Part 1
G’day folks, a couple years ago I started a build up that turned out pretty well (if I do say so myself). I posted a few pics in an intro thread (that I actually started 2 years ago – but that’s another story) but someone told me there was an “Expedition Vehicle” area. Here in Oz we call em “Outback Tourers” but it’s all the same thing.
My vehicle started life as an FZJ-105 RV. Basically a straight six petrol GXL 100 series with a live front end and no electric windows. I had a petrol 80 series previously but really wanted a factory multivalve TD 80. Trouble with them is that here they are getting rarer as they get older. Because there hasn’t been a factory turbo diesel 4dr cruiser wagon built with a live front end since 98 (well not untill the 76 a year or 2 ago), I figured, if I wanted it bad enough, I’d have to build it.
While I can’t tell everything cos I paid a very smart sparky to do the real tricky bits I did do a lot of the knuckle work. There are a bunch of things that aren’t covered here but there are also a few bits a pieces that may be of interest to anyone contemplating sticking a Multivalve Turbo Diesel into an LC105 body that start life with a TwinCam 4.5ltr petrol donk.
The plan was pretty simple. Get hold of a 105 for the old school under carriage and stick in a motor and box out of a 78 series Cruiser ute for balls. It has been done before so I didn’t see any real hurdles.
I was looking for a diesel 105 when I jagged this petrol LC105 RV through ebay really cheap ($10k) because some mental giant forgot to replace the oil when doing a service and promptly lunched the motor. It was a company hack so the boss just wanted it gone.[/
I had the car shipped from Drysdale in Victoria to a mates workshop up in Port Maquarrie (long story). I then scored the motor, box, ECU, harness and a million other bits from Jason down at Total Care 4x4 in Seven Hills (this guy is a legend and a bloody good bloke so if you need work done call him)
Getting the engine in was a piece of piss. The only real difference is that you use a different set of factory holes in the engine mounts and you need a 1HZ fan shroud. Other than that 1HZ engine legs, some heater hose gymnastics and some custom AC pipework.
As far as lecky work goes, my guy started the job with the factory manuals. He pulled both harnesss together and then set about ditching everything he didn’t need. Trouble was, the Toyota factory manuals were wrong! Or at least incomplete. Some real hair pulling was going on but then we got hold of the factory CD’s the cloud lifted. While I’m sure Lee would disagree, he wasn’t stretched on this one. It really was just a case of ‘get ya head around it’ and get it done. The extended time frame on this wasn’t his friend though. Stopping and then starting again months later really wasn’t the best way to do it. I reckon, given a clear run, Lee would have knocked this sucker over in about a week.
Fuel
For the benefit of those that are unaware of the difference between a diesel system and a petrol system I will endeavour to outline them.
The main difference between the two systems are that in the petrol system there is a pump located in both the main and sub tanks that provided pressure to move the fuel up to the engine. The diesel system however relies on atmospheric pressure. Basically the single fuel pump is located up at the engine and it ‘sucks’ (yeah I know, no such thing) the fuel from the tanks. Because the Landcruisers have 2 tanks, a main and a sub, it needs a system by which to draw from one or the other and, to make it a little more interesting, return unused fuel to the tank from whence it came. To be a little clearer, it is commonly known that a diesel engine returns a significant amount of fuel back to the tank after it has passed through the fuel pump acting as a coolant however the petrol system also returns fuel from the rail so, if you are drawing from the main tank it would be sensible to return to that tank as well. Imagine what would happen if you returned to an already full sub tank….
The petrol vehicle delivers fuel from either tank under pressure provided by a pump located in the tank. The fuel passes through a valve that basically stops it being forced into the other tank and therefore sends it up the line to the rail. The returning fuel is directed back to the appropriate tank via a solenoid valve. The solenoid valve is activated by the same circuit that powers the pump. If Pump “A” is on then the solenoid returns to Pump “A’s” tank and so on. The diesel system draws fuel from the tank. In order that the correct tank is supplying, the system uses a solenoid valve arrangement on both the supply and return circuits. In addition to all this, the supply line in the diesel system is larger that that of the petrol. The reason for this is that to pump petrol through a pipe is much easier than to suck diesel. So, all that being said, to convert from petrol to diesel there are few things that need to be done; The pickups in both tanks need to be changed out, the main fuel line needs to be changed, there needs to be a solenoid added and last but not least you need to get rid of the filler pipe to the tanks because you can’t stick a diesel bowser nozzle into a ULP vent flapped hole
Some pics;
From the pics you can see that the main and sub tank pickups have an integrated pump. They are changed out for the diesel version without the pump. The main tank also integrates the level switch with the pick up.
Changing the subtank pickup is easy. You just need to get some decent (suction) fuel line to go from the pickup to the new solenoid.
When changing the main tank pickup you need to source the Toyota “Supply Fuel line” straight off the pickup. This item uses a special little yellow clip to retain it and there is no other way to do it. The return line however can be swapped straight across from the Petrol unit
There is a vent line going to the main tank also. This will be rendered useless with the conversion so it just needs to be plugged. The steel vent line forward to the engine bay, which is no longer in use, makes a dandy diff breather line
The non return valve in the supply line can be removed and sent to the big green filing cabinet too. In its place the new $209 supply solenoid will sit and be wired in parallel with the existing return solenoid
It did get a little fiddly getting the new fuel pipe fitted. I think if I did it againlol: as if 
) I would fabricate a new one rather than buy the factory unit (all 6' of it). It was a bit of a bitch to get in there and it still wasn’t exactly right. I’d say there are a few differences along the chassis between the diesel and petrol models
The fuel filler line is a bitch. It was obviously fixed to the body before the body was put on the chassis. It will need the removal of the exhaust and a few other little brackets to be able to swing in there.
Speaking of exhausts, I can’t believe the way the pipe has been flattened (factory) where it goes over the rear axle. It must be a massive restriction
The other thing that needs to be added of course is the diesel primer. I opted for a new unit from a 100 series with the Toyota bracket and Toyota hoses to keep it all looking as factory as possible
Once all these items are in and wired correctly the system functions normally using the std Sub Tank switch. It was necessary to run a relay in the system to get the solenoids to function but I’m not sure why. That smart sparky knows why though. [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
The air intake was a bit of a head puk too. It sounded simple enough, come out of the 3” airbox outlet, turn 90° down, transform to 2½” and join onto the turbo. Bear in mind though, that the 90° bend had to be very flexible to accommodate the roll of the motor but it also had to be strong enough to handle the collapsing force when the turbo spooled up.
Initially I got hold of a 3” silicon bend, had a piece of 2½” aluminium pipe flared at one end to 3” and another bit of 2½” heat resistant hose to connect to the turbo. Good in theory but when I put it all together I still had reservations about the flexibility. In the end we decided to wonder the local wrecker in search of a factory hose that we might modify. There were a few odd things that looked ok but the wrecker we were at was the old school type where most vehicles were pretty old and the elements were really going to town. Almost ready to give up we stumbled upon an Mitsubishi van, the late model walk through type. It had what appeared to be a perfectly shaped hose from the air box to the throttle body. We’ll have that thanks.[/
With a bit of a mod and the lower half I already had we now have a functioning air intake that, aside from the hose clamps, looks almost factory.
[/COLOR]
G’day folks, a couple years ago I started a build up that turned out pretty well (if I do say so myself). I posted a few pics in an intro thread (that I actually started 2 years ago – but that’s another story) but someone told me there was an “Expedition Vehicle” area. Here in Oz we call em “Outback Tourers” but it’s all the same thing.
My vehicle started life as an FZJ-105 RV. Basically a straight six petrol GXL 100 series with a live front end and no electric windows. I had a petrol 80 series previously but really wanted a factory multivalve TD 80. Trouble with them is that here they are getting rarer as they get older. Because there hasn’t been a factory turbo diesel 4dr cruiser wagon built with a live front end since 98 (well not untill the 76 a year or 2 ago), I figured, if I wanted it bad enough, I’d have to build it.
While I can’t tell everything cos I paid a very smart sparky to do the real tricky bits I did do a lot of the knuckle work. There are a bunch of things that aren’t covered here but there are also a few bits a pieces that may be of interest to anyone contemplating sticking a Multivalve Turbo Diesel into an LC105 body that start life with a TwinCam 4.5ltr petrol donk.
The plan was pretty simple. Get hold of a 105 for the old school under carriage and stick in a motor and box out of a 78 series Cruiser ute for balls. It has been done before so I didn’t see any real hurdles.
I was looking for a diesel 105 when I jagged this petrol LC105 RV through ebay really cheap ($10k) because some mental giant forgot to replace the oil when doing a service and promptly lunched the motor. It was a company hack so the boss just wanted it gone.[/
I had the car shipped from Drysdale in Victoria to a mates workshop up in Port Maquarrie (long story). I then scored the motor, box, ECU, harness and a million other bits from Jason down at Total Care 4x4 in Seven Hills (this guy is a legend and a bloody good bloke so if you need work done call him)
Getting the engine in was a piece of piss. The only real difference is that you use a different set of factory holes in the engine mounts and you need a 1HZ fan shroud. Other than that 1HZ engine legs, some heater hose gymnastics and some custom AC pipework.
As far as lecky work goes, my guy started the job with the factory manuals. He pulled both harnesss together and then set about ditching everything he didn’t need. Trouble was, the Toyota factory manuals were wrong! Or at least incomplete. Some real hair pulling was going on but then we got hold of the factory CD’s the cloud lifted. While I’m sure Lee would disagree, he wasn’t stretched on this one. It really was just a case of ‘get ya head around it’ and get it done. The extended time frame on this wasn’t his friend though. Stopping and then starting again months later really wasn’t the best way to do it. I reckon, given a clear run, Lee would have knocked this sucker over in about a week.
Fuel
For the benefit of those that are unaware of the difference between a diesel system and a petrol system I will endeavour to outline them.
The main difference between the two systems are that in the petrol system there is a pump located in both the main and sub tanks that provided pressure to move the fuel up to the engine. The diesel system however relies on atmospheric pressure. Basically the single fuel pump is located up at the engine and it ‘sucks’ (yeah I know, no such thing) the fuel from the tanks. Because the Landcruisers have 2 tanks, a main and a sub, it needs a system by which to draw from one or the other and, to make it a little more interesting, return unused fuel to the tank from whence it came. To be a little clearer, it is commonly known that a diesel engine returns a significant amount of fuel back to the tank after it has passed through the fuel pump acting as a coolant however the petrol system also returns fuel from the rail so, if you are drawing from the main tank it would be sensible to return to that tank as well. Imagine what would happen if you returned to an already full sub tank….
The petrol vehicle delivers fuel from either tank under pressure provided by a pump located in the tank. The fuel passes through a valve that basically stops it being forced into the other tank and therefore sends it up the line to the rail. The returning fuel is directed back to the appropriate tank via a solenoid valve. The solenoid valve is activated by the same circuit that powers the pump. If Pump “A” is on then the solenoid returns to Pump “A’s” tank and so on. The diesel system draws fuel from the tank. In order that the correct tank is supplying, the system uses a solenoid valve arrangement on both the supply and return circuits. In addition to all this, the supply line in the diesel system is larger that that of the petrol. The reason for this is that to pump petrol through a pipe is much easier than to suck diesel. So, all that being said, to convert from petrol to diesel there are few things that need to be done; The pickups in both tanks need to be changed out, the main fuel line needs to be changed, there needs to be a solenoid added and last but not least you need to get rid of the filler pipe to the tanks because you can’t stick a diesel bowser nozzle into a ULP vent flapped hole
Some pics;
From the pics you can see that the main and sub tank pickups have an integrated pump. They are changed out for the diesel version without the pump. The main tank also integrates the level switch with the pick up.
Changing the subtank pickup is easy. You just need to get some decent (suction) fuel line to go from the pickup to the new solenoid.
When changing the main tank pickup you need to source the Toyota “Supply Fuel line” straight off the pickup. This item uses a special little yellow clip to retain it and there is no other way to do it. The return line however can be swapped straight across from the Petrol unit
There is a vent line going to the main tank also. This will be rendered useless with the conversion so it just needs to be plugged. The steel vent line forward to the engine bay, which is no longer in use, makes a dandy diff breather line
The non return valve in the supply line can be removed and sent to the big green filing cabinet too. In its place the new $209 supply solenoid will sit and be wired in parallel with the existing return solenoid
It did get a little fiddly getting the new fuel pipe fitted. I think if I did it again
lol: as if ) I would fabricate a new one rather than buy the factory unit (all 6' of it). It was a bit of a bitch to get in there and it still wasn’t exactly right. I’d say there are a few differences along the chassis between the diesel and petrol models The fuel filler line is a bitch. It was obviously fixed to the body before the body was put on the chassis. It will need the removal of the exhaust and a few other little brackets to be able to swing in there.
Speaking of exhausts, I can’t believe the way the pipe has been flattened (factory) where it goes over the rear axle. It must be a massive restriction
The other thing that needs to be added of course is the diesel primer. I opted for a new unit from a 100 series with the Toyota bracket and Toyota hoses to keep it all looking as factory as possible
Once all these items are in and wired correctly the system functions normally using the std Sub Tank switch. It was necessary to run a relay in the system to get the solenoids to function but I’m not sure why. That smart sparky knows why though. [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
The air intake was a bit of a head puk too. It sounded simple enough, come out of the 3” airbox outlet, turn 90° down, transform to 2½” and join onto the turbo. Bear in mind though, that the 90° bend had to be very flexible to accommodate the roll of the motor but it also had to be strong enough to handle the collapsing force when the turbo spooled up.
Initially I got hold of a 3” silicon bend, had a piece of 2½” aluminium pipe flared at one end to 3” and another bit of 2½” heat resistant hose to connect to the turbo. Good in theory but when I put it all together I still had reservations about the flexibility. In the end we decided to wonder the local wrecker in search of a factory hose that we might modify. There were a few odd things that looked ok but the wrecker we were at was the old school type where most vehicles were pretty old and the elements were really going to town. Almost ready to give up we stumbled upon an Mitsubishi van, the late model walk through type. It had what appeared to be a perfectly shaped hose from the air box to the throttle body. We’ll have that thanks.[/
With a bit of a mod and the lower half I already had we now have a functioning air intake that, aside from the hose clamps, looks almost factory.
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