2000 UZJ100 VXR COMING TO AMERICA - "OMAR"

[wardharris]

Man, Osman I and II were Turks! Don’t get the damn Turks mixed with the Arabs!

I know the difference, just shouting props to the founder of the empire. And for the record, my wife named the truck after an Egyptian Christian who converted (for love) to become an unconventional Muslim. He seemed to have a very interesting life: How Omar Sharif Worked For Religious Tolerance - https://forward.com/culture/311837/how-omar-sharif-worked-for-religious-tolerance/

 

[wardharris]

I am enjoying the VXR very much. With new tires and some minor service, it sees new miles daily. With the miles, I confirmed that the seating position was not meeting my needs fully. With long legs and a big ass, I found the lack of thigh support and angle of lower leg was producing leg fatigue and lower back pain.
Based on positive mention by others in the 100 Series forum, I ordered a set of Seat Jackers (R) from @DesertDoesIt - Desert Does It, LLC (Toyota Seat Jackers – Lift & Support for Front Seats - https://desertdoesit.com/collections/all/products/front-seat-jackers%C2%AE-1998-2007-toyota-land-cruiser-100?_pos=1&_fid=5cc4da025&_ss=c))

Here is a look at the flight deck/office - lots of similarities to an early 100 Series, but like the rest of the rig, some significant differences.

Not sure if the console and/or manual transmission caused change in mounting location or configuration. I DO enjoy my console cooler, even though the cooler makes the factory cup holders in the top tray totally useless, except for storing paper clips

When the order arrived, I found that my GCC spec VXR model differed from US 100s. Specifically, the driver's side mount next to the transmission tunnel/console (what I call the inside), the bottom of the seat frame mount leg did not match the top of the Seat Jacker. Both legs have tapered pins extending to fit into holes in the floor as below. These appear to be aids in speedy placement of seats at the factory, ensuring correct alignment of mounting bolts.

My inside mount hole in the floor is offset from the hole with threaded receiver, while the outside mount hole is in line, as (apparently) are North American spec 100s.The locator pin did not allow the OEM mount to fit to the DDI Seat Jacker.
I reached out to DDI and Deric there asked for some photos and I did just that. In the series below, the image at left shows the stock DDI Jacker and the protruding pin. That and the center image were provided to Deric and DDI's production guru Joe.
As the offending pin is not a structural component, we agreed that a modified Jacker removing a corner of the top would be an acceptable solution. I had an example of "Version 2" in hand within a week or so and I got it installed yesterday.

Here are both Jackers installed:

After a day of driving about town in traffic, I am completely satisfied with the produce, process and support in adapting a "US" product to a "GCC" vehicle.
Deric, Joe and the team at DDI made me a believer!
As a side note, the optional mole panel option from DDI may not be a direct fit as the distance between seat mounting points may differ in GCC vehicles. I will update the thread when I get confirmation.

 

[oosnapdoo]

Thanks for the info in the modified seat jacker. I raised this question awhile back in DDIs thread in the vendor forum, but have not seen a reply.

In my 2006 LX470 the pins look like what you describe, and I was curious if their seat jackets accommodates for that. Looks like it does not, not directly at least. Did they mention if those v2 will be available more broadly?

Post in thread 'Desert Does It - We make Seat Jackers and seat Multi Mount Panels (MMP)'

 

[wardharris]

Thanks for the info in the modified seat jacker. I raised this question awhile back in DDIs thread in the vendor forum, but have not seen a reply.

In my 2006 LX470 the pins look like what you describe, and I was curious if their seat jackets accommodates for that. Looks like it does not, not directly at least. Did they mention if those v2 will be available more broadly?

Post in thread 'Desert Does It - We make Seat Jackers and seat Multi Mount Panels (MMP)'

Yes, they are in production as I understand it. I found DDI staff very eager to communicate and respond to variations to meet customer needs.
Suggest you hit up Deric at Info@desertdoesit.com.

 

[wardharris]

A) No seat heat in this Saudi 100 from the factory.
B) New home in Idaho - plenty of old mornings in Winter.
C) Quick trip to McDowell's Specialty Repairs on Fairview in Boise for seat heat kit and replacement seat pad. McDowells Specialty Repairs | Furniture Repair, Auto Repair, and More - https://mcdowellsrepair.com/

VERY NICE!! Heat comes right away and the "high" setting will cook ya - "low" is great once you warmed up. Driver's side bolster now matches the passenger seat.

 

[Jalmood]

BONUS BENEFIT
As noted elsewhere, the GCC/Saudi 100s all seem to have speed alarms that trigger when engine RPMs reach 3,000 in fifth gear. The indicated speed on GPS app was 73mph.
A beeping noise wa a constant presence while driving the truck home from Nolan’s last month. I kept it at/under 3,000 rpms if traffic allowed but when flow was heavy and fast, I became a risk for other drivers and sped up triggers the speed alarm. The truck does love to run - up to 90mph.
The new Toyos are 1.9” larger diameter than the Dunlops they replace. As a result, the effective final drive ratio in fifth dropped by around 6% and the alarm does not trigger until app indicated speed of 77 mph. Big improvement as I can now at least do the speed limit in most areas without the alarm sounding.
In the future I may do a refresh of the H151 to replace the fifth gear gearset going from .881 to .750 for a further reduction of the net effective fifth gear final drive ratio. Reduced cabin noise, reduced engine wear and improve fuel economy are possible, if not likely benefits of the transmission mods. A swap to a new H152 would accomplish the same thing as an option.
We shall see.

GEARBOX H152 WITH IMPROVED 2ND & 5TH GEAR RATIO .750

GEARBOX H152 WITH IMPROVED 2ND & 5TH GEAR RATIO .750

www.terraintamer.com

Love what you’ve done with the Land Cruiser so far it’s looking seriously good! Nothing beats the feel of a proper old-school manual LC!


And yeah… the legendary speed-limit chime there's a regulation here in the GCC where all imported cars need to alert the driver once he reaches 120 KM/H, well... Toyota might have gone overboard with it back then, I like to believe it was a last minute solution from their end and decided to add a buzzer in the main board and called it a day. At this point I don’t even hear mine anymore, brain’s got the noise filter on If you ever open up the cluster, the buzzer is basically the first thing you’ll notice. I know some people have disabled it at the cluster level, but not sure how tidy that solution is long term.


And of course, the LC100’s fuel appetite is very real. These trucks love their petrol. I’ve heard Y61 Patrol guys add a sixth gear or similar just to drop cruising RPM honestly that would be a dream setup. Sitting around 75 mph at ~3,500 rpm isn’t exactly wallet-friendly. When I had an hour commute, I was filling up every 2.5 days.

 

[wardharris]

Love what you’ve done with the Land Cruiser so far it’s looking seriously good! Nothing beats the feel of a proper old-school manual LC!


And yeah… the legendary speed-limit chime there's a regulation here in the GCC where all imported cars need to alert the driver once he reaches 120 KM/H, well... Toyota might have gone overboard with it back then, I like to believe it was a last minute solution from their end and decided to add a buzzer in the main board and called it a day. At this point I don’t even hear mine anymore, brain’s got the noise filter on If you ever open up the cluster, the buzzer is basically the first thing you’ll notice. I know some people have disabled it at the cluster level, but not sure how tidy that solution is long term.


And of course, the LC100’s fuel appetite is very real. These trucks love their petrol. I’ve heard Y61 Patrol guys add a sixth gear or similar just to drop cruising RPM honestly that would be a dream setup. Sitting around 75 mph at ~3,500 rpm isn’t exactly wallet-friendly. When I had an hour commute, I was filling up every 2.5 days.

Thanks, I appreciate the compliment, especially with your experience. Ya, I feel like I am actually driving the vehicle!
The speed limiter/alarm chime went away when I replaced the Dunlops with some 33" ATs. The chime now pops off at 77mph vs. 72mph - just enough more to eliminate it for most of my use. Before the tires, the drive home from Mississippi was a pain. All better now!
With only 84,000 KMS since new, I am still breaking it in, so not much else to be done for now. Possible exception would be a HD clutch as I may be getting a camp trailer.
Also, there is an FZJ79 coming this way which will absorb most of my attention and budget. That said, the 100 is the best vehicle I have ever owned.

 

[Jalmood]

Thanks, I appreciate the compliment, especially with your experience. Ya, I feel like I am actually driving the vehicle!
The speed limiter/alarm chime went away when I replaced the Dunlops with some 33" ATs. The chime now pops off at 77mph vs. 72mph - just enough more to eliminate it for most of my use. Before the tires, the drive home from Mississippi was a pain. All better now!
With only 84,000 KMS since new, I am still breaking it in, so not much else to be done for now. Possible exception would be a HD clutch as I may be getting a camp trailer.
Also, there is an FZJ79 coming this way which will absorb most of my attention and budget. That said, the 100 is the best vehicle I have ever owned.

That’s the perfect stage to be in with a 100.

84,000 km is nothing for these machines. It’s barely warmed up. You’ve got the good years ahead!

HD clutch is a smart thought if a trailer’s coming, especially with 33s already adding load.

Congrats on the incoming 79! that’s not a vehicle purchase, that’s a lifestyle decision
That truck doesn’t just take you somewhere, it kind of transports you to another era.
No fluff, no electronics having feelings, just pure mechanical stubbornness.