Builds White LC200 OEM+ Build Documentation (1 Viewer)

[amitbh234]

Oil change to 5W-30, and planning brake system upgrade.

Recently replaced the engine oil and filter and switched to 5W-30 valvoline full synthetic restore and protect. The engine doesn’t seem to have a lot of varnish or buildup, looked pretty darn new inside when we did the valve cover gasket and spark plug seals but running this oil for the next 2-3k miles since a little bit of cleaning can’t hurt add saw good reviews online. Planning to do an oil analysis to see if I should stay with the 5W-30 weight.

Really like how the truck’s driving but want to upgrade the brake system a little to improve pedal feel and get a stronger bite. Next job will include brake upgrade, greasing the driveshaft.

Currently sourcing the parts but chose to go with the following:

Hawk LTS Brake pads front and rear. Was considering TRD pads but those are out of stock everywhere and then Stoptech 309s but going with the Hawks based on all the glowing review from much more experienced folks on this thread. Also not sure if others have noticed but the Toyota OEM pads didn’t come with any shims. When I went down to look I don’t see any shims behind the backing plates of my pads. Will make sure I have the shims and replace the hardware in this next brake upgrade.

Going with Stop-tech stainless steel lines. Was gonna go with the SDHQ lines but got a deal on a stop techs and they have good reviews on the forum.

 

[ryanCA]

curious how the brake turns out for you. many do the 16+ brakes on their old ride

your name reminds me of amitabh bachan. we grew up wacthing him

 

[amitbh234]

I am going the easier and less expensive route first before spending more money on the brake system. Plus the 16+ doesn’t seem to be just a direct replacement, I was also thinking of the brake bias changing and how that would affect the system.

For now, I’m going off of the good experience of other muddies in this forum like @Boston Mangler @Oregon LC and @KLF on the Hawk LTS pads on the countless threads I read in this topic. I’m going with the OEM rotors because they have less than 3k miles in them.

I actually decided to switch it up and go with slee brake lines instead of stoptechs. I’ve sort of lost faith in Stoptech after receiving some counterfeit and damaged pads. The slees were slightly more expensive but they seem so be well regarded in the forum and also slightly longer than stock so future proofing for the day I put on a mild lift - leaning towards the Bilstein 6112/5160 combo right now and waiting for a sale.

Detailed the car this past weekend after some off road adventuring up the Oregon coast and some OHV trails. The rig is mechanically and cosmetically dialed in. I’ll probably wait to eat through the tires that are there before doing a mild lift and switching out tires and wheels.

 

[Boston Mangler]

I am going the easier and less expensive route first before spending more money on the brake system. Plus the 16+ doesn’t seem to be just a direct replacement, I was also thinking of the brake bias changing and how that would affect the system.

For now, I’m going off of the good experience of other muddies in this forum like @Boston Mangler @Oregon LC and @KLF on the Hawk LTS pads on the countless threads I read in this topic. I’m going with the OEM rotors because they have less than 3k miles in them.

I actually decided to switch it up and go with slee brake lines instead of stoptechs. I’ve sort of lost faith in Stoptech after receiving some counterfeit and damaged pads. The slees were slightly more expensive but they seem so be well regarded in the forum and also slightly longer than stock so future proofing for the day I put on a mild lift - leaning towards the Bilstein 6112/5160 combo right now and waiting for a sale.

Detailed the car this past weekend after some off road adventuring up the Oregon coast and some OHV trails. The rig is mechanically and cosmetically dialed in. I’ll probably wait to eat through the tires that are there before doing a mild lift and switching out tires and wheels.

View attachment 3858821

Looking sharp! Love it!

#white200smatter

 

[amitbh234]

The installation of the sleek stainless steel brake lines and Hawk LTS brake pads complete. Lubed the drivetrain as well.

Brakes feel much firmer and bites a lot earlier. I’d say ~30% firmer. So far haven’t noticed any noise.

Finally took care of my only pet peeve with the car.

p.s the wife and I are expecting our first child

 

[ryanCA]

The installation of the sleek stainless steel brake lines and Hawk LTS brake pads complete. Lubed the drivetrain as well.

Brakes feel much firmer and bites a lot earlier. I’d say ~30% firmer. So far haven’t noticed any noise.

Finally took care of my only pet peeve with the car.

p.s the wife and I are expecting our first child

View attachment 3869819

congrats on the new baby

250 =

 

[amitbh234]

congrats on the new baby

250 =

Haha I searched and searched for a 200 baby RC car. Couldn’t find one.

Not a big fan of the new Landcruiser either. The new GX550 though I really like.

 

[ryanCA]

Haha I searched and searched for a 200 baby RC car. Couldn’t find one.

Not a big fan of the new Landcruiser either. The new GX550 though I really like.

Give your kid the 200 you have and buy a 16+ for you.

No need for a RC car.. for a real baby.. and don't sully their mind with a 250.. you have to teach them young


My kid almost got in a fist fight with a kid who said their GX460 is a LC in another country. My kid told them its a Prado and put them in their place.

My motto as a desi.. if a real LC is good for the Taliban and UN - good enough for me

 

[amitbh234]

Car is driving oh so smooth. The hawk brake pads do squeal a little bit and produce more dust up front then the OEM pads but the bite is so much better that I’m ok with the trade off.

Ordered sway OEM bar end links and sway bar bushings to get them replaced in two weeks.

Car is still driving near perfect. Was keeping an eye out on the sway bar end link bushings and noticed there are very small tears and I heard very mild clattering when going over small bumps in medium speed.

I hear that un-tightening the kdss valves are required for the job but not sure.

 

[amitbh234]

Just got my 6112/5160 bolstering shocks without the rear springs. Was in the fence in the types

curious how the brake turns out for you. many do the 16+ brakes on their old ride

your name reminds me of amitabh bachan. we grew up wacthing him

the brakes improved the pedal feel quite a bit. I have a slight squeal at slow speed braking that I can live with as a trade off. Now I don’t have to keep the brakes jammed hard to keep the rig stationary. Initial bite is improved greatly.

@ryanCA i was meaning to ask you how th compliance of your rear has been with the Bilstein standard springs and if you have the part number for the spring seperately? I hear people complaining about how much it sags when loaded but I rarely load up the car so heavy (unless we are rolling deep as a brown family for small road trips which is not frequent . I sourced the 6112/5160 kit without the springs and am contemplating between standard Bilstein springs or the OME 2721 in the back and thought I’d ask and @Boston Mangler for your input since you both went for the Bilstein shocks for your 200s.

Taking inspiration from @Boston Mangler and will probably do the front control arms and sway bar links and rear sway bar bushings at the same time. Looked at my rear control arm bushing (as much as I could given access) and can’t seem to see any glaring issues and want to control costs a little. I’m approaching 180k miles.

 

[Boston Mangler]

Just got my 6112/5160 bolstering shocks without the rear springs. Was in the fence in the types

the brakes improved the pedal feel quite a bit. I have a slight squeal at slow speed braking that I can live with as a trade off. Now I don’t have to keep the brakes jammed hard to keep the rig stationary. Initial bite is improved greatly.

@ryanCA i was meaning to ask you how th compliance of your rear has been with the Bilstein standard springs and if you have the part number for the spring seperately? I hear people complaining about how much it sags when loaded but I rarely load up the car so heavy (unless we are rolling deep as a brown family for small road trips which is not frequent . I sourced the 6112/5160 kit without the springs and am contemplating between standard Bilstein springs or the OME 2721 in the back and thought I’d ask and @Boston Mangler for your input since you both went for the Bilstein shocks for your 200s.

Taking inspiration from @Boston Mangler and will probably do the front control arms and sway bar links and rear sway bar bushings at the same time. Looked at my rear control arm bushing (as much as I could given access) and can’t seem to see any glaring issues and want to control costs a little. I’m approaching 180k miles.

Funny timing...

Now that i got my drawers, fridge, and some tools in, i went from perfect rake to almost level with the regular duty Bilstein springs

I have a set of OME in my garage that i got prior, just for this reason, and was going to make the same post as you asking the difference.

 

[amitbh234]

Funny timing...

Now that i got my drawers, fridge, and some tools in, i went from perfect rake to almost level with the regular duty Bilstein springs

I have a set of OME in my garage that i got prior, just for this reason, and was going to make the same post as you asking the difference.

Funny timing indeed.

I pulled the trigger on the Bilstein springs for the rear actually. Our build philosophies are pretty similar. Haha. I’d have offered to take the bilstein rears from you if you had made the decision to move to the omes. Since I’m not building an overlanding rig with drawers and fridges out back I’m not expecting to have heavy loads out back.

What tires are you running? 270/70/R18? May I ask why you chose to go the narrow tire route? I’m contemplating the same if I can fit a larger diameter tire with no rubbing. You getting rubbing by the kdss with your setup?

Decided not to do the control arms at this time though. Visual inspection shows good bushing health. i couldn’t gulp the added cost when I added parts and labor. My shop quoted additional 5 hours for the front control arms alone. No thanks!

 

[Boston Mangler]

Decided not to do the control arms at this time though. Visual inspection shows good bushing health. i couldn’t gulp the added cost when I added parts and labor. My shop quoted additional 5 hours for the front control arms alone. No thanks!

Regardless what they LOOK like, I can assure you those control are bushings are toast at 175k if they’re original

Yes the control arms are time consuming, but if you’re already taking them half off to do the Bilsteins, it literally doesn’t make sense NOT to do them.

My .02

 

[amitbh234]

Regardless what they LOOK like, I can assure you those control are bushings are toast at 175k if they’re original

Yes the control arms are time consuming, but if you’re already taking them half off to do the Bilsteins, it literally doesn’t make sense NOT to do them.

My .02

Thanks @Boston Mangler I do put a lot of weight in your 0.2c given your experience.

Were you able to get everything in alignment with new OE front upper and lower control arms? Trying to gauge if the Firestone guys will be able to get me in alignment with a mild 2in lift.

It’ on a cost an additional $1800 to replace the front with parts and labor but I’m contemplating potentially getting all OE arms or an aftermarket upper to help with alignment. I’m only planning to go to the 4th circle (~2.2inch lift up front). Looking at the Ironman 4x4 uppers since they use OE ball joints and rubber bushings but they seem to have mixed reviewed due to an early recall last year.

 

[amitbh234]

I’m currently in the process of procuring the parts needed for a large suspension overhaul and upgrade. This is by far one of the most costly and one of the final pieces of the puzzle to built the OEM+ version of the 200. I expect this to be one of the last few things other than tires which I’ll wait until my current ones shed their tread.

These are the following parts I’ve purchased for the overhaul and mild lift:
1. OEM front sway bar end links and bushings(front and back)
2. OEM front upper and lower control arms and all new hardware. Took advantage of the July fourth 20% off from Toyota Dacatur and Partsouq for all the hardware
3. Bilstein 6112/5160 front and rear shocks and springs. Went with the regular bolstering rears. Got a really nice deal from @OregonLC and learnt a lot from him. Planning to go to the fourth circlip on the front to get a ~2.2 in lift up front and 1.75in out back. Currently the fronts sit at 20in center hub to fender and the rears are at 21in.

Visually inspected the rear upper and lower arms and they look to be in really good condition still but will ask my mechanic to take a closer look during the suspension work.

The cost of parts alone are ~$2k. Labor for install expected to be ~$1200.

At this point I’ve put in close to $11k in maintenance and upgrades to bulletproof and future proof the rig which I hope to keep for a while. Funny thing is I haven’t even put 5k on the car since I bought it.

I’m hoping the bilsteins are as good as everyone says they are on the thread on this forum. I’m looking forward to a slightly more controlled ride daily and marginally better off road performance.

 

[amitbh234]

Here’s how the car currently sits! I have the rear seats.

 

[Boston Mangler]

I’m currently in the process of procuring the parts needed for a large suspension overhaul and upgrade. This is by far one of the most costly and one of the final pieces of the puzzle to built the OEM+ version of the 200. I expect this to be one of the last few things other than tires which I’ll wait until my current ones shed their tread.

These are the following parts I’ve purchased for the overhaul and mild lift:
1. OEM front sway bar end links and bushings(front and back)
2. OEM front upper and lower control arms and all new hardware. Took advantage of the July fourth 20% off from Toyota Dacatur and Partsouq for all the hardware
3. Bilstein 6112/5160 front and rear shocks and springs. Went with the regular bolstering rears. Got a really nice deal from @OregonLC and learnt a lot from him. Planning to go to the fourth circlip on the front to get a ~2.2 in lift up front and 1.75in out back. Currently the fronts sit at 20in center hub to fender and the rears are at 21in.

Visually inspected the rear upper and lower arms and they look to be in really good condition still but will ask my mechanic to take a closer look during the suspension work.

The cost of parts alone are ~$2k. Labor for install expected to be ~$1200.

At this point I’ve put in close to $11k in maintenance and upgrades to bulletproof and future proof the rig which I hope to keep for a while. Funny thing is I haven’t even put 5k on the car since I bought it.

I’m hoping the bilsteins are as good as everyone says they are on the thread on this forum. I’m looking forward to a slightly more controlled ride daily and marginally better off road performance.

Love that you’re taking what I call the proper path with this and doing important maintenance stuff as you go. Bravo sir!

One note: I went with THIRD clip on mine, with OEM upper arms and a very reputable alignment shop that did my alignment said it was good, but at the limit of the spec. So 4th clip might be a bit too much to get the alignment specs.

I know some folks claim they got it, but I’m skeptical of those claims honestly

My .02

 

[amitbh234]

You have a persuasive aura. I’m gonna go with the OEM UCAs and 3rd circle from the bottom. Ordered the shorty Dr kdss bracket for the pan hard.

Cost estimate for this project is going to be somewhere around $3400 (materials and labor).

@Boston Mangler You’ve spared no expense on parts for your build so far. Kudos to you!

Btw was gonna ask you to see if there’s a good diy guide to take the roof rack off and if there’s any danger to water entering the cabin with it off. With you living in socal this probably isn’t something you worry about but for a Oregonian it’s a big consideration haha.

 

[Boston Mangler]

You have a persuasive aura. I’m gonna go with the OEM UCAs and 3rd circle from the bottom. Ordered the shorty Dr kdss bracket for the pan hard.

Cost estimate for this project is going to be somewhere around $3400 (materials and labor).

@Boston Mangler You’ve spared no expense on parts for your build so far. Kudos to you!

Btw was gonna ask you to see if there’s a good diy guide to take the roof rack off and if there’s any danger to water entering the cabin with it off. With you living in socal this probably isn’t something you worry about but for a Oregonian it’s a big consideration haha.

Well.. Thanks..

But…. I’m very fortunate I’m able to do most of the labor myself, and if not, I have local friends that can assist when things are beyond my comfort/skill level. We have a good friend group here for wrenching and we all have different skill sets

All said and done, I still haven’t passed the $40k mark with this entire build/resto, that fits my needs, and basically I have a damn new truck that only needs a few more things

Honestly, I would not be able to afford all this if I had to pay to have it all done. I likely wouldn’t even have the truck. But everyone is in different situations with skills and $

As for the roof rack, I will try to dig it up, but there’s an OEM kit that’s available to remove it and somewhere on here there is a good write up.

 

[amitbh234]

Car is back from the shop today. This suspension overhaul was the biggest job to date and arguably the most expensive. Coming in a close to ~4.2k in parts and labor.

The following were installed:
1. 6112 Bilstein front struts at 3rd circlip from the bottom. Theoretical lift of 1.8inches
2. 5160 struts and standard load Bilstein springs. Theoretical lift 1.75inches.
3. New OEM upper control arms
4. New OEM lower control arms
5. Dr. KDSS bolt on Mangar’s correction bracket
6. New front sway bar end links
7. New front and rear sway bar bushings
8. New passenger inner and outer tie rod(this was a “while we’re in there thing” as the driver side was done a few months ago.
9. Fresh oil and filter changing.

The UCA ball joints were toast, so were the rear shocks, front shocks were ok but slight seapage noticed during uninstallarion. LCA bushings had also seen some better days. Glad I replaced the front control arms!

The only hiccup is that the vsc and psc error lights and abs lights are on but my shop told me it just needs to get recalibrated with techstream after the alignment. Sending the car to an alignment shop tomorrow morning.

I have been anxious over how the car was gonna ride with the bilstein setup. I knew the digressive valving was going to make slow speed bumps more noticeable. Happy to report that the car’s handling feels tighter and more controlled expecting it to only get better after the alignment. The nose dive is GONE, body roll at slow speeds are less pronounce. Shocks are perfectly damped, evident front how it recovers after speed bumps. At slow speed concrete expansion joints and road to driveway transitions are slightly more noticeable.

I hope the alignment and subsequent calibration is able to take care of the dash lights soon. Loving how it drives but even more so how it looks. This is the + in OEM+ for sure. Toyota should have designed the 200 with slightly better handling dynamics, these shocks for sure deliver that and better off road performance.

I’ll take hub to fender measurement and post before and after later. Now the only other item is to find some Falken Wildpeak AT3W in SL load rating. Will stick with 285/65/R18.