Builds Ikarus' HDJ81 Aussie-Style Build (5 Viewers)

[FMC80]

I gave up on it for a bit. Here's a little update -

So I had a buddy (aerospace welder, good connection to have) cut, shorten and reweld the inlet on the airbox at a slight angle. Then I chopped the snorkel to get the two to connect and.... didn't work. No matter what I tried I just couldn't get them to line up properly.

I asked around in some Australian FB groups and the common consensus was that you need to buy your airbox and snorkel from the same company. Except in this case PDI doesn't make a snorkel and just about everyone on there said they don't like the Radius airbox. And on top of that, everyone agreed that the Radius template is bad. haha. I just hit up PDI this morning to ask them if they have a preferred snorkel to go with their intake. I'd love to keep the PDI airbox with the 200 series filter vs a pod filter that other brands use.

So I did more research and this is what I've come up with - I think a "short entry" or "mid entry" is much more forgiving. The long entry has to line up properly or it won't work. There's very little wiggle room between a metal snorkel and metal airbox with a short piece of straight silicone joining them.

The short entry on the other hand, goes into the fender, then straight forward where it is joined to the airbox with a 90° silicone elbow.

Did my best to sketch it out, hope that makes sense:

The other funny thing about the Aussies is how readily available parts are there. Bunch of guys were like "oh yeah, I ruined my fender trying to fit a snorkel. Grabbed a new fender and tried again." Needless to say we don't quite have that luxury here in the US though I was able to track down a couple fenders relatively easy.

I found a local junkyard fender from a 93 and threw it on:

Every time I've had my cruiser disassembled it gets me thinking I need a daily. So I started looking at Tundras and almost bought a TRD Pro. They're pretty sick. The amount of power and modern creature comforts really got me

I was about to put down a deposit when I realized I should look up the Tundra forum and get some opinions from real world drivers.

Man, it's crazy over there, I had no idea. Lots of trucks are fine obviously but they have a laundry list of problems. I think they have a thread with 20+ issues from engine failures (40+ verified just from that forum alone) to dead throttle pedals in the middle of intersections to interior trim breaking, brake pad replacements after 10K, wind noise, rattles, water leaks, you name it. I was blown away haha. Makes me wonder how the 250 launch is going to go... too many things relying on a small displacement engine with excessive computerization in my opinion. Tundras are built in Alabama though, not Japan.

The engines are the craziest, no one knows exactly what's going on but I guess it's a lot of spun main bearings. Toyota won't say anything. There are pics of year old trucks on flat beds, tundras in the shop with the body lifted off cause it's impossible to work on otherwise.

Anyway I should save that for the 250 section and go start some fights hahah

Long story short a local lease turn in showed up and I jumped on it just a few hours after they posted it. '21 Tundra TRD Sport, old man special, 6K miles, brand new inside. My wife says I have to lift it and get some bigger tires cause it makes us look "geriatric." Last of the V8s. Stoked! Trying to resist the urge to supercharge it.

And the best part - half the price of a new tundra. Vehicles are getting expensive these days!!

Took it on a little road trip to CO to pick up some land cruiser parts. Got a new driver and passenger side fender. So now I have 2x spare driver fenders, 1x chopped up, and 1x spare passenger side fender. Just in case. I'm getting to that phase of old car ownership where I start buying things that I know will just get more and more rare

I'm really impressed with the Tundra. Awesome truck. 38 gallon gas tank makes for a huge range even at 15 mpg. But mostly I'm glad that the 81 can be a dedicated offroad cruiser now and doesn't have any daily duties. Every time I had to take it on short cold trips I cringed at what I might be doing to the engine

Little detour through Dinosaur NM. Beautiful part of the state I'm going to come back to with the cruiser. Lots of trails I need to check out.

That's my update for now. I have a lot to do this spring and summer - I just went on a Partsouq shopping spree.

Great update. I saw the same things on the Tundra forum when I was looking for trucks. The sheer amount of issues across the entire platform was unbelievable. Hard pass for me too.

 

[ikarus]

Great update. I saw the same things on the Tundra forum when I was looking for trucks. The sheer amount of issues across the entire platform was unbelievable. Hard pass for me too.

Disappointing right? Even if you only got hit with the minor issues you'd still be visiting the dealership for all the recalls. New recall on the transmission just last week.

What did you end up buying?

 

[Restohunter]

I gave up on it for a bit. Here's a little update -

So I had a buddy (aerospace welder, good connection to have) cut, shorten and reweld the inlet on the airbox at a slight angle. Then I chopped the snorkel to get the two to connect and.... didn't work. No matter what I tried I just couldn't get them to line up properly.

I asked around in some Australian FB groups and the common consensus was that you need to buy your airbox and snorkel from the same company. Except in this case PDI doesn't make a snorkel and just about everyone on there said they don't like the Radius airbox. And on top of that, everyone agreed that the Radius template is bad. haha. I just hit up PDI this morning to ask them if they have a preferred snorkel to go with their intake. I'd love to keep the PDI airbox with the 200 series filter vs a pod filter that other brands use.

So I did more research and this is what I've come up with - I think a "short entry" or "mid entry" is much more forgiving. The long entry has to line up properly or it won't work. There's very little wiggle room between a metal snorkel and metal airbox with a short piece of straight silicone joining them.

The short entry on the other hand, goes into the fender, then straight forward where it is joined to the airbox with a 90° silicone elbow.

Did my best to sketch it out, hope that makes sense:

The other funny thing about the Aussies is how readily available parts are there. Bunch of guys were like "oh yeah, I ruined my fender trying to fit a snorkel. Grabbed a new fender and tried again." Needless to say we don't quite have that luxury here in the US though I was able to track down a couple fenders relatively easy.

I found a local junkyard fender from a 93 and threw it on:

Every time I've had my cruiser disassembled it gets me thinking I need a daily. So I started looking at Tundras and almost bought a TRD Pro. They're pretty sick. The amount of power and modern creature comforts really got me

I was about to put down a deposit when I realized I should look up the Tundra forum and get some opinions from real world drivers.

Man, it's crazy over there, I had no idea. Lots of trucks are fine obviously but they have a laundry list of problems. I think they have a thread with 20+ issues from engine failures (40+ verified just from that forum alone) to dead throttle pedals in the middle of intersections to interior trim breaking, brake pad replacements after 10K, wind noise, rattles, water leaks, you name it. I was blown away haha. Makes me wonder how the 250 launch is going to go... too many things relying on a small displacement engine with excessive computerization in my opinion. Tundras are built in Alabama though, not Japan.

The engines are the craziest, no one knows exactly what's going on but I guess it's a lot of spun main bearings. Toyota won't say anything. There are pics of year old trucks on flat beds, tundras in the shop with the body lifted off cause it's impossible to work on otherwise.

Anyway I should save that for the 250 section and go start some fights hahah

Long story short a local lease turn in showed up and I jumped on it just a few hours after they posted it. '21 Tundra TRD Sport, old man special, 6K miles, brand new inside. My wife says I have to lift it and get some bigger tires cause it makes us look "geriatric." Last of the V8s. Stoked! Trying to resist the urge to supercharge it.

And the best part - half the price of a new tundra. Vehicles are getting expensive these days!!

Took it on a little road trip to CO to pick up some land cruiser parts. Got a new driver and passenger side fender. So now I have 2x spare driver fenders, 1x chopped up, and 1x spare passenger side fender. Just in case. I'm getting to that phase of old car ownership where I start buying things that I know will just get more and more rare

I'm really impressed with the Tundra. Awesome truck. 38 gallon gas tank makes for a huge range even at 15 mpg. But mostly I'm glad that the 81 can be a dedicated offroad cruiser now and doesn't have any daily duties. Every time I had to take it on short cold trips I cringed at what I might be doing to the engine

Little detour through Dinosaur NM. Beautiful part of the state I'm going to come back to with the cruiser. Lots of trails I need to check out.

That's my update for now. I have a lot to do this spring and summer - I just went on a Partsouq shopping spree.

Funnily enough I just emailed PDI about this same thing today as I'm thinking of hopping on the snorkel train. Do you think the problem would be non-existent if you went for the short entry from Radius Fab? I really like the PDI airbox and love their intercooler so would enjoy sticking with them. Plus not having to ship to items from AUS is always better on the wallet. Only other option for panel filter airbox and snorkel manufacturer seems to be Moonlight 4wd. Theirs uses a Duramax 6.6L filter. As for the Tundra, congrats man! I'll have to show it to my neighbor who keeps saying he's close to buying one, maybe it'll be the push he needs lol. Clean build as always!

 

[FMC80]

Disappointing right? Even if you only got hit with the minor issues you'd still be visiting the dealership for all the recalls. New recall on the transmission just last week.

What did you end up buying?

Quite disappointing. It appears to be a departure from the norm. I don’t have the stats to compare previous generations but it seems that way.
I ended up buying a year old F350 diesel. I tow my cruiser here and there and my girls want me to tow their horses all over God’s creation. Figured a 350 should be up to task.

 

[ikarus]

Funnily enough I just emailed PDI about this same thing today as I'm thinking of hopping on the snorkel train. Do you think the problem would be non-existent if you went for the short entry from Radius Fab? I really like the PDI airbox and love their intercooler so would enjoy sticking with them. Plus not having to ship to items from AUS is always better on the wallet. Only other option for panel filter airbox and snorkel manufacturer seems to be Moonlight 4wd. Theirs uses a Duramax 6.6L filter. As for the Tundra, congrats man! I'll have to show it to my neighbor who keeps saying he's close to buying one, maybe it'll be the push he needs lol. Clean build as always!

I think so. But not 100%. I need to look around on FB and see if I can find anyone with that combo. You should do it and let me know how it goes! I'm not as enthusiastic about cutting up another fender now. haha. I'll give it a couple months.

But yes in theory it seems like it should work fine. Check out this video for a better look at how the shorter snorkels are installed:



Torfab also makes a panel filter airbox. They say they can do a custom option for a snorkel too, might be something to look into. They do have a disclaimer that it might not work with cruise control on a RHD.

Diesel Air Box » Torfab » The NW destination for Everything Land Cruisers parts and service, including complete one-off custom built Cruisers, maintenance, suspension, and expedition builds

The NW destination for Everything Land Cruisers parts and service, including complete one-off custom built Cruisers, maintenance, suspension, and expedition builds

torfab.com

 

[bozncsurf]

@ikarus

Clearly I missed it ... but when did you get rid of the 6 spd taco?

I’ve been shopping for a crew max tundra with a column shifter and front bench seat with center console delete in MGM, so you know I’m loving your new ride ( Unfortunately I think the base model I’m interested in only comes with the smaller gas tank )

Call me slow to change but I think you made a great decision. You’re no stranger to crying at the pump but had you gone the new route it would be quite frustrating to leave your very new (and very expensive) tundra at the dealership with long lead times and in some cases no solution while it depreciates and you make payments (if financed)

Sadly I agree and feel pretty confident the new taco, 250, and soon to come 4runner will all have lots of kinks to work out as well

Always enjoy your threads and miss you over on the 100 series forum. Not sure if the guys over here in the 80 section know it after 25 pages in this thread but just in case they missed it:

***Note to all subscribers of this thread ikarus is an enabler!

I’m still dragging around that Slee dual swing out you convinced me to buy years ago

 

[ikarus]

@ikarus

Clearly I missed it ... but when did you get rid of the 6 spd taco?

I’ve been shopping for a crew max tundra with a column shifter and front bench seat with center console delete in MGM, so you know I’m loving your new ride ( Unfortunately I think the base model I’m interested in only comes with the smaller gas tank )

Call me slow to change but I think you made a great decision. You’re no stranger to crying at the pump but had you gone the new route it would be quite frustrating to leave your very new (and very expensive) tundra at the dealership with long lead times and in some cases no solution while it depreciates and you make payments (if financed)

Sadly I agree and feel pretty confident the new taco, 250, and soon to come 4runner will all have lots of kinks to work out as well

Always enjoy your threads and miss you over on the 100 series forum. Not sure if the guys over here in the 80 section know it after 25 pages in this thread but just in case they missed it:

***Note to all subscribers of this thread ikarus is an enabler!

I’m still dragging around that Slee dual swing out you convinced me to buy years ago

what's up dude!

Got rid of the Taco last year. I liked it a lot and the 6 speed was fun. I was so close to supercharging it and going long travel but decided to put those funds into this 80 instead. Tacos are cool but just have a few flaws that were annoying me and an 80 is a better money pit believe it or not. haha

Good luck on the Tundra search, they're great trucks. And MGM is an amazing color, can't believe it's my first time owning something in that color. And yes, I was specifically looking for a center console shift with the large tank. I assume you need the additional passenger space?

As far as the latest generation of trucks, yeah it's funny I found myself looking at Toyota's website building a 4runner, thinking I should get a 5th gen before they go away. hahah and I don't even like 4runners. But I'm looking at them in a new light now: Japanese built, solid powertrain, body on frame. Or maybe a GX460.

And yes I might enable a little but it's for the best I promise, you deserve it. haha how's the bumper holding up? I was just looking at bumpers for this but haven't decided yet. Leaning Dissent.

 

[ikarus]

Funnily enough I just emailed PDI about this same thing today as I'm thinking of hopping on the snorkel train. Do you think the problem would be non-existent if you went for the short entry from Radius Fab? I really like the PDI airbox and love their intercooler so would enjoy sticking with them. Plus not having to ship to items from AUS is always better on the wallet. Only other option for panel filter airbox and snorkel manufacturer seems to be Moonlight 4wd. Theirs uses a Duramax 6.6L filter. As for the Tundra, congrats man! I'll have to show it to my neighbor who keeps saying he's close to buying one, maybe it'll be the push he needs lol. Clean build as always!

I just got a response, did you?

"I’ve had a look at the radius fab boxes and the short entry design looks the goods. Just need to make sure they have a flexible elbow that goes onto a 4” entry for airbox.

FYI the PDI airbox entry is parallel with the front of the car and sits in the middle of the rectangular opening in the inner guard."

 

[Restohunter]

Looks like he copy and pasted the same response to both of us haha. I’ll probably give Torfab a call today about their airbox and then weigh the decision between them or PDI but either way going to give it a go with the short entry and hope for the best. If I go the PDI route might try and see if I can get them to ship over some parts from Rampt customs to brace certain parts of the 80 instead of doing two separate freights over here. If you like anything from them I can keep you posted and you can hop on my order

 

[ikarus]

Looks like he copy and pasted the same response to both of us haha. I’ll probably give Torfab a call today about their airbox and then weigh the decision between them or PDI but either way going to give it a go with the short entry and hope for the best. If I go the PDI route might try and see if I can get them to ship over some parts from Rampt customs to brace certain parts of the 80 instead of doing two separate freights over here. If you like anything from them I can keep you posted and you can hop on my order

Nice, yeah let me know, I appreciate the offer. What are you buying from Rampt? I actually just bought the PDI brake booster as well.

 

[Jorgito]

I just called PDI if they have any recommendation for the snorkel to fit the PDI airbox, they did not have any answer for that.

 

[ikarus]

I just called PDI if they have any recommendation for the snorkel to fit the PDI airbox, they did not have any answer for that.

I think I'm going to try a short entry Radius. I'll let you know how it goes

 

[ikarus]

Alright my Partsouq orders have been rolling in. I'm hoping for some sort of Partsouq Diamond Medallion loyalty program and my wife is hoping for some sort of land cruiser AA program

I still have a few more Amayama orders showing up this week too. I think I've just been reading too much of @logicbyondreaso 's great build thread. Too clean

I had saved up for lockers, sliders and/or bumpers but I was reading up on the discontinued parts thread and decided to shift my focus for now at least on refreshing and replacing OEM parts while I still can. I figure aftermarket lockers and bumpers will probably stick around longer than some of these OEM parts.

I also picked up a spare '97 steering box from Japan. Kind of an impulse buy and relatively cheap, but you don't see this exact spec with the steering sensitivity solenoid very often. Not sure which route I'll take. My current steering box is fine but maybe I'll rebuild this or my current box, or buy a 105 box since they're still available new. I believe I would need to change my steering shaft though, as theses JDM boxes are either too short or too long, can't remember.

 

[duece71]

Alright my Partsouq orders have been rolling in. I'm hoping for some sort of Partsouq Diamond Medallion loyalty program and my wife is hoping for some sort of land cruiser AA program

I still have a few more Amayama orders showing up this week too. I think I've just been reading too much of @logicbyondreaso 's great build thread. Too clean

I had saved up for lockers, sliders and/or bumpers but I was reading up on the discontinued parts thread and decided to shift my focus for now at least on refreshing and replacing OEM parts while I still can. I figure aftermarket lockers and bumpers will probably stick around longer than some of these OEM parts.

I also picked up a spare '97 steering box from Japan. Kind of an impulse buy and relatively cheap, but you don't see this exact spec with the steering sensitivity solenoid very often. Not sure which route I'll take. My current steering box is fine but maybe I'll rebuild this or my current box, or buy a 105 box since they're still available new. I believe I would need to change my steering shaft though, as theses JDM boxes are either too short or too long, can't remember.

Hoooweeee, that’s a lot of parts! I wish Partsouq had some sort of loyalty points program, only that would probably NOT help with parts accumulation syndrome/impluse buy illness. I too am thinking of picking up a spare steering box. The 105 box seems to be available here and there and I think I a direct bolt on?

 

[ikarus]

Hoooweeee, that’s a lot of parts! I wish Partsouq had some sort of loyalty points program, only that would probably NOT help with parts accumulation syndrome/impluse buy illness. I too am thinking of picking up a spare steering box. The 105 box seems to be available here and there and I think I a direct bolt on?

Yes as far as I know, search this group for "105 Steering Box" and there are lots of posts saying it bolts right up:

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The only catch is if you have this solenoid on top, I think it's called a speed sensitive steering solenoid or something like that. I believe it only came on the higher trim JDM / VX Limited. Makes it easy to turn the wheels at low speeds, and firms up at highway speeds.

Additionally, the solenoid housing where the steering shaft connects seems be a different length vs standard boxes. You can see mine compared to this pic from @Box Rocket. But it does look like that entire back end unbolts... so I imagine to delete it the solenoid, you could just swap out that rear end and the steering shaft connection... not sure.

There are several threads on here discussing it, and talk of the lines being different:

Steering Box Oddity

Can anyone educate me on what this is on my JDM HDJ80 Steering Box? It’s definitely not on my FZJ80.

forum.ih8mud.com

You'd have to go look at the steering box and see if you have that solenoid on top. I'm not sure what year they started using it.

Of course if anyone knows better than me, chime in, I haven't done too much research. I'm not ready to make the jump to a 105 box quite yet.

105 box looks like about $1600 shipped to the US:

Toyota 44110-60202 (4411060202) GEAR ASSY, POWER STEERING

Toyota 44110-60202 (4411060202) GEAR ASSY, POWER STEERING. New & genuine Japanese car parts. Fast shipping. Low prices. Request a quote from Amayama Trading Co. online.

www.amayama.com

 

[duece71]

Yes as far as I know, search this group for "105 Steering Box" and there are lots of posts saying it bolts right up:

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The only catch is if you have this solenoid on top, I think it's called a speed sensitive steering solenoid or something like that. I believe it only came on the higher trim JDM / VX Limited. Makes it easy to turn the wheels at low speeds, and firms up at highway speeds.

Additionally, the solenoid housing where the steering shaft connects seems be a different length vs standard boxes. You can see mine compared to this pic from @Box Rocket. But it does look like that entire back end unbolts... so I imagine to delete it the solenoid, you could just swap out that rear end and the steering shaft connection... not sure.

There are several threads on here discussing it, and talk of the lines being different:

Steering Box Oddity

Can anyone educate me on what this is on my JDM HDJ80 Steering Box? It’s definitely not on my FZJ80.

forum.ih8mud.com

You'd have to go look at the steering box and see if you have that solenoid on top. I'm not sure what year they started using it.

Of course if anyone knows better than me, chime in, I haven't done too much research. I'm not ready to make the jump to a 105 box quite yet.

105 box looks like about $1600 shipped to the US:

Toyota 44110-60202 (4411060202) GEAR ASSY, POWER STEERING

Toyota 44110-60202 (4411060202) GEAR ASSY, POWER STEERING. New & genuine Japanese car parts. Fast shipping. Low prices. Request a quote from Amayama Trading Co. online.

www.amayama.com

Cool, I will check everything out. I am pretty sure I don’t have the solenoid on top but I could be wrong. 1990 was the first year in Japan for the 80 series so I will look and check.

 

[Box Rocket]

Interesting. I've never seen the speed sensitive steering solenoid. Kinda cool.

 

[ikarus]

Interesting. I've never seen the speed sensitive steering solenoid. Kinda cool.

I want to drive a standard 80 and this back to back and see how noticeable the difference is

 

[duece71]

I want to drive a standard 80 and this back to back and see how noticeable the difference is

I wouldnt mind feeling how the steering would be without power steering. Could be quite a workout off road.

 

[suzuguru]

I need to get a list going so I can make sure I have parts for my HDJ80 in the future when the need arrives. Might not be available when I need them.

Out of curiosity, how fast can you comfortably drive that 1HD-FT on the interstate/hwy? There's one in Cali I'm thinking about buying and driving back to Tennessee.