Builds FJ-60 LQ4/NV4500 swap (1 Viewer)

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Got the ARB compressor mounted and wired in. Switch plate from George made the inside install very clean.
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Great Build. I've seen a couple threads where people have utilized dual electric fans and then switched back to OE GM Manual fan & clutch. Would you recommend that route? Seems cooling problems are one of the bigger issues on most of these swaps.
 
Cruiser seems to be running in the temp ranges as it should. I have not seen over 220* idling. I did however spring a leak in the rear heater core and found it after it had leaked out through the floor onto the garage concrete. Bypassed the rear heater this evening. Anyone else had this problem? Do the rear heaters leak often?

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I removed my rear heater and the two associated hard tubes. I've been working on my truck for a while lately (extended idle)....sitting around 185F or so. At idle seems to me that you should be close or near your thermostat rating...my truck pulls a fair bit of air across the radiator at idle. Are you running the GM fan clutch or aftermarket?
 
I'm running a GM clutch and fan with my own custom built shroud on the Griffin radiator (details in my build thread). My temps on the road never go above 195F or so, I can watch the thermostat cycling the coolant temp on my OBDII scanner, it's usually between about 190F and 195F when it's running. It's been rock solid so far, no matter what kind of speed or load I'm running it's right in that range. The hardest usage was probably Moab 6 weeks ago with daytime temps around 70 and low speed rock crawling, but I still saw the same temps. I'll be out there in 2 weeks for Cruise Moab and will see if it runs any hotter.
 
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@Elbert I am running the factory GM fan clutch and fan i got from rock auto. @ddelong6767 Mine had always seemed to run hotter, the 195-205 range idling. I'm not sure if my radiator is just not as efficient as an aftermarket (probably the case). I am running the OEM 189°F thermostat and they say the LS engines are supposed to run a bit hotter then the old 5.7 vortecs. Since I put the factory fan/clutch and a good shroud, I have had no overheat issues. We will see when it gets to be 100°F in the humid east Texas woods!
 
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=499657&cc=1276556&jsn=436

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=3427563&cc=1353350&jsn=642

I run the spectra premium radiator like shown in the first link...bought from autozone...its an almost direct copy of the 4 core brass OEM radiator..works well, rock auto appears to have in stock now, but did not when I bought mine, I modifed the water necks on the radiator. The 2nd link shows a picture of a similar fan I use (mine is the GM model) but looks identical. And I use the GM fan clutch....of course this on a 5.7 vortec. and I have a "custom" fan shroud my friend made for me...looks very similar to what others are running. The temp I posted above was from a scan tool, so its a little cooler than the temp reading from the cylinder head where the guage reads from...so basically at teh cylinder head its around 190-195...normal idle without a/c on. Fan clutch and fan are very similar between 5.3/6.0 and 5.7 vortec.

Bottom line you are good if you are running at your thermostat range and its stable. 210F or so with the A/C would be normal too. If you think about it...if the engine runs in the same range of temps as a similar GM pickup/SUV of the donor vehicle....then you are golden. The pickups have better exposure to surface area of their radiators than the FJ60, so just by raw surface area there is more air flow on a GM SUV/pickup than whats happening on the FJ60 with the narrower grill and smaller diminision core of the radiator. If I stay in the realm of 215F or less then I'm good. Never had the truck over-heat or boil over with the GM components for cooling.

rock auto did have the GM fan clutch for the 99 year model stuff (GM) but I did not see it on the search I just ran. I stick to GM fan clutches and GM fan clutch fans...if they are avaliable.
 
Started the ARB rear air locker install this weekend. I got it all a torn down and checked the factor backlash in 4 spots (10, 13, 12, 10). Decided to build a holder for the center section because I didn’t want a broken foot or ankle.... Pulled the carrier and removed he ring gear. I boiled the ring gear in a pot of water for about 10 min to heat it up and it slipped right over the ARB carrier no problem. Torqued the ring gear bolts to 84 ft-lbs with red lock-tite. Installed the 50mm carrier bearings on the arb and set it aside for later. Pulled the pinion out and found that it is a shimmed pinion (no crush sleeve). Pressed off the old large pinion bearing and was surprised to find no shims under the bearing??
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Found a .35mm shim under the front bearing race on the pinion. Replaced them with 2 shins that equal .37mm (close as I could get with the new shim kit). Snugged up the pinion nut and set the carrier in. Dialed in .010 backlash and snugged up the bearing caps. Ran a patterns and I’d say it looks
Good for my first attempt at setting up a rear end.
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Drilled and installed bulkhead fitting, reinstalled pinion seal, and set the backlash one final time. Got it back in the axle. Waiting on axle seals to get here this week so I can put it all back together for good.
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New to the forums and didn't want to start a new thread when it looks like my question can be answered from this one. Did you have to do any special modifications to the transmission tunnel to get the NV4500 to fit properly? I just ordered a cheap rebuilt NV4500 from these guys, NV4500 Transmission Replacements | New, Used, & Rebuilt - https://reman-transmission.com/transmission-codes/?code=NV4500, and going to mount it to an LQ9 from one of my old work trucks. Your swap looks awesome btw if you have any updated pictures/ videos I'd love to see.
 

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