1HD-FTE Conversion - Creating my perfect 80 Series (2 Viewers)

[MooseMichaels]

@Mag71k5 Thanks - I had a family member who owns a local auto shop swing by for a competent second set of hands / eyes. We managed to get it in in around 3 hours, I'd guess, with a good bit of hanging out and chatting along the way also. Had it in/out of the engine bay twice to adjust how we had the engine hanging in the hoist to get everything lined up.

For anyone else trying this in the future - I ended up installing the transmission mount backwards (it's offset for the A750F) and ended up needing to rotate it 180 degrees so the ears point towards the back of the vehicle to get the front motor mount studs to line up in the slots.

We mounted the trans to the cross member, then did some massaging to get the front engine mounts in. The back of the valve cover was pretty tight against the firewall, but just needed to be patient get everything aligned.

I started mocking up the exhaust last night. I think I need to get an HDJ80 specific exhaust hanger for the section of the exhaust that has the flex pipe, because hanger on the frame for the 1FZ won't work. Also might need a lift to get the center section in, I have been struggling with it on my garage floor.

 

[SeanZed]

Very cool! Dream swap for my 91 3fe.

 

[MooseMichaels]

The airbox is fitted with the HDJ80 cap, and an OE 100 series rubber hose to the compressor inlet. I trimmed the threaded stud by an inch or so and cut some new threads onto it. Cut the feet off, modified them and tacked them back on with everything installed in place in the engine bay. It’s primed and ready for paint now. Should look clean with some fresh paint.

I’m liking the fitment of the PPD system out back. Looks beef.

 

[Mag71k5]

The airbox is fitted with the HDJ80 cap, and an OE 100 series rubber hose to the compressor inlet. I trimmed the threaded stud by an inch or so and cut some new threads onto it. Cut the feet off, modified them and tacked them back on with everything installed in place in the engine bay. It’s primed and ready for paint now. Should look clean with some fresh paint.
View attachment 3993757
I’m liking the fitment of the PPD system out back. Looks beef.
View attachment 3993764

Looks great! Have any pictures of how you modified the feet?

 

[MooseMichaels]

I’ll have to take some photos and post them. I used a spot weld cutting too to remove them, and did something very close to what lelandEOD did. One I shortened, and the swapped the positions of the two closest to the passenger fender. My goal was to get the soft connection between the airbox cap and the compressor inlet as straight as possible.

Not the prettiest welds I’ve ever done, but it’s sturdy. I was worried about burning through the thin wall of the airbox. A grinder and paint makes a bad welder great they say.

 

[MooseMichaels]

@Mag71k5 air box photos as promised. Question for you - did you connect this large barb on the vacuum pump to the vacuum connection for the brake booster?

Lastly, intercooler is here and is looking fancy.

 

[Mag71k5]

uestion for you - did you connect this large barb on the vacuum pump to the vacuum connection for the brake booster?

View attachment 3994908

Correct, just standard 3/8th inch rubber hose.

 

[MooseMichaels]

Awesome, thank you! Finally starting to put this rig back together. Jonathan said he’ll be shipping my harness and ecu out sometime next week.

 

[Mag71k5]

Awesome, thank you! Finally starting to put this rig back together. Jonathan said he’ll be shipping my harness and ecu out sometime next week.

Thats a huge step towards completion as well. Be sure and post lots of pictures! Did you have any issues getting the auto transmission in?

 

[MooseMichaels]

@Mag71k5 The auto trans went in while bolted up to the engine with the transfer case bolted on hanging wayyy off the backside. It was a long setup, but went in just fine. Needed a second person to pull/push on the transfer case to adjust the angle of the whole setup.

 

[MooseMichaels]

Yesterday I re-installed the 1FZ radiator, zip tied the 1HD radiator shroud place to see what was needed to make them work together. I was dreaming up a plan to draw up some adaptor brackets in fusion 360 and then have them made with send cut send. I realized I’d have more peace of mind long term, just putting in the correct HDJ80 radiator and not slapping in some adapter brackets.

I called my local dealer and they will have it for me in 3 days. 16400-17020

I’ll be selling the 1FZ radiator, it’s nearly brand new, from the dealer last year, no more than 10k miles on it.

I started mocking up the intercooler, trans cooler, and piping. A hood support bracket that also supports the bottom on the IC that is supposed to be part of the kit wasn’t packed into my kit, so I have a note out to their customer support to get one shipped to me a soon as they can.

For the piping on the compressor side of the turbo (headed to the IC), I am thinking I won’t use this section and will just keep the factory piping. I mocked it up, and it’s fairly tight in there. Anyone have experience with this?

Edit - after tinkering around with fitment going to use the factory piping for the compressor outlet side.

Vs:

 

[MooseMichaels]

So while waiting on parts I have been screwing around with fitment for the PDI setup, and also re-routing trans cooler lines for an HDJ80 radiator that doesn't have fittings for them. I have concerns with the intercooler ducting being in the way of turn signal housings, and getting things not to rattle.

The PPD exhaust is now not just "fitted", but fully installed, tightened, and supported all the way back with new OE Toyota rubber pads. The front-most HDJ80 exhaust hanger was NLA - Japan4x4 was unable to source it, so it was back to good old steel, a welder, and a grinder to fabricate a mount. Once all was installed, I gave it a good shake in all directions with no contact or rattles going on. Nice.

Another round of parts arrived today:
- Vacuum reservoir from Japan4x4 --> Dave is the man, pulling through with the hard to find items and/or helping me think through solid alternatives for items that are NLA
- 2x fresh fuel line isolator pads, and a new turbo oil outlet hose from Partsouq (pinched the new one I installed 3 weeks ago while getting the engine in. These OE hoses seem to be extremely soft/compliant)
-PDI hood/bottom of intercooler support - this was missing in the kit they shipped and they shipped one out via DHL Express immediately after I emailed them. Really appreciate them fixing that issue so quickly.
-Manual HDJ80 radiator picked up from the dealer

 

[MooseMichaels]

Anotha one

 

[Marvelicious]

I'm curious, does Toyota spec that WS ATF for all A750F transmissions or did they change it at some point? I ask, because that stuff is thin as hell. Reminds me of Eric Idle's joke about American beer being similar to sex in a canoe...

 

[MooseMichaels]

I ask, because that stuff is thin as hell. Reminds me of Eric Idle's joke about American beer being similar to sex in a canoe...

So - either horrible or a rowdy good time is what I'm reading.

On a serious note, it's a good question, and one that I've not found the best info on. Many sources online call for Toyota WS, while others call for Toyota ATF Type T-IV. Seems there was a split in model year here.

The powertrain I'm using came from a 2005 HDJ100.

From the FSM:

Reading across the internet it seems when the A750F rolled out, the early variants had a dipstick, were considered non-sealed, and were spec'd for Type T-IV ATF.

The later variants had no dipstick, were considered sealed and we're spec'd for Toyota WS ATF fluid. This is what brought me down the WS path. If you have some thoughts, I'd love to hear them!

Edit - @lelandEOD Do you have insight whether I'm headed in the right/wrong direction here? I assume your powertrain also came fully drained?

 

[Marvelicious]

So - either horrible or a rowdy good time is what I'm reading.

On a serious note, it's a good question, and one that I've not found the best info on. Many sources online call for Toyota WS, while others call for Toyota ATF Type T-IV. Seems there was a split in model year here.

The powertrain I'm using came from a 2005 HDJ100.
View attachment 3998816
From the FSM:
View attachment 3998817
Reading across the internet it seems when the A750F rolled out, the early variants had a dipstick, were considered non-sealed, and were spec'd for Type T-IV ATF.

The later variants had no dipstick, were considered sealed and we're spec'd for Toyota WS ATF fluid. This is what brought me down the WS path. If you have some thoughts, I'd love to hear them!

The punchline is "#@%^ing near water".

So, I did a bunch of reading about this back when I dug into a couple of Toyota transmissions. Between a bunch of threads on BITOG (Bob Is The OIl Guy), and reading between the lines, my conclusion was that the switch to WS was a choice driven by slight but measurable improvements in MPG... when taken across the whole range of models sold in a year, it added up to help them meet emissions targets. It's the same reason they've moved all their engines to lower viscosity engine oils, low rolling resistance tires, etc, etc. It's not about what's absolutely best for longevity.

The move to "lifetime" fluids (and therefore no dipstick) means, to my way of thinking, that they assume the vehicle will last at least until the end of its warranty period without changing the fluid. This goes for ATF and coolant and I suspect it was all driven by well-intentioned environmental regulations. The Toyota Corporation that made that choice wasn't running on the same design philosophies that designed the 80. Just my opinion, but the reading I did didn't frame it as an improvement. YMMV, but I'd run T-IV and a dipstick.

Ultimately, it's a judgement call, but I've had a couple of Toyota vehicles that were made around that transition period, and I've switched them back to T-IV. Net results: no MPG difference that was noticeable at the level of attention I pay, and I've had no transmission issues. I feel like it made a slight improvement to shift feel, but is that real or placebo effect and confirmation bias?

 

[lelandEOD]

Your transmission should have a W stamped on the fill plug indicating it requires World Standard fluid.

 

[Marvelicious]

Your transmission should have a W stamped on the fill plug indicating it requires World Standard fluid.

Right, but did they make any mechanical or program changes, or just change the spec? Nothing I ever read indicated they changed anything but the "recommended" fluid on any of the other vehicles I researched.

 

[Mag71k5]

Can't wait for you to get it on the road man! I think you'll be very happy with the FTE. Ive been driving mine all over I-70 up to Eisenhower tunnel, etc. Words cant really describe how much better it drives in the mountains. Is it the fastest yet? No. But it tugs up those grades a hell of a lot better than the tired 1FZ did.

 

[MooseMichaels]

The punchline is "#@%^ing near water".

This is hysterical - I might just have to use this quote at some point.

Appreciate the dialogue here. I try to stay away from Bob is the Oil Guy - I interesting board, but feel I read for a while there and always come away with more questions than answers.

@lelandEOD I'll see what's on my fill plug, that's a great point.

Can't wait for you to get it on the road man! I think you'll be very happy with the FTE. Ive been driving mine all over I-70 up to Eisenhower tunnel, etc. Words cant really describe how much better it drives in the mountains. Is it the fastest yet? No. But it tugs up those grades a hell of a lot better than the tired 1FZ did.

Dude I am super excited to see what it's about for myself and am doing my best at being patient. IMO, things don't need to be fast to be fun. The 80 and 100 have been fun for years and were never fast. If I need a little bit of zip in my life, there is a Triumph with a 100 hp triple waiting for me in the garage