Builds LX450 where to start! (1 Viewer)

[devildogcruiser25]

Well I found today that I need a little more traction. I had been trying to fool myself that the Lex was only going to get used for some unkept dirt roads, but today I really wanted to take it out and see how it did so I jumped in the truck this morning and went to:

http://hiddenfallsadventurepark.com/

Had great weather this morning about 73 and sunny a few clouds. Since I had never been I decided I would just start on the easy stuff and work my way up through the trails as the day went on. Well this was good and bad because about the time I was hitting the 3's it started to pour rain and the steep 20" ledges now became slick and damn near impossible in a truck open front and rear. The last trail I hit was Greenhorn, which I thought by the name of it would be a beginner trail but turned out to be a level 4.

"LEVEL 4
Trails are for highly modified 4x4 vehicles. Steep climbs & descents up to 50%, off camber. Must have at least 35” tires, front and rear lockers, upgraded suspension and winch. High risk of body, suspension and drive train damage. High Risk of Roll Over."

I hated hanging my head and having to back pedal and drive the one way trail backwards. The park was empty and there was no traffic so it wasn't really an issue, but this was a mistake on my part reading the trail name and not knowing its rating....

Anyways what does this mean? It means that within 15 min of getting home I was ordering my Spartan locker.

Only photos I have are the first trail I started of the day and then one on top, of course I didn't stop and take any pics of the good stuff.

This park is highly recommended!

Here is a video I found of a truck doing Greenhorn **Not me**

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5j5BohUejI

.

30 spline right? Asking so I don't order the wrong one.

Sent from my iPhone using IH8MUD

 

[Delancy]

Yeah the guy at the office was telling me all about the toyota get together there next weekend.

Wheeltoberfest, or WTF for short.

A lot of the FJC guys are going, but a Toyota event. I'll be absent, once again.

 

[scottryana]

Yeah here is the one you need

http://www.ringpinion.com/b2c/Produ...=11042&Product=SL_TLC-30&Brand=Spartan_Locker

30 spline right? Asking so I don't order the wrong one.

Sent from my iPhone using IH8MUD

 

[devildogcruiser25]

Yeah here is the one you need

http://www.ringpinion.com/b2c/ProductDetails.aspx?ProdID=11042&Product=SL_TLC-30&Brand=Spartan_Locker

Sweet thanks! I'll be following suit soon.

Sent from my iPhone using IH8MUD

 

[scottryana]

Well came out to the garage today and saw some fluid under the LX450. I assumed it was just water from the A/C, but after a second trip, I noticed it was slightly red. Got under there and soaked it up with a paper towel. Yep definitely red! s***!

So thanksgiving day, laying on my back looking up under the truck, it's all over the transmission pan. Thinking how weird the transmission pan would just lose its seal all at once. And this looks way to light to be the synthetic ATF I use...

PHH has already been changed. replaced the heater control valve this summer. I guess it has to be either the rear heater lines, or an external head gasket leak running down the back of the block? Either way, the head is getting pulled and the HG replaced and rear heater lines done.

So much for buying myself Christmas gifts this year! Lol

 

[Wheelingnoob]

That is where my head gasket went as well. Good luck on the repair, its easy just takes a few days.

Benefit is you will be ready for your turbo

 

[scottryana]

I am second guessing the turbo, the way I use this truck, I think it's just excessive and I just bought a 1UZFE, and a Supra. ha.

So I am hoping to do EMS powered's exhaust and possibly headers then dyno and see how it helps, then do the Landtank MAF and redyno so there are some hard numbers associated with the different modifications.

 

[Wheelingnoob]

I am second guessing the turbo, the way I use this truck, I think it's just excessive and I just bought a 1UZFE, and a Supra. ha.

So I am hoping to do EMS powered's exhaust and possibly headers then dyno and see how it helps, then do the Landtank MAF and redyno so there are some hard numbers associated with the different modifications.

Or you could put a turbo on in low boost 6-8psi and make way more power......excessive is just about right. You know this you have/had fast cars before.

 

[scottryana]

Haha, yeah excessive is usually just about right, but for some reason it just doesn't seem to fit this truck. I am going to keep it slow. If I can just get a little more power out of it for highway hills, with the headers, single cat exhaust, and MAF modification then I will go with the 3:1 transfercase gears and I will be done.

With a lot of thinking I came to the conclusions:
I don't want to have to run premium fuel - not always available
I don't want to add a bunch of clutter to the engine compartment if I need to work on it
I don't want the extra heat under the hood
I don't want to have to be worried about fueling when the temperature changes or if I get bad gas

and I will have two other cars with 725+ hp at the crank for excessive when I need it.

I want reliable, and go anywhere.

 

[G-Cat]

I want reliable, and go anywhere.

Me too...so no Turbo. Then, when I buy it from you, I'll have no worries!

 

[scottryana]

Parts!

And the parts start pouring in.....

Going to have a brand new 17 year old truck. lol

All parts OEM

Aluminum Radiator
Headgasket Kit
Fuel Filter
Heater Hoses B, E (A aka PHH, C, and D already replaced with silicon)
Radiator Hoses x3
Timing Chain
Timing Sprocket
Crank Seal
Oil Pump Seal
Oil pump cover screws x7
Belts x3
Throttle Cable
4ft Vacuum Hose
2 Gallon Toyota Red

Dropped the truck off at EMS powered in Austin, going to have the head removed and gone through, rear heater delete, stainless headers, and full stainless exhaust done by them.

 

[Wheelingnoob]

Good Job doing it right, I did the same when I did my head gasket. Feels good knowing its all new in there and mine ran a hell of a lot quieter after too.

I would send your injectors out for a cleaning as well. I do that on all my cars now when they are down for repairs such as that.

 

[scottryana]

Yeah injector cleaning isn't a bad idea, I will see if I can fit it into the time frame!

 

[Wheelingnoob]

Yeah injector cleaning isn't a bad idea, I will see if I can fit it into the time frame!

I used a local place they had them turned around in 24 hours. Head at the machine shop took longer.

Good Luck,

 

[scottryana]

Oh gotcha, yeah I have only used witch hunter performance for injector cleaning, or T1 racing. I should look around and see what I can find.

 

[scottryana]

EMS Powered putting in work

So the guys at EMS got around to pulling the head off and sent me a few photos, I will be going up Saturday to take a look at things in person, kind of hard to really tell anything without a little clean up.

 

[scottryana]

Continued

This is 140k miles. I don't believe that the truck had regular coolant maintenance before I got it.

 

[scottryana]

Last two

 

[scottryana]

Cross hatch still looks pretty good.

 

[scottryana]

One big concern I do have is the buildup in the cooling system. Like I mentioned before I don't think the coolant was well maintained before I got it. There was the tell tale sign that the previous owner had mixed red and green coolant and it was a mess, before my 4 or 5 flushes. There is still a lot of "build-up" on the upper rad hose neck, any ideas on how to get rid of this? I am not pulling the entire engine down and dipping the block. Chemical flush maybe? Thanks!