Francis K

Nobody wants to buy the damn thing even though I'm letting it go dirt cheap and besides how it looks and that I've had it for so long there are very few SUV that can match it is so I've just about given up on selling it. I've had literally 10 different cars in the past 2 years and I always end up being back with the ole' LX450.

Well if I am going to keep it and use it as my luxury SUV I need to do something to give it a change, anything to get me excited about it (don't say TRD ).

I was thinking of slapping a grill guard and some brush guards on it. Since every guard on the market not named Jaos is basically for looks and I was just planning on buying some black ones off of ebay. My questions are how difficult are they to install and if anyone has any negative expierences with them


Any help or feedback would be appreciated, thank you.

Francis K

dougjohn

you mean one of those grill guards like the ones WAAG sells?
take a look at this thread before you go that route:
http://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=30954
You might reconsider.

Now...if you want a REAL bumper, check out the ones at www.sleeoffroad.com (no affiliation, just a happy customer). For about the same price you can get something that's very sturdy.

That said...if you're set on getting one, I can point you to a few people who have been trying to sell theirs.

Francis K

I'm not really looking for any off-road equipment, I was just looking to give the black pig a new look. I see that you own 2 LX450's, You obviously have one as your personal toy but the other one is your wife's. If you don't mind me asking, how long have you had it? Does yours eat breaks like their made of wood as well and have you fixed the clunk when you put it in gear, I think it may be either the motor mounts or control arm bushings. Although I am happy that lately I have been getting better gas mileage, I think I'm up to 9 or 10 miles a gallon now. I absolutely love the rig, I have never driven a better SUV and I have owned at least half of the SUV's on the market today in anticipation of replacing it, in Michigan weather it's almost essential to own a capable 4x4 vehicle. I have just had ot for too long, if I was using it for recreation it would be one thing but I'm a college student and it's not exactly an ideal car.


Either way, I always knew the guards not sold by Jaos or ARB were just for looks but I thought at worst in a minor collision they would ben the mounts they are on, not cause extra damage. I guess I'll have to look into it more deeply.


Thanks again for the reply,
Francis

Bryan858

iTrader: (1)

Hmm, are you selling it? I've actually been thinking about getting one for my 93 Land cruiser How much were you looking to get when you said "Dirt Cheap" if it is then I am very interested... Please give me a call at 858-610-9100 or PM me here or you can just e-mail me at machineshop858@hotmail.com... Thanks a lot buddy,... Bryan

dougjohn

Francis,
I realize the off-road look is not for everyone, and that's cool. You mentioned grill/brush guard -- these things are pseudo-off-road-look, IMHO; which is why I suggested the ARB front bumper. There are other front bumpers that don't look so "off-roady" which might work for you -- TJM makes a few.

What kind of look are you wanting to acheive? Maybe some larger rims? Not really my thing given the "spirit" of the vehicle, but I've seen a LX or two which looked very nice with 18" or 20" rims and low profile tires.

Yes, one of our LXs is my daily driver as well as being my off-road rig; the other one is the wife's. The only modification that the wife's has for now are LED lamps replacements for the dome lights (I got them from http://www.taskled.com/dome.html); I have the same lights in mine. Great lights...they put out much more light and have VERY little power draw.

Brakes can be a problem. It's a heavy vehicle and it requires a lot of stopping power. I know many people have used brake pads from 1998/1999 Land Cruisers -- these fit the FRONT ONLY on the LX 450 if you don't use the anti-squeel shim. These brake pads are larger than the LX 450 pads and last much longer. I personally use the Toyota pads (for the 1995-1997 Land Cruiser) which are the same as what Lexus would sell. Changing brake pads is extremely easy to do and takes 15 minutes (at most for me to do -- much of that time is spent removing and reinstalling the wheels.

The clunk you mention is considered normal. It's caused by a little driveline slop which is inherent in a full-time 4wd vehicle. Some are worse than others -- it's barely noticable in my wife's 450, mine's a little more noticable. So, I don't know if it's good news or not, but it's not the motor mounts nor control arm bushings...and aside from being a little annoying to some, it's not doing any damage.

9 or 10 mpg is pretty bad. I have a lot of stuff on mine and I get between 10 and 11 in the city and 14 on the highway. My wife's 450 averages 14 in the city and 17 on the highway. Maybe you need a tune up? Synthetic fluids help MPG a bit too. I'm running Mobil 1 in the engine.

It is a very capable vehicle. There really aren't many vehicles that can match the overall reliability and capability of the LX 450.

dougjohn

Bryan - no, Francis doesn't have a brush guard to sell. He's trying to sell is LX 450 for "dirt cheap". Hopefully I talked him out of getting a cheap POS "brush guard".

Francis -- what's your asking price? how many miles do you have on the odometer? No DIFF LOCKS correct?