BUILD: 1997 Lexus LX420 (Operation Debacle) (1 Viewer)

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

Boom.
84DF4B86-D4E5-46BA-AF9B-2FF6B8A035AB.jpeg


70BED75C-7E2A-4C79-8870-F7F2B8FCD245.gif
 
Great looking rig and great progress. Can't wait to see the finished product.
 
She’s now officially too tall to get in and out of the garage without airing down. 😫

BDE16E31-3310-47C7-B601-79FE0E035AB4.jpeg
84003967-3537-412C-85B9-452DD485807A.jpeg


The Dissent front bumper is on as well. Now I’m working on fixing the front engine oil leaks. Going to tackle that project while I have the axle out.

I ordered a DC front driveshaft from Rick and rebuilt the rear shaft with new Toyota U-joints today.
The steering box is at RedHead for refurb, the 105 sector shaft upgrade, and porting. I picked up a set of heavy duty tie and relay rods from Front Range as well.
 
Patiently waiting on @Delta VS to finish up their roof rack bracket options. I’d really like to have a 270° Awning before Moab in a couple months.

I’ve got the rear locked axle installed and now I’m working on the front.

The rear bumper was pulled apart and I made a few last minute additions before taking it down for powder coat. I don’t know about anyone else running a 4x4Labs rear bumper, but my tire carrier has always wobbled on the highway more than I liked. We have concrete pavement in Reno and the joints in the sections react in a very negative way to a lifted 80. It must be the perfect harmonic match of wheel base, shock valving, and speed but it feels like I’m on a bucking bronco at 65mph. Anyway, I can see the whole left side of the bumper skirt flexing a bit when I really push on the tire … so, I called up the reinforcements!

I didn’t really get any good photos, but I’m effectively trying to box in the DS spindle with some 3/8” plate. We will see if this has any effect.

83BFA7B6-1CC9-413D-98DE-46453C4420F2.jpeg
F0E7665B-06C5-4DF1-83A1-DD773C0C0145.jpeg



Last but not least, I whipped up a little recessed box for my Pollak trailer socket.

8DF4C50B-DAC8-4DA9-999A-18FAD6407FAC.jpeg
 
Rebuilt K294 axles are now stowed where they belong.

image.jpg


Landtank DC front shaft to get rid “of them negative waves”.

image.jpg


Redhead 105-sectored box going in:


EB6DD25F-EF79-41EF-B8F9-DB0636F0B976.jpeg


Now I’m trying to chase down a pesky oil leak emanating from the front end. I got to tell you though, after a quick wipe down this thing looks pretty freaking good. Unbelievable this has a quarter million miles on it.

5E7A8EC4-6C45-4CAB-B154-D2EC0843EA34.jpeg
7AA38ECD-0BA9-4E1C-8BB0-51286FF6134A.jpeg
 
Something tells me I didn’t need to change the water pump.

B58A78EC-0BE8-4B55-A3C4-01EC60F35110.jpeg


I think I’m going to forgo the thermostat and water outlet gaskets as I bet they were done at the same time. It would be my luck to take a perfectly functioning cooling system and introduce a problem/leak. I think it’s best to leave it alone at the moment.
 
Something tells me I didn’t need to change the water pump.

View attachment 2923706

I think I’m going to forgo the thermostat and water outlet gaskets as I bet they were done at the same time. It would be my luck to take a perfectly functioning cooling system and introduce a problem/leak. I think it’s best to leave it alone at the moment.
 
I spent a couple weeks performing some baselining tasks and thinking over what I wanted to do with the truck. Before purchasing it, I thought I wanted a hard-core wheeling wagon... but this thing was just ...so nice, it was hard to convince myself to thrash it on the rocks. ...I mean, look at this thing:

View attachment 2883429
I spent a couple weeks performing some baselining tasks and thinking over what I wanted to do with the truck. Before purchasing it, I thought I wanted a hard-core wheeling wagon... but this thing was just ...so nice, it was hard to convince myself to thrash it on the rocks. ...I mean, look at this thing:

View attachment 2883429View attachment 2883430View attachment 2883431View attachment 2883432
Hi
View attachment 2883430View attachment 2883431View attachment 2883432
Hi Leland, Beautiful truck you have there, Any chance you would sell me the factory running boards?
 
Hi Leland, Beautiful truck you have there, Any chance you would sell me the factory running boards?
I would have just given them to you. They ended up going to the dump after the wife threw a conniption over the pile of take-off parts sitting in the back yard.😭
 
I finally got the crankshaft pulley bolt removed. This thing was a bear as it snapped my 1/2”-drive 30mm socket adapter like a play toy. I had to order a 3/4”-drive 30mm socket but one quick bump of the starter and it completely broke free; …unbelievable, the forces involved.

D7A6192E-7159-4CC2-A21F-126300AB6061.jpeg


Anyway, I’ve replaced the crankshaft seal, oil pump rotors, oil pump cover gasket, oil pressure relief valve seal, and knock sensor. Hopefully this takes care of all of the likely sources of my pesky oil leak and ensures good oil pressure for years to come.



On to more important tasks. I’ve wanted to do something like this for sometime… I’ve always liked how the 60 series wagons had the Land Cruiser motif emblazoned on the rear quarter. Toyota did something similar with the special edition version of the 200.

I decided to take a spare set of FJ40 Cowl scripts and modify them for use on the 80. I cerakoted them in the same satin dark gray to match the bumpers and sliders:
30425400-6211-45DE-8462-975590C50166.jpeg



E53880D4-4A0B-4F7C-A8A2-EA3361823A84.gif

Don’t worry, no holes were drilled in the making of this documentary; only 3M double-sided tape. 😉

The rear bumper is back from powdercoating and installed; I’ll get some glamour shots once I able to squeeze it out from underneath the garage door header… suffice to say I’m very pleased with the end result.

Also, the upholstery shop called me today to say my seats are ready for pick up. More to come…:bounce::bounce:
 
Last edited:
i DO like the darker color of the seats. Its going to look fantastic. Youre doing a very nice job
 
Finally settled on my location for the ARB compressor. Since the truck is getting an electronic diesel conversion this fall, I went ahead and deleted the current cruise control assembly which freed up just enough room to squeeze in the dual compressor. However, no one makes a bracket so I had to make my own.

In my garage, I use only the latest in cardboard aided design technique:
C4B92E5A-12C2-403B-BC25-AF221C8CB607.jpeg
02234B1F-9C16-40F3-A09F-D3F549126862.jpeg
C2E3D882-A6CA-4BA1-8EBD-5656E42D96DB.jpeg
66AED753-E479-473C-B5BA-831C7EA1F20A.jpeg
 
Finally settled on my location for the ARB compressor. Since the truck is getting an electronic diesel conversion this fall, I went ahead and deleted the current cruise control assembly which freed up just enough room to squeeze in the dual compressor. However, no one makes a bracket so I had to make my own.

In my garage, I use only the latest in cardboard aided design technique:
View attachment 2931100View attachment 2931101View attachment 2931103View attachment 2931106
what is electronic diesel conversion?
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom