GTSSportCoupe
2LTE abuser
Also, here is a thread with a few pictures of the first V8 Prado in BC Canada: https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/uzj78-1uzfe-into-lj78-north-america.856990/
LJ78 2LTE to ?________? Engine Swap
- Thread starter Fraughton
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
- Thread starter
- #22
Thanks for the tips GTSSportCoupe! I almost got the engine pulled this past weekend however the exhaust proved to be more difficult than expected! haha
Got the ECU pulled and all the wires marked and un-clipped that I can get to. Man this car has a lot of wires and clips...
Pulled the exhaust system out behind the dual Catalytic Converters with a lot of "elbow grease"...
Disconnected the drive shaft from the transmission and then from the car.
Also removed the MAF, igniters, and kept the oxygen sensors from the exhaust.
Separated the AC unit from the engine. I read somewhere that there won't be enough room for this in the truck engine bay anyways.
There's a few clips for sensors that I won't be able to quite get at until the engine is starting to be pulled.
I have since decided to pull the engine with the transmission because I don't think there is enough room to remove the bolts holding them together.
I believe all I have left to do before pulling the engine now is engine mounts and transmission mounting bracket.
I'm not working on it this weekend, but will be next weekend.
Got the ECU pulled and all the wires marked and un-clipped that I can get to. Man this car has a lot of wires and clips...
Pulled the exhaust system out behind the dual Catalytic Converters with a lot of "elbow grease"...
Disconnected the drive shaft from the transmission and then from the car.
Also removed the MAF, igniters, and kept the oxygen sensors from the exhaust.
Separated the AC unit from the engine. I read somewhere that there won't be enough room for this in the truck engine bay anyways.
There's a few clips for sensors that I won't be able to quite get at until the engine is starting to be pulled.
I have since decided to pull the engine with the transmission because I don't think there is enough room to remove the bolts holding them together.
I believe all I have left to do before pulling the engine now is engine mounts and transmission mounting bracket.
I'm not working on it this weekend, but will be next weekend.
- Thread starter
- #23
Hey Cruiser community!
The last two years have been very busy between work and moving to Vancouver and then Kamloops; and because of that I am not as far into this as I'd hoped to be (I had hoped to be done... haha).
Here’s the update:
The 1Uz came out of the LS400 without much of a problem. I had to put a body lift on the Prado to fit the engine under the hood, which was much harder than anticipated because just about every bolt was rusted in place! I've since mated the 1UZ to the R151 transmission using an adaptor kit I got from 1uzfeswapkit.com. The kit includes a T56 hydraulic throwout bearing line kit, hydraulic throwout bearing, pilot bearing, the adaptor plate itself, flywheel, and flywheel bolts.
The engine is currently in the engine bay attached only to the transmission and sitting on blocks on the axle (no engine mounts yet). I’m having trouble with space in the engine bay that I want to resolve before ordering engine mounts.
Firstly, there’s not enough room on either side of the engine for the stock headers and there is less than 2 inches of clearance between the oil pan and axle/diff (at the closest point). I intend on solving these two by installing a suspension lift. Any suggestions on how much clearance I should be aiming for with the oil pan?
Secondly, the heads are making solid contact with the firewall. Without making modifications to the drivetrain, I don’t see how I can free up space at the firewall short of taking a sledgehammer to it. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Thanks everyone! I’ll be posting pictures soon!
The last two years have been very busy between work and moving to Vancouver and then Kamloops; and because of that I am not as far into this as I'd hoped to be (I had hoped to be done... haha).
Here’s the update:
The 1Uz came out of the LS400 without much of a problem. I had to put a body lift on the Prado to fit the engine under the hood, which was much harder than anticipated because just about every bolt was rusted in place! I've since mated the 1UZ to the R151 transmission using an adaptor kit I got from 1uzfeswapkit.com. The kit includes a T56 hydraulic throwout bearing line kit, hydraulic throwout bearing, pilot bearing, the adaptor plate itself, flywheel, and flywheel bolts.
The engine is currently in the engine bay attached only to the transmission and sitting on blocks on the axle (no engine mounts yet). I’m having trouble with space in the engine bay that I want to resolve before ordering engine mounts.
Firstly, there’s not enough room on either side of the engine for the stock headers and there is less than 2 inches of clearance between the oil pan and axle/diff (at the closest point). I intend on solving these two by installing a suspension lift. Any suggestions on how much clearance I should be aiming for with the oil pan?
Secondly, the heads are making solid contact with the firewall. Without making modifications to the drivetrain, I don’t see how I can free up space at the firewall short of taking a sledgehammer to it. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Thanks everyone! I’ll be posting pictures soon!
GTSSportCoupe
2LTE abuser
Sorry to hear of the headaches! Nice to see you back on the forum though, and I think it's awesome you're using the R151 with the 1UZ. You should check out Postoy's 1UZ LJ78 swap thread. He's encountered some of the same things. You guys should talk. 1UZ Swap into LJ78 Prado
- Thread starter
- #25
Here's a link to some pictures I've taken so far during the swap
1UZFE Prado (LJ78) Build
And thanks GTSSportCoupe, I'll definitely be taking a look at Postoy's swap thread!
1UZFE Prado (LJ78) Build
And thanks GTSSportCoupe, I'll definitely be taking a look at Postoy's swap thread!
Hey Fraughton, Great to see someone else in the same boat! Very cool that you are going 5spd with your swap. I assume your truck was already 5spd? You might encounter a few less issues not having to sort out the Autobox.
Interesting to hear that you had to install a body lift, I didn't run into that issue. I ended up sliding my UZ forward 3/4-1" to gain some firewall clearance and the factory headers seem to fit with no issue.
Do you have a suspension lift in your truck? A 3" Lift will help a lot with your pan clearance. Even with that though you will have to install taller bump stops or clearance the pan a little.
How are you making out with wiring? That is where I have run into a bit of a roadblock. (Just lack of experience) I have now (just the other night) Opted to pull the entire harness off the engine (Trying not to break as many connectors as possible) So I can delete as much as possible in the efforts to make routing the harness into the truck. I have a USD 1uz so the harness comes out on the prado drivers side. I am going to attempt to mount the ecu under the dash but being that is is quite a large ecu I might have to run it into the glove box.
In your post you mentioned that you were going to order engine mounts? Where did you find these? I ended up modding the stock prado mount to attached to the UZ. Its ugly but it works, and they are hidden well by the headers so nobody can judge haha.
Let me know if you need any help. I have done a truck load of research and have tons of different wiring diagrams for the ecu plugs and junction (body) plugs. My swap is going extremely slow as I have been in the same boat (moving around) and my 2 year old takes up alot of my time. But I try and get out there for a few hours every week. I am lacking in the updates and I really should get on it as I have got a bit done since my last update on my thread.
Interesting to hear that you had to install a body lift, I didn't run into that issue. I ended up sliding my UZ forward 3/4-1" to gain some firewall clearance and the factory headers seem to fit with no issue.
Do you have a suspension lift in your truck? A 3" Lift will help a lot with your pan clearance. Even with that though you will have to install taller bump stops or clearance the pan a little.
How are you making out with wiring? That is where I have run into a bit of a roadblock. (Just lack of experience) I have now (just the other night) Opted to pull the entire harness off the engine (Trying not to break as many connectors as possible) So I can delete as much as possible in the efforts to make routing the harness into the truck. I have a USD 1uz so the harness comes out on the prado drivers side. I am going to attempt to mount the ecu under the dash but being that is is quite a large ecu I might have to run it into the glove box.
In your post you mentioned that you were going to order engine mounts? Where did you find these? I ended up modding the stock prado mount to attached to the UZ. Its ugly but it works, and they are hidden well by the headers so nobody can judge haha.
Let me know if you need any help. I have done a truck load of research and have tons of different wiring diagrams for the ecu plugs and junction (body) plugs. My swap is going extremely slow as I have been in the same boat (moving around) and my 2 year old takes up alot of my time. But I try and get out there for a few hours every week. I am lacking in the updates and I really should get on it as I have got a bit done since my last update on my thread.
- Thread starter
- #27
Yup, the truck was running the R151F with the 2LTE originally. I've read some good things about the R151F so I decided it was worth keeping. I see your trans is off a '92 LS400 as is mine. I have a ton of spare/extra parts that I may not need (especially relays and some of the connectors that I won't need for the standard swap) off the LS400, let me know if you need something for your auto swap.
I'm largely a rookie in the field of wrenching, so forgive the basic questions; but how exactly were you able to move the UZ forward? I'm guessing you used a driveshaft spacer on the rear driveshaft? But what about the front driveshaft? Also, I suppose you had to somehow adjust the position of the trans mount?
USD?
Since this is the first time I've attempted anything even close to an engine swap, I don't want to have too many moving parts at a time and because of that haven't started the wiring yet. My plan is to carefully take apart the harness and try to neatly run it into the glove box as well. I'll be using this wiring guide as a reference when I get started though This is how you wire up a 1UZ-FE Engine.pdf
The best option I've found for motor mounts so far is here 1UZ/2UZ | North West Toys. I emailed them regarding the dimensions of their mounts and they were quick to respond. They also offered to "send you the engine side mount all welded up and the plate for the frame side but leave the metal plates between the two unfinished. This would allow you to have the plates independent of each other to set the engine where you want it. Once its set then you could weld the plates in place completing the mount for your application. We have done this in the past for customers that have unique applications fitting the 1uz. This takes most of the guess work out of the equation."
And thanks, same goes to you!
- Thread starter
- #28
There's also this Engine Mounting Bracket Lexus V8 | Lexus V8 Products & Services | Akasia, Pretoria | JM Lexus V8 Engine Conversions | Akasia, Pretoria that I've found for engine mounts, but I'll likely go with the former.
GTSSportCoupe
2LTE abuser
A while back I found a company in NZ that advertises on facebook and has done many 1UZ into LJ78 swaps. They had lots of pictures of a swap they had done. I saved all the pictures to my computer in case I ever did the swap myself. I figured I may as well upload all these pictures for you guys to look at too. Might give you some ideas and answer some questions.
Here is the album; there are about a 100 photos there:
1UZ LJ78 Pictures
- Thread starter
- #30
Has anyone tried throwing an LS1 or other small block American V8 into a 78 yet? Seems like an obvious choice in North America. I would think the sheer number and variety of upgrades available for that motor would make it a popular swap. What obstacles am I not taking into account?
GTSSportCoupe
2LTE abuser
Give it a try! I know people have done it into the 80 and 60 series trucks. I'd think it would be the same sort of deal.
1UZ is readily and cheaply available and a reliable motor. Being Toyota, it works with the Toyota transmissions as well. It's also been done quite a few times already. And some people like to keep it all Toyota.
If I were a better mechanic and had time on my hands, I just might. Too big a job for me, though.
I was at Torfab a couple months ago and they were fitting what looked like a supercharged LT4 crate motor into an 80 series. Next time I'm over there, I'll see if they've done something similar to a 78.
I was at Torfab a couple months ago and they were fitting what looked like a supercharged LT4 crate motor into an 80 series. Next time I'm over there, I'll see if they've done something similar to a 78.
Ask Tor if the Cummings 2.8 in his rig would work in the lj78! I want to know.
If I were willing to blow $15K to $20K on an engine swap, the Cummins crate motor would be the way I'd go.
I think if I was looking to go non Toyota for a swap Id look at the vortec v6 out of the jimmys or maybe an inline 5 from the trail blazer. These are cheap and make good power (for an lj78) Big ole chev would be cool though.
I also think my 5.7 hemi in my magnum would make a sweet swap. But the UZ is just such a cool engine.. and that exhaust note! They almost have a tuned Italian sound to them.
I also think my 5.7 hemi in my magnum would make a sweet swap. But the UZ is just such a cool engine.. and that exhaust note! They almost have a tuned Italian sound to them.
My Prado LJ78 with BMW M57 swap.
Dude, You are my hero! I need details!
Now that's a proper swap.
I am not a fan of any LS swaps in Land Cruisers or Land Rovers. I just don't understand it. They were never made to be fast and unless you spend comparable money everywhere else it seems a waste. And, a recipe for bad things occurring at inopportune times.
I am not a fan of any LS swaps in Land Cruisers or Land Rovers. I just don't understand it. They were never made to be fast and unless you spend comparable money everywhere else it seems a waste. And, a recipe for bad things occurring at inopportune times.
I use BMW engine M57(remove from 530D 2003) and Toyota LJ78 original gearbox.
Flywheel, starter, clutch- BMW.
Bell make myself use BMW bell.
Radiator - original Toyota LJ78. Intercooler form Range Rover P38. Radiator move in front 20mm. Gearbox in same place 100%.
Next important - 41/10 rear axle ratio (from 4 Runer 1KZ) and 14/10 front axle ratio from Land Cruiser 80.
Result - 1-100km/h -11sec, Vmax 160km/h. Fuel consumption - 9-11L/100km.
Car run GREAT!
