Build 1996 HZJ75 Land Cruiser Pickup

[Will Van]

so thats part of the equation, the plug ports are the same, i'm trying not to assume there are empty ports in your trucks plugs where you can simply add the pin and wire for the needed sender?

if thats the case i imagine Eastern Beaver has the pins

Could be pins just need to be added to the plug.

Or the plug may already be fully pinned, and I just need to find the leads for the sensors in the wiring harness.

I would imagine Toyota made only one wiring harness for all optioned trucks of a certain model. Then, depending on options, abandoned the leads not utilized on any particular truck. For example, my truck does not have factory A/C, but the A/C wiring is present in the harness. Maybe the same is true for oil pressure and RPM?

Regardless, for now, my attention lies on other priorities with the truck.

 

[Will Van]

Milestone day today!

When I first purchased the Pickup, it wouldn’t pass inspection. So I transferred title, but couldn’t get it registered until I had completed the renovation work and truck would pass inspection.

I received a passing inspection last week, and truck is titled, registered, with Texas plates this morning. Time to go for a drive!

 

[RHINO]

So you can start driving it for real? Congrats

 

[bottombracket]

Nice work Will!

 

[Will Van]

I still need to do a coolant flush, but yes, I can drive it for real!

 

[mudandrock]

Could be pins just need to be added to the plug.

Or the plug may already be fully pinned, and I just need to find the leads for the sensors in the wiring harness.

I would imagine Toyota made only one wiring harness for all optioned trucks of a certain model. Then, depending on options, abandoned the leads not utilized on any particular truck. For example, my truck does not have factory A/C, but the A/C wiring is present in the harness. Maybe the same is true for oil pressure and RPM?

Regardless, for now, my attention lies on other priorities with the truck.

If your truck came without the tachometer to begin with, then the IP will not have the sensor for the tach pickup, and a pickup will not be able to be added without changing out the pump body.

 

[Will Van]

If your truck came without the tachometer to begin with, then the IP will not have the sensor for the tach pickup, and a pickup will not be able to be added without changing out the pump body.

Yessir, that's true. Do you know if the tach wiring is in the harness though?

 

[mudandrock]

I have a non-tach 79 here in the shop and it is provisioned for the tach wires. Even if yours is not, the harness that plugs into the back of the cluster will likely be the same and you can add the pins and just run two separate wires directly to the sensor once you get the right pump. I always keep one on the shelf.

 

[Will Van]

I have a non-tach 79 here in the shop and it is provisioned for the tach wires. Even if yours is not, the harness that plugs into the back of the cluster will likely be the same and you can add the pins and just run two separate wires directly to the sensor once you get the right pump. I always keep one on the shelf.

10-4. Thanks for the intel!

 

[Will Van]

As some of you may recall, the way this project started was that I just wanted to flush the cooling system. I suspected the truck had been run with plain tap water based on the condition of the "coolant".

The plan was to flush the old gunk out, replace the hoses, and fill with fresh coolant. But because the hardlines that mount to the block were so rusted from the tap water, the engine had to come out so I could replace them.

When I reassembled, I just added distilled water and a flushing agent. The instructions say to drive the truck normally (up to 100 miles) to agitate the flush. Then drain and refill.



We have had several cold snaps here in Texas that got below freezing. Although the truck stays in the garage, the last thing I wanted to happen was for the distilled water to freeze and crack the block.

I had put about 50 miles on the truck over various conditions. So today I decided to drain the old distilled water and flush the cooling system.

This is the state of the water during the flush (I recaptured the majority of the old coolant).

I also forgot to tighten one of the hose clamps on my flushing setup. When I (gently) turned on the water pressure from the garden hose, it blew this crap all over my engine bay. It was about the consistency of bubble gum (tasted like Juicy Fruit). I cleaned it up as best I could. Luckily I didn't get any in my eyes. And that crap is no longer in the cooling system.

Ran the garden hose flush for about 30 min while idling, then ran compressed air through the system. Filled with fresh Toyota Red and tested for leaks. Ready to roll!

Once it warms up again, I'll cover the alternator and battery and hose down the rest of the engine bay.

 

[Gun Runner 5]

@Will Van …. (Tasted like Juicy Fruit)
————————————————————————
Who doesn’t like Juicy Fruit?

 

[edmond4822]

Will, you mentioned that " Original cluster had 35,632 kms (I seriously doubt it was accurate) ".. What makes you think that? curious to know..

I guarantee you that the KMs has not been played with. The truck belonged to the Military..

 

[Will Van]

Will, you mentioned that " Original cluster had 35,632 kms (I seriously doubt it was accurate) ".. What makes you think that? curious to know..

I guarantee you that the KMs has not been played with. The truck belonged to the Military..

Apologies Edmond, I meant no offense.

35,632 km is 22,140 miles. That's nothing! A 22k mile Toyota Land Cruiser is barely broken in. It's practically brand new!

But some of the components on the truck indicate that many more miles had been seen. Not due to age or heat, but due to use.

For example, at 22k miles, the factory coolant from Toyota should look brand new. On this truck, it didn't have factory coolant, it had tap water. It would be a great deal of work for anyone to drain the factory coolant and add back tap water. Especially on such a low-mileage truck. And why would anyone do that at 22k miles? That doesn't really make sense.

Also, the radiator fell apart in my hands when I pulled it. The coolant hardlines were rusted. The transmission was leaking from the front seal. The hood release cable was frayed. None of those items would deteriorate so quickly at 22k miles, even in the heat of the Middle East.

As I mentioned above, I mean no offense. I am VERY pleased with the truck. If I had to do it over, I would buy it again, no questions asked. But I have to go by what I am seeing when I work on the truck. And I could be wrong. Who knows?

Overall I am going to continue to work on and enjoy the truck. I love it!

Thank you, my friend.

 

[Will Van]

It is spectacularly beautiful in Central Texas right now. I was going to wait until this weekend, but today was too pretty. Took the Cruiser out for a spin to our lake property. The truck did great and was a pleasure to drive. No issues and lots of attention. I was only able to snap a few pics before I needed to turn around and head back to work.

After spending a little more time in the truck, 3.7 diff gears are high on my priority list. It will only do about 60 mph before it starts screaming.


But for now, time to just enjoy the truck!

 

[edmond4822]

Hello Will

I totally agree with you. Some things should not have deteriorated.

These mushes in the military dont know s*** from s***. They didnt give a **** about the truck. All they know is to abuse the car..

I believe they used the truck for a short time but drove it so hard that they abused it, neglected it, and basically didnt give a s*** about it and left it as is for a very long time. Examples. like standing on the hood, or not changing oil for the past 20 years or not putting coolant in all the time, leaving things to deteriorate. Some folks just are very careless.

The worst for me as to why the radiator fell apart. never seen this happen..

Not sure how long the transmission seals last but could it be possible that if the truck has been sitting for a long time and the seal has dried out and started leaking? just curious.. I want to know

The hood cable might be frayed because of the dry heat and for not being used all the time. It became stiff and started cracking slowly?

God bless you will. I am glad you are continuously working on the truck to make it the best and safe to drive..

Keep up the great work..

By the way its sister will be here next week.. LOL

 

[Will Van]

Hello Will

I totally agree with you. Some things should not have deteriorated.

These mushes in the military dont know s*** from s***. They didnt give a f*** about the truck. All they know is to abuse the car..

I believe they used the truck for a short time but drove it so hard that they abused it, neglected it, and basically didnt give a s*** about it and left it as is for a very long time. Examples. like standing on the hood, or not changing oil for the past 20 years or not putting coolant in all the time, leaving things to deteriorate. Some folks just are very careless.

The worst for me as to why the radiator fell apart. never seen this happen..

Not sure how long the transmission seals last but could it be possible that if the truck has been sitting for a long time and the seal has dried out and started leaking? just curious.. I want to know

The hood cable might be frayed because of the dry heat and for not being used all the time. It became stiff and started cracking slowly?

God bless you will. I am glad you are continuously working on the truck to make it the best and safe to drive..

Keep up the great work..

By the way its sister will be here next week.. LOL

Thank you my friend. You are probably correct, they did not treat the truck properly. Either way, I love it.

Post pics of the new truck!

 

[Honger]

I picked up the new hood on Friday. Adios 50lbs of Bondo.

I also swapped instrument clusters to add tach and replace the non-working speedo. New cluster works great!

Here is record of the mileage data for posterity’s sake (although, no one would ever swap a cluster forward with an extra 275,000kms to try and sell it).

Original cluster had 35,632 kms (I seriously doubt it was accurate).

New cluster has 310,877 kms.

I still need to wire the RPM sensor, oil pressure, and 4WD indicator light.

Man, that cluster swap is a compelling upgrade. Looks good... and the same plugs...

 

[Will Van]

Man, that cluster swap is a compelling upgrade. Looks good... and the same plugs...

Thank you!

For mine, anything that was displayed on the original cluster, works flawlessly on the new cluster - turn signals, high beams, water temp, fuel gauge, etc. It's just a matter of wiring in the additional sensors you want to display that weren't on the original cluster (for me, RPM and oil pressure).

PM me if you want the details on where to source them.

 

[coldtaco]

Do you have 4:11 gears? I get about 2400-2450rpm at 65mph. I guess if you want to drive Texas speeds I could see how your engine is screaming

 

[Will Van]

Yessir, I have 4.11 gears.

But also 4:1 t-case with 10% underdrive in high. And stock 235/85/16 tires.

I actually don’t know that it’s “screaming” since I haven’t hooked up the tach.