2001 LC 100 Series Used 215k Advice (1 Viewer)

[mookamatook]

Wire routing sounds correct. Run through the grommets on either side of the firewall (depending on where your placement ends up), and from there it's easy to route through the inside. There isn't any need to cut the harness down to size if you're planning on doing it differently in the future. Just coil up what you don't use under the hood by the battery.

Simple dual battery? Homemade, manual switching to connect the two. There are a few threads here, some in the 80 series, and more in the Electrical Forum. Equipt sells a National Luna kit that works great, but of course it's more expensive than sourcing your own components. Slee makes battery trays that work well if you can't make one yourself.

You're right on the drawers—I have to slide the 50Q almost all the way out in order to get the lid to open far enough. I wish I'd put some more thought into that. I have the drawer from Frontrunner, but it doesn't tilt. Alu-cab makes one (Alu-Cab Tilting Fridge Slide (Small/Medium Fridges)), but it only fits certain dimensions. I forget the name of the other tilt slide manufacturer.

Placement: mine is on the PS, but mostly because I wanted the 60 side of the 60/40 backseat split as a spot to put the mattress when I camp that way. It makes backing up in tight spaces more difficult because of the limited/nonexistant visibility.

That’s super useful information! Thanks! I think the 63 qt is a monster but maybe the lower profile would be good?? What about the goal zero option for battery? I read a few other threads on it. People seem to think of you are really using it a ton it’s not worth the cost to entry and the additional plugs/flex/simplicity it offers. I don’t think that I’ll be using it for house lights and much else other than the fridge, charging camera, laptop, phone etc when the car is off. Would rather not spend 2 weeks researching and working everything and then realize that I did something wrong out in Moab and have a dead battery and hot beverages...

I think I may also need to do some things over in back of this rig to make it friendly with a DD set up including fridge. My drawers are from a 4Runner so they are entirely too narrow for he back of the LC without adding side panels to the otherwise rectangular platform or breaking the thing down and making wider drawers, a lighter frame (its 2x10s and .75” plywood) and integrating the fridge and electrical in it. I built it pretty simply for the 4Runner and now we may need to rethink...

 

[saucebox]

If I had to redo it, I'd go with the 63qt just for the lower profile. Use the extra fridge space for something like water bottles. I doubt (don't know for sure) that the 63Q would put any significant extra load on the battery over the 50Q.

I don't know anything about a Goal Zero, sorry. A dual battery system is more expensive for sure but fit my needs better. I used the ARB fridge harness to get power from the second battery to a fuse block. From there I put in additional USBs, plugs, etc., as well as the fridge plug.

To your original concern—the only time the fridge drew down my primary battery (never stranded me, but the fridge did get warm a couple of times in testing) is when the LX sat out in the sun all day without going anywhere. As long as you're running around, your alternator is charging the battery back. If you plan to stop for a few days at a time, just plan to start the truck and run it for 15 minutes or so, maybe once in the morning and again towards dinner. I ran it multiple times through Moab on multi-day trips, and it performed just fine on the single.

One thing to note if you want to just try it with the single truck battery—deep cycling it (running the fridge until it shuts itself off at the voltage cutoff) will wear it out in short order. Keeping an eye on it will keep you out of trouble.

 

[saucebox]

But if you're looking for 50Q...this just popped up today.

ARB fridge sale

Is there a deals section to the forum? I glanced over it and didn't see one. Looks like the 37qt and 50qt fridges are on sale at Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/ARB-10800352-Fridge-Freezer-Quart/dp/B004P9C032/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=37qt+arb+fridge&qid=1561041115&s=gateway&sr=8-3 37 quart $688.76...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[mookamatook]

But if you're looking for 50Q...this just popped up today.

ARB fridge sale

Is there a deals section to the forum? I glanced over it and didn't see one. Looks like the 37qt and 50qt fridges are on sale at Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/ARB-10800352-Fridge-Freezer-Quart/dp/B004P9C032/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=37qt+arb+fridge&qid=1561041115&s=gateway&sr=8-3 37 quart $688.76...

forum.ih8mud.com

Looks like others are following suit!
OK4WD Page
Or to combo with the alucab tilt slide...
With my 1st time purchase 5% off coupon, its like 1450 with free shipping. It's a lot for a fridge but you also get the transit bag, slider/tilt, monitor, and hookup. Should I go for this?

 

[saucebox]

All that and free shipping...seems like a good deal to me. I hunted around for a while, and never did manage to find much of a sale on fridge stuff.

It's tempting even for me—it'd be nice to update everything now that I have a better idea of how it all works together.

 

[mookamatook]

All that and free shipping...seems like a good deal to me. I hunted around for a while, and never did manage to find much of a sale on fridge stuff.

It's tempting even for me—it'd be nice to update everything now that I have a better idea of how it all works together.

I think that’s the best deal I’ve found. With that Alucab slider clinching the value for me. If you go on their site, it’ll prompt you for your email and the code for 5% comes instantly...

 

[mookamatook]

Stock suspension with cranked tbars plus the 2860s are awesome. Drives smooth, not hoppy, good around corners and just like I wanted. Happy I didn’t get OME at least until I start really testing this thing.

Driving through the desert today put nearly another 600 miles on the truck and seeing a line of 80 series cruisers all with snorkels headed towards Moab made me really consider the snorkel as an upgrade. I had a few water crossings that were questionable in my 4Runner without a snorkel and although there is still diff breathers and probably some other waterproofing to do, the intake is a big concern with either dust or water. I’m going to search for an install tutorial now..: at 400$ it’s good peace of mind...

I think I’m pulling the trigger on the arb snorkel, 63qt, monitor, case, alucab slid/tilt, and hookup tomorrow...

 

[saucebox]

For the same work, others seem to be really happy with the $100 snorkel option from Amazon. It's on my list (for dust, mostly), but I just don't love how they look. I'm sure I'll come around eventually.

$98 ARB-Clone Snorkel install -- It turned out GREAT!!

Quick Intro: I picked up a $5k 1999 stock, locked LC about two weeks ago, and I am building it up for a bit of overlanding. I'm fairly mechanical -- used to be a Porsche service manager, but really am more of a Toyota man at heart. I also co-lead off-road dualsport motorcycle trips through...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[mookamatook]

For the same work, others seem to be really happy with the $100 snorkel option from Amazon. It's on my list (for dust, mostly), but I just don't love how they look. I'm sure I'll come around eventually.

$98 ARB-Clone Snorkel install -- It turned out GREAT!!

Quick Intro: I picked up a $5k 1999 stock, locked LC about two weeks ago, and I am building it up for a bit of overlanding. I'm fairly mechanical -- used to be a Porsche service manager, but really am more of a Toyota man at heart. I also co-lead off-road dualsport motorcycle trips through...

forum.ih8mud.com

When I looked for build threads that one came up. Problem was when looking at the link, it is not available anymore and I don’t know if I want to troubleshoot something that isn’t a direct fit, especially when it involves a 4” holesaw to the body of my truck... does anyone know the current/new amazon link for a direct fit snorkel for the 2001 100 series cruiser? Or the company name that ripped off the arb one?

Also, I'm in SLC today thru Monday afternoon. Let me know if you want to grab a beer!

 

[mookamatook]

So a couple of updates to this thread.

I drove across half the country (Oregon> Salt Lake > Colorado> Minnesota) and this is the most comfortable easiest to drive long distance rig I've ever made a trip like this with. It was fully loaded down with pretty much my whole life and was great. Got about 15mpg on the highway

I installed a set of treds (maxtrax clone) on the roof rack. Now just need to figure out how to get my 2x 3gallon rotopax up there as well. Its okay to have them on the bike rack on the rear hitch but I'm thinking that with all of the talk about how terrible the departure angle is with the stock bumper, I'm not going to be able to do much trail driving with that huge bike rack on the rear

I replaced my heater hose T joints this morning. Like I predicted after reading a ton of posts, one was totally done, broken and had to spend some time making sure all of the bits were out of the hose. That's the left one which is on the input side. Right is the output side. Totally different wear on the two. I replaced both regardless. Not a tough job, maybe took 30mins or so? Good peace of mind.

I replaced the center diff lock sensor down on the top of the transfer case this morning thinking that it would restore the indicator in the instrument panel that lets me know the center diff is engaged and vsc is off. This didn't work. I'm going to try to jack one front wheel up in the air and see if I can spin it to test if the center diff is indeed working. Any ideas on getting the light to work if the center diff is functioning? I was hoping I would just need to replace the sensor and it would work but... sadly not the case.

I'm wondering what all of the extra connectors are around the passenger side of the engine bay. I have no idea what these should be connected to or what was here before they were disconnected. Any Ideas??

Diff Breathers and t Case/gear box extenders are going on tomorrow. Snorkel is being delivered in the next 2 days, going on next weekend, drawers should be revamped by the following week.

 

[mookamatook]

Someone nicknamed the truck "Snowflake" the other day on a little excursion on the coast.... A soft name for a truck that I hope eventually can tackle some rough terrain. The other was "Beast" which was the name of my 87 Jeep Grand Cherokee. We'll see who wins that battle. Votes?

The center diff lock and vsc finally started to work this weekend after exercising the locker for the past week and replacing the sensor. Sensor Link I don't know which did it but it's working now and very glad I'm not needing to trouble shoot any further. I'm also relieved that the first, previous, and only owner of this vehicle probably had never engaged the center diff lock...

 

[saucebox]

The space on your passenger side is for the AHC pump & reservoir. Same with the plugs—nothing to worry about.

So, that second battery project just got a lot easier

 

[mookamatook]

So, that second battery project just got a lot easier

Yes it did! I think that will be a fun project and may integrate the ARB twin compressor (Part# ARB 1159) when I do it. The Slee tray + Mount (Part: SOK008) is a nice simple option and there is a cavern in the engine bay just ripe for it. Slee Tray Install Link. I should replace the battery that's in there now (2-3 yr old Les Schwab brand???) and was thinking of a Yellow/Red Top Optima combo when I do the dual. As you can see, I'm taking most of my queues from the awesome Deathstar build by Kurt @cruiseroutfit! (Build Thread) I'm not going to be able to do what he did to the LC for monetary and tech expertise reasons, but what an awesome build plan, documentation of parts etc., great company at Cruiser Outfitters, and perfect build to reference for the next few years... Thanks Kurt! I love the Expedition Utah site as well. Give this a peruse if you haven't already and are interested in Utah. May be old hat for most of you on this forum but I'm pretty stoked about whats happening over there.

Things are moving pretty quickly, may need to make a boatload more money to keep this pace...

Arriving next week for install in the garage:
ARB Front Bull Bar - Part# ARB 3413050
ARB Side Rails - Part# ARB 4413260
ARB Side Step/Slider - Part# ARB 4413250

 

[mookamatook]

Bull Bar is mostly on... except for a few things. The (1) indicator light wiring has me a bit confused, the (2) tow point bolts are slightly stripped on the drivers side and I think I need to retap the nut.

(1) Indicator light wiring. On the driver side we have a green, green/grey and white/grey. I think I'm supposed to connect the green/grey to the red wire on the ARB lighting kit and attache the white/grey to the ARB black wire. The green is the parking lamp and doesn't get hooked up to the bumper as this is a pre 98-02 bull bar and only has the indicator lights, no fogs like the later version. Any tips for the wiring? I'm thinking no crimp connectors but doing something more solid to splice in the new indicators.

(2) I think that I'm going to use a heli coil kit to rethread the tow point captive bolts on the inside of the frame rail as I can't get to them. When I pulled the tow point (m14) bolts out from the drivers side, the broken threads from the nut were lining the bolt threads. Not good... These are not holding very tight when I have the tow point on there so I'll either try to go one bolt size up at the same thread pitch and see how that holds or just tap a new hole with a heli-coil. Not very happy about this wrinkle. It really complicates an otherwise easy job.

EDIT: I ordered a M14 1.5 EZ thread kit and hopefully this will work to get the ARB supplied bolts into the tow point slots once I rethread the captive nut. Fingers crossed.
UPDATE: I used the EZ Thread kit and it worked like a charm. Bought a 14.3 mm bit (9/16") and drilled out the stripped nut threads. Then with some lubrication, very slowly and carefully rethreaded the nut with the provided tool. It took about 20 mins per nut to do it well and make sure the threads were smooth and the tap stayed straight. Then the new coil gets screwed into the tapped threads, tap out the "tang" at the end of the coil thread and put the ARB provided bolts in with some locktite. It worked very well and the bolts feel super solid. I'm happy with the troubleshooting.

 

[mookamatook]

Can I get a few opinions on this battery?

Advance Auto Parts - Down for Maintenance

I know they are a point of division among 100 owners but, will this fit? Will it work well in MN freezing winters? 720 CCA and a group 35? Will another size suit me better? They are running a 25% coupon at the moment and would like to replace my battery!

Also, any recommendations (cheap...) for front spot + flood lights would be awesome.

 

[trdcorolla]

I don't live where it freezes during the winter but that battery in your link has less than half the capacity of the factory 27F that sell for about 80 at Costco or 100 at a Toyota Dealer. Lot's of 100's owners go with a H8 Group 49 AGM. It's capacity is about the same as a 27F factory battery, but you get the AGM benefits at about half the cost of a 27F AGM. Some just drop it in and crank down on the tie down and some use a spacer of some sort to get the battery up higher closer to the tie down. The H8 battery is shorter/longer than the 27F.

 

[mookamatook]

I don't live where it freezes during the winter but that battery in your link has less than half the capacity of the factory 27F that sell for about 80 at Costco or 100 at a Toyota Dealer. Lot's of 100's owners go with a H8 Group 49 AGM. It's capacity is about the same as a 27F factory battery, but you get the AGM benefits at about half the cost of a 27F AGM. Some just drop it in and crank down on the tie down and some use a spacer of some sort to get the battery up higher closer to the tie down. The H8 battery is shorter/longer than the 27F.

Thanks for this. Good info and sorted my search on the forums out to actually get the info I wanted... I think I may go the AGM route. I saw another post (Here) on this battery (Batteries Plus Link) and while it is very expensive, I think the 10% off plus $20 mail in and free 5 year warranty from batteries plus would make it a worthy investment for my ~6 months of sub zero temp starting duties in MN.

 

[mookamatook]

Decided to chart out my expenses and plans thusfar for the rig to keep an eye on what I'm spending. Then I want to start planning some long term things for what I'm trying to do/where I'm trying to go over the next few years. I'm itching to get to Moab soon. I need to go back to Alaska. I've done a ton of work in Kenya and other parts of Africa and would love a long trip N>S. Then I would like to do a long Pan american hwy trip with a lot of detours and long stops.

 

[LXPearl]

For batteries I had been getting the Interstate ones at Costco for good value pricing, but last year I was by Sam's Club during a battery sale and picked up a Duracell 94R AGM and I have been pleased with it. I was by Sams last month and noticed they had the 27F AGM in stock, which would fit better. I have to use a couple 3/4 inch spacer blocks for the bracket to fit on top of the 94R because of its top design, but it is secure with the spacers.

You have a nice 01LC and it looks great in the photo after the lift and tires. I was pleased you found the big BFG tires for the stock rims - it has pure LC appearance with a serious business attitude. I vote for snowflake - since it can look for and handle the snow. I am glad the diff lock started working - you may have worked the solenoid loose so it works. I think most incidents go the other way - an accidental bump on the dash and the LC acts like a bucking bronco on city streets.

We did a lot of cross country driving with our 01 LC and LX at any time of year and loved taking adventuresome side trips along the way, but we were not camping minded. We still have the 01 LX in stock form as wife's daily driver and it still looks great and runs extremely well. The build and capability of the hundy is impressive.

 

[100d ua]

Hey there, fellow Oregoner! Nice build thread you got going. I just picked up my Land Cruiser in Bend last weekend, I originally had my eyes set on one in Eugene but the owner could not be bothered to wait two days for me to drive down and pick it up (it sold 3 days from post date - at asking price).

Hope to see you around sometime, I spend quite some time in Eugene.