- Thread starter
- #21
I don't have any particular power goals, and the stock equipment is more than capable of dealing with the supercharger. Rods and Pistons are significant dollar investments - the studs and headgasket are relative peanuts.
Deanfun's '97 LX450 - intro and work/play log (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter deanfun
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
- Thread starter
- #22
In a bit of a bind:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/wanted-parts/482221-fjz80-oem-valve-springs.html
bought the last 13 springs in the States from Onur at American Toyota. I'm 11 short of a full set!
https://forum.ih8mud.com/wanted-parts/482221-fjz80-oem-valve-springs.html
bought the last 13 springs in the States from Onur at American Toyota. I'm 11 short of a full set!
- Thread starter
- #23
Some magic happened and the remaining 11 valve springs showed up! Same story with connecting rod bolts. Everything is in transit right now. Hope to have it to the machinist on wednesday or thursday. If all goes well, may be able to pick up the engine in a couple weeks.
I put in an order at McMaster-Carr for some coolant hose, constant torque clamps, wiring harness loom and some bolts to mount the block to my engine stand:
5296K321 High-Temp/Medium-Pressure Coolant Hose 5/8" ID, 1" OD, 90 PSI, Blue
54205K11 Type 301 SS Constant-Tension Worm-Drive Clamp 9/16" to 1-1/16" Clamp Dia Range, 9/16" Band Width
2569K32 Easy-Install Nylon Convoluted Sleeving 1/2" ID, 25' Length, Black
2569K42 Easy-Install Nylon Convoluted Sleeving 5/8" ID, 25' Length, Black
2569K62 Easy-Install Nylon Convoluted Sleeving 1" ID, 25' Length, Black
2627K34 Heat-Reflective Fiberglass Wrap Sleeving 1" ID, 3/4" to 1" Bundle Dia, 3' Length
91180A731 Metric 8.8 Zinc-Pltd Steel Hex Head Cap Screw M12 Size, 70 mm Length, 1.25 mm Special Pitch, packs of 10
I put in an order at McMaster-Carr for some coolant hose, constant torque clamps, wiring harness loom and some bolts to mount the block to my engine stand:
5296K321 High-Temp/Medium-Pressure Coolant Hose 5/8" ID, 1" OD, 90 PSI, Blue
54205K11 Type 301 SS Constant-Tension Worm-Drive Clamp 9/16" to 1-1/16" Clamp Dia Range, 9/16" Band Width
2569K32 Easy-Install Nylon Convoluted Sleeving 1/2" ID, 25' Length, Black
2569K42 Easy-Install Nylon Convoluted Sleeving 5/8" ID, 25' Length, Black
2569K62 Easy-Install Nylon Convoluted Sleeving 1" ID, 25' Length, Black
2627K34 Heat-Reflective Fiberglass Wrap Sleeving 1" ID, 3/4" to 1" Bundle Dia, 3' Length
91180A731 Metric 8.8 Zinc-Pltd Steel Hex Head Cap Screw M12 Size, 70 mm Length, 1.25 mm Special Pitch, packs of 10
Dean - you mentioned wiring harness work in post #9 - I replaced mine when I did the head and I think that's a great item to include when doing anything that requires head removal. The section that lives in EGR city has a very hard life. The engine harness is huge bang for the buck - when you see what you get you'll think it should cost a grand, and it is so much easier to do S/C extension and ultra heat shielding with it all out, clean and flexible. My 2 cents, from an admittedly "what else can I possibly replace?" POV. Good luck, Mack
- Thread starter
- #25
Mack,
I considered getting a whole new harness, but once I looked it over I found the one I had was in reasonable enough shape. No broken clips, and where the heat-reflective tape is missing there's no damage to the wires. I've got the whole thing out of the truck and cleaned up. No better time to do the SC wiring than now.
Lovely McMaster-Carr cancelled my order - citing that they wouldn't ship to Canada. I was getting the stuff shipped to the US border and bringing it across myself - they didn't like that idea either. Ridiculous.
I considered getting a whole new harness, but once I looked it over I found the one I had was in reasonable enough shape. No broken clips, and where the heat-reflective tape is missing there's no damage to the wires. I've got the whole thing out of the truck and cleaned up. No better time to do the SC wiring than now.
Lovely McMaster-Carr cancelled my order - citing that they wouldn't ship to Canada. I was getting the stuff shipped to the US border and bringing it across myself - they didn't like that idea either. Ridiculous.
nice LX, reminds me of some of the projects that I'll soon be doing to my 97LX 
- Thread starter
- #27
I picked up the engine on Friday and hauled it back home. Thanks to Wayne at Japanese Motorsports in Edmonton for the work and advice.
The final list for the engine looks like:
-1.0mm oversize pistons
-bearings
-rings
-ARP studs
-cometic headgasket
-porting work on the intake ports and manifolds
-rebuilt injectors
-timing chain and assembly
-replace most valve springs
-replace a few valves
-very pretty valve cover
Reassembly started yesterday afternoon and I've made good progress. Only missing one gasket - thermostat housing to timing case and I kept the old one (which is in good shape) to get me by for the time being.
Left to go:
The final list for the engine looks like:
-1.0mm oversize pistons
-bearings
-rings
-ARP studs
-cometic headgasket
-porting work on the intake ports and manifolds
-rebuilt injectors
-timing chain and assembly
-replace most valve springs
-replace a few valves
-very pretty valve cover
Reassembly started yesterday afternoon and I've made good progress. Only missing one gasket - thermostat housing to timing case and I kept the old one (which is in good shape) to get me by for the time being.
Left to go:
- finish installing upper intake manifold, throttle body, lines
- rebuild power steering pump and install
- mount alternator
- install AC mount and compressor
- install exhaust manifolds
- about a million other things I forgot about
- Thread starter
- #28
I also pulled back the TPS and ISCV wiring out of the main engine harness to hopefully make it a bit easier if someone ever decides to install a supercharger.
That thing looks nice.
Beautiful job braddah. Be getting mine done next year.
Very nice work here Dean.
Oh yeah, the SC is ready to go.
Oh yeah, the SC is ready to go.
Jacket
Moderator
Hope it runs as good as it looks. Nice job bringing the 1FZ back for another 300000 miles of service!
Nice work Dean, looks awesome!! Just starting my conversion... are you still interested in the SC and exhaust?
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2008
- Threads
- 69
- Messages
- 912
- Location
- OC, CA, USA, EARTH SECTOR-28
- Website
- www.tdubclub.com
Awesome rig and you are going to be soo stoked with the freshy motor!
Subscribed!
Subscribed!
- Thread starter
- #36
Wow! It's been a long time since my last update.
So when I last left off I was still in assembly mode on the engine. The rest of the assembly was pretty much trouble free, although the start of my road trip was fast approaching and only increased the stress level.
The power steering pump was leaking pretty fiercely before I started on the this whole adventure so I had decided to be adventurous and rebuild it. In retrospect, I probably only needed to replace one or two seals, but it was interesting to pull apart and see how it worked. Of course, my current problems seem to indicate that it wasn't the best idea, but I'll get to those.
Reinstalling the engine and drivetrain was marginally easier than taking it out. There's no getting around that these are huge pieces of metal. Thankfully I had a couple friends to help me - I can't imagine doing this on my own. Note the PHH bypass line installed and ready to go.
Pictures after this point become increasingly sparse. With my deadline so close it becomes more of a case of "just get it done" versus "get it done and take pictures".
Someone was a little careless when moving my radiator around at some point over the rebuild and broke off the breather line nipple. Was a bit annoyed about that, but there's a reason they invented JB-weld!
Complete! Finally!
and then gone...
There was no time to waste... the truck started for the first time late on a Friday afternoon, and I was due to leave on a 5,000km+ road trip Monday morning.
So when I last left off I was still in assembly mode on the engine. The rest of the assembly was pretty much trouble free, although the start of my road trip was fast approaching and only increased the stress level.
The power steering pump was leaking pretty fiercely before I started on the this whole adventure so I had decided to be adventurous and rebuild it. In retrospect, I probably only needed to replace one or two seals, but it was interesting to pull apart and see how it worked. Of course, my current problems seem to indicate that it wasn't the best idea, but I'll get to those.
Reinstalling the engine and drivetrain was marginally easier than taking it out. There's no getting around that these are huge pieces of metal. Thankfully I had a couple friends to help me - I can't imagine doing this on my own. Note the PHH bypass line installed and ready to go.
Pictures after this point become increasingly sparse. With my deadline so close it becomes more of a case of "just get it done" versus "get it done and take pictures".
Someone was a little careless when moving my radiator around at some point over the rebuild and broke off the breather line nipple. Was a bit annoyed about that, but there's a reason they invented JB-weld!
Complete! Finally!
and then gone...
There was no time to waste... the truck started for the first time late on a Friday afternoon, and I was due to leave on a 5,000km+ road trip Monday morning.
- Thread starter
- #37
I cranked it over for a bit with the plugs removed and the EFI relay pulled prior to starting to try and pump some oil into the head. I replaced the relay and plugs and turned the key hoping for the best. It took a couple turns and then caught, starting up smooth and strong. I let it idle for a couple minutes just to ensure there were no major leaks, then kept the rpms between 1500 and 2000 until it fully warmed up. After that I shut it off let it cool for about an hour.
Once it was just cool enough to touch, I threw caution to the wind and went out for a drive. No issues to report at all!
I put about 100km of easy mixed driving on the cruiser before leaving Monday morning for Edmonton. The plan was to drive to edmonton (about 450km away), do an oil change, get my out-of-province inspection done, get the truck registered and obtain a plate, and then continue on to Calgary in the late afternoon.
Of course it's never that easy. The truck developed a pretty fantastic fuel leak as I got to edmonton (lucky it didn't happen somewhere in the barren wasteland between Fort McMurray and Edmonton...). I managed to squeak my way through the out-of-province inspection before heading over to Wayne at Japanese Motorsport to get my first oil change done... and now also pull apart the upper intake manifold to replace one of the injector gaskets that had not seated correctly. This should have been a relatively simple process, and Wayne took lots of care in putting everything back together... only to discover that another injector seal had decided to leak in the interim. Not impressed. Pull apart the manifold again! This time, we tested the injectors before reassembling everything. Success!
The engine oil came out as fresh as it looked going in, with no consumption. With only ~600kms on the engine you'd expect that, but it was reassuring at the time. We also did a brake bleed and Wayne gave the suspension control arms a good once over after finding the rear panhard-axle bolt had started backing out. Kind of annoying, as I know 100% that it was torqued to spec. Just something to keep me on my toes I guess.
So instead of leaving Edmonton at 4pm and having a nice leisurely drive down to Calgary, I left at 10pm, fearful of every bump in the road trying to rip my control arms out. Upon arriving in Calgary sometime around 1am, I parked at my friends place temporarily to go in and say hello. When I came back out to move the cruiser into a legitimate parking spot I was greeted with yet another scenario:
dean turns the keys
*click*
dean frowns
dean turns the keys
*click*
dean laughs
dean turns the keys
*click*
laughter turns to rage
*click click click click click click click click click*
Pushing an FZJ80, with bumpers, winch, sliders, steel rack, tent and a full-to-the-brim-load-of-my-friends-stuff up a street at 1:30am in downtown Calgary doesn't sound like a lot of fun. Parallel parking such a thing by hand is enough to make you want to cover it in gasoline and burn it to the ground.
Life is full of challenges.
Once it was just cool enough to touch, I threw caution to the wind and went out for a drive. No issues to report at all!
I put about 100km of easy mixed driving on the cruiser before leaving Monday morning for Edmonton. The plan was to drive to edmonton (about 450km away), do an oil change, get my out-of-province inspection done, get the truck registered and obtain a plate, and then continue on to Calgary in the late afternoon.
Of course it's never that easy. The truck developed a pretty fantastic fuel leak as I got to edmonton (lucky it didn't happen somewhere in the barren wasteland between Fort McMurray and Edmonton...). I managed to squeak my way through the out-of-province inspection before heading over to Wayne at Japanese Motorsport to get my first oil change done... and now also pull apart the upper intake manifold to replace one of the injector gaskets that had not seated correctly. This should have been a relatively simple process, and Wayne took lots of care in putting everything back together... only to discover that another injector seal had decided to leak in the interim. Not impressed. Pull apart the manifold again! This time, we tested the injectors before reassembling everything. Success!
The engine oil came out as fresh as it looked going in, with no consumption. With only ~600kms on the engine you'd expect that, but it was reassuring at the time. We also did a brake bleed and Wayne gave the suspension control arms a good once over after finding the rear panhard-axle bolt had started backing out. Kind of annoying, as I know 100% that it was torqued to spec. Just something to keep me on my toes I guess.
So instead of leaving Edmonton at 4pm and having a nice leisurely drive down to Calgary, I left at 10pm, fearful of every bump in the road trying to rip my control arms out. Upon arriving in Calgary sometime around 1am, I parked at my friends place temporarily to go in and say hello. When I came back out to move the cruiser into a legitimate parking spot I was greeted with yet another scenario:
dean turns the keys
*click*
dean frowns
dean turns the keys
*click*
dean laughs
dean turns the keys
*click*
laughter turns to rage
*click click click click click click click click click*
Pushing an FZJ80, with bumpers, winch, sliders, steel rack, tent and a full-to-the-brim-load-of-my-friends-stuff up a street at 1:30am in downtown Calgary doesn't sound like a lot of fun. Parallel parking such a thing by hand is enough to make you want to cover it in gasoline and burn it to the ground.
Life is full of challenges.
- Thread starter
- #38
The cruiser started fine in the morning of course. I knew it was the starter, and figured it was being affected by heat more than anything else. Once I figured out that I didn't even need the hammer to get it to work - just a bit of persistence in turning the key, we got along splendidly!
I ordered a new starter to meet me in Vancouver. Thanks Onur!
With the latest crisis solved, I couldn't help but notice that the power steering pump was becoming increasingly noisy. Awesome. I don't know if it's a poor bleed and there's air in the system, or if my rebuild job was actually a destruction job. I imagine it's a combination of the two, but was in no mood to diagnose. Onward!
Some exploring at the summit of the Salmo-Creston pass:
Found some snow in early July!
The rest of the trip down to the coast was relatively uneventful. The following are some non-cruiser-related photos of the West Coast trail on Vancouver Island. I can't recommend this trail enough, and the photos speak for themselves...
And a few shots from the drive back from BC to Alberta.
Just outside of Pemberton:
West of Cache Creek:
Somewhere far north of Prince George:
I ordered a new starter to meet me in Vancouver. Thanks Onur!
With the latest crisis solved, I couldn't help but notice that the power steering pump was becoming increasingly noisy. Awesome. I don't know if it's a poor bleed and there's air in the system, or if my rebuild job was actually a destruction job. I imagine it's a combination of the two, but was in no mood to diagnose. Onward!
Some exploring at the summit of the Salmo-Creston pass:
Found some snow in early July!
The rest of the trip down to the coast was relatively uneventful. The following are some non-cruiser-related photos of the West Coast trail on Vancouver Island. I can't recommend this trail enough, and the photos speak for themselves...
And a few shots from the drive back from BC to Alberta.
Just outside of Pemberton:
West of Cache Creek:
Somewhere far north of Prince George:
- Thread starter
- #39
So as a final report on this brand-new engine, I have to say that it is decidedly pretty awesome. Initially I felt like it was slower than I had imagined it would be. This probably came about from my mistaken assumption that prior to the rebuild the engine was not only destroying its rod bearings it was also down on power due to poor maintenance. In retrospect, the power increase after the rebuilt was very marginal. Driving characteristics are far better - the lack of knocking means you can just hear the smooth revs of the 6 (and the power steering pump). Fuel consumption was typically horrific, but only when viewed in context against the daily-driver Audi.
Some fuel statistics:
I used cruise control wherever it made sense, and typically limited myself to 105km/hr or so. I found that extended cruising above this speed meant the truck was shifting out of overdrive constantly, and the cruise seems to take a long time to drop back into overdrive even if it's back on level ground - this is extremely annoying.
The following issues remain to be dealt with:
And for those that might be interested, I have not added up the cost nor do I intend to. I'm pretty sure I spent way, way, way too much money doing this. Ignorance is bliss and it is now done!
Some fuel statistics:
- 5,770km trip length
- 1,024L of fuel used
- 17.8L/100km or 13.3 US MPG
- best tank of 15.5L/100km or 15.2 US MPG
- 535km/335mi range out of 95L tank
- CAD$1.19/L average fuel price
- CAD$1,220 spent on fuel
I used cruise control wherever it made sense, and typically limited myself to 105km/hr or so. I found that extended cruising above this speed meant the truck was shifting out of overdrive constantly, and the cruise seems to take a long time to drop back into overdrive even if it's back on level ground - this is extremely annoying.
The following issues remain to be dealt with:
- minor exhaust leak
- power steering noise
- power steering lines are weeping/leaking past clamps
- CDL switch does nothing (need to read up on the pin7 mod... I think)
- re-bleed the brakes. I want to believe they can be better.
- windshield replacement. Discovered that it leaks in both lower corners
- SUPERCHARGE (one day)
And for those that might be interested, I have not added up the cost nor do I intend to. I'm pretty sure I spent way, way, way too much money doing this. Ignorance is bliss and it is now done!
Last edited:
Hi there!
I've been lurking for several weeks now after making a rash, poorly informed purchase decision that will surely cost me many thousands of dollars.
I've been into old toyota supra's for many years now, centered around the mkii generation of 82-86 and currently have one undergoing a longterm restoration. Given the environment in northern Alberta where I live, actually having a supra to drive around isn't a huge priority - the roads are terrible, the drivers worse and it's winter 5-6 months of the year. There's a reasonable landcruiser community up here, and a large 4x4 community as a whole. I'd been considering getting into an older toyota pickup (think 85 extended cab) for a while to go play in the mud, but the appeal of something with more enclosed space called out to me. I'm also a sucker for inline 6's. I mentally decided to pick up an 80 series and began doing research (this is an amazing resource - far better organized and infinitely more mature than virtually every other enthusiast forum i've ever been on). Even though I wasn't intending to buy until the end of this coming summer, one of my coworkers (who happens to own a mogged 40-series with a 6.5 diesel) suggested I start looking at prices so I know what I'm up against.
Now I know how dangerous that can be - if you look for something you will find it. How bad could it be?
First search on kijiji. First result. Top of the page:
I was sold already. Who couldn't want that? After speaking with the owner several times and essentially doing more of the selling than he did, I brokered a deal wherein the owner got exactly what he wanted and I got poorer. A lot poorer.
I ended up with a 97 LX450, originally out of California with 275,000kms on the body, less than that on the engine (claimed replaced in 2008) and lockers. The truck is somewhat familiar with this board. In fact I've managed to track down a few relevant threads, letting me follow the last few years of this vehicles life:
2nd owners' for sale thread:
97 Lexus LX450 For Sale $12000 OBO - https://forum.ih8mud.com/vehicles-trailers-sale-wanted/166263-97-lexus-lx450-sale-12000-obo.html
3rd owners' sliders thread:
My 97' LX-450 Build - https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/190232-my-97-lx-450-build.html
3rd owners' for sale thread:
F/S 97' FZJ-80, locked, arb, ome lift, 315's - https://forum.ih8mud.com/vehicles-trailers-sale-wanted/223716-f-s-97-fzj-80-locked-arb-ome-lift-315s.html
and finally, the 4th owners' for sale thread (from whom I bought):
For Sale - 1997 lexus lx450 fzj80 - https://forum.ih8mud.com/vehicles-trailers-sale-wanted/447718-1997-lexus-lx450-fzj80.html
Obviously the truck has been through a few transformations, so I'll try and list everything. This is more for myself as I can't really remember everything all at once.
Quite a few toys! These were added over a couple different owners it seems. Unfortunately, it seems that while significant expense was put into accessories, maintenance seems to have fallen a bit behind. Prior to flying down to so I could drive it back, I ascertained that it had a few problems that required remedying:
- ARB front bumper
- Warn 9.5ti winch
- IPF Hybrid Assist lights
- ARB rear bumper w/ jerry can holder, spare tire holder and camp light
- ARB touring roof rack
- ARB Simpson II rooftop tent, annex, ladder extension
- ARB awning
- Exhaust jack
- Custom-built sliders
- OME J lift
- OME L shocks
- OME steering damper
- 315/75R16 pro-comp tires
- Powdercoated factory alloys
- Kenwood nav/gps/headunit
- some ridiculous alarm w/ remote start
A bit of research and the first of many payments to cruiserdan (I'm sure) resulted in a 3-day 40hr assault on the vehicle:
- Check engine light
- significant rotor warpage (or whatever you want to call it)
- significanter wandering, especially when coasting or slowing down, or turning... or accelerating
- clinking noise on decelleration
Now that doesn't look like 40hrs worth of work - but take into account the fact that I'd never seen a cone washer before (and I don't know the last time they'd seen the good end of a brass hammer), and that the ujoints absolutely did not want to leave the drive shaft for about 6 hours and that it was a brand new unfamiliar vehicle I don't think it went too bad.
- new front rotors
- new remanned front calipers*
- UZ 100 pads
- brake bleed
- 4 new ujoints
- fluids - diffs, engine+filter
- drive belts
- air filter
- replaced egr modulator & vsv & vacuum lines (P0401)
*a note on the calipers: I ordered remanned front calipers from Dan at American Toyota. I received what appeared to be a brand new left front caliper (including pins/spring clip) which is awesome. The right front caliper, not so much - no matter how hard I tried, I could not fit the UZ100 pads. The pistons would not retract far enough, sticking visibly further out than on the left side. I ended up reinstalling the old caliper and the pads slid in no problem. A few phone calls with Dan verified the conclusion I'd come to - it looks like pistons installed in the caliper were the wrong depth. Something to keep an eye out for if you're going to go down that road.
Now that was all well and good, but the previous owner left a few things out of his sell-job (or my sell-job I guess). Let this be a lesson to reinforce all those people who say to look at lots of them and wait for one with lots of maintenance records. Don't but the first one you see blah blah blah. I made a choice to roll the dice. I don't think I got burned because I was looking for a project. That being said, the owner could have been a bit more forthright.
Especially about the rod knock
Well at least I think it's rod knock. The truck drove 1,600kms wonderfully. I kept revs below 3,000 and let it go as slow as it needed to to get up some of the steeper inclines over the rockies. Probably the slowest I ended up at was 70km/h. You can definitely hear it knocking away in there when under load though. Sigh. If anyone has any easy suggestions for verifying which rod it is, or that it is a rod, I'm all ears. I've tried pulling plug wires one at a time to see if removing the combustion load on the bad bearing would quiet it down - no success. More to come on that you can be sure.
Other problems I have to deal with (not all of these were missed by the previous owner):
My goals for the vehicle are fairly undefined at this point. It's definitely a toy - not a daily driver. Mud and muskeg are the biggest 4x4 environments up here, but I really want to see if I enjoy expedition-type stuff - the cruiser is more set up for that anyways.
- replace the cat-back & hanger & donut
- rebuild front axle seals & bearings
- replace control arm bushings
- install caster correction bushings (thankfully included in a big box of stuff in the back of the truck)
- finish baselining transmission and transfer case fluids
- investigate rear brakes to make sure e-brake is set up correctly
- replace valve cover gasket, front/rear main seals
- shaking DS mirror
- refinish the beautiful sliders
That was long winded but I just wanted to say hello. I hope I can contribute to this community and have a good time figuring out how wheeling and breaking stuff works
Special thanks to Sheldon @ GS Cruiser Parts for meeting me on my way out of town and providing hood shocks with zero notice. Your truck is pretty fantastic.
Also thanks to cruiserdan for the first round of parts, and for going the extra mile on the phone to help me figure out the caliper problem. I'll be in touch shortly...
A few more pictures. Compare them with some of the shots from the earlier threads.
Gross...
