Jack's " I have no idea how to forum" thread about a turbo '96 LX450
- Thread starter toyotaaddict83
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I had the same wiring rats nest bs in my lx450. It had an aftermarket stereo with tons of wires too long and went everywhere. It also had an aftermarket viper alarm with remote start which was cool until the remote broke and the car alarm kept going off. You can try to source a factory alarm fob and program it to lock/unlock your doors that's what I had to do after ripping that crap out. Good luck!
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- #23
The only flaw with owning a LX... having to tolerate all of those street mods. Lame sauce. Thanks for the motivation, I hope I can start with the fun parts of the build soon.
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- #24
For whomever may have a bit of interest in my build or just needs something to read at work... Update time! 
After removing the head, I made a few phone calls to local machine shops in search of a quote for a hot bath, decking and valve seal replacement. If memory serves me correctly, which is unlikely, I recall only requesting a hot bath and decking and completely neglected the valve seals. I called three different places and received estimates of $100-$200, so I naturally agreed to the less expensive option. I brought my parts in the next day and was presented with a quote $220 for a hot bath of both the valve cover and head, as well as a decking and once over of the head, plus the replacement of the valve seals. Plus a good old confidence booster of "Ill give you a call if there is anything wrong or broken"
.
A couple days pass as I am installing my new parts, then I receive the call......... everything is ready to be picked up. Wooooh!!!!
Nothing was warped or cracked and everything is good to go! The final bill was spot on their prior estimate and the results look great (I'll those post pictures soon).
Any who, If you are local to the Green Bay, Wi area and need machine work done Baril Engine Rebuilding does very nice work and are great guys to deal with.
After removing the head, I made a few phone calls to local machine shops in search of a quote for a hot bath, decking and valve seal replacement. If memory serves me correctly, which is unlikely, I recall only requesting a hot bath and decking and completely neglected the valve seals. I called three different places and received estimates of $100-$200, so I naturally agreed to the less expensive option. I brought my parts in the next day and was presented with a quote $220 for a hot bath of both the valve cover and head, as well as a decking and once over of the head, plus the replacement of the valve seals. Plus a good old confidence booster of "Ill give you a call if there is anything wrong or broken"
. A couple days pass as I am installing my new parts, then I receive the call......... everything is ready to be picked up. Wooooh!!!!
Nothing was warped or cracked and everything is good to go! The final bill was spot on their prior estimate and the results look great (I'll those post pictures soon).
Any who, If you are local to the Green Bay, Wi area and need machine work done Baril Engine Rebuilding does very nice work and are great guys to deal with.
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- #25
Here are a few pictures of some of things....
So far I have installed my new fan clutch, water pump, thermostat, distributor rotor, cap and O-ring (because it was old and leaky).
So far I have installed my new fan clutch, water pump, thermostat, distributor rotor, cap and O-ring (because it was old and leaky).
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- #26
Is show and tell still a thing???
Here is the collection of ingredients that are in the gasket kit that I bought, and to be honest I do not have the slightest idea as to where any of them go for certain.... So could I get some input from the wizards of mud as to what is what?
My cousin took the best picture to summarize what this cruiser-addict is going through without his truck.....
Here is the collection of ingredients that are in the gasket kit that I bought, and to be honest I do not have the slightest idea as to where any of them go for certain.... So could I get some input from the wizards of mud as to what is what?
My cousin took the best picture to summarize what this cruiser-addict is going through without his truck.....
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- #27
Could I get some input as to what's what in that gasket kit? Thank you!!!
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- #28
Hey guys.. I can't imagine this thread has been a very interesting read or very entertaining (my apologies), but If you have enough curiosity or are that bored to have made it this far, thank you?? Anyway, enough of my terrible humor. I need to ask you experts a question, its more like a WSJD.... What Should Jack Do?
If I remember right, the first thing I did when I started this crazy project was take a saw zall to my terrible exhaust system and proceeded to take it to the scrap yard.... Yea I know, dumb move. Anyway I am in a bit of a pickle now as I have no exhaust, well I have the headers, but everything else is gone. I am currently debating between taking it to a local exhaust shop that is near to me or purchasing and constructing an aftermarket system from the likes of magnaflow, bosal and borla. The factor that is holding me back is $$$$. I would like to not spend a small fortune on a system but I do not want a sub quality product that will have to be replaced in a year or two. Ive heard that the aftermarket systems have fitment issues and custom jobs are pricey. So I guess, I want to know what you would do?
Also I have made great progress on my head gasket replacement with my brother, cousin and friends; so I'll post some pictures in the near future.
Thanks guys, Have a good weekend!
If I remember right, the first thing I did when I started this crazy project was take a saw zall to my terrible exhaust system and proceeded to take it to the scrap yard.... Yea I know, dumb move. Anyway I am in a bit of a pickle now as I have no exhaust, well I have the headers, but everything else is gone. I am currently debating between taking it to a local exhaust shop that is near to me or purchasing and constructing an aftermarket system from the likes of magnaflow, bosal and borla. The factor that is holding me back is $$$$. I would like to not spend a small fortune on a system but I do not want a sub quality product that will have to be replaced in a year or two. Ive heard that the aftermarket systems have fitment issues and custom jobs are pricey. So I guess, I want to know what you would do?
Also I have made great progress on my head gasket replacement with my brother, cousin and friends; so I'll post some pictures in the near future.
Thanks guys, Have a good weekend!
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- #29
GOOD NEWS!!!!
The head gasket rebuild has been completed and today was the first day I have driven my 80 in 6 months..... Yea, Yea.... Could have easily been half of that. But looking back on it now it sure was a crazy project. The late nights, the long afternoons or the even the short little stints, it sure was a great experience. I cant imagine where I would have been had I tried to complete this project on my own without the help of my brother @Shoelessjoe or my cousin or my friends. It was stressfully enjoyable, I greatly enjoy the feeling of having it completed and the truck being in the best shape it has been in a while.
If I had to summarize or make an analogy to describe my experience replacing my head gasket, I would say it would be like performing a difficult recovery. It was a lot of preparation, hard work with stress but it has provided a great feeling of excitement and anticipation for my future adventures with my 80!
Highlights.......
Rear locker: Whilst waiting for parts to arrive Joe and I were able to rebuild the actuator and add A LOT of gasket maker to the parts that were in bad shape. When we tried to test the actuator, after fixing it we were having trouble getting it to engage, but we kept trying and trying and then the gods of the land cruiser world used their magic or sprinkled some pixie dust or something else that would be magical, but it started to work and really well too!!! Soooo after we agreed that is was safe to fit to the axle, we bolted er up and tried again.....nothing.
Joe and I look at each other confused and a bit frustrated. Then Joe has the idea to lift up the rear of the truck to rotate the tires (weird concept with 4wd) but it worked, it really really really worked. I am now 3X locked again!!!! Such a great feeling, I absolutely love it!
Exhaust
This turned out to be most difficult and annoy part out of the whole build... We decided to go with a Bosal muffler and tail pipe. Ive read a few people's thoughts on it and was not feeling very confident about it, but once I received the parts and had a chance to look them over, all seemed well. They may not win any beauty pageants (ugly welds) but who cares as long as it lasts..... Fingers crossed.
We were originally going to partner the Bosal pieces with magnaflows downpipe and cat, but we were unable to find the downpipe in stock anywhere. We actually bought that stupid pipe from three different places and receive the same sorta response, You'll get it...... Well thats not soon enough for this college student who has to leave for school before that time. SOOOO that means its time for a custom y-pipe... Ill let the pictures tell that story, otherwise Id end up writing an even longer novel.... However prior to this rebuild escapade, I had exhaust codes for days... now I do not.
TrashCat Motorsports finest hour.....maybe
The head gasket rebuild has been completed and today was the first day I have driven my 80 in 6 months..... Yea, Yea.... Could have easily been half of that. But looking back on it now it sure was a crazy project. The late nights, the long afternoons or the even the short little stints, it sure was a great experience. I cant imagine where I would have been had I tried to complete this project on my own without the help of my brother @Shoelessjoe or my cousin or my friends. It was stressfully enjoyable, I greatly enjoy the feeling of having it completed and the truck being in the best shape it has been in a while.
If I had to summarize or make an analogy to describe my experience replacing my head gasket, I would say it would be like performing a difficult recovery. It was a lot of preparation, hard work with stress but it has provided a great feeling of excitement and anticipation for my future adventures with my 80!
Highlights.......
Rear locker: Whilst waiting for parts to arrive Joe and I were able to rebuild the actuator and add A LOT of gasket maker to the parts that were in bad shape. When we tried to test the actuator, after fixing it we were having trouble getting it to engage, but we kept trying and trying and then the gods of the land cruiser world used their magic or sprinkled some pixie dust or something else that would be magical, but it started to work and really well too!!! Soooo after we agreed that is was safe to fit to the axle, we bolted er up and tried again.....nothing.
Joe and I look at each other confused and a bit frustrated. Then Joe has the idea to lift up the rear of the truck to rotate the tires (weird concept with 4wd) but it worked, it really really really worked. I am now 3X locked again!!!! Such a great feeling, I absolutely love it! Exhaust
This turned out to be most difficult and annoy part out of the whole build... We decided to go with a Bosal muffler and tail pipe. Ive read a few people's thoughts on it and was not feeling very confident about it, but once I received the parts and had a chance to look them over, all seemed well. They may not win any beauty pageants (ugly welds) but who cares as long as it lasts..... Fingers crossed.
We were originally going to partner the Bosal pieces with magnaflows downpipe and cat, but we were unable to find the downpipe in stock anywhere. We actually bought that stupid pipe from three different places and receive the same sorta response, You'll get it...... Well thats not soon enough for this college student who has to leave for school before that time. SOOOO that means its time for a custom y-pipe... Ill let the pictures tell that story, otherwise Id end up writing an even longer novel.... However prior to this rebuild escapade, I had exhaust codes for days... now I do not.
TrashCat Motorsports finest hour.....maybe
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- #30
Exploring in the Upper Peninsula
Took a group of friends out to the beach in Gay, Mi for some late afternoon swimming and bonfire yesterday. The beach is made of stamp sand and is seven or so miles long with varying widths with large dunes and ponds. So with my 80, Suzuki dirtbike and a silverado the party began. Those guys were all about going fast, not me.... I locked her up and went crawling. I was screwing around in low with only the center in and managed to get hung up with two wheels in the air and spinning, which brought great joy to the peanut gallery as they proceeded to prepare to start digging or get out and push, little did they know about my magic switch. Once she locked up, I gave her a bit of throttle and crawled right out. IT WAS SOOO AWESOME!!! I LOVE MY DUCHESS!!!! I LOVE LAND CRUISERS!!!!
Took a group of friends out to the beach in Gay, Mi for some late afternoon swimming and bonfire yesterday. The beach is made of stamp sand and is seven or so miles long with varying widths with large dunes and ponds. So with my 80, Suzuki dirtbike and a silverado the party began. Those guys were all about going fast, not me.... I locked her up and went crawling. I was screwing around in low with only the center in and managed to get hung up with two wheels in the air and spinning, which brought great joy to the peanut gallery as they proceeded to prepare to start digging or get out and push, little did they know about my magic switch. Once she locked up, I gave her a bit of throttle and crawled right out. IT WAS SOOO AWESOME!!! I LOVE MY DUCHESS!!!! I LOVE LAND CRUISERS!!!!
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- #31
Other People's Land Cruisers
After finishing my breakfast, I decided to take out the mighty 80 and go for a cruise, then I spot two 80s for sale on the side of the road. So naturally, like any cruiser addict, I stopped and checked them out. I talked with the shops owner Jason, which turned out to be the owner of the red 80, about both of the rigs for quite some time. He eventually asks me if Id like to drive it, well of course!! The only catch is I needed to put some gas in it, so he hands be $20 and the keys and lets me go.... without plates, which I only noticed once I left. In hindsight, it doesn't seem like that crazy of a concept, just like an owner letting an "interested customer" test drive, but the overall spontaneity, friendliness and trust made it really really fun. Small town perks. So I got to be like Magnus Walker, expect it was land cruisers, instead of Porsches.
Both of these trucks are FOR SALE. Not my Duchess though.
Here is Jason's number: 906-482-7708.
If youre interested, PM me. I have more pictures.
After finishing my breakfast, I decided to take out the mighty 80 and go for a cruise, then I spot two 80s for sale on the side of the road. So naturally, like any cruiser addict, I stopped and checked them out. I talked with the shops owner Jason, which turned out to be the owner of the red 80, about both of the rigs for quite some time. He eventually asks me if Id like to drive it, well of course!! The only catch is I needed to put some gas in it, so he hands be $20 and the keys and lets me go.... without plates, which I only noticed once I left. In hindsight, it doesn't seem like that crazy of a concept, just like an owner letting an "interested customer" test drive, but the overall spontaneity, friendliness and trust made it really really fun. Small town perks. So I got to be like Magnus Walker, expect it was land cruisers, instead of Porsches.
Both of these trucks are FOR SALE. Not my Duchess though.
Here is Jason's number: 906-482-7708.
If youre interested, PM me. I have more pictures.
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- #32
Mudders...
I have developed a very strange sound but its only in reverse....
Its a squeaky squeak. Its definitely rotational and rhythmic. I can post a video if that would help with the identification. Sooo does anyone have any ideas for me??
Thank you
I have developed a very strange sound but its only in reverse....
Its a squeaky squeak. Its definitely rotational and rhythmic. I can post a video if that would help with the identification. Sooo does anyone have any ideas for me??Thank you
rear brakes or parking brake shoes maybe?
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- #34
@excessive Ill definitely look into the rear brakes. I don't have a parking brake or at least it does not work, but Ill look into that as well. Thank you!
I had a parking brake issue that was opposite. Only squeaked going forward and not reverse. It also didn't really function , but sure made a lot of noise when it failed. Was one simple pin and washer and all good (except it's holding powers )
If it is brakes, it should change when you press the pedal lightly. If it is parking brake, same thing, apply it lightly while moving and see if the noise changes or goes away.
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- #37
Well guys... I took my Duchess camping for the first time. It was a blast and I am truly amazed at what these trucks are capable of. They can utterly transform from comfortable street cruiser into an expedition/overland capable monster. My group and I were made our way through some deep snow, deeper boggy mud pits and some really tight/twisted cross axle terrain. I alway heard the stories and legends and had complete faith in the Toyota trucks; but now, now I feel like I am part of the addition, part of the ih8mud crew. Especially since I managed to break a few things, which thankfully are not tooo expensive. Ill put up those photos, then I'll get to the stories of each day. Stay tuned!
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- #39
Lets Copper Harbor trip:
Friday:
We (lx450, 'T4R, black Tacoma) arrived at the trail head (end of US 41) at 3pm, which gave us three to four hours to make it to our camp site. We quickly aired down, my first time doing that on my 80, then began our pursuit. As we progressed we found deep snow pack, really deep and soupy mud holes and some rowdy terrain that required some flexibility. At this point, the trucks in our group have "flexibility" but it really just results in a lot of tire rub and hilarious noises of tires on plastic fenders. The snow pack was easy going, once we discovered the key was to go slow and crawl over it, rather than cut through the surface. The bog holes on the other hand, were difficult. All of them were covered with a couple inches of ice, which was easily broken by the trucks. But the ruts in the holes were deep and the exits were steep. There were a few that required our TRED recovery boards (broke one of mine
). *These recovery tools are a great asset and I highly recommend them to anyone on the fence about getting a set. I warn you though, you get what you pay for. Once in the water and mud, you get to experience the fun of broken ice in a axle deep mud hole. IT MAKES TERRIBLE NOISES but it sure makes for some cool pictures, It was at this point that the Silver taco met up with us. They had left later than us and had followed our tracks. I was very skeptical that they were going to find us. The track was not easy and required a lot. But after we put in the hard miles, we were blessed with a great location. Hilariously enough, when I was planning the trip the weekend before I had planned on bringing my crew to this spot but as the day progressed I began to think we were not going to make it to that particular campsite. But oddly enough, we managed to stumble our way onto what we call AllClad beach and made camp and we just missed the sunset.....
Friday:
We (lx450, 'T4R, black Tacoma) arrived at the trail head (end of US 41) at 3pm, which gave us three to four hours to make it to our camp site. We quickly aired down, my first time doing that on my 80, then began our pursuit. As we progressed we found deep snow pack, really deep and soupy mud holes and some rowdy terrain that required some flexibility. At this point, the trucks in our group have "flexibility" but it really just results in a lot of tire rub and hilarious noises of tires on plastic fenders. The snow pack was easy going, once we discovered the key was to go slow and crawl over it, rather than cut through the surface. The bog holes on the other hand, were difficult. All of them were covered with a couple inches of ice, which was easily broken by the trucks. But the ruts in the holes were deep and the exits were steep. There were a few that required our TRED recovery boards (broke one of mine
). *These recovery tools are a great asset and I highly recommend them to anyone on the fence about getting a set. I warn you though, you get what you pay for. Once in the water and mud, you get to experience the fun of broken ice in a axle deep mud hole. IT MAKES TERRIBLE NOISES but it sure makes for some cool pictures, It was at this point that the Silver taco met up with us. They had left later than us and had followed our tracks. I was very skeptical that they were going to find us. The track was not easy and required a lot. But after we put in the hard miles, we were blessed with a great location. Hilariously enough, when I was planning the trip the weekend before I had planned on bringing my crew to this spot but as the day progressed I began to think we were not going to make it to that particular campsite. But oddly enough, we managed to stumble our way onto what we call AllClad beach and made camp and we just missed the sunset.....
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- #40
More Pictures from Friday....
