Builds Last of the BJs: 1989 BJ60 restoration, 15B-T swap (1 Viewer)

[Eurasiaoverland]

Yep, I actually ordered 2 sets of cam bearings before taking a chance on the 14b set That fit perfect.

It’s solid lifters on it. It’s interesting that they did a partial change but then I’m assuming realized that were retiring the 13bt so it didn’t make sense to do any other major changes.

I had thought if I ever wanted to upgrade, the 15bft or fte would be a nice upgrade.

Were the 13B-T bearings you originally bought too small for the shaft journals or too large for the engine block?

I think the blue block 13B-T is a bit of a mystery as it seems the EPC data are wrong for your BJ74 in this instance. Looking at a 1989 Australian BJ74 shows six flywheel bolts and the early type of cam bearings on the early type cam shaft with a 56 mm camshaft bore plug. But I have found a 13B-T powered Dyna BU95 listing which shows 8 flywheel bolts, the 3BII 8 bolt crank, the 14B camshaft bearings and 58 mm camshaft bore plug, but it is still running the old 13B-T camshaft. So I think the old bearings you initially bought would fit your camshaft but did not fit in the block?

It looks indeed like the blue block 13B-T was a stop-gap end of run engine which is a red block 13B-T using a 3BII crank and a bigger camshaft bore in the block.

 

[FJBen]

Were the 13B-T bearings you originally bought too small for the shaft journals or too large for the engine block?

I think the blue block 13B-T is a bit of a mystery as it seems the EPC data are wrong for your BJ74 in this instance. Looking at a 1989 Australian BJ74 shows six flywheel bolts and the early type of cam bearings on the early type cam shaft with a 56 mm camshaft bore plug. But I have found a 13B-T powered Dyna BU95 listing which shows 8 flywheel bolts, the 3BII 8 bolt crank, the 14B camshaft bearings and 58 mm camshaft bore plug, but it is still running the old 13B-T camshaft. So I think the old bearings you initially bought would fit your camshaft but did not fit in the block?

It looks indeed like the blue block 13B-T was a stop-gap end of run engine which is a red block 13B-T using a 3BII crank and a bigger camshaft bore in the block.

Here are some of the measurements from the machine shop. The ones we originally got fit
The cam, but not the block.

Here is the set I found that fit.

The Toyota number where I actually ordered from partsouq
11802-56030

Yeah mine definitely has an 8 bolt flywheel and the later cam bearings.



Interesting note on my BJ74 and VIN number. It appears mine was the first Land Cruiser sent to Australia with the new 17 digit vin format. JT721BJ7409000001

 

[Eurasiaoverland]

Here are some of the measurements from the machine shop. The ones we originally got fit
The cam, but not the block.

View attachment 3876864



Here is the set I found that fit.

View attachment 3876866

The Toyota number where I actually ordered from partsouq
11802-56030




View attachment 3876875



Yeah mine definitely has an 8 bolt flywheel and the later cam bearings.



Interesting note on my BJ74 and VIN number. It appears mine was the first Land Cruiser sent to Australia with the new 17 digit vin format. JT721BJ7409000001

Thanks for sharing that. Interesting vehicle you have, it would be very high on my list of most desirable Cruisers

Those are the same bearings I just installed (they are superseded to -56031).

Which head gasket do you use on your engine, 11115-58110? It seems like the blue block cylinder head is a different part from that used on the red block 13B, but I can't see any other differences (valves are the same it seems). The pistons are the same as the older 13B-T, the rods are shared only with the 14B-T.

With the newer style crank/cam, clearly the overall cylinder spacing/length of the blue block 13B-T matches that of the later B engines. So I'm wondering if you could get a 14B head on the block...

 

[FJBen]

Thanks for sharing that. Interesting vehicle you have, it would be very high on my list of most desirable Cruisers

Those are the same bearings I just installed (they are superseded to -56031).

Which head gasket do you use on your engine, 11115-58110? It seems like the blue block cylinder head is a different part from that used on the red block 13B, but I can't see any other differences (valves are the same it seems). The pistons are the same as the older 13B-T, the rods are shared only with the 14B-T.

With the newer style crank/cam, clearly the overall cylinder spacing/length of the blue block 13B-T matches that of the later B engines. So I'm wondering if you could get a 14B head on the block...

Yeah it’s a cool rig for sure. In thought the VIN was fake when I first saw it. Another interesting fact, it’s a 11/88 build date, but didn’t sell at the dealer in Australia until feb 18 of 1991!!

Yes, that was correct number for head gasket I used.

That’s an interesting thought with the 14b head. Are there any benefits/better breathing on the 14b, or just more of you would have greater availability?

Sorry for hijacking your thread!

 

[Eurasiaoverland]

Starter 1

While I'm waiting for engine paint, after which I can fully reassemble the engine, I'll post up on some of the ancillaries, firstly the starter. This was always a backburner project and was done over 4 years...

The starter was removed back in October 2020 a few weeks after I bought the vehicle. It's an original 12V 1984+ BJ60 starter and will be transferred over to the 15B-T. It worked fine but like everything, I'll strip and rebuild to make sure it's fit for many more years.

It's a bit grubby inside but at least there's grease.

The solenoid plunger terminals are part-worn but not bad at all.

But there are clear signs that local mechanics have worked their magic on this - a rounded screwhead on a housing bolt. Hopefully this stopped them from getting inside and making more mess...

One new bolt ordered, old one drilled out.


EO

 

[Eurasiaoverland]

Starter 2

With the unit dismantled, time to replace the wear items on the armature, firstly pulling the small bearings at either end.

The armature is in great condition. The two thick carbon brushes on the stator housing are like new, the two on the rear brush holder are half-worn, so seeing a cheap NOS brush holder I decide to replace it.

New bearings.

Tapped on.

All assembled in the stator housing.

EO

 

[Eurasiaoverland]

Yeah it’s a cool rig for sure. In thought the VIN was fake when I first saw it. Another interesting fact, it’s a 11/88 build date, but didn’t sell at the dealer in Australia until feb 18 of 1991!!

Yes, that was correct number for head gasket I used.

That’s an interesting thought with the 14b head. Are there any benefits/better breathing on the 14b, or just more of you would have greater availability?

Sorry for hijacking your thread!

Not at all, thanks for sharing so much info.

I'd always though that early and late style heads would not be interchangeable, but perhaps they are... although there might be issues with pushrod height or something like that. I've never read anything from anyone who tried. I don't think a 14B head would be an advantage in itself, they are just more widely available (still in production).

 

[Eurasiaoverland]

Starter 3

The starter clutch seemed OK, but the front sealed bearing behind the nose gear sounded a bit dry. Toyota does not sell parts for these (Bosch does) but I couldn't bring myself to throw the unit out for something so minor..

So I decided I would see how these come apart, and just replace the bearings. The rear, open bearing pulls off easily enough.

To strip the nose gear and throw-out shaft is a bit trickier. I used my favourite puller and a bearing splitter to compress the spring and bring the nose gear away from the retainer.

Tapping the retainer down the shaft (I used a socket) reveals the snap ring, which flew across the room when I knocked it out of the groove.

Then releasing the tension from the spring, everything comes apart. The front, selaed bearing can then be pulled off the front of the throw-out shaft easily.

EO

 

[Eurasiaoverland]

Starter 4

All parts cleaned up, new NSK bearings to replace those which were removed.

I pressed a new sealed bearing onto the clutch tube, then applied moly grease to the throwout shaft and put the nose gear and springs on.

Now the very difficult part - getting the nose gear retainer over the snap ring. I got a pack of new snap rings from a Bosch supplier, along with a new nose gear, but reused the original as it showed no hint of wear. I'm using a small puller this time to compress the throw-out shaft spring, and the big puller is putting a good bit of pressure on the retainer against the snap ring.

I had previously had many attempts to tap the retainer on, to compress the snap ring, all to no avail. The only way to get the thing back together was with this large puller pressing the retainer hard against the snap ring. This allowed me to work around the snap ring with a hammer and screwdriver, each time winding the puller in a bit, to get the retainer over. It was very satisfying when the retainer was finally home.

A new rear open bearing taps on easily, then the clutch is ready to fit to the starter with the refreshed motor unit. Rebuilt for a fraction of the cost of a new unit.

EO

 

[Eurasiaoverland]

Starter 5

Well it turns out the local mechanics had previously got inside the starter and must have chewed the bolt up when rebuilding the starter, the idiots. They had managed to lose the ball bearing which sits between the solenoid plunger and the throw-out shaft, so the clutch unit was free to move back and forth more than it should. It appears that over time, this had hammered the aluminium clutch housing, leaving the profile of the front of the clutch in the housing. So I tracked down a new clutch housing for a surprisingly good price at a diesel specialist in northern Germany.

The rebuilt clutch can then go into the new housing.

Two new housing bolts, new washers (missing previously) and the original idler gear/rollers, along with the solenoid plunger housing.

Looking much better than before.

Clutch and plunger housing bolted together - next to assemble the solenoid plunger and contacts.

EO

 

[Eurasiaoverland]

Starter 6

The next problem to overcome was that Toyota do not separately supply the solenoid switch contacts and plunger for this 12V 2.5 kW starter. However, it shares many components with the 2.7 kW starter that comes with L Series engines, so I ordered two terminal kits and a plunger for the 2.7 kW starter. But the copper contacts on both terminals are not quite correct. Once again, the 'HC Cargo' catalogue (a Danish company which for starter parts seems to supply mostly Bosch pieces) from a German supplier came good for the right parts, at a very low price.

Here's the battery side terminal kit for the L engine, with Bosch replacement contact.

And the motor side terminal with smimilar Bosch contact.

New plunger.

The long Bosch terminal needed a bit of a massage with the die grinder to clear the Denso plunger.

Ready for the cover to go on.

EO

 

[Eurasiaoverland]

Starter 6

Now just the finishing touches. A new rubber boot for the motor-side terminal.

New felt cover for the armature bearing, new lock piece (either previously lost or never fitted), new O-rings for the long motor mounting bolts.

A new solenoid switch lead which I found in stock with a US supplier years ago.

Finished and ready to fit to the 15B-T.

EO

 

[Eurasiaoverland]

Alternator rebuild 1

The alternator would be another long saga punctuated by frustration in trying to find a unit which fitted correctly to the engine. Although the 3BII/14B/15B engine platform is pretty common, they are usually 24V applications and more recently run twin belts. So it's actually quite difficult to find a 12V, single belt alternator for a 1988+ B engine. Having spent many hours trawling parts diagrams and hundreds of used alternator listings, I would say that through misfortune I have become quite expert in recognising a Denso alternator just from the housing shape.

But I'm getting ahead of myself; back to a time when I was clueless. My BJ60, being of the most basic trim level with no electric windows, sunroof or even radio, originally came with a very modest 45A alternator, 27060-58070. It was quite 'modern' for the time though, as it is internally regulated. Also, because the 3BII has an onboard vacuum pump, it does not have the messy piggyback vacuum pump. If I compare my LN105 Hilux, these were being sold new in Europe until 1997 with exernal regulators and the rear mounted vaccum-pump.

When I stripped down the engine, I paid little attention to the alternator as, on first glance, it looked unmolested and original. But of course it turned out that the unit had been replaced with something that was not correct. I can now say just from looking at the alternator that is is a 55, 60 or 70A unit, so possibly it was added when the PO's son wanted to add a 'sound system'. While I can't be sure as the detail on the label has long since been rubbed off, I'm pretty sure this is a 55A alternator from an early HZJ80.

The giveaway should have been the spacer washer between the engine bracket and the alternator adjusting bar, or the copper crush washer used as a shim between the alternator rotor shaft and the pulley (which was too thin and had led to uneven pulley wear). But when I was stripping the car I was finding so much that needed to be replaced, I think I just ignored it.

When I started rebuilding the alternator which came with the car, I got as far as cleaning it up and pressing in a new front bearing before it dawned on me that it was not the correct unit. Local mechanics strike again! In fairness to them, it's damn hard to find a correct fitting alternator. Here you can see how the alternator does not line up to the original adjuster bar.

Also, the mounting/adjusting yabs of the alternator are incorrect. They should be at 12 and 6 o'clock, not unevenly offset as can be seen. Also in the picture are the spacers used in an attempt to (not quite) correctly align the alternator pulley with the crankshaft and water pump pulleys.

The slip rings on the rotor were also very severely worn, and as Toyota seem to have stopped supplying most Denso made parts recently, I was about to try to replace them with some aftermarket slip rings (before basically junking most parts of the alternator).

So, what to do? The original 45A alternator would, I figured, be almost impossible to find. Also, perhaps there were 12V, single belt alternators for a 3BII with a higher output. After some searching, I found there were - on some Global Market and Australian 1988/89 BJ70/73s there was a 60A alternator, 27060-58080. That was the alternator I wanted but again, I estimated it to be almost impossible to find.

But maybe, I could find common parts on other alternators and 'make' it myself...

EO

 

[Greek Cruiserhead]

Awesome job done so far!

 

[Eurasiaoverland]

Alternator rebuild 2

The key part to the alternator, in terms of form at least, is the front housing with the stator coils in. So searching the front housing part number for the 60A BJ70 alternator, amongst a lot of unpromising applications, reveals a 1993/4 Toyota T100. Normally, the US is useless for B Series engine parts, but the plentiful US used part market means I should be able to find this alternator easily. Well, not so easily in fact, but it crosses over to the 3RZ-powered Tacoma with the same alternator number, 27060-75040, even though after 10/94 the front housing was a different part number. I figured it must be a minor change as the complete alternator number does not change and the mounting brackets/pulley are the same, so I went ahead and ordered one from eBay.

The mounting/adjuster tabs are correctly oriented.

The pulley is of course wrong, as the 3RZ runs a ribbed belt rather than a V belt. The alternator which came with the car has what I assume to be the original pulley, 27411-58060, but that is specific to the 45A alternator, whereas the 60A alternator runs 27411-58040. No chance to get this from Toyota but, once again, by amazing luck, the Danish supplier HC Cargo makes an equivalent pulley which I bought from a boat chandler in the north of the Netherlands, up in the northern wasteland where I spent more than 5 long years of my life.

The voltage regulator/plug and rear cover are different, but I can just use those pieces from the alternator which came with the car to convert it to the correct plug shape.

But there is a snag. The different front housing does have implications for my application. The B engines, unusually, clamp the belt adjuster behind the alternator tab, and the later T100 and Tacoma examples of the alternator do not have a machined surface for the adjuster to clamp onto.

A minor annoyance all in all, so I will go ahead and overhaul this alternator and plan to use it, unless I should find a more suitable example. A spare alternator is really an essential spare for remote travel in my opinion, so I would welcome a second example.

EO

 

[lacalvette]

Awesome job done so far!

X2 amazing

 

[Eurasiaoverland]

Alternator rebuild 3

Rattle gun to get the pulley off. I've never been able to find the correct tool which clamps the end of the rotor shaft to allow the nut to be loosened with hand tools.

The slip rings are thankfully in good condition. I wasn't looking foward to changing them as I am very bad at soldering. The rectifier looks good and the voltage regulator is the same as is used on my Hilux Surf, so a good spare.

The stator coils look good. The front bearing sounded a bit dry and gets changed as a matter of course.

The rotor looks good. I think the bearing is fine but I'll anyway change it while I'm in here.

All apart.

EO

 

[Eurasiaoverland]

Alternator rebuild 4

I got a machine shop to blob on some aluinium weld to the rear adjuster bar face of the alternator, which I filed and ground to shape. Not a very neat job, but it lines up perfectly.

New front bearing pressed into the front housing, and rotor with new bearing fitted (not visible in picture).

The rectifier is the original from this Tacoma alternator, the voltage regulator is from the HZJ80 alternator which came with the car, and I am adding a new brush pack.

With the new HC Cargo pulley (painted in epoxy primer and 2k paint), it's ready to fit to the 15B-T.

EO

 

[Eurasiaoverland]

Vacuum pump

From 08/88 onwards all B engines (apart from the 13B) got an onboard vacuum pump driven by the injection pump drive gear. This, in my opinion, is a major improvement, moving away from the alternator-mounted units on earlier B engines (and the 2H, 12H-T, L Series engines). I will open it up just to check there are no horrors inside and replace O-rings as preventative maintenance, even though this is most likely unneccessary.

Opening it up, it's indeed spotless inside and I decide not to disassemble further than taking off the back cover. It's a five-vane pump, which was introduced over the earlier four vane type which my 3BII has in 05/94, which matches the '45' casting stamp (May 1994) on the engine block.

So it just gets two new O-rings.

The rear cover shows no signs of wear. So just a squirt of oil in the rear bronze bushing and it can go on.

New copper washer for the vacuum port/one-way valve.

This banjo vacuum fitting is the only part that needed changing. The Mega Cruiser evidently has a much bigger vacuum circuit than the BJ60 and I took all this off when I first got the Mega Cruiser engine. Part of the system was for a power steering idle-up, but the rest is a mystery to me. The Mega Cruiser vacuum banjo had two ports; the BJ60 only one. The BJ60s simple vacuum system runs to the brake booster and has just one off-take for the AC idle up.

Finished and ready to fit.

EO

 

[Eurasiaoverland]

15B-T injection pump 1

The 15B-T has a rotary type injection pump, like all 3BII and 14B engines. The pump is unique to the 15B-T though many parts are common to other models. The only unique (i.e. unobtainable) parts are the governor linkage, timer piston and parts of the boost compensator. If you are familiar with VE pumps you can see this one is set up to run an auto transmission (all Mega Cruisers are autos unfortunately) by the twin ball joints on the accelerator linkage and the ugly bits bolted to the automatic cold start advance (ACSD). The big idle up/kick-down bracket and vacuum actuator were taken off in Malaysia when I bought the engine. In hindsight I should have kept the actuator, but it's a minor niggle.

The 15B-T pump is Toyota part number 22100-5C080, Denso 096000-9220. But the interesting number is really the VE4/12F1800RND922. That tells us:

VE = Verteiler Einspritz, German for 'distributor injection', which is the technology which Bosch developed in the 1970s that was largely responsible for the introduction of affordable diesel cars in Europe and most of the rest of the world. Denso cloned this technology, and Toyota first adopted it in 1979 on the original L engine.
4 = 4 cylinder.
12 = 12 mm plunger - this is the heart of the pump that ultimately dictates how much fuel can be injected on any single stroke. 12 mm is the largest plunger on a Denso VE pump, same as the 1HD engine family and, strangely, the 1KZ-T.
F = mechanically governed. This means zero electric on the pump aside from the solenoid plunger to stop the engine. This in my opinion is how a diesel engine should operate.
1800 = maximum governed speed of the injection pump. My understanding is that above this speed, no additional fuel will be injected. The injection pump turns at half the engine speed in a 4 stroke engine, so this means 3600 rpm. So to me that means that while the maximum speed of the engine is (I think) 4000 rpm, you are wasting your time going above 3600 rpm.
R = rotates clockwise when looking at the engine/pump from the front of the vehicle.
ND922 = Nippon Denso model 922. By looking at Toyota applications of Denso pumps either side of this number, I get 09/1993 for the preceding entry (ND917) and 05/1993 for the following entry (ND924). So I can roughly deduce that the 15B-T came into being roughly mid to late 1993.

So, what needs doing on the pump?

-ACSD needs either to be removed, or adapted to a manual transmission version.
-24V stop solenoid needs to be replaced with a new 12V solenoid and a new rubber cap/connector wire.
-Mega Cruiser accelerator arm needs to be replaced with a manual transmission version with a single ball and a tab for the idle-up actuator to act on.
-10 mm inlet pipe needs to be replaced with an 8 mm inlet pipe to match the BJ60s fuel lines and filter outputs.

In the picture, I've already removed and temporarily blanked off the ACSD port, then scrubbed the pump clean in a bucket of diesel.

I saw the engine running for all of 30 seconds, so I have no idea if the injection pump leaks. It's a low km engine but it is over 30 years old, so the O-rings are likely to be getting on in age. I don't want to fully dismantle the pump as I have no faith in any local diesel 'specialist'. So I will only change the O-rings in places where it is either very prone to leaking, or where the pump can be dismantled without tampering with any adjustably calibrated parts. I've indicated on the following picture:

Red = common leak points (in my limited experience at least) - so, accelerator arm shaft, timer piston stopper and ACSD shaft. The timer piston stopper is a fine-tuned part, so it will need to be very carefully marked and returned to its original position).
Orange = less common leak points but easy to change - the timer piston covers, ACSD bore, distributive head and pump cover.
Green = leave alone as these do not commonly leak and require undoing calibrated settings, so the max speed screw and governor shaft.

Knowing that the engine had been left standing for likely many years, I was worried that the injection pump might have corrosion or microbial growth inside. So it was with some trepidation that I peered in for the first time after removing the ACSD. Looking at the edge of the camplate and one of the rollers, all looks good.

EO