Build $500 1992 FJ80 Rebuild: LS Swap in Progress!

[HopelessDiamond]

Check into the driver's side valve cover to see if it's the updated one. Not sure what year they changed. The LY6 I did had a lot of oil in the intake. That's where LSs use oil. A catch can can also help too, but make sure you have the updated valve cover

 

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Check into the driver's side valve cover to see if it's the updated one. Not sure what year they changed. The LY6 I did had a lot of oil in the intake. That's where LSs use oil. A catch can can also help too, but make sure you have the updated valve cover

Driver's side valve cover has the o-ring with a hole, so I'm pretty sure it's the old style with a replaceable PCV valve. I looked at the latest version (2012+ by the look of it) and may swap to that after the engine is in. Otherwise we'll just run a new PCV valve & hose in the meantime.

Our weekend was a mix of outside obligations & work on the Land Cruiser. So I continued cleaning while we were at the shop. I cleaned up the fuel rail & checked, cleaned, and lubricated the o-rings on each side. I've added a new fuel pressure regulator to the RockAuto cart - the one on the rail looks pretty old. Coil brackets were also cleaned, reassembled, and prepped with new plug wires & dielectric grease.

Husband built a template for the transfer case shifter bracket. We then visited our welder friend (who also does some fabrication) and he cut, welded, & built a 12-guage stainless steel plate to our dimensions. It turned out fantastic!

Template:

Finished product (missing a few bolts):

Plans this week are to weld in the motor mounts, finish running fuel & brake lines, & get the drivetrain back in the car for [hopefully] the last time.

 

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Small update. We're behind schedule, but still making progress. We've got the shop extended through the end of October with a very optimistic goal of having it running & driving by the weekend of October 24-25th. We'll have a lot more time & energy to focus on this after the first weekend in October. Worst case scenario, if we don't wrap it up in time, it comes home and work continues in the driveway.

Engine brackets are welded in & painted.

The brake lines had to be rerouted since they originally ran along the 3FE mounts and were now in the way. So husband bent new lines out of 3/16" Nicopp. He only had to drill one hole through the frame brace, but otherwise was able to reuse the original bracket. Since the LSPV was previously deleted, this was also an opportunity to remove the unused rear section.

 

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Husband also started working on fuel lines. We opted to use 100psi-rated fuel injection hose paired with barbed metal adapters from Racetronix to replace the original soft lines. Our friends that have run various engine swaps recommended going that route for ease & durability. The plan is to plumb that to an inline fuel filter (with removable 10 micron strainer) mounted behind the intake on the firewall. We should get the last few pieces to complete that today. Then he can complete the return line.

He also (literally) wrapped up the refresh on the transfer case wiring harness. It received a layer of cloth wrap, then was enclosed in a heat-resistant mesh loom and taped off the ends with electrical tape.

And installed!

That's all for now. Drivetrain should be going back in tomorrow evening. In the meantime, I've got to source a gear lever to pair the 4L80 with the Lokar kit we have. We're also waiting on a shipment of adapter parts from CruiserMatt's that will hopefully be in soon.

 

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Big update!

Drivetrain is in & bolted up. The guys stopped by Thursday night to get it all in for [hopefully] the last time. Clearances look good, although we need to move one of the new brake lines on top of the frame rail so it's not in the way of the exhaust. I also took the opportunity to test fit the clutch fan & blades. They sit well under the hood line as well.

I had two different people reach out to me about the old 3FE/A440F. One needed the engine & the other wanted the transmission. So we split those apart on Friday night. They individually stopped by to pick up them up yesterday. That's two more Land Cruisers that will be back on the road soon!

 

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We spent most of Saturday assembling the intake, plumbing fuel lines, & getting the front suspension bolted back up.

Husband cut & painted a mounting bracket for the new fuel filter. It's an Evil Energy 10-micron filter with removable strainer. So it can be cleaned & reused.

While husband worked on that, I finished cleaning & mounted the throttle body to the intake manifold.

We then removed the lift plate and installed the valley gasket, top plate, new knock sensors, seals, & added a bit or RTV around the knock sensor caps for additional water resistance.

We then added the intake manifold gaskets & bolted the intake to the engine using the two-step method recommended by GM. It's starting to look like an engine!

I started installing the fuel injectors in the fuel rail when I realized that the two replacement injectors from RockAuto looked different. Those are getting sent back and new AC Delco replacements have been ordered.

 

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Husband found these neat fuel line adapters from Racetronix that snap onto the stock LS fuel rail. He installed those and added the last piece of fuel line needed for the filter. We're waiting for the correct replacement fuel injectors to be delivered & installed before buttoning it all up.

How the Land Cruiser currently sits with the 6.0L/4L80. The ARB bumper & winch should help to level out the front once we're done.

That's all I've got for now. We got the last few pieces to connect the Lokar transmission cable (ATA-7006) to the stock FJ80 shifter late yesterday. The transmission side is done and shifts through the gears nicely, so we'll be happy to wrap that up tonight.

We're also going to measure for a Tom Woods' front driveshaft and order a few more missing items: Mosley power steering line, EVAP purge blockoff, new MAP sensor seal, new dipstick tube (old one is rusty), new breather valves for the transmission & transfer case, etc.

 

[HopelessDiamond]

That's a nice big fan! Off a Duramax? For now at least I'm trying to use the stock radiator and shroud and found the motor/fan isn't centered in it. May not be a bad idea to start test fitting the radiator/shroud. I decided to go with a 17" fan that clears pretty good. The engine sits back far enough that fan was completely outside of the shroud. Found a Dodge Ram fan clutch that extends about an inch further which helped.

For as much of these swaps that are similar, seems each one is done a little different.

 

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That's a nice big fan! Off a Duramax? For now at least I'm trying to use the stock radiator and shroud and found the motor/fan isn't centered in it. May not be a bad idea to start test fitting the radiator/shroud. I decided to go with a 17" fan that clears pretty good. The engine sits back far enough that fan was completely outside of the shroud. Found a Dodge Ram fan clutch that extends about an inch further which helped.

For as much of these swaps that are similar, seems each one is done a little different.

It's a 19" fan off a 2500 Express van. I expect it will make some noise. But with 100* summers becoming the norm here, it could use the airflow.

The goal is to mimic the setup that @808keith has on his swap with a universal aluminum shroud and the stock radiator. The radiator is only two years old and the dimensions match the FZJ80 radiator that a number of swaps still run. So I'm hopeful it should work.

I was actually considering whether an adapter plate was needed between the clutch & fan blades. Seems it would help push the fan further in the shroud when we mocked up the radiator & shroud (not pictured above). I'll check it again when we start piecing together the intake plumbing.

 

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Small update. We've got a busy few days ahead of us, so we probably won't get back to working on the Land Cruiser until Sunday.

In the meantime, husband got a few more things buttoned up:

Transmission end and shifter end are connected, shifts through all gears, and is adjusted as best as we can get it. For reference, we used the Lokar Floor Mount Cable Conversion Kit (ATA-7006) with a new 4L80E transmission gear lever (Lokar #68139P) and heim joint rod end kit from Amazon. Paired with the factory FJ80 shifter (PRND32L) husband was able to adjust it to line up the gear indicator for P-R-N-D, but the spacing for 3-2-L is different. So the indicator stops at the last three gears between 3 & 2. We may work more on it later, but for now P-R-N-D are the most commonly used and matter the most. At least until we can get the gear indicator on the gauge cluster working.

No pics of that. But our new OEM seat heater switches are now installed. Now to wire up the Corbeau seat heaters.

Husband also rerouted the brake line that was in the way of exhaust. We then covered them with DEI aluminized heat sleeves for added thermal protection. We plan to do individual sleeves & build a small heat shield after the exhaust has been built out.

The new AC Delco injectors came in - rattling around loosely in the little GM boxes without protective caps or bags. Go figure.

Fortunately they appeared to be clean & clear of debris. So those were installed & the fuel rails were bolted in, FPR reference hose connected, PCV hose connected, & new fuel lines clamped on. Fingers crossed, but I think we're done with the fuel system.

 

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Since we switched to a knockoff Holley 302-1 oil pan, the original LS oil filter doesn't fit. The oil filter stud on the pan is larger. So I'm posting this for future reference. STP S45013 oil filter fits & was installed.

I haven't cross referenced this part number to any other brands yet. But it appears to fit most modern GM V6 and LS engines. Models listed under fitment were 2015+ GMC Acadia, Cadillac ATS/CTS, Camaro V6/SS & Blazer, etc.

A quick pic of how it currently sits with the steering damper & suspension bolted back in.

For now we're waiting on more parts. Parts on order & out for delivery include the following:

Tom Woods double cardon front driveshaft
Mosley high pressure power steering conversion line
EVAP purge blockoff kit
GM dipstick tube (old one was rusty)
MAP sensor seal
1/4" oil-rated hose & diff breathers