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Tony Flowers 2003 GX470 Build & Maintenance thread (1 Viewer)
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- #22
Thought it would be a good time to come back to this thread and recap long term feedback on parts I bought for the gx, maintenance, and overall ownership experience. From reading the gxor facebook page I know there are a lot of people who are new to the gx. I also know that there are a lot of people who dont want to do too much modification to their gx. All of the things ive done so far are simple and easily done without doing extreme modificaton to your gx. I think this review would be useful to people who are in that situation. When I first started this journey I wasn't sure how much I wanted to commit to it. Now that ive had more time to gain experience Im ready to start upgrading to bigger tires, nicer suspension, cutting up the truck more etc. I provided a basic summary of what I liked and didn't like and then below went into more detail below that.
Use Case:
Daily driver that I can take out on weekends or days off to go offroading, fishing, hunting, occasional camping, and snowboarding. Since I do not live out of my rig for multiple days at a time my opinions about certain modifications are probably different than people who are more into "overlanding" type stuff ( ie I dont need a tent or a fridge because im rarely camping or going somewhere long enough to need more than a small cooler).
Most of my friends do not have 4x4 vehicles so if I go camping with them it will be on a backpacking trip or somewhere an awd crossover could access. Because of this Ive based my modifications and opinons about things moslty around being good for taking day trips to either go off-road or to do one of my hobbies. I've found the gx to be a great vehicle for a general outdoor enthusiast. Maybe its not the best offroader you could buy but its great for getting out in all conditions and enjoying yourself. My girlfriend drives a honda civic and she can only do a fraction of the things I am able to do in the CO mountains.
Key Takeaways
Falken wildpeak LT265/70R17
- They are a good size for someone who is just getting into it and doesn't want to cut a bunch of stuff to fit. Honestly you can go a lot of places with a lift, skid plates, rock sliders and this size tire with good line choice and willingness to scrape some stuff. I took my gx through trails that said 33" tire minimum multiple times and on tons of popular trails in Colorado, I've seen other people say the same. Having a bigger tire would just make some stuff easier. I thought the falkens were good but not great tires. Decent on the road, decent in snow. Initially had great grip off-road, after about 15,000 miles they started to lose grip and after 20,000 miles I noticed a pretty significant loss in grip offroad. Driving the same trails/obstacles as I had before wheels were slipping a lot more. My friend who tags along with me also noticed the degradation of tire performance. To be fair I did a lot of offroad driving so its expected they would wear out faster. Based off all the hype they were getting when I bought them and how much I see people hyping them up still I expected more out of the tires. Based on my experience im not gonna buy another set and my friend who comes along with doesn't seem inclined to buy a set for his new tacoma either.
Suspension
Dobinson IMS
-If you're gonna spend a lot of money on your GX I think this is one of the places to do it. Buy the nicest suspension you can within your budget and also consider some options besides the dobinsons, ironman type stuff that gets pushed so heavily on GXOR. I noticed that on the GXOR facebook page the Dobinson stuff basically gets shoved down your throat. Thus a lot of the people are getting that and act like you're crazy if you suggest something else. I've also noticed that a lot of the people with more built out gx470s are running other more high tier suspensions brands. I actually haven't had any issues with my dobs suspension so I don't want to make it seem like I'm talking down on them. I just wish I would have spent more time researching and looking at all the available options. I was in a hurry to fix my suspension since my strut had snapped in half. Being new to the gx world I hopped on GXOR and since there is an overwhelming amount of dobinson suspension there thats what iI ended up with.
My 3 year opinion of the IMS is its a reliable mid tier suspension option that's probably comparable performance wise to the other setups in the same price range. Youre not getting any groundbreaking tech or ride quality. Its simple and gets the job done with minimal maintenance which is the main benefit. ride wise Its stiffer than stock on the highway, doesn't handle large bumps well but does okay with smaller stuff. Off-road ride is pretty smooth with slower speeds over moderate bumps. Its not good on high speed whoop type stuff or if you hit a large bump or rock which is to be expected in this kind of shock imo since it has no adjustability. When these wear out I will jump ship to another brand with external reservoir like king fox, radflo, elka etc. Or ive been eyeing the bilstein 8112.
SPC UCA
Useful for the additional alignment options. Been seeing people have issues with theirs lately but mine have been fine of 28k miles
Armor
ARB skid plates
- seen a lot of people talk s*** about these but they saved my truck from catastrophic damage multiple times. Obviously they are not as thick as other offerings but they still work and IMO provide better protection than factory mainly to the transmission. They are also a lot lighter than other options which I view as a positive. I don't think its worth it for me to invest in a second set of skids yet but if you're new in the market and are gonna do heavy crawling buying thicker skids wouldn't hurt either. I think for what a lot of GX owners realistically do the ARB skids are fine
RSG angled rock slider
- Possibly my best GX purchase. Used them tons of times either pivoting around rocks or just accidentally hitting stuff while offroading. Held up well to abuse and have paid for themeslves. I think if you want to take a GX470 offroading with tires on the smaller side rock slider and skid plates are a necessity.
Rear bumper cover delete
- Over a year of offroading with the bumper cover deleted and just the crash bar and I still think its the best option clearance wise. Running just the crash bar with high clearance hitch has solved almost all of my departure angle issues and I barely scrape even with undersized tires. Im not sold on the heavy steel bumpers, if you need a steel bumper I think the lowkey custom single tubes are a better option> Rear bumpers are exensive, heavy, and there are alternatives for carrying a spare. Looks are subjective but i think most of the rear bumpers are ugly. I think there is more use case for the front bumpers but still not sure if I will ever get one since I'm aiming to keep weight low. Might have a better idea if I want one once I upgrade to bigger tires. I just feel hesitant because ive been seeing a good amount of people posting about how they didnt think the steel bumpers were worth it long term.
Hidden winch
Worth it for the peace of mind and self recovery ability. Only had to use it a few times to help other people so far but was nice to have. Had a few situations where I was solo and almost had to pull winch. Each time I was able to back up or take a different line to maneuver out of the situation but I could've easily slipped or gotten stuck and had to winch.
Drawer system
IMO the drawers are only worth it if you are able to make a set yourself for a low cost or acquire them for cheap. Also important to decide how you want to use your trunk space because they take up a lot of it. If you want to put a spare tire on the trunk or need to use it for moving stuff a lot drawers would be annoying. I found the pull out table to be very useful for my fly fishing trips when i want to put my stuff out to set my rod up or eat a sandwich for lunch.
Sherpa Roof Rack
Don't really think it was worth it for anything besides the looks with my use case. I thought I would put wayyyy more stuff up there than I do. I used it to move some stuff that wouldnt fit in the trunk around town a few times. For offroad its served me almost no purpose. The only things I've put up there are a shovel and traction boards which could've gone on the factory rack. I started putting the boards in the trunk strapped to my drawers cause its easier. Im short so messing with the stuff on the tall roof of the GX is a major PITA, I didn't realize this til after i got the rack and starting trying to put stuff on it. If youre someone who straps a bunch of stuff on the roof and a tent it would be good for you. IMO its a better strategy to look at all your gear and eliminate things you dont absolutely need so that you can just fit stuff inside the trunk instead of putting a bunch of junk on the roof.
5th gen calipers and rotors
worth it for the small increase in braking ability. Do it when your original calipers seize up
Maintenance
The only major maintenance item I had to perform in 2022 was changing my timing belt and water pump. at 200k miles. The old pump lasted around 75k miles but I am not sure if was an OEM quality replacement. The first indication I had of the issue was when I found the coolant overflow reservoir empty during routine engine bay inspection. Shortly after I found coolant leaking around the ac condenser/oil filter area and down onto the driver side tie rods etc. It only took a week or two after I found the leak for it to progress to the point where it was leaving sizeable amounts of coolant on my driveway. I used the aisin TB/WP kit and a toyota thermostat and o ring/ fipg. I also used a special tool for holding the pulleys and a harmonic balancer removal tool.
I did the job myself in my driveway over a weekend and total time start to finish was around 8 hours. It was still winter and there was a large snowstorm the week when I did the job so I had to space it out over two days. Disassembling the engine down to the belt and reassembling it after is pretty straightforward if you've done any work on your 4.7 previously. I spent the most time installing the new belt and making sure the timing was correct. Overall its definitely a very involved job with a lot of labor and parts to keep track of but is definitely something that you can DIY if you take time to research the FSM and watch videos of how to do it. Taking extra time to label and organize all the parts you remove makes reassembly easy. I used a combination of ziploc bags, tape for labels, paint markers, and boxes for organization of parts. A whiteboard and taking lots of photos also helps. With better daylight and warmer weather could do this job in a day.
I would encourage people who are building out their gx470s to go offroading to try and fix maintenance items like this on their own. Its important for you to understand how the things on your truck work so that if you have a failure somewhere remote you can make a logical assessment and hopefully be able to fix it without being stranded. Its probably unlikely your water pump fails in the woods but if you can do this job you should be able to replace anything on the front end of the engine. You will also save a significant amount of money. It cost me around $600 for the TB/WP kit, thermostat and o rings, extra stuff i ordered to make organizing easier, and for a few special tools. I spent around $200 dollars on tools so if I do the job again it will be less expensive.
Use Case:
Daily driver that I can take out on weekends or days off to go offroading, fishing, hunting, occasional camping, and snowboarding. Since I do not live out of my rig for multiple days at a time my opinions about certain modifications are probably different than people who are more into "overlanding" type stuff ( ie I dont need a tent or a fridge because im rarely camping or going somewhere long enough to need more than a small cooler).
Most of my friends do not have 4x4 vehicles so if I go camping with them it will be on a backpacking trip or somewhere an awd crossover could access. Because of this Ive based my modifications and opinons about things moslty around being good for taking day trips to either go off-road or to do one of my hobbies. I've found the gx to be a great vehicle for a general outdoor enthusiast. Maybe its not the best offroader you could buy but its great for getting out in all conditions and enjoying yourself. My girlfriend drives a honda civic and she can only do a fraction of the things I am able to do in the CO mountains.
Key Takeaways
- Overall GX470 is reliable but don't be fooled; maintenance for a 20 year old truck is expensive. If you want to go offroading a lot you're gonna spend more on maintenance.
- Due to cost of maintenance its a necessity to diy as much as possible unless you have a lot of disposable income. 2003 GX is very easy to work on since its simple
- Weight is your enemy keep your gx as light as possible. IMO being lightweight and nimble is better than having every accessory possible
- Prioritize modifications that increase your offroad performance (good suspension, tires, basic armor, gears, winch, etc)
- Creating the most ground clearance possible is huge since gx sits so low from the factory
- Avoid things that are purely aesthetic or for insta clout (roof racks, roof tents, $1000 drawers, etc)
- Ignore gas mileage. GX470 gets awful mpg and if you are concerned about it you will be perpetually sad
- Be realistic with your expectations of your GX470s offroad capabilities. they are capable but they are not like an old land cruiser or a jeep rubicon. Nothing wrong with starting basic before you put a bunch of money into gx mods
- Spend lots of time to research and decide if you really need something before you buy it
- invest in nicer suspension off the bat
- Get bigger tires from the start
- skip the roof rack
- rock sliders and skid plates by far my most useful purchases
- cheap 4runner wheels - strong and so cheap it didnt matter if i scratched them
- winch - great for confidence when trying harder obstacles or going alone
- flowmaster exhaust- doesn't do much performance wise but sounds good and gives extra clearance removing the resonator
- 35x10.5r17 tires
- supporting modifications for the bigger tires
- eventually would like to regear and add rear locker
- when my current suspension wears out I will switch brands and upgrade to reservoir shocks
- fix my blown speakers
Falken wildpeak LT265/70R17
- They are a good size for someone who is just getting into it and doesn't want to cut a bunch of stuff to fit. Honestly you can go a lot of places with a lift, skid plates, rock sliders and this size tire with good line choice and willingness to scrape some stuff. I took my gx through trails that said 33" tire minimum multiple times and on tons of popular trails in Colorado, I've seen other people say the same. Having a bigger tire would just make some stuff easier. I thought the falkens were good but not great tires. Decent on the road, decent in snow. Initially had great grip off-road, after about 15,000 miles they started to lose grip and after 20,000 miles I noticed a pretty significant loss in grip offroad. Driving the same trails/obstacles as I had before wheels were slipping a lot more. My friend who tags along with me also noticed the degradation of tire performance. To be fair I did a lot of offroad driving so its expected they would wear out faster. Based off all the hype they were getting when I bought them and how much I see people hyping them up still I expected more out of the tires. Based on my experience im not gonna buy another set and my friend who comes along with doesn't seem inclined to buy a set for his new tacoma either.
Suspension
Dobinson IMS
-If you're gonna spend a lot of money on your GX I think this is one of the places to do it. Buy the nicest suspension you can within your budget and also consider some options besides the dobinsons, ironman type stuff that gets pushed so heavily on GXOR. I noticed that on the GXOR facebook page the Dobinson stuff basically gets shoved down your throat. Thus a lot of the people are getting that and act like you're crazy if you suggest something else. I've also noticed that a lot of the people with more built out gx470s are running other more high tier suspensions brands. I actually haven't had any issues with my dobs suspension so I don't want to make it seem like I'm talking down on them. I just wish I would have spent more time researching and looking at all the available options. I was in a hurry to fix my suspension since my strut had snapped in half. Being new to the gx world I hopped on GXOR and since there is an overwhelming amount of dobinson suspension there thats what iI ended up with.
My 3 year opinion of the IMS is its a reliable mid tier suspension option that's probably comparable performance wise to the other setups in the same price range. Youre not getting any groundbreaking tech or ride quality. Its simple and gets the job done with minimal maintenance which is the main benefit. ride wise Its stiffer than stock on the highway, doesn't handle large bumps well but does okay with smaller stuff. Off-road ride is pretty smooth with slower speeds over moderate bumps. Its not good on high speed whoop type stuff or if you hit a large bump or rock which is to be expected in this kind of shock imo since it has no adjustability. When these wear out I will jump ship to another brand with external reservoir like king fox, radflo, elka etc. Or ive been eyeing the bilstein 8112.
SPC UCA
Useful for the additional alignment options. Been seeing people have issues with theirs lately but mine have been fine of 28k miles
Armor
ARB skid plates
- seen a lot of people talk s*** about these but they saved my truck from catastrophic damage multiple times. Obviously they are not as thick as other offerings but they still work and IMO provide better protection than factory mainly to the transmission. They are also a lot lighter than other options which I view as a positive. I don't think its worth it for me to invest in a second set of skids yet but if you're new in the market and are gonna do heavy crawling buying thicker skids wouldn't hurt either. I think for what a lot of GX owners realistically do the ARB skids are fine
RSG angled rock slider
- Possibly my best GX purchase. Used them tons of times either pivoting around rocks or just accidentally hitting stuff while offroading. Held up well to abuse and have paid for themeslves. I think if you want to take a GX470 offroading with tires on the smaller side rock slider and skid plates are a necessity.
Rear bumper cover delete
- Over a year of offroading with the bumper cover deleted and just the crash bar and I still think its the best option clearance wise. Running just the crash bar with high clearance hitch has solved almost all of my departure angle issues and I barely scrape even with undersized tires. Im not sold on the heavy steel bumpers, if you need a steel bumper I think the lowkey custom single tubes are a better option> Rear bumpers are exensive, heavy, and there are alternatives for carrying a spare. Looks are subjective but i think most of the rear bumpers are ugly. I think there is more use case for the front bumpers but still not sure if I will ever get one since I'm aiming to keep weight low. Might have a better idea if I want one once I upgrade to bigger tires. I just feel hesitant because ive been seeing a good amount of people posting about how they didnt think the steel bumpers were worth it long term.
Hidden winch
Worth it for the peace of mind and self recovery ability. Only had to use it a few times to help other people so far but was nice to have. Had a few situations where I was solo and almost had to pull winch. Each time I was able to back up or take a different line to maneuver out of the situation but I could've easily slipped or gotten stuck and had to winch.
Drawer system
IMO the drawers are only worth it if you are able to make a set yourself for a low cost or acquire them for cheap. Also important to decide how you want to use your trunk space because they take up a lot of it. If you want to put a spare tire on the trunk or need to use it for moving stuff a lot drawers would be annoying. I found the pull out table to be very useful for my fly fishing trips when i want to put my stuff out to set my rod up or eat a sandwich for lunch.
Sherpa Roof Rack
Don't really think it was worth it for anything besides the looks with my use case. I thought I would put wayyyy more stuff up there than I do. I used it to move some stuff that wouldnt fit in the trunk around town a few times. For offroad its served me almost no purpose. The only things I've put up there are a shovel and traction boards which could've gone on the factory rack. I started putting the boards in the trunk strapped to my drawers cause its easier. Im short so messing with the stuff on the tall roof of the GX is a major PITA, I didn't realize this til after i got the rack and starting trying to put stuff on it. If youre someone who straps a bunch of stuff on the roof and a tent it would be good for you. IMO its a better strategy to look at all your gear and eliminate things you dont absolutely need so that you can just fit stuff inside the trunk instead of putting a bunch of junk on the roof.
5th gen calipers and rotors
worth it for the small increase in braking ability. Do it when your original calipers seize up
Maintenance
The only major maintenance item I had to perform in 2022 was changing my timing belt and water pump. at 200k miles. The old pump lasted around 75k miles but I am not sure if was an OEM quality replacement. The first indication I had of the issue was when I found the coolant overflow reservoir empty during routine engine bay inspection. Shortly after I found coolant leaking around the ac condenser/oil filter area and down onto the driver side tie rods etc. It only took a week or two after I found the leak for it to progress to the point where it was leaving sizeable amounts of coolant on my driveway. I used the aisin TB/WP kit and a toyota thermostat and o ring/ fipg. I also used a special tool for holding the pulleys and a harmonic balancer removal tool.
I did the job myself in my driveway over a weekend and total time start to finish was around 8 hours. It was still winter and there was a large snowstorm the week when I did the job so I had to space it out over two days. Disassembling the engine down to the belt and reassembling it after is pretty straightforward if you've done any work on your 4.7 previously. I spent the most time installing the new belt and making sure the timing was correct. Overall its definitely a very involved job with a lot of labor and parts to keep track of but is definitely something that you can DIY if you take time to research the FSM and watch videos of how to do it. Taking extra time to label and organize all the parts you remove makes reassembly easy. I used a combination of ziploc bags, tape for labels, paint markers, and boxes for organization of parts. A whiteboard and taking lots of photos also helps. With better daylight and warmer weather could do this job in a day.
I would encourage people who are building out their gx470s to go offroading to try and fix maintenance items like this on their own. Its important for you to understand how the things on your truck work so that if you have a failure somewhere remote you can make a logical assessment and hopefully be able to fix it without being stranded. Its probably unlikely your water pump fails in the woods but if you can do this job you should be able to replace anything on the front end of the engine. You will also save a significant amount of money. It cost me around $600 for the TB/WP kit, thermostat and o rings, extra stuff i ordered to make organizing easier, and for a few special tools. I spent around $200 dollars on tools so if I do the job again it will be less expensive.
- Thread starter
- #23
To continue off my last post my plan for 2023 is to put the gx on 35x10.5r17 tires. My original plan was just to put the 4runner wheels on spacers. I decided to give these 0 offset alpha equipt wheels a shot since they were on sale.
- Thread starter
- #24
Mounted the wheels with the 265/70/17 since I don’t have much space to store them. Have some projects I need to knock out before 35s so will be awhile til its time to put them on
