Builds Bushdoctor' LX 450 - 80's Build Progress - "Berky" (1 Viewer)

[bushdoctor]

KNUCKLE REBUILD ( Dec. 15/16th 2018)

Finally did the knuckle rebuild with a kit from cruiser outfitters. What a MESSY MESS.Took my time. Took a while but finally got it all buttoned up. Having seen the conditions of the bearings and state of the grease, I must say, this was LONG OVERDUE. Gouged/scratched seals, washers, and bearings; and low levels of grease were quite prevalent. Gear oil was also leaking through the seals

Got a head-start on Saturday evening tearing down the passenger side and took a whole Sunday putting everything back together with a few exceptions - gear oil replacement - will do that soon. Got some extra hands from local faithful @perrobravo and @Dan2722 . Thanks guys for coming thorough. Surely needed some mental and physical support to get all this done.

Despite the hefty challenge in getting this done, I now definitely feel more in tune with this 80 - "Berky". It's one of those jobs that brings you closer to your rig. It will be a couple of days before I get all this grease off my finger nails and the dry hands back to normal from handling the parts washer. That said, I feel much much more confident hitting the trails knowing some main items have been completed since I got it from the previous owner.

Also went with zerk fittings on the knuckle for future maintenance on greasing. I also got a spindle greaser from @slee.

Given the nature of this job, it was difficult to get pictures at every stage. Too messy to snap shots. Loads of paper towels, terry clothes...my oh my. I will provide just a few to show some of the items

Hub..

Nastiness

Inner seal was definitely leaking

Many paper towels and Terry cloths later...

 

[bushdoctor]

I would have liked to replace the calipers but what I had weren't too bad so I gave them an "upgrade" with some red caliper paint - the poor mans Brembo calipers. One day I will get the real stuff, given the current budget, this will work just fine.

FASSSSST FORWARD, several hours later ...Final product after the re-assembly

BRAKE ROTORS AND PADS

This was probably the best time to get those fronts done. Went with Stop tech slotted rotors (I found a great deal on, on Amazon), and 100 series EBC green stuff pads. Getting those pads in was a nightmare. Am sure @perrobravo can attest to the level of difficulty. Anyway, they are in there and I can't wait to break them in.

Zerk fitting

spindle greaser for future maintenance

 

[EPIC Cruisers]

Got to install the @sleeoffroad headlight upgrade unless. Very happy with the light output improvement. Would highly recommend. Previously had to drive on high beams to see the road better. Also, researching other bulb options (HIR) for even more improvement. So I'm open to suggestions.

Installation took about an hour as I ran other wires for the rear view mirror temp gauge to the optimal location for exterior temp sensing. Since I had the front hood fender out, figured it was best to run that too at the same time. Everything tucked in underneath where the old headlight wires ran. Zip tied it all together and covered it.

Changed out the hose clamps on the ventilation hoses too and changed out the oil cap. Glad to not see anymore annoying leaks on the block.

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Also, installed LCP's battery bracket. I like it, but I need to slightly mod it for the battery I'm running. Currently the hold down lip barely makes proper contact with the battery that I'm running. If it was a little wider, it would be perfect. I plan on welding up something to extend it some. My fuse-able link if very happy nonetheless. No more stress on them.

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Editing this post...welded more metal on the bracket to increase the surface area on the hold down. Painted and installed

@LandCruiserPhil - for what it's worth, maybe this would be ideal for those with batteries like mine.

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Did you make or purchase the brackets attached to your battery terminals? I like this setup more than attaching all the cables to one place.

 

[bushdoctor]

Did you make or purchase the brackets attached to your battery terminals? I like this setup more than attaching all the cables to one place.

I purchased them from @sleeoffroad - its the marine terminal plus the bracket thingy. Works pretty awesome.

 

[bushdoctor]

12/21/2018

Finally got my AC ice cold and tested for any leaks before making the 80s maiden trip


I also opted to try out/add some filter on the air vents below the windscreen. Will see how this works. Hit the warm dusty desert and tested everything out. #80sMaidenTrip.

Filters added

 

[bushdoctor]

#80sMaidenTrip - SoCal desert - Anza Borrego - Check!!! The drive was awesome. Love the Tough Dog lift. Dialed the shocks down for the off-road terrain.

 

[Frank Cloud]

Very nice write up and build

 

[bushdoctor]

Very nice write up and build

Cheers!

 

[1973Guppie]

Finished one of those mods that when you get done, first thing you want to sip is a very cold brew and smile. Finally said bye bye to the carpet, and fitted the aluminium tailgate. Been a work in progress, measured a thousand times and finally drilled the holes, countersunk them and used some flat allen heads fasteners. Rounded the edges and started polishing the minor scratches. Plan is to get it all smooth and let the natural oxidation do it's thing. Very happy with the final outcome and looking forward to many outings and actions on the stainproof tail-gate

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Used the old carpet to plot some reference point after the measurements.

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the aluminum plate is great, mine oxidized and gets gunked with camping stuff as I usually cook on the tailgate. A quick scrub with some sandpaper and it comes clean and nice looking.

 

[bushdoctor]

the aluminum plate is great, mine oxidized and gets gunked with camping stuff as I usually cook on the tailgate. A quick scrub with some sandpaper and it comes clean and nice looking.

Yeah.. I got a cleaner - think it's called a mag cleaner..I first hit it with very fine grit sand paper in one direction, scrub it with the cleaner until its black then a simple hand polish with an old T-shirt or other soft cloth Works like magic

 

[bushdoctor]

Some more 12V wiring. Rear hatch/tailgate yellow light completed. Finalized Ham radio set up, extra cup holders installed and tested

Wires fished through the conduit into the hatch

Kept all wiring as clean as I could. Will get some ABS plastic to cover up the access. Happy with the lay out. Useless cubby from @NLXTACY worked out great.

 

[rolliges]

Tell us more about the air filters under the cowl. How do they do? How do you keep them in place? What material? etc...?

 

[bushdoctor]

Tell us more about the air filters under the cowl. How do they do? How do you keep them in place? What material? etc...?

They are regular AC filter I found at home depot for under $6 a pack. I cut them up to fit the existing opening. When I got the rig, everytime I turned on the air, dust and other small particles would come through the cabin vents. When I opened the cowl, there was a tonne of mess - leaves, dust etc. I cleaned it out and put this in place to trap any fine particles. On the how do I keep them in place, I tucked them underneath the plastic that covers the hole and pressed/snapped it in. That's good enough to hold them in. After a couple of drives in the dusty desert, I will check their condition and swap them out if needed. They should help filter the incoming air.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

#80sMaidenTrip - SoCal desert - Anza Borrego - Check!!! The drive was awesome. Love the Tough Dog lift. Dialed the shocks down for the off-road terrain.

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Surprised I didnt see you On Monday I was camped across the wash from Fish Creek campground

 

[bushdoctor]

Surprised I didnt see you On Monday I was camped across the wash from Fish Creek campground

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That's one good build. Would have liked to check it out..

Are those Swiss plates ?

We goofed on this one. I actually thought your initial plan was slated for February..my trip was in December but hoping to get out in March after things settle down at work.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

That's one good build. Would have liked to check it out..

Are those Swiss plates ?

We goofed on this one. I actually thought your initial plan was slated for February..my trip was in December but hoping to get out in March after things settle down at work.

Would of been cool to meet.

Swiss from the Canton of Valais

I crossed at Mexicalli and made the last minute decision to go through lower Anza Borrego, Slab City, and then Bradshaw trail on my way back to AZ.

Too much planning reduces options

 

[bushdoctor]

Goodies...need to make some time to get this on before the next run. Few more annoying oil drops on the garage floor.

Alternator Belt: Part Number: 90916-02353-83
AC Belt: Part Number: 99332-10910-83
Radiator: Part Number: 16400-66081
Thermostat: Part Number: 90916-03117
Gasket Thermostat: Part Number: 16346-66020
Idler Pulley Part # 16603-66010
Front Crank Shaft Seal part #90311-52022
Oil Pump Seal Part # 15188-66020
Philip head bolts part # 15183-66020 quantity #7

New Rad from Mr. Toyoda..Surely looking forward to cooler temps up those hills, especially with summer coming around

3 main rad hoses - (in red)

Upper Hose - Toyota (16571-66030)
Lower Hose - Toyota (16573-66010)
Lower Hose (other) - (16572-66021)

 

[bushdoctor]

Finally, I made a spare. Peace of mind. $30 well spent

Installed light below the attic. With the attic installed, the dome light above it would pretty much be useless. Used the original dome wiring to plug into a different oem light I picked up on ebay waaaay back in the hopes that I'd use it on the 100 as a tailgate light. Went a different route on that regard, and it had been sitting in the Yoda spares section. Glad I found some good use for it on an 80. Old dome light is now purely cosmetic.

 

[bushdoctor]

Swapped out the reverse light bulbs in the rear with some high powered LEDs from @pfran42 . So much difference in the light output.

You can spot the difference. Left is new (bright white), right is old (yellow)

Both changed

Bulbs difference (top is new)

Installed Lloyd mat in the cargo area. Not the most perfect fit but it works enough for me to like it...my dog loves it too.

 

[bushdoctor]

Cooling system maintenance weekend. Actual work time ~ 8 hours

Tasks

1. Replace old factory fan cluth with Blue fan clutch and clean the fan
2. Replace radiator with an oem version
3. Replace the 3 main radiator hoses
4. Replace thermostat
5. Change out seals - oil pump, crank, thermostat
6. Clean up gunked oil on the motor body and pans

The timing couldn't have been any better. Since I'm replacing the radiator, taking out the old one would free up much needed space to get in there and work on the seal replacements.

Unfortunately, this would be the second time in less than 3 months that I replaced the toyota red coolant. So many arguments on red vs green but ultimately I went with red after considering all factors - a subject for another day.

I found this thread and it was very helpful in many ways:

How to Replace Oil Pump seal w/ Pics

I recently noticed that I had an oil leak coming from the front of my motor. After cleaning up the front of the motor to determine where the leak was coming from it was easy to see that it was coming from where the oil pump cover mated to the timing chain cover. I crawled under the truck once...

forum.ih8mud.com

I had most, if not all of the parts required to get this done. This had been in the works for months so went into it with some level of confidence after doing all the much needed research.

Parts list - already provided somewhere in the build thread but here goes;

Alternator Belt: Part Number: 90916-02353-83
AC Belt: Part Number: 99332-10910-83
Radiator: Part Number: 16400-66081
Thermostat: Part Number: 90916-03117
Gasket Thermostat: Part Number: 16346-66020
Idler Pulley Part # 16603-66010
Front Crank Shaft Seal part #90311-52022
Oil Pump Seal Part # 15188-66020
Philip head bolts part # 15183-66020 quantity #7
2" coupler (from home depot) to sit the crank seal

First unbolted the fan clutch and shroud and pulled them out simultenously.Drained coolant, removed the 3 main old coolant hoses and other cooling lines connected at the bottom of the radiator. Then removed the old radiator - lots of space now available. Abit of a pain removing this and putting in the new one. I lobbed off a small piece of the battery box in order to access one of the radiator bolts. In future, I won't have to remove the entire battery to do this task.

The good thing going for old radiator unlike the oem one was that it was made with metal top. BUT, there was more against it than for it. Never quite fit the shroud, it had no foam on the top and bottom effectively affecting the overall air flow. Figured I side with Toyota on this and go OEM

Lots of gunked up oil. Couldn't even read the numbers for checking the timing. Tried to clean that up as much as I could.

Tool of choice borrowed for removing the crank bolt. Removed in seconds. Also bit #3 from wits to remove the oil pump cover screws.

For the oil pump cover, used this on a smaller impact wrench