Outfitting GX460 with Prado Parts Challenging, Worth the Effort
Though Australian-made parts for Prado work well on GX460, differences are enough to merit mods, add unnecessary time.
The Lexus GX460 is one of the most perfect off-roading rigs around. Granted, most have yet to take the plunge into the great wide open to explore the world under them skies of blue. However, more and more fans finally realize what they have on their hands. Thus, out come the power tools and the aftermarket to give the luxury SUV a bit more off-road style and skill.
That said, it’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock and roll with your GX460, especially with parts made for the Toyota Prado. The husband-and-wife team of YouTube channel Lifestyle Overland experienced this first-hand with their Lexus while fitting it with a heavy-duty bumper from Australia.
Kaymar: Australian for Off-Road Bumpers
“There’s a lot of different ways you can outfit these Kaymar bumpers,” said Kevin. “What we’re going with is the dual jerry can holder. We’ve also got our spare-tire swing-out and the accessory pop-up light, along with a high-lift jack mount that we’re going to put on here, as well.”
This particular bumper offers the GX460 more clearance and functionality without a ton of heavy armor to weigh the whole thing down. All that needed to happen now was for the OEM bumper and exhaust tip (dirt and all) to come off. Alas, a Sawzall had to be called in to remove the tip. However, that would be nothing compared to having to drill holes in the new bumper to fit it onto the SUV’s frame.
A Small Difference Means More Work
“After a quick test fit, we were unable to obtain proper alignment of the wing support brackets,” Kevin said. “So, a bit of enlargement was needed, along with some fender washers for spacing. We’re not sure if this is due to the small differences in the Prado versus GX chassis, or the brackets themselves were just a touch off. But, we worked around it and passed this finding back to Kaymar America for review.”
Kevin adds that in any build, issues like this could crop up. However, it’s up to the manufacturers to do more work to ensure fitment of such parts is successful. Otherwise, a small difference could add “10 to 30%” to installation time. If that work is done in a shop, that also means more money spent on that part of the build.
Increasing Breathing Ability
“Next on the list was the Ironman 4×4 Snorkel install,” said Kevin. “It’s also one of the more nerve-wracking installations, when you consider a misplaced entry is going to need more than touch-up paint to fix. While this snorkel was designed for the Prado, the included templated seemed close enough for us to hit the mark.”
Through some cautious pre-drilling, the couple easily installed the snorkel despite the small differences between the GX460 and Prado. Combined with the bumper, this Lexus is more than ready to rock upon the rocky trails around the country.
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