Builds Another Prado in Montana (3 Viewers)

[AirheadNut]

I finally found a used 28100-62030 starter on Craigslist, so I snagged it to see if it would work on a manual transmission (from what I can tell the 1.8kW starter was only available on automatic versions of the 5VZ). There is a significant size difference between it and the 28100-62050 that I had in there, hopefully that equates to a higher cold cranking speed.

Installation was fairly quick and easy:

While I was underneath the Cruiser I noticed that one of the LH motor mount bracket bolts was missing, and the other had backed part way out. I tightened the remaining one and made a gentle drive to the nearest hardware store to get a new M10x1.50x25 bolt and lock washer. It looks like I didn't have lock washers on either one to begin with, so I'll need to pull the other out and add a lock washer to it to prevent this happening again.

 

[AirheadNut]

During a cold snap about a month ago my CCV filter on the valve cover snapped off. A new one arrived in the mail a few days ago so I popped it on. Now I just need to give the engine a thorough cleaning.

On the drive to the hardware store the speedometer cable finally gave up completely, but that is a project for another day as it is starting to get dark and a snowstorm is rolling in. I also noticed a small coolant leak from the temperature sensor on the back of the cylinder head; it probably just needs a new o-ring but that requires draining the coolant. Will wait until the engine is cold for that one!

The new glow plugs didn't seem to make any difference at all at -3ºF a couple of mornings ago, so I went looking for anything obvious that would prevent them from working properly. The culprit wasn't difficult to spot:

The little spade connectors probably weren't rated for the current draw of the glow plugs and eventually melted. There is a factory VW 2-pin plug for this, but I haven't found both the male and female sides of it yet. As a temporary solution I will probably just cut the melted connectors out and put in a couple of heat shrink butt connectors. Temps are supposed to get down to around -15ºF (-26ºC) next week and I will need working glow plugs to be able to get to work in the mornings.

 

[Blomdala]

During a cold snap about a month ago my CCV filter on the valve cover snapped off. A new one arrived in the mail a few days ago so I popped it on. Now I just need to give the engine a thorough cleaning.
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On the drive to the hardware store the speedometer cable finally gave up completely, but that is a project for another day as it is starting to get dark and a snowstorm is rolling in. I also noticed a small coolant leak from the temperature sensor on the back of the cylinder head; it probably just needs a new o-ring but that requires draining the coolant. Will wait until the engine is cold for that one!

The new glow plugs didn't seem to make any difference at all at -3ºF a couple of mornings ago, so I went looking for anything obvious that would prevent them from working properly. The culprit wasn't difficult to spot:
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The little spade connectors probably weren't rated for the current draw of the glow plugs and eventually melted. There is a factory VW 2-pin plug for this, but I haven't found both the male and female sides of it yet. As a temporary solution I will probably just cut the melted connectors out and put in a couple of heat shrink butt connectors. Temps are supposed to get down to around -15ºF (-26ºC) next week and I will need working glow plugs to be able to get to work in the mornings.

That is really interesting. I would have thought the space and socket for those connectors is very similar to what that circuit fuse would be. But I guess the socket there is aluminum.

What about an offset connection (so they won’t touch) that is eyelets with bolts? Not sure what wise is in that area to worry about it being exposed, but atleast it’s still removable.

 

[AirheadNut]

New glow plugs should have a resistance of 0.5-1.5 ohms, which at 12 volts would pull 8-24 amps each. That is 16-48 amps per connector, which is probably pushing it on the higher side. Add in some moisture and engine bay grime, and I can see why they melted. I stuck some cheap heat shrink butt connectors on there temporarily, but the wires on the glow plug harness side had gotten pretty crispy so I may end up just replacing the whole harness. When that happens I have some high quality NSPA Opti-Seal butt connectors that I'll use. The glow plug harnesses on these engines tend to last quite a while, so it isn't really a big deal to have it permanently connected.

 

[pradoblivious]

Went snow wheeling last weekend with @ttFJC, @CCRider and @MTsoul. (Thanks for the photos!) Had a great time and got lots of practice with kinetic recovery and winching .
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During one of the winching sessions my winch started leaking fluid, and then stalling under moderate load and not spooling out when under tension. I'm pretty sure I'm the only person who has ever used this winch, so it hasn't had much use at all but I think that seals and gaskets are probably just aging out. The plan is for a light refresh of all the seals and gaskets, as well as replacing the main positive stud and associated hardware. Thanks to @Rigster for a lead on parts for that, I have a parts request in to Dave @Japan4X4.

love the paint on that lx480

 

[AirheadNut]

I think I found the starter I need!

 

[JDM Journeys]

I think I found the starter I need!

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Booyeah!

 

[AirheadNut]

In other news, further testing of the glow system revealed that all is working as it should there. First off I unplugged the coolant temperature sensor to trick the ECU into triggering the glow plugs (the engine was warm at the time). Then I checked for voltage at each socket on the glow plug harness; they were all around 12.2V. Finally, with the glow plug harness reinstalled I checked the current draw through the glow system. Initial load was around 50A, tapering off to around 35-40A by the time the relay kicked off.

While I was in the shop I decided it would be a good time to tackle the speedometer cable. This new one has been knocking around for a few months now and it was high time I installed it.

The old one fought hard to stay in the vehicle, but I eventually prevailed and got it all pulled out. The new one went in pretty easily, but I still had to get up and down off the floor about a dozen times to feed it under the carpet and get it fished up through the dash.

The speedometer is now completely silent and steady! I put this off for way too long.

 

[Rigster]

I think I found the starter I need!

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Seems legit! Lol....

 

[AirheadNut]

Booyeah!

Seems legit! Lol....

In all seriousness, the new (old) 1.8kW starter does make a difference with cold cranking speed. Luckily I have gotten an indoor parking spot in my landlord's shop for the next couple of nights. A blizzard rolled in this afternoon and the temperatures are supposed to be subzero for the next few days, so at least I'll be able to get to work while it is cold.

 

[Tigris]

I think I found the starter I need!

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Well I don't know if I would use a Tesla drive motor as a starter but hey, you do you

 

[Blomdala]

In other news, further testing of the glow system revealed that all is working as it should there. First off I unplugged the coolant temperature sensor to trick the ECU into triggering the glow plugs (the engine was warm at the time). Then I checked for voltage at each socket on the glow plug harness; they were all around 12.2V. Finally, with the glow plug harness reinstalled I checked the current draw through the glow system. Initial load was around 50A, tapering off to around 35-40A by the time the relay kicked off.
View attachment 3254963

While I was in the shop I decided it would be a good time to tackle the speedometer cable. This new one has been knocking around for a few months now and it was high time I installed it.
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The old one fought hard to stay in the vehicle, but I eventually prevailed and got it all pulled out. The new one went in pretty easily, but I still had to get up and down off the floor about a dozen times to feed it under the carpet and get it fished up through the dash.
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The speedometer is now completely silent and steady! I put this off for way too long.

Are the washers under the mount to account for the new engine location, or to improve the transfercase clearance? Sorry if I missed that in you thread earlier

 

[AirheadNut]

Are the washers under the mount to account for the new engine location, or to improve the transfercase clearance? Sorry if I missed that in you thread earlier

The washers were an attempt to adjust the rear output flange angle on the transfer case to eliminate driveline vibrations; after making custom motor mounts and transmission crossmember the drivetrain was no longer at the original angle. The vibrations turned out to be an out of balance driveshaft.

 

[AirheadNut]

In the interest of safety, I drilled some holes in the driver seat slider bracket and installed some rivnuts.

There was a sale on at Home Depot last summer and I snagged a fire extinguisher; it has been floating around in the Prado and I finally settled on a mounting location. Hopefully never have to use it, but nice to have it close at hand.

 

[Rigster]

Better to have it and not need it as they say! Good thinking, and a very handy spot to have it.

 

[AirheadNut]

I had been putting this one off because I didn't want to have to drain the coolant, but I finally replaced the o-ring on the coolant temperature sensor. It was pretty hard and flat. No more coolant leaks! (So far)

 

[AirheadNut]

When I bought the TDI engine the wiring harness that came with it had already been modified for standalone operation. While that did save me a lot of work on the electrical side of the swap project, whoever modified the harness originally wasn't very kind to some of the electrical plugs. The worst one was the MAF sensor plug, so on my last VW parts order I threw a new plug in the cart. Replacing it was relatively simple with the correct depinning tool. The innards of the old plug decided to disintegrate when I pulled the pins out:

 

[AirheadNut]

Today’s accomplishment:

 

[AirheadNut]

Got out and enjoyed the fresh snow this weekend. It dumped about 24" of nice, fluffy powder in the last couple of days so a backroads drive and some skiing was in order.

 

[AirheadNut]

Today was maintenance day. The weather was finally warm enough on a weekend to break out the pressure washer to blast all the winter crud off the undercarriage.

The engine bay got treated to a quick steam clean with my landlord's Hotsy. Not perfect, but way better than the oily mess it was before.

Next up it was time for a tire rotation. While swapping tires around I noticed a nail in one of them, which would probably explain why I've had one tire consistently losing air...time to break out the tire plug kit.