GTSSportCoupe
2LTE abuser
Just reading back through your thread as I'd like to do a dump pipe soon. You really did some great work. Wondering how your intercooler and lift worked out? Still have your truck? Lookin forward to some updates.
Builds My LJ78 build thread... (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter Jarrat
- Start date
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Just reading back through your thread as I'd like to do a dump pipe soon. You really did some great work. Wondering how your intercooler and lift worked out? Still have your truck? Lookin forward to some updates.
- Thread starter
- #22
I do think about updating as I'm working on the truck, but it always slips my mind. I still haven't installed the water to air system. Here are a couple things I've done since my last update.
Injectors... I've rebuilt two sets now with new nozzles off ebay. I decided to make my own tester and this is what I came up with. Works pretty darn good.
Injectors... I've rebuilt two sets now with new nozzles off ebay. I decided to make my own tester and this is what I came up with. Works pretty darn good.
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- Thread starter
- #23
Now for the Lift. I called around to LOTS of places and got quotes on the Dobinson, and OME lifts. Looks like Dobinson guys said I'd have to wait 6 months to get anything. So I found some guys in Alberta that just shipped me out the front and rear OME springs for cheap. I then called up the 4WD store in Langley BC and ended up getting Pro Comp 9000 series shocks and a New steering dampener for a good price. Bought my 2 degree caster correction bushing for a 1990 Nissian Patrol off ebay. All together spent just under $1000 bucks for the whole lift. Plus I machined up spring spacers after reading a bunch of people with the same front springs ended up buying them to help level the truck.
Here is a pic of the factory front shock with the Pro Comp front and rear shocks showing the lengths uncompressed. Both shocks close the same amount, just the new ones have more length open. These shocks will replace the factory shocks and support up to a 2.5" lift.
919520
Extended- 19.41
Collapsed- 11.89
921520
Extended- 21.32
Collapsed- 13.06
This is needed for the front shocks. I used some electrical conduit that has a 0.5 ID metal and is about 2.775 long, and I pressed it into the eye end of the front shock with a deep socket and my bench vise.
Here is a pic of the factory front shock with the Pro Comp front and rear shocks showing the lengths uncompressed. Both shocks close the same amount, just the new ones have more length open. These shocks will replace the factory shocks and support up to a 2.5" lift.
919520
Extended- 19.41
Collapsed- 11.89
921520
Extended- 21.32
Collapsed- 13.06
This is needed for the front shocks. I used some electrical conduit that has a 0.5 ID metal and is about 2.775 long, and I pressed it into the eye end of the front shock with a deep socket and my bench vise.
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- Thread starter
- #24
The steering damper was NOT a direct bolt in. I had to modify one of the bolts it came with and weld on a new mounting point as this steering damper was about two inches shorter. With the new mounting location there is still enough travel for it to turn both ways. Been out wheeling a couple times without any issues.
- Thread starter
- #25
I also did the front knuckles with a rebuild kit I got off RADD Cruisers a couple years back.
The pic above has a pic of the front springs with the spacer....
and the bottom pic here as the rears, old vs. new.....
The pic above has a pic of the front springs with the spacer....
and the bottom pic here as the rears, old vs. new.....
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- Thread starter
- #26
I did the caster correction bushing a couple months after the lift to see if I could feel like difference and the only thing I noticed was the steering would return back to straight a bit better after a corner.
I also just recently did new u-joints that I got from RockAuto from a 1995 v6 4runner. Make sure you check them out before you install them. I found this sandblasting shot still inside one of them.
I also just recently did new u-joints that I got from RockAuto from a 1995 v6 4runner. Make sure you check them out before you install them. I found this sandblasting shot still inside one of them.
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- Thread starter
- #27
So this is kind a my Before and after lift shots..
This was MOMENTS before I started the lift.
and this was right after I picked up some new tires for it.
This was MOMENTS before I started the lift.
and this was right after I picked up some new tires for it.
- Thread starter
- #28
So.... in the works right now..
-I have the water air system still waiting to be installed.
-New motor mounts to be installed.
-My 4WD ecu, to get it to unlock the hubs (I think I know what to do)
-Build a new front tube bumper to hold the water to air and tranny cooler along with the winch plate when I get one in the future.
-Aluminum roof rack.... (I'll post about this in the near future)
-Black out all the chrome with plastic dip
-1.5" wheel spacers
-Tranny cooler install once the new bumper is made.
-Trailer hitch mod I'm working on.
-I just ordered a new 1991 Toyota Corolla alternator for parts to use in the Prado's instead of shelling out $800+ for a new bolt-in one for the LJ78. Mine isn't able to keep up charging at idle, I replaced the voltage regulator twice with nothing changing so I thought about buying just a new diode/rectifier but the cost of that alone was almost the price of a WHOLE alternator from Rockauto.. I'll keep an update on this.
Here are all the Part numbers for the things I've recently posted.
Pro Comp rear shock part number - 919520
Pro Comp front shock part number - 921520
Pro Comp steering stabaizer - 224000
OME2872 Front OME springs
OME2873 Rear OME springs
Caster Correction
2dg Rubber Offset Castor Correction Bush Kit for Patrol GQ Y60 GU Y61 Radius Arm
Motor mounts
FRONT ENGINE MOUNT For Toyota Land CRUISER PRADO 120 2002- OEM: 12361-54120
Injector nozzles
TOYOTA 2L TE NEW INJECTOR NOZZLES SET OF 4 DN10PD76
Knuckle rebuild kit
Radd Cruisers
Address: 21, 4970 Polkey Rd, Duncan, BC V9L 6W3
Phone - (250) 597-2500
-I have the water air system still waiting to be installed.
-New motor mounts to be installed.
-My 4WD ecu, to get it to unlock the hubs (I think I know what to do)
-Build a new front tube bumper to hold the water to air and tranny cooler along with the winch plate when I get one in the future.
-Aluminum roof rack.... (I'll post about this in the near future)
-Black out all the chrome with plastic dip
-1.5" wheel spacers
-Tranny cooler install once the new bumper is made.
-Trailer hitch mod I'm working on.
-I just ordered a new 1991 Toyota Corolla alternator for parts to use in the Prado's instead of shelling out $800+ for a new bolt-in one for the LJ78. Mine isn't able to keep up charging at idle, I replaced the voltage regulator twice with nothing changing so I thought about buying just a new diode/rectifier but the cost of that alone was almost the price of a WHOLE alternator from Rockauto.. I'll keep an update on this.
Here are all the Part numbers for the things I've recently posted.
Pro Comp rear shock part number - 919520
Pro Comp front shock part number - 921520
Pro Comp steering stabaizer - 224000
OME2872 Front OME springs
OME2873 Rear OME springs
Caster Correction
2dg Rubber Offset Castor Correction Bush Kit for Patrol GQ Y60 GU Y61 Radius Arm
Motor mounts
FRONT ENGINE MOUNT For Toyota Land CRUISER PRADO 120 2002- OEM: 12361-54120
Injector nozzles
TOYOTA 2L TE NEW INJECTOR NOZZLES SET OF 4 DN10PD76
Knuckle rebuild kit
Radd Cruisers
Address: 21, 4970 Polkey Rd, Duncan, BC V9L 6W3
Phone - (250) 597-2500
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GTSSportCoupe
2LTE abuser
Wow, awesome man! I'm impressed with the work you've done! So nice to have other guys doing Prado builds in Canada now. I'm already copying your dump pipe, and I think I'll do the same to my injectors also. Friend of mine at work (machinist), just made an injector tester also, so I just need to order some nozzles. Mine are in need of rebuild I'm pretty sure. My alternator also sucks and is going to need some TLC soon too. I'll be watching to see how your rebuild with the Corolla parts works out. Keep up the good work and thanks for the huge update to your thread!!
Edit: Just bought the nozzles! Can't wait to do my injectors now!
Edit: Just bought the nozzles! Can't wait to do my injectors now!
- Thread starter
- #30
Had some time yesterday. Fabbed up all the pipping and made the plate for the intake.
Should have it all welded and painted up this week. Picked up all the rest of the hoses for it last night. Should have it going hopefully by the end of next weekend.
Also on another note... Wheel spacers are at my mailbox just across the boarder, so I should have those installed this weekend also. I bought 1" spacers for the front, and 1.5" spacers for the rear.
Should have it all welded and painted up this week. Picked up all the rest of the hoses for it last night. Should have it going hopefully by the end of next weekend.
Also on another note... Wheel spacers are at my mailbox just across the boarder, so I should have those installed this weekend also. I bought 1" spacers for the front, and 1.5" spacers for the rear.
GTSSportCoupe
2LTE abuser
Very nice man; good fab work. Just don't copy how i put my pump at the top of the system. Was a real PITA to bleed the air out. Put it down low by the radiator somewhere.
I threw some 8" chinese ebay puller fans on my intercooler rad and it seems to have increased efficiency; primarily at low speeds and because the winch blocks the air flow I used to have. I really only use it when I'm towing in hot weather and stuck in slow hot traffic though. Definitely not a must.
I threw some 8" chinese ebay puller fans on my intercooler rad and it seems to have increased efficiency; primarily at low speeds and because the winch blocks the air flow I used to have. I really only use it when I'm towing in hot weather and stuck in slow hot traffic though. Definitely not a must.
- Thread starter
- #32
Yea, I picked up a fan for it...also some temp switches that will turn on in two stages with the pump... I'll post it all once I got it up and going.
GTSSportCoupe
2LTE abuser
Hey Jarrat, I've got a couple questions on your injector rebuild. I ordered and just received the same nozzles that you also bought. I've also got a home-made pop tester very similar to yours. Did you have to re-shim your injectors after replacing the nozzles? Was it all fairly straight forward? Just wondering what you actually did how they ended up working for you? Finally, did you use the crappy copper and aluminum washers they supplied, re-use your old ones, or did you get some new OEM Toyota ones?
- Thread starter
- #34
The ones that came with mine looked good to use.... I rebuilt my first set of injectors and used the gaskets without any issues in another truck.... I rebuilt my second set but still haven't installed them into my truck.. If your iffy on the ones you got just order in some OEM toyota ones.
I did the same thing this guy did with lapping all the pieces in this youtube video... keeping everything SUPER clean when reassembling everything...
When I did my first set of injectors I had them tested at a local diesel shop to see if they popped within spec... they said they passed with flying colors.... the guy with the other truck gave me his old set and I rebuilt those and found one of them had a shim. After rebuilding them, I found 1 injector popping a little lower than the other three so I added the shim into that one and it popped within spec like the other three.
I did the same thing this guy did with lapping all the pieces in this youtube video... keeping everything SUPER clean when reassembling everything...
When I did my first set of injectors I had them tested at a local diesel shop to see if they popped within spec... they said they passed with flying colors.... the guy with the other truck gave me his old set and I rebuilt those and found one of them had a shim. After rebuilding them, I found 1 injector popping a little lower than the other three so I added the shim into that one and it popped within spec like the other three.
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- Thread starter
- #35
I just got back from a 2000km trip camping down the Oregon Coast then back through Portland and Seattle for a whole week with my family, and just before I left I did some mad fabricating and work to the truck to get it ready for the 40C temps (100+F). First of all I'm so thankful for the A/C working and the mods I was able to get done without thoroughly testing it, it ran like a champ.
Some of the work I did just before we left...........
My alternator for the past year wasn't up to par and at idle it would drop a little, plus having the lights on, blower motor, and wipers it would dip to a scary 12volts at the battery. The battery light wouldn't come on, but it wasn't something I wanted to do the trip with, like the a/c going through rush hour in the Portland and Seattle traffic. I ordered a 1990 Toyota Corolla 70amp Denso alternator from Rockauto and pulled the guts out of it and put them into my alternator with success. I priced out all the parts individually before hand and they came to MORE than a whole alternator, so that is why I went with the whole alternator from a similar alternator to the Prados (part numbers crossed over)..
So all I replaced was the diode pack, regulator, and brushes, and all the screws and cover plate. Now the alternator works GREAT. Doesn't dip at all on the gauge in the truck even at idle with everything running. I pulled the whole thing apart and checked the bearings, and they seemed really good. Also the original brushes seemed in really good condition. (Note: make sure you plug the plug all the way back in when reinstalling it, I didn't and had some dash lights flash while on the trip, thanks to POSTOY for helping me diagnose the problem)
Some of the work I did just before we left...........
My alternator for the past year wasn't up to par and at idle it would drop a little, plus having the lights on, blower motor, and wipers it would dip to a scary 12volts at the battery. The battery light wouldn't come on, but it wasn't something I wanted to do the trip with, like the a/c going through rush hour in the Portland and Seattle traffic. I ordered a 1990 Toyota Corolla 70amp Denso alternator from Rockauto and pulled the guts out of it and put them into my alternator with success. I priced out all the parts individually before hand and they came to MORE than a whole alternator, so that is why I went with the whole alternator from a similar alternator to the Prados (part numbers crossed over)..
So all I replaced was the diode pack, regulator, and brushes, and all the screws and cover plate. Now the alternator works GREAT. Doesn't dip at all on the gauge in the truck even at idle with everything running. I pulled the whole thing apart and checked the bearings, and they seemed really good. Also the original brushes seemed in really good condition. (Note: make sure you plug the plug all the way back in when reinstalling it, I didn't and had some dash lights flash while on the trip, thanks to POSTOY for helping me diagnose the problem)
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- Thread starter
- #36
I had a weird bearing noise for the past month or two and found out it was the vacuum pump bearing. I was running out of time and could only source out a bearing CLOSE to the size I needed. So I modded my housing and made a ID bushing for this bearing. If you are planning on re-doing your alternator PRE order this size bearing off Ebay or locally "15mm X 46mm X 14mm" and order it. It's super simple to replace, just have a rag handy for all the oil that comes out of the vacuum pump. Soon as my bearing comes in the mail I"ll be switching back to the original size. I just did this for the road trip.
DO NOT ORDER THIS SIZE BEARING IN THE PICTURE. ORDER (15mm X 46mm X 14mm)
DO NOT ORDER THIS SIZE BEARING IN THE PICTURE. ORDER (15mm X 46mm X 14mm)
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- Thread starter
- #37
Now back to the water to air system...
This mod has made my EGTs drop to safe levels all the time now. For me, going up a hill I could easily hit 1350F if I wasn't paying attention to them, but I never do let them go past 1250F. Now with this mod I can ALMOST get it up to 1200F if I floor it up long hills, and still keeping an eye on the safe water temp levels. On the freeway egts have dropped down to 750-800 doing 100kph from 900ish. Also booting around town and freeway I was at 14ish liters to 100kms, and now its down to 11.5ish freeway to around town (so far).
Here is a pic of most of the parts I'm using. I have had a temp gauge hooked up to the water to air intercooler to see what temps it runs, and I've seen so far on a normal day it sits around 35-45C and the highest I've seen it get is 60C on a REALLY long hill. I do have temp switches that I've bought off ebay that I'm going to get to turn on the pump once it hits 30C so it's not running when I first turn on the truck and have a light inside that shows me when its on. I also put a fan on the trans cooler (heat exchanger) but I think I'm going to remove it cause it only drops the temps on the water by 1 or 2 degress. I think the heat exchanger will cool better without it.
I made a custom compression fitting for the auto temp gauge as you can see in the pic. I used one of these .
and modified the hole size to accept the temp sensor with a perfect sized drill bit on my lathe.
That temp switch is like this from Ebay : 12V Cool Heat temp Thermostat Thermometer Temperature Control Switch -50-110°C
These are cheap and work awesome. I tested both I bought and they worked awesome, you can set the temp they switch the relay on and off and keep memory of your settings even when you turn off the power to them. I'm setting my second one to turn on a buzzer inside the truck when the trucks coolant level gets too hot next time I drain the coolant and have time to install the sensor.
In the future I might install the high pressure 12v pump I bought and might have it turn on a water misters using the headlight reservoir full of water to spray mist in front of the rad to help cool it going up long hills. (just an idea right now)
This mod has made my EGTs drop to safe levels all the time now. For me, going up a hill I could easily hit 1350F if I wasn't paying attention to them, but I never do let them go past 1250F. Now with this mod I can ALMOST get it up to 1200F if I floor it up long hills, and still keeping an eye on the safe water temp levels. On the freeway egts have dropped down to 750-800 doing 100kph from 900ish. Also booting around town and freeway I was at 14ish liters to 100kms, and now its down to 11.5ish freeway to around town (so far).
Here is a pic of most of the parts I'm using. I have had a temp gauge hooked up to the water to air intercooler to see what temps it runs, and I've seen so far on a normal day it sits around 35-45C and the highest I've seen it get is 60C on a REALLY long hill. I do have temp switches that I've bought off ebay that I'm going to get to turn on the pump once it hits 30C so it's not running when I first turn on the truck and have a light inside that shows me when its on. I also put a fan on the trans cooler (heat exchanger) but I think I'm going to remove it cause it only drops the temps on the water by 1 or 2 degress. I think the heat exchanger will cool better without it.
I made a custom compression fitting for the auto temp gauge as you can see in the pic. I used one of these .
and modified the hole size to accept the temp sensor with a perfect sized drill bit on my lathe.
That temp switch is like this from Ebay : 12V Cool Heat temp Thermostat Thermometer Temperature Control Switch -50-110°C
These are cheap and work awesome. I tested both I bought and they worked awesome, you can set the temp they switch the relay on and off and keep memory of your settings even when you turn off the power to them. I'm setting my second one to turn on a buzzer inside the truck when the trucks coolant level gets too hot next time I drain the coolant and have time to install the sensor.
In the future I might install the high pressure 12v pump I bought and might have it turn on a water misters using the headlight reservoir full of water to spray mist in front of the rad to help cool it going up long hills. (just an idea right now)
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- Thread starter
- #38
I plan on keeping all the water to air electrical in this water tight box that I have hiding under the reservoir unit I added for the water to air system. The water to air system reservoir is from a older Nissan pickup power steering, I grabbed out of my local wreckers.
This is the only pic I have of the trans cooler I'm using as my heat exchanger at the moment. The pump is located under the coolant overflow tank, between the rad and the fender. I'll try to get a better shot of it if someone wants to see it. Suggest by GTSSportCoupe, I mounted it down low, and its been running good.
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- Thread starter
- #39
After doing the engine mounts (no pics sorry)... the last thing I did was made a proper spacer for my clutch fan...
It needed to come forward another 1" so I made a spacer on my lathe and drill press to push the fan more into the shroud to get it to pull more air through.
I still have a couple more small cooling ideas for the truck when going up long steep hills.
- Fix up the shroud a bit better with fiber glass to make it fit better to my aftermarket rad (worked in the past on 1 spot)
- Increase the size of the thermostat, or take it out and replace with a custom made electrically temp controlled butterfly valve for maximum flow.
- Mod the front of the truck for more air flow in, and remove that horizontal bar inside for more airflow.
- Make a custom bumper to hold a larger water to air heat exchanger and tranny cooler NOT in the way of the rad or winch.
It needed to come forward another 1" so I made a spacer on my lathe and drill press to push the fan more into the shroud to get it to pull more air through.
I still have a couple more small cooling ideas for the truck when going up long steep hills.
- Fix up the shroud a bit better with fiber glass to make it fit better to my aftermarket rad (worked in the past on 1 spot)
- Increase the size of the thermostat, or take it out and replace with a custom made electrically temp controlled butterfly valve for maximum flow.
- Mod the front of the truck for more air flow in, and remove that horizontal bar inside for more airflow.
- Make a custom bumper to hold a larger water to air heat exchanger and tranny cooler NOT in the way of the rad or winch.
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You guys are amazing with your talents at DIY stuff. Very cool. I've just bought a 78 and will begin a scaled back version of your mods. Mostly because I don't have your skills. Great info and lots of help for someone in my shoes. I'm really good at BBQ-ing, if you want to bring your tools over! LOL
