Builds Fix'n up the Land Cruiser.....

[jcardona1]

Truck's looking great man! I love the color of those wheels. Are they custom painted/powder-coated or do they come in that color?

 

[JCruse]

Purpose of my LC
I am new to LC's and four wheeling. I have always liked the look of the land cruiser since high school when my friends dad owned one. However, I never knew the reputation and capabilities that came with it. Now that my kids are getting a little bit older and I am more settled in life I wanted to find myself a new hobby. Something I could take my family safely to the snow, camping, beach, off road and for myself to do the same as mentioned, solo or with other LC owners....

When I started looking for my LC I also looked for a forum for advice and others experience in fixing these things up. As forums have always helped me a lot in the past with other vehicles. IH8MUD has been a lot of help to me in purchasing, maintaining and modding my LC. My goal is to build the LC to have a good balance of mods so it will be capable for what ever I chose to do with it. -Paul-

So after months of looking and waiting, I just bought my sweet '97 40th LC! It came with factory lockers, Scion radio, Thule roof rack, 17x9 steel rims, red top optima, cup holder mod and 2" seat track extension. And 153K on the ODO. (pics to come soon)



It also came with some work...

lots of oil leaks - in progress...
[STRIKE]rear brakes bad[/STRIKE]
L/P window gets stuck ************
[STRIKE]Bad A/C compressor[/STRIKE]
missing R/R fender flare - any one have?
hood and roof sun damage
[STRIKE]Pending O2 sensor code[/STRIKE]

Overall everything else looks and works really good!

Last night I decided to look at the worst things first... For me it was the a/c and the rear brakes. The PO said the a/c compressor needed to be replaced and didn't have the money to do it. So, I pulled my truck up in my drive way and popped the hood. With key off I turned the a/c pulley by hand and it seemed to turn ok....Next I grabbed the a/c belt and installed it to test it out.

Started the truck up and everything sounds fine....I pushed the a/c button to activate the a/c clutch and could hear it engage while putting a small load on the motor. O.K. so far so good right??

With motor running and a/c on, I quickly walk over to the engine bay with my flash light to get a visual and...........a thick cloud of smoke starts to develop! Not so good I look down as my eyes are burning and can see that the idler pulley is frozen.

I stop the motor take the belt off and remove the bad a/c tensioner. Maybe the compressor is fine and just this little part needs to be replaced. I sure hope so....This would be a great first start!

Anyone have the hookup on this part? Called Toyota dealer in town and they said $40 and special order.

This is weird. I'm new to four wheeling and LC's and I just bought a 40th anniversary Cruiser too! Except mine has no lockers But I am adding a CDL as soon as it arrives in a few days.

I too have always liked the look of the 80 since they came out and I've known about the reputation of the LC even longer. So when I needed a 4wd vehicle for fishing the surf this year I immediately thought of the venerable Land Cruiser.

The extent of my four wheeling experience was driving a friends first gen 84 toyota 4wd pickup, lifted with custom wheels and roll bar complete with KC lights, a couple times back when it was new in '84. That's about it.


Good luck with your truck (same color as mine too) and have fun roaming those back trails.

 

[TYM4FUN]

Truck's looking great man! I love the color of those wheels. Are they custom painted/powder-coated or do they come in that color?

PO had the rims made and powder coated to match the OE 40th Sage Green. However he only made four...., so I am having a fifth one made for my spare when the new shoes come in.

This is weird. I'm new to four wheeling and LC's and I just bought a 40th anniversary Cruiser too! Except mine has no lockers But I am adding a CDL as soon as it arrives in a few days.

I too have always liked the look of the 80 since they came out and I've known about the reputation of the LC even longer. So when I needed a 4wd vehicle for fishing the surf this year I immediately thought of the venerable Land Cruiser.

The extent of my four wheeling experience was driving a friends first gen 84 toyota 4wd pickup, lifted with custom wheels and roll bar complete with KC lights, a couple times back when it was new in '84. That's about it.


Good luck with your truck (same color as mine too) and have fun roaming those back trails.

Thanks, and I will. I love this truck! Congrats on your purchase too.

 

[jcardona1]

Still need to found out. UPS is taking for ever to deliver my antenna and related parts...Most, I think, just connect it up and let the cable squeeze between the hatch seals. Think I might ponder drilling a hole in the metal between the jack storage and the rear. For the hole, I would use a rubber grommet to run the cable through.

***EDIT--I have decided not to drill a hole in the rear pillar, and just run it through the hatch. This way I can just install the antenna when I go on a trail and tuck the cable in the side panel out of the way when I'm not. This also let's me still run through the automatic car wash.***

I will definitely post up pics of that as well.

Any pics of how you ran the wiring? I'm in the process of doing the same install so I'm curious how to route the wiring

 

[TYM4FUN]

Any pics of how you ran the wiring? I'm in the process of doing the same install so I'm curious how to route the wiring

Just out the hatch?

 

[TYM4FUN]

Staun Tire Deflators, they look and work great. They even came in a very nice leather pouch for storage...They can be adjusted to drop your pressure to a target between 30psi to 6psi.

 

[jcardona1]

Just out the hatch?

Oh ok, so just out the side paneling and around the hatch? I'll have to figure something out. Just waiting on my mounts to arrive.

The Staun Tire Deflators my bought me came in, they look and work great. They even came in a very nice leather pouch for storage...They can be adjusted to drop your pressure to a target between 30psi to 6psi.

Thanks babe!!!

Nice! I debated buying these and ended up going with the ARB deflator. Curious to see how hard they are to adjust for a specific psi.

 

[TYM4FUN]

Oh ok, so just out the side paneling and around the hatch? I'll have to figure something out. Just waiting on my mounts to arrive.

Exactly, this way it can be taken down and stored away nicely. With the lower hatch closed, the cable runs from the side panel, over the lower hatch and to the mount. I then just close the upper hatch on top of the cable. (post 118 page 6) There seems to be enough void and gasket material, to allow the cable to pass undamaged.

Nice! I debated buying these and ended up going with the ARB deflator. Curious to see how hard they are to adjust for a specific psi.

I just set all of mine yesterday...They say they come present to 18psi, but the locking collars on mine were loose when they arrived. After testing them on my tire they were all off by a few pounds. It was just a matter of loosening the locking collar with your fingers, and twist to adjust. I did small adjustments until all of mine matched at 16psi....

The process was very easy.

 

[TYM4FUN]

Clocking Badlands Winch

Badlands Winch came in the mail yesterday! I read it is recommended to clock the housing, to better access the winch switch. The winch will be installed on the ARB bumper when it shows up Monday.

I was able to find a well written thread with pics, to learn how to perform this surgery. It was real easy and worked perfect. Even if you do not need to rotate the housing on this winch, I would recommend you still disassemble and make sure all the screws are tight. Half of the screws behind the gear cover were loose upon inspection.

Link to the thread I used:https://forum.ih8mud.com/winching-recovery/603694-clocking-winch-instructions.html

 

[TYM4FUN]

Installed ARB Bumper

Bumper came in today! I was going to install the winch first, but didn't have my spacers for it to fit yet. SO,.....on the bumper goes! This really changes the way the truck looks in the front a lot. This should provide me some protection now.

 

[TYM4FUN]

At the same time of installing the bumper, I cleaned up the front of the engine. I took off the steering damper, acc. belts, fan clutch, idler pulley and broke the crank bolt loose, all in preparation to install a new crank seal and oil pump seal.

 

[TYM4FUN]

Need help with timing cover screw...

Well, I took the crank pulley off and removed the crank seal, but it looks like I have the wrong part to replace it? The seal is to small. I will have to call Toyota tomorrow to find out whats wrong and get a replacement...

Then, very carefully, I attempted to remove the oil pump screws and started having trouble there as well. I used a #3 bit and tapped it in tight. The first three were removed without trouble, not so for the others. The next few screws started to strip out. I was able to find a security bit that has another small set of splines between the main ones, and it worked!

However,....the very last one decided to stay put and I am not able to remove it. Any suggestions one how to get this SOB out?!? I'm hoping to find a way without removing the radiator. Maybe one off those screw-out bits will work? I Have never used them before.

 

[TYM4FUN]

So, after a trip to Home Depot last night I purchased a screw-out bit and an eight inch flexible driver. I attempted the screw-out bit method with no success.... After that failed attempt, I used the flex shaft with a standard drill bit and carefully made a deeper hole.

Then I found the best star bit, that was slightly larger and had the sharpest teeth I could find in my arsenal. I grabbed the hammer and tapped that baby in as far as I could safely get it. I took the wrench to it and viola, it came out!

 

[TYM4FUN]

Cleaned up the parts, put some grease on the new o-ring, to hold it in place, and buttoned her up with new screws. I also installed a new idler pulley, as the last one was getting noisy. Crank seal was the wrong part, so waiting on that to come in. I have a 2 inch PVC fitting to tap the crank seal in place, and a big ass torque wrench waiting on standby...I will be using a socket in the rear inspection cover to hold the crank in place, when tightening the crank bolt up.

 

[jcardona1]

You got the bumper! Looks good. I've been considering putting together a build/write-up thread to keep track of all the mods I've done...

 

[DSRTRDR]

I just set all of mine yesterday...They say they come present to 18psi, but the locking collars on mine were loose when they arrived. After testing them on my tire they were all off by a few pounds. It was just a matter of loosening the locking collar with your fingers, and twist to adjust. I did small adjustments until all of mine matched at 16psi....

The process was very easy.

they eventually get loose - so periodic checking would be advised - I have reset mine twice in 7 years

 

[TYM4FUN]

they eventually get loose - so periodic checking would be advised - I have reset mine twice in 7 years

Yeah, I figured that since they were loose when they showed up. Twice in seven years sounds like a pretty good run though...thanks for the heads up.

 

[TYM4FUN]

You got the bumper! Looks good. I've been considering putting together a build/write-up thread to keep track of all the mods I've done...

Thanks,

When I showed up here on IH8MUD, it was good pics of mods, tips, and little write-ups that has helped me a lot. But, some things were hard to find info on. I figured putting everything in one spot would help others make decisions, find stuff in a search, and help me keep track of my maintenance.


I hopeful I will be keeping this truck for a very long time, but if I ever decide to sell, this will be a very good record of what has been done.

 

[TYM4FUN]

24mm Socket and 8 quarts of Valvoline 75W-90, got me nice fresh oil in front/rear diff and the transfer case.

 

[TYM4FUN]

Front seals finished and new belts!

Buttoned up step three and four of oil leak removal! (oil pump and crank seal) New OEM drive belts installed also.