Builds LX450 "Rex" Build (1 Viewer)

[NeverFinis]

I had an issue with my CDL actuator. The housing was super corroded which caused an issue with taking it apart for cleaning.

The market for used CDL actuators is super weird. You can buy a complete t-case, including a CDL actuator, for less than a CDL actuator alone. I was being asked to pay $200 for the CDL actuator, but what I did instead was pickup a junkyard t-case for $125. BTW, you can find used CDL actuators for $100-$125 on car-part.com.

Now, not only do I have a working CDL actuator, but I also have a rebuildable core that I might put 3:1 gears in.

I reassembled my HVAC, including painting some of the metal bracketry. They were rusty from mouse piss and since it was out for the 3rd time, it was time to paint it.

And reinstalled it..hopefully for the last time.

The way that cable is routed is super weird. It isn't routed as shown the photo. It goes over that first tube on the right, and under the second. It is only then does it have enough length to reach the valve on the firewall.

Tested the cooling system again and it wasn't holding pressure very well. I have really good and strong McMaster constant tension clamps, but they are a pain to use. I switched to lighter duty ones from Amazon. That was a mistake and I put the McMaster ones back on and that solved the pressure loss issue.

Cooling System

Next is to reinstall the t-case...measure for driveshaft length...exhaust...see if it can actually move under its own power!

 

[NeverFinis]

To finish up the transmission cable linkage, I designed a 3D mount to hold the end of the transmission cable. It bolts up to underneath the body, behind the transmission shifter.

I put in slotted holes to allow some adjustment. It puts the transmission cable at the correct angle.
Close up photo of the first version, without the adjustment slots.

One needs to modify the transmission shift lever by shortening it to 96mm pivot to pivot, and changing the angle to 38° as measured by a straight line between the two pivot to pivot points relative to the top of the transmission tunnel. This is in the park position.

This is what it looks like installed. Very simple.

I was using the Toyota rubber isolator, but it added too much slop in the movement. I welded in a hard mount.

I am able to hit every gear position.

I had to check for clearance with the t-case since I don't have it in at the moment. I made a simple cardboard template.

As you can see, the transmission cable mount is above the cardboard in the above picture, and as seen below, everything on the t-case is blow the cardboard

Plenty of room.

Doing some R&R on an early style 4WD lever mount. It was extremely stiff when I received it.

This is all the parts, minus the rubber boot.

 

[NeverFinis]

It has been a while...not that I stopped working on the Rex....

Reinforced the rear upper control arm mounts. They were looking sus.

Did a ton of rust removal and painting.

Rebuilt the CDL actuator motor from a junkyard t-case.

Replaced almost every external bolt on the junkyard t-case

New t-case input seal

New parking brake cable, and painted the base plate.

I had to repair the parking brake bracket on the rear diff. That is a test string in the photo and the axle has now been painted.

 

[NeverFinis]

New plate to reposition the 4WD lever forward 1/2" and to the left 1/2" . I did put the engine forward 1.25" and to the right 0.5" from where Marks4WD puts it and I have a 6l90e, which is 35mm longer than a 6l80e. The 4WD lever is from an early FJ80.

New bumper and top rubber ring for the rear coils.

New rear coils, shocks, upper and lower Dobinson control arms, Panhard bar and new hard and soft brake lines.

The paint is messed up due to the cold, the last layer of paint lifted the first layer of paint, giving a wrinkly look. I might fix that when it gets warm again.

Transmission and 4WD controls have plenty of clearance

I am currently having issues with a vendor on AliExpress customer. First and last purchase on AliExpress. Bought a left and right rear ABS wiring harness and got two lefts... I have sourced the right side from a US distributor for twice the cost. The brackets are rusted on mine and the easiest way to get new brackets is to buy the ABS harness. Rear lines are NLA from Toyota.

I am super focused on the brakes at the moment, which is one of the things keeping the LX450 from moving. I mean, the LX450 should be able to move, but it wouldn't be able to stop... Replacing every hard and soft line I can. The ones that run down the frame have already been replaced years ago. I am now working on all the lines on/near the front axle. I am switching from Slee Extended brake lines to longer OEM versions at all four corners.

 

[NeverFinis]

I haven't posted in a while, but I haven't stopped working on Rex.

Bleed the brakes. This cap worked well and it allowed one person to bleed the brakes.

Started to assemble to front grill. I can put the new bumper on soon.

Cleaned, de-rusted, and painted the transmission shifter plate.

Copper color paint

Did some wiring with the SwapTime Muscle Car Module. This talks to the 6L90e via CanBus. I needed to know when the transmission was in Park/Neutral and Reverse. The starter should only be allowed in Park/Neutral, and I need to be able to turn on the reverse lights. One relay powers the reverse lights, and the R on the dash and the other allows the starter to start.

Installed the Dakota Digital GSS-3000.

Reverse isn't connected because the SwapTime modules takes care of it. I only use the GSS-3000 to activate the other transmission lights on the dash.

Worked on the Tach. The POT in the picture allows you to adjust the RPM for 4, 6 and 8 cylinder engines.

I used a function generator to drive the tach while adjusting the POT to figure that out.

(42 Hz * (60 seconds/minute ))/4 pulses/rev = 650 RPM. SwapTime Muscle Car Module outputs 4 pulses/rev, while the Toyota 1FZ-FE outputs 3 pulses/rev.

You can use a scanner to check your engine's RPM and then adjust the POT to match. To set the tach, connect battery Pos to +, Neg to - and tach signal to P on the tach. I did not need to bypass the resistor. That is only need to be done if your tach signal is 5V and not 12V. One can also use a 5K pullup resistor to bring the 5V pulse up to 12V.

Other than A/C relay, I think I am done wiring. I do have to clean up and package all the wiring. This will take a while and I am slowly assembling the dash.

 

[White Stripe]

It's kind of cool to keep the stock tach. I kind of wish I found a oem looking replacement tach though as the V8 can easily max out the 6k rpm reading if your rev limit is high enough in your ecu tune.

 

[NeverFinis]

That is a good point. So I had to check the rpm limits for my motor.

The RPM limit on my L96 from a GMC Savana is 5600rpm. While it is 6000rpm for the L96 in the pickup. Not sure why the limits are different since I think they are identical motors.

The LX450 Toyota tach is good for me since I am not planning on modifying the motor...yet

I bet you can find another tach or tach face that would substitute in. For example. this 1998-2000 Tacoma Tach

 

[NeverFinis]

I haven't posted in a while, but I am still working on the swap plus went on a long vacation.

Added a Dakota Digital GSS-3000 to the transmission lever to allow the use of the dash gear indicator lights. Park and Reverse dash lights is handled by SwapTime Muscle Car module. The others is handled by the Dakota Digital GSS-3000.

Butchered @Delta VS new crossmember to fit my unique placement of my L96/6L90e.

Wired up the OBD2 port. The L96 and the 6L90e meet at the OBD2 port. I made the twisted pair wire.

Replace the under dash fan with a 50,000 hr version.

Most of the above photos were from January and February and as you can see..it is the little stuff that is getting done.

The last big thing is the exhaust and it has been kicking my ass. I am getting it done, but I should have taken it to a hot rod exhaust who specializes in unique exhausts. On the other hand, I am doing it the way I want it done with mandrel bent 409 stainless.. Pictures to come.

 

[White Sheep]

Park and Reverse dash lights is handled by SwapTime Muscle Car module.

Is that the trick? I was think my drive/reverse bulbs might of been burnt out because those were the only two that didn't illuminate.

 

[NeverFinis]

Is that the trick? I was think my drive/reverse bulbs might of been burnt out because those were the only two that didn't illuminate.

Do you have reverse lights on when in reverse? Is it just the dash indicator bulbs that don't illuminate?

The bulbs do burn out, especially the Drive bulb. I replaced all my transmission indicator bulbs when I had my dash apart.

I use the SwapTime Muscle Car Module for Reverse because it really means the transmission is reporting itself in reverse, rather than relying on the transmission shift lever/linkage. I believe I have the module activate a power relay, which provides power to the reverse lights.

How to wire reverse with a Dakota Digital GSS-3000

 

[White Sheep]

Thanks for the video reference. I watched this when installing mine and believe I did it the same way. I'll look at the bulbs whenever I get in the cluster again.

I do have reverse lights when I put in gear.

 

[NeverFinis]

Cleaned, and painted the parking brake base. New parking cable installed.

Cleaned and painted the center console CD mount. Before vs After.

Made an offset plate to mount the earlier style 4WD lever to the Mark's 4WD 6L80/90e adapter.

Slowly putting the dash back together.

Sound insulating the rear

The front bumper was just in the way in my small garage, so I decided to put it on the truck to get it out of the way.

Last one...new carpet

 

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I try to cut costs where I think it doesn't really matter. In this case, it was the wrong decision. Toyota (left) vs Aftermarket (right) trans mount.

The latter bolt holes didn't line up to Mark's 4WD adapter and had to be adjusted, and one of the bolts striped when I torqued it down.

First attempt at passenger side exhaust. I had to redo it because there was too little clearance to the rear seat heater piping.

Notice that I am using the rear O2 sensors on my swap.

Second attempt, with a flex section.

For some reason I don't have a picture of the driver's side off of the truck, but it tucks up high, and routes over the t-case to get to the other side. Everything is removable with quick connects.

Here is how close the passenger side cat is to everything. Picture is from the front looking towards the back.

Modified a Toyota exhaust mount. It was originally on the outside of the frame, but I moved it inside the frame. The frame slants outward, which the Toyota mount accounts for.

Welded in a couple of nuts to the frame for the above mount.

The bolt is there to make sure the nut is sitting flat with respect to the frame. I then tacked it in and ground smooth.

Did the same with the rear crossmember.

Both of these locations were used to bolt exhaust hangers for the muffler.

I finished the exhaust up until the muffler. It does sound awesome. I need to finish up from the muffler to the back of the truck.

 

[duece71]

Excellent work! Subbed.

 

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I apologize for my s***ty welding. I am learning.

The exhaust has been a major pain but it is getting closer to being done.

This is the cross over from the driver's side.

Looking back at the muffler, and quick connects.

Today I worked on the 3" exhaust pipe after the muffler. I will put a quick connect somewhere...maybe...

 

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I did weld in a quick connect in yesterday....see lower right in picture vs yesterday's picture.

Nope, possible interference issues with the frame where I located it. Less clearance than I wanted. It should be close to the muffler to make sense, but I could have put it further along. I cut it out, and I just welded the pipe to the muffler...

In another thread, I was asked if my tach modification worked in a running vehicle. Posting these photos here for reference. The pot adjusted on the Tach to match the 4 pulses/rev vs what the Toyota tach was expecting (3 pulses/rev). I used a function generator to adjust the pot on the bench but in the truck, a SwapTime Muscle Car Gen V module was reading the CanBus tach messages and producing a 12V tach signal.

Idle

3000 RPM

 

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The exhaust is finally mounted and I am moving onto other things. I pointed the tip towards the corner rather than directly behind the rear passenger tire. I did this mainly because of the rear sliding window right above and prefered the exhaust point towards to corner and away from the sliding window. It will be more prone to trail damage in this location.

I spent most of today torquing suspension bolts, mounting driveshafts, mounting tires and bleeding brakes. The last one is a pain. I think I need a new ABS Actuator. I think its electric motor has given up.

I drove it today, about 10 feet out of the garage and then back in. It hasn't moved under its own power for years and years..

Tons of little stuff left to do. Loom the LS wiring, refresh the axles, replace the locker actuators, replace the driveshafts, finish and fill the A/C, put the interior trim back in, etc...

 

[NeverFinis]

Cleaning up the loom still and other boring stuff.

I did add the Evap Canister Vent Solenoid designed for a 2020 Savana Van, the source of the motor.

Here it is installed and wired in.

It really should be much lower as it does emit gas fumes.

Ideally, I would want to run a tube into the frame like Toyota did.

The one below should allow for a hose to dump into the frame and I might take a look to see what is else out there that would be compatible with the E78 ECM. Part 214-1680

 

[McDowra]

You are gonna love it when you finely get it on the road! I feel like I am driving a 4wheel drive sports car when I am in mine. Even with the problems I am having to fix I really enjoy my l96/with 6l80

 

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I had to drop the sunroof cassette again. I noticed more insulation inside it while working on the dash. WTF? Well, I guess the mice moved back in during the few months the truck was still outside after I dropped the sunroof cassette before.

While I had it down, I cleaned up its mounts.

Original, sanded, and then primered. Not shown, top coat with a darker gray. If given the chance, I clean and paint everything that I can.

As I was reinstalling the sunroof cassette, I noticed that the motor had a damaged limit switch.

I ordered a replacement sunroof motor from ebay.

Working on A/C now, using @cruisermatt A/C LS Swap hose kit.

The line in the picture below, between the condenser and the A/C pump, wants to naturally go across the fender, which is where my battery wants to be.

I forced it to go underneath the battery tray. I might replace it with a section of factory hard line in the future.

Firewall connection.

A/C Evaporator connection.

There isn't a single original component in the A/C. Everything has been replaced.

I still have to put the A/C system under vacuum to see if it holds.