Baselining our first 80 series: A '93 '3x locked FZJ80

[BucketEighty]

The mission is important and the goal in sight. A relaxed approach does us good and gets us there sometimes faster. Replace the battery. Get a good AGM. It won’t be cheap.

I have a good AGM in my partner's 2001 Jeep XJ (the top model from O'reilly, which is the same manufacturer as Interstate AGM batteries), but the alternator in that vehicle doesn't properly charge it (the battery always reads low with a volt meter). After doing some research about the proper charge voltage (higher than the charge voltage for an old-style flooded lead acid) and float voltage (lower than the charge voltage for an old-style flooded lead acid) for AGM batteries, I elected to put two regular old Interstate flooded lead acid batteries from Costco into my 80 series. The AGM in the jeep seems to be holding up fine to the all-wrong voltages (it's in it's 4th year and still starts the jeep) but I figured it's better to match the batteries to the alternator and charging management system in the vehicle.

 

[ozarkmud]

This also sounds like you have an alarm system.

If it is the factory RS3000, they are known to go bad at random times. It is so old, I would rip it out by the roots (methodically, of course).

Once I removed mine, my electrical issues went away, battery drain and all.

If course the alarm has nothing to do with your CDL switch or locking differentials, but eliminating it can clean up wires and improve connections. I found some of mine inside the DS A pillar . After I removed the alarm, I reconnected the plugs and had to hold them together with zip ties.

Oh, interesting. Doing a bit of research, most people seem to have wireless key fobs. This vehicle didn't come with any. The key also doesn't look fancy like it has a resistor or something, either.

Is it still possible it has the RS3000? It's a '93. I do admit that the flashing lights seemed very alarm-esque. Just weird to have a security system without a key fob if it's supposed to be used with one.

I have a good AGM in my partner's 2001 Jeep XJ (the top model from O'reilly, which is the same manufacturer as Interstate AGM batteries), but the alternator in that vehicle doesn't properly charge it (the battery always reads low with a volt meter). After doing some research about the proper charge voltage (higher than the charge voltage for an old-style flooded lead acid) and float voltage (lower than the charge voltage for an old-style flooded lead acid) for AGM batteries, I elected to put two regular old Interstate flooded lead acid batteries from Costco into my 80 series. The AGM in the jeep seems to be holding up fine to the all-wrong voltages (it's in it's 4th year and still starts the jeep) but I figured it's better to match the batteries to the alternator and charging management system in the vehicle.

It does seem like the AGM charging voltage is a little higher than FLA. I think AGM has the biggest advantage when used for constant, lighter loads, so for a starting battery I'm not sure if it's warranted.

I am a little curious about a dual battery setup, but not sure I want to go down that road yet. Haven't considered it before.

 

[BILT4ME]

Oh, interesting. Doing a bit of research, most people seem to have wireless key fobs. This vehicle didn't come with any. The key also doesn't look fancy like it has a resistor or something, either.

Is it still possible it has the RS3000? It's a '93. I do admit that the flashing lights seemed very alarm-esque. Just weird to have a security system without a key fob if it's supposed to be used with one.



It does seem like the AGM charging voltage is a little higher than FLA. I think AGM has the biggest advantage when used for constant, lighter loads, so for a starting battery I'm not sure if it's warranted.

I am a little curious about a dual battery setup, but not sure I want to go down that road yet. Haven't considered it before.

The RS3000 was a port installed system. Typically there is a rectangular speaker with a red light either over by the headlight switch on the left or near the radio.
I never had a fob for my truck, yet it was activated with the key in the door. I went to a restaurant to pick up dinner one evening and I came out to my parking lights on and the truck wouldn't start.
Fortunately I had a few tools with me, so I popped the hood, disconnected the battery, and it reset. I cycled the key in the door and it started up. So I went home and methodically removed it. Mine was a clean plug and play without squeeze crimp connectors. I literally went plug to plug and removed and reattached the main harness to itself.

It took me about 4 hours because I was slow and meticulous and I removed the driver seat, and installed a CDL switch and did the Pin 7 mod while I was in there.

I now have no alarm and my truck does not do any headlight flashing or anything like that in what would be considered an alarmed condition.

I only use the key to unlock, but usually use the power door lock to lock it.

 

[jht3]

Oh, interesting. Doing a bit of research, most people seem to have wireless key fobs. This vehicle didn't come with any. The key also doesn't look fancy like it has a resistor or something, either.

Is it still possible it has the RS3000? It's a '93. I do admit that the flashing lights seemed very alarm-esque. Just weird to have a security system without a key fob if it's supposed to be used with one.

no, you don't have the RS3000. my understanding is that didn't come about until 96+. i had a different port installed alarm in my 4/95, the TVSS. there was something else that existed before that. i think ALL had the brain box under the driver seat, with wires mostly connecting in the footwell.

you may have some other after market unit. no telling until you start pulling panels and chasing wires.

 

[ozarkmud]

I couldn't see a red light, nor a speaker on the dash. I glanced briefly under the seat and didn't see anything obvious. The electronics under there moved with the seat -- not sure if the security device is under the seat entirely, or if it moves with it.

I did get the worn out, OEM hood and tail struts replaced, though. I normally advocate for OEM almost all of the time, but the prices I saw for a part that eventually wears out were concerning. The install went fine and the struts definitely work well. Now, if they only last 2 years, it may just be better to buy OEM.

These are the ones I used: 4x Hood+Tailgate Lift Supports Shock Struts for Toyota Land Cruiser 90-97 LX450 | eBay - https://www.ebay.com/itm/184520571094

Will see how long they last.

I did get my bench powersupply on it and disconnected the battery (ground side is a little loose and easy to slip off, heh...). It's not super precise, but indicates about 30mA parasitic draw, when fed anywhere from 10V to 14V. I put the battery back on, and I have it charging at 5A. Will eventually go to constant voltage, 14.2V. I figure that's alright, maybe conservative for a flooded lead acid.

The battery looks to be from January 2016 or possibly 2006. I guess 2016 is more likely, and indicates a decent life. I probably should try topping it off with distilled water, right?

Edit: I forgot to mention that I also tried the CDL switch. It works great! The front locker will engage, eventually. I've never had the rear locker engage. I do think the pin 7 mod is in order and the low range switch has definitely been flaky, which doesn't seem like a big deal once the pin 7 mod is done.

 

[ozarkmud]

Good news on the locker front. I was able to engage all 3 lockers. Never have seen the rear on before. Not sure what caused it to work, but the weather was a bit warmer. I'll keep trying to actuate it.

The rear axle seal I did up with permatex has a small leak. It seems like it might only leak if parked on a spot where the gasket is too thin, but I'm not sure. I may have to pull the axle and try to double up on paper gaskets.

The OEM Toyota wiper blades work really well so far. Witts' End sells them.

The super floppy driver's mirror merely needed to be tightened with the exposed screw at the bottom. I thought, surely, it would need more parts, but it hasn't seemed to so far. If you have a floppy mirror, definitely worth a quick tighten before doing/buying anything else.

The driver's side rear door handle is broken. I think it's my next project. I've found a good thread for its replacement: Broken Door Handle Replacement Guide - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/broken-door-handle-replacement-guide.566083/

However, the door currently can't be opened, even from the inside. Is it possible to pull the door components to open the door from the inside? It's been flaky for a while, where sometimes the inside handle worked, and sometimes it didn't, and it was stuck closed.

I also have an intermittent CEL. Sometimes seems to coming up after braking. This has been going on since we got it. I haven't tried to read any codes yet.

The idle speed was fine, before my air filter + brake service, but now it seems to be getting progressively lower and I'm not sure why. It still feels like it has good power and all, but the idle is just pushing lower and lower as we drive it. Do you have any ideas on that? It's not stalling out yet, but I think it's around 400-500 RPM, according to the tachometer.

 

[ozarkmud]

Looks like the door handle replacement is going to be a bit of a pain. Really wish I tried to tackle it when it was still opening from the inside.

Getting the door panel off from the inside seems to involve pulling the rear seat, some trim, and careful prying.

There's some threads and a video on this:

In a pickle, right rear door stuck shut

Hey all, Yes, right rear door stuck shut. Electric lock function works fine, and manual door handle has normal range of throw both inside and out. I can hear the mechanism moving back to the latch from the inside. Sooo, Since the door is in the closed position, I can't disassemble the inside...

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Rear Pass Door Won't Open

Hey Guy's, Anyone ever get "locked out" of just one door? My back pass door won't open for the life of it, the lock is unlocked. I can hear the lock move to lock and unlock. It would seem I can't get the interior door panel off with the door shut from the inside. This happened about a week...

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Since I'm replacing the handle anyway, I'm wondering if I could maybe Dremel into it enough to pull the latch open. Although that might not work. I also wondered about undoing the bolts holding the door to the frame. Has anyone tried that?

 

[ozarkmud]

As far as the door goes, I may wait till it randomly opens again. It opened for us the other day, but we weren't home. I'm hoping it'll randomly let me open it when I'm home, so I don't have to take off a bunch of trim.

I'm looking into the low idle when warm. It used to idle perfectly fine, until I did brakes + air filter. The battery was also disconnected for a while. Cold idle is totally fine.

It sounds like the idle is electronically controled on the 1FZ. A lot of people recommend disconnecting the battery so the ECU can relearn the idle speed. This seems to have had the opposite effect, though. Engine performs fine and gas mileage is still decent.

I've read through a couple threads on this:

Idle adjust 1fz-fe

I just did idle control mod on lcool with the o rings and now the idle is way too low. Car stalled on me. Is there any way to adjust the idle manually? Any help would be appreciated. On cold starts idle jumps to 1200 and no more rattle. Then settles to about 900-1000 until warm. After warmed up...

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1FZFE rough idle, stumbles, stalls...

As luck would have it...first 'long' trip in the 80 in a couple years...ran excellent for the 300 mile drive down, wheeled/ran great on Friday, and started out great this morning.... Following another 80 thru the snow/slush/water, and after crossing a 'top of the rims' long puddle, it started...

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Has anyone else had anything similar happen?

 

[ozarkmud]

Still no luck on the low idle front. I've looked it over and have found nothing obvious. Interestingly, if I pull the oil filler cap, it dies right away. This is somewhat expected as it ends up with a vacuum leak, but a little more dramatic than I expected.

My ignition light read the idle speed at 460 RPM, which is definitely on the low side. I'm looking into IAC and TPS next.

I pulled the EFI fuse for about 10 minutes and things didn't improve, either.

Unrelated to the low idle issue: It's 14F right now and I was unable to shift it into low range. I pulled and pulled on the lever, but couldn't pull it far enough. Is it common to have issues getting into low range when it's really cold? It's always been kind of stiff. Not sure if maybe a thinner gear oil might help in the transfer case, or if that would have no impact. On the plus side, all of the lockers did engage for me, so they are definitely doing better.

 

[ozarkmud]

Trying to chase down the low idle when warm, I disconnected the TPS and IAC while running. The IAC had no effect on the idle, which confused me. The TPS, disconnected, raised it slightly. It was not fully warmed up, though.

I decided to change the sparkplugs. One of the PCV hoses ripped at the valve cover end while taking it off. Debating replacing it, or going with a catch can setup.

The old sparkplugs were pretty rough looking. NGKs that looked to be correct, but clearly in there far too long. Spark plug wires look fine, but I wonder how old they are.

#3 had a bunch of oil above the plug. I don't know how or why, but seems like some kind of unusual oil leak.

Here's... #5 or #6. I think #6. They all looked about like this.

With the plugs changed out, it seems like something went wrong. Maybe one of the plug wires isn't seated? Really thought I got all of them. Either that, or one is crossed up, which I'm not sure if I could've screwed that up. Doesn't seem like I introduced any vacuum leaks. I've sprayed around with carb cleaner and it didn't rev up.

On the broken door handle front, waiting paid off. It opened from the inside on its own! I have the panel off and will try replacing the handle.

 

[ozarkmud]

Back to the door. I got the handle replaced. It was a bit of a pain. My handle had an extra plastic bit in the way, making access to the left bolt practically impossible.

I ended up unscrewing the latch, and it still didn't go anywhere. Had to undo one more bolt by the actuator.

After that, I had enough room to replace the handle!

Unfortunately, it seems like the latch or something is having issues, which probably led to the broken handle in the first place. Sometimes it'll open and sometimes it won't, just as the interior handle has been doing. The handle mechanism on the interior seems fine. However, the lock seems to sometimes get fully unlocked, but usually doesn't seem to engage all the way. Not really sure what's going on yet.

 

[FMC80]

Trying to chase down the low idle when warm, I disconnected the TPS and IAC while running. The IAC had no effect on the idle, which confused me. The TPS, disconnected, raised it slightly. It was not fully warmed up, though.

I decided to change the sparkplugs. One of the PCV hoses ripped at the valve cover end while taking it off. Debating replacing it, or going with a catch can setup.

The old sparkplugs were pretty rough looking. NGKs that looked to be correct, but clearly in there far too long. Spark plug wires look fine, but I wonder how old they are.

#3 had a bunch of oil above the plug. I don't know how or why, but seems like some kind of unusual oil leak.

Here's... #5 or #6. I think #6. They all looked about like this.

View attachment 3239334

With the plugs changed out, it seems like something went wrong. Maybe one of the plug wires isn't seated? Really thought I got all of them. Either that, or one is crossed up, which I'm not sure if I could've screwed that up. Doesn't seem like I introduced any vacuum leaks. I've sprayed around with carb cleaner and it didn't rev up.

On the broken door handle front, waiting paid off. It opened from the inside on its own! I have the panel off and will try replacing the handle.

When was the last time you had your valve cover off to replace your spark plug tube seals? That might be why you’re getting oil into the porcelain area.

How old are your wires? Are your wires OEM? If they are, look at them. They should say Yazaki and have a year printed onto them. If they’re old af then that could be contributing to your new symptoms.

 

[ozarkmud]

When was the last time you had your valve cover off to replace your spark plug tube seals? That might be why you’re getting oil into the porcelain area.

How old are your wires? Are your wires OEM? If they are, look at them. They should say Yazaki and have a year printed onto them. If they’re old af then that could be contributing to your new symptoms.

Thank you! That's helpful. I've also been wondering about the wires.

Vehicle is still pretty new to me, and had a lot of deferred maintenance. I've never had the valve cover off.
They do say Yazaki. I'll have to look for a year. The boots take a ton of force to get off, so maybe one of the leads is broken.
I did put my timing light on all 6 wires , and all were able to get a RPM reading.

I guess it isn't likely that I got the wire order off, is it? Doesn't seem very possible with them all being different lengths.

 

[FMC80]

Thank you! That's helpful. I've also been wondering about the wires.

Vehicle is still pretty new to me, and had a lot of deferred maintenance. I've never had the valve cover off.
They do say Yazaki. I'll have to look for a year. The boots take a ton of force to get off, so maybe one of the leads is broken.
I did put my timing light on all 6 wires , and all were able to get a RPM reading.

I guess it isn't likely that I got the wire order off, is it? Doesn't seem very possible with them all being different lengths.

The thought crossed my mind, but I don't think so. I'm not sure if the shorter wires would reach the wrong location. If they did, it would be obvious you were doing something wrong.

You said you adjusted the timing, right? If you are timed correctly, TPS, IAC are gtg, maybe it's time to look into the throttle cable adjustment.

 

[ozarkmud]

I should be able to test the plug wire resistance to know if something is off, but I guess if the plug wires are original, I should just go ahead and replace them.

Do you have any thoughts on a catch can? Witt's End has a PCV kit ready to go. But now would be the time to put in a catch can if I'm going to go that route anyway.

 

[ozarkmud]

The thought crossed my mind, but I don't think so. I'm not sure if the shorter wires would reach the wrong location. If they did, it would be obvious you were doing something wrong.

You said you adjusted the timing, right? If you are timed correctly, TPS, IAC are gtg, maybe it's time to look into the throttle cable adjustment.

Oops, I somehow missed this. I have not adjusted the timing. I'm a little surprised that it can idle even with the IAC disconnected. There must be some air passage.

I can adjust the throttle cable, and I guess the transmission throttle cable, but it's actually running worse after the sparkplugs which is my main concern. It'd make sense that the old plug wires couldn't handle the tugging and went out, so I think it's down a cylinder. I guess it's low idle + what seems to be a miss right now.

 

[ozarkmud]

They are original Yazaki spark plug wires! 1993 written on them.

Is it pretty common for them to go out when you change the plugs, when they're that old? I think the plug wires were working fine (enough) before.

I'll go ahead and order a new set. 30 years old is pretty impressive.

The door behavior is interesting. It'll get "stuck" locked randomly. And a couple minutes of finicking with it, usually using the exterior door latch, will eventually open it up. It works fine when unlocked, once they've been unstuck. I sprayed some electronics cleaner in the area and have not had any improvement yet.

 

[ozarkmud]

On the door front, it sounds like I have PDL (Pesky Door Latch).

PDL (Pesky door latch) Confirmed! Here's the fix/PM!!

Well, this does it, I took some pictures and will post them sometime tomorrow. The PDL is no longer a myth! Here's the deal, I took the door latch out to try to fix the trouble today. If you remember my door was stuck shut and wouldn't open. I had gotten it to open by removing the door...

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I'll pull it out and try to see if I have a gummed up spring or similar.

 

[FMC80]

They’re OG 1993 wires. They’ve served their time. You might’ve messed something up but idk. It’s hard to say, I would start with properly jumpering** your diagnostic port, and timing your engine and go from there. Obviously you need a new set of wires.

edited to type jumpering

 

[ozarkmud]

Yeah, that makes sense. The oil is draining now for the first oil change since I got ownership (should've done it sooner!).

I got the door back together and it's mostly working, but there's a quirk I identified. It seems to work correctly 100% of the time, otherwise.

Quirky behavior: Lock door. Try to open door from inside. Try to unlock door. It will not open from inside or outside. "Fix" is to pull the outside handle while it's locked, and then it gets reset back to normal. You can unlock and then open from inside or outside.

I also forgot to install this thing that looks like some kind of a security enhancing guard when putting the door back together. I figure this will need more work, and when I do it I can install it back in.

Unrelated to the door, miss, or low idle issues:

Looks like the PHH was done. I'm not too sure which variant of the mod/fix it is. Does look like Gates hose, which seems good. Should I get a backup heater control valve?

I found this hose, with the aftermarket hose clamp, under the intake manifold. Not really sure what it is. It has another clamp right under the one shown. Seems a little sketchy, possible spot for vacuum leaks. Not sure what that hose goes to, though. Hard to get to.

Looks like it has an aftermarket starter, maybe rebuilt? I don't know anything about it.