I started the process of replacing my suspension about a year ago. my 2003 GX470 had over 130,000 on the original suspension and I started having issues with the rear air suspension. At first I really didn't want to lift it much while replacing the suspension, so I went with Old Man Emu 895e springs for the rear that lifted 1", along with bilsteins. On the front used the stock springs with bilsteins on the 2nd notch from the bottom for 1" of lift. This was fine but the Old Man Emu springs are VERY stiff. much stiffer than I wanted for a daily driver. Unless loaded down with a few hundred pounds it would just crash over bumps.

So after putting up with this for months while trying to figure out something better, I finally settled on replacing the rear springs with Icon 2" lift springs and replaced the front with the Toytec/Eibach springs. I put the front springs on the bilsteins and left it on the 2nd notch from the bottom. This has resulted in a front lift of 2.5" over stock and the rear is 2" over stock. The ride is sooooo much better. It really soaks up the rough roads and of course rides great off road. The rear springs still handle the weight when I hook up my boat and doesn't sag much. I did notice that the softer rear springs pronounced the drivers side lean so I put in a single rear spacer on the driver side cut down to just under an inch.

With my 265/70/17 cooper ht tires that still have about half their tread, my measurements are 37" for the front and 38" for the rear. I am extremely happy with my results. Now just need to figure out what tire and what size I want to run when these are worn out.

Sorry for the crappy cell phone pic, but I think everyone has seen a lifted GX470 at this point. Just mainly wanted to share my results.

 

wademracer,

I have the same year GX with 130k miles and i have run into the exact same issue. I have very limited experience with working on cars so I have contacted a few different shops to try and figure out what all this swap would entail. My end goal is not a "lift" but i would not be opposed to a slightly higher ride for clearance. Ive read a lot of different threads on modifying the suspension and there is a lot of different ideas out there. Your solution is the most similar to what i was wanting to do. Can you go into a little more detail about the parts used and the ride you have achieved? Also any issues you encountered when making the swap? Thanks.

Eric