2L to 1KZ swap

[ohheyitsnino]

Hey guys im looking to swap a 1KZ-TE into my LJ78. I was able to come across some online for decent prices and wonder whats needed for the swap

I'll be keeping my truck auto so as long as i get an auto KZ will it mount right up? most of the KZs i found come with tranny and ECU and a couple with top mount just come with bell housing

1. will KZ engine mount to a 2L tranny? or should i swap in the kz engine with the kz tranny

2. does the engine mounts need to be moved around? or is a simple drop in?

3. Does the KZ wiring harness plug right into the 2L? (I've pulled my 2L already and just disconnected my plugs)

What else would i need to swap the KZ? thanks ahead guys and gals

 

[Waikato Willy]

heres my bit of 5 cents- honestly go as mechanical as you can
4m40 mistsi pump or get the 1KZ pump modded to be mechanical (Kaipoi repowers)
dump the auto and do a manual conversion, bell housing of a 1KD and get the trans from an 80 series with the transfer case on the right hand side
pedal box might be a mission but its only one pedal to find right, heck a hilux box might work

as these are getting old the looms are starting to fail, im still chasing my fair share of electrical gremlins and it looks like ill be heading down this track eventually

 

[ohheyitsnino]

heres my bit of 5 cents- honestly go as mechanical as you can
4m40 mistsi pump or get the 1KZ pump modded to be mechanical (Kaipoi repowers)
dump the auto and do a manual conversion, bell housing of a 1KD and get the trans from an 80 series with the transfer case on the right hand side
pedal box might be a mission but its only one pedal to find right, heck a hilux box might work

as these are getting old the looms are starting to fail, im still chasing my fair share of electrical gremlins and it looks like ill be heading down this track eventual

i wouldnt mind going to a manual but that can wait lol.

so by going mechanical youre talking about the early 1KZ?

and my plan is to clean up and fix any wiring problems I come across . i might even replace the connection ends.

would the 1KZ mount to the original 2L mounts?

 

[Waikato Willy]

Kaipoi repowers here in NZ mod the electric pump with 2LT stuff to make a mechanical pump
I for one have a mitsi 4m40 pump ill get around to sticking on one day
Hell I might even leave it auto however the trans needs signals from the pump for gearshift otherwise it shifts funny and no overdrive, you could manualise the trans, (info on this forum)
I know there is a speed sensor on top of the 1KZ pump , this is possibly what the auto uses, might just be a hall or inductive sensor, grab an oscilloscope and measure the pulse and copy this with a trigger disc mounted on the driveshaft, this might solve the auto shifting issue with a mechanical pump

this is all nice in theory but at the end of the day its all time and could be a big waste of time , but thats what late nights in the shed while everyones asleep is for right?

I dont know about the mounts sorry

 

[Ash Awbery]

Soon I will be undertaking the exact same conversion, I have a complete hilux surf with 1kzte and auto transmission. I have searched but I have not found any successful conversions.

The bell housing and torque converter should swap over, and the engine mounts will around 45mm out.

My plan is to try and run the 1kzte using the 2lte management visually the pump on my 2lte and 1kzte look the same, if I can’t make it work, then I will either try running the LJ78 with the 1kzte ecu and loom from the surf, but my concerns with this are with the gearbox management because the surf and LJ78 gearboxes are slightly different or I will fit the 4m40 mechanical pump I have and run aftermarket gearbox control.

Unfortunately I won’t be able to give much of an update for a few months because I need to wait until I have moved house.

 

[ohheyitsnino]

Soon I will be undertaking the exact same conversion, I have a complete hilux surf with 1kzte and auto transmission. I have searched but I have not found any successful conversions.

The bell housing and torque converter should swap over, and the engine mounts will around 45mm out.

My plan is to try and run the 1kzte using the 2lte management visually the pump on my 2lte and 1kzte look the same, if I can’t make it work, then I will either try running the LJ78 with the 1kzte ecu and loom from the surf, but my concerns with this are with the gearbox management because the surf and LJ78 gearboxes are slightly different or I will fit the 4m40 mechanical pump I have and run aftermarket gearbox control.

Unfortunately I won’t be able to give much of an update for a few months because I need to wait until I have moved house.

yeah im wonder how many people weren't able to do the swap because of problems. I honestly don't want to run the 2L anymore lol.

im planning to swap engine, trans and ECU which should be straight forward other than motormounts. what did you mean by 45mm out?

 

[Ash Awbery]

yeah im wonder how many people weren't able to do the swap because of problems. I honestly don't want to run the 2L anymore lol.

im planning to swap engine, trans and ECU which should be straight forward other than motormounts. what did you mean by 45mm out?

My 2lte is toast so I have no choice, the problem with the trans, is the output is wrong for the transfer case, I’m not sure if it’s possible to swap the back of the gearbox with the LJ78 one.

A guy on the landcruiser UK forum makes adapter plates that move the mounts back 45mm.

 

[ohheyitsnino]

My 2lte is toast so I have no choice, the problem with the trans, is the output is wrong for the transfer case, I’m not sure if it’s possible to swap the back of the gearbox with the LJ78 one.

A guy on the landcruiser UK forum makes adapter plates that move the mounts back 45mm.

View attachment 2941393

Yeah I have no choice what so ever I have to swap my 2l out. I’ll have to do some more digging but maybe I’ll luck out by swapping just the engine

And do you have a link for those mounts?

The 1kz I’m looking to pick just had the leak down test down and all the cylinders were at 650 except for one which was at 610

 

[CRSWA]

I'm super interested in a 1KD swap. More horsepower and better mileage from basically the same engine block as the 1KZ. The electronics are more daunting, but it seems like the ideal balance between modern engine vs. ease of install.

 

[hele559]

A guy on the landcruiser UK forum makes adapter plates that move the mounts back 45mm.

Hey Mate, any chance you have a link to the forum or whoever makes these? Looking at a 1KZ swap to replace the 2L in my 89 blizzard

 

[Ash Awbery]

If you check out the Toyota bundera Australia Facebook page, his is a pinned post at the top.

 

[hngwarai]

Soon I will be undertaking the exact same conversion, I have a complete hilux surf with 1kzte and auto transmission. I have searched but I have not found any successful conversions.

The bell housing and torque converter should swap over, and the engine mounts will around 45mm out.

My plan is to try and run the 1kzte using the 2lte management visually the pump on my 2lte and 1kzte look the same, if I can’t make it work, then I will either try running the LJ78 with the 1kzte ecu and loom from the surf, but my concerns with this are with the gearbox management because the surf and LJ78 gearboxes are slightly different or I will fit the 4m40 mechanical pump I have and run aftermarket gearbox control.

Unfortunately I won’t be able to give much of an update for a few months because I need to wait until I have moved house.

Did you succeed in swapping 2L-TE to 1KZ-TE and what are the issues I need to be aware of?

 

[hngwarai]

My 2lte is toast so I have no choice, the problem with the trans, is the output is wrong for the transfer case, I’m not sure if it’s possible to swap the back of the gearbox with the LJ78 one.

A guy on the landcruiser UK forum makes adapter plates that move the mounts back 45mm.

View attachment 2941393

Did you have the contact of the guy who makes the adapter plates in the UK?

 

[Ash Awbery]

Did you have the contact of the guy who makes the adapter plates in the UK?

The guy is not based in the UK he is in Australia, but if you check out the Facebook page mentioned above you will find it.

 

[Ash Awbery]

Did you succeed in swapping 2L-TE to 1KZ-TE and what are the issues I need to be aware of?

Yes, and No I wasn’t able to get it running right with the 2LT-e ecu so I decided to go 4M40 injector pump and bought an aftermarket TCU. As a stop gap I converted it to manual shift, I really like it in manual shift so haven’t bothered fitting the TCU.

All the benefits of a manual transmission with control of the gear shifts (have T/C lock up on a switch so can control when I have full lock up) but the added benefit of the torque converter when off road.

I will fit the TCU one day with plans to have it switchable between auto and manual.

 

[LJ78ish]

After a series of unfortunate events, I need to swap my LJ78 Engine. I have sourced a 1KZ-TE (year 96 - guessing Hilux) with auto trans and ECU. Id’e like to confirm a few things:

1. Does the 1KZ-TE fit properly in the LJ78 engine bay, or are there clearance issues I should be aware of?
2. Will the existing motor mounts work, or will I need to fabricate or reposition them? I’ve heard about the mounts needing to move 45mm—can anyone confirm this?
3. Can the 1KZ-TE’s auto transmission mate directly with the LJ78’s transfer case? Are there known issues with the output shaft alignment?
   1. If I use the 1KZ-TE ECU with 2L-TE, will it handle the auto transmission properly, or should I anticipate wiring or sensor challenges?
      1. I’m ok with swapping to 1KZ-TE trans if it’s a better fit.
4. Another things I should be aware of?

Will be adding forward intercooler at the time of the swap as well as other pre-maintenance things.

Any wisdom here would be help and thanks in advance!

 

[oemhardtop]

I can't speak specifically about the 1KZ engine swap, but there are different types of oil pans on the 1KZ engines designed for various vehicles. Just make sure the oil pan does not touch the front differential shaft. Good luck.

 

[hngwarai]

Yes, and No I wasn’t able to get it running right with the 2LT-e ecu so I decided to go 4M40 injector pump and bought an aftermarket TCU. As a stop gap I converted it to manual shift, I really like it in manual shift so haven’t bothered fitting the TCU.

All the benefits of a manual transmission with control of the gear shifts (have T/C lock up on a switch so can control when I have full lock up) but the added benefit of the torque converter when off road.

I will fit the TCU one day with plans to have it switchable between auto and manual.

I will be glad if we could chat on Whatsapp as I am about to embark on the journey. Am on WhatsApp number +263719337003

 

[hngwarai]

Yes, and No I wasn’t able to get it running right with the 2LT-e ecu so I decided to go 4M40 injector pump and bought an aftermarket TCU. As a stop gap I converted it to manual shift, I really like it in manual shift so haven’t bothered fitting the TCU.

All the benefits of a manual transmission with control of the gear shifts (have T/C lock up on a switch so can control when I have full lock up) but the added benefit of the torque converter when off road.

I will fit the TCU one day with plans to have it switchable between auto and manual.

Aftermarket TCU, is that "Transmission Control Unit" ? Where did you buy it? How does it work? How do you connect it?

 

[Ash Awbery]

After a series of unfortunate events, I need to swap my LJ78 Engine. I have sourced a 1KZ-TE (year 96 - guessing Hilux) with auto trans and ECU. Id’e like to confirm a few things:

1. Does the 1KZ-TE fit properly in the LJ78 engine bay, or are there clearance issues I should be aware of?
2. Will the existing motor mounts work, or will I need to fabricate or reposition them? I’ve heard about the mounts needing to move 45mm—can anyone confirm this?
3. Can the 1KZ-TE’s auto transmission mate directly with the LJ78’s transfer case? Are there known issues with the output shaft alignment?
   1. If I use the 1KZ-TE ECU with 2L-TE, will it handle the auto transmission properly, or should I anticipate wiring or sensor challenges?
      1. I’m ok with swapping to 1KZ-TE trans if it’s a better fit.
4. Another things I should be aware of?

Will be adding forward intercooler at the time of the swap as well as other pre-maintenance things.

Any wisdom here would be help and thanks in advance!

To be honest I doubt you will find anyone who can answer all of those questions with certainty because it will always depend on where the 1KZ came from but if you search you would probably find the answers to most of them.
But my answers are:
1. Yes the engine fits fine because this engine was a factory option, as long as you have the correct engine sump. Mine came from a Hilux surf which was fine, apparently 90 series doesn’t fit but I have no first hand experience.
2. Motor mounts are 50mm further back on the 1KZ so you will need either adapter plates or move the chassis brackets (again might be donor vehicle dependant) the Left front chassis mount is very close to the PAS pump.
3. Again donor specific, if it’s from a KJZ7X then I guess it should fit without problems, the rear housing on the A343 in my surf was different to the A343 in my LJ78. I kept my LJ78 gearbox but used the 1KZ bell housing and torque converter. I wasn’t able to get my gearbox to shift properly so went 4M40 manual injector pump and have the gearbox set for manual shifting.

Wiring will be your biggest challenge and you will want a KZJ7X radiator and you will need to modify the PAS pipes and a custom exhaust.