FJ62 4BD2TC conversion (1 Viewer)

[Gnarlene]

I have been attempting to get my FJ62 on the road since January of 2013. The build has been a HUGE pain in the neck due to issues I won't go entirely into. But we are nearing completion and I wanted to start a thread to post pics and discuss our build in the hopes that we can all learn from it.

More to follow. Will post things I have and write a short description or detail as needed. I have a lot of pics but am not a mechanic, so I will post what I know. As an owner/builder I have come across many large and small issues. Maybe I can show what we did to get around them.

Again, I am not an expert - so some of this may be somewhat vague or not inclusive, but ask me anything and I'll talk with my guys and let you know what we did and why.

There are times in life when you can be a good example. And then there are the times when you're a warning to others. This will be a little of both.

 

[Gnarlene]

This is a pic of "Gnarlene" the day I bought her, sitting next to The Beast, which I sold. It was a very clean Cruiser with about 180k miles, had been a one owner car driven by a local lady as a grocery getter (I know, I know, but I actually tracked down her son and spoke with him. It's true.) 6 cyl, automatic, A/C, the typical stock FJ62 stuff.

 

[Gnarlene]

These are shots of the painting process. I decided to have it sprayed with bed liner inside and out. The truck was rust free and I want to keep it that way. I chose a Toyota beige color with white around the greenhouse area. This was back when I was building for style. Now after 19 months I'm jaded and am going quick and dirty - anything and everything just to get this thing going. Paint scheme? Whatever, grab a brush with some tar on it.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Awesome

 

[Gnarlene]

Went with an H55 - brand new. The automatic is fairly stout, but I wanted more flexibility for off road use. I took this shot at the transmission shop on their bench. The transfer case has been attached. There were several parts needed to complete this portion of the build that we didn't have. As a result there was a treasure hunt and this small job wound up taking more than a month. If you are going to do a build be ready. The amount of "other" parts and bolts and fittings you will likely need is huge. You will spend hundreds of $$ on them, some will have to be dug out of scrap yards or sent from overseas, and you will wait with the build on hold until you get them. Many times, they will be the wrong part, and you will have to start the process over again. Waiting for parts is a large part of building a rig. Be prepared to have patience. Like I used to.

 

[Gnarlene]

Here are some shots of the rear springs going in. The shackle was installed backwards! We didn't know what we were doing, a member here saw the pics I posted (on an old thread under a different profile) and spoke up. We took it apart and put them in correctly. I chose OME Dakkar springs. OME makes a line that is the same rating but the Dakkars are made with cheaper labor so they cost a lot less. If I had known this I would have gone with the pricier ones as I am against third-world exploitation, but here they are, and they worked, so it is what it is. These are the stiffest rated springs they sell. I lifted the truck 4". More on that later.

 

[Gnarlene]

View attachment 902330

Here you would have a shot of the front spring attached, one of the front shackle as well. I was asked why I wasn't welding this part and relying on the bolts, which could ostensibly shear off. First, the bolts are tough and there are enough of them to handle whatever the suspension encounters, second, if something were to happen and the springs were damaged, removing welds, especially on the road somewhere, would be difficult. Cutting out welds would damage the shackle and after the repair make it very difficult if not impossible to reinstall.

The third image is a shot of the truck on the lift.

 

[Gnarlene]

Okay. This is huge. Be very, very careful which adaptor you buy to mate the GM bell housing to the 4BD2. Know what you want before you dive in, they are expensive. As far as I know there is one shop - in Oregon - making them.

We were sent the wrong one. It was 1" thick, front to rear. After we dropped the drivetrain in, this left us 3 inches short. Again - this shop (and I) were doing this for the first time from scratch - and we didn't know what we were doing, so we put the engine and trans together and welded it in place.

But nothing would line up. When we centered the gear box, this configuration put the turbocharger literally where the firewall is and left the engine far out of skew with the frame. After standing around scratching our heads, we tore the motor and transmission back out, removed the Advanced Adapter part and installed the GM sub housing that came with the original bell housing. That fit.

To a certain extent, unless you have done this before, or are a seasoned mechanic, you rely on the supplier to understand what you are attempting, to have foreknowledge, and to assist you in obtaining the correct part. They make the parts, they should know what the parts are used for. In the case of this build, despite assurances that the supplier was an expert with several builds behind him, we were sent the wrong adapter, and then the incorrect bell housing as well. Then he ducked our calls. We've never been able to reach him again.

Be careful of how your motor and trans fit into the tunnel. You are going to have to dope it out. These forums help because several people have completed these swaps, but it is still easy and costly to make mistakes. We poured over these pages for hours, days - and still screwed quite a few things up. We still may not have it right, but at this point we are into damage control, so we are going to run what we brung.

 

[Gnarlene]

I think I should add here a post to the novice - like me. I have some mechanical experience, but nowhere near enough to take on a build like this one. It's like building the Washington Monument - you stack up blocks and put a triangle on the top of it - what could go wrong?

My recommendation is to find someone who has done these before, or buy an already finished rig. The first shop I used went out of business about 25% of the way through my build and I had to tow it - with all of the parts stuffed into the interior - to another shop.

I chose new mechanics I knew I could trust, but they had never built a Cruiser, let alone a 4BD2 swap. We learned the hard way, and now they have experience. Hopefully they'll get another Cruiser in the shop after mine. They deserve the business.

So unless you have a well-outfitted machine shop, a lift and a serious set of tools, leave this to Cruiser experts. I'll be renting apartments from here on out because this build cost me what I had saved for a house purchase - and more. I will have a totally sick, nearly indestructible Land Cruiser in a month or so, but I may need to use the rooftop tent as my primary residence. Okay kids - off to school! I wish I were kidding. Learn from this idiot - don't bite off more than you can chew. A build like this can burn money and xanax like nobody's business.

 

[Gnarlene]

As described above, here is the rig being taken to the new shop. You can see the bully bar and winch I chose. I went with a Smittybilt 12k waterproof on which I am going to use synthetic rope. There are Warn and Smittybilt camps. My family's business is marine winches and I researched it. Chinese/American/Chinese, whatever. Pound for pound the winch I got will do the job. And in a few ways it's a better unit than the comparable Warn. Look it up. I don't remember. That was a year and a half ago and I haven't aged well.

 

[Gnarlene]

Two grills. The top one is from the FJ60. The bottom one came off my FJ62. I wasn't smart enough to leave well enough alone, and as I said earlier, I was building for style - my ultimate fantasy FJ - so I decided to go with round headlights and swap in an FJ60 front end.

There are numerous posts on these boards about this procedure. Some say it cannot be done. Some that it can, but that you need to replace the fenders. Here's what I know, and I am right in the middle of it, so it's fresh in my mind.

In order to change from an FJ62 to an FJ60 grill, you need an FJ60 radiator support (bolts right in), an FJ60 grill and lower valance. The turn signal assemblies are also different, as are the headlight surrounds.

I bought all of these parts right here on IH8MUD and they all came in serviceable condition. Search through the classifieds here and also on ebay. Everything is out there somewhere.

Other than the valance and radiator support, none of these will fit correctly. So you have to get creative. It is the fenders. The tabs that are on the FJ62 fenders to bolt the headlight surrounds on are in a different place than on the FJ60 fenders. So the above mentioned detractors are correct.

Know what? Screw that. Go MacGuyver on it and figure it out. I am welding new tabs on. In the final analysis, that's a more economical choice than buying new fenders. My fenders were in good shape, except for one rust area (the only one on the truck incidentally) and this seemed logical to me. With the parts listed above, you CAN swap out the grill and lights, etc and get it done. I have more images of the front end parts and will go find them and post them in a few.

I wanted waterproof headlights. Call me crazy, but I have lived through five category 3 and higher hurricanes here (including Andrew - a 5) and I know flooding. Part of this build was to make a truck I could bug out in.

I picked up a set of Round Eyes HIDs. They are not legal for road use in the US. Offroad, yes, on road, no. That is a federal statute. There are multiple bulb intensities one can choose from 10,000 on down. The 10k and 8k bulbs are very, very bright and shine noticeably blue. These will get you pinched. Even here in my rural county, there are dozens of bored deputies who are aware of the statutes and would be more than happy to help me comply.

I am going to install 4300s and aim them low enough to not blind oncoming motorists. I am crossing my fingers. I will post here if there are any issues after I make bail. I will be driving this thing north along the eastern seaboard to Maine and back. Yes, this means Georgia state patrol - and South Carolina, and North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland - troopers who were naturally born to destroy your young life for next to no reason at all. And that's just the south.

 

[Gnarlene]

Grill with headlight surrounds after I painted them.

FJ60 radiator support before painting.

Driver's side radiator support installed onto FJ62 front end - note two tabs on FJ62 fender that will need to be relocated to fit FJ60 parts.

 

[Gnarlene]

Here's a weird "template" graphic I found somewhere illustrating the grill and headlight differences between the 60 and 62. They fit into the same area, but are completely different.

 

[Gnarlene]

Some pics I took of the undercarriage while it was apart. I removed the rusted heat shield, the old fuel and heater lines and cleaned it up a bit. Once I get the thing ready, I will brush on some ridiculously resilient coating to make it impervious to anything on this or any other planet. My plan is to go completely through the truck and either caulk or otherwise seal and then coat any gap or hole that needs it. From there I will determine where to place small drain holes. These things RUST, so after I drill the holes I will prime and paint them and when I install nylon grommets, I will do so with a heavy duty adhesive. I figure, 150 years from now when this thing is being used on Mars to pull a manure wagon, the drain holes will still be good. I may (haven't decided yet) also install bung holes in the floors in the rear and front seating areas. I want to find some that have plugs that are more or less flush, so I can drain this thing when needed. Again - drill, prime, paint, adhesive. Mars.

 

[Gnarlene]

More pics of the truck disassembled. Figure someone might see something they need to see before they tear their rig apart.

Note compressor. The expert who initially installed the unit placed everything under the rig. Which is great, except it's not waterproof and is prone to rust. I am relocating the tank so I can install rock sliders, and will have to find a place for the compressor unit inside the cab. Still haven't figured that one out. Will post final pics when I do - that's a last detail install.

 

[Gnarlene]

This one is a comparison chart mapping the torque and horsepower curves between the Isuzu 4BD2TC and the Cummins 4BT.

 

[Gnarlene]

Rusted right front fender leading edge. Since perfectly repaired by a friend of my mechanic. He actually matched the paint without seeing it.

 

[Gnarlene]

Front frame and suspension. Note far left - fender flange repair.

 

[Gnarlene]

Early images stripped and ready for painting.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

This one is a comparison chart mapping the torque and horsepower curves between the Isuzu 4BD2TC and the Cummins 4BT.
View attachment 902393

I've never seen a chart like that before, that's awesome! That chart is done with the stock 4BT tune and with the lowest power output variant of the 4BT (CPL 858 for example). Changing out the governor spring in the 4BT would flatten out the torque curve a bit and allow power to climb higher, but that's neither here nor there.

Looking forward to the rest!