*chefs kiss*
Build My GCC Spec 1HD-FTE Converted FZJ100
- Thread starter gnarlynick2072
- Start date
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Beautiful and inspirational, Nick! I have to ask, did anyone come up and ask about your truck and its Middle East go-faster stripes and factory rear spare? The OEM mount for spare in particular is really noticeable to anyone 'in the know'. Did anyone ask about the fact that it is diesel?
- Thread starter
- #283
Funny you mention that. Literally ZERO people during my three trips to the US asked about my truck, and zero waves from oncoming cruisers. No one cared.
I get lots of questions at gas stations in Canada though!
That's hilarious- if I saw your truck in person I wouldn't let you get away 
- Thread starter
- #285
Time for an update!
I figured I was long overdue for another upgrade... I have a recurring driveline vibration which I traced to my back axle. And since it is the only part that is untouched, I figured why not rebuild it and check it off the list.
I got myself an e-locked axle and decided to reuse/modify my current housing. The reason being that I actually really like my drum brake (the donor had rotors) especially with the manual trans. If I'm on a steep incline, I KNOW I can pull the e-brake and it'll hold position with the engine running.
I got new bearings, seals, flange and AISIN elocker. The 3rd member ended up looking really sharp.
My buddy Billy was able to help me cut a notch in my housing to accommodate the elocker. As far as I could tell from my research, that is the only difference in the housing. Well, plus slightly different length studs, which I bought new of course...
Cleaning the housing after cutting took a VERY long time. We spent ~3 hours just cleaning the internals of the housing to clear debris and old material from the previous diff. I think we got it pretty clean, though I'll still do a fluid flush after ~100km or so.
All in and installed! I have my axles out getting rebuilt at a shop with new bearings so those will go in very soon and hopefully the 100 will be smooth as butter... fingers crossed for the love of god fingers crossed.
I figured I was long overdue for another upgrade... I have a recurring driveline vibration which I traced to my back axle. And since it is the only part that is untouched, I figured why not rebuild it and check it off the list.
I got myself an e-locked axle and decided to reuse/modify my current housing. The reason being that I actually really like my drum brake (the donor had rotors) especially with the manual trans. If I'm on a steep incline, I KNOW I can pull the e-brake and it'll hold position with the engine running.
I got new bearings, seals, flange and AISIN elocker. The 3rd member ended up looking really sharp.
My buddy Billy was able to help me cut a notch in my housing to accommodate the elocker. As far as I could tell from my research, that is the only difference in the housing. Well, plus slightly different length studs, which I bought new of course...
Cleaning the housing after cutting took a VERY long time. We spent ~3 hours just cleaning the internals of the housing to clear debris and old material from the previous diff. I think we got it pretty clean, though I'll still do a fluid flush after ~100km or so.
All in and installed! I have my axles out getting rebuilt at a shop with new bearings so those will go in very soon and hopefully the 100 will be smooth as butter... fingers crossed for the love of god fingers crossed.
- Thread starter
- #287
AISIN Actuators are available on Rockauto actually! Marginally cheaper than OEM but still way too expensive...
You can remove the actuator quite easily, but you need to remove the plate that holds the position switch first to remove the bolt on the actuator fork, then the actuator can come out.
- Thread starter
- #288
H152F conversion and vibrations solved!
Well it’s been a while since I’ve updated this thread.
I’ve had minor to major driveline vibrations on this vehicle since I’ve owned it and it’s plagued me for years. The 3rd member install didn’t make a difference which was a bummer so I finally admitted defeat and took it to a shop for analysis. They put it on a hoist and ran the vehicle and said that my vibrations/noise was most likely coming from the transfer case.
So, I went on a journey and found the most cost effective option for a new replacement - an HF1A from the JDM spec GRJ76. Brand new OEM.
There are a few differences between the 100 transfer case and this one, notably the transfer shifter tower. It is cut too low and only 2 holes are tapped on the GRJ76 version.
So I took a big chance and got the tower cut on my old casing to act as a spacer on the new one.
And had my buddy help drill and tap new holes on the brand new transfer case.
Well it’s been a while since I’ve updated this thread.
I’ve had minor to major driveline vibrations on this vehicle since I’ve owned it and it’s plagued me for years. The 3rd member install didn’t make a difference which was a bummer so I finally admitted defeat and took it to a shop for analysis. They put it on a hoist and ran the vehicle and said that my vibrations/noise was most likely coming from the transfer case.
So, I went on a journey and found the most cost effective option for a new replacement - an HF1A from the JDM spec GRJ76. Brand new OEM.
There are a few differences between the 100 transfer case and this one, notably the transfer shifter tower. It is cut too low and only 2 holes are tapped on the GRJ76 version.
So I took a big chance and got the tower cut on my old casing to act as a spacer on the new one.
And had my buddy help drill and tap new holes on the brand new transfer case.
- Thread starter
- #289
And then the fun part.
I had originally bought a new H152F for my 80 series restoration but figured it wouldn’t be finished for quite a few years and might as well make my 100 a pleasant highway driver.
So we tore down both gearboxes on the benches.
And installed the necessary conversion components including the 1HD/1FZ input shaft, throw out bearing shaft and 1HD bell housing. It went quite smoothly! Only downside was we couldn’t reuse the nice shiny new casing as the 100 casings are completely different, so it’s somewhat of a sleeper gearbox.
And as always, it was a gigantic pain in the ass to install. No job is worse than installing a manual trans on the garage floor.
After all the work and installing the new transfer case I have to say that the driveline vibrations are gone!! It was so much smoother and the new 5th gear makes an unbelievable difference on the highway. It’s very pleasant. Not sure if anyone else has done this but one thing I noticed was that the H152 needed a bit of a break in period before it started shifting nicely.
Next job - redoing my spare battery system and new injectors!
I had originally bought a new H152F for my 80 series restoration but figured it wouldn’t be finished for quite a few years and might as well make my 100 a pleasant highway driver.
So we tore down both gearboxes on the benches.
And installed the necessary conversion components including the 1HD/1FZ input shaft, throw out bearing shaft and 1HD bell housing. It went quite smoothly! Only downside was we couldn’t reuse the nice shiny new casing as the 100 casings are completely different, so it’s somewhat of a sleeper gearbox.
And as always, it was a gigantic pain in the ass to install. No job is worse than installing a manual trans on the garage floor.
After all the work and installing the new transfer case I have to say that the driveline vibrations are gone!! It was so much smoother and the new 5th gear makes an unbelievable difference on the highway. It’s very pleasant. Not sure if anyone else has done this but one thing I noticed was that the H152 needed a bit of a break in period before it started shifting nicely.
Next job - redoing my spare battery system and new injectors!
- Thread starter
- #290
It's been a little while since I've updated this thing.
BIG NEWS - I've made the big decision to take a trip of a lifetime in the 100. I will be taking 4 months away from work and traveling to Europe/Morocco in the 100. Crazy, I know. I figured it might be fun to try some camping/van life through Europe and then hit the dunes and rocky landscape in Morocco. Gotta live while I still have my youth.
THE PLAN - Drive the 100 to San Francisco and drop it off at the port where it'll get loaded and shipped to the Netherlands.
I had to get the 100 all ready for the journey, which required quite a bit of planning, repairs and lots of packing.
On my last trip I cooked my brakes, so I replaced the fronts with new OEM rotors/pads/shims. Turns out I cooked the rears as well but I didn't realize in time until I already left on my journey.
I had to redo a lot of my camping setup as the shipping line would not allow me to carry an Ecoflow battery. So I installed an inverter at the back if I ever need NA 120V power. To be honest, it's mostly for my little kettle for making tea in the morning. But worth it.
Also took the time to install built in LED's on my new Alu Cab 270 awning. I made a wire harness that runs from the awning to the tent power and spliced into the 12V circuit.
For the trip I also wanted the ability to sleep inside. So I pulled the twin back seats and built an extension for my drawer system. This also gave me room for extra storage underneath. I didn't have time to built anything fancy, so I'll have to live with containers for this trip.
Almost ready to go! Got my fridge and essentials packed into the drawers. I ran out of time/ideas for an integrated water system, plus I didn't want water lines running all over the place potentially leaking and causing trouble on the trip. So I decided to put my Rotopax water container inside and bought an electric pump. It isn't a huge amount of water, but I plan to be buying larger bulk containers once I get overseas.
BIG NEWS - I've made the big decision to take a trip of a lifetime in the 100. I will be taking 4 months away from work and traveling to Europe/Morocco in the 100. Crazy, I know. I figured it might be fun to try some camping/van life through Europe and then hit the dunes and rocky landscape in Morocco. Gotta live while I still have my youth.
THE PLAN - Drive the 100 to San Francisco and drop it off at the port where it'll get loaded and shipped to the Netherlands.
I had to get the 100 all ready for the journey, which required quite a bit of planning, repairs and lots of packing.
On my last trip I cooked my brakes, so I replaced the fronts with new OEM rotors/pads/shims. Turns out I cooked the rears as well but I didn't realize in time until I already left on my journey.
I had to redo a lot of my camping setup as the shipping line would not allow me to carry an Ecoflow battery. So I installed an inverter at the back if I ever need NA 120V power. To be honest, it's mostly for my little kettle for making tea in the morning. But worth it.
Also took the time to install built in LED's on my new Alu Cab 270 awning. I made a wire harness that runs from the awning to the tent power and spliced into the 12V circuit.
For the trip I also wanted the ability to sleep inside. So I pulled the twin back seats and built an extension for my drawer system. This also gave me room for extra storage underneath. I didn't have time to built anything fancy, so I'll have to live with containers for this trip.
Almost ready to go! Got my fridge and essentials packed into the drawers. I ran out of time/ideas for an integrated water system, plus I didn't want water lines running all over the place potentially leaking and causing trouble on the trip. So I decided to put my Rotopax water container inside and bought an electric pump. It isn't a huge amount of water, but I plan to be buying larger bulk containers once I get overseas.
Hey Nick, your Big News is quite exciting! Congratulations!
Every time I look at your thread and see your 1HD-FTE I re-examine my life choices. And I inevitably conclude that the 1HD-T is the one for me with its lowly 12 valves and no electronics. Then I run into a kit to transform a 1HD-FTE into what they call a 1HD-FTM, which changes the electronic fuel pump out for a manual one--at quite a price (around 7500 CAD if memory serves). And then I conclude that probably the 1HD-T is still the best one for me.
Been looking for another one here in Dubai. They do show up. Just today a friend sent me this photo of one in a Japanese half-cut.
Automatic transmission (which is of no use to me) and 379K km. And the expected price, as is, is somewhere North of 11.5k CAD which seems a bit much for something that surely needs a ground up rebuild.
I think your trip is going to be grand! I know a guy who drove a LX470 from Dubai through the region to France and back, and I'd be happy to put you in touch if that would be helpful.
Every time I look at your thread and see your 1HD-FTE I re-examine my life choices. And I inevitably conclude that the 1HD-T is the one for me with its lowly 12 valves and no electronics. Then I run into a kit to transform a 1HD-FTE into what they call a 1HD-FTM, which changes the electronic fuel pump out for a manual one--at quite a price (around 7500 CAD if memory serves). And then I conclude that probably the 1HD-T is still the best one for me.
Been looking for another one here in Dubai. They do show up. Just today a friend sent me this photo of one in a Japanese half-cut.
Automatic transmission (which is of no use to me) and 379K km. And the expected price, as is, is somewhere North of 11.5k CAD which seems a bit much for something that surely needs a ground up rebuild.
I think your trip is going to be grand! I know a guy who drove a LX470 from Dubai through the region to France and back, and I'd be happy to put you in touch if that would be helpful.