Ali SC3

iTrader: (10)

Stopped in Winter Park area for lunch on the way back from a camping trip @ Lake Granby.
GX went up and down the mountains like it was made for it, had it loaded up with a bunch of gear too.

ScatAdams

Bump! Love this gx, any updates? I'm about to go with the same wheel and tire size this weekend!

Ali SC3

iTrader: (10)

Just saw this, Thanks Adams, Gx has been going strong, doing double duty right now.
Just removed the JBL stereo this last weekend and put in a double din with reverse cam bluetooth etc.. really made the car a whole lot more fun to me I can just get in and be streaming music with no wires now and I now can backup and see where I am going for once =)

wheels and tires are still doing good, might go back in for another balance and rotation soon, I dont think they got them perfect when they were new probably a combo of large tires and me asking for them to use the tape weights (for nice rims). I hate it when they put those large weights on the face of the rim, and didn't want that on my tundra wheels lol. you have some pics of your GX or a thread you started for it?

started up fixing the wifes 2004 again, hand is feeling a little better, check out my other thread "I think I broke a valve seat" for an update.

dnp

Can you post some photos of your headunit / backup camera installation? I'd really like to do this upgrade, but I'm curious about the way it will look in the dash.

Thanks!

Ali SC3

iTrader: (10)

Sure, these are the 2 I had taken.

First is with the stereo and the new bezel piece. It only replaces the part around the stereo, not the climate control etc.. like in the DIY thread found on this forum. you can get this bezel on amazon and they have 2 day shipping =)



Here is it installed in the car


rear view cam is on the rear license plate, was pretty straight forward, ran the reverse signal and cam wire down the passenger side of the car and into the rear hatch. used the reverse bulb light for power and the reverse signal wire. To run the wire to above the plate there are these 2 lights right above the license plate which are just press fitted in, and you can pop one out to run the wire from inside to outside and bolt the cam to the top of the license plate. there was just enough room to pop the light back in with the wire coming out the corner of it. Ill take a pic another time of that.

i also got the steering wheel controls working, which I had to look up the wires cause no one posted them here. you can find these on one of the 2 little plugs that are unused (normally 3 plugs go into oem stereo and you reuse the big one for the aftermarket stereo leaving the other 2 alone)


and you need a TYTO-01 to plug into the big plug.
I didn't need the SWI jack adapter thing for the steering wheel controls cause the headunit I bought has it built in. alot of new stereos are doing that these days.

dnp

That's a great looking setup. Which head unit did you choose? (I can't make out details in the photo)

ScatAdams

Good to hear! Really liking that double din conversion! Ah Winter Park is an awesome area, definitely ready for ski season...

I just started a build thread on ih8mud's 120 section if you want to see more of mine, here is what she is looking like right now;



Cheers!

Ali SC3

iTrader: (10)

Jensen VX7020, number 1 seller on amazon right now in double dins.
has bluetooth, all the stuff I wanted basically and very very reasonable on the price.
Also sound is better than what you would normally expect from them. sounds good with the JBL amp/components.

Thanks, it was one of those things I was planning from the start since I didn't get a nav model.
Winter park is becoming one of our favorite spots, a little further up and you have Grand lake and a couple other lakes, and also the hot sulpher springs.. very relaxing once you get past the sulpher smell.. it grows on you lol.

Very nice GX, like the hypersilver wheels with the white. looks great. Will check the build out over there.

Ali SC3

iTrader: (10)

another camping action shot. Can't believe I didn't snap a picture with my brothers 100 series landcruiser... will have to do an in town shoot.
If you guys are wondering why the side steps are still on, its because some of my family can't get in easily with the lift and tires, so they are on till I get the sliders I want.

LexRex

Just to add to what you've documented so well here - I can confirm that with a 1.5 inch spacer the bracket above can be re-used without much modification. When you use this kind of spacer, it means the shock body will be turned 180 degrees. The bracket is keyed to the shock, so when the shock gets turned the bracket is now facing the opposite direction. I just enlarged the keyed holed in the bracket so it would fit in its original orientation again, and then tightened the nut down well. Worked great.

I used the "Precision European Motorwerks" spacer that can be found on Amazon or eBay in several thicknesses.

Ali SC3

iTrader: (10)

thanks for the extra info, I didn't change the key on the bracket I just let it face the opposite direction, didn't seem to be bothering anything that way. I figured if I rekeyed or turned it the other way the dampening might be affected since its in relation to the shock, and car doesn't know the shock did a 180, but maybe it has a way of calibrating itself. so with the 1.5" lift the whole bracket would still bolt on top, very interesting.

How do you like the 1.5" lift, I was actually thinking I went a hair to tall and was debating going down to 1.5" or 2" just to not have as much caster and can lower the rear bags a hair, or if I go FJ springs in the rear I think the 2.5" in the front will be too much.

LexRex

Your write-up in this thread gave me the confidence to give the spacer a try. I thank you for that.

With no rear lift, 1.5" in the front levels it out perfectly without looking like a bro lift. Of course, the truck doesn't look "lifted" - just level.

The ride quality is 100% completely unchanged, and I'm very picky about that.

I still haven't had a chance to get an alignment yet, so the jury's still out on how much caster may be affected. Hopefully 1.5" won't hurt me too bad.

For $50 and about 3 hours for the swap, it's cheap and easy. New shocks are on the horizon, but this will tide me over while I debate my future suspension options.

Note that with the 1.5 inch spacer, you have to grind about 1/8" off your original mounting studs. 30 seconds with a Dremel - too easy.

Speaking of easy, with the spacer installed, those &*%$# little allen-head bolts that hold the shock module on are MUCH easier to access.

Ali SC3

iTrader: (10)

Thanks and glad you tried it and like it as well, I found the ride quality to be unchanged as well which many told me was impossible or not going to happen but I knew better cause no spring or shock ratios are changed this way.

so the 1.5" spacer levels it out pretty much, that is good to know I wanted to do a level lift on the other GX at some point. I think your alignment will be in spec, mine was all in spec except for caster which was just on the very edge, so with an inch less lift it should at be in range at least, which is another reason why I was thinking about going down to 2". with the caster where it is, it can be a little twitchy at highway speeds 65+ but still quite alright compared to my 85 pickup that would change lanes on you if you don't constantly correct (wandered all over the place). I could get upper a-arms but I don't want to get the cheaper kind cause I figure the oem ones are better quality, and the nice ones are super expensive, think I may just settle on a 2" lift in the end or leave it where it is.

grinding off the studs is easy for me I love using my grinder, good to know, thanks.
yeah those allen bolts are a total pain, I should have replaced them with hex bolts or something.
I use vice grips to get at them from the side, but yes they are terrible I wasted a good 30 minutes on that alone.

Not sure what my next mod will be at this point, might take it easy for a while and enjoy it more or less as it is unless some good deals on sliders come up that I can't refuse

Ali SC3

iTrader: (10)

I have been seriously debating 5 speed manual swapping my GX470, and have done the research and come to the conclusion that it is possible for me to complete a solid setup.

I just wanted to get some opinions to motivate me towards starting it as its a fair bit of work and part collection.
For all the manual trans guys out there would you think a 5 speed GX470 would be fun or a worthy project?

If I go forward it will be a R155F 5 speed from a newer gen tacoma with a Custom UZ to R series bellhousing, and I would be mating it to the stock transfer case to retain AWD. I really have always wanted an AWD manual truck and the only one that comes like that is an FJ cruiser and I dont want the FJ cruiser or the weak 6 speed it comes with. The R155f is bulletproof and could handle a supercharger down the line so for me its a no brainer. I just hope I can mate up the stock transfer case or a 6 speed FJ transfer case or some hybrid of the 2 because I want it to be AWD. normally those trans are rwd and then switch to locked 4x4, and I rather have AWD in my SUV so I will be making it happen one way or another even if I have to strip down a couple transfer cases to make it happen.

clutch pedal was going to be custom until I learnt there is a Prado that comes manual in a LHD config, wheras I thought all prado's were RHD, was totally wrong on that so I can order the assembly from Japan and it should fit like it was meant to be there. the rest is all pretty easy stuff. not 100% decided but pretty sure I will end up with this combo.

This is the prado pic that inspired me, I hope it inspires you guys as well

mswtoyota

DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can't wait to see conversion pics!