Leveling my engine conversion FJ80

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Yep. The H3 shifter pops up through the original hole into the FJ80 fascia. There's a little slop, due to the difference in the shaft diameter, but you have to look closely even to notice it.

On another topic, someone recently pointed out that the H3 version of the Atlas motor used a slightly different variant of the Atlas pan, as the 4WD Trailblazer/Envoy series used the pan with the intermediate shaft straight through it, the one that the integral front diff mounted to. The H3 used an independent front diff set-up. To use one of the more common I-6 motors, one can either use the deep pan and ignore the hole through it (which is sealed, no oil can escape) or use the 2WD pan which dispensed with the hole-through-pan entirely.
 
OK. Thanks for the clarification- I hadn't actually seen a 2WD version. I'd have to measure to see if the pan differences cause mechanical clearance problems with the front diff on the FJ80. The H3 pan must be unique across the Atlas applications then, since it dispensed with the hole. Thanks!



QUOTE=Lka1988;4621223]Incorrect.

The 2WD pan on the Atlas I6 still has the hole. Seen it myself multiple times.[/QUOTE]
 
Actually, I think it's the I6 pan that's unique with having the hole. IIRC, neither the H3 nor Colorado/Canyon have the hole.

At any rate, it's a strange design.
 
Lka1988 said:
Actually, I think it's the I6 pan that's unique with having the hole. IIRC, neither the H3 nor Colorado/Canyon have the hole.

At any rate, it's a strange design.
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It is a little bizarre-- I couldn't quite believe it the first time I saw one. It's actually similar to the layout in the earlier-gen AWD Skyline GTRs that the local speed shop used to get in once in awhile. Nissan moved the transfer case back in the car for weight balance (and, added computer control for torque transfer) but then ran a shaft up to the oil pan, which has the front diff built into it.

Strange layout, but it seems to work. The Trailblazer SS has the same thing and the drag racers will get 600+ with F/I or nitrous and the front diff will "usually" hold together. Makes for an interesting launch-- one second the truck is there, the next it's hooked-up and gone.
 
Quick question on your build... Were you able to adapt the factory cruise control to work with the new engine/tranny? This sounds like an interesting option to a future HG/rebuild project, but I don't think I could live w/o cruise control...

Thanks for sharing!
 
Where did you get an Atlas I-5? you may have covered this, but I couldn't find it- Any ideas where I could get an I-5/6?

What's the largest engine that physically can fit into the FJ80 engine compartment without making any changes? -sorry newbie questions - :flipoff2:
 
Appolyon said:
Where did you get an Atlas I-5? you may have covered this, but I couldn't find it- Any ideas where I could get an I-5/6?
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Probably available at a lot of wrecking yards.

What's the largest engine that physically can fit into the FJ80 engine compartment without making any changes? -sorry newbie questions - :flipoff2:
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What do you mean by "without making any changes"? Any swap will require fabricating new motor mounts at least, and probably making changes to the shifter area, fabbing bellhousing adapter or new tranny...
 
I meant along the lines of moving components around in the compartment. I'm starting to see how massive of an undertaking this is.... I'm going to need a second car and do this myself.... Now I see how you guys can stay busy with this for months.... Holy cow....

This is intense.... Thanks for the input Ben- I really didn't have any idea of what I was trying to do... This engine swap is going to wait till i'm out of college and have a garage that I can do this in....
 
Appolyon said:
I meant along the lines of moving components around in the compartment. I'm starting to see how massive of an undertaking this is.... I'm going to need a second car and do this myself.... Now I see how you guys can stay busy with this for months.... Holy cow....

This is intense.... Thanks for the input Ben- I really didn't have any idea of what I was trying to do... This engine swap is going to wait till i'm out of college and have a garage that I can do this in....
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I think some of us were just trying to get you to understand how big of an undertaking this could be. Especially for a "newb" to the mechanical/electronic issues of a vehicle. It looks like you are picking up on it. I wouldn't have had the ability to do a swap myself, or even understand it, a few years ago, but after learning about my rig, and learning from this board for years, I feel I at least have an understanding, but would still need someone to do some fabricating, etc...
It would be great learning opportunity, if you have the time and money, once you have got your feet wet with your rig.

Keep reading the swap threads, and you will begin to soak in all the knowledge available here.:beer::)
 
firetruck41 said:
I think some of us were just trying to get you to understand how big of an undertaking this could be. Especially for a "newb" to the mechanical/electronic issues of a vehicle. It looks like you are picking up on it. I wouldn't have had the ability to do a swap myself, or even understand it, a few years ago, but after learning about my rig, and learning from this board for years, I feel I at least have an understanding, but would still need someone to do some fabricating, etc...
It would be great learning opportunity, if you have the time and money, once you have got your feet wet with your rig.

Keep reading the swap threads, and you will begin to soak in all the knowledge available here.:beer::)
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Ya.. I've been getting that pretty quickly- I have the better part of 8 months with not much to do, so i'm trying to learn what I can. I love my Land Cruiser, horrible gas mileage and all, and i'm going to start out with some smaller mods, when I finally get home to work on it. (I'm on a year Community Service Exchange program learning Arabic) so I'm trying to learn about what I can while I don't have actual classes or anything else pushing on me.

My level of understanding is the primary part. I've just been poking around, asking questions and figuring out what I can do myself.... That's the hard part of not being able to look at the physical things on my Crusher... I can't go and look at things that people mention... there's no landcrusiers here.....

Thanks so much for your help... I'm definitely going to continue to poke around... Most of the questions I have are the really simple ones that no one expects, because i can't look at things... which i feel badly about asking, but they're necessary, and you guys are really good about tolerating me...:beer:
 
Appolyon said:
Where did you get an Atlas I-5? you may have covered this, but I couldn't find it- Any ideas where I could get an I-5/6?

What's the largest engine that physically can fit into the FJ80 engine compartment without making any changes? -sorry newbie questions - :flipoff2:
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I got my I-5 pull from a Hummer H3 dismantled at a salvage yard. They turn up on Ebay Motors Car-and-Truck_Parts searches, as well as the dismantler databases. The I-6 Atlas seems to be MUCH more plentiful than the I-5, due to high volumes in TrailBlazers, Envoys and other trucks. I see them run across pretty often with prices commonly in the $500-800 range for examples in good shape. The I-6 has better dynamic balance and delivers more power in a slightly longer package than the H3 motor we used.

The Duramax is the largest motor I've seen attempted, although there have been a number of OHV Toyota V8s swapped into FJ80s. The steering linkage and the brake booster are the hardest components to clear... Another advantage of the Atlas is that the inline configuration is a dream for the Cruisers. We had lots of room for the Atlas.
 
svensett said:
Quick question on your build... Were you able to adapt the factory cruise control to work with the new engine/tranny? This sounds like an interesting option to a future HG/rebuild project, but I don't think I could live w/o cruise control...

Thanks for sharing!
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Sorry missed this post entirely before... hadn't looked at the thread for ages and it seems to have sprouted new life. I am currently running without Cruiser Control and expect to get around to addressing it this winter, along with a tach adapter.
I am not sure whether the current CC hardware can be used or if I'll need to retrofit with an after-market unit. I'll report back once we get it going.
 
I'm lurking over here from the 60s forum. You engine swap has my attention. I took a look Marks Adapters here:
GM Auto all models

I've never done an engine swap, and am a little confused. Would you mind taking a look at the 4L60E section of the above web page and tell me which one of those adapters is the right one and why (I've got an fj62 with a 3FE engine and A440F 4 speed auto)? Thanks.
 
Hey, SLC-- I'm headed through there on I-15 next week on the way to Lost Wages!

IIRC, we used the MFK1195 kit that is set up for the 700R4 and 4L60E to the LC transfer case. The design is basically the same between the older style and the newer electronically-controlled GM transmissions. Two caveats are: 1) You want the 2WD version of the transmission, NOT the 4WD, since the 2WD has the longer output shaft required to make the Mark's kit work. Thus, the best combo, assuming you are looking at an LL8/4L60 swap, is from a 2WD automatic TrailBlazer/Envoy. Those are cheap and plentiful.
2) You'll need to specify whether the output housing of the transmission is 4-bolt or 6-bolt... I think the Atlas series were all new enough that everything is 6-bolt housing, but you'll want to check it.

The late FJ62 uses the same A440 and TC as the 'early' FJ80, so I believe the components are the same as we used in our project.


I'll take another look at part numbers in the AM, but I think the 1195 brought together several of the pieces into a complete kit for the transmission-to-TC solution. If in doubt, we can always contact Denny down under at Mark's-- they are great and very responsive.

I'll post again tomorrow after I've browsed their site again.

Best regards,
TT


slcfj62 said:
I'm lurking over here from the 60s forum. You engine swap has my attention. I took a look Marks Adapters here:
GM Auto all models

I've never done an engine swap, and am a little confused. Would you mind taking a look at the 4L60E section of the above web page and tell me which one of those adapters is the right one and why (I've got an fj62 with a 3FE engine and A440F 4 speed auto)? Thanks.
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Mark's Part Numbers

OK, I took another look at the Mark's site and followed the links into the FJ6x section. That SHOULD cover the FJ62s, BUT once you start selecting the specific combinations they all appear to be relevant to earlier build (run) dates of FJ60s. IE, pre-dating the build sequences for the FJ62s, at least for their appearance here in the US. Mark's does business all over the world, and is based in Oz, so often their info is oriented more toward the mix of 4WDs sold down there. (They got the delicious H-series diesels that never made it to the US, either...) So, most of the combos seem to be the HF series 5-speeds (from the FJ60s) or the earlier split-case transfer case.

Our FJ80 case was definitely the full-time HF2A here in the US. I THINK that the later FJ62s with A440F got that same case, too. BUT, it's probably worth searching the FJ62 archives or posting a question over there to confirm. For that reason, I was under the impression that the same kit series (MFK1195) we used was the one for an automatic FJ62, too. Mark's offers the MFK in three flavors depending upon 700R, 4L60/4 and 4L60/6, but it's the same basic parts.

If you can confirm the transfer case in your FJ62 we can pose the question to Denny directly.

Hope that helps,
TT


slcfj62 said:
I'm lurking over here from the 60s forum. You engine swap has my attention. I took a look Marks Adapters here:
GM Auto all models

I've never done an engine swap, and am a little confused. Would you mind taking a look at the 4L60E section of the above web page and tell me which one of those adapters is the right one and why (I've got an fj62 with a 3FE engine and A440F 4 speed auto)? Thanks.
Click to expand...
 
TwoTonic said:
OK, I took another look at the Mark's site and followed the links into the FJ6x section. That SHOULD cover the FJ62s, BUT once you start selecting the specific combinations they all appear to be relevant to earlier build (run) dates of FJ60s. IE, pre-dating the build sequences for the FJ62s, at least for their appearance here in the US. Mark's does business all over the world, and is based in Oz, so often their info is oriented more toward the mix of 4WDs sold down there. (They got the delicious H-series diesels that never made it to the US, either...) So, most of the combos seem to be the HF series 5-speeds (from the FJ60s) or the earlier split-case transfer case.

Our FJ80 case was definitely the full-time HF2A here in the US. I THINK that the later FJ62s with A440F got that same case, too. BUT, it's probably worth searching the FJ62 archives or posting a question over there to confirm. For that reason, I was under the impression that the same kit series (MFK1195) we used was the one for an automatic FJ62, too. Mark's offers the MFK in three flavors depending upon 700R, 4L60/4 and 4L60/6, but it's the same basic parts.

If you can confirm the transfer case in your FJ62 we can pose the question to Denny directly.

Hope that helps,
TT
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Thanks for looking that up. I think the transfer case is different between the fj62 and the fj80's. My transfer case is not full time 4X4. And I don't know why I didn't think to pose the question over in the 60's forum. I think that transmission is also run on a V8, and I'm sure there is some experience with that. I also found this on the Advance Adapters website that appears to be the correct one.

Late Model 4L60E to Land Cruiser 19 Spline Split Transfer Case Adapter | Engine & Transmission Conversion Adapters - Advance Adapters

Does that look like it has all the pieces and parts? It also says that it requires the two wheel drive transmission. I didn't know that H3's came in two wheel drive!

Thanks for posting up your conversion. I think I may be moving this to the top of the list.
 
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slcfj62 said:
Thanks for looking that up. I think the transfer case is different between the fj62 and the fj80's. My transfer case is not full time 4X4. And I don't know why I didn't think to pose the question over in the 60's forum. I think that transmission is also run on a V8, and I'm sure there is some experience with that. I also found this on the Advance Adapters website that appears to be the correct one.

Late Model 4L60E to Land Cruiser 19 Spline Split Transfer Case Adapter | Engine & Transmission Conversion Adapters - Advance Adapters

Does that look like it has all the pieces and parts? It also says that it requires the two wheel drive transmission. I didn't know that H3's came in two wheel drive!

Thanks for posting up your conversion. I think I may be moving this to the top of the list.
Click to expand...

Keep the part time t-case, that way if you need to you can run longs without wearing them out fast.
 
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