$6k 98 LC Golden Years Build (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Apr 24, 2020
Threads
14
Messages
94
Location
Ventura CA
Been floating around for a year and figured I'd start a build thread, mostly so I can keep track of what I've done and maybe provide some helpful info to anyone else. I'm from Ventura CA and if you're wondering my screen name comes from a passion for old Yamaha two strokes.

After selling my 1st gen taco I was on the hunt for a LC. Passed on a few too many, then Covid hit and as everyone knows the market went through the roof. Patience paid off though and I got the first call in on a 98 for 6k! The millage was higher than I was looking at 237k, it was in pretty rough shape and the owners were sketchy to say the least. That being said it was an LC, clean carfax, all vins matched except 1 side window, diff lock, and at 6k I figured I could just part it out if it blew up on my way home. After taking my girlfriend on 50+ short notice trips around California she nearly fainted when I told her this beater was the one.

Here's day one with two new members of the family:
IMG_0389.jpeg


I was budgeting 12k so now I had 6k burning a hole in my pocket to give this LC the love it always deserved. First order of business was Timing belt, Water pump and all the other standard maintenance that I had no record of. Coolant was green and pretty sure it was on it's original WP. Didn't take any photos because I was covered in grease but thanks to all the info on this forum it was a pretty straight forward job. Did find a lot of POs tools around the engine bay.

The car was in desperate need of a cleaning, luckily the early white LCs have no clear coat so with a little TLC from the DA polisher I was able to get the car shining like new. I also took out the back seats and did a deep cleaning on the carpets and interior. I was able to peal out the nasty faded fake wood trim and shocked to find perfect black plastic under it, I can't believe they didn't sell it like this. Seats were nasty so I ordered a set of Rides replacement leather covers. I was pretty happy overall with the quality, leather was really nice. Install was harder than the timing belt but I wasn't about the pay the $800+ quotes I was getting. If I was to do it over again I would uninstall the seats, remove the pans, strip the old leather and have an upholstery shop hog tie the new leathers to the pan and install myself. Also, some of the clips they provided didn't match the OEM so I had to have the old clips sewn on.
IMG_0491.jpeg
IMG_0487.jpeg
IMG_2070.jpeg


We decided to drive the car across country two months after buying it so I made a mad scramble to get all this work done as well as update the suspension and stereo
K02 285/75
New OEM shocks
OME 865 springs and reindexed my stock torsion bars
Sony XAV100 (a little out dated but a big fan of the volume knob)
Ordered a Gamiviti rack to be picked up on my way across country
H7 AGM battery

Was able to get a shake down camp run and the LC was running tip top
IMG_0545.jpeg
 
Last edited:
The trip across the country started with a hiccup. 250 miles in, in the city I bought the truck ironically, I got the dreaded battery light. It was 11pm so we grabbed a hotel. Luckily I just put the new H7 AGM in so the LC was still running strong. I went to HF the next morning and bought some tools and Napa was able to get me a new alternator same day. My research on MUD warned me that the harness was going to be a challenge and sure enough the alternator in there was a cheap parts brand store and the harness was already partially broken. About 30 minutes of ever so carefully prying the harness with my fingers I was able to get it out intact enough to keep going. A few hours later my parking lot alt swap was complete and we were on our way to Denver. I now keep a spare alternator harness in my recovery gear.
IMG_0568.jpeg


Our trip was cut short in Denver due to Covid but that was fine by me because I was still able to get my Gamiviti rack (the real reason I agreed to drive across the country). Even better, when I got home there was a pair of SCS F5s waiting for me.

The pup and the LC are starting to look a little bigger
IMG_0701.jpeg


After the lift the CV's went pretty quickly. I pushed them a little too far on the trip to Denver and scored the bearings so rebooting wasn't an option.
245K
New OEM CVs
New Hub Flanges and Snap Rings
New Diff Seals
New Rotors
New Pads
Repacked bearings
Replaced all the other lil bits around the hub
Big thanks to @2001LC for all the amazing threads detailing the proper way to fix and maintain these rigs
62897669293__657385C4-48E1-4095-AF7F-471196A85D6F.jpeg


Next my WKO sliders finally arrived and it was time to get dirty. Was good timing too because I smashed them pretty hard on Steel Pass in DV.
IMG_1471.jpeg


250k and it was time to get back on the maintenance. I noticed the rear bypass was leaking coolant where the upward pipe presses into it. This didn't seam very common but I did find some reports of it. Although someone mentioned it's possible to get this out without having to removing the manifold it almost seemed harder, plus I knew I would never get a proper torque. I'm glad I removed the manifold because right off the bat one of the manifold bolts wasn't even bolted in. I figured I would put a new OEM starter in since "I was in there" and OEM gaskets aren't cheap, I'm glad I did because once again cheap auto parts store brand starter. I'm sure when OP was trying reinstall the manifold they smashed it against the bypass pipe which lead to the leak. Also changed out the PVC valve, hoses, replaced fuel filter and cleaned up the motor.
IMG_1599.jpeg
 
Last edited:
My next big project was creating a platform. I had the materials for a few months but really had a hard time deciding where to start. Finally the day before a camping trip I just pushed for 14 straight hours and figured it out as I went. My goal was to keep as much head room as possible for sitting up, I went with 8" which fit my surfboards underneath and a common size for storage crates. I went 60/40 so I could put in the rear jump seat if ever needed and made a cut out for my Yeti so it wouldn't block my view. I got the legs and mounting hardware from Lowes which I was inspired by from a YouTube video someone made building a 4runner platform. I also used some door hinges to create a swing up section for the dogs when the seats are all the way forward, this extends it from 6' to 8'
IMG_1300.jpeg
IMG_1301.jpeg
IMG_1302.jpeg
IMG_1303.jpeg


Yeti turned into a Dometic :cool:
IMG_2094.jpg
 
Last edited:
As you can see from the last post I caved and bought a Dometic during their Memorial Day sale. Rear socket wasn't doing the job so I decided it was time to go for the dual battery. I already have a viair 450p in front of my airbox so the Slee dual battery tray was over kill and I wanted a bigger battery. I had my buddy fabricate a tray that could fit a 34 upright or a 24 on it's side. I opted for the 34 since I'm using a cheaper auto store brand AGM and I've heard of issues from running them on the side, plus it was easier to work with. I pretty much copied @87warrior from his yearly update thread, he even provided me with his detailed wire digram that was a big help :cheers:
IMG_2023.jpeg


IMG_2065.jpeg

@BenCC scan gauge mount. House batteryvolt meter on the right, camera just didn't pick up the led.
IMG_2072.jpeg

Dometic Plug
IMG_2081.jpeg

IMG_2082.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Here she sits 1 year later with 270k. I couldn't be happier with this truck, even though I wanted a lower milage LC I greatly under estimated how reliable these trucks are with high millage. Huge thanks to the MUD community, definitely the best car forum I've been apart of.

IMG_2091.jpg

IMG_2097.jpg


Some recent updates include:
Swapped the 865 for 866 to help with the added weight
Power Steering flush and seal per @2001LC instructions
ARB 8' awning to Gamiviti quick release mounts (so glad someone on here talked me into the 8' over the 6')
New fan clutch and Koyo radiator
Brake fluid flush
Probably a bunch of stuff I already forgot about

Things I still need to do:
ATF flush
Ball joints and tie rods
Bushings
Maybe a Power Steering pump (fingers cross the AT-205 does the job)
Bumpers?
 
Last edited:
As you can see from the last post I caved and bought a Dometic during their Memorial Day sale. Rear socket wasn't doing the job so I decided it was time to go for the dual battery. I already have a viair 450p in front of my airbox so the Slee dual battery tray was over kill and I wanted a bigger battery. I had my buddy fabricate a tray that could fit a 34 upright or a 24 on it's side. I opted for the 34 since I'm using a cheaper auto store brand AGM and I've heard of issues from running them on the side, plus it was easier to work with. I pretty much copied @87warrior from his yearly update thread, he even provided me with his detailed wire digram that was a big help :cheers:
View attachment 2736800

View attachment 2736801
@BenCC scan gauge mount. House batteryvolt meter on the right, camera just didn't pick up the led.
View attachment 2736808
Dometic Plug
View attachment 2736809
View attachment 2736810
Any chance I could buy one of those battery trays?? Its exactly what i'm looking for
 
Any chance I could buy one of those battery trays?? Its exactly what i'm looking for
I’m sure he would do the tray. You probably need to find the hardware since it’s kind of a favor job. I used 1/4” all thread to make the post and counter sunk screws from the base.

I’ll reach out to see what he would do it for.
 
I’m sure he would do the tray. You probably need to find the hardware since it’s kind of a favor job. I used 1/4” all thread to make the post and counter sunk screws from the base.

I’ll reach out to see what he would do it for.
Awesome thank you!
 
twosmoker,

I just stumbled upon this thread, I am in the exact same situation. Just sold my 2004LC that was totally built and bought a 99LC with 202,000 miles on it. My build sheet is pretty much just like yours although I may add minimal front and rear bumpers. I will be starting a baselining and build thread in the coming weeks and I regularly post on the what have you done this week
65099572389__3F75B1B2-B2C1-466C-9F48-0DE7E0D989DF.jpeg
thread.
 
twosmoker,

I just stumbled upon this thread, I am in the exact same situation. Just sold my 2004LC that was totally built and bought a 99LC with 202,000 miles on it. My build sheet is pretty much just like yours although I may add minimal front and rear bumpers. I will be starting a baselining and build thread in the coming weeks and I regularly post on the what have you done this week View attachment 2771899 thread.
@1428Mike, loving the steelies on that rig, can't wait to see it come along. I'm hoping to pull the trigger on some 4x4labs bumpers soon!
 
Those white 100-series are 🔥🔥🔥
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom