"Lola" FZJ80 Build - (eventual) 2UZFE and 5-Speed Swap

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ZackR said:
Are your speeds and miles traveled gps or from the speedometer? With 37" tires you'll need to correct if they are from the speedometer.
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It was GPS tracked, my speedometer doesn't work. I checked it several times through the drive, anytime I hit relatively flat ground and was able to just hold a steady speed, I was around 2000ish RPMs at 60, and 2200ish RPMs at 70. So anyway I look at the numbers, I've got to have 4.56:1 gears in the diffs.
 
COYS said:
With the 2uz, what are you going to do about all the electronics on the dash like tach, warning lights, etc? I recall watching an old slee 2uz 80 conversion vid on YouTube years ago and it was a megaton of work to get it dialed in oem style. But then I’m presuming this ain’t that type of build.

I also understand that a made in Japan truck 2uz is different than a made in USA truck 2uz? Never chased this down myself since I’m not the type of owner with a proclivity toward heart transplants.

Pls disregard if too off course. Gracias!

P.S. fwiw my all new oem 1fzfe is measurably more powerful than the og 287k mile engine it replaced
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I actually plan on doing as much of a full conversion as I can. Whatever updated electronics and features I can pull from my Sequoia and fix into the 80 is going to happen. I was a mechanic by trade (now in school for a career change) and automotive electrical is kind of my specialty. I actually enjoy looking at EWDs (I'm weird, I know). So yeah, anything I can adapt over, will be.
 
R150 is probably OK if you keep the rig on the lighter side and don't put much power through it. R150 is same thing as a Jeep AX15. So Jeeps used them behind the 4.0 and they did OK there. 4.0 is no powerhouse though.

I've fixed hundreds of them, so I guess I've seen the worst of the R150 series transmissions and if you work on them it's hard to get past just how tiny all the shafts and gears are in there- You can tell they were made for very low torque applications like a 3.4 V6 in a Taco. I saw one, almost brand new in the early 2000's where a kid thought his 3.4 4runner was a racecar and somehow managed to snap the end of the countershaft off with 5th gear still pressed on. This was just a stock rig with the 3.4.

The good thing about the R150 is the plethora of ratios available. So the useless/pointless .83 overdrive they put in the Taco and 4Runner R150's can be swapped out to taller ratios. As tall as .67:1 Iirc.
 
While I would love to have a 5 speed behind the 1FZ, I think I am just going to plan on doing it with the 2UZ, that way I can save some money and heartache. I already know pretty much everything I need to convert the 2UZ and the stuff I'm not 100% on will be easy to figure out once I've got the engine out.

What I am really going to focus on is mating the HF2AV to the R150F, that is going to be a puzzle to figure out. Because I have two of them (R150F) I wouldn't even need to wait for it, because I could install with the VF1A and swap in the HF2AV when I've gotten it complete. However, that does require other modifications/concessions as it is not an offset rear output.

In the meantime, I am trying to find a spare HF2A or HF2AV to use as a mockup, if I can find one that is damaged or broken that would work because I just want to check mounting surfaces and input shaft stuff to use as mockup.

Looks like I may have one lined up.
 
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Twenty, or even ten years ago, I would have been all about the manual, now I just want a 5 speed auto that wastes less fuel!

I do keep eyeing that R151f with the 23 spline t-case that I've had rat-holed for the past decade, but I'm starting to think I should sell it to buy something I'll actually use.
 
Marvelicious said:
Twenty, or even ten years ago, I would have been all about the manual, now I just want a 5 speed auto that wastes less fuel!

I do keep eyeing that R151f with the 23 spline t-case that I've had rat-holed for the past decade, but I'm starting to think I should sell it to buy something I'll actually use.
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Honestly I feel that, I was totally against an auto until I had the Sequoia. The A750F just worked, it shifted smooth, had plenty of power, and worked how I needed/wanted. But when I was working through the transfer case problem of my swap, I saw a thread about the 5-speed, and I found a couple nearby for a good deal. That got me really excited. I am definitely going to keep everything (as much as is feasible) in place so that I can swap back to the auto if it doesn't work out. And who knows, it may end up being a bad idea altogether and I end up just selling both R150Fs.
 
I have both Motors - Love each for what it is.

The 1FZ-FE is a Refined Tractor Motor and the 2UZ is Smooth and Powerful, but it also has a Timing Belt (Mines due) and Starter Under Intake (Mines 200K)

The 80 is Very Slow by Today's Standards, but I had a 22RE 4 Runner so I'm not new to the Game.

I'd never even Consider Changing for Economy and if efficiency drove the Decision I would go Diesel.
 
Hornd said:
I have both Motors - Love each for what it is.

The 1FZ-FE is a Refined Tractor Motor and the 2UZ is Smooth and Powerful, but it also has a Timing Belt (Mines due) and Starter Under Intake (Mines 200K)

The 80 is Very Slow by Today's Standards, but I had a 22RE 4 Runner so I'm not new to the Game.

I'd never even Consider Changing for Economy and if efficiency drove the Decision I would go Diesel.
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If it were only efficiency I wouldn't either. But efficiency is only an added benefit on top of the power. Like I said before, my ultimate would be a turbo-diesel, but that isn't in the cards anytime soon. Unless I went with a little 2.0 TDI, which I could do, and have available. But I don't think that is a good fit for this application.
 
Well another day, another transmission...lmao

29UeV0y.jpeg


Picked up a complete transmission with TC, I believe he said it was an A343F, but the important bit is the TC, another HF2AV, so now I have a spare unit, but more importantly, I can start working on mating it to the R150F well before I need to pull anything off of Lola.

I will end up cleaning up the trans and reselling it in the future. But for now, I can start working on that side of it...once I get a couple other projects out of the way...

I also picked up everything for a good tune-up on the 1FZ. And I will be doing that tomorrow before my first off-road adventure with her on Saturday. Can't wait for that.
 
So I did not get everything done today I wanted. I wanted to:

• Oil Change
• Trans Filter Change
• Air Filter
• Fuel Filter
• Spark Plugs
• Wireset
• Distributor Cap and Rotor
• Coolant Flush
• Thermostat
• PCV Valve and Grommet
• Hood and Liftgate Strut
• Shocks Front and Rear
• Steering Stabilizer
• Battery Box Install
• Battery Replacement
• Battery Cutoff Switch w/ 300 Amp Circuit Breaker
• Winch Install
• Window Visors
• CB Install

Which I know is quite a bit of stuff. But I had intended to work on this all day, I got up at 7AM with my wife, went down to the garage and started cleaning up my work area, reorganizing the garage, throwing out old parts and boxes I did need anymore, moved my toolboxes, unloaded the transmissions, and then suddenly it was 3:30 in the afternoon by the time I get the 80 pulled up...since I had to open the hatch to unload the transmissions and the hood to do the work, that was the perfect time to swap out the factory original struts, so anyway I drop the oil and pull the filter. Awesome, getting started.

Reach into the box of parts from Napa, pull out the jugs of oil, and...no oil filter. Check through all my boxes, nope. Not there...also missing the thermostat. Great, so now I have to leave it sitting there while I head back into town to get the filter and thermostat that they forgot to throw in my box. They were still sitting on the shelf where they collected my parts. Of course there is an accident and construction, so a 22 minute drive turned into 50 minutes.

Oh also, now I need to go to the grocery store and pick up the wife from work. Didn't get home until 6:20PM. Now it's time to cook and eat dinner. And finally, I can put on the new filter and refill oil. Oh wow, look at the time, it is 8:45PM, and now we need to go to Wal-Mart for some last minute stuff before tomorrow.

So yeah, I got the Hood and Liftgate struts replaced, Oil Change done, and the Air Filter replaced.

That is all I got done. Once again...still trying to change that lightbulb.
 
That's a nice list, but even the most experienced 80 series technician could likely never complete it in one day :) Stuff always comes up.

You mentioned NAPA for oil filter, just make sure it's not a Wix. Search for that in the forum and you'll find that several people had catastrophic failures from these filters.
 
I hate when life sneaks up on you and just steals all your time away. I didn't even have her back together and I got pulled to a thousand other things that had to get done. And I started working again. And I had to move all my projects and storage. Good news is, I got a shop. I am so excited about it. I will post some pictures up for it soon. Also, things are changing.

Since I got myself a shop and I have the space to work on projects now. I was able to source an entire donor sequoia (for very cheap) with a blown head gasket 2UZ. So I will be fixing my original Sequoia. And then pulling and rebuilding the blown 2UZ for Lola. Unless I can find a good diesel donor in the meantime. But it looks like the 1FZ will be sticking around a bit longer. I will also end up parting out the rest of that Sequoia once I've got what I need from it.

Just yesterday I had my first opportunity to take Lola off road. I went up to Tahuya with a group and ran with them for their "beginner skills run". I missed it so much, I was so happy to go, and I'll be going back out this weekend for a 3-day camping/off road trip. I will post pictures and videos from both trips asap.
 
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