Jerz’s 2013 GX460 Basic Build

As long as there isn’t some crazy catch and it’s not $600 more than the 4R model, I’m in the same boat.
I’m also selfishly glad it’s not available right away because I’m tapped out for fun money after all my other purchases haha!

 

Lift Install:
It has begun! After dinner, I got the GX up on jack stands, removed the wheels, removed skid plate, removed plate covering KDSS valves, inspected the entire frame for any rust spots, wipe down most of the frame, and hit the very few surface rust spots I found with a wire wheel and some flat black Ace Rust Stop (aka Krylon Pro Enamel).

In the morning, a friend is coming over to help, mostly to weld my spindle gussets, and I hope to get it 80-90% done before having to stop for early dinner plans tomorrow evening.

To Do List:
IMS lift kit
JBA UCAs
TC Spindle gussets
Treaty Oak KDSS spacers

Oh and I began capturing the process w my GoPro, since there isn’t much GX content on YouTube, so we’ll see how that turns out.

On jack stands, pile of parts to the right.

 

Nice - please do document it

 

Lift Update:
2 half-days of work (had family plans)
2 guys (friend welded my spindle gussets, I did most wrenching)
2 trips to Lowe’s + 1 Amazon order
Rear is complete except for KDSS spacers (see below)
Front will be completed one evening this week, currently the paint is drying on the spindles

KDSS is a PITA. I decided to open the valves 3 turns per the ExitOffroad method LINK. With the valves open, the KDSS does move easily but it still requires a jack so getting enough space to insert the Treaty Oak spacers is still a little tough. But that’s not the worst part...
I had 2 bolts snap on the rear KDSS! The forward-most bolt on both sides of the rear snapped. Both were very rusted and I have practically zero rust on my vehicle. The rear-most bolts were not rusted and came out pretty easily with hand tools. We tried liquid wrench and heat on the second one but it still snapped. Now I have a handful of screw extractors and cobalt bits inbound from Amazon. Annoying and wasted some time but whatever.

My friend questioned whether I need extended rear brake lines while we were trying to shove the rear spring in there, and I agree with him, it looks like I may but it’s only 2” lift, not LT. I’ll see what it all looks like once I get the wheels back on and can flex it out a little bit. I have no problem doing rear brake lines if needed.

The Dobinson IMS are beefy compared to stock or 5100’s like I had on my Tacoma!


I have been capturing some video along the way, so I plan on putting together a simple video once it’s all done in the next few days.

Thankfully I work from home so no rush on getting this done, but it will be done by Friday since I’m off work and plan on going off roading Friday!

 

Install Stumbling Blocks:
Unfortunately, KDSS has turned this from a weekend job into a week long job. At least for an avid DIYer like myself. Those 2 snapped bolts on the rear KDSS have been impossible to remove so I’m drilling them out and re-tapping.
The rear KDSS spacers turned out to be out of spec. I bought them from Exit Offroad and to their credit, they reached out to me before I had a chance to test fit and offered to replace if mine were out of spec. Treaty Oak is sending me new rear spacers.

Im hoping to get the front end buttoned up tonight and the KDSS broken bolt hole sre-tapped tonight or tomorrow. If all goes well, I’ll be off roading Friday.

Good news is the spindles came out great! And I’m still able to get my impact in there to attach the JBA nylock nut.

 

Any update? Get everything buttoned up?

Those snapped bolts you mentioned are haunting me. I've had similar issues with other bolts on previous toyota builds.

 

Sorry, totally forgot about coming back to update the thread after sharing it on GXOR.

It took a few trips to the hardware store and a few Amazon orders but I finally got it. I was able to drill out the snapped bolts and re-tap/clean the original threads. Dewalt cobalt bits and a good center punch were the key here.

I work from home so I don’t drive much but I’ve got almost 1k mi on it since the lift. No complaints at all. It’s slightly firmer but I also got medium weight springs since I plan on doing a bumper. The 2.5” lift is perfect for 33”s IMO!

Even with the KDSS spacers I did have some lean, so I did the KDSS valve trick and that definitely helped. I haven’t taken it off road yet, aside from some dirt roads, since I really want to have my skid and sliders on first.

 

Speaking of Sliders...

I was finally able to pick up my sliders from LFD the other day. It took about 15wk but I figured 4-6mo is about the norm these days for anything fabricated, even longer for bumpers. Due to a little mix up, I’ll pick up my skid plate Friday. I went with LFD because they make GX specific sliders, are local, and I won a gift card in a raffle at their shop.

Right now I’m prepping and painting my sliders. Good wipe down with alcohol, scotch brite pad, wipe down with clean rag. Self etching primer, then black enamel paint, and lastly bed liner. I like using rattle can paint and bed liner because it’s a piece of cake to touch up every 6mo to keep the metal protected and looking new. Plus $7/can for bed liner is some pretty cheap maintenance.

On the topic of bed liner, that stuff has been almost impossible to find lately. I’ll use what I have but will definitely be doing more coats once I find it. I use the same process for my skids as well.

 

No worries on the delay. Looks great! Glad you were able to get it all finished.

 

A couple more minor updates...

Hitch Install:
I needed a basic hitch receiver for my MTB rack, never plan on towing anything. A basic class III hitch will do the trick for me. It was under $100 and took maybe 5min to install. Clean and simple.


Tool Kit:
After doing my lift, I had all of the wrench and socket sizes fresh in my head so I decided to put together a basic tool kit that would allow me to do *most* repairs on the trail/road side. I also threw in some assorted fasteners that fit the vehicle, and various 12v items just in case.
I chose a tool roll on Amazon and basic Husky tool bag.

 

Once again I’ve been slacking on sharing updates…

Dual USB Outlet
In July I decided to remove the 12v socket in the center console and replace it with a dual USB outlet w voltage read out. I did the same on my wife’s 4R and it is the perfect solution to not having to debate who gets to use the charger, plus it’s not bulky like the plug in adapters.

BUT FIRST, as I removed the console parts, I quickly realized I had a disgusting mess in there! Clearly a previous owner spilled some dark soda and it went everywhere!




I steam cleaned it all and wiped out everything possible. Removing all of these pieces was really easy.

Now I was able to focus on the job at hand. I used a dremel sanding drum to open up the hole a little bit to fit the USB socket. I was careful to make sure there was room for the jam nut on the underside.



I popped in the USB socket and used a couple T-taps to to use the existing 12v socket wiring. Nice and clean(literally!).

 

Long Overdue Fluid Swaps
Shortly after purchasing the GX, I bought fluids for almost everything, including diff and Xfer case oils. Unfortunately I put off doing those two until I did my oil change.

Labor Day weekend I finally did my first oil change (I work from home so I don’t drive much these days), and so that meant I was doing the front and rear diffs asking with transfer case. The only fluid I haven’t touched is the trans, to do a drain and fill/top-off. Oh and I sent off an engine oil sample to Blackstone for analysis.

I decided against the Toyota OEM liquid gold and decided to go with Ravenol MTF-3 75w which is labeled as and widely regarded as a high quality substitute. These Ravenol bottles are interesting, but I was able to maneuver them in such a way to squeeze out what I needed from each of the two bottles, then combine the extra in a single bottle at the end. You can squeeze about 60% of the bottle out but can’t get the bottle high enough under the car to get anymore.



The diffs got

$54 Lucas Oil 10048 Synthetic SAE 75W-90 Gear Oil - 1 Gallon

Lucas full synthetic 75w-90 GL5


Thankfully all fluids removed looked really good but I’m glad I changed it to have the piece of mind that good quality oils are in there.

Rear Diff Breather Relocation
Just as I did on my Tacoma, I did the breather relocation. Thankfully I still had extra materials from the Tacoma so all I had to buy was the make fitting and the 2-way breather itself.


I routed it along the brake lines up to the body, kept it high to prevent snagging off road, and then up behind the tail light. I put some electrical tape behind the breather just in case it rubbed the body, but I’m going to check this after a couple months to see if I need a more permanent solution or not.

 

First Two GX Off Road Trips
Part 1: Uwharrie
The last weekend of July, I went out to Uwharrie with some fellow Charlotte Toyota guys, and we had a Jeep Cherokee with us as well. Sadly, we had 2 mechanical failures, both FJ’s, early on, but they were able to be fixed and driven home.
We had a pretty slow pace with a lot of stops but it was still fun and served as a good confidence builder for the GX.


Part 2: Hurricane Creek & Buzzard’s Roost
A friend and I wanted to go hit Hurricane Creek on Labor Day, and I really wanted to do some exploring afterward and try a trail we haven’t done before. Using On X and some YouTube videos, I found that Buzzard’s Roost Overlook should have an awesome view and a decent trail nearby. Boy did that one deliver!


We did a hurricane Creek, had fun, and then went directly across I-40 to head up to Buzzard’s Roost Overlook. It’s a long windy mountain dirt road then you pull over when you see the graffiti spray painted trees, walk down the little path and BAM! You have this awesome and scary view right there, overlooking the I-40 tunnel and the pigeon river. We actually saw a black bear and 2 Cubs walking along the river!! They were so far away but it was still really cool to see!


From there, we continued up the mountain until we hit a 4-way split. We took the far right path and that leads to a great, low traffic trail called Old Buzzard Roost Rd. It dumps you just a few miles from I-40, west of the tunnel, so really easy to go anywhere from there. If you’re in the area, do this trail! Doing both HC and Old BR Rd is perfect for a day trip from CLT.

 

Center Console Organizer
I’ve been looking for this since buying my GX but OCD didn’t make one. Apparently now they do! This one is a textured slightly flexible plastic material, almost like kydex. The ones for my Tacoma and wife’s 4R are a sturdier, smooth ABS plastic. I prefer the ABS but this will do.

The sections aren’t all the exact same size but they allow you to easily fit a pair of sunglasses, radio, a few masks, or a knife/light/pepper spray in each one.

$20 Vehicle OCD - Center Console Organizer for Lexus GX 460 (2010-2023) - Made in USA

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09B2PM3Y5

 

i just installed a diff breather on my 2012. i jammed it up into the bumper and ziptied it in place. i like your location a lot more. the light can still be installed and clip in correctly with that back there?

 

Yup, it fits behind the light just fine. There’s not a ton of space behind GX tails like there is with 3G Tacoma’s, but right where I have it works like a charm.

While I don’t plan on going through water over my bumper, I think that’s a little too low for a 2 way vent. I would use a 1 way vent there to be safe. You can also install the vent in your gas cap area, I’ve seen a few guys do that.

 

Cool good to know. Yeah, I've added diff breathers on all of my rigs. I like the behind the tail light location - think i'll move mine later. thanks for the idea!

 

Stumbled across your build, loving this one. I'm subscribed and I'll be following along. I have a 2008 Tacoma that I bought new, and bought a WRX about a year ago as a new DD, but I'm seriously considering dumping the WRX for a GX. As much as I enjoy driving the WRX, there's just something that's more satisfying to me about trucks / SUVs.

I'm really curious to see what your long-term feedback is on the Dobinsons suspension. I've had OME on my Tacoma for 8-9 years now, and while it was a decent option for the budget I was working with, I honestly haven't been that happy with it. I've said that when I replace it, I'm going with a good coilover setup (King, Icon, etc). Obviously way more expensive, but in the process of building my Tacoma I've come to appreciate the "buy once, cry once" approach of not having to do things twice. I'm curious if the Dobinson's suspension is in a similar class to the OME, or if it's actually a step up.

 

Dobinsons has 3 different types of shocks for the Tacoma (twin tube, IMS monotube, and MRA 3-way adjustable with resi), so there are more options than OME has, as well as more spring options in multiple rates.

 

Ah yeah. I’m planning on MRA for my 470 once the Black Friday sales hit, and some rear drawers