DIRTBIKEUSA’s Alaska Cruiser build thread

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SoCal80series said:
I was listening to "She's a Rainbow" by the Rolling Stones when I saw the pic of your girls. Couldn't get a better song for this pic.
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Ha! Thats crazy cause I collect music and sing this to them when I put it on. Hands down my girls are the best part about my life.
 
DIRTBIKEUSA said:
Wired in the washer pump and mounted the AUX transmission cooler fan. I will need to see about how to wire it up for activation. I want to run an over ride switch and seems like I will need to insert a pipe into the cooler inlet line or tap into the outlet side of the engine cooling system. Not sure which way I want to go but I have time and am open to options on pros and cons of both. For sure the trans cooler is getting a AUX fan.

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So, Texas weather is a wee bit different than Oregon weather, so I won't claim to know what you need, but I think most people have found the AUX fan to be more useful on the other side so the AC works better at idle (also the OEM solution in AUS and other hot places). These rigs have a trans cooling section in the radiator plus the separate unit. It's essentially the same transmission my first gen Tundra runs and the cooler in the Cruiser is several times the size of the Tundra cooler. I've never had any issues towing with the Tundra. Still, I respect the overkill vibe.

You might look in the FAQ about modifying an AISIN "blue" fan clutch. The factory fan moves a ton of air when the clutch is modded appropriately. Basically, it involves dumping out the factory silicone oil and putting in some silicone RC shock oil of a heavier grade and tweaking the temperature where the internal valving opens. The discussion goes on for about a million pages, but for my part, I tried 15,000cst oil and I found that for that oil, having the valve engage at 105* was too aggressive and it was trying to run at highway speed and costing me mileage. I adjusted it to 115* and I'm playing with that now. It could be the 15,000 is just a bit too thick on the oil, but I'm not sure about that. With the new setting, on a 70* day it was letting the heat climb up to 187.5* while sitting at an idle, and it was just barely hitting the point where I could hear the fan moving air. I suspect that would be a perfect setting for ~10,000cst oil.
 
DIRTBIKEUSA said:
I’m thinking I could fit something like this in the coolant line for the thermal switch for the AUX trans cooler and AUX live value temp gauge . Adding another joint in the cooling system is a point away from reliably but having additional cooling capacity and more accurate temp gauge is the trade off I’m willing to take.

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I am trying to figure out a route to take for a temp gauge as well when I add an aux tranny cooler. Whom is the manufacturer?
 
I appreciate all the input! Playing with fan viscous fan cluck fluids is really getting into the weeds with it. I will have to check that out.

When I changed the fan clutch I open for the “heavy duty” aftermarket one..US MOTOR WORKS 22074 not sure if it has the same effect..i know I know it’s not “OEM” and believe me I trust denso and other Japan manufacturers to the bone. Just budgets, you know?

I own both a first gen tundra and sequoia as well (I’m a Toyota nut can you tell?) and you are correct the tundra trans cooler is about 50% smaller than the cruiser’s. The first gen 4 speed sequoias had issues with over drive burning up I think. I haven’t had an issue but we don’t tow with it and I have been crazy particular about trans maintenance.

The direction with this project is to tow. I did look at doing two fans but, again budget and I guess the condenser will get partial flow from the fan on the trans cooler side.

I plan on changing the trans lines and pwr steering lines with some new stuff I picked up. So that’s the next dirty job after gear oil drop. After the rain of course..
 
duece71 said:
I am trying to figure out a route to take for a temp gauge as well when I add an aux tranny cooler. Whom is the manufacturer?
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it’s Amazon stuff with good reviews. Black horse racing makes the 12in fan I picked up. I’m going with the botch gauge and sensor the pipe is some off brand aluminum.

This stuff is piece meal together. Not exactly kits per se. but the fan fit perfectly on the cooler supports with some zip ties of my own. The back side of the grill had to be shaved down.
 
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DIRTBIKEUSA said:
I appreciate all the input! Playing with fan viscous fan cluck fluids is really getting into the weeds with it. I will have to check that out.

When I changed the fan clutch I open for the “heavy duty” aftermarket one..US MOTOR WORKS 22074 not sure if it has the same effect..i know I know it’s not “OEM” and believe me I trust denso and other Japan manufacturers to the bone. Just budgets, you know?

I own both a first gen tundra and sequoia as well (I’m a Toyota nut can you tell?) and you are correct the tundra trans cooler is about 50% smaller than the cruiser’s. The first gen 4 speed sequoias had issues with over drive burning up I think. I haven’t had an issue but we don’t tow with it and I have been crazy particular about trans maintenance.

The direction with this project is to tow. I did look at doing two fans but, again budget and I guess the condenser will get partial flow from the fan on the trans cooler side.

I plan on changing the trans lines and pwr steering lines with some new stuff I picked up. So that’s the next dirty job after gear oil drop. After the rain of course..
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I kinda thought that about fan the fan clutch as well, but I happened to read the write-up and thought, "well that's not too complicated." It took me maybe an hour to adjust from 105* to 115* and most of that was waiting for the temp in my water bath to stabilize.

On the Tundra, I should add, that with around 60k on the clock on the Tundra, I installed the Transgo HD shift kit and it immensely improved the feel of the shifts. I will probably use the same kit on my Cruiser eventually. ~$100 and money well spent. The 3-4 shift especially made me nervous before. Now it's not abrupt, but it's quick and positive. The Cruiser felt better from the start, for what that's worth, but I'll still probably do it at some point.

I've owned almost 2:1, Toyotas vs everything else, so yeah... Fellow Toyota nut. 3 in the driveway right now, counting the Scion. If they made motorcycles, I'd be in heaven.
 
Got a bit of rain last night and found some leakage on the passenger side rear corner of the sunroof. I cleaned it up and out a wet plastic trash bag on it after I treated the rubber with some rejuvenation spray. Surprisingly the wet trash bag kept the storm rain out even in the wind.

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Fabbing the AUX battery tray out of scrap I found around the ‘hood. The stand offs were too short so I have to make some in the morning when I have better light.

I ordered a battery and an automatic AUX battery relay. I have cable from the last project. Once the battery is in I will see about a winch. To tell you the truth I like the warn 9500lb rated unit. I plan on snatch block and bubba ropes so I will be in the clear. Plus the price point is almost $300 cheaper. A deal maker for me and this project.

My small front yard orchard.

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While I was under the Cruiser yesterday I seen more iUV dye seeping from the left front near the AC compressor bracket. Doesn’t look like FMS..more like maybe the front cover. I will see anything can be tightened.. Or maybe add some Lucas to the oil and see if it slows or stops. I’m not looking to changing the front cover/oil pump and FMS right now but if it comes to that and this seep gets to dripping in operation then more engine surgery will be done.. begrudgingly. I have already priced parts in case of this stuff and it’s not out of the budget. And that’s a 280,xxx engine for sure. lol!

On the plus side after I changed the trans cooler lines I did some speeds runs back and forth on the local high way, to warm up the trans and check the fluid level. The Cruiser still has plenty of get up and go. Pulls strong and no blue smoke, hesitation or low power spots in the RPM band. Checking all the live stream data, everything looks normal.
 
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Over all progress is good. I get about one or two things close to being done a day. Which I think is right on track for the trip.

My wife and I are going over the logistics with kids still in diapers/space/time. She thinks I won’t have time to build a trailer and fully out fit it.

I agree..

So buying a trailer and refurbishing it to our needs is the next plan. Problem is I need a specific type. You know the teardrop with the rear kitchenette section. I also would like a fairly decent drawbar section for fuel storage. The list goes on..fingers crissed.
 
DIRTBIKEUSA said:
I appreciate all the input! Playing with fan viscous fan cluck fluids is really getting into the weeds with it. I will have to check that out.

When I changed the fan clutch I open for the “heavy duty” aftermarket one..US MOTOR WORKS 22074 not sure if it has the same effect..i know I know it’s not “OEM” and believe me I trust denso and other Japan manufacturers to the bone. Just budgets, you know?

I own both a first gen tundra and sequoia as well (I’m a Toyota nut can you tell?) and you are correct the tundra trans cooler is about 50% smaller than the cruiser’s. The first gen 4 speed sequoias had issues with over drive burning up I think. I haven’t had an issue but we don’t tow with it and I have been crazy particular about trans maintenance.

The direction with this project is to tow. I did look at doing two fans but, again budget and I guess the condenser will get partial flow from the fan on the trans cooler side.

I plan on changing the trans lines and pwr steering lines with some new stuff I picked up. So that’s the next dirty job after gear oil drop. After the rain of course..
Click to expand...

I did the new aisin clutch with the RC car silicon oil and it was not hard at all and totally worth it if you have a non-toyota fan clutch. The fan clutch that was there from the PO's mechanic was a POS. It was very small and I was having overheating issues, even at highway speeds under moderate/heavy load. With the mod'd Aisn clutch I never have a problem and I put mine through towing hell with 6 people, gear to the ceiling, roof top box, and towing 3,000 lbs up the interstate to 10,000 ft with foot buried in the floorboard for 20 minutes at a time trying to keep up with traffic. :steer:

My LX is the same mileage and I did pretty much everything you have noted with oil leaks and new hoses. The good news is that it no longer leaks any oil!!! But it was a lot of work and the oil pump o-ring gave me a hard time.
Check the seal on the oil sensor that's under the passenger seat area. That one was a leaker for me for a long time and I thought it was the rear main. I was really happy that it was a cheap and easy repair. Also the distributor o-ring was a big source of oil.
 
Made more adjustments to battery tray. Not much else to update as I am waiting on parts to arrive been doing runs to the store in it. So far it runs really good and quiet. Not a lot of rattling. Radio works good. HVAC system works good. Window and door locks work good. The sunroof has a small leak that I have to track down.

Been reading up on no sart repairs and making a list of parts to either replace or keep spare in case of breakdown. I really don't want to be left with my rear up a feel somewhere on the wilderness with my family.

Things like fuel pump, fuel pump relay injector relay, starter, battery cables, jumps starter.

Some stuff I will pick up local some online.

We will see about this small engine seep I still got going on.

Still haven’t started the roof rack and ladder. I have enough material. Kinda need to figure out the attachments.
 
battery tray complete other than modification when battery arrives.

Roughing in AUX fan electrical
Roughing in inverter box and testing.

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Roughing in AUX light bar and AUX fog lights.

Testing small solar panel and inverter. It’s over cast but it worked, kinda. Maybe a bigger panel mounted on the hood. But glare..


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