Daddy you have to keep up with the Foo!!! Build. (2 Viewers)

[SammyT96LX450]

So here is my official build for the 1996 Lexus LX 450. Always wanted one and always dreamed of driving one. This has been my third year of wheeling at SMORR and this year I was able to test out my FJ which did awesome and did everything I wanted it to do. I also brought my daughter with me and she loves going on trail rides. Mistake one ... She got to ride in the Foo. Mistake two I got to drive the Foo. In the FJ I have to pick my lines very carefully and rely on a top notch spotting to make it through some of the more difficult stuff. Not the FOO. Pointed and go well for the most part. And the decision was made. Retire the FJ from difficult trails and get an 80 or lx450. With the help of you guys I got her home

Here are the pics after I hand washed it

So the funny part was when I started to make a list of upgrades. My daughter comes yelling and running out of the kitchen. Daddy do not get rid of the 37's you will not be able to make level 5 trails at smorr and keep up withy the FOO.

So I'm crawling around underneath of the lx today and I found that the driver side lower bushing of the shock is gone. The breather tube from the front diff was relocated but just hanging out in the engine compartment. The rear diff breather was disconected well I guess he never extended it. Right now I 'm waiting for Dwayne to give me a hand with the alternator......let the build begin. I removed the rear seats and the spare and as promised my first official mod

Here is the short list of what I'm thinking
General maintenance of all the fluids
Tires 315/75-16 gy mtrs
Metal tech sliders and skids
Maybe remove the body lift...I'm not a fan. I'm hoping you guys can chime in on that
Detail the interior
Po had wired in a cut off switch for low voltage...I want remove that
And that is it for now.....

 

[SammyT96LX450]

Ok got the alternator out. The good Ol' parts store ordered the wrong one so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to instal the new one. Got the bushing installed on the driver side shock and power washed the underneath. My cousin scraped all the old grease off. I uninstalled the low voltage cut off switch. Pretty busy first night. I'm hoping I can take the fam for a test drive.

 

[tornadoalleycruiser]

low voltage cutoff switch? Is there a drain?

 

[SammyT96LX450]

low voltage cutoff switch? Is there a drain?

Good question. I don't think so. But since he hardly drove it in the last year I'm thinking he put that on just in case.

 

[weejub]

great start!

I need to figure out how to secure my breather hoses, too. I added extended ones to the '85 4Runner and I have them literally zip tied to a spot on the engine compartment with lots of slack, but doesn't look safe.

 

[SammyT96LX450]

Yep I bought a kit to relocate my breathers on my FJ. I'm planing on fabing up a bracket and hooking up the rear and the front to a small filter. Something like this

 

[tornadoalleycruiser]

Put a 12 v bulb across the neg cable and pull fuses till it goes out. Simple way to find your drain

 

[2fpower]

Yeah, Erik told me about this, and it works, but on 80 series there are little gremlins that will drive you nuts.

Let me explain in English though of what he is saying....

1. disconnect the battery on the negative side only.
2. get a 12v harbor freight test light and put one side on the negative side of the battery the other side on that negative cable you disconnected.
3. it will light up the light when there is any load.

So, if you do this and the light does not come on you have no draw. Test it... if you open up the door and the door light comes on, so will this test light.
If you have a draw (the light is coming on), start pulling fuses until you can isolate what circuit the power draw is coming from. Then diagnose from there.

The issue is that on 80's with the alarm (or maybe it was the keyless) there are times that it will start cycling the locks or doing something to draw power. However, it will not do this for two or three hours later. So unless you have some way to alert you it is happening, the short test does not do any good. If you want to remove it -- meaning the alarm/keyless box, you have to do a jumper on a cable up under the driver kickpanel, otherwise it will not start with the logic box removed. (that is under your seat)

Lexi had the issue for a while, then it went away. Came back here lately for Rob. I am guessing it is the ignition switch, but really have no idea at this point. I got in the habbit of disconnecting the battery.

Amazing though, as it would drain the two battery system overnight sometimes......

Basically, that is my way of saying good luck, and report back if you find anything.

 

[SammyT96LX450]

Ok so just got home from the shop and here what I was told. The radiator was all caked in so that was one of the reasons she was running hot. They flushed but highly recommended a new radiator. So that will be on my to do list. She threw the p0130 and p0133 code I reset it came back reset it again now it's off. I'm proud of myself installing the alternator by myself. Almost there with the maintenance. I will probably order tires Monday. And see if I can pull this project together by Tuttle time.

 

[SammyT96LX450]

Yeah, Erik told me about this, and it works, but on 80 series there are little gremlins that will drive you nuts.

Let me explain in English though of what he is saying....

1. disconnect the battery on the negative side only.
2. get a 12v harbor freight test light and put one side on the negative side of the battery the other side on that negative cable you disconnected.
3. it will light up the light when there is any load.

So, if you do this and the light does not come on you have no draw. Test it... if you open up the door and the door light comes on, so will this test light.
If you have a draw (the light is coming on), start pulling fuses until you can isolate what circuit the power draw is coming from. Then diagnose from there.

The issue is that on 80's with the alarm (or maybe it was the keyless) there are times that it will start cycling the locks or doing something to draw power. However, it will not do this for two or three hours later. So unless you have some way to alert you it is happening, the short test does not do any good. If you want to remove it -- meaning the alarm/keyless box, you have to do a jumper on a cable up under the driver kickpanel, otherwise it will not start with the logic box removed. (that is under your seat)

Lexi had the issue for a while, then it went away. Came back here lately for Rob. I am guessing it is the ignition switch, but really have no idea at this point. I got in the habbit of disconnecting the battery.

Amazing though, as it would drain the two battery system overnight sometimes......

Basically, that is my way of saying good luck, and report back if you find anything.

Thank you sir. I'll take a look at that this weekend.

 

[2fpower]

Sammy just asked me about what radiator to use on his rig.

Here is what I found on mud.

I recall that a dealer in AZ was making a killer deal on these. Anyone see that before? Mike, what radiator did you go with?

Both versions of the factory radiator have plastic tanks. The 93-94 application has a 3 row brass core and the 95-97 application has a 2 row aluminum core. The aluminum core is about 8 bucks cheaper than the brass core. They are interchangeable. I prefer the brass core. I like the idea of a third row and maybe brass is more durable than aluminum.....YMMV.

93-94, 16400-66040
95-97, 16400-66081

If you desire an all-metal radiator you will need to go aftermarket.

 

[2fpower]

here is the thread I was thinking about.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/80-series-all-aluminum-radiator.743151/page-3#post-8782844


https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/aftermarket-radiators.102960/#post-1291424

 

[FZJ80 in KC]

Sammy just asked me about what radiator to use on his rig.

Here is what I found on mud.

I recall that a dealer in AZ was making a killer deal on these. Anyone see that before? Mike, what radiator did you go with?

Both versions of the factory radiator have plastic tanks. The 93-94 application has a 3 row brass core and the 95-97 application has a 2 row aluminum core. The aluminum core is about 8 bucks cheaper than the brass core. They are interchangeable. I prefer the brass core. I like the idea of a third row and maybe brass is more durable than aluminum.....YMMV.

93-94, 16400-66040
95-97, 16400-66081

If you desire an all-metal radiator you will need to go aftermarket.

I know the other Mike went factory from Molle with their discount on the radiator. Think he was in the mid $200 range ($260ish maybe?). I went with aftermarket cheapie for about $150 shipped. I've had no problems whatsoever. I would recommend using an OEM T-stat though. My temp gauge rides right in the center, and never went warmer than that.

If replacing radiator, that's also the best time to tackle the oil pump seal and crankshaft seal on the front of the motor (if seeping oil from the front some). If tackling that, ask for tips here. Definitely a right and wrong way to do it, and was a very easy job with the right basic tools.

 

[SammyT96LX450]

I know the other Mike went factory from Molle with their discount on the radiator. Think he was in the mid $200 range ($260ish maybe?). I went with aftermarket cheapie for about $150 shipped. I've had no problems whatsoever. I would recommend using an OEM T-stat though. My temp gauge rides right in the center, and never went warmer than that.

If replacing radiator, that's also the best time to tackle the oil pump seal and crankshaft seal on the front of the motor (if seeping oil from the front some). If tackling that, ask for tips here. Definitely a right and wrong way to do it, and was a very easy job with the right basic tools.

Thank you sir I will...

 

[SammyT96LX450]

Quick update. Tires are ordered. I went with discount tire direct. First I called 4wd.com but they were on back order. So I called dt and they beat the price and shipped them for free to my local tire shop. 270 per tire for 315/75-16 goodyear mtr's. I thought that was a great deal and I'm super impressed with them on the Fj. Super quiet and great road manners.

Sunday I'm doing the fluids except the tranny. I will have to do it sometime next week when I get a sec.

 

[cjmoon]

Body lifts get a bad wrap but a mild 1-1.5 one is useful. I have found that it let me take larger over the rail exhaust. Many talk about lower trans temps
Better road manors.
Worst ground clearance if your looking off-road do a real lift

 

[FZJ80 in KC]

Body lifts get a bad wrap but a mild 1-1.5 one is useful. I have found that it let me take larger over the rail exhaust. Many talk about lower trans temps
Better road manors.
Worst ground clearance if your looking off-road do a real lift

Get out to Tuttle with us Jess! I'm really looking forward to seeing that diesel 80 in action (or LX?...can't remember)!

 

[2fpower]

found this new one.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/battery-drain-500ma-current-draw-from-am1-fuse.819962/

 

[weejub]

Get out to Tuttle with us Jess! I'm really looking forward to seeing that diesel 80 in action (or LX?...can't remember)!

Get out to Tuttle with us Jess! I'm really looking forward to seeing that diesel 80 in action (or LX?...can't remember)!

Ditto - Want to see that updated rig!

I have had two body lifts on vehicles - I didn't install either - - but I think both had great use. The first was the 2002 4Runner, where I literally had to get the body off the body armor and bumpers a bit as they would hit. It was a 1".

The '85 has a 2" body lift and it feels like too much and looks bad, but my wench is tucked up under the grill, so I would have to cut more of the grill away to lower it I also may need the clearance now.

 

[SammyT96LX450]

Well I got both the diffs done. Changed the oil and the oil filter and changed the transfer case oil as well. When we attempted to lift the car I did noticed that the e brake and and rear brake line were really tight so we did not lift it all the way. I have to extend the rear break line and unbolt one of the brackets for the ebrake line to work. Tires should be here Monday.....oh one more thing. All the bolts except two from the seats were stripped. So I shall replace those as well......