Oyaji's FJ60

[rover67]

FYI I have a stock NEW 2F radiator in my 5.3 with Taurus electric fans and a/c BLOWS cold and keep motor cool even when its 100deg

My new stock rad does great with the 5.3 too.. I ended up switching to a mechanical setup though and I like it more. all ya gotta do is fab up a shroud.

I was a huge proponent of the taurus fans untill I did this mechanical setup. It seems to cool more consistently and dosen't rely on and electical bits.

 

[OyajiJon]

Thanks for the radiator input. I think I'm going to go with an efficient 2 row core aluminum radiator and custom shroud to fit the stock 5.7 clutch fan. This has been tested on several rigs by the guys doing this work, and it has worked well. Thanks again for the comments.

 

[OyajiJon]

No one wanted to see pics of my "junk" in the other thread I posted in the other day, so I thought I'd post some pics of my "trash" instead. You've all seen these before, but...

In with the "new"...

Another thing...gearing. I'm buying a third member set up with a LockRight and 4.88s. I'm thinking this may be a little tall with 33s. Any thoughts on this? Will I need to step it up to 35s to keep the engine under 3000 RPM when cruising? Thanks.

 

[jacksfj62]

I think most guys running 35s are SOA and that will be even more cost unless you already have it figured in.

 

[OyajiJon]

So, is the gearing too tall for 33s? I don't have enough wheel time in this rig to know much about its manners. Thanks.

 

[klinetime574]

4.88's would be really tall for highway driving. Best to step down to 4.11's or 3.73's with the 33" tires.

This may help you out: My cruiser has stock gears (3.73's) and 33's so it in effect has a "rubber overdrive" created from the larger than stock tires. So that enables me to cruise at lower rpm's down the highway.

If I had 4.88's I would be running 60 mph at 3000 rpm versus 79 mph at the 3000 rpm with the 3.73's.

 

[OyajiJon]

That was good info, thanks! I do intend to take this rig off road, so the trade off is going to be a difficult decision for me. I think 4.88's will be too tall for 33s, but it will be a beast for climbing. I also plan to use this to tow trailers. I'll probably get the rear end as planned and baseline the rig in my intended use. I'll make my decision what to actually put in there after I get a little seat time.

 

[klinetime574]

For the best towing and offroading, I would go with the 4.11's with the H55F. It has a lower first gear than the 4-speed, and an overdrive.

 

[OyajiJon]

Your probably right about the gears. AND, I know you're right about the H55. Now, if Washington's just grew on trees...

 

[klinetime574]

Your probably right about the gears. AND, I know you're right about the H55. Now, if Washington's just grew on trees...

Same here man. I need moneys!!

I want H55 so bad. Cruising at 70 below 2500 rpm just makes me drool

 

[IrollwithTojo]

4.88's would be really tall for highway driving. Best to step down to 4.11's or 3.73's with the 33" tires.

This may help you out: My cruiser has stock gears (3.73's) and 33's so it in effect has a "rubber overdrive" created from the larger than stock tires. So that enables me to cruise at lower rpm's down the highway.

If I had 4.88's I would be running 60 mph at 3000 rpm versus 79 mph at the 3000 rpm with the 3.73's.

79?!?! Im happy if I can cruise at 70. I have stocker 62 gears though haha

 

[OyajiJon]

Well, over the last two days, a lot of work got done. Custom Cruisers, in Gilroy, is handling my fab work since I can't weld worth a flip. I wanted to use the stock Suburban exhaust manifolds for smog reasons, and this required mounting the engine 1/2" to the driver's side. Ron and John machined my transmission crossmember elongating the holes to shift the trans to driver by 1/2". A 1/2" (I think) spacer was made to move the P.S. pump to the outboard side to accommodate the engine. It was quite a bit of work, but it looks as if it will work well.

After the engine came back out, I replaced a bunch of parts for piece of mind on a 100k engine. I should start wiring and installing the OME lift early next week.

Moving right along...hopefully, I'll be driving it when I go to San Diego next month.

 

[kling-on]

Dont know the rpm at hwy but mt 4l60e and 4.10 with 33 drives great and get 13-15 MPg hwy 12-13 city. I think if I go 37 I'll have to bump up tp 456's

 

[Elbert]

i run 4.11 gears and 33 tires with 5.7 vortec and 5 speed. Seems to be ok with me. I would not have a problem with 4.88 though.

 

[Elbert]

check out this thread and others related to the engine swap business. May be helpful.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-wagons/186275-5-7-vortec-v-8-swap-86-fj60.html

https://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-wagons/392223-v-8-conversion-cooling.html


critical issues.. (engine placement & alignment, engine cooling and PCM programming and wiring)

 

[Benjaman]

Attached is a PDF of the engine manual - at least what I have. It's more a list of part numbers, but all of the exploded views should help. Maybe there's something better with step-by-step instructions, but this should at least get you started. Good luck!

You made my day! I had no idea the LC were OHV engines!

A head gasket on one of these should be a snap!

 

[OyajiJon]

You made my day! I had no idea the LC were OHV engines!

A head gasket on one of these should be a snap!

I wouldn't call it a snap...relatively non-difficult at best...

 

[OyajiJon]

I haven't posted in a while, but I owe thanks to a lot of people, so here goes...

Ron, Frank and John@Custom Cruisers in Gilroy - Thanks for everything! You do top notch work, and you are great mentors when it comes to fabbing stuff. You're not getting rid of me...

Georg@valleyhybrids - Thanks for a really cool twin stick set up and all the annoying phone calls I give. You are a great resource and cool guy to boot!

Erik and Kevin @ Wagon Gear Guild - My headlights are brighter, I can power all of my nerdy junk without worry of burning my rig to the ground, and my, previously 6 x 9'd tailgate, is now useful storage space. You guys do good work!

Terry @ IPOR - Thanks for the great deal on the ARB, VIAIR and Warn solenoids. Your customer service is unbeatable, and you'll have my business for a long time.

James @ Cardinale GMC in Seaside, CA - Without your help getting all this GM stuff together, this swap would have been much more painful than it was!

For all the nameless others - thanks! Your help was very useful in getting my rig back on the road. I've met some cool people through this site, and you know you can call on me if I might help.

In short, the Vortec is in, and I've put about 1000 miles on it. It runs great, has good power and drinks the gas since I can't keep my foot out of the skinny pedal. I'm trying to steady my tendencies so I can get a good idea of what fuel economy will be. I'm contemplating an H55F swap if I can find a good deal, locally, that doesn't seem to be materializing. I'd love to have O/D since I drive A LOT...

I won't bore anyone with the details of the rest of what I've done/am doing. It's nothing innovative, by any means. You've seen it all before. Here are a couple of pics...

For anyone interested, I have a lot of pics of the process. If you have anything specific you'd like to see, let me know.

 

[Off Duty]

Sweet!

 

[Elbert]

What the setup on the speed sensor at the rear of the TC? details on that

MY mpg is not much better than the stock I-6... I have 4.11 gears with 33 tires, 5.7 vortec with toyota 5 speed, stock TC. May get around 15 on the hwy (maybe).... I don't check it anymore... probally 10 or worse in town.