Builds 1993 LJ71 in NYC: Build Thread (3 Viewers)

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Almost a month without an update here, but it's been quite the past few weeks!

Dad wrapped up the front knuckle rebuild two weeks ago, but it didn't go off without any issues! First was the front brakes ordered from Rockauto not fitting. I ordered for a second generation 4Runner V6 and they did not fit. I decided to do things the "old" way and bring the rotors and pads from the car to Autozone to see what would fit. A local location had 60 Series Land Cruiser rotors and pads in stock and they were a 1:1 match, so we used those.

Inclement weather was the other source of delays, but that gave me enough time to coat the knuckles and brake dust shields in POR15. Upon disassembling the other side, one Torx screw for the power hub was damaged by whoever was there before us, so those had to be sourced. Thankfully, Cruiser Parts had some!

The last hurdle was dealing with a stripped brake caliper bolt upon reassembly on the right side knuckle. It was our first time using a Time Cert, but I'm glad we chose those over a heli coil. It was pricey, but we got to use dad's new drill press and learned something new along the way.

The LJ71 rides much better with the rebuilt knuckles, though Dad noticed after our extended test drive that the left side caliper is seized. Thanks to Amazon Prime, we have a rebuild kit coming in just in time for the weekend.

I changed the front and rear diff fluid as well as the transfer case and transmission, so that squares away all the fluids for the truck. The transmission needs a few more drain and fill sessions to get all the old fluid out, and the front diff will likely need one as well since what came out of it looked like a silver milkshake when we were working on the knuckles.

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On the non-mechanical side, I finally fitted the 3rd brake light we ordered from AliExpress. In short, for $12, it's not that bad. Fitment is okay and I needed to de-pin the old plug and solder larger pins to the AliExpress part. The trim does not fit 100% onto the roof, but the LEDs shine bright, much better than the dim stock one. Dad's going to see if he can solder new diodes to the OEM unit so we can put that one back on. In the meantime, I painted the AliExpress plastic trim with SEM Trim Black and for now, this does the job.


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We also tackled the rear sliding window refresh - couldn't do it without this forum and Onur's service manual upload! Looking back, it was a straightforward process, only made complicated by me having never done it before! The old window came out without a fight, and after some massaging of the new seals and cleaning of the old metal frame and glass, it all went in quite simply! The rope we used was a bit too thin and snapped towards the end of the window install, but the non marring scraper tools we bought from Harbor Freight were instrumental in completing the job. The new window runs and rubber weatherstrips are in, and now there are no more leaks!

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In other news, the left side corner lamp fell off because like many other grills, mine is missing a tab. Since I couldn't screw down the corner lamp, it loosened while driving and away it went. I polished up the OEM ones and put them on for now while I source out another pair. Do any KZJ or LJ owners know where to source the orange ones? I've seen Flex use them a lot, but I can't tell if the paint the DEPO lenses orange or if they come that way from the factory.

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I'm happy that the major jobs are done for now, next up is a deep clean and detail of the interior before fitting up some leather seat covers I have in the stash. Down the line, I'm planning to POR15 the frame and finally get to installing some new headlights!
 
Been enjoying the Prado for the past week. We got some heavy rain and it was nice to see the rear window rubbers doing their job to keep water out of the cabin. Took it out on a longer drive to celebrate the work that's been done to it in the three months since picking it up from the port. Happy to say the 2LTE runs well and stays cool and the rest of the truck rides nice and stops well too.

Still patiently waiting for Dobinsons to ship the suspension setup - waiting for these has been a joke. Been three months already and Dobinson's just said they might arrive "hopefully next month". Beginning to regret that purchase!

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Been enjoying the Prado with Dad more as the weather gets warmer. Got around to completing the rear brake job - new pads and rotors went in, crossed over part numbers to 1st Gen Sequoia and was able to get a good deal on everything from Rock Auto. Both calipers were also treated to rebuild kits. The truck stops with that slow but sure pedal feel - not much initial bite, but the stopping power is there if I wanted to slam on the pedal. I recall my LJ78 feeling the same, do others experience similar performance?

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Got a spot at a local car show for the Prado as well. Didn't get too many photos, but it was real nice getting to park next to and see a G500 Cabriolet in person.


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Just more cruising planned for the Prado for now. Placed an order for new 555/Sankei radius and tie rods the other day and the lead time from FitinPart is a bit longer than normal - wondering if they will arrive before the Dobinson's lift kit!
 
The weather was excellent this past weekend, a bit on the cooler side and I could tell the truck was happy about it!

Starting to piece together an intercooler setup to get the engine ready for hotter days and warmer nights. Also trying to envision a new exhaust setup to really keep EGTs as low as possible.

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Finally got around to installing the new plastic lens headlights. I had to remove the grill to assess which grill clips needed replacing (all of them, as usual), as well as poke around and take measurements for the intercooler system. Going to go with a smaller water-to-air heat exchanger so none of the grill or surrounding mounting points have to be cut.

Also took the time to assess the non-functioning headlamp washer system. After engaging the windshield washers with the headlights on, nothing happens. There's some silicone on the check valves, so new ones are on order. The pump won't turn on when connected to 12V, so I suspect it's either clogged or seized as well. Will likely never use the washers, but when the OCD strikes, you know how it goes!

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Found some leftover Narva H4 bulbs in the stash and put those on. Light output has marginally improved, but the front end looks a bit better now. I've been scouring Buyee to find decently priced corner lamps to purchase. Hoping to score some amber ones. The TYC headlight part numbers are pictured for anyone that needs them.

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Was playing around with the idea of running vintage plates as well, probably won't since there really isn't much upside to it in NY. Looks rad, though 😁

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Are you in the city/boroughs or upstate or island?

Like what you are doing.
Thanks for the kind words, and thanks again for all the resources you've shared here. I'm in Nassau County close to the Queens border, always in and out of the NYC area 😁
 
In other news, I got the truck in the air on jackstands for the first time since picking it up, removed the wheels, and dropped them off to the powder coater. I originally wanted to do a DIY job and rattle can the wheels, but this design has nooks and crannies that are best addressed with a sand blaster versus by hand. The inside barrels were also caked with brake dust, a nightmare for any DIY guy.

Dad liked the less aggressive tread pattern (and price) of the Yokohama Geolandar G015, so we purchased a set of those in the forum-recommended 235/85R16 sizing to have mounted and road-force balanced after the wheels are refinished. We're going with a silver that's a few shades darker than OEM to give the truck a more modern, OEM+ look.

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With the truck up in the air, it was a good time to have a better look at everything underneath. So far, so good. The yellow paint marks from the factory are still on the suspension components, which is nice proof that the mileage is indeed as low as it is on the odometer. However, the two rear shocks are leaking - the setup from Dobinsons can't come soon enough!

Like many other 70 Series, the high-mount stop lamp LEDs have gone a bit dim over the years. Has anyone where tried this LED 3rd Brake Lamp from AliExpress? Seems cheap enough, but in my experience, lighting from Ali is often hit or miss.

Just reading through your great thread, and maybe you already figured this out. Your front calipers don't appear to be right for this year? They look like earlier cruiser calipers which I think might have one smaller piston. So the period correct calipers are better.
 
Just reading through your great thread, and maybe you already figured this out. Your front calipers don't appear to be right for this year? They look like earlier cruiser calipers which I think might have one smaller piston. So the period correct calipers are better.
Thanks for bringing that up, and for the kind words! I was actually thinking about that when the new brakes were going on - the calipers do have one smaller piston. I theorized that the LJ71 might have retained the earlier design while the 78s got upgraded calipers, but I didn't really think much beyond that. I had it on my list to try and find 2nd-Gen 4Runner calipers at the junkyard to compare mine to, and perhaps even purchase to restore. Those trucks are a rarity everywhere in the northeast these days, so I might have to source a set from Rockauto.

I'll dig through the parts diagrams for LJ78s and see if I can find a more definitive answer!
 
Made some progress with the headlight washer system today. Applying 12V directly to the motor did nothing, so out came the reservoir to remove the pump. The pump was disassembled and cleaned. Once back together, it started working again. The tank was filled with organic gunk, which was cleaned out with warm water and 1 cup of bleach left inside it for an hour. While waiting for this, I removed the battery tray and gave that part of the engine bay a good clean. It was also a good time to visualize the upcoming intercooler install.

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With everything apart, I sprayed water through the lines with a garden-hose and more gunk came out - it's the brown water on the bumper. Good news was the washer nozzles themselves function! Some of the right-side water was leaking through the check valve, so the new ones we ordered won't go unused.


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Before re-connecting the pump to the main harness, we applied 12V directly to the pump and the washers functioned. After buttoning everything back up, I tried using the washers with the headlights on to no avail. Eliminating everything but the washer relay, it was time to look at that. For anyone else with this issue, it's located behind the right-side headlight, underneath the "Power Outlet" box.

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It does not cross to anything available in the US, nor do I think it shares a board/components with North American Toyota/Lexus of the same vintage. Dad luckily had the correct replacement caps in his stash, so he swapped those out, plugged the relay back in, and tried to test again. Still nothing - there's likely one or more bad resistors on the board. While he tries to source those, I'm trying to source a replacement relay - closest (and cheapest) one is out of Lithuania. Hope that one works!


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As with all old project cars, we found an additional item to tend to while troubleshooting the headlight washers. The rear wiper washer also does not work, though the tank is full. It's likely the same issue with a failed relay/control module, but the front and rear do not share the same relay. I do believe the 80 series and 2nd Gen 4Runner share the same relay, but trying to tackle the front system before diving into the rear.
 
Turns out the winding of the headlight washer relay is toast. White flag has gone up, and the relay from Lithuania has been purchased.

Also received some parts from Partsouq today, only to realize I missed some items that should have been included in the order (it's always like that, isn't it?).

Over the weekend, Dad and I managed to get out to the pick-and-pull junkyard. He was able to pull a Bosch auxiliary water pump from a surprisingly mint first-gen Audi TT. A quick test with the 12V from my impact proved it still worked, and now we have the humble beginnings to the water-to-air intercooler setup.

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Caught up with some old friends in Brooklyn and lost boost on the way home - boost gauge was inoperable and the green LED on the dash no longer lit up. Snapped this photo before popping the hood around 2AM. Was caught off guard when someone in a Lexus GX pulled up behind me offering to help and to see if I was selling the truck anytime soon! We ended up chatting for a few minutes before we were both on our way.

It turned out to be a loose hose + clogged filter going from the throttle body to the factory boost sensor. Dad cleaned the original filter and we'll order a new one on the next Partsouq or Amayama run.

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The Prado has been living up to its cruiser name, cruising around the streets of NYC for the past month! We've been enjoying it almost daily, and it is real nice to be in this phase of owning a "project car". All the baseline work has been complete and there aren't any urgent items that need attention. It starts up every time, except for an occasionally sticky starter solenoid discussed in another thread here.

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Turns out the metal coil portion of the headlight washer relay was what was broken, so no amount of re-capping could fix that. I purchased the only available replacement relay from an eBay seller in Lithuania, and it arrived within a few weeks. Plugged it in and still had no luck. Started to clean out the lines with compressed air when we realized that one of the plastic elbows was leaking. Found a similar heater hose coupler on Amazon Prime and was able to button up the headlight washer system the next day.

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Reassembly included new check valves on both sides as well as some new grill clips. I snagged a single DEPO crystal clear corner lamp from Buyee and installed it when putting everything back together.

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Also took some time to coat the seams with POR15 while the grill was out!

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So now the headlight washers work when the washer button is pressed twice while the headlights are on. I learned the squirt duration is not that long for these headlight washers, and it looks like they were designed that way. Not really that useful of a feature in that regard, but happy to have that part of the truck working again!
 
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I dug out the set of seat covers I had in the stash meant for my old LJ78 and attempted to fit them onto the LJ71. Before that, I cleaned up all the carpets and upholstery using a decommissioned big box store carpet cleaner rental I snagged off FB Marketplace for $100. It's a huge upgrade from the Bissell Little Green Mini I had for a decade prior!

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All clean, except for the headliner which will need some rinse-less product and as little agitation as possible. Saving that for another day.

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The rear seat covers would not fit at all, and did not even bother trying. They were meant for -J78 second row seats, and I've yet to find rear seat covers specific to the LJ71. The front seat covers fit "okay", much worse than I had imagined and very different from how they look in all the Japanese Auction photos. I waited a few days and let the truck sit in the sun for the covers to fit the seats better, and the end result isn't terrible. They have been easier to clean, so that's a plus!

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Intercooler setup is almost complete! Purchased a water to air intercooler from eBay which arrived much faster than expected. Dad managed to get a machine shop in the Philippines to machine a throttle body inlet based on the plans that @GTSSportCoupe shared here, and this is what they sent over. Dad's going on vacation there this month, and he'll be bringing it with him on the way back. Just need to pick out a heat exchanger and buy a piping kit now.


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Almost 7 months into the build, the Dobinsons suspension hasn't arrived yet. Running out of things to fix on the Prado, but that just means more time to enjoy it on the road!
 
Got around to painting and installing a replacement rear door hinge over the weekend. Painted with Toyota 183 mixed up by the local paint supply company and cleared with some spray I already had in the cabinet. Paint match came out great and with some minor adjustment to the top hinge bolts, the door now closes easily.

Side note, I always love removing JDM door panels and seeing the brown packing tape the mechanics use to tape up every one of them! As if that was standard issue to everyone with toolbox in Japan.

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Haven't done any major work in the past two weeks, but I was able to get out of the city this past weekend and bring the Prado upstate, and then to Boston afterward. ~10hrs of seat time over 500+ miles without any hiccups! As expected, the rig was slow up some hills, the suspension was more unforgiving than I wanted it to be, and I need to look into some lighting upgrades, particularly the headlights. Looking forward to tracking uphill EGTs once the intercooler system is installed.

Average MPG clocked in at 20.5 at highway speeds, which I'm happy with.

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Also spotted some cool cars in NYC these past few days. Square bodies are so timeless 😁

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Haven't replied to my own thread in a long time! Happy to report that Dad and I have been enjoying the Prado. We installed the Dobinsons OEM Height Restoration kit last autumn. It started at a good height but has settled a bit and honestly, it's a tad bit low for me. Should have gone with the 1.5" kit, maybe even the 2.5". Perhaps that will be something to change out at a later date, but not at the moment.

We also applied a coat of POR15 to the underside of the LJ71 before putting on the new suspension.

At some point Dad realized that one of the brake calipers had a sticky piston, to which I said it would be cheaper to upgrade to the updated calipers with two equal size pistons versus rebuilding the ones that came with car. I'm still not sure why this particular LJ71 came with the smaller piston calipers, but we rectified that with some remanufactured calipers from Rockauto. I ordered calipers for a 60-Series and they bolted right up with just some minor trimming to the brake dust shield. Pedal feel was still a tad bit spongy in the same way my LJ78 was, but we were both happy with the upgrade. Shooting to do stainless braided lines to replace the old rubber ones this summer.

The sticky starter contacts also gave out about a month ago - this was coming and thankfully we weren't too far from home when it happened. A quick tow using Hagerty's roadside assistance and replacement contacts from Partsouq got it going again.


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That's it for now. We picked up another project aka money pit, a 1995 Honda Civic coupe that needed a head gasket and some other major things. I wanted it to be a "cheap" build but the costs stacked up quickly. That has been taking my attention away from the Prado, but I'm back now. The LJ71 sprung a decent oil leak today and Dad and I need to track it down soon. Unfortunately it looks like it's coming from the front crank seal. This was replaced last year during the T-Belt job and I'm still trying to deny the fact that this seal probably went bad rubbing against the crank. Will update once I find out what's really causing the leak!
 

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