same here!
gx470 touch-ups
- Thread starter nakman
- Start date
I got the little dot lights in the bumper working again, found a relay where the terminal had broken off, which explained why it was popping fuses. Wired the little marker lights for the new grill into the same circuit, so one switch does them all now. Another 10 minute job that takes 2 hours... 
I also retouched the black set of rims, and put some new tires on it. Went with the new Les Schwab this time over by 4 Noses, since we're all down on Discount anymore... they took a long time, but the kids who worked there all seemed pretty sincere, they were apologetic when they had to replace a TPMS with a bad valve stem, then another with a bad battery, then another with a bad battery... 4 total.
Serindipitous is this tire shop is equidistant between a Starbucks and a brewery, it was morning so I went for the coffee and safer drive home. Firestone Destination XT, 255 75 r17. The math says they should be .5" taller than what was on there, they look about the same to me, so far they seem to ride smooth and quiet, and I didn't get a single flat or get stuck on the way home from the tire shop.
Can't really see the lights in the daylight, but they're only borderline cool anyway so whatevs...
I'll touch up the center caps then pop them in this weekend sometime, then I think I'm done for a while now. I gotta get back to work!
I also retouched the black set of rims, and put some new tires on it. Went with the new Les Schwab this time over by 4 Noses, since we're all down on Discount anymore... they took a long time, but the kids who worked there all seemed pretty sincere, they were apologetic when they had to replace a TPMS with a bad valve stem, then another with a bad battery, then another with a bad battery... 4 total.
Serindipitous is this tire shop is equidistant between a Starbucks and a brewery, it was morning so I went for the coffee and safer drive home. Firestone Destination XT, 255 75 r17. The math says they should be .5" taller than what was on there, they look about the same to me, so far they seem to ride smooth and quiet, and I didn't get a single flat or get stuck on the way home from the tire shop.
Can't really see the lights in the daylight, but they're only borderline cool anyway so whatevs...
I'll touch up the center caps then pop them in this weekend sometime, then I think I'm done for a while now. I gotta get back to work!
And then this happened.... 
J Kimmel
Hard Core 4+
Wow that looks great I was going to suggest cutting the hood to fit bigger tires but no need now
time for a 3-year update... first is I reclaimed exclusivity of this car, with Gavin off to college now (no, he doesn't get a car). So I'm going to try to make it one notch cooler for a bit and take it back over. I had a good time with it this year at Cruise Moab, and again at COTR in Silverton, enough to convince myself on the way home I should keep the truck for a bit longer, and go ahead and invest in some more upgrades.
So the first big thing was swapping out the suspension. So many choices now, and I'm sure all of them ride better than the OME kit I had installed about 10 years ago. I decided to go with the Ironman 4x4 foam cell pro stuff... spent about a year asking everyone that came through my way with that lift what they thought of it- no complaints, a few raved about it, some it was their only lift ever... anyway enough data points to tell me it's probably not terrible. I'm also a dealer for Ironman, which means yeah my cost is less than retail, and it's already one of the cheaper lifts. I went with the Stage 4 kit, that comes with new rear control arms, new rear sway bar drops, a front sway bar drop/repositioner, and of course all new coil overs, shocks, springs, and upper control arms.
Here are the lift pics:
That netted me almost exactly 1" lift in back, and 2" in front... figure I had around a 1-2" lift before. Back springs are the "3" lift medium plus" Fronts are the 2.5" heavy load.
So the first big thing was swapping out the suspension. So many choices now, and I'm sure all of them ride better than the OME kit I had installed about 10 years ago. I decided to go with the Ironman 4x4 foam cell pro stuff... spent about a year asking everyone that came through my way with that lift what they thought of it- no complaints, a few raved about it, some it was their only lift ever... anyway enough data points to tell me it's probably not terrible. I'm also a dealer for Ironman, which means yeah my cost is less than retail, and it's already one of the cheaper lifts. I went with the Stage 4 kit, that comes with new rear control arms, new rear sway bar drops, a front sway bar drop/repositioner, and of course all new coil overs, shocks, springs, and upper control arms.
Here are the lift pics:
That netted me almost exactly 1" lift in back, and 2" in front... figure I had around a 1-2" lift before. Back springs are the "3" lift medium plus" Fronts are the 2.5" heavy load.
I knew I needed tires... so I revived one of several tire talk threads https://risingsun4x4club.org/xf/threads/tire-talk.34423/page-5 ultimately chose to go with my first instinct, Toyo Open Country all terrain, aka AT3's. Here are the pics:
Size is 255 80 r17, which is one notch taller than what I had on there before (255 75) and one notch smaller than what I had on there, before that (255 85). Hoping this is the right balance between cool looks and not as much performance loss.
Size is 255 80 r17, which is one notch taller than what I had on there before (255 75) and one notch smaller than what I had on there, before that (255 85). Hoping this is the right balance between cool looks and not as much performance loss.
Last year I installed a set of drawers from Overland Vehicle systems... not the best drawers, and they're a little tall, but lower cost and I wanted to try them out.
Here's what I think about the drawers, in video form...
View: https://youtu.be/oxuNHZg6ZXI?si=75rphUch-aifKtlS
Here's what I think about the drawers, in video form...
View: https://youtu.be/oxuNHZg6ZXI?si=75rphUch-aifKtlS
I also realize I didn't add the addition of new bumpers to this thread... so I guess 2 years ago I got new front & rear bumpers from Dissent Offroad and installed them. I'm really happy with both, particularly the back one. Here's a garage pic, along with the new tires...
If you watched the video on the drawers you saw how much of a pain they made using a normal fridge, as in I could just barely open the door halfway. So I've kinda been intrigued by the idea of a drawer fridge as an alternative, so earlier this year I bought one from Ironman4x4...
here's a video that explains what I think of the drawer fridge:
View: https://youtu.be/2DYa4cU0Cl4?si=wCJHAmP4LzVQ1Qkn
here's a video that explains what I think of the drawer fridge:
View: https://youtu.be/2DYa4cU0Cl4?si=wCJHAmP4LzVQ1Qkn
So today I finished out my sleeping platform... I'm headed back to the desert and want the ability to sleep inside the truck, like the rest of the cool kids. I somehow had some 1.5" aluminum angle around, so used that primarily as the support, tied it into the drawer, and added a big angle bracket for my side wing. I found some rubber diamond plate stuff at Home Depot for super cheap, so used that to wrap the main pieces... the big piece I cut about 11" off then added a piano hinge, that way I can put something big behind the front seat. When set up, I have a 6' x 2' area just enough for my uber cool air mattress..
My window trim was pretty trashed- rubber was peeling off the driver's side, the others were starting to tear. I decided to try a cheap replacement kit from Amazon
must say the fit is excellent- and being black instead of chrome is an added bonus. The kit is only for the 4 doors, not the 3rd row windows, so I plasti dipped those black to match. I think it looks pretty good now...
And then I converted a home depot bucket carrier into a rear door pocket, to replace the sagging net that was there before
I'm conflicted on the fold-down table thing.... I get that it would be nice to have a little table but I'm not sure what I'd use it for, and then it would restrict the other stuff I could potentially stash behind it. So no table for now.
must say the fit is excellent- and being black instead of chrome is an added bonus. The kit is only for the 4 doors, not the 3rd row windows, so I plasti dipped those black to match. I think it looks pretty good now...
And then I converted a home depot bucket carrier into a rear door pocket, to replace the sagging net that was there before
I'm conflicted on the fold-down table thing.... I get that it would be nice to have a little table but I'm not sure what I'd use it for, and then it would restrict the other stuff I could potentially stash behind it. So no table for now.
My sleeping platform worked great! no complaints... I pulled it out and put it in the shed, put the back seat in.
My front seat leather was ripped on both side bolsters, and lots of other scratches and stains from almost 20 years now of use... and of course dirty from camping. So time to swap it.
I got the swatch kit from Lseat.
the matches aren't all that close, and I had heard (read) that was going to be the case, so just pick the one you think will be least offensive. I decided to go with S0016 Ecru White, which I think is a better match for the GX460? This is what it looks like against my stock leather:
My front seat leather was ripped on both side bolsters, and lots of other scratches and stains from almost 20 years now of use... and of course dirty from camping. So time to swap it.
I got the swatch kit from Lseat.
the matches aren't all that close, and I had heard (read) that was going to be the case, so just pick the one you think will be least offensive. I decided to go with S0016 Ecru White, which I think is a better match for the GX460? This is what it looks like against my stock leather:
I forgot how terrible it is to install seat leather. My fingers hurt, and I kept getting blood on the new covers. The fit is a little loose IMO, but it all seems to fit. And it looks better, and smells nice.. also thanks to @CardinalFJ60 for letting me borrow his hog ring pliers.
The older plastic and rear storage pieces in the old color are now accents I guess.
Took me 9 hours to do both front seats, I'm hoping some of those wrinkles mellow out over time... but I swear I pulled it as tight as I could, and the tension is really driven by the attachment mechanisms they provide. Perhaps new foam would have puffed it out a little more.
The older plastic and rear storage pieces in the old color are now accents I guess.
Took me 9 hours to do both front seats, I'm hoping some of those wrinkles mellow out over time... but I swear I pulled it as tight as I could, and the tension is really driven by the attachment mechanisms they provide. Perhaps new foam would have puffed it out a little more.
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My first thought was new foam....
Lexus is looking great!
Lexus is looking great!
thanks, Gig em!
LARGEONE
Rising Sun Member
You should have called me...I'm an expert at seat covers! Not! I bled all over mine as well 
But I do have hog ring pliers for the next job!
But I do have hog ring pliers for the next job!