Builds Zzyzx85's 2007 GX470 (1 Viewer)

[zzyzx85]

Hello GXOR/IH8MUD!

I guess I should start a build journal here for my 2007 GX to document all the work I do to it.

I purchased this fine example on June 14, 2024 from a gentleman in Highland, CA for $13.8k after months of searching for the right one in the tough SoCal market. It has had 1 owner (2 in records but it was a familial transfer), dealer serviced, no rust, decent paint for SoCal (some clearcoat fading on the painted exterior pieces like the fender flares), and 151k miles.

Usage: Daily driving it up here in the AV where I work. Range trip vehicle (involves some light offroading). Road trips as our other cars (my 2003 M3 and her '15 CT200h) are smaller and don't have the room to stretch out and be comfortable compared to the GX. Maybe some light overlanding if I ever go that far.

Build:

• Suspension:
  • Front:
    • Bilstein 6112
    • Dirt King UCA and LCA
    • Mevotech steering tie rod ends (curious how these will go)
  • Rear:
    • Bilstein 5100
    • Icon rear coil conversion
    • Icon 2" lift rear springs (52700)
    • Moog rear trailing links
• Wheels/tires:
  • OE w/ 265/65-17
  • soon: FJC 8-holes with 255/70-17
• Lighting
  • Depo Sport head lamps with Lasfit LED bulbs
  • GX Base Camp fog lamp brackets with Auxbeam LED pods

We have a thing for UZs:

 

[zzyzx85]

1st upgrade: Adding Carplay/Android Auto

While I enjoy the old-school feel of the GX, I need a little bit of connectivity for the sake of convenience. After seeing some good review on Youtube and Facebook, I decided to pick up the CarpodGo unit.

Install was very easy. Switching between devices (ex. when the wife wants to listen to her music from her phone) is do-able but not always consistent.

Overall, very happy with this upgrade.

 

[zzyzx85]

6/22/2024 - tune-up, driver front cv axle replacement, and drivetrain fluid changes @ ~151.5k miles

Right after I bought it, my dad and I went over the records and started making a list of things to buy to bring it up to date on maintenance. Spark plugs, air filter, cabin air filter, and all the drivetrain fluids. For fluids, I bought Aisin WS fluid for the transmission and Supertech 75W-90 synthetic gear oil (flame suit on) for the front diff, transfer case, and rear diff. The engine oil was recently changed at 150k so that will wait.

Then I noticed a few days later that the driver side front cv axle boot was torn and leaking. It must have just happened as my father and I did not see it leaking before. Lucky me. Not a huge deal since we were planning on changing out the drivetrain fluids. Just another thing to add on the list while we were down there. I bought a new Napa premium axle (as well as a qt of oil to make the free shipping limit).

Spark plugs looked worn but nothing out of the ordinary. Not sure if they were original but they looked like they had been in there for quite a while. Engine and cabin air filters also looked like it hasn't been changed in a long time.

CV axle change out was "straightforward" according to my dad the former mechanic. He was able to change it out in about an hour. It was "not too bad".

Changing the fluids was "fun". The transmission fluid looked a bit dark but it was still red in color. A little over 3 qts came out and 3.5 qts went back in. The gear oil did not look too bad either. We had a pump to help with the refill but it was not cooperating (tube kept falling off inside the bottle, bottle opening was too small to screw it on, etc.). It took us about 2 hours to do all the fluids and we made a mess on the driveway.

It was a good father-and-son time and my dad's first time working on this platform, which I found interesting considering all his years as a mechanic.

My dad told me to leave the OE axle with him and to order a rebuild kit. Since he's retired, he has free time on his hands and said he could rebuild it when he was free. A few days after the rebuild kit arrived, he installed the new boot. Now I have a spare axle I can toss on in case I tear one.

 

[zzyzx85]

Fog light upgrade

Ever since moving to Palmcaster in 2021, we noticed the streets don't have the best lighting, especially on the 138.

Since the headlights were yellowed and starting to crack/craze, I bought a new set (saving that for a later post). I also came across GX Base Camp's fog light replacement brackets. I liked the idea of adding more lights in the existing fog light location, as well as using the factory fog light circuit.

After ordering a set of the brackets, off to Amazon I went for Auxbeam LED cubes, one set with combo lens and another set with flood lens. I also picked up a set of weather pack terminals, wire stripper/cutters, and a crimp tool. Since I didn't want to cut up the factory wiring harness, I bought 90980-11155 connectors to make a pigtail adapter.

Overall a huge improvement in light output.

New Depo sport headlamps. Saving these for a later post.

Auxbeam LED cubes

Auxbeams mounted on GX Base Camp brackets

adapter pigtails in progress

one pair in progress

 

[zzyzx85]

Fog light upgrade Part 2

soldered

Shrink taped

sleeved

installed

 

[zzyzx85]

Fog light upgrade, Part 3

 

[Mike NXP]

1st upgrade: Adding Carplay/Android Auto

While I enjoy the old-school feel of the GX, I need a little bit of connectivity for the sake of convenience. After seeing some good review on Youtube and Facebook, I decided to pick up the CarpodGo unit.

Install was very easy. Switching between devices (ex. when the wife wants to listen to her music from her phone) is do-able but not always consistent.

Overall, very happy with this upgrade.
View attachment 3675592

Have you got any more info on this CarpodGo unit ? How are you feeding the sound back into the OEM speakers?


What about your fog light upgrade, it looks like you're just using the factory supplied power and spliced into your fog lights, is that how most folks are doing it? I've always pulled power from the battery and would use the stock fog light connector just as a signal wire . Your solution seems easier of course.

 

[jdam]

I have only one question - may I ask why you chose the name of the road as your username? lol

 

[zzyzx85]

Have you got any more info on this CarpodGo unit ? How are you feeding the sound back into the OEM speakers?


What about your fog light upgrade, it looks like you're just using the factory supplied power and spliced into your fog lights, is that how most folks are doing it? I've always pulled power from the battery and would use the stock fog light connector just as a signal wire . Your solution seems easier of course.

The audio is fed to the stereo through the Aux port. So far, it's been great. Switching between CarPlay and Android Auto is a bit annoying (wife has an iPhone, I have an Android) but the sound and screen quality are excellent. It connects to my phone quickly when I turn on the GX and the screen is responsive.

Yes, I'm using the fog light circuit. The total amperage of the LEDs is less than the fuse of the circuit, so I figured it is fine in the long run. I thought it was more straightforward doing it my way vs. running another circuit. Just takes some wiring know-how to make the pigtail adapters.

I have only one question - may I ask why you chose the name of the road as your username? lol

I've traveled so many times on the I-15 between SoCal and Las Vegas and that exit always got my attention. So much so that one day, back when the internet was still young and I was registering for an email or AIM name or something, I decided to pick it as my nickname and it's stuck ever since lol.

 

[jdam]

The audio is fed to the speakers through the Aux port. So far, it's been great. Switching between CarPlay and Android Auto is a bit annoying (wife has an iPhone, I have an Android) but the sound and screen quality are excellent. It connects to my phone quickly when I turn on the GX and the screen is responsive.

Yes, I'm using the fog light circuit. The total amperage of the LEDs is less than the fuse of the circuit, so I figured it is fine in the long run. I thought it was more straightforward doing it my way vs. running another circuit. Just takes some wiring know-how to make the pigtail adapters.

I've traveled so many times on the I-15 between SoCal and Las Vegas and that exit always got my attention. So much so that one day, back when the internet was still young and I was registering for an email or AIM name or something, I decided to pick it as my nickname and it's stuck ever since lol.

I dated someone in Las Vegas for several years and did the same route a lot. I know almost every exit location and order of that particular stretch as well.

 

[Mike NXP]

The audio is fed to the speakers through the Aux port. So far, it's been great. Switching between CarPlay and Android Auto is a bit annoying (wife has an iPhone, I have an Android) but the sound and screen quality are excellent. It connects to my phone quickly when I turn on the GX and the screen is responsive.

Yes, I'm using the fog light circuit. The total amperage of the LEDs is less than the fuse of the circuit, so I figured it is fine in the long run. I thought it was more straightforward doing it my way vs. running another circuit. Just takes some wiring know-how to make the pigtail adapters.

I've traveled so many times on the I-15 between SoCal and Las Vegas and that exit always got my attention. So much so that one day, back when the internet was still young and I was registering for an email or AIM name or something, I decided to pick it as my nickname and it's stuck ever since lol.

Aux port ? Lucky duck, must be a feature on newer models

 

[zzyzx85]

Aux port ? Lucky duck, must be a feature on newer models

Yeah, it's one of the reasons why I sought out a 2007+ model.

 

[zzyzx85]

headlight upgrade

I debated sanding down and polishing the original lenses but upon closer inspection, I found some crazing so it probably wasn't worth it. So I purchased a set of DEPO Sport model headlight housings.

It took a few weekends to "upgrade" the headlight housings before I was ready to install them. I applied PPF to protect the lenses. It was tricky trying to get the film stretched to fit. Lots of bubbles and wrinkles around the edges. It's definitely a 10 footer lol. Hopefully the high desert heat will help with that.

For bulbs, I bought Lasfit LEDs for all the headlight bulbs. I think they make a great product. No flickering, no hyper flash, lots of useful output. I didn't get flashed at once so they work well with the GX's projectors.

The new headlights really help the GX look newer.

 

[zzyzx85]

Cleaned up the CarpodGo wires with some help of small zipties.

 

[zzyzx85]

Some friends from NorCal were in town so as usual we planned a trip to go to our friend's private range (WEGC for those who wonder).

Getting to this range involves crossing a short portion of Lytle Creek. I've made the crossing a couple times using my dad's 2006 Tundra but this would be the first time doing it in the GX. It was dry this time so it was an easy crossing but we've crossed it a few times when there was a good 1 foot or so of water flowing through it.

My friend took his $2k P38 Range Rover (yes, a running $2k Range Rover) to haul out the targets while I carried our friends and their gear.

Thankfully I didn't have to drag him back but after driving him around in my GX, he's already looking for his own.

 

[Timujin]

Congrats on the find and upgrades. Haven't been to WEGC in over a year. Way overdue.

 

[zzyzx85]

Scored a set of 5x FJ Cruiser or 4Runner Trail Teams 8 hole wheels. Came with some old 265/70-17 KO2s on them.

After our recent trip to Santa Barbara, I realized how tired the suspension really is. My plans are:

• front: Bilstein 6112 "standard" load (47-309975) with KYB top mounts
• rear: Bilstein 5100
• Icon 2" lift rear springs
• Icon rear coil spring conversion
• Energy Suspension coil spring isolators

teaser photo:

I'm planning on keeping some of the rake (there's usually about 75lbs of stuff in the back lol) but with the 2" lift springs plus whatever stack height is added on from the rear coil conversion and spring isolator, I wonder if I will need to lift the front more than 2" and need to get new UCAs.

Any advice or insight will gladly be appreciated.

 

[Rednexus]

IMO if you are going thru the effort to replace the front shocks/suspension, unless you are cash strapped, just go ahead and do the UCAs. It isn't going to hurt anything, it will just help your alignment, and they'll look great in the fenderwell. Labor Day weekend is coming up and you and you can probably score a set for 25% off somewhere. I've used Ironmans on my rig and JBAs on another. JBAs are usually less expensive and probably the cheapest decent UCAs you can get that use stock-style parts.

 

[zzyzx85]

IMO if you are going thru the effort to replace the front shocks/suspension, unless you are cash strapped, just go ahead and do the UCAs. It isn't going to hurt anything, it will just help your alignment, and they'll look great in the fenderwell. Labor Day weekend is coming up and you and you can probably score a set for 25% off somewhere. I've used Ironmans on my rig and JBAs on another. JBAs are usually less expensive and probably the cheapest decent UCAs you can get that use stock-style parts.

That's a good point, especially given the age of the truck. I'll keep an eye out for upcoming sales on UCAs.

How are the Ironman UCAs?

JBA UCAs seem to have a good reputation for longevity but I know some of it will be on my part to keep it lubricated regularly. I'm a little hesitant to try urethane bushings but the arms don't seem like the worst thing to remove and replace as needed.

 

[Rednexus]

I have the Ironmans. All of them were recently recalled for rips in ball joint boots. Ironman sent me a new pair for free, which I promptly sold on eBay for around $500. I then put new 555 ball joints in my old arms. They use stock-style replacement parts, which is really nice for future serviceability. That being said, there is no way I'd pay full $800 list price for them. Maybe you can find a replacement pair someone else is hocking on eBay (like I did), or a pair with the old ball joints used and just put in new 555 joints like I did.

Another option for the Ironmans would be to get a complete kit with coils/shocks/UCAs, on sale, though you might need to return your Bilsteins if you went that route. Ironman parts are a good deal as a bundled kit when they are on sale (which is often). As individual parts they are not a good deal, IMO.

The JBAs are a good-quality UBJ and M-USA instead of overseas like the Ironmans. I put them on my buddy's Tundra. However, I don't like the upper ball joint style. It uses a Chevy truck ball joint with an adapter bushing into the Toyota steering knuckle. The setup relies on a nylock nut as opposed to a cotter pin and castle nut like the OEM UBJs. I think it's at a higher risk of backing out than the cotter pin/castle nut, and I'm not sure why they chose that design. However, lots of people run them and like them. His Tundra rode just fine with urethane bushings, so that ended up being a non-issue.

IMO I'd pick based on who has the best deal next weekend and what color you want to see in your fenderwell.