1HD-FTE piggyback ECU removal

[reeo]

My JDM HDJ101 has an old Greddy Emanage Blue piggyback ECU/chip supporting an ECU remap. It came like this imported from Japan to BC, Canada, and none of the tuner shops in my area will touch it. Since I can't have it looked at, I'd like to remove it and go back to the stock ECU by itself if possible.

The truck also has an upgraded larger turbo and intercooler, boost controller, and possibly high flow injectors but I haven't opened it up and checked yet.

The turbo is an HKS GT Garrett A/R 60.

Can I simply unplug the Greddy module and remove it? Would doing that cause the other aftermarket parts to stop working properly and potentially damage the engine? Also, will the Factory ECU work normally after removing it?

Thanks for reading. Advice will be appreciated.

 

[AussieHJCruza]

If you have high-flow injectors you'll need to keep the piggyback or put stock ones back in or it'll run pig rich which = hot in a diesel = not good.

Whether you can unplug and run or not will depend on how it's been wired. I'm not familiar with the Greddy setup but I assume it is hard-wired like a Unichip etc require a "bridging" plug to run.

 

[reeo]

If you have high-flow injectors you'll need to keep the piggyback or put stock ones back in or it'll run pig rich which = hot in a diesel = not good.

Whether you can unplug and run or not will depend on how it's been wired. I'm not familiar with the Greddy setup but I assume it is hard-wired like a Unichip etc require a "bridging" plug to run.

Do you know if I'd have issues with the larger turbo as well going back to stock ECU?

What if I was to swap it out for a more modern plug-and-play unit like a unichip? I'd check what injectors I have first so they can pre-tune it properly.

I've heard these Greddy units are unreliable, so I'm concerned about keeping it long-term. I have a feeling this stuff has been installed for a long time already because it's old tech.

Looks like either way it could be very expensive. OEM injectors would cost me upwards of $1500 and OEM CT26 turbo around $1000. A unichip from AUS would be over $2000.

 

[HDJ80L]

I've installed and tuned a few Greddy emanages years ago on gas engines, I think its one of the better piggyback systems and japanese quality but I had no idea it could be set up for diesel / injector pump control. Either way, some ECU wires will be fed parallel into the unit some wires are cut and run from the emanage directly and it will probably have some extra sensors connected to it. So if you remove it you have to make sure you reconnect any cut stock wires and isolate any tap points on the engine harness, unless it was installed with a PnP adapter but people rarely do that.

 

[MonsterCruiser]

I think you'd be better off selling this rig and getting one that is stock rather than trying to swap everything on this rig back to stock. It seems like it would cost more money this way, but I've done a build on a 2JZ....You are doing a reverse build if you swap everything back. It will cost you more than you think.

Very interesting to see this setup on a diesel LC though!

 

[reeo]

I think you'd be better off selling this rig and getting one that is stock rather than trying to swap everything on this rig back to stock. It seems like it would cost more money this way, but I've done a build on a 2JZ....You are doing a reverse build if you swap everything back. It will cost you more than you think.

Fair point, but I really hope it doesn't come to that. Just getting another one is no easy task. Finding a good condition truck on auction in Japan and getting it here took me over a year.

I'm gonna keep looking for a shop that can work with it. Hopefully I can just keep most of the aftermarket stuff.

 

[MonsterCruiser]

Thinking about this a bit more, check the location where the stock ECU should be located. It might still be there. Looking at your other thread, it looks like the truck is an auto. I don't know how the transmission is controlled, but it might be through the stock ECU. Been a while since I've looked at much tuning stuff, but from a quick check it looks like the emanage blue is just a piggy back, so you should still have the stock ECU in the truck.

What tuning shops have you checked with? I would think you could find one that might be able to help you with some of the codes, but maybe not.

 

[reeo]

Thinking about this a bit more, check the location where the stock ECU should be located. It might still be there. Looking at your other thread, it looks like the truck is an auto. I don't know how the transmission is controlled, but it might be through the stock ECU. Been a while since I've looked at much tuning stuff, but from a quick check it looks like the emanage blue is just a piggy back, so you should still have the stock ECU in the truck.

What tuning shops have you checked with? I would think you could find one that might be able to help you with some of the codes, but maybe not.

I found a guy who says he can fix my codes, but doesn't have the knowledge to work on the performance stuff.

Yes it still has the OEM ECU. The Emanage is a piggyback unit.

 

[SNLC]

I found a guy who says he can fix my codes, but doesn't have the knowledge to work on the performance stuff.

Yes it still has the OEM ECU. The Emanage is a piggyback unit.

He is not exactly close to you being in Alberta but Steve at 4wheelauto could definitely sort you out. Look him up and at least give him a call.

I would put a GTurbo or UFI turbo on it, some +30 injectors and a Unichip. You will love it afterwards and it will be hassle free.

Cheers

 

[reeo]

He is not exactly close to you being in Alberta but Steve at 4wheelauto could definitely sort you out. Look him up and at least give him a call.

I would put a GTurbo or UFI turbo on it, some +30 injectors and a Unichip. You will love it afterwards and it will be hassle free.

Cheers

That's the absolute dream man. Unfortunately, way outside the budget for now.

 

[Dougal]

The injection pumps on those are pretty simple electrically. You've got one solenoid for fuel and another for timing. The piggyback likely just intercepts both of those and takes inputs from throttle and boost too.

If it runs and drives unplugged then you're good. But it might not. In which case you'll need to unsplice the connection wires.

Turbo could be anything. Find the part numbers on it which are either on a tag on the core or a tag/engraved on the compressor cover. I can see HKS on it. The compressor cover looks like T3 style. This one kinda matches:

If so that's gonna suck to drive below about 3000rpm. It's way oversized.

 

[reeo]

The injection pumps on those are pretty simple electrically. You've got one solenoid for fuel and another for timing. The piggyback likely just intercepts both of those and takes inputs from throttle and boost too.

If it runs and drives unplugged then you're good. But it might not. In which case you'll need to unsplice the connection wires.

Turbo could be anything. Find the part numbers on it which are either on a tag on the core or a tag/engraved on the compressor cover. I can see HKS on it. The compressor cover looks like T3 style. This one kinda matches:
View attachment 3922685

View attachment 3922686

If so that's gonna suck to drive below about 3000rpm. It's way oversized.

That's definitely it. Makes sense, because when I rev to 3000 this thing is like a rocketship.