Builds 1988 BJ74 “Number 1” (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter FJBen
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FJBen
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- Thread starter
- #962
Today is one of those good days to have a full soft-top. Windy and dusty as all get out. It's nice to close it all up as that wind will beat you down quickly.
This weekend I put the rear doors on as it's supposed to be raining good tonight and tomorrow.
A few pictures
Now my side windows are a bit dirty but still pretty easy to see out of. Need to find the best stuff to clean these vinyl windows with.
Some observations and thoughts:
#1 I love the top. You can't find OEM tops anymore for these, and if you could it would be 2 or 3 times the price.
#2 I wish the sides "rolled up" like the OEM do. It's not really that hard to pull the full sides, but being able to zipper up/down the sides would be a lot easier than having to pull the sides and store them. Not too mention much faster for those surprise Colorado rain storms. I think a local place could fairly easily mod the sides to have zippers and roll up. You have to feed the back of the top into a channel much like the front so it's not a quick process. However in a down pour you can skip that part and just get the sides on and protected.
#3 It's either the vehicles they used to create the top or some of the used parts are off a little, or shipping that bent/misaligned some of the pieces but I had a heck of a time getting my rear doors to line up correctly. They aren't perfect but the shut and stay closed. My guess in mainly they weren't designed for full doors, or at least the rear hoop I received is for 1/2 doors. It has the bumper up top, but not the latch like on FRP. I would have to dig around to find out if there are 2 main rear hoops. I had to pull the rear upper bumper so that my doors would close and then fiddle with the hinges to get them closing correctly. I believe the base mounting pieces are slightly off or bent causing my alignment fun. In conjunction with the side pieces being a bit too long it made for a little bit of tinkering to get it all lined up.
#4 I still haven't put the last pieces in. They are a vertical bar on each side of the main front hoop that help with the top and keeping it on in high wind/speed. I'm trying to figure the best way to mount it because it needs a short bolt/captive nut setup really.
Again, a great top and I think they did an excellent job of getting it all put together at the price they did. Sure it needs a few tweaks here and there, but I've had the same need of tweaks on many other products.
This weekend I put the rear doors on as it's supposed to be raining good tonight and tomorrow.
A few pictures
Now my side windows are a bit dirty but still pretty easy to see out of. Need to find the best stuff to clean these vinyl windows with.
Some observations and thoughts:
#1 I love the top. You can't find OEM tops anymore for these, and if you could it would be 2 or 3 times the price.
#2 I wish the sides "rolled up" like the OEM do. It's not really that hard to pull the full sides, but being able to zipper up/down the sides would be a lot easier than having to pull the sides and store them. Not too mention much faster for those surprise Colorado rain storms. I think a local place could fairly easily mod the sides to have zippers and roll up. You have to feed the back of the top into a channel much like the front so it's not a quick process. However in a down pour you can skip that part and just get the sides on and protected.
#3 It's either the vehicles they used to create the top or some of the used parts are off a little, or shipping that bent/misaligned some of the pieces but I had a heck of a time getting my rear doors to line up correctly. They aren't perfect but the shut and stay closed. My guess in mainly they weren't designed for full doors, or at least the rear hoop I received is for 1/2 doors. It has the bumper up top, but not the latch like on FRP. I would have to dig around to find out if there are 2 main rear hoops. I had to pull the rear upper bumper so that my doors would close and then fiddle with the hinges to get them closing correctly. I believe the base mounting pieces are slightly off or bent causing my alignment fun. In conjunction with the side pieces being a bit too long it made for a little bit of tinkering to get it all lined up.
#4 I still haven't put the last pieces in. They are a vertical bar on each side of the main front hoop that help with the top and keeping it on in high wind/speed. I'm trying to figure the best way to mount it because it needs a short bolt/captive nut setup really.
Again, a great top and I think they did an excellent job of getting it all put together at the price they did. Sure it needs a few tweaks here and there, but I've had the same need of tweaks on many other products.
The OEM soft top is still available but the OEM top itself isn't what makes going OEM expensive. It is all the bits and pieces that are FST specific that drive up the price, including windshield frame, bars, etc. That is why you hardly ever see anyone doing OEM conversion yet there is no hesitation to drop thousands on ARB bars, lockers, etc. lol
I love the FST FJ73 I had. It was really nice to roll up the sides indeed but I still love your set up too!
I love the FST FJ73 I had. It was really nice to roll up the sides indeed but I still love your set up too!
Nice photos, your truck and the top look fantastic! Cleaning the vinyl windows can be done by rinsing with fresh water, wiping with a damp soft cloth, then use lemon pledge and a soft cloth (inside and out). Pledge conditions and softens vinyl, lexan and acrylic (plexiglass) windows. Keeps them from turning yellow and getting brittle. Any marine canvas or good awning shop could add zippers and straps to the side curtains, easily.
FJBen
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- Thread starter
- #966
Thanks! I've never had a "new" softtop. All of my windows on my soft tops were always already banged up and dirty.
I figured a good marine or boat shop could modify the top. For next summer I'd like to get 1/2 doors for the rear. Add it to the never ending list.
No idea why or how furniture polish works for vinyl, but it's pretty amazing. I have never tried any of the similar brands/products, but I know pledge works. Also, frequent rinsing will keep contaminants (dust, salt etc) from being on too long and forming hotspots that lead to small dots on the vinyl. That's much more of an issue with salt crystals on boats...
pilots have used Pledge on their plastic windshields and side window's for years
An old, wise pilot is who told me about it
FJBen
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- Thread starter
- #970
Turbo.
The BJ74 has the quintessential 80s turbo than can be described in 1 word.
LAG.
It's the same turbo thats on the 12HT, so way too big for the 13BT. The CT26 is a slow, oversized fairly reliable turbo that is just the complete wrong size for the BJ74. I'm not sure why they chose this size, 8cm housing for the 13BT....money? Toyota tech lag? Who knows...
At any rate, it's the wrong size turbo for the 13BT. There have been a few people on here that have upgraded, but not a lot of tech and information to go with it. There are options of G-trubo, Munro, Wink4x4, MMP etc. Mostly from Australia and Europe. These are bolt on and basically CT26 variants with smaller exhaust housings and varying degrees of mods/upgrades done. I think a base G-turbo will set you back $2,200AUD or $1,600US plus shipping etc. The CT26 is considered "old" turbo technology. Not that it can't work, it's just technology & efficiency have improved over the years. Kinugawa and Mamba do aftermarket bolt ons turbos, but reviews were hard to come by with almost no follow up.
Lots of fun and heated talks in the diesel section and huge threads on turbos. Most of them are upgrades for the Toyota's 6 cylinder diesels, but plenty of good information. I've been researching a ton and have come to this conclusion.
I narrowed it down to TD04HL-19T or a Holset HE221W. TD04 = Mitsubishi. Holset = best know for Cummins. The Holset is a TD04 copy with a newer turbine design and a little less efficiency. Both have been reliable, Mitsu more efficeint, Holset more power/boost available.
I chose Holset for a few reasons. I can get a Genuine Holset turbo, not a no-name china-charger with who knows how well built it is. I couldn't find the exact model of TD04HL-19T stock and direct from Mitsubishi. I think I found one but it was twice the price. Most all others needed to be slightly modded or built to that spec and again being built from unknown sources.
I went with a slightly smaller Holset. 5.5cm exhaust housing vs of what a lot of people do of 7cm. The factory CT26 turbo on the 13BT is 8cm. I went with the 5.5cm mainly due to the fact I live at 5000' elevation and lots of trips will be 10,000 feet. This should work quite well.
This turbo is small.
This obviously isn't bolt on or everyone would be doing it. There are definitely some mods that need to be done and I'll go over them.
The BJ74 has the quintessential 80s turbo than can be described in 1 word.
LAG.
It's the same turbo thats on the 12HT, so way too big for the 13BT. The CT26 is a slow, oversized fairly reliable turbo that is just the complete wrong size for the BJ74. I'm not sure why they chose this size, 8cm housing for the 13BT....money? Toyota tech lag? Who knows...
At any rate, it's the wrong size turbo for the 13BT. There have been a few people on here that have upgraded, but not a lot of tech and information to go with it. There are options of G-trubo, Munro, Wink4x4, MMP etc. Mostly from Australia and Europe. These are bolt on and basically CT26 variants with smaller exhaust housings and varying degrees of mods/upgrades done. I think a base G-turbo will set you back $2,200AUD or $1,600US plus shipping etc. The CT26 is considered "old" turbo technology. Not that it can't work, it's just technology & efficiency have improved over the years. Kinugawa and Mamba do aftermarket bolt ons turbos, but reviews were hard to come by with almost no follow up.
Lots of fun and heated talks in the diesel section and huge threads on turbos. Most of them are upgrades for the Toyota's 6 cylinder diesels, but plenty of good information. I've been researching a ton and have come to this conclusion.
I narrowed it down to TD04HL-19T or a Holset HE221W. TD04 = Mitsubishi. Holset = best know for Cummins. The Holset is a TD04 copy with a newer turbine design and a little less efficiency. Both have been reliable, Mitsu more efficeint, Holset more power/boost available.
I chose Holset for a few reasons. I can get a Genuine Holset turbo, not a no-name china-charger with who knows how well built it is. I couldn't find the exact model of TD04HL-19T stock and direct from Mitsubishi. I think I found one but it was twice the price. Most all others needed to be slightly modded or built to that spec and again being built from unknown sources.
I went with a slightly smaller Holset. 5.5cm exhaust housing vs of what a lot of people do of 7cm. The factory CT26 turbo on the 13BT is 8cm. I went with the 5.5cm mainly due to the fact I live at 5000' elevation and lots of trips will be 10,000 feet. This should work quite well.
This turbo is small.
This obviously isn't bolt on or everyone would be doing it. There are definitely some mods that need to be done and I'll go over them.
They are all available new as well as new OEM tops.
FJBen
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- Thread starter
- #974
So from the factory it’s not in the right position and needs clocked to work on the 13BT.
The exhaust side is very simple. 1 10mm nut on a V-band and you can pull the housing right off.
So in order to clock the exhaust housing, you will need to remove a dowell pin in the housing. Grab pliers or vice grips, wiggle and pull. Pops out fairly easily. Be careful not to ding it, but it's not a huge deal because it's the exhaust side and steel.
The 13BT manifold isn't level, it's at 20ish degrees or so. Since I don't have the other turbo out, this is a rough measurement just to get things in place mostly and then final tweaking once install happens. The problem you start to run into you will see in the next pictures.
In this clocking orientation, you can see the oil drain is probably going to be an issue. Luckily there are a few options.
The exhaust side is very simple. 1 10mm nut on a V-band and you can pull the housing right off.
So in order to clock the exhaust housing, you will need to remove a dowell pin in the housing. Grab pliers or vice grips, wiggle and pull. Pops out fairly easily. Be careful not to ding it, but it's not a huge deal because it's the exhaust side and steel.
The 13BT manifold isn't level, it's at 20ish degrees or so. Since I don't have the other turbo out, this is a rough measurement just to get things in place mostly and then final tweaking once install happens. The problem you start to run into you will see in the next pictures.
In this clocking orientation, you can see the oil drain is probably going to be an issue. Luckily there are a few options.
FJBen
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- Thread starter
- #975
For clocking the compressor you get to have fun with a big Snap ring. This is one of those times where you just need to get the right tool and call it good.
Good quality knipex snap ring pliers. $25.
Part number 48 21 J31
First time, no slip works perfect.
You can see the dowel pin in the compressor housing you need to remove. Same process, pliers or vice grips and wiggle it out. Be very careful not to ding that aluminum housing.
Compressor wheel. 6+6 design
Moving the housing around a little more you can see I should have decent clearance for the drain. "SHOULD" being the operative word.
Good quality knipex snap ring pliers. $25.
Part number 48 21 J31
First time, no slip works perfect.
You can see the dowel pin in the compressor housing you need to remove. Same process, pliers or vice grips and wiggle it out. Be very careful not to ding that aluminum housing.
Compressor wheel. 6+6 design
Moving the housing around a little more you can see I should have decent clearance for the drain. "SHOULD" being the operative word.
FJBen
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- Thread starter
- #976
Exhaust housing for the HE221W. Some come with this, some you have to order separate. There are 4 and 5 hole versions and apparently it doesn't matter which one you choose as the both have plenty of clamping power. The use Holsets V-band setup, which is like 2.5" ID, 3" OD on the V-band.
After clocking both the compressor and turbine housing you find the next issues. The wastegate doesn't line up anymore.
The 2 bolts at the 5 o'clock position is where the wastegate is supposed to bolt on.
Solution bracket. Benzforce makes this fancy little bracket that should work quite well.
After clocking both the compressor and turbine housing you find the next issues. The wastegate doesn't line up anymore.
The 2 bolts at the 5 o'clock position is where the wastegate is supposed to bolt on.
Solution bracket. Benzforce makes this fancy little bracket that should work quite well.
FJBen
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- Thread starter
- #979
So waiting for more parts. Here is a generic punch list of the other required pieces I know of right now that I need.
Supply hose:
M10>4AN oil feed adapter
4AN oil pressure hose
M12>4AN banjo fitting
Drain hose: this will be interesting to clear that housing, going to take some measuring.
block fitting
turbo drain fitting - 12AN, and 12ANangle fitting
hose - 12AN hose
Manifold Adapter: CT26 > Holset turbo adapter from Custom Fab Shop
Intake mods, basically piping from turbo inlet to air filter, 3"
Coolant Lines: This turbo is oil cooled only, so I can loop the lines or possibly thinking of using an adapter for aftermarket coolant temp.
Exhaust: This to me is the biggest piece to the puzzle. I'm at least going 2.5". I can bolt premade Vband downpipes and build from there. Not sure if I'll have a shop finish or if I'll take the DIY approach and try welding myself.
Supply hose:
M10>4AN oil feed adapter
4AN oil pressure hose
M12>4AN banjo fitting
Drain hose: this will be interesting to clear that housing, going to take some measuring.
block fitting
turbo drain fitting - 12AN, and 12ANangle fitting
hose - 12AN hose
Manifold Adapter: CT26 > Holset turbo adapter from Custom Fab Shop
Intake mods, basically piping from turbo inlet to air filter, 3"
Coolant Lines: This turbo is oil cooled only, so I can loop the lines or possibly thinking of using an adapter for aftermarket coolant temp.
Exhaust: This to me is the biggest piece to the puzzle. I'm at least going 2.5". I can bolt premade Vband downpipes and build from there. Not sure if I'll have a shop finish or if I'll take the DIY approach and try welding myself.
FJBen
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- Thread starter
- #980
Some turbo information and why the HE221w. Feel free to skip or read when you are trying to go to sleep.
Holset turbos have been around since the early 50s. Cummins bought them in 1973. They have manufacturing facilities in USA, Brazil, China, UK and India. As with everything there are fakes out there so make sure you buy a genuine Holset no matter where it's made. Another fun Holset fact, Holset Turbochargers are the only manufacturer that focuses solely on medium to heavy-duty diesel engine turbo technologies.
The HE221W is capable of 320bhp, thats well over the 120bhp of the 13BT.
The good side is it's still a really quick spool up even on small under 2.0L engines. This is a good start. I'm looking for a reliable quick spooling turbo that isn't really pricey.
Choosing your turbo: To figure out what turbo would be a good fit, you can either find what others did, pay others to do it or do maths. I've seen a few upgrades and read a ton of information so I decided to run "the maths" to see if it would fit because I like to learn.
Again, warning boring science learning ahead
First you need to know the air requirement's of your engine. You can figure that by a formula. The 13BT is 120HP and makes max HP at 3400rpm. So we need to figure our how much air it needs at that RPM.
13BT, 3400cc = ~208 cubic inches.
208ci x 3400rpm divided by 3,456 = 205cfm (cubic feet/min)
205 x .80*** efficiency = 164cfm (Volumetric efficiency is a moving target. Lots of factors but generalizing will be close enough)
So at 3400RPM, the 13BT uses 164cfm. Thats assuming 0psi, or basically 1 bar/atmosphere. 1 bar is 14.7psi at sea level. The higher you go up, the lower that pressure is. At 5000' in elevation, it's around 12.2psi.
So what air does the engine use without boost and with different levels of boost.
1:0 would be164cfm at 0psi
2:1 that would be 327cfm at 14.7psi
3:1 would be 492cfm at 29.4psi
the 1:0, 2:0, 3:0 is the pressure ratio. The Pressure Ratio is the total absolute pressure produced by the turbo divided by the atmospheric pressure (14.7 psi). The total absolute pressure is basically the atmospheric pressure plus the amount of boost we're running/going to run.
I won't be running 30psi, ideally topping around 20ish, so that would be 410cfm at 22psi which is been reported safe by others. So using the formula for pressure ratio at seal level 22psi = 14.7(atmosphere) + 22 (guage reading) divided by 14.7 (atmosphere) to = 2.49 pressure ratio.
So I want a turbo that can do 410cfm at a 2.5 pressure ratio efficiently. Clear as mud?
So now we can look at turbo compressor maps to see if we can match a turbo to the engine.
Continued in next post...
Holset turbos have been around since the early 50s. Cummins bought them in 1973. They have manufacturing facilities in USA, Brazil, China, UK and India. As with everything there are fakes out there so make sure you buy a genuine Holset no matter where it's made. Another fun Holset fact, Holset Turbochargers are the only manufacturer that focuses solely on medium to heavy-duty diesel engine turbo technologies.
The HE221W is capable of 320bhp, thats well over the 120bhp of the 13BT.
The good side is it's still a really quick spool up even on small under 2.0L engines. This is a good start. I'm looking for a reliable quick spooling turbo that isn't really pricey.Choosing your turbo: To figure out what turbo would be a good fit, you can either find what others did, pay others to do it or do maths. I've seen a few upgrades and read a ton of information so I decided to run "the maths" to see if it would fit because I like to learn.
Again, warning boring science learning ahead
First you need to know the air requirement's of your engine. You can figure that by a formula. The 13BT is 120HP and makes max HP at 3400rpm. So we need to figure our how much air it needs at that RPM.
13BT, 3400cc = ~208 cubic inches.
208ci x 3400rpm divided by 3,456 = 205cfm (cubic feet/min)
205 x .80*** efficiency = 164cfm (Volumetric efficiency is a moving target. Lots of factors but generalizing will be close enough)
So at 3400RPM, the 13BT uses 164cfm. Thats assuming 0psi, or basically 1 bar/atmosphere. 1 bar is 14.7psi at sea level. The higher you go up, the lower that pressure is. At 5000' in elevation, it's around 12.2psi.
So what air does the engine use without boost and with different levels of boost.
1:0 would be164cfm at 0psi
2:1 that would be 327cfm at 14.7psi
3:1 would be 492cfm at 29.4psi
the 1:0, 2:0, 3:0 is the pressure ratio. The Pressure Ratio is the total absolute pressure produced by the turbo divided by the atmospheric pressure (14.7 psi). The total absolute pressure is basically the atmospheric pressure plus the amount of boost we're running/going to run.
I won't be running 30psi, ideally topping around 20ish, so that would be 410cfm at 22psi which is been reported safe by others. So using the formula for pressure ratio at seal level 22psi = 14.7(atmosphere) + 22 (guage reading) divided by 14.7 (atmosphere) to = 2.49 pressure ratio.
So I want a turbo that can do 410cfm at a 2.5 pressure ratio efficiently. Clear as mud?
So now we can look at turbo compressor maps to see if we can match a turbo to the engine.
Continued in next post...
