Land Cruiser Prado 90 RZ Import & Refresh (and maybe build...)

[apexwerks]

I ordered timing belt parts through amayama.com, we will see if they show up.

In the past I’ve used propane torches to burn out the pipes on my 2 strokes when they looked like you intake. Never tried it on an aluminum intake though.

Saw some YouTube videos of the propane torch method… I really like being married. If I leave a giant scorch mark on our driveway, I may not continue in marital bliss. Found an alternate method I wanted to try first…

Oven cleaner. Filled the intake completely full of oven cleaner, let it sit and kept refilling it as the foam broke down. I also cleaned the valve cover while I was at it. Went through two cans of oven cleaner and let it sit for about an hour.

Took them both to the coin-op car wash and blasted them off. Worked like a champ - smelled awful, but worked great. Less than $10 all in and while the results aren’t perfect, the gunk is gone.

 

[apexwerks]

Got started on the EGT probe this afternoon as well. Bought the block-off kit from Hiace Southeast 1KZTE EGR Elimination Kit — HiaceSoutheast - https://www.hiacesoutheast.com/store/p/1kz-egr-kit

It’s good quality, includes the gaskets and hardware, and fits well.

Took the exhaust-side plate, drilled and tapped it for 1/8 NPT.

Installed the probe and it’s ready to go back in.

 

[apexwerks]

Wrapped up installing both block off plates and the EGT probe. The exhaust manifold plate went in- it's hard to get a good picture, but all the clearances work fine.

Had to pull the studs out of the intake to fit the plate and gasket. I was worried they were going to be hard to pull, but it was surprisingly easy.

New fuel filter in as well. Looks like my old nemesis Ugga Mugga has found employment tightening fuel filters at a Toyota dealer in Japan... I didn't think I was going to get the water sensor off without shattering it.

Finally, started the work to mount the Aubers gauges. Had planned to try to slip them into a switch blank, but they're just a smidge too wide. I took out the oddments tray under the HVAC controls, and mocked up a simple fill panel with cutouts for the gauges. It's printing tonight, and we'll see how it fits.

Pulled switched hot and ground to the gauge location. But I still need to figure out how I'm going to route the sensor wires through the firewall.

 

[apexwerks]

Does anyone know where the trailer wiring pigtail is on a SWB 90? Reading the descriptions, it sounds like it’s in the jack storage compartment on the left hand side of the truck on the LWB. But the SWB has the jack on the right hand side, and I don’t see anything that looks like a empty connection in there.

Thanks!

 

[apexwerks]

Not much movement so far this week. Did get the injectors sent off to be flow tested and cleaned yesterday.

Megazip came up empty on the Venturi to intake gasket too... they said they could find one in JP, but it was $120. Given that it's a metal gasket, I'm going to try skimming it in gray RTV and re-using it. If it leaks, I'll get some gasket material and try to make my own.

If I have some time tonight, I think I know how I want to pull the sensor wires through the firewall. The print is done, and I should be able to get the sensors and gauges wrapped in an hour or so.

 

[apexwerks]

Little bit of progress today... The gauge fill panel printed, but test fit showed a few areas of improvement. I re-tweaked the design and it’s printing again tonight.

In the meantime, I got the sensor wires routed through the firewall. Initially I’d planned to route them through the heater hose grommet, but the grommet is NLA and I get a little nervous cutting holes in things next to heater hoses. So I pulled over to the passenger side and routed next to the main wiring harness.

I had planned to tee the MAP sensor into the tubing off the intercooler, but I think I’ll just drill into the block off plate on the intake and put the MAP sensor directly in there. It looks like I’ve had a leak at the throttle body for some time, and I’d like to have a sensor downstream of the stock location.

Also, finally got the ARB indicators installed. Not sure why that’s been on my to-do list so long, but it’s done.

 

[apexwerks]

Went ahead and drilled the block off plate and installed the MAP sensor. Should give me an accurate reading… I think the rubber nipple is secure enough to prevent leaks, but if it leaks I’ll use a little gray RTV.

The second revision of the fill panel turned out pretty well. If I ever replace it, I’ll print it at a higher resolution and probably sand, fill and paint it to match the surface of the HVAC control unit. But it’s good enough for right now.

 

[apexwerks]

Got the right hand CV shaft replaced this afternoon. It wasn’t a bad job, would have been an hour and a half or so if I didn’t have to go to the dealer for parts. Got the dust cover off and that hub hasn’t seen the light of day since it was installed. Clean as a whistle in there.

Pulled everything out and had to go to the dealer. I’d bought some non-OEM LBJs based totally on price. Once I got them out of the box and got a good look at them, they went right back in. I’ll keep them as emergency backups, but the quality difference was so obvious there’s no way I’m going to try to get 100k miles those.

The local dealer had OEM LBJs in stock, and I got new tie rod ends while I was there. Figured I’d end up tearing a boot by pressing them out, so I just replaced them. The NAPA reman axles look great. Cleaned off the grease that was flung everywhere and buttoned everything back up. Hopefully I’ll have time tomorrow or later this week to get the left hand side done.

 

[apexwerks]

Made a little progress… got the left hand axle, LBJ and tie rod in. After doing this once, I can see how this is spec’ed at less than an hour.

The second axle from NAPA looks like a new unit, not a reman.

Diesel Equipment Company called and said they’d have the injectors done middle of next week, and my electronics guy said he’d have the ECU done around the same timeframe. Got the oil drained and sent a sample off to Blackstone - I want to make sure there’s no coolant in the oil before I head to TN.

Goal for this weekend is..

-change F/R diff oil
-change T-case oil
-change trans fluid + filter
-run trans cooler lines
-mount catch can + PCV hose
-re-mount gas tank skid plate

and if I’m really fortunate and it all goes to plan, install the snorkel on Monday.

Then it should be as simple as reinstall the injectors, intake, fuel lines, and intercooler.

 

[apexwerks]

Drained the F/R diff oil, but didn't have a crush washer that fit the front fill plug. Ordered the full set of crush washers from the local dealer, so for now they're all drained and ready to be refilled.

Didn't take any pictures here either, but I got the transmission fluid and filter replaced. Someone, someday will design an automatic transmission that doesn't dump fluid all over me when I drop the pan, but I've yet to find it.

Ran my new diff breathers. The rear install was quick and easy, and I ran the lines up to the engine bay. The front diff breather is in good shape, so I'm leaving it be. I'm planning to replace the factory breather on the transfer case, so I left some line back there for the t-case.

Also got the brakes bled. Bought an adapter from Amazon for my pressure bleeder, and it worked perfectly.

The brake fluid, the gear oil and the tran fluid all looked brand new. There's not a fluid in this car that looks like it needed changing. I'm glad I got it all done, just to have confidence that everything is clean, but there wasn't a fluid that needed replacing (other than the engine oil).

Also finally got the compressor install completed. At least for now, I've put it where the factory second battery goes. We were kicking around the idea of putting in a dual battery setup, but I don't see that happening any time soon. Need to tidy up the wires and install the quick connect for the air line.

Now, there was one thing that did not go well. The t-case has had a slight leak since I got it... just enough to keep the case looking damp, but never enough to really drip or cause an issue. Well that has changed... I've got a good drip coming from the front output shaft seal, and it looks like a leak in between the case and the transmission itself. When I pulled the fill plug, the fluid level was low enough I couldn't touch it. Given the location of the leak between the t-case and the transmission, I'm going to have to pull it and re-seal it. Ordered the gasket kit from Toyota, and that'll give me a chance to pull the factory breathers and plumb them into the ARB remote breather.

I've also come to the conclusion that I can't get the 4Runner hitch and the factory gas tank skid plate mounted together without seriously modifying the factory skid plate, which I don't want to do. For now, I'm running it with the modified 4Runner hitch and no skid plate, but I'm on the hunt for a hitch that won't interfere with the skid but will fit a SWB model. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[apexwerks]

Snorkel done!

Running an 83mm hole saw into the quarter panel of my car is a moment of anxiety I'm not eager to repeat soon.

The guide on LCOOL was a lifesaver. The job was fiddly and nerve-wracking, but not actually all that hard.

In other good news, I think my t-case leak is limited to the front output shaft seal. What I thought was a leak from the front t-case seal was actually just liquified grease running down the outside of the case... the slip joint was slinging grease everywhere, and the drip from the t-case/transmission union looks like it was just the collection point of the flung grease. I scrubbed it with degreaser, and if there's no drop there tomorrow I'll just do the front output shaft seal and skip dropping the t-case.

Got the hose for the transmission cooler and the catch can, and I'll try to get those knocked out early this week. Just need to get the injectors and ECU back, and we're nearly done.

 

[apexwerks]

Got the ECU back from the electronics guy yesterday... he said the solder Toyota used had an unusually high melt point, and he was worried he was going to damage the board if he replaced all the capacitors. So he replaced the one cap that had leaked everywhere, and said that he'd try the other 6 if it didn't solve the problem.

Tackled the t-case companion shaft seal this afternoon. Fairly simple job... the seal that was in there was pretty chewed up, so a good clean seal should make a big difference. It's too messy in there to tell if there's anyplace else the t-case is leaking... it's possible that there's another small leak, but I won't know till I get it back on the road. If there's another leak, it's slow and it will be fine to wait till I have some time over the winter.

Diesel Equipment Co called me yesterday and said they have the injectors done. I hope they can get them back to me tomorrow and I can get a lot of this knocked out over the weekend.

 

[apexwerks]

I’m a little irked at Diesel Equipment Co. They called Wednesday and said they‘d have the injectors to me Thursday if I paid for them Wednesday. Well, here we are on Saturday and no injectors. The sales guy who was supposed to drop them off hasn’t responded to my texts, either. I’m going to call the shop foreman on Monday and find out what the heck is going on… Anyway, I’ve got everything done I can up to the point I need the injectors.

Finally, all the fluids are done. Front and rear diffs, t-case, transmission, brake fluid, power steering fluid, coolant and engine oil. Also lubed all the zerks. Put the skid plates back in place and put her down on the ground… unless I screwed something up, that’s the last time she needs to be up in the air (for this round of work, anyway).

Got the catch can in place. Put a quick aluminum bracket in place… I’m planning to 3-D print a custom bracket with ABS, but for now this will do.

Got the ECU back in place. Looks like the electronics guy did a good job on the capacitor replacement.

Obligatory back of the instrument binnacle shot:

Plan to work on the center instrument pod tomorrow, and after that it’s pretty much just a waiting game til I get the injectors.

 

[apexwerks]

So I made a mistake… the PO had attached a GPS mount to the top of the center instrument pod with double sided tape. It’s been annoying me since I got the Prado, and since I have time while I wait for the injectors, I started pulling it off. Well… I didn’t take into account how brittle the underlying plastic would be after 25 years in the sun. And it shattered while I was trying to remove the double sided tape.

As long as I was in there, I pulled it apart to see what was going on with the display. The polarizing film was definitely shot.. looks like it cooked in the heat a while ago.

Pulled an old LCD monitor apart to try to harvest the polarizing film out of it, but it was glued to the glass and I couldn’t get it off cleanly. I’ll order some polarizing film and try it again later.

Used a fair bit of super glue to temporarily repair the cover. I’m pretty sure that part is NLA but I’ll have to come up with something. Feel pretty stupid with this one.

 

[apexwerks]

Got the injectors!

Here’s how they went to Diesel Equipment Company:

Here’s how they came back:

I doubt I’ll have time tonight, but am hoping to get the intake/injectors/intercooler all back on the engine this week and get her running again. It’s been too long.

 

[apexwerks]

Updated post 3 in this thread with all my actual costs and part numbers - if anyone is looking at a 90, hope that helps. There's lots of parts that cross over with the 4Runner of the same era, but I waited to make sure they actually fit before posting.

Injectors and gaskets are back in, along with the intake and new intake gaskets. Bought injector seats as well, but the old ones were pretty well stuck in the head and I didn't want to damage anything. Had to re-use the throttle body gasket, but skimmed both sides with gray RTV. Planning to pick up a new throttle position sensor later today or tomorrow and I'll get the intercooler back on and see how she runs...

 

[apexwerks]

She’s alive!!!



It appears that when I swapped the screw in the back of the instrument binnacle, I actually turned the Timing Belt light ON, not OFF. So that needs to come back out. The 90 also needs an alignment, and I need to drain the flush out of the cooling system and refill with antifreeze. But It’s all back together and it runs, and it doesn’t look to be leaking anywhere.

 

[apexwerks]

Got the alignment done yesterday afternoon.... boy are they going to regret selling me a lifetime alignment!

Did a short shakedown drive, topped off the fluids and all is well. I had connected the EGT probe leads backwards, so it was reading negative temps... who would have thought that red was ground? That's what I get for not completely reading the instructions.

Have a few longer drives planned for today along with some highway speeds to confirm I don't have any leaks or other issues.

One thing I have noticed... startups are definitely harder than they were previously. When I blocked off the EGR, I also bypassed the actuator on the small butterfly, so it's open all the time now. Could that cause hard starting? Or do I need to re-bleed my fuel lines?

 

[JDM Journeys]

Got the alignment done yesterday afternoon.... boy are they going to regret selling me a lifetime alignment!

Did a short shakedown drive, topped off the fluids and all is well. I had connected the EGT probe leads backwards, so it was reading negative temps... who would have thought that red was ground? That's what I get for not completely reading the instructions.

Have a few longer drives planned for today along with some highway speeds to confirm I don't have any leaks or other issues.

One thing I have noticed... startups are definitely harder than they were previously. When I blocked off the EGR, I also bypassed the actuator on the small butterfly, so it's open all the time now. Could that cause hard starting? Or do I need to re-bleed my fuel lines?

Hmmm. I'd be checking air first, but as we discussed I hadn't blocked egr so can't speak to its effects. Air in the system can definitely cause it though...
Lifetime alignment is money well spent!
Negative egt temps? That sounds very relaxing on a long climb.

 

[apexwerks]

Well, friends... the weird idle issue is not resolved, and I need your help to figure it out. There's no way I can drive it to TN in a week like this.

Here's a summary:

Intermittently, but with increasing frequency the warmer the engine gets, idle speed will drop <600 rpm and it will not respond to throttle inputs. If I can get the truck moving with gravity, RPMs will pick up with vehicle speed and as soon as I get over ~2k rpm, boost comes up and the truck drives fine. If I constantly feed it throttle and never let it drop to idle, it's fine. Also occasionally, and I assume related, under load at low RPMs it will not respond to throttle inputs until it gets in boost (~10psi or so).

However, if I put it in Neutral or Park, idle jumps back up to ~900 and it responds to throttle inputs. Put it back in Drive or Reverse, idle drops under 600, it misses and nearly stalls, and I get the behavior above. This makes me think it's not a physical fueling issue... it would persist no matter what gear it was in if I had a bad lift pump or something.

What I've done:
-Rebuilt and re-tipped injectors
-Cleaned fuel lines
-Replaced fuel filter
-Replaced glow plugs
-Replaced timing belt
-Replace throttle position sensor
-Replaced leaking capacitor on ECU board
-lots of other things that I don't think are related

And the behavior is unchanged. Could it be fuel spill valve? Are there two different idle circuits for the auto 1KZ-TE, based on whether it's in gear or not? Any ideas? I'll also post in the diesel forum.