Ideas for improving the 2LTE (3 Viewers)

[Ivan Drago]

Hi guys, I have a different car, but the same engine. It's a Toyota mark II, on this vehicle this engine doesn't have so many problems with overheating and cranking head. I noticed that the later Toyota diesel engine 1kzte, with more volume (3.0 liters), supplied with a smaller turbo (it's marked as CT12). Suppose that the stock turbo is much oversized for 2lte engine, so it spools very late. Does anybody have an experience of changing CT20 to another smaller turbo such as ct12 or similar?

 

[GTSSportCoupe]

Hi guys, I have a different car, but the same engine. It's a Toyota mark II, on this vehicle this engine doesn't have so many problems with overheating and cranking head. I noticed that the later Toyota diesel engine 1kzte, with more volume (3.0 liters), supplied with a smaller turbo (it's marked as CT12). Suppose that the stock turbo is much oversized for 2lte engine, so it spools very late. Does anybody have an experience of changing CT20 to another smaller turbo such as ct12 or similar?

Your english is great! Sometimes I read russian landcruiser websites and rely on Google Chrome to translate. I'd be lost otherwise.

I've wondered the same thing about the CT12B on a 2LTE, but have not found any actual examples.

I have a CT12B sitting on my bench. The compressor is larger than the CT20, but the turbine is a bit smaller. So the CT12B might spool a little bit faster, but I'm afraid the compressor might surge at high boost low rpm. It also has a smaller shaft than the CT20, so is weaker and cannot handle high boost. Right now I'm running 20psi on my 2LTE CT20 with no problems. Apparently the CT12B cannot handle this for very long.

How about you try the Mitsubishi TD04L-13T-6? It is from the Subaru WRX. It would spool much faster, and is more efficient. People use it on the Toyota 3B diesel with excellent success. 2LTE is a little smaller, but I think it flows better and would do fine.

 

[gerg]

I'd have to second the 13t. Given how well it spools on the 3b I think it would still be quite responsive on a 2.4l. I'm thinking it would start boosting around 1800rpm ? Is that in a reasonable range?

 

[Ivan Drago]

TD04L-13T-6 might be a good option for me, but for stage 2 of my setup.
For stage 1 I'm going to do such things:

1. boost sensor + manual boost controller
2. front mount intercooler
3. Egt sensor
4. removing a throttle plate

My EGR has already been muffled, but I haven't removed all the pipes, is it necessary?

I'd have to second the 13t. Given how well it spools on the 3b I think it would still be quite responsive on a 2.4l. I'm thinking it would start boosting around 1800rpm? Is that in a reasonable range?

By my senses, my stock turbo starts boosting about 2200rpm, and the engine's max power is about 3000rpm, so it's a very short interval of a pleasurable drive, it would be great to start boosting from 1800rpm.
As I see, ct20 has a big square hole on the of hot part intake, but ct12 or TD04L-13T-6, has a round hole, so it leads to producing an adapter plate or something like that.

Your english is great! Sometimes I read russian landcruiser websites and rely on Google Chrome to translate. I'd be lost otherwise.

Thank's, it was rather exciting to write on an English speaking forum for the first time.

Right now I'm running 20psi on my 2LTE CT20 with no problems. Apparently the CT12B cannot handle this for very long.

I've heard that 2LTE EFI doesn't understand more than 1 bar (14.5 psi) of boost, is it right? Are you using a bleed off valve to make EFI think that it's only a 1 bar boost?

Thank you guys, in my place the 2LTE engine is considered as awful, and every Landcruiser or Surf (4runner) driver seeks to swap it to 1KZTE. So nobody has experience in improving it.

And one more thing... Toyota 3CT engine, which is similar by volume to 2LTE (2.2 liters to 2.4 liters) also uses CT12 turbo.

 

[GTSSportCoupe]

TD04L-13T-6 might be a good option for me, but for stage 2 of my setup.
For stage 1 I'm going to do such things:

1. boost sensor + manual boost controller
2. front mount intercooler
3. Egt sensor
4. removing a throttle plate

Good plan. These things will really wake up your engine; especially if you tune it to match the upgrades. In the landcruiser, the 2LTE makes about 45hp at the rear wheels (lots of drivetrain loss) from the factory. With the modifications I've made (same as your plans), I have about 100hp and 170ft/lb at the rear wheels now. This makes a very big difference; like a whole different engine. My landcruiser is about 2300kg. Your car is much lighter. This same power in your car will be excellent! I think my engine is around 130-140hp at the crankshaft and about 230-240ft/lb.

My EGR has already been muffled, but I haven't removed all the pipes, is it necessary?

No, removing the pipes is not necessary if you've already blocked them off. However it does clean up the engine bay nicely.

By my senses, my stock turbo starts boosting about 2200rpm, and the engine's max power is about 3000rpm, so it's a very short interval of a pleasurable drive, it would be great to start boosting from 1800rpm.
As I see, ct20 has a big square hole on the of hot part intake, but ct12 or TD04L-13T-6, has a round hole, so it leads to producing an adapter plate or something like that.

With intercooler/exhaust and tune up, I have 17psi at 2150rpm with the CT20. But yes, the TD04L would be earlier still. I think it would make a big difference.

You will have to make an adapter something similar to this to go from square to round:

I've heard that 2LTE EFI doesn't understand more than 1 bar (14.5 psi) of boost, is it right? Are you using a bleed off valve to make EFI think that it's only a 1 bar boost?

Yes, you are right. I use an adjustable air bleed valve. However you can also use a resistor and zener diode on the boost sensor output to limit the voltage. I don't remember the exact parts right now, but if you are interested I can look into it.

The air bleed is better for tuning a smoother fuel curve.

Thank you guys, in my place the 2LTE engine is considered as awful, and every Landcruiser or Surf (4runner) driver seeks to swap it to 1KZTE. So nobody has experience in improving it.

The engine can be fine when tuned up. The major flaw is the early cylinder head is very prone to cracking. What year is your engine? The later engines have better cylinder heads. The main thing is do not overheat it. Other than the cylinder head, I think the motor is just fine.

And one more thing... Toyota 3CT engine, which is similar by volume to 2LTE (2.2 liters to 2.4 liters) also uses CT12 turbo.

The 3CTE has a CT-9 turbo. It's much smaller than the CT-12. In fact, the last generation of 2LTE also came with a CT-9. The CT-9 will spool much faster, but run out of breath quickly I think.

 

[Ivan Drago]

The engine can be fine when tuned up. The major flaw is the early cylinder head is very prone to cracking. What year is your engine? The later engines have better cylinder heads. The main thing is do not overheat it. Other than the cylinder head, I think the motor is just fine.

My car was manufactured in 1994, odometer shows about 200,000 kilometers. Knowing about the danger of head crack, I changed the radiator to the brand new one.

I also want to install an additional radiator for ATF, on hot, my automatic gearbox starts to shift with lag.

Due to much snow, I use this car for a summer season drive, starting from May till the end of October. For the rest time, I drive a Suzuki Escudo (Vitara) 93'

I'll report about my mods of 2LTE, I hope, I'll start them in about a month.

Toyota Mark II is a very popular car in my region, but with a diesel engine it is a very rare edition, often when I stop on traffic lights, other drivers say to me "Hey, it's something wrong with your engine, I saw a cloud of black smoke from your exhaust". ))

 

[GTSSportCoupe]

My car was manufactured in 1994, odometer shows about 200,000 kilometers. Knowing about the danger of head crack, I changed the radiator to the brand new one.

I also want to install an additional radiator for ATF, on hot, my automatic gearbox starts to shift with lag.

Due to much snow, I use this car for a summer season drive, starting from May till the end of October. For the rest time, I drive a Suzuki Escudo (Vitara) 93'

I'll report about my mods of 2LTE, I hope, I'll start them in about a month.

Toyota Mark II is a very popular car in my region, but with a diesel engine it is a very rare edition, often when I stop on traffic lights, other drivers say to me "Hey, it's something wrong with your engine, I saw a cloud of black smoke from your exhaust". ))

Maybe your transmission needs ATF flush? I found it makes a nice difference on mine. Because I tow, I flush ATF every two years. It takes about 15 litres.

Your 2LTE might have the better head already. Especially if it's already gone 200,000 km on the first one! Can you post some pictures of your car and engine? Do you have it on www.drive2.ru?

 

[Ivan Drago]

Maybe your transmission needs ATF flush? I found it makes a nice difference on mine. Because I tow, I flush ATF every two years. It takes about 15 litres.

Your 2LTE might have the better head already. Especially if it's already gone 200,000 km on the first one! Can you post some pictures of your car and engine? Do you have it on www.drive2.ru?

ATF was totally changed, due to my gearbox was repaired. As shift lag starts after a long distance climb, I think that ATF heats too much and looses it's friction properties. Maybe oil to air cooler would be a good solution.

I'll make some photos when I get to my car, which stays in the garage. The snow has just started to melt, and maybe next week I'll have an option to open my garage door.
I don't have an account on drive2.ru but maybe it's a good idea to start posting there.

 

[Vossie]

howzit all. been re reading through this thread as i have recently acquired a 1st gen surf /4runner with the early side cam 2L-T.
engine is going through a complete rebuild. new liners, pistons, bearings, crank shaft (previous cracked), re conned head (previous badly cracked) etc.
plan is to put a 2.5" exhaust right through for better breathing, as well as an egr gauge as well as boost gauge.

my question is how much of the 2L-TE improvements like the throttle plate and egr carry over to the early 2L-T, if any?

 

[GTSSportCoupe]

howzit all. been re reading through this thread as i have recently acquired a 1st gen surf /4runner with the early side cam 2L-T.
engine is going through a complete rebuild. new liners, pistons, bearings, crank shaft (previous cracked), re conned head (previous badly cracked) etc.
plan is to put a 2.5" exhaust right through for better breathing, as well as an egr gauge as well as boost gauge.

my question is how much of the 2L-TE improvements like the throttle plate and egr carry over to the early 2L-T, if any?

The same concepts all apply. Getting rid of the EGR is great for keeping crud out of the motor. Vent your PCV to a catch can or atmosphere too. Scrapping the throttle plate is still a great idea as it's only there for the EGR system anyhow.

Larger exhaust and gauges are also still great things. Basically getting more air into that motor is all good as it drops the EGT's. High EGT's and coolant temps are what you want to avoid.

 

[Tyler9537]

Had my 2LTII pump bench tested before reassemble and install.

Stock was 75cc per 1000 strokes. I had it "turned up" to 120cc per 1000 strokes. I was told that was as much as it would do before run away.

I have no idea how that compares to other engines or pumps.

 

[dare]

Thanks for sharing. Is that a 10mm VE rotary pump?

 

[Tyler9537]

Thanks for sharing. Is that a 10mm VE rotary pump?

That's correct.

 

[GTSSportCoupe]

Had my 2LTII pump bench tested before reassemble and install.

Stock was 75cc per 1000 strokes. I had it "turned up" to 120cc per 1000 strokes. I was told that was as much as it would do before run away.

I have no idea how that compares to other engines or pumps.

That's really cool to know. So it's capable of about 60% more fuel than the factory setting. I've maxed my 2LTE pump out, and figured my hp was around 140-150 at the crank. Seems to add up.

You're going to need a really good intercooler and about 20psi to burn all that fuel BTW! Hopefully they carefully tweaked the boost comp for you so that your motor gets the fuel when it needs it and not before.

 

[Flatoot]

First off, thank you to everyone's input into this thread. I've read it at least twice now, glad to see it's still going.

I've got a 2L non turbo hilux so I'm looking forward to fitting my 2LTll, getting some boost in my life and putting all those things everyone has taught me into practice.

I got carried away and have ported my CT20 in every way I could think of and took all the lumps out of my manifolds also, to try to increase spool, if not increase flow throughout the rev range. Inspired by Terry syd and roadrunners threads on the Aussie forum.

They're worth a read if anyone hasn't read them before.

TERRY SYD'S

http://www.toyotasurf.asn.au/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15826&highlight=ct20+differences

ROADRUNNERS

https://toyotasurf.asn.au/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=19450

 

[EastCoast]

does anyone know the high pressure hose numbers (high and low side actually) for the A/C on the LJ78 2LTE motor?

Mine has QUITE a leak. lost all the refrigerant through a leak on the high pressure side... Engine compartment is nicely speckled with green leak detector... so, I’m going to replace the hoses and try again. I searched for a more specific thread first, but having found none, I’m back here to the excellent 2LTE thread. Thanks in Advance.

 

[Jemjem787]

Hey guys, i just picked up a 91 Hilux Surf 2.4L 2LTE up in canada, and want to run a few things by the pros. I have almost 0 history of the vehicle, so i'm planning to do a refresh on literally everything. If anyone could give me some advice to go over the vehicle that would be dope.


Here is what i know. No receipts for anything of course but the seller seemed like an OK guy so i trust him.
- New timing belt
- New water pump
- 3L Head with new gasket

Here are some issues i have noticed
- Steering box leaks
- s*** ton of smoke on startup
- Turbo spools up and hovers around 5PSI for a bit, but then goes up to 9 after a while
- Have to warm up the glow plugs at least 3 times before i can start it

So far the mods i have done are:
- Blocked off the EGR system
- Removed throttle butterfly
- Installed Turbo Gauge

The next work i am going to do is
- EGT Gauge pre turbo?, unsure where to put it yet, but im not doing anything without a ton of research
- Install a new thermostat, i was recommended this one however including shipping from AUS it would cost about $100 CAD and that seems a bit ridiculous, are there any other good ones to pick from?
- Manual boost controller.
- Redo all the fluids. Such as Bleeding the breaks, oil change, new coolant/rad cap, power steering fluid, transmission fluid, (am i missing anything?) I don't have any sort of guides, so i would need to figure out what the best liquids to replace it would be.
- I read on a post here to service the viscous fan hub, i haven't looked into it at all, and have no idea what that even is, but i will be looking into it as the poster seemed knowledgeable.
- In this post the guy mentions drilling out the boost compensatory? He mentioned he found the idea on the surf forums but i have been unable to find that specific thread.
- Eventually install an intercooler and toss the PSI up to something like 14

 

[Canigetanamen]

Just like JemJem787, I recently got a ‘92 Surf with the 2LTE. I’ve done the EGR delete and have been reading on the Aus surf forum. I would really like to see some engine bay pics etc to get an idea of what other things to plan for. I know the list but it really helps to have a visual. I would love to see some pics of what you have done GTSSportCoupe and/or anyone else who has done an extensive upgrade list. If there’s a thread I need to go to please let me know. Thanks in advance!!!

 

[Flatoot]

Hi Jemjem.

Sounds like you're off to a good start with the previous owners maintenance and your mods.

First thing to try would be to change your heater plugs, that should hopefully clear up your smoke on start up and only need one heat to start. You can test if the relay and wiring is working by checking power at the heater plugs with a multi meter preferably or a bulb and a couple of wires would give a good enough idea.

I recently bought that Tridon high flow thermostat I think you're referencing. I think it's a scam personally. What I received is a 88'c thermostat with Motorad stamped on it in Tridon packaging. And from what I can see comparing Tridons pictures on the internet looks identical to what I received, so you could likely just buy a Motorad thermostat and save yourself a lot of money.

https://toyotasurf.asn.au/forum/viewtopic.php?f=63&t=8972&sid=f3c03b2c3760f10c4a362673ac110e47&start=0

This might be the thread your looking for about drilling out the lid? If you do drill it out, you should see improved throttle response and low rev performance rather than any more peak power. You can do this mod without the need for a EGT gauge yet since it doesn't alter boost or fuel.

I'd also like to see any pictures of people's engine bays if anyone wants to post them with a spec list?

 

[Jemjem787]

Hi Jemjem.

Sounds like you're off to a good start with the previous owners maintenance and your mods.

First thing to try would be to change your heater plugs, that should hopefully clear up your smoke on start up and only need one heat to start. You can test if the relay and wiring is working by checking power at the heater plugs with a multi meter preferably or a bulb and a couple of wires would give a good enough idea.

I recently bought that Tridon high flow thermostat I think you're referencing. I think it's a scam personally. What I received is a 88'c thermostat with Motorad stamped on it in Tridon packaging. And from what I can see comparing Tridons pictures on the internet looks identical to what I received, so you could likely just buy a Motorad thermostat and save yourself a lot of money.

https://toyotasurf.asn.au/forum/viewtopic.php?f=63&t=8972&sid=f3c03b2c3760f10c4a362673ac110e47&start=0

This might be the thread your looking for about drilling out the lid? If you do drill it out, you should see improved throttle response and low rev performance rather than any more peak power. You can do this mod without the need for a EGT gauge yet since it doesn't alter boost or fuel.

I'd also like to see any pictures of people's engine bays if anyone wants to post them with a spec list?

I wasn't aware that the glowplugs effected smoke, that's on my list to do for sure now.

For the thermostat, are you pretty familiar with them? Is it a one size fits all kind of deal? I'm unable to find one that fits.

Ill take some pictures next time i am near the car.