Tony Flowers 2003 GX470 Build & Maintenance thread (1 Viewer)

[5280 Lexus]

My dad bought a GX470 around 2012-2013 with 120,00 miles then proceeded to daily drive and occasionally tow his boat until 2019 when he bought a Tundra to replace it. It was due for some maintenance and he no longer needed the GX so he decided to offered me the opportunity to buy it from him before he put it up for sale. $4k later I was the owner of a new to me GX470 with 180k miles. I pretty much had to replace or fix every common issue which brought my total up to around $11k. I decided to include the cost of my suspension setup in the maintenance category since it had blown shocks and control arms on all four corners when I got it. With the way the market has become now I don't think that's a bad price for a GX470 with minimal rust, and unlike many people I can trust the maintenance records I received, though they were pretty basic. I did almost all of the work on this truck myself over the last two years so I thought I would make this thread just to keep track of my progress and to contribute to the community.

Here's a picture of the completely stock GX

 

[5280 Lexus]

Completed maintenance to date:

• new tensioner & idler pulleys
• new OEM CV axles
• all suspension components
• sway bar links
• inner & outer tie rods
• radiator & hoses
• new fan bracket pulley
• battery
• diff & transfer case fluids
• air filters
• GX460 front brake calipers
• New brake pads & rotors front and rear
• stainless steel brake lines
• fixed leak on transfer case actuator o-ring
• New power steering reservoir
• flush the power steering system ( was super dirty)
• second transmission drain and fill
• remove cracked clear bra

To do list

• monitor possible coolant leak
• replace valve cover gaskets
• fix power steering leak coming from hoses on reservoir and cooler line by bumper
• power steering is whining not sure if it needs a new pump or not
• recharge A/C
• replace seat belt buckle to replace airbag code B1153 ( have part just need to install)
• figure out what is causing C1340 code - open circuit in center differential lock during CDL on

 

[5280 Lexus]

I started small with my GX470 project because I didn't know how much I would get into it. Like most people I plastidipped the grille, logos etc. I removed the sidesteps and drove around like that for awhile. The first official "mod" I bought was a set of RSG off-road rock sliders that I got on sale. After that I was chilling for awhile until my worn out shocks finally blew and I had to do a whole suspension refresh. For simplicity I listed the rest of my modifications below. I'm shopping for steel front bumpers currently and would like to bump up to a bigger tire size with regear and locker in the near future. Just have to save some cash up

Suspension

• Dobinson IMS front coilovers
• Dobinson IMS Rear shocks
• Dobinson coil springs, originally had 1.5" but bumped up to 2"
• SPC upper control arms
• OEM Toyota LCA (technically not a mod but included with the suspension since I did it at the same time"
• Dobinson adjustable rear control arms upper and lower

Miscellaneous

• RSG offroad angled rock slider bolt on
• ARB skid plate package
• ARB twin compressor with rago fabrication engine bay mount
• Flowmaster 40 delta flow muffler
• LFD offroad hidden winch mount
• Warn VR Evo 10s winch
• Sherpa Equipment Co roof Rack
• DIY drawer system
• Metal tech high clearance hitch
• TRD 4runner wheels off marketplace

 

[5280 Lexus]

Completely stock with the rock sliders

 

[5280 Lexus]

Different angle of stock with sliders

 

[5280 Lexus]

After awhile I got a different set of tires. I ended up picking the falken wildpeak in 265/70/17 since they were easy to fit and popular at the time. In retrospect I wish that I would've gone with a different tire and gotten a larger size. I have a little over half life left on this set of tires so I am going to roll with them for a bit longer until I decide what to do next. Still was able to get out and do plenty of stuff. Coincidentally my shock broke the same day as I got the tires mounted so I dont have very many photos of them on the stock suspension. Also not sure why I blurred the plate out so bear with me on that one.

 

[5280 Lexus]

After my shock broke I ordered a basic lift kit because it seemed like the logical thing to do. So far been satisfied with the dobinsons ims kit. about 20k miles in it seems like a solid basic suspension set up. A bit stiff but for $1500 I didn't expect it to ride like a trophy truck. As I get more into this hobby I understand why people spend so much on suspension. Im going to keep this setup til it dies then I will hopefully upgrade to something a step up!

Busted shock

Busted LCA

New vs Old front struts

 

[5280 Lexus]

My rear shocks and coils got backordered so I installed the fronts while I waited. It ended up taking a month or two for me to get everything installed and back on the road.

All done

the gx470 with only front lift

 

[5280 Lexus]

Didnt take many pics of the rear since I was in a hurry

 

[5280 Lexus]

After wrapping up the suspension it was getting close to winter so I didnt have much chance to test it out. I did manage to take my friend for a drive the weekend after install.

Side profile after full lift install. Nothing crazy

 

[5280 Lexus]

Next project for my GX470 was to build some drawers. I thought they looked cool but didnt want to shell out for the cost of premade ones. I had some of the stuff i needed and tools already so these only cost me about $60. I added a small pull out table and some mahogany trim to go with the lexus wood panels. I also added latches to hold them shut. Tested them out on a hunting trip with my dad and they worked pretty well. There are a few things I would tweak, maybe in the future I will build a second set and make a better design.

 

[5280 Lexus]

More stuff to add to the thread but ran out of time tonight.

 

[5280 Lexus]

Replaced the old bump stops. Mine was bent from when the strut broke

 

[5280 Lexus]

Around the same time I installed the Sherpa quandary roof rack. I picked this one up during a Black Friday sale and because I could pick up locally which saved some $. I got the rack because I occasionally put things on the roof and the factory rack leaves a lot to be desired

Some install pics

 

[5280 Lexus]

I chopped the rear bumper, and added an ARB dual compressor around the same time as I got the rack. For the compressor I just used the rago fabrication mount. I didn’t do the front bumper because I wasn’t sure if I would go for a steel bumper or not

Bumper chop

Compressor mount, very easy to install in engine bay and to wire. Used a fuse tap for the switch and tapped it into one of the fuses for the interior lights so it comes on when it’s dark

 

[5280 Lexus]

Picked up some cheap 4runner wheels off of Facebook marketplace. Not as cool as aftermarket options but I think they look better than the OEM Lexus ones and they’re so cheap it doesn’t matter if you scratch them. I also deleted my full size tow hitch and installed the Metal tech high clearance. I don’t plan to ever tow anything with the GX470 again so I don’t need the full hitch. I found that removing the bumper cover and hitch eliminated most of my rear bumper scraping on things problem.

After a series of unfortunate events I decided to just remove the rear bumper all together. The no bumper look really grew on me. But it would be nice to get some sort of steel bumper eventually. I’m not a huge fan of any of the premade ones on the market so will have to get something custom if I do it

 

[5280 Lexus]

The final modification I made to my GX470 in 2021 was adding a hidden winch. At the time of purchase I wasn’t ready to commit to a full bumper replacement mostly due to cost but also because I was still daily driving. I wanted a winch because I only have 2 friends with 4x4s and we have a hard time coordinating day trips due to our schedules. I took most of my off-road trips alone this year and having the winch made me feel more confident in my ability to self recover.

Due to a change in job my longbed pick up has now become a better daily driver for me and so I’m ready to go for a full steel bumper replacement as I won’t be driving my GX as much. To some it might seem silly to spend the money for a winch mount then buy a full bumper a year later but I think it served it’s purpose well for me. It gave me the ability to go more places than I would have before and I also don’t have to rush to buy a bumper now because I still have the winch ready to go.

I also didn’t run into nearly as many problems with front bumper clearance as I did rear to this point. The biggest downside of the hidden winch is it does nothing to improve your approach angle or protect your front end. Price is the biggest pro. For a hidden mount and an entry level warn winch it cost me about the same as the cheapest fully built steel bumper options and less than most of the more expensive ones.

Installation of the hidden winch is extremely easy. Just remove the bumper cover and old crash bar then the mount uses the same bolt locations as the factory crash bar. The LFD mount is adjustable so you can slide it forward or backwards as needed. With the mount most of the way forward. The warn evo 10s fit without relocating the control box or having to bend the AC and transmission lines. Some people make a whole on top of the bumper to access the clutch. I didn’t need to do this because my hands fit. I wired the winch directly to the battery and used a an adapter on the positive terminal that lets you attach more items

I did make a minor mistake by cutting the hole for the fair lead too large. However when I tensioned the winch line for the first time I realized it’s actually useful to be able to see the winch spool. I opted to leave the hole because I like being able to see the line, I do not understand how people with it fully hidden spool their winch. It would be quite simple to make a license plate mount that covers the hole anyways. Since I am now planning to buy a full bumper replacement I decided not to worry about if.

The mount installed on truck

Test fit or winch

Checking clearances. only the wires rub, haven’t noticed any problems with the hard lines so far. Should probably check again soon though.

Side profile of winch, I moved it forward a bit after his pic was taken.

With the bumper cover back on. My cut was not very clean but who cares my bumper is ****ed up anyways

 

[5280 Lexus]

I do have a flowmaster 40 muffler on the truck but will have to upload the video later. That’s all I have for now. I do have some more stuff planned for the truck in the coming year so I will continue to update my thread. I also have some maintenance items to knock out so I’ll post those as I complete them. Most of the things I’ve done already are common so I left them out since there’s plenty of other posts about that stuff.

 

[jonesmt]

I chopped the rear bumper, and added an ARB dual compressor around the same time as I got the rack. For the compressor I just used the rago fabrication mount. I didn’t do the front bumper because I wasn’t sure if I would go for a steel bumper or not

Bumper chop View attachment 2900141

Compressor mount, very easy to install in engine bay and to wire. Used a fuse tap for the switch and tapped it into one of the fuses for the interior lights so it comes on when it’s dark


View attachment 2900147

View attachment 2900140

How does that ARB pump work? Have you had the opportunity to use it?

 

[5280 Lexus]

How does that ARB pump work? Have you had the opportunity to use it?

sorry been awhile since I've been on mud. The arb pump is great I use it all the time. Fills all four of my tires from 15 to 40 psi n about 5 mins. Im preparing to upgrade to 35" tires will be a good test to see how much longer it takes to fill