4BT FZJ80 Family Adventure Rig

[mrdane]

Hey Folks,

Figured I'd create a "build thread" to help document work done and adventures with the new rig. I'm a former Jeep guy who was on the hunt for a replacement for the Grand Cherokee I sunk in a river on an outing with my daughter this past spring. With the Jeep sitting in my driveway for the last few months and new build ideas going through my head, I'd decided that Jeep didn't offer anything that could comfortably haul my family and all of our gear to where we needed to go. The search was on!

I'd owned a couple of different 4 Runners when I was younger and had ALWAYS dreamt about having a Surf or something like it. I love diesels and I love SUVs. The thought clickedabout a month or so ago about getting a Land Cruiser and eventually swapping it or just importing one from Canada. I wasn't too pumped about RHD and a manual transmission as my wife drives our rigs as well. Browsing archived 'for sale' ads on many different yota forums revealed that swapped rigs came up about quarterly for sale and at a fraction of what they cost to build. Being in the auto aftermarket industry as well as having built enough of my own cars to understand that fact, I dropped my ego, saved up/secured some funds and waited for one to pop up. I didn't have to wait long! Long story short, I'm the new owner of a 4bt 80.

The transaction went smoothly, the previous owner is a great guy and the rig is exactly what was advertised. Not to mention EXACTLY what I was looking for as a platform! A couple of weeks worth of emails/phone calls back and forth and I felt confident enough to book the plane ticket to San Jose from Boise, Idaho. Fast forward a bit and here we are, new rig parked in front of my house. I left my house for the airport yesterday at 5:15 am and arrived home with the rig at 3:20 am the following day. I'm pretty proud of making the entire trip in less than a day! Flights, transaction and the almost 700 mile drive back to Idaho in 22 hours! Truck ran great all the way home. Granted, I made my own insurance by spending $300 at Home Depot on tools and what not, just in case I had issues. Those are being returned today.... love return policies...

I don't have much for pictures yet as I'm still groggy from the drive on top of it being like 100* outside right now AND battling this nasty allergy BS. I never have issues with allergies.... go figure! With the time I spent in the truck as well as some poking around today, there are def some issues I need to take care of first before I start doing other stuff. The plan is to drive it for the next year and take care of smaller issues while my wallet recoups a little bit. The wife and I are already planning a small over night up in the forest with the whole family to test it out in a couple of weeks.

Initial things to do....
-figure out why the trans(700r4) doesn't kick down from 4th to 3rd on the highway.

-fix leaks. Front diff has a pretty good leak, oil pans got a pretty good seep to it as does the power steering. It's a diesel in a 230k+ chassis.... I'd be concerned if there were NO leaks haha.

-cranks case breather

-move EGT probe to manifold

-tune fuel system.

The list will get longer I reckon as I tear into it some. It runs well but it feels down on power and sluggish. I don't plan on pushing it too hard by any means as I'd rather NOT scatter this 700r4 into a bunch of little pieces haha. I'm also planning on seperating the cooling system to the factory intercooler("aftercooler") from the rest of the engine coolant system, to knock the IAT down some, with hopes to get some more power and lower EGTs. Also up will be parts collecting to swap in a 4l80e eventually over the next year or so.

Here are a couple of pics for now, I'm wiped out and my phones about dead haha. More to come later!

 

[4wheelspulling]

You have a nice 80 there! I would love to have Diesel power for my 80. Like you, I have seriously considered a truck from Canada, but want to stay with the steering wheel on the Left side. The other problem, is the age of most of the import diesels to get around all the import problems and Red tape. I want to stay with a 95'-97' FZJ80. Right now it seems best to drive my 97'. I can buy a lot of gas in place of the cost of diesel power!

 

[mrdane]

You have a nice 80 there! I would love to have Diesel power for my 80. Like you, I have seriously considered a truck from Canada, but want to stay with the steering wheel on the Left side. The other problem, is the age of most of the import diesels to get around all the import problems and Red tape. I want to stay with a 95'-97' FZJ80. Right now it seems best to drive my 97'. I can buy a lot of gas in place of the cost of diesel power!

Thanks! I'm pretty happy with it so far. I hear you about the imported rigs. It seemed far better for my needs to jump on one like the one I got. Lots cheaper to buy vs build one too. I honestly didn't pay a whole lot more for mine than I would have for a clean and mildly built gasser. I was digging the 18-20 mpgs I was getting on the trip home though!
Oh and the looks from people as I clacked through parking lots haha.

 

[mrdane]

So, it's looking like the first bit of work is going to happen sooner than later. From what I can figure the front axle needs a rebuild/reseal. There's a good leak from the 3rd member as well as both knuckles. So while it's all apart I figure it's a good time to machine grooves in the axles for lock outs. From what I can gather it looks like it's got later(longer) birfs and earlier(shorter) drive flanges, causing the axles to walk in and out. The c clip on the end of the shafts are doing nothing. Probably explains the clunking from the front every once in a awhile! Ordering up a knuckle kit and I'll give Aisin a ring tomorrow about sending over some lockouts.

I figure while I've go the front end apart it may be a good time to look in the torque converter lockup. If it was locking up, I couldn't tell. If need be Ill order up a lock up kit so I can manually lock it up in 3rd and 4th.

 

[4wheelspulling]

Hope you don't find more going on when you pull the front axle apart. beno here on mud is great to help with questions and to get you the parts you need. I got all my oem brake parts from him.

 

[4wheelspulling]

mrdane, what size lift and tires do you have? Sure has a nice "stance" to your truck! I would like someday to go with about 1-1/2 - 2" lift system some day on my truck.

 

[cjmoon]

Nice rig. Do you know the stall the cobverter. A lot of people use a 1200 stall with the 700r4 so you might not feel much lockup as it's pretty tight once you get up to speed. A manual switch is easy enough though.

I love my 4bt rig. Good luck with the base work then the power mod bug hits. It's never ending fun.

 

[mrdane]

mrdane, what size lift and tires do you have? Sure has a nice "stance" to your truck! I would like someday to go with about 1-1/2 - 2" lift system some day on my truck.

It's a 4" Slee lift and the tires are 315/75 on 16" stock wheels. Coming from a Jeep WJ that needs an insane amount of lift and trimming to fit anything over a 33, I'm loving this LC world! Do you have any pics of your rig?

 

[mrdane]

Nice rig. Do you know the stall the cobverter. A lot of people use a 1200 stall with the 700r4 so you might not feel much lockup as it's pretty tight once you get up to speed. A manual switch is easy enough though.

I love my 4bt rig. Good luck with the base work then the power mod bug hits. It's never ending fun.

Thanks! I'm in LOVE with this thing! I'm not exactly sure of the stall. I tried to do a stall test today but with the higher EGTs I've had since getting it, I chickened out a couple of seconds into it. Not to mention I smoked out the parking lot! Ha! I'm thinking 1800 though, just from what I saw before I let off. As for the lockup, I'm fully intending on adding a switch. Right now I'm getting the motor stuff sorted and then next up is some trans work.

Oh heck yeah, I'm itching to swap this H1C out for an HX30 haha. Kind of ironic as I was lookin at using that same turbo in my Audi for awhile lol. What transmission do you have behind yours?

 

[scottryana]

Welcome to mud and get new truck! How's the noise and vibration with the 4bt? I would love to find a diesel around 4-5L that's in inline 6. Is your front diff leak from the pinion?

 

[mrdane]

I go some time to work on this bad boy today and am pleased with the progress. My neighbors love me.... My wife's car is the only car in our fleet that is stock. Luckily my neighborhood is full of tinkerers and motorheads.

First up today was working out a new crank case breather setup. What was on there was pretty much a "road tube" except pointed up and facing the firewall. At some point someone had added a side full oil spout and was using that as the breather. The almost 800 miles I'd put on had left oil on EVERYTHING. After a couple nights of research I'd learned that some tractors used a dual valve cover breather set up that included an air/oil separator. I ordered one up from Pure Diesel Power and threw it on today. Only thing I hadn't to do was bend the injector lines on the back two cylinders a little to get it to fit. Slapped some Cummins Beige paint on and added 3' of 3/4" hose to route down the drivers side of the motor and to the ground. Turned out great!

The EGT probe was located in the downpipe when I got it. I wasn't really liking that too much as the air after the turbo is generally cooler. Its a crap shoot to as exactly how much cooler, so I moved it to the manifold.

Next up was some injection pump tuning. The EGT temps seemed high compared to what I'd been reading as normal and the amount of smoke preboost kinda confirmed to me that it was getting way too much fuel. Especially for this giant, slow spooling H1C. I didn't have much time to really dial it in bug I figure over the next couple of weeks I can play with it more. I had a suspicion that someone had already been in there being as the smoke screw and full power screw caps where gone. As soon as I pulled the AFC cap, my suspicions were confirmed. Looking at the markings on the diaphragm from whoever was in there, I assumed they bumped it up equally all around. 90* CCW on the fuel pin, 1 turn CCW on the star wheel and 1 turn CCW on the smoke screw gave me lower EGTs, faster spool(and 10psi half way up the power range) and less smoke. Still needs some tinkering but I'm extremely happy so far. It feels like a completely different truck! Not much for pictures except the valve cover breather setup. Covers on the back two cylinders.

Oh, another thing I kind of noticed when I had the valve covers was a loose rocker arm. Not 'danger' loose by any means but loose enough that I'm going to go back in to adjust the valves in a week or two. If the coolant lines for the intercooler didn't run right over top of the front valve covers, I'd have adjusted them today.

 

[ajax1]

You should message @Jason Andrews , he has had a 4bt for 10 years with 700r4 and could prob help ya out

 

[cjmoon]

I've got the toyota a343f and about 1900 stall not ideal for mpg but I believe it helps trans longevity since there not diesel designed trans.

I kept it auto for the same reasons you did wife and daily commute traffic simple easy mindless... I love it. I came from dodge cummins 2500 5sp and can remember getting mad at constent shifting stuck in traffic.

HX30 will be a big jump. I wouldn't spend to much time tuning until you do that.

Twin turbo are in my future. Solidified that after a recent CO trip I'm running the super 46mm hx30 and it was very slow to spool at altitude with a trailer. The 44mm would be better but lacking closer to sea level put on the highway in my opinion. Bit I'm running a high rpm gov spring, 3800. But shift point keep it at about 3300 with full fuel through shifts.

Turbo selection will depend on your gov spring and intentions.

 

[mrdane]

Welcome to mud and get new truck! How's the noise and vibration with the 4bt? I would love to find a diesel around 4-5L that's in inline 6. Is your front diff leak from the pinion?

Thanks for the welcome! The noise/vibration is not near as bad as I was expecting it to be. I've spent a good part of my life in different crew trucks, semis and heavy equipment so I've gotten used to a bit 'personality' with vehicles. Now, if you're the type that gets easily annoyed with the feel of mud tires on asphalt, then you will hate life with a 4bt. As for the front end leak, it's not coming from the pinion. It dribbles down along the pass side of the diff. I traced a bit yesterday and it could be coming from the diff lock and running down. Something I def need to look into.

 

[mrdane]

I've got the toyota a343f and about 1900 stall not ideal for mpg but I believe it helps trans longevity since there not diesel designed trans.

I kept it auto for the same reasons you did wife and daily commute traffic simple easy mindless... I love it. I came from dodge cummins 2500 5sp and can remember getting mad at constent shifting stuck in traffic.

HX30 will be a big jump. I wouldn't spend to much time tuning until you do that.

Twin turbo are in my future. Solidified that after a recent CO trip I'm running the super 46mm hx30 and it was very slow to spool at altitude with a trailer. The 44mm would be better but lacking closer to sea level put on the highway in my opinion. Bit I'm running a high rpm gov spring, 3800. But shift point keep it at about 3300 with full fuel through shifts.

Turbo selection will depend on your gov spring and intentions.

I hear you on the auto vs manual daily stuff. I dailied a 3500 Cummins with a 6 speed for awhile and I absolutely hated it in traffic as well. Even my daily Audi A4 with a 5 speed can get annoying. Granted I've got a ceramic 6 puck clutch in it haha.

Ohhhhh when are you thinking of going with twins? I need to search but do you have a build thread going on I could follow? I'd very much like to keep tabs on your rig! I'm thinking the 44mm is what I'd look for. That whole middle road concept. I've got a 3200 spring in there but the motor doesn't rap out that high day to day. I don't plan on high hp or winding it out either. I'm more after response and longevity. Do you have pics of your downpipe and exhaust setup somewhere? I'm not very happy with the amount of tight bends on my truck and fully intend on reworking most of it so it can breathe a little easier.

 

[cjmoon]

My signature should have the link to the thread I update on but I'm not super detailed. I ran my exhaust inside the frame 3" and a cut and welded a custom manifold to put the turbo up front and in the middle of the manifold. That should give me room to fit a twin set up below. My plan is to do this work this winter. Starting in November. I built my original manifold with these thoughts with the external waste gate for tuning.

Turbo placement is great plenty of room minimal bends. Glass pack style muffler/resonator auro 3.0xl. If I remember right.

My buddy has a 5.9 6bt lx450 and ran it out the fender In the original location and dumps in front of the rear tire just running it under rocker. Pretty easy simple setup. I might consider something like that in the future if it fits better

 

[mrdane]

Good deal. Yeah, found your thread and have slowly been reading through it. I like your build! I have to back burner turbo stuff until next year more than likely. I get to nitpicking and overthinking and the next thing I know, I'm rebuilding/reworking everything haha. I can def be one of those "while I'm in here" guys... Even sectioning the down pipe to fit an HX30 is going to bump me into wanting to rework the entire exhaust, I can see it now!

 

[mrdane]

I havent been able to get out into the desert or up into the mountains the last couple of months, lifes been pretty crazy. Plus this front end leak had gotten progressively worse since aquiring this rig. I’d been waiting for a window to get my garage organized with some more tools and whatnot from storage and finally got the time window last weekend. With the garage cleaned out and “organized” I was able to get the Cruiser in, withOUT having to air down! Heck yeah!

Ive slowly been working on it after work the past couple of days. I should have it back together and running next week as time allows. So on the plate now is rebuilding the knuckles, pulling the 3rd member/resealing and then machining spacers for the Aisin hubs that are going on.

Only other little tid bits Ive tinkered with was mounting the control box for the winch. It was kind of a quick fix and I plan on remaking the bracket this winter, as well as clearancing sheet metal arpund the clutch lever, for ease of use.

 

[mrdane]

Haven't had much time to sit down and scratch out an update, so here's a small one....

Got the front end put all back together and is leak free. Mental note to self- next time I pull the 3rd member, I'm getting rid of the studs and replacing with long bolts. I twisted them slightly while wrestling the diff out which in turn tore the gasket when going back in. A liberal amount of black RTV seems to be holding just fine now...... What a mess rebuilding hubs is! The $6.50 I spent in diesel to clean parts with was well worth the money! Scrub brush, 2 gal of diesel and a 5 gal bucket is a good poor mans parts washer!

Front end is together and I've dailying it while waiting on parts for my Audi. I'm also needing to order new lockouts. I had planned on turning a new snap ring groove in the axle for the Aisins until I thought I had a genius idea of using spacers. I should have googled it first... haha. Does not work with Aisin hubs. The outer locking part does not fit over the spacer. I'm not really in the mood to pull the axles and deal with all of that again so I sold the Aisins and will be ordering up a pair of AVM hubs to work with the spacers I got from Marks. I did put 30 miles on a freewheeling front end and have to say, it feels great! The whole front end seemed to feel happier. Weird I know right? Anywho, I was going to order up a pair the other day until I found this!!

As of right now I have Autometer Boost and EGT in an A pillar pod with Trans temp down by the shifter. I've always hated A pillar gauges and the trans temp gauge isn't really in the best spot. Plus my factory gauges are starting to act up a little. Oil PSI is kinda wanky and the water temp doesn't move much if any. Normally par for the course with engine swaps lol. Having used different multi gauges in past customer cars, I knew I was going to eventually go that route. A whole PLX setup is like $6-700. Nice but no thank you..... With JRPs setup, I'll be able to mount the display on the steering column and have full view of boost, EGT, water temp, trans temp, AMP, RPM, oil PSI and trans PSI, plus its got adjustable built in warnings should things head south under the hood! The display is slightly bigger than a pack of smokes, making it a pretty clean install just about anywhere you mount it. I am beyond excited for this to show up, hopefully by the weekend. Its a newer kit to market and mine will actually be the very first one shipped stateside. I fully intend on putting up a full review on here, more than likely in the diesel section. So far my dealings with Dave at JRP in Australia have been wonderful. Prompt responses, answered all of my questions and shipped quickly! For the price($204 shipped) I couldn't NOT try it out as it fits what I'm looking for to a "T." Heres a link to the display and base unit I ordered ---------> 10in1 Automotive Digital OLED Multi Gauge Display :: Buy Here

So for now, the stock flanges are in keeping the truck AWD until I can get a few bucks(hopefully after selling my Autometers.... ) to order up a pair of AVM hubs. Just happy with the front end not pissing oil now! I'll keep this updated when I get the gauges in hand in a few days. I've also got another small project I may start working on in a month or so. Includes a 7" touchscreen and a Raspberry Pi computer.....

 

[mrdane]

Quick update.... the JRP 10in1 gauges showed up on Friday! This thing should fit the bill PERFECTLY! I couldn’t really wait so I mocked up the display lol. I was originally planning on mounting it to the steering column but it fits entirely too well in the vent!

A few days ago I ordered a pair of AVM lockouts, should hopefully be here next week. I’ve got my Audi in the garage now swapping out the CHRA on the turbo(Garrett GT2871r) but once thats done, I’m going to get these gauges installed and throw the lockouts on.

One more.... and a little teaser of the truck computer Im working(slowly) on.
7” display, touch screen, piggy backed hard drive, windows based, amplifier/fm reciever, blue tooth, wifi, gps etc etc etc. literally a computer in my dash board. Music, movies, GPS, radio, possible back up camera + all kinds of windows based mapping programs. Think Garmins base camp or here in Idaho, the downloadable Forest Service maps and overlays. I’m not sure yet which vehicle I want to build it for first? I drive my Audi more and itd be awesome to have VAGCOM(audi/vw diagnostic program) at the touch when ever I wanted/needed without needing my laptop. Plus the killer idea of being able to data log right to a flash drive which I can just pop into my laptop at home to adjust my tune. My heads been spinning the past couple of months with ideas lol. I originally bought my first one to use as a dash for my race car. Ill post up a pic of that setup too. Its not finished and has pretty much only been bench tested. Racecar has taken a back seat the last couple of months.... These little Raspberry Pi computers are sick!

Showing the size of the computer. About the size of a credit card.

Just a quick sizing conparison to the double din. Thats a 7” touch screen for reference.

The JRP gauge display in the vent next to the clock. It will display boost, egt, water temp, trans temp, AMP and oil psi for now. Fits PERFECTLY. Jesus my trucks dirty.... so much dust haha.

Just a quick shot of Tunerstudio running on my counter. I have megasquirt in the race car. I COULD technically tune with this setup but who the hell would want to on a 7” screen haha.