Builds BJ42 To UZJ42 Build thread, V8 Engine swap, 1UZ-FE, A343F, HF1A, Electronics, etc. (1 Viewer)

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Today I mounted the Transfer case mount. I used the original Toyota rubbers. The mount is made from C-channel and is bolted to the frame with 4x M10 bolts. The distance from Transmission and Transfer case to the body is perfect. You can see the moutn here:
Transfer case brace.jpeg


The transmission is tucked up into the framerails. I'll use the original gearbox mounts to mount some underbody protection. The Transfer case hangs below the framerails, I'll also fabricate some underbody protection around the transfer case. You can see the height in the picture below:
down.jpeg


The engine/transmission/transfer case is placed as far back as possible:
placed a far back as possible.jpeg


The transfer case rear ouput flange sits nicely in the crossmember:
Rear output flange.jpeg
 
I've put some wooden blocks between the axle and the bumpstops so the oil pan won't hit the differential. In the picture below you can see that the oil filter won't fit. I've ordered an adapter block & oil filter holder from Venomautomotive.
Engine mount and wooden spacer block.jpeg


With the engine mounted in this position there is enough room above the engine:
There is enough room above the engine.jpeg


It sits nice:
engine sits nice.jpeg


Getting there, everything fits. I found out the bolt pattern on the transfer case is different than on the differential. No problem, I'll have some driveshafts made to length:
Engine is in.jpeg


I want to refit the power steering in the next two weeks, will have to use a bend (Z-bend) rod to clear the left/driver shock. The powersteering box will be mounted +/-5cm or 2 inches from the frame. The other thing that has priority is the custom oil pan, I have to finish the drawings and have it laser cut.
 
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I made a steering box relocation bracket so the steering box won't hit the exhaust manifolds.
I don't have a picture yet, it's made from 6mm laser cut steel plate and bolts to the two existing top holes and three new ones.
The original mount bolts to the bracket, shifting it 50mm left (drivers side). Here is a simple drawing in sketchup:
Steering box relocation.PNG

I ordered a steering universal joint from Kartek.com to help with connecting the steering box at this new angle. The smooth hole will be turned on a lathe to the correct dimension. I'll also have to make a new steering rod that clears the left (drivers) shock absorber.

I also finished mocking up and drawing the oil pan. The capacity is increased form 5.5 to 7 litres.
The right / passenger side is angled so the front driveshaft won't hit the oil pan.
The oil pan is sturdy, really sturdy, 6mm steel flange and 3mm plate sturdy.
I still have the drawings and can have another one laser cut (and welded up) if anyone needs one.
oliepan.jpeg


Now that everything fits in the engine bay and everything has a bracket it was time to clean and paint the frame.
I first cleaned and degreased the frame (in- and outside) with a hot water pressure washer and some degreaser:
cleaning.jpeg


After cleaning there followed a lot of hours with steel wire brush on an angle grinder & cordless drill.
Not a fun job, but has to be done. All loose flaky rust was removed from the inside (there wasn't much).

After wire wheeling I applied rust preventive primer:
anti rust.jpeg

You will notice some overspray on the axle and tires, these were still covered in dirt and grease. They will clean up easy.
I covered important lines, cables, etc in aluminum foil. Not the brakelines, I'm going to replace these anyway.

After a cure time of +/-24 hours I applied a 2K RAL9005 (black) paint in several layers:
painted.jpeg


The result is very nice. I coated the inside of the frame with a rust preventive wax coating to protect it. It's spray-able and dries, so dirt won't stick to it.
Large area's around the holes were covered in the red rust preventive paint and black 2K paint before the wax coating.
I sandblasted the VIN and the area around it and masked it. After all the paint was dry I removed the tape and applied 2K clearcoat over the VIN.

I hope from here I will only bolt things to the frame instead of taking it apart everytime.
 
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If the engine is tilted 4 or 5 degrees then you will not want to use all wheel drive at high speed because the front driveshaft will likely vibrate. You will also have to adjust your rear pinion angle. In addition you want to make sure your engine/transmission are parallel to the frame rails for optimal driveshaft angle. Looks like a nice project. You may also want to leave room in the engine bay to add a air conditioning condenser in case you ever want to add Ac.
 
You are right, the 4 or 5 degrees I measured was relative to the ground, not to the frame. Not the correct way to measure.
I will check the angle of the frame too. What I did is I matched the output flange of the transfer case to the flange of the rear differential.

I'll do those measurements and post them.

If it does not work out I could convert to 2WD (source a HF1A or install a part time kit) or use custom CV driveshafts and retain the AWD.

Since the AC compressor is already on the 1UZ I'm planning on adding AC like you said. At the moment I have to figure out if I'm going to use the original radiator and if that has enough cooling capacity. If not what to upgrade to? When I've got a radiator I will also start searching for a condenser and make some brackets.
 
You are right, the 4 or 5 degrees I measured was relative to the ground, not to the frame. Not the correct way to measure.
I will check the angle of the frame too. What I did is I matched the output flange of the transfer case to the flange of the rear differential.

I'll do those measurements and post them.

If it does not work out I could convert to 2WD (source a HF1A or install a part time kit) or use custom CV driveshafts and retain the AWD.

Since the AC compressor is already on the 1UZ I'm planning on adding AC like you said. At the moment I have to figure out if I'm going to use the original radiator and if that has enough cooling capacity. If not what to upgrade to? When I've got a radiator I will also start searching for a condenser and make some brackets.
Champion makes an affordable 3 or 4 core aluminum radiator for not too much of money.
 
I will be looking for a better radiator.

Today I made the pick up tubes. I made a couple of bends and went from there.

For the first bend I used the factory tube and rotated it:
IMG_20200426_174952.jpg


Then I attached some new tube with a 90 degree bend and attached the factory pickup:
IMG_20200426_194507.jpg


IMG_20200426_194459.jpg


I added one support to the tube, it is strong.

I also made a start on the oil pan, more on that later.
 
Yesterday I finished welding the oil pan, I bolted it to the old pan to prevent it from warping:
lassen oliepan 1.jpeg


Fisished welding:
oliepan gelast 2.jpeg


Now I will have to install the drain plug, oil level sensor and dipstick.

A few weeks ago I found a little bit of rust and a bad repair in the rear wheel wells. After I started peeling off the seam sealer there was a lot of rust underneath.
I spend the rest of the day peeling away seam sealers, wire wheeling rust and welding in patches. I think I have a few hours to go and then it will be good (enough for now).

The weather was nice, so I took it outside (Tied to forklift, wheels can't turn and hood is secured):
rust rear.jpeg


I found lumps of seam sealer like this in some cavities:
lumps of seam sealer.jpeg
 
Got a lot done in the previous two weeks.

First I spent some sime wire wheeling the backside of the frame.
After cleaning painted in rust preventive paint and a 2K RAL9005 (black) satin over that.
I lifted the body slightly to get to the top of the frame. I left the front two (body mount) bolts in so i'm not doing a body off:
body not off.jpeg


Then it was time to fix some rust in the rear wheel wells. There were some bad repairs form the previous owner.
Some were ok and some were bad. I cut out all the bad ones and put in new sheet metal.

I also found some holes under the sound insulation in the left/drivers footwell. Cut these out and replaced with some nice fresh metal. After that I wrapped the frame, cleaned, degreased, roughed up, primed and sprayed the underbody in a nice coat of black Raptor liner.

The frame and underbody:
Wrapped frame.jpeg


Raptor underbody:
Raptor underside.jpeg


I also installed a blasting cabinet and started blasting all the parts that came off the BJ. A coat of anti-rust primer, black will follow soon. Only a few parts in this picture:
blasted parts.jpeg


I also made a hole in the fuel tank for the "in-tank" fuel pump. I'll be using the pump from the Lexus LS400:
tank pump in.jpeg


I'll weld in a laser cut piece that is slightly lower than the rest of the tank, wire wheel, prime and paint after that. The fuel pump assembly will mount to the welded in plate with a few bolts and a gasket. Some AN6 fittings will be the feed and return line. I will use the original fuel float/sender, breathers etc.

A while ago I was searching for the layout of this fuel tank. Where do the vent lines go, how are the baffles placed, etc.
I made some pictures of all this through the hole and will post these soon.
 
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While I was searching I coudn't find specs and baffle layouts on the fuel tank, I only found people with the same questions.
So when I cut the hole I put my phone inside and snapped a few pictures. I'd thought to post it here, maybe it will help someone.

I think the Toyota part number is: 77001-60140 (correct me if I'm wrong).

Here is the fuel tank with the hole:
tank met gat.jpeg


Tank side:
side.jpeg


Looking through the hole you can see a baffle:
naar binnen door gat.jpeg


Looking towards the shallow part you can see the second baffle and some lines:
baffle.jpeg


In the picture below I marked the vent lines:
vent lines.jpeg


The tubes with blue dots go to the blue "X" marks.
The bigger tube with the red dot ends at the red dot in the middle.

Today I made some drawings for laser cutting the fuel pump mount & access hole. I will try to get them cut and welded this weekend.
 
Not Yet @White Stripe , I'm no expert on oil pans but I will be installing one on the slope at the front so that not all the oil will flow forwards and up when I brake.

Do you have a suggenstion for more baffles?

I still have to figure out how I will connect the dipstick (will be simple, little piece of bend tube).
Also the oil level sensor from the Lexus LS400 is broken, they are expensive and the ECU does not require that sensor, I might just leave that out.
 
Not Yet @White Stripe , I'm no expert on oil pans but I will be installing one on the slope at the front so that not all the oil will flow forwards and up when I brake.

Do you have a suggenstion for more baffles?

I still have to figure out how I will connect the dipstick (will be simple, little piece of bend tube).
Also the oil level sensor from the Lexus LS400 is broken, they are expensive and the ECU does not require that sensor, I might just leave that out.
Here is a forum thread about baffles to help. Their are universal kits on ebay.
 
This weekend I finished welding on the fuel tank. I had a 2mm stainless plate cut:
laser cut.jpeg


And bend:
bend.jpeg


Cleaned the tank one more time and welded it in:
welded in 2.jpeg


Closeup:
welded in 1.jpeg


Do you think I used enough rivnuts...?

I'll have the top plate cut this week and hopefully leaktest the tank next weekend.

While searching for oil pans I came across a few forum posts where people had a lot of trouble getting the tow studs out of the 1UZ that the oil pan attaches to.
First I tried a set of vice grips but that did not work, after that just threaded two nuts on with a lot of force toward each other, studs came right out:
studs.jpg


A lot of components ordered: AN6 lines for fuel, AN10 for transmission & motor oil, copper brake lines, AN3 brake lines, check valve, heater valve, power steering hose, cabling, superseal connectors.
 
Helped a mate with his Jeep Cherokee XJ this weekend, so didn't get a lot done on the UZJ42.

But I did wire wheel and spray the fuel tank:
fuel tank sprayed.jpeg


Then I laser cut a gasket out of oil & petrol resistant Nitril:
laser cut gasket.jpeg


Perfect fit:
gasket on tank.jpeg


This week I'll have the top plate cut. Once I receive all of my AN fittings & lines the tank can go back in.
I did plug a few pinholes in the bottom of the tank and welded in this top plate. I still need to coat these welds on the inside.
What would be a nice coating to apply?

I also received copper brake lines and mounting clips. It comes in a roll and is hard to get straight by hand. After a bit of searching online I drew up some rollers, 3D printed and bolted them to some stainless scrap tube.
brakeline.jpeg


It works really well:
brakeline straight.jpeg


You have to push it through and pull it back a couple of times, but works perfect.
 
Welded in a tube as rocker on a mates cherokee XJ and installed front airlocker in a mates Land Cruiser 100 series, also got something done on the UZJ42.

I replaced the heater valve, old one was stuck. Easy job, part number I used was: 87240-60031. I also flushed the heater core.
Installed heater valve & flushed heater core.jpeg


I also installed the power steering spacer:
power steering mount.jpeg


To couple the steering rod to the Power steering pump I'm using a universal joint. The angle on the stock coupling (behind firewall) is enough with a bit of room to spare.
power steering mount complete.jpeg


And engine mounts:
installed pump & motor mounts.jpeg


I'm having the steering coupling/universal joint bored out on a lathe and I am planning on installing that next week.
When it is installed I can install the brake booster & master cylinder and finish the brake lines.
 
Great build!!! Following. Great ideas. Awesome.

if you are willing to part out the H55f shifter linkages and the original transmission cross member please let me know. I will be interested in purchasing them.

thanks!
 
I've straightened coiled tubing using pvc pipe. Find some small diameter pipe, insert the tubing and pull through a couple of times.
 

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