Build Zuninja's 2005 GX470 "Build"

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First of all, Survive a New Year!

Now that formalities have been taken care of, I had a couple weeks off for the holidays so I took care of a few things on Gloria in between hanging out with family (oldest son was home from school) and dodging the cold rain. I fabbed up this mount with some aluminum plate and a couple of steel brackets that tie to the firewall and the PS inner fender:
View attachment 4067347
And on that mount I installed this modded Smittybilt 2781:
View attachment 4067349
Those mods include a shortened output tube and shroud by ~1.5", a new steel bracket on the output (hence the aluminum paint), pressure switch, upgraded power wiring to 8 AWG, removal of the twist nut and some extra insulation on the wiring going into the compressor body. IYKYK
I had also noticed that my fairly new OEM replacement UCA ball joint boots had torn. Seems a 2" lift really is at the upper limits and the boots gave me the middle finger for my troubles. So I installed these UCA with greaseable ball joints that also added about 2* of caster and got her aligned:
View attachment 4067352
View attachment 4067357
I think I might have to dial the caster back a touch but for right now, she drives purdy good without contacting the splash guard or the body mount.
I also tossed in this inexpensive ceiling cargo net for future use to hold quick access odds and ends for whenever the rig is loaded up:
View attachment 4067359
Hit my limit for pictures. More to follow.
Where did you get this cargo net? That would come in handy for the ever expanding kids stuff that seems to migrate into the car.
 
Yo, Cuban engineering is on point. They keep 1950s cars running with MacGuyver like stuff.
Some even drive them across the water. Circa 2005:
050322_cubans_truck_hmed12p.jpg
 
Nice setup!

FYI, I've destroyed a few air gauges with my compressor. It has a 160 psi switch in it, so upon turn-on it has pushed the needle past the stop at 0 psi and affected the accuracy :). I've since switched to 120 psi gauges.
 
Nice setup!

FYI, I've destroyed a few air gauges with my compressor. It has a 160 psi switch in it, so upon turn-on it has pushed the needle past the stop at 0 psi and affected the accuracy :). I've since switched to 120 psi gauges.
The cutoff switch is 100 psi. I honestly forgot to take that into account. I'm ordering a new gauge to take the place of this one already. :bang:
 
The cutoff switch is 100 psi. I honestly forgot to take that into account. I'm ordering a new gauge to take the place of this one already. :bang:
It took me 3 gauges before I figured it out. My gauge is on my air hose whip, after the valve, so I can measure tire pressure. If I turn the valve on slowly, the 120 psi gauge doesn't see the full compressor 160 psi (as air is flowing into the tire). I'll put in a 100 psi switch next time I pull the compressor.
 
Time for an update on the ol' girl.

Last week, I dropped her off at my local Lexus dealer to get the timing belt job done. Yes, I could've done it myself but this is one job that I would rather pay my way out of it. Shopping around for a bit netted me about the same dollar amount in labor. Ultimately, I decided on Lexus doing it not only for the labor warranty but they gave me a loaner while they work on the rig. Three days of driving around in a 2026 RX450H+ really made me appreciate my old truck because that RX was a space ship in comparison.
Here's a screenshot of my spreadsheet with the services performed.
Screenshot 2026-03-16 101137.webp

With an unknown history after the 135k mark, I decided to also take care of the radiator and its accoutrement. Denso, of course. I'm planning on driving down to Tampa at the end of the month to hang out with my little nephew while his parents are in the hospital welcoming his new baby brother into the world. Last thing I need is an unknown aged radiator to pop in the boonies on the way down/ back up.

To button up the radiator install, I installed this ARB skid plate I picked up off FB marketplace:
PXL_20260315_184452808.webp

That is an ARB 5421110 skid plate for the GX460/ 5th gen 4Runner with KDSS. According to ARB, it is not compatible with the GX470 with KDSS. The reason it isn't compatible is the lack of spacers up front that come with the non-KDSS variant. I could not find any info on the length of spacers or bolts needed to use up front and had to gamble a bit. To anyone looking into these skids for their KDSS equipped 470, the spacers are 45mm long and the bolts are 65mm long.

Are there better skids out there? Sure but they're considerably heavier and overkill for my needs. At least for now.
 
An update on the timing belt/water pump job. After that last post, the truck over heated on my way home from work. Did my initial troubleshooting to include installing a new thermostat and burping the coolant with negative results. At this point, I suspected the water pump failed. It is an Aisin timing kit that was installed so that can't be the case, right?
I got the truck towed back to Lexus yesterday and was put into another loaner. This time a 2026 RX350 Premium. Less spaceship than the hybrid but still too new for my taste. The service manager called me up this morning to inform me the impeller on the pump had essentially exploded. Sent me a picture from the upper port showing it wasn't there anymore.
water pump.webp

Yup. The brand new Aisin pump (purchased from Rock Auto) has failed spectacularly within 200 miles of install. Good news is there was no mixing of fluids and I caught it in time. Bad news is the obvious.
Any ideas why this pump failed the way it did?

*Edit-added the picture I was sent.
 
I buy all my critical parts from dealerships because their parts come through official Toyota/Lexus supply chains. There is a possibility that counterfeit parts are being sold on Rock Auto, Amazon or any other "bargain" online retailer.
 
hopefully a one-off defect. That would be worrying if there are more cases. My dad's Tundra is running a RockAuto Aisin TB/WP kit and it's put on a few thousand miles since it was replaced. I have that kit as well that's waiting for my GX. I'll have to take a closer look at it to see if there is anything noticeable.
 
Agreed, crazy as well! I may rethink where I source my next pump. I've had great luck with Rock Auto as well for many years and put one of those kits on my buddy's Tundra.
 
Curious what RA will do about it. Free replacement at min I would hope. Wonder if they may cover some of the cost of install..
I haven't reached out just yet. Waiting to see what the service manager does.
Wow! I’ve done a dozen or more with these kits and never had an issue.

Agreed, crazy as well! I may rethink where I source my next pump. I've had great luck with Rock Auto as well for many years and put one of those kits on my buddy's Tundra.
Yup. I'm in that same camp of having used these kits in a ton of cars. I've searched high and low to see if I could find any other reports and couldn't find any at all aside from the fakes. Some REALLY old posts too.

At any rate, the service manager is doing what he can to make it right. He and the tech are FJ and GX470 owners, respectively, and use Rock Auto Aisin kits as well. With the way my luck has been the last couple years, of course this would happen to me. :rofl:
 
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