What have you done to your 100 Series this week? (21 Viewers)

[RAMf1]

So... I was inspired by the Night Vision “lights” in the lower grills on some of the Lexus LX470’s so I got this crazy idea of putting some nice lights in mine in the same spot. After some internet searching I decided that the Baja Designs Squadron Pros were the perfect fit. I cut the grills with a steak knife and made some 3/8” thick Acetal spacers and after lots of test fitting and measuring got them installed. It only took about six hours.... Now I gotta install the wiring harness... maybe tomorrow.

 

[FxFormat]

So... I was inspired by the Night Vision “lights” in the lower grills on some of the Lexus LX470’s so I got this crazy idea of putting some nice lights in mine in the same spot. After some internet searching I decided that the Baja Designs Squadron Pros were the perfect fit. I cut the grills with a steak knife and made some 3/8” thick Acetal spacers and after lots of test fitting and measuring got them installed. It only took about six hours.... Now I gotta install the wiring harness... maybe tomorrow.

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I'm running something similar in the same location but i'm using Diode Dynamics 6" light bar

It sits behind the grill and i didn't have to cut anything, i just use my OEM fog light's wiring to power them, the lights are stupid bright, i didn't even know something so little can put out so much light. They easily outshine my Morimoto Retrofits

 

[janz3n]

So... I was inspired by the Night Vision “lights” in the lower grills on some of the Lexus LX470’s so I got this crazy idea of putting some nice lights in mine in the same spot. After some internet searching I decided that the Baja Designs Squadron Pros were the perfect fit. I cut the grills with a steak knife and made some 3/8” thick Acetal spacers and after lots of test fitting and measuring got them installed. It only took about six hours.... Now I gotta install the wiring harness... maybe tomorrow.

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This is awesome! I just ordered some Diode Dynamics Fogs to try and do this same thing.. Now I know. sorta. Nice job

 

[Hoserock]

I just picked up my lx last weekend. Took it to get a full inspection the following day, put new discs, flushed trans, both CVs replaced, oil change, repacked bearings, flushed power steering, and other random preventative things here and there.

It had 8 year old tires that were shot, so I put some 285/75/16s yesterday. They scrubbed slightly on the passenger side inner fender when cutting the wheel in reverse, but it looked like it was more or so because of the inner fender liner that poked out a bit more on the right. It also seemed to sit a slight bit lower on the passengers side so I adjusted the torsion bars two rotations on the passenger side and one rotation on the driver's side. Each sided ended up measuring up equally from fender to hub.

I ended up removing the running boards, and I already like the look a lot more, though I did already find myself getting use to using the running boards, so there was one or two missteps getting in.

It already had AHC delete by previous owner; however, the AHC "off" light was blinking, so I removed the AHC ecu plugs, and it's good to go.

My CDL light (and the vsc/trac lights) stopped coming on randomly, but I sat there for about 10 minutes locking and unlocking, and also unplugged and cleaned the cdl switch plug, and it seems to be good to go. (It seems the previous owner just never used the CDL)

Fixed an annoying squeak from the rear drivers side door (ended up just being a screw under the control panel the needed a couple more turns).

Fixed and ordered the rear window washer, which was non existent. It seems the prior owner removed it to diagnose why it wasn't working. Turns out the line in the engine bay had worn and was spraying out.

Things I'll be doing in the future....

getting a mild lift 1.5-2" max (I've yet to decide which brand to go with, so any input is appreciated). I have a farm with mildly rough terrain I'll occasionally drive through, but will mainly be used for occasional camping/OL and highway driving. The main purpose for the suspension upgrade is because it unfortunately came with the wonderful strut master conversion. I will say, it rides pretty well on the highway, but I drove around in my backyard through some bumps and I'm certainly not impressed (and of course they don't have the best reputation, according to other forum posts).

I could also use new UCA ball joints, I'll likely do those at the same time I install the lift/torsion bars. I'll probably buy the full UCA (any suggested brands?).


I'll likely be getting some oem mudflaps for the front.

The sunroof seems to be leaking a bit, after a hard rain the last day or two, as I had a small puddle in the passengers seat. I did clean out the drains, and the seal itself seems solid with no apparent cuts or pinholes, so I'm somewhat confused to where the leak is coming from. I'm really hoping it's not the seal.

I have a DVD nav unit on its way that should be here Monday, mine has the "no disk detected" error, and I've already taken the unit out, tried cleaning it, and had no luck. I also took the nav disk from my mother's ES 300 (same dvd nav unit part number) and it still failed to read that disk. Hopefully the new one will fix the situation.

May paint or plastidip wheels? Idk


Conclusion:

So far, I love this thing (knock on wood). I'll appreciate any guidance or constructive criticism towards my future build/plans. I did have a 92 xj for a while, and a 64 cj5, but they were almost purely farm trucks, so highway safety and drivability wasnt a huge concern. I will say though, I've crept around on this forum for several months looking for advice in buying my 100, and doing the few things I've done, and it's been an incredible help, so thank you. My post is somewhat erratic, but maybe the things I discuss may also help future owners. Also, I'm not use to this forum layout, so if I'm posting this incorrectly, let me know. It seemed the "what have you done to your lc today" was applicable.

Anyways, happy cruisin! (That's a thing right?)

(Pic is just a little before and after)

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Hey, did you still notice rubbing after you took off the steps? I’m running Method 17’s on falken 285 and after hammering in the pinch welds and taking a heat gun to the liner I still get a little rub in reverse when turned right.

 

[Mojayjayjay]

Hey, did you still notice rubbing after you took off the steps? I’m running Method 17’s on falken 285 and after hammering in the pinch welds and taking a heat gun to the liner I still get a little rub in reverse when turned right.

The steps didn't really have much of an impact. The part that was getting rubbed on is the (seemingly random, yet I'm sure purposeful) bulbous piece of the fender liner. It hasn't rubbed since, but I'll probably try massaging it back a little more later on.

 

[ClassyJalopy]

I'm running something similar in the same location but i'm using Diode Dynamics 6" light bar

It sits behind the grill and i didn't have to cut anything, i just use my OEM fog light's wiring to power them, the lights are stupid bright, i didn't even know something so little can put out so much light. They easily outshine my Morimoto Retrofits

That's really interesting, my Morimoto retrofits outshine even my high beams and the cheapo 9" inch round led lights. If these Diode Dynamics are outshine good even the HIDs than I am impressed!

 

[shtbrwn86]

I'm running something similar in the same location but i'm using Diode Dynamics 6" light bar

It sits behind the grill and i didn't have to cut anything, i just use my OEM fog light's wiring to power them, the lights are stupid bright, i didn't even know something so little can put out so much light. They easily outshine my Morimoto Retrofits

Don you have some pictures? What year is your LX? And did you just move your wiring from the factory fogs to the new lights? Or did you come up with a way to keep the OEM fogs and new leds powered on together?

 

[VinylSeats]

Installed my @Victory 4x4 front and rear bumpers this weekend. I love the way they look!

However, I had numerous issues with the rear bumper install that I detail in the post on my build thread. I am emailing Victory this morning to see how they plan to make the situation right. I will update this post as I work with them.

Update:
I have been working with Victory over the last month to address this issue with the rear bumper. Victory has been very responsive and offered to make me a completely new bumper. In the end, I asked them to provide a load plate that will sit on top of the misaligned holes of the first bumper they sent so I can drill through the original plate to make the factory holes accessible, then sandwich the load plate and original plate section into the factory holes. I have not yet done this but will soon. Victory is also providing me some additional products to make up for the inconvenience. In the end, I am still frustrated by the situation but do sincerely appreciate Victory's response.

 

[FxFormat]

Don you have some pictures? What year is your LX? And did you just move your wiring from the factory fogs to the new lights? Or did you come up with a way to keep the OEM fogs and new leds powered on together?

I dont have any nighttime pics for now but i'll try to get some soon, but these little lights are the brighest slim lights i've ever seen, and i mess with lights all the time. From junk eBay to expensive LEDs to overpriced ones like Baja...these lights are the perfect combo of price, performance, and looks. They're slim, i mounted it to my crash bar behind the bumper and aimed them as to not blind oncoming traffic.

As far as powering them, i just use the wires from my factory fogs to power them, if you want to, you can power the DD lights and fogs using the same harness if you've also got LED bulbs in your fogs. The DD lights draw 26 watts and im assuming your LED fog bulbs draw way less than that. You factory wireness can more than handle the two lights.

 

[FxFormat]

That's really interesting, my Morimoto retrofits outshine even my high beams and the cheapo 9" inch round led lights. If these Diode Dynamics are outshine good even the HIDs than I am impressed!

I got the idea from this thread, i was skeptical at first as my retrofits are pretty damn bright, but damn, these bad boys add to the punch, and when you turn them off, it's like you're running on regular halogen headlights again.

LX470 corner light mod to accept larger turn signal socket 90075-99106

I recently converted the corner lights on my LX to dual-function turn/marker lights. I used the excellent writeup by prwillard2 which was spot on: LX470 corner light to turn signal conversion Instead of buying new LC corner lamps, I decided to modify my LX lamps to accept the larger bulb...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[JunkCrzr89]

However, I had numerous issues with the rear bumper install that I detail in the post on my build thread. I am emailing Victory this morning to see how they plan to make the situation right. I will update this post as I work with them.

Fn Jeep Guys You’re not alone - they told this guy to loosen the body mounts and unbolt the core support so that the front bumper wouldn’t smash his fender all to $hit:
Thread 'Aftermarket bumper install ?'
Aftermarket bumper install ? - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/aftermarket-bumper-install.1241756/

 

[shtbrwn86]

I dont have any nighttime pics for now but i'll try to get some soon, but these little lights are the brighest slim lights i've ever seen, and i mess with lights all the time. From junk eBay to expensive LEDs to overpriced ones like Baja...these lights are the perfect combo of price, performance, and looks. They're slim, i mounted it to my crash bar behind the bumper and aimed them as to not blind oncoming traffic.

As far as powering them, i just use the wires from my factory fogs to power them, if you want to, you can power the DD lights and fogs using the same harness if you've also got LED bulbs in your fogs. The DD lights draw 26 watts and im assuming your LED fog bulbs draw way less than that. You factory wireness can more than handle the two lights.

That looks awesome! I have a 99 so slightly different bumper inserts, but looks like they would still work. How did you mount them though? Looks like the brackets they came with would put them up too high, and they’d be right behind a horizontal piece of plastic? It’s almost like you would need to drill a hole lower down in the brackets to mount it under the plastic strip.

 

[RAMf1]

This is awesome! I just ordered some Diode Dynamics Fogs to try and do this same thing.. Now I know. sorta. Nice job

I really liked the Diode Dynamics but their SS3 pods measured out a hair too big. I actually printed out the drawings at full scale, cut them out, and held them up to the LX to determine fit. You can see that the DD are about a 1/4” bigger than the BD.

I really liked the look of the lights on the LX with the heads-up display and I figured if Lexus put them out there they wouldn’t block any necessarily airflow. I figured lights in other locations would block some air.

The grill cut really easily with a sharp serrated knife.

I had to use a 1x1 square aluminum tube as an extension for the longest wrench I had. I taped the bolt to the wrench and carefully slipped it through the 3/8” hole I drilled in the metal bumper beam.

I used a level to get them straight and lined up before I tightened the nuts and bolts. They are inaccessible after the bumper is reinstalled.

 

[FxFormat]

That looks awesome! I have a 99 so slightly different bumper inserts, but looks like they would still work. How did you mount them though? Looks like the brackets they came with would put them up too high, and they’d be right behind a horizontal piece of plastic? It’s almost like you would need to drill a hole lower down in the brackets to mount it under the plastic strip.

Not sure how the 99 bumpers are but mine was the perfect height to have it sitting right under the horizontal grill bars. Almost as if these lights are designed for our trucks. I drilled into the aluminum crash bar to hold the bracket, it's not going anywhere.

 

[100d ua]

We had a bizarre ice storm up here in the PNW. While this borderlines "picture thread" content I do get to share my new ditch light setup lol.
The ice was so bad it took down nearly every tree in town and the power with it. We lost power for 3 days, so on the first night we went exploring in the pitch black which gave me a great excuse to test out the new ditch lights (awesome!).

We decided the second night to leave our Siberian cold home and stay with a friend for 2 nights until the power came on. Ironically, we left our homes ice storm for their homes snowstorm. Up to 10+ inches. It was a blast, the Land Cruiser did not disappoint in the long, dark, freezing rain to snow drive.

 

[bdobyns]

Replaced 2860 springs, roughly 22" from center of wheel to fender, empty, same as the front, for the 2864 springs, now back to about 23" and about 22" in the front, empty. When loaded, my rear was down to about 21 1/2". Both springs are the same height, the 64's are just a bigger diameter. A bit more stiff but having driven 3/4 and 1 ton trucks all my life, the Landcruiser is still plenty smooth. Also painted rotors and calibers while the wheels were off. Next week, remove roof rack and repaint...and no, i am not getting it powder coated, $300 vs paint is too great.

 

[AK Wes]

Getting my Bump It Offroad front bumper fixed up after a little front end damage and decided to modify it by adding some Rigid light pods on each side. I'll post up some pics after the fab shop is finished and I get everything mounted and painted.

You can see the old steel they cut-out from the bumper in the upper right of the pic..... It was in rough shape.

 

[Montymitch]

I poked around to see what needs to be done. Air in the spare tire is good, though the rim is riddled with corrosion. I don’t feel like a tool spending money on new rims for my hoopty. I cleaned a bunch of gunk off the differential housing and will change the gear oil later this week. Chased down a leak that appears to be the hoses at the power steering reservoir, which is great because I thought it might be AHC or brakes. Turns out those lines were just directly underneath the res, so hopefully I can just replace the clamps with some fresh ones and call it a day.

 

[srvn4u]

Replaced 2860 springs, roughly 22" from center of wheel to fender, empty, same as the front, for the 2864 springs, now back to about 23" and about 22" in the front, empty. When loaded, my rear was down to about 21 1/2". Both springs are the same height, the 64's are just a bigger diameter. A bit more stiff but having driven 3/4 and 1 ton trucks all my life, the Landcruiser is still plenty smooth. Also painted rotors and calibers while the wheels were off. Next week, remove roof rack and repaint...and no, i am not getting it powder coated, $300 vs paint is too great.View attachment 2586339View attachment 2586342

What type/brand roof rack do you have?

 

[Pucker5]

Curious what’s the goin rate for a set of rock warrior trd wheels?