironman 4x4 12k winch 3/2022 installed 8/2022
Budbuilt stainless 3/16” front skid 4/2022
Budbuilt red pc 3/16” engine skid 4/2022
CBI ditch light brackets and lights 4/2022
Redo all the accessory wiring 5/2022
Prep cab winch wiring and install 5/2022
Hook up the ditch lights 5/2022
Remove Bluetooth switching solution 5/2022
Six switch light switch 5/2022
Air, locker, winch inside mount switches 5/2022
Power stop front brakes 6/4/2022
RLCA skid plates 7/2022
Rival 4x4 TLc front bumper 8/2022
Ironman4x4 Blast II 7” bumper lights 8/2022
Smittybilt Defender Roof Rack #35605 10/2022
Hid low beams and extended dust covers 11/2022
Z36 power stop rear brake pads 11/22 237k
Sdhq abs sensor guards 11/2022
Black spring rubber size b front coils 11/2022
Blue spring rubber size b kind of installed rear springs 11/2022 red spring rubber size B in rear coils 1/2023
4 tire rotate 11/2022 237500
Peerless super z8 chains size 468 11/2022
New sub amp 1/2023
New Bluetooth source 2/2023
3/2023 5w-30 239550
3/2023 radiator, hoses, fan bearing, housing, clutch, water pump
3/2023 air fuel sensors, oxygen sensors 239850 miles
Replace Pcv valve 239850 3/2023
4/2023 coils and plugs 240k
247000 oil and fiilter
250000 oil and filter
25250 new starter
250350 new coil on 6 and 8

On deck
Fix the moonroof drain

In the imagining stage:
Sealed Alternator

Maintenance:
Brake fluid exchange

 

[tbisaacs]

Didn’t realize you were in Washington! Hope to see you on the trail soon

 

[hickuptruck]

I saw this one for sale in TX for 17.5. Looked at the maintenance off Lexus and its always been dealer serviced. I think it had a 4LO flashing light that dealer couldn't figure out. Maybe a secondary air pump/delete in the near future? Hows it drive? Happy with it? Congrats on finding a nice one albeit the kinda worn seats. From the looks of it, it looked like a upper-middle class texas Sububan soccer mom taxi.

 

[grinchy]

From the oral history from 2nd owner, and from the records, I think you're right, first owner was indeed a soccer mom. She had several low speed collisions (two or three bumper repair/replaces on the service history). There were definitely kids involved, probably 6-15 year old from the DVDs. She drove it like mad, including to the Lexus dealer every 5-7000 miles for maintenance. There was some minor warranty stuff done, including the AHC pump.
Second owner was an oil engineer possibly no kids, used it as a work truck driving from Houston to West Texas. May have had a boat (there was a trailer light adapter installed). He drove it like mad, wore out two sets of dealer installed Tour HPs. It's 1/2 way thru the third set. He did get in and out a lot, there is a weak seam on the driver side seat. He also had a collision of some sort in the driver rear, the bumper and light aren't quite right. Water pump was replaced, radiator was replaced. He also dropped in on the Lexus dealer every 5-7k, maybe went 10k once. He had some battery trouble, which caused the 4lo light. They replaced the solenoid, then the battery, so I got a new solenoid too!
There might be worn wheel bearings or CVs, there is some very minor vibration and a small bit of noise at high speed. It could also be the tires, which I understand aren't the quietest around. One corner is high, I'm waiting on rear bumper install and tire mounting and I'll level the AHC and adjust the height. It could likely use new rotors, they've been ground a couple times. Overall nothing unexpected. I'm going to put three or four tanks thru it, note what I can then go have a 30k service performed and replace all the fluids and get a 2nd opinion. There's an independent close by that can do anything I don't have time or inclination for.
I'm happy to enter at the bottom of the market, as long as no major engine trouble I'll be ahead $ on a more expensive rig, which I can use for new parts or for build stuff. It also means I don't mind a dent or too, as I'm not trying to protect an investment.

 

[grinchy]

Right now I'm targeting an overland flavored build. I would love to rock crawl, but I'm going to work my way up to it. I have a pretty busy job and some children, so there isn't a lot of free time to drive 4 hours to run for 2 hours to drive 4 hours back. But in a couple years I can see that two or three times a year.

We will be using one of the third row sets, so I am thinking of a half set of drawers at some point. I have a very large car top carrier we use for long trips I can purpose for on roof storage.

In the short term I'm working on the low hanging fruit, which is wheels and tires, sliders, lift (free!), and bumpers. I'm starting with a rear bumper, because I haven't found the right source/type of winch front (I'm looking for a lightweight front option, like the TJM T15), but lighter. I also want to get into a front for $1k, of which I've only seen one, and it was not lightweight.

Some mild underbody armor is likely in the later picture.

I've got the recovery kit mostly sorted (no winch), and am working on doubling up my mechanic tools so I can have dedicated truck tool kit.

Before buying the LX I looked hard at 2005-2012 Pathfinders. They are very close to the same physical size of a TLC, wheelbase, etc. I noticed that the aftermarket there was half as much. I'm not sure if it's volume or deep wallets or what in the TLC community, but our aftermarket costs a lot more. I see the same thing with the Jeep aftermarket, though only thru looking for stuff I can repurpose onto a TLC.

 

[grinchy]

Before I had a build thread I made a frustration post a new thread, that thread will die in infamy (as it should), here's the post

Noticed one of the plastic air covers around the front recovery point was missing a bolt and hanging down a bit. Put the AHC in high to go have a look with some zip ties to tuck it up short term.

Zip ties wouldn't go thru the skid plate hole . . .

There's a no head on the bolt in the corner. Ok. Move up. Same story. Last bolt same story. Three headless bolts out of three.

I pulled the part so it wouldn't grab on parking furniture, and went to go find the penetrating spray . . .

 

[grinchy]

Today I swapped out four wheel lock lugnuts for regular lugnuts. If someone wants my current 10 year old curb rashed chrome 20s and wants to take the time to jack up the car I guess they can have them.

It was a good opportunity to properly torque the lugs as well.

Does anyone know the part number of the toolkit that comes in the bottom half of the rear door? It's the item on the right here:

I have one. I'm looking for another to cut hollow, foam line, and put a few tools in.

I searched the FSM but didn't have the magic finder's touch.

 

[gaijin]

Here you go: Tool Bag - Toyota (09120-60210) | Toyota Parts

HTH

 

[grinchy]

that is amazing. thanks @gaijin

 

[grinchy]

Bought another four tires and rims today, these look to still have the TPMS in them. So now I have 8 matching rims. 4 are 4/5, 1 is 3/5, and 3 are 1/5.
I got a little pancake compressor to sandblast with, but in reading discovered it was WAY to small (2.5 vs 14 cfm). Returned that.

Not sure how I'm going to get the paint off the 4 rims to refinish, I can't use strippers . . .

Spent a few hours cleaning up a 2009 netbook to host techstream, and got the dongle and techstream working. Pulled the current TPMS sensor ids from the TPMS page. Not sure yet how I'll get the sensor ids from the used tires, I may have to go pay a shop to do that. Can they be discovered by sniffer or do the tires have to be unmounted to get the codes off the TPMS units? A bother either way.

Here is the stack of M/T and the best of the four rims.
Not pictured the other four which have good tread Michelin P rated LTX on them.

 

[grinchy]

Also finished the driver side running board delete, which is posted over in LX570 Running Board Removal

 

[tbisaacs]

Rumor has it that some les schwab locations will blast em for you.

 

[grinchy]

I'll have to give old Les a call. There is one close to me. Thanks for the tip!

 

[grinchy]

Les proved not to have in house sandblasting. They also wanted $20 a wheel to break the bead and pull the sensor IDs. So I ordered a cheap TPMS computer. Then I ordered some tire irons.

With 13 tires in house, that was a lot of $20s to save . . .

Problem 1: Tundra sensors don't work. This is known. I can resell them . . .
Problem 2: My sledge couldn't break the bead. Enter the floor jack, tie down bead breaking method pictured here


It takes about 1 min per side, and all the sweating is in flipping these dang LT tires.

Getting the rim out is another story.