My new 1990 HDJ81

[FMC80]

Alright, after nearly 12 days and a number of misteps, it looks like the 12v starter conversion is complete. After initial completion, it appeared to be a failed attempt, but i was able to find where i had wired something incorrectly, fixed that and it started right up and seems to be working completely

Good work brother. I might be following suit...maybe. Wait I need to find a freakin HDJ81 first!

 

[TuffMudder]

You're in Japan! I would think it would be considerably easier to find one there

 

[FMC80]

You're in Japan! I would think it would be considerably easier to find one there

Oh it is, there’s plenty to be had. In my time here I’ve found the LCs I’ve come across are either beat to a pulp with the gaudiest of “mods” or completely pristine in most ways. Harder to find the latter but they’re out there. I’m not looking for perfect but I have plenty of time so I’m taking it.

 

[TuffMudder]

Well good luck with your search. I'm loving mine!

 

[TuffMudder]

Ok, after completing the 12v conversion I swapped back to the stock airbox. BIG difference! Egts went up close to 200 degrees and throttle became less responsive. I will put the new back on but need to have the outlet enlarged from 2.5" to 3".

I don't have any jis bolts locally so I ordered some through boltdepot.com and overland metric. Makes it easier to deal with broken or misplaced bolts

Had the 4x4labs rear bumper installed and it is built like a tank. Very happy with it. I haven't put the swing outs on yet

Of course that does leave me with all of those parts from the rear bumper and tire carrier yet. Haven't decided what to do with them yet, but don't really see a point in keeping them

SOLD

SOLD

Including an entire rear bumper

I haven't put the rock sliders on yet, but I'm hoping to find time this weekend

They had to chop the rear resonator (mini muffler? Ive seen it called both) to install the bumper so the 81 is a fair bit louder at the moment, but I'm having a new exhaust put on next Wednesday, which should get the noise back under control

Several other minor jobs in the works as well, but hats the general gist of where I am on the LC!

 

[TuffMudder]

I was able to do a little more work this past week

Thankfully, I had plenty help

I installed the white knuckle rock sliders which Im VERY happy with. Easy to install with a floor jack and two jack stands. Only issue was get the sliders in the right position to slip the ubolts through. You PROBABLY do this alone, but those final fine adjustments are a PITA to try to do alone, so i just had my wife make the final small adjustments by pulling on or tilting the slider rails. White knuckle makes a great rock slider for the HDJ81, but you do have to call them and let them know what your needing and they can modify one of their existing slider to work. I think they actually modified their 100 series sliders.

I also put the rear tire carrier, hi-lift and shackles on the rear bumper

 

[TuffMudder]

The biggest thing this week was finally getting a 3" turbo back mandrel bent exhaust tucked inside the frame. The difference it made was remarkable.

• 90% of the cab vibrations went away.
• Exhaust drone completely gone
• Engine and exhaust sounds are quiter but sound "beefier". Its a low rumble now
• Previously i was unable to distinguish the turbo over the drone, now the turbo is a clear high pitched wine, that's low enough as to not be distracting or annoying.
• egt's are down 150-200 degrees. I have the stock airbox on, so it'll be interesting to see if the new airbox egt improvements are additive with the exhaust effects or if there is some overlap. If they are purely additive, i would be looking at a total drop of 3-400 degrees, but i'm guessing total drop will be lower than that. Regardless, it goes a long ways towards mitigating the high egts when under load like a long hill or towing
• overall drive is smoother, more pleasant and it feels like there was a bit of improvement in power and response, but i'm not sure how much

Very happy with the results and definitely worth it in my opinion

I'm curious if seeing what i want to see. Did any of you experience similar results when upgrading the exhaust?

 

[TxAg98]

This is music to my ears on the exhaust. I have a 3" system I ordered from Australia (Redback is the brand) hopefully going on this weekend. Only choice I need to make is it come either straight 3" pipe all the way back, or it has a straight through "muffler" you can put in. I'm leaning towards just pipe, but not sure how bad that will be!

 

[TuffMudder]

Congrats. Would love for you report back with what difference it makes.

I have s straight through muffler and a resonator and am very happy. Nice rumble but not too loud

 

[Jroc561]

Give us some updates on this man, I see you got the intercooler installed in one of the pics above.

 

[Elessey]

How have the 35's and 4in lift hurt your performance and fuel economy? Anything noticeable? Considering doing the same on my HDJ81!