Excellent step by step tutorial. I watched it, took notes and knocked out my AHC globes in a couple hours. Definately appreciated the extra economic portion showing the dollar goes farther in Japan. I purchased a Genuine Toyota/Lexus set of globes, shipped directly from Japan to my door in three days under $600. Thanks for making and sharing this video!
If I wanted to just flush the system and add new fluid would I do the same process here upto the 5:07min mark and then top up the system with the rest of the 0.5 of the AHC fluid and be done? Or would the process be slightly different I don’t plan to replace any globes is all. Thanks!
you're exactly right - just do everything up until 5:07. I wish I would've mentioned that in the video! I would also do a very quick bleed after you've started the truck and the AHC resets back to N.
im glad i found your video. I have a question, im ordering those actuator globe online and is there any difference between toyota and lexus brand. The item numbers were identical but not sure theyre the same. The lexus is obviously more expensive but want to save some money if the toyota brand is identical to the lexus one. My vehicle is LX470. Thanks
My 07 Land Cruiser had a very stiff ride. Would most likely be due to a bad globe? Also, is it necessary to put the vehicle on jack stands? Much appreciated
yes - bad globes and also check your sway bar bushings for dry rot. whatever you do, do not use jack stands for this job, bc you won't be able to drain the globes completely and there will still be lots of pressure in the globes when you go to remove them. the truck has to be able to sink to push all the pressure out of the globes. so do the entire job on the ground, without a jack, and without jack stands. just don't be underneath the truck when you're bleeding the fluid and definitely wear safety glasses.
@geriatricpearl Thanks foe the reply. Will the truck bottom out all the way or will there still be some space to get a good look at the parts? You mentioned the bushings. Can that cause the harsh stiffness?
@@H-Town_Rides you'll still have plenty of working space! and yes, when the rubber bushings get dry rot, they no longer absorb any shock and that can definitely make your ride harsher. ideally, you would replace the rubber shock bushings on the AHC as well, but that's more involved. sway bar bushings are super easy and there's a few good videos on doing that job.
I am curious to find if all globes are connected to each other or are they all seperate for the individual wheel? They are an "accumulator" in hydraulic terms, using a gas filled section separated from the oils line by a diaphragm so unless they fail completely, do they loose gas charge which would have to come thru the diaphragm into the oil? There must be a test method to presurise the removed globe. Does anyone know of such please. Mike I am experiencing a bump that is on all four corners...wondering if its just the satay of our NZ roads...
that's a good question. if i were you i'd do a full fluid flush and see if there are any air bubbles in the fluid you're draining. if so, maybe one of your globe membranes failed. what do you mean about pressurizing the removed globe? also, tell me more about the bump on all four corners - what do you mean by that?
if you follow all the steps in the video, you will be good to go! no set up or calibration required. I definitely noticed a smoother ride after replacing the globes.
@geriatricpearl it’s stuck in Low. When I start the truck I can hear the pump trying to left to normal but then it’s just flashes “Off” and remains in low. I check the oil reservoir and it’s full to the top as if all the fluid is in there and not the lines
@@sailorgang86 i would try replacing the rear height sensor first. mine has been stuck in low before and it was bc my rear sensor was bad. it was pretty crazy - i was driving down the road and suddenly i started feeling every little bump and when i pulled over to look, i was just riding on the bumpstops. i later replaced the rear height sensor and it all went back to normal.
there should be no air in the system bc the pump isn't moving anything so that means the liquid you're draining is just the liquid that's present in the globes/accumulator/lines. you'll notice that I put new fluid in the resevoir before I opened the bleeder screws, but none of that new fluid ever came out. that's bc unless the pump is operating, the fluid in the globes/accumulator/lines is isolated from the rest of the system so when you drain them, yes there will be air bc there is no fluid, but once you turn on the engine the new fluid will fill that void until it compresses that air. then you crack the bleeder screws one last time and the air is forced out. but again, don't leave the bleeders open too long bc you need that new fluid - the air should escape immediately.
and it's important to leave the truck in Low when you first start the engine and crack the bleeders. if you were to put the truck back into N before bleeding the air, you could have issues as that air could travel back into the pump.
mostly it was just really poor ride quality (feeling every single bump in the road), but also when I did a fluid change, the fluid level in the reservoir was still too low, which made me think one of the globes had a failed membrane (if the membrane fails, that globe will continue filling with fluid and the level in the reservoir will drop accordingly).
@@TheNonnell it was a noticeable difference for me. I don't know what the ride was like as new, but it definitely improved my ride quality. I think I will need to change the LCAs and front shock bushings to really get it up to spec. if you are on the fence about it, you should first replace the sway bar end links for the front and rear. that doesn't cost much and it was also a really nice improvement (the rubber on those was trashed after 20 years).
@@geriatricpearlthanks. I’ve already replaced those items you suggested and did an AHC flush and fill. I will eventually tackle the bulbs and hope that makes a more noticeable difference.
@@TheNonnell definitely worth it! and much cheaper than ripping out the ahc and replacing with standard suspension - that is, if you buy the globes from impex it's much cheaper. I would do it now while USD/JPY is at its peak.
nope! don't need to jack the truck at all, in fact you shouldn't - in order to get all the fluid out of the globes, you need the truck to be able to sink down naturally. if you jack the truck, you won't bleed the globes completely and they will still be under pressure when you remove them and it could cause damage to the truck or worse, harm to you.
if you do everything as I described, you should be fine. dealer shops are notorious for being very uninformed about AHC, but if you have them do it, at least bring your own parts bc they will charge you over $4k for the globes alone.
yessir. dealership markup is literally 1000% so I never thought I'd be able to afford new ones until I found Impex Japan. make sure you watch the last 2.5 min of the video to see what I mean with Impex.
@@geriatricpearl I bought from japan as well but for about $230 more. I'll keep this in mind changed out globes today that had 192k miles. All 4 seemed to still be working I plan changing the shocks as well. Fingers crossed it helps! Thanks again
@@H8UZNB8 are any of your shocks leaking? I would think those should be fine to leave as-is. That being said, I really really want new bushings on the shocks, but I just don't want to mess with them.
I realize now that I was using the strap wrench on the FRONT driver side globe (not the rear). Rear can be removed with just the 36mm wrench.
Excellent step by step tutorial. I watched it, took notes and knocked out my AHC globes in a couple hours. Definately appreciated the extra economic portion showing the dollar goes farther in Japan. I purchased a Genuine Toyota/Lexus set of globes, shipped directly from Japan to my door in three days under $600. Thanks for making and sharing this video!
thank you for sharing! love to see this!!
Thank you for mentioning the size of the clear tubing needed for this job. You may be the only video I have watched to mention this.
Awesome video. Looking at getting an LX570 so this will come in handy.
If I wanted to just flush the system and add new fluid would I do the same process here upto the 5:07min mark and then top up the system with the rest of the 0.5 of the AHC fluid and be done? Or would the process be slightly different I don’t plan to replace any globes is all. Thanks!
you're exactly right - just do everything up until 5:07. I wish I would've mentioned that in the video! I would also do a very quick bleed after you've started the truck and the AHC resets back to N.
@@geriatricpearl Thanks great video btw!
Very informative! Thank you!!
Massive help, thanks! I’m looking forward to more videos
im glad i found your video. I have a question, im ordering those actuator globe online and is there any difference between toyota and lexus brand. The item numbers were identical but not sure theyre the same. The lexus is obviously more expensive but want to save some money if the toyota brand is identical to the lexus one. My vehicle is LX470. Thanks
get the toyota one - it will even come in a box that says toyota and lexus on it.
Thank you for this!
Thank you very much for your excellent video, very informative! Very helpful! worth a million credits!
Thank you for this video...Very helpful!
My 07 Land Cruiser had a very stiff ride. Would most likely be due to a bad globe? Also, is it necessary to put the vehicle on jack stands? Much appreciated
yes - bad globes and also check your sway bar bushings for dry rot.
whatever you do, do not use jack stands for this job, bc you won't be able to drain the globes completely and there will still be lots of pressure in the globes when you go to remove them.
the truck has to be able to sink to push all the pressure out of the globes.
so do the entire job on the ground, without a jack, and without jack stands. just don't be underneath the truck when you're bleeding the fluid and definitely wear safety glasses.
@geriatricpearl Thanks foe the reply. Will the truck bottom out all the way or will there still be some space to get a good look at the parts? You mentioned the bushings. Can that cause the harsh stiffness?
@@H-Town_Rides you'll still have plenty of working space! and yes, when the rubber bushings get dry rot, they no longer absorb any shock and that can definitely make your ride harsher. ideally, you would replace the rubber shock bushings on the AHC as well, but that's more involved. sway bar bushings are super easy and there's a few good videos on doing that job.
I am curious to find if all globes are connected to each other or are they all seperate for the individual wheel? They are an "accumulator" in hydraulic terms, using a gas filled section separated from the oils line by a diaphragm so unless they fail completely, do they loose gas charge which would have to come thru the diaphragm into the oil? There must be a test method to presurise the removed globe. Does anyone know of such please.
Mike
I am experiencing a bump that is on all four corners...wondering if its just the satay of our NZ roads...
that's a good question. if i were you i'd do a full fluid flush and see if there are any air bubbles in the fluid you're draining. if so, maybe one of your globe membranes failed. what do you mean about pressurizing the removed globe?
also, tell me more about the bump on all four corners - what do you mean by that?
Very nice work!
Any set up need to be done after the fluid change? Did you notice a much better drive?
if you follow all the steps in the video, you will be good to go! no set up or calibration required. I definitely noticed a smoother ride after replacing the globes.
Do you have a link where you bought the globes from. Thanks
yep! it's en.impex-jp.com/
or if you don't want to click the link, google "impex japan" and it'll be the first one.
Is the AHC gloves same as 2001 100 Series LC?
yes - all 100 series AHC systems use the same globes. I didn't know they offered AHC in the LCs prior to 2006!
@ yeah I have a 2001 here in Japan and my AHC just failed. I’m trouble shooting. Gonna start with replacing the globes
@@sailorgang86 what's it doing? could be as simple as replacing the rear height sensor (see my video on that)
@geriatricpearl it’s stuck in Low. When I start the truck I can hear the pump trying to left to normal but then it’s just flashes “Off” and remains in low. I check the oil reservoir and it’s full to the top as if all the fluid is in there and not the lines
@@sailorgang86 i would try replacing the rear height sensor first. mine has been stuck in low before and it was bc my rear sensor was bad.
it was pretty crazy - i was driving down the road and suddenly i started feeling every little bump and when i pulled over to look, i was just riding on the bumpstops. i later replaced the rear height sensor and it all went back to normal.
Thanks for the video! How is there no air in the system when you put new globes? Where does the air go when they get filled with fluid?
there should be no air in the system bc the pump isn't moving anything so that means the liquid you're draining is just the liquid that's present in the globes/accumulator/lines.
you'll notice that I put new fluid in the resevoir before I opened the bleeder screws, but none of that new fluid ever came out. that's bc unless the pump is operating, the fluid in the globes/accumulator/lines is isolated from the rest of the system so when you drain them, yes there will be air bc there is no fluid, but once you turn on the engine the new fluid will fill that void until it compresses that air. then you crack the bleeder screws one last time and the air is forced out. but again, don't leave the bleeders open too long bc you need that new fluid - the air should escape immediately.
and it's important to leave the truck in Low when you first start the engine and crack the bleeders. if you were to put the truck back into N before bleeding the air, you could have issues as that air could travel back into the pump.
What exactly was your LX doing that made you decide to want to replace the bulbs? Thanks
mostly it was just really poor ride quality (feeling every single bump in the road), but also when I did a fluid change, the fluid level in the reservoir was still too low, which made me think one of the globes had a failed membrane (if the membrane fails, that globe will continue filling with fluid and the level in the reservoir will drop accordingly).
@@geriatricpearldo you feel that the issue has been resolved? Is the ride comparable to a newish style vehicle now? Thanks
@@TheNonnell it was a noticeable difference for me. I don't know what the ride was like as new, but it definitely improved my ride quality. I think I will need to change the LCAs and front shock bushings to really get it up to spec. if you are on the fence about it, you should first replace the sway bar end links for the front and rear. that doesn't cost much and it was also a really nice improvement (the rubber on those was trashed after 20 years).
@@geriatricpearlthanks. I’ve already replaced those items you suggested and did an AHC flush and fill. I will eventually tackle the bulbs and hope that makes a more noticeable difference.
@@TheNonnell definitely worth it! and much cheaper than ripping out the ahc and replacing with standard suspension - that is, if you buy the globes from impex it's much cheaper. I would do it now while USD/JPY is at its peak.
good stuff dude!
my lx470 doesn't looks clean like that a lot of rust lol
😂😂
Do you need jack stands?
nope! don't need to jack the truck at all, in fact you shouldn't - in order to get all the fluid out of the globes, you need the truck to be able to sink down naturally. if you jack the truck, you won't bleed the globes completely and they will still be under pressure when you remove them and it could cause damage to the truck or worse, harm to you.
Awesome, thank you!!!
any dealer repair shops do this? it is not easy for someone to do this by self, unsafe too.
if you do everything as I described, you should be fine. dealer shops are notorious for being very uninformed about AHC, but if you have them do it, at least bring your own parts bc they will charge you over $4k for the globes alone.
Jack stands and some common sense and you should be fine.
Are those oem globes!
yessir. dealership markup is literally 1000% so I never thought I'd be able to afford new ones until I found Impex Japan. make sure you watch the last 2.5 min of the video to see what I mean with Impex.
@@geriatricpearl I bought from japan as well but for about $230 more. I'll keep this in mind changed out globes today that had 192k miles. All 4 seemed to still be working I plan changing the shocks as well. Fingers crossed it helps! Thanks again
@@H8UZNB8 are any of your shocks leaking? I would think those should be fine to leave as-is. That being said, I really really want new bushings on the shocks, but I just don't want to mess with them.
@@geriatricpearl right front was leaking so we replaced fronts. Probably do rears at some point and man those bushings were toast
@Do-iz6qd mine were around $850 for the set of 4, but then I received a $37 import fee from fedex so almost $900
Fuckin awesome