My new-to-me used 2003 Lexus GX470 looked great in its first pictures. But because it is a twenty-year-old truck with 200,000 miles, it was not perfect. I’ve itemized a list of its issues, and I have shown you how I fixed some of them. But there is more issues, and more fixes, so let’s do it again. I’m trying to do this with a reasonable budget because the older I get, the less I enjoy spending money on cars. Thankfully, I have Ace Performance to help me with most of these repairs.

Tires: 

The 285/75-17 (34-inch) Toyo Open Country M/T tires that came with the GX are in great condition. These are excellent tires, especially off-road and in the mud. However, as amazing as they are, their application does not quite meet my needs. I prefer all-terrain tires as they are more comfortable, quieter, and provide better grip in the winter. Additionally, the spare tire is factory sized, making it useless.

I replaced those Toyos with Falken Wildpeak AT4Ws in the same 34-inch size. However, I may have made a mistake here. Most people with lifted GXs choose 285/70-17 (33-inch) tires as rubbing may occur with anything bigger. My GX has a three-inch lift in the front and a body mount chop, which gives tires a lot more room. However, with more driving I noticed some rubbing. Ace Performance trimmed a little bit of wheel well liner and the rubbing seems to be gone.

Should the tire rubbing persist, I have a back-up plan. The tires on my Bronco are the same 33-inch 285/70-17 tires that so many Toyota owners prefer. However, the Bronco, even without a lift kit, can accommodate 35-inch tires. The only thing that must be removed is the crash bars that are not even there on Sasquatch models.

Spare tire mount:

Full-size spare tire should be a requirement for all 4x4s. The issue is that a 33- or 34-inch tire won’t fit in the factory spare tire location, under the cargo floor. Most people opt for an off-road bumper with a tire mount/swing. But those are expensive and make opening the rear door a bit of a PITA. Also, I street park in the city and if someone were to bump into the spare, the damage could go into the door. Some crazies put their spare tire on the roof, but that won’t be me. That wheel/tire is heavy and I have no desire to get onto or off the roof. And it looks dumb, too.

There is a neater solution. Cross Industries Off-Road makes spare tire mount for inside of the GX 470. It replaces the passenger-side third row seat and utilizes the seat mounts to secure a mount in that place. It is adjustable for tires of various sizes. They also recommend a ratchet strap around the tire to further secure it to the floor tie downs. That was a very simple install.

I will need a jack, too. With the lift kit and the bigger tires, the factory bottle jack probably won’t suffice. As handy as Hi-Lift jacks are, they’re a pain keep in the car. I was recently introduced to an interesting bottle jack and jack stand combo, which could be a solid solution. I haven’t done this yet.

Reverse camera: 

I had one of those reverse cameras that attaches to the top license plates bolts, from another project. It’s not great or neatly integrated, but it was cheap and it works. I installed the camera, tapped the power wires, and run the video wire to the GROM VLine unit. The Grom VLine unit is an aftermarket device that this Lexus came with that allows for Apple CarPlay integration. It also happens to have two camera inputs. All I had to buy was a little harness from Grom to make it work.

Lower control arms and steering rack:

During a recent oil change, we inspected things that needed to be inspected. We found that lower control arm bushings are worn. This makes sense as I have been hearing some weird noises on occasion, but it drives fine. I also noticed that my steering rack has been making noise, but despite that, the steering was fine. Well, it turned out that the rack was leaking on both ends.

I ordered an OEM rebuilt steering rack from CVJ Axles. The company has a great reputation and their rebuilt racks are better than non-OEM aftermarket racks, and even have some improvements over OEM racks. Many GX 470 owners upgrade to a beefier GX 460 rack instead, but that adds costs and there are some mounting differences.

For lower control arms, I went with Freedom Offroad LCAs. They also have a good reputaion and also hit that sweet spot of OEM-like-maybe-better but for a lower price. In this case, they come with heavy duty ball joints and hardened bushings. The rack and LCAs will be installed next month.

To be continued… unfortunatly…