SC install prep (1 Viewer)

[KYLXFJ]

Hello all! Id like to thank anyone in advance for their kind time and help in any input on this matter! Cliffnotes...what can I do before installing my SC??

I have a 97 lx450 with 311k on the clock. Dealer maintained before me and I've kept her maintained at a very reputable local indy, with 3month inspections since ( and any accompanying repairs). After a good long search I was incredibly fortunate enough that a very nice member on these forums referred me to a gentleman selling a complete low mileage magnuson kit. I now have the kit, as well as new belt and some new pulleys from witsend (figure it wouldn't hurt to have the pulleys as spares). I have searched the forums and seen references to the cooling system, and it may be worth noting i had a new radiator installed about 2 years ago. What other maintenance or modifications would be advised for running the stock set up with stock pulley/etc.? I am inclined to have the head gasket replaced at the same time, as it is original. Any other head work needed while apart? I'm so excited to finally get this kit installed, but I don't want to rush and cause unnecessary damage in the process. Again, thank you all and your wealth of knowledge greatly. Hope all is well!

 

[Somebodyelse5]

commenting mostly to be sub'd... but throwing a SC at a 300k mile motor (that I assume hasn't been rebuilt?) sounds like a head gasket problem waiting to happen. But maybe I am wrong? surely someone else will chime in and learned me! would be cool to SC mine ... but for the price I would rather throw the money at a diesel swap.

 

[KYLXFJ]

Bump...

I'm beginning to think this may have been a terrible idea by the lack of response, haha.

 

[NLXTACY]

I would give the same response to someone asking about the turbo: do a compression test, solve all your cooling issues, take care of your oil leaks because you are pressurizing a system that is typically operating in vacuum.

I’d never boost a high mileage 1FZ without doing a rebuild. But many have.

 

[Saito]

It doesn’t say so in the directions, but get two heat ranges colder plugs. BRK7Es IIRC and maybe a snorkel(cold air intake).

I did my HG at 272k, added a supercharger at about 280k and I’m now at 308k. Running like a top.

 

[Mjones]

Hello all! Id like to thank anyone in advance for their kind time and help in any input on this matter! Cliffnotes...what can I do before installing my SC??

I have a 97 lx450 with 311k on the clock. Dealer maintained before me and I've kept her maintained at a very reputable local indy, with 3month inspections since ( and any accompanying repairs). After a good long search I was incredibly fortunate enough that a very nice member on these forums referred me to a gentleman selling a complete low mileage magnuson kit. I now have the kit, as well as new belt and some new pulleys from witsend (figure it wouldn't hurt to have the pulleys as spares). I have searched the forums and seen references to the cooling system, and it may be worth noting i had a new radiator installed about 2 years ago. What other maintenance or modifications would be advised for running the stock set up with stock pulley/etc.? I am inclined to have the head gasket replaced at the same time, as it is original. Any other head work needed while apart? I'm so excited to finally get this kit installed, but I don't want to rush and cause unnecessary damage in the process. Again, thank you all and your wealth of knowledge greatly. Hope all is well!

My S/C went on around 160k with original head gasket and did compression test then to just know and tested out fine. Did the blue fan clutch and 3fe fan which help cooling at the time. At some point I switched to the orange fan clutch with oem fan and it ran just a little cooler - it was mainly to have the oem fan back on it. Replaced plugs with mr2 turbo plugs with the s/c. Had as much of the cooling system I could do at the time, waterpump, etc. Now at 278k after a preemptive rebuild of the s/c and reinstalled around 270k along with Landtank's MAF s/c kit. The kit is nice. So far so good with the reinstall. Glad I did the s/c even though I was thinking it was a higher mileage s/c install at 160k. Now that seems like low mileage. I'd say do it if compression test is good and you're willing to do the extra things like fan clutch.

orange s/c fan clutch HD Fan Clutches - https://landtankproducts.com/products/hd-fan-clutches?variant=37793069301926
s/c MAF Scaled injector kit - https://landtankproducts.com/products/scaled-injector-kit?variant=37727322538150
there's also a MAF for N/A but I had it on the s/c for a while and better than oem MAF

 

[White Sheep]

Additionally, @landtank is making a SC with a intercooler. Not sure if in the future he'll be selling the intercooler parts separately, but keep an eye out for that and/or pm him directly.

 

[KYLXFJ]

Thank you all greatly for the feedback. Its all very valuable and certainly helped me formulate a gameplan to have this executed correctly. I'm sure I'll update on here once I have time to get her to the shop and it all performed!

 

[Andrew Bluemel]

Added my supercharged with 260k. Now at 285k with a 3.0 pulley. The motor has always been taken care of and the head gasket was done at 190k. Knock on wood but I haven't thought twice about it it seems like a happy camper. I remember a few years backtest driving a cruiser with a supercharger that had 420,000 miles that had one on it its whole life. I know adding boost ads complexity and stress to the motor, but here in Colorado, where every hill is no longer a high revving downshift, I would argue it is not that much harder on it.

 

[thumper]

I'll chime in here as this is similar to my situation. I bought a 96 LX450 about 4 years ago. It has 212xxx miles on it and the head was off due to "issues". I bought it knowing the the uncertainty about the engine, but wasn't worried about it.

After a few years of this sitting in our side yard, I called Robbie aka Powderpig here on mud who did my previous supercharger on my 97LX450. I shipped the LX to him and about a year later and a full engine rebuild, bore out and supercharger install. Ended up replacing the head as the original one was shot. I've had it back a few months now and I love it. The rest of the LX may have 212xxx miles, but the engine is nice and new.

My thought and experiences is to have the work done as if there is an issue it will happen after you have everything installed. The whole thing about doing the work while someone is in there is very applicable to this.

Just my worthless .02.

Have a great day!

 

[NLXTACY]

Before my SC went on

 

[Mjones]

I'll chime in here as this is similar to my situation. I bought a 96 LX450 about 4 years ago. It has 212xxx miles on it and the head was off due to "issues". I bought it knowing the the uncertainty about the engine, but wasn't worried about it.

After a few years of this sitting in our side yard, I called Robbie aka Powderpig here on mud who did my previous supercharger on my 97LX450. I shipped the LX to him and about a year later and a full engine rebuild, bore out and supercharger install. Ended up replacing the head as the original one was shot. I've had it back a few months now and I love it. The rest of the LX may have 212xxx miles, but the engine is nice and new.

My thought and experiences is to have the work done as if there is an issue it will happen after you have everything installed. The whole thing about doing the work while someone is in there is very applicable to this.

Just my worthless .02.

Have a great day!

So you must have been 'the one' Robbie was finishing up
I was hoping to have Robbie do similar to mine before he moved from CO to AZ. I was on his waiting list but he had to hold off with his move from CO to AZ.

So how is it? How does it compare with S/C before Robbie's work.
You did his 4.6 HP engine?
Not to get off topic but figured related to the op's intent

 

[KYLXFJ]

This is all really good info as well. Thank you all! And wow nlxctacy that mill is gorgeous! Part of my hesitation also lies in my lack of experience and lack of shops that specialize in these motors local. I've had 5 centrifugal, and n/a, big block and small block chevy built local before, but I have no idea who I would trust to rebuild (much less raise displacement and port etc) one of these. I saw robbie referenced in searches as highly competent in building. Are these motors best rebuilt by someone with a great deal of familiarity or can any experienced builder handle it?

 

[NLXTACY]

I would never trust a rebuilder with no 2FZ/1FZ experience. But that’s me, and I use to rebuild engines professionally in my early 20s so maybe I’m jaded

 

[thumper]

So you must have been 'the one' Robbie was finishing up
I was hoping to have Robbie do similar to mine before he moved from CO to AZ. I was on his waiting list but he had to hold off with his move from CO to AZ.

So how is it? How does it compare with S/C before Robbie's work.
You did his 4.6 HP engine?
Not to get off topic but figured related to the op's intent

More than likely, I am the one lol. Well, I can't compare this particular LX as I bought it non running. My previous 97 LX I bought, drove then had Robbie do just a headgasket and SC install. That was a night and day difference. That one had 140~k on it when the SC was installed.

Regarding the power on the new 96 and the 4.6 there is more grunt then I remember on my 97. Although, the 97 had full armor, skids, etc so it was a lot heavier. This one will also be the same eventually.

Going with Robbie, you won't be disappointed. This was my second experience with Robbie and I would heartily recommend him to anyone needing work done on there 1FZe engine.

Now that I've had a chance to drive it for a few months and seen some other ideas that other 80 owners have done, I might think twice about rebuilding the engine and dropping the SC on it as well. For the cost, I could have dropped in a LSA e-rod engine (supercharged engine). Well, maybe almost the cost... I do love the straight 6 though.

For the OP, I shipped my LX to Robbie and also had it shipped back. If that is an option for you, you might want to give Robbie a shoutout. I know he is still in the process of moving from CO to AZ and unsure of when he will be back up and operational. For transport, I used Aaron with Summit Auto Transport. He is on mud too. I've used him a lot for my 79 FJ40, 72 FJ40, and now 97 LX.

Jon

 

[Mjones]

More than likely, I am the one lol. Well, I can't compare this particular LX as I bought it non running. My previous 97 LX I bought, drove then had Robbie do just a headgasket and SC install. That was a night and day difference. That one had 140~k on it when the SC was installed.

Regarding the power on the new 96 and the 4.6 there is more grunt then I remember on my 97. Although, the 97 had full armor, skids, etc so it was a lot heavier. This one will also be the same eventually.

Going with Robbie, you won't be disappointed. This was my second experience with Robbie and I would heartily recommend him to anyone needing work done on there 1FZe engine.

Now that I've had a chance to drive it for a few months and seen some other ideas that other 80 owners have done, I might think twice about rebuilding the engine and dropping the SC on it as well. For the cost, I could have dropped in a LSA e-rod engine (supercharged engine). Well, maybe almost the cost... I do love the straight 6 though.

For the OP, I shipped my LX to Robbie and also had it shipped back. If that is an option for you, you might want to give Robbie a shoutout. I know he is still in the process of moving from CO to AZ and unsure of when he will be back up and operational. For transport, I used Aaron with Summit Auto Transport. He is on mud too. I've used him a lot for my 79 FJ40, 72 FJ40, and now 97 LX.

Jon

Thanks for the feedback. I’ve read up on the LSA - . I believe tlc4x4 did that in their 300 hour fzj80 job.

Robbie told be he’d be back up running in AZ but more part time. He mentioned he did his first LS swap too summer 2021. I’ll stay in touch with him. Mines running well right now so waiting a little longer. I’m researching LS swaps more seriously too - tempting but cost does seem to be a bit more.

 

[KYLXFJ]

Thank you all, and I had suspected (and feared) it was rather important to find an acclimated builder for these. I will have some thinking to do and may reach out to a few shops and that highly recommended gentleman. If I spend the funds to rebuild the entire engine, I will almost guaranteed be shipping it elsewhere and spending an extended period of time with no cruiser. Not the end of the world, but the last resto/project work i had done was years ago, and I can only imagine how much more complex and slow things are moving due to covid. Thank you all again greatly!