2003 Landcruiser Restored and Modified (1 Viewer)

[RNR365]

Upgrading the original Navigation system is a must IMO. Living in an HD world, that screen is just an eyesore. I went with the Pioneer as I am a fan of Pioneer gear. My friend has them in two of his cars and a number of people on this forum have used them as well. By far the most helpful resource for this swap is the thread - post 2003 nav delete how to. Without the help of @jerryb I could not have completed this so quickly and smoothly. Jerry is an all around great guy. There is also a pre-2003 nav delete thread. So I have an '03. Probably should read post 2002. The difference with the '03 is it has four M connectors for the Navigation unit as opposed to three for the '04 and later trucks. You have to have the electrical diagram manual for you truck.

What you are doing in essence is converting the truck back to a non-Navigation truck. In the US I'm pretty sure they all came with Navigation unless you special ordered it perhaps. The main thing you are doing is getting the AC/Heater controls back to a manual control panel. I got very lucky and found a 2003 LC at a pick and pull that was non-Navigation. It is the only one in the US that I could find. You'll also need a clock panel. The only other way is to purchase the individual parts and build the unit. It is not cheap. Around $2k I think. Either way, once you have the AC/Heater control unit and clock panel it is game on. After you learn how to read the electrical diagram manual it is fairly straightforward. Not easy for me as I'm a bit electrically challenged and this was pretty complicated. Solder seal connectors are the way to go.

1. Electrical Wiring Diagram Manual
2. AC/Heater control panel
3. Clock panel
4. Bezel
5. M9 connector(Clock panel)
6. Solder Seal Connectors
7. Non-Nav brackets
8. Radio connector from Metra Kits.
9. Head unit
10. A lot of patience

First step is removing the Navigation unit. That is when I got nervous. There is a ton of wires to deal with.

Next step is wiring the M9 connector and rewiring the A45 and A47 connectors. All the details to do this are on the threads mentioned above. Really helpful to read the entire thread. 40 pages... Once everything is wired up and tested then you can install the head unit.

Next step is assembling the entire package, getting the head unit wired up and the whole enchilada back in. This process is adding quite a bit of hardware to a very limited space so we'll see...

 

[WreckDiver1321]

I love this conversion, but don't hate my nav enough to make the swap myself. That's gonna be really cool in your rig.

 

[RNR365]

Time to install the Clock panel, AC/Heater panel, Head unit and Bezel in the new brackets and wiring the Pioneer up. Got everything wired and working properly and it sounds really nice. It turns out I had no power on the B+ wire that supply's constant power to the clock. Every time I turned the LC on it said 1pm. Had to take it all apart and pull another power wire from the radio to the clock panel. That was frustrating. Ok, now I can clean up and put rest of the truck back together.

 

[RNR365]

Putting it back together... Installed the microphone for the Head unit above the rear view mirror. Applied the remaing two sheets of Dynamat to front floor areas and installed the carpets and seats. Looks great so far. I had our carpet cleaner guy swing by and clean the carpets while they were out of the LC. Cleaner than I could ever get them. Just need to install a switch for the reverse LED light bar and I should be good to go for a first drive.
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[mycars]

Amazing work and awesome documentation! Thank you so much for this contribution to the community. I hope the first ride goes well!

 

[RNR365]

Amazing work and awesome documentation! Thank you so much for this contribution to the community. I hope the first ride goes well!

Thanks man, much appreciated.

 

[RNR365]

Everything's back in its proper place. Wired the reverse LED light bar switch. 4 wires. Tried every way possible but could not get the switch to illuminate only when the light bar was on. It would illuminate either always on or always off. It works and looks integrated. It was cheap, $9 so may buy another one and see if it was a bad switch.

All in all I'd say I put 80-100 hours and close to $5k in parts into the project. Well worth it as this has been an unbelievable transformation. Now it's time to reload the piggy bank.

First drive: The only word to describe the overall build is stunning. The sound system is mind blowing. With the truck so quiet the music is theater like. Very happy with the final results. Many thanks to all those on the forum who have documented similar builds. It made tearing apart my perfectly good Cruiser a lot less stressful.

Tires are next month. I've decided on the BF Goodrich KO2's. Late winter I'll start in on some off-road upgrades...

 

[WreckDiver1321]

I love that new center stack. It's a shame that setup is so rare and so expensive now, I'd love to be able to do that. I don't mind the factory nave with my Bluetooth doohickey but still.

 

[RNR365]

I love that new center stack. It's a shame that setup is so rare and so expensive now, I'd love to be able to do that. I don't mind the factory nave with my Bluetooth doohickey but still.

Ya, I hear you. The LC I got the AC/Heater control panel and Clock panel from was a non-Nav ex-military truck. Armored in Texas new, sent to Afghanistan and then the dismantler somehow ended up with it after they retired it.

 

[WreckDiver1321]

Ya, I hear you. The LC I got the AC/Heater control panel and Clock panel from was a non-Nav ex-military truck. Armored in Texas new, sent to Afghanistan and then the dismantler somehow ended up with it after they retired it.

Lucky man.

 

[dr venkman]

Great thread...you're photos couldn't be more appreciated. I'm going this same direction on my 04 this coming spring as the outdated nav and phone connections are the only think I don't love about my baby. In your photos it looks like you yanked the factory amp and obviously the old dvd nav unit. Are you running your stereo system strictly off the head unit or did you add a new amp? Apologies if you've already touched on this I just could not find any reference.

 

[RNR365]

Great thread...you're photos couldn't be more appreciated. I'm going this same direction on my 04 this coming spring as the outdated nav and phone connections are the only think I don't love about my baby. In your photos it looks like you yanked the factory amp and obviously the old dvd nav unit. Are you running your stereo system strictly off the head unit or did you add a new amp? Apologies if you've already touched on this I just could not find any reference.

Ya, new Alpine amp. It's in some of the photo's. The one I chose fit perfectly in the same location. The Nav/DVD and amp are under the seat. Both go away and only need the new amp. Definitely pay attention to the footprint. It's way easier if you put it where the old one was. There is quite a lot of room actually cuz you are losing that Nav unit too.

 

[dr venkman]

Ya, new Alpine amp. It's in some of the photo's. The one I chose fit perfectly in the same location. The Nav/DVD and amp are under the seat. Both go away and only need the new amp. Definitely pay attention to the footprint. It's way easier if you put it where the old one was. There is quite a lot of room actually cuz you are losing that Nav unit too.

I see it now, was only able to view about half the thread at first but see it all now...thanks for the response!

 

[Mojayjayjay]

When I first bought the truck all I was going to do to the interior was buy a Weathertech cargo liner. Then I found Jonathan Ward and that was a game changer. Two LC's he did were pretty mind blowing. Jack Carr's 60 Series LC and Joe Rogan's 80 Series LC. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6I-FbMOClX8&t=311s https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPg-hlhoa64&t=186sThat's when it dawned on me that the Land Cruisers are truly worth making them great as they will become more desirable as time goes on. My first thought was to do Dynamat. So I started to disassemble the interior and the first thing I noticed was the stock JBL speakers were shot. The foam edges had completely disintegrated. Thanks to @jammingator and @GTV for their helpful posts on Morel speakers and the Kicker sub which I decided to go with. But first the Dynamat...

I can confirm that it takes 3-36 sq.ft. packs of Dynamat to do the interior. I burned an entire sheet on the subwoofer cabinet. I bought the Kicker CompRT Series shallow-mount 6-3/4" subwoofer with dual 2-ohm voice coils. Also, I put a layer of Wool/Polyester blend batting inside the cabinet for further vibration damping. Two layers were about 3/8" thick.

Installing Dynamat is a bit of an art and you just have to go for it. I used a spray bottle with 75% rubbing alcohol to clean all the metal surfaces the Dynamat would go on. My hands had a lot of foil cuts. I tried latex gloves but the Dynamat just sticks and you end up pulling finger tips off. Annoying! Save yourself a lot of time and make sure when you take the truck apart you take lots of photo's so you know where everything goes when putting it back together. Getting this messy part of the upgrades was a relief. On deck is the Morel speakers and Alpine amplifier.


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Great write up. When i purchased my 2002 LX, i noticed the sub had a rattling sound. I took off the panel to discover it had the same kicker 6.75 2ohm sub as yours. It has the ML factory amp, but from what ive read the factory sub was 8ohms. I see that you went with an aftermarket amp; however, im trying to keep my factory amp and was wondering if you had any knowledge about whether the factory ML is pushing too much "ohmage" for this 2ohm sub. It looks like the sub was wired in series, so it should be at 4ohms. I tested each coil and they each put off between 2.1 and 2.3. Im wanting to get rid of the rattling sound, so would you think that buying the same sub, but the 4ohm version wired in series to 8ohm would be better? Even at medium volume with the bass turned completely down it seems to be overworking this sub. Im not an audiophile or an expert electrician by any means, i just want to get rid of the rattling without having to swap out amps or go further down the audio rabbit hole.

 

[JT4runner]

Wow awesome work!! I wish I had the time to do that to my 98 LX interior. Can’t wait to see this build. Great job on the detailing also. Looks fantastic.

 

[RNR365]

Phase one is complete. Bought new BFG KO2's. 275x70r18. Works out to 33x11 I believe. First big road trip 3 weeks ago to Colorado Springs. Went out for some light off-roading up to 10kft. What a great ride!

 

[crimsonaudio]

Great thread, thanks for sharing!

 

[RNR365]

Finally decided on a roof rack. Decided to go with the Frontrunner Slimline II rack. Pricey but it really is a great rack. Bought their pull out awning too. Have some recovery gear coming later this week. A shovel, hi-lift jack and a set of Maxtrax. Now I'm set. Going back to Colorado in a couple of weeks to put it through it's paces.

 

[bozncsurf]

Excellent choice. Truck looks perfect.

Swing by Slee Offroad and pick up a set of slider steps! Extra protection and function in one.

 

[RNR365]

Excellent choice. Truck looks perfect.

Swing by Slee Offroad and pick up a set of slider steps! Extra protection and function in one.

Great suggestion. They are actually on my list. I have talked to Slee about a lift kit as well. Was gonna wait until next season but I may just swing by for the sliders.