Second post on IH8MUD, this will be my build thread/documentation of work done.
Back story:
I've always wanted a 100 series after a lot of 4Runners. So I bought one of the cheapest 100s in Cars & Bids' history, sight unseen. Flew from Northeast Ohio to Philly and drove it 7 hours home. Here's my intro thread from January.
Work completed to date:
- |02/2022| Timing belt, water pump, Toyota red coolant
- |04/2022| Transmission, differentials (factory rear locker + center), t-case fluid change, driveline lube
Initial impressions
Totally different than my 4th gen 4Runners. Same engine, sure, but the cylinder count is where the similarity stops. The LC drives with a substantially larger presence and road feel. The interior is also a completely different experience comparatively. The seats are more comfortable, the headroom is expansive, the visibility is outstanding. It is tough driving the LC then getting in my 4th gen. That said, my 4th gen with its 2UZ mods feels like a rocket ship. It is also a more capable tow pig, despite lower curb weights and smaller footprints overall. I also can't quit the roll down back glass, despite how cool the split tailgate/liftgate combo is. The back glass rolling down gives me so much more use usability. I try to have at least a beer a week on the LC's tailgate so it feels loved. Also the passenger floor gets wet when it rains (sunroof drains is suspect #1). My back gets wet when it rains sitting in the driver seat because of the water that comes from the sunroof (drains and maybe its not sealing all the way?) The back floor is wet when it rains (high mount stop light needs some silicone). Out of 10 Toyota products I've owned in the 14 years I have been driving, none have ever had sunroof issues. Yes, I bought heater T's. Mine are solid, no leaks. But I bought new ones anyway. This brings us to April 2022.
The Grand Plan
I bought this thing because I have always been curious about the Land Cruisers, simple as that. I've driven it, used it for mild projects, and have had fun diving into the history on this platform. That said, I'm past the point of no return on 4th gen 4Runners and they are my long term vehicular home. Therefore, this LC needs eventually find a new owner. What better way to facilitate that than to do a mild build, improve a few things then sell it off?
So that is the plan. As of 4/18/2022 the truck is marinating in PB Blaster. and is sitting on jack stands in my garage. Over the next two weeks parts are finally being delivered to rebuild the font end and overhaul the suspension, The steering wheel + gear shift is being shipped to Texas to get re wrapped, and I found and purchased Doug Thorley headers at Summit Racing, even though SOMEHOW this truck does not have the 4.7 tick, even at 255k and rust. Me and my gang of idiot friends are going to give this truck some much needed attention and I think at the conclusion, a more solid vehicle will emerge. I'm fortunate to not have a timeline, or real budget here... other than it living in the middle of my garage and that will very much get annoying. I'm not building a SEMA truck, but I'm not trying to budget build.
Maintenance Commentary + Pics
1) Timing Belt, Water Pump, Coolant - February 2022
Driving back from Philly I was terrified the entire time of the timing belt snapping... there was no record in the CarFax and no stickers/documentation on/in the engine bay or cabin when I bought the thing. So I just yolo'd it home cruise control 70 mph. During tear down en route to a timing belt replacement, we found the sticker from 2013 and 200k miles. That meant in 9 years the truck only covered ~55k miles or so... not a ton of usage. Regardless, the timing belt and water pump were replaced. I found a killer Toyota shop by me, the owner is a fellow 2UZ fanatic. Wanted to help out a small business and farmed out this job. If you are in Northeast Ohio check out ECP Auto in Cuyahoga Falls. Nate, the owner, is a great mechanic and believes in the mission of keeping these things on the road.
2) New horn + wiring - March 2022
The horn worked. Wasn't a concern. Then the horn worked too well and was a big problem. 7 am on a Tuesday, during a rain storm, the truck began blaring the horn non stop. I ran outside, opened the hood and just ripped the wires out of the horns. Fun. The wiring was scary, so I chalked it up to someone half-assing a repair. I bought Hella Supertones, took the grill off, new connections and wired everything up. They sounded good, and the install was easy. So I put a set on my 4th gen 4Runner while I was in the groove.
You can imagine my unhappiness when two weeks later the LC's new and improved mega loud horns went off again at 5 AM during a rain storm. My new wiring withstood me ripping the spade connectors off the back in a half awake stupor, but the gremlin still exists as to why, during a rain, SOMETIMES, my horns go off until I un plug them.
3) Transmission, differentials (factory rear locker + center), t-case fluid change, driveline lube - April 2022
I also noticed during our initial stint using the LC for daycare/grocery/weekend trip duties that we had a horrid driveline clunk (common) and the trans was rough, at times, going 1st to second from a stop, regardless of temp. 4lo and both diffs worked great. Trans fluid was a tad low and a gross color. My local Toyota dealer helped here, I went into their parts department to get heater T's and started talking to the service manager. Long story short, be nice to people and they will be nice to you. Especially if you have a LC at a dealer that sells primarily Siennas and Priuses. I hate hate hate hate doing transmission fluid swaps at home, I asked him what they'd charge me, and for $400 I got 75 minutes of coffee and contemplation (priceless when you are the parent of a 5 year old AND you work from home full time in the same house as your wife) in their waiting room while they handled almost half a dozen annoying tasks. It was 1000% worth it. No pictures here.
Yes, I bought heater T's. Mine are solid, no leaks. But I bought new ones anyway. This brings us to April 2022.
Back story:
I've always wanted a 100 series after a lot of 4Runners. So I bought one of the cheapest 100s in Cars & Bids' history, sight unseen. Flew from Northeast Ohio to Philly and drove it 7 hours home. Here's my intro thread from January.
Work completed to date:
- |02/2022| Timing belt, water pump, Toyota red coolant
- |04/2022| Transmission, differentials (factory rear locker + center), t-case fluid change, driveline lube
Initial impressions
Totally different than my 4th gen 4Runners. Same engine, sure, but the cylinder count is where the similarity stops. The LC drives with a substantially larger presence and road feel. The interior is also a completely different experience comparatively. The seats are more comfortable, the headroom is expansive, the visibility is outstanding. It is tough driving the LC then getting in my 4th gen. That said, my 4th gen with its 2UZ mods feels like a rocket ship. It is also a more capable tow pig, despite lower curb weights and smaller footprints overall. I also can't quit the roll down back glass, despite how cool the split tailgate/liftgate combo is. The back glass rolling down gives me so much more use usability. I try to have at least a beer a week on the LC's tailgate so it feels loved. Also the passenger floor gets wet when it rains (sunroof drains is suspect #1). My back gets wet when it rains sitting in the driver seat because of the water that comes from the sunroof (drains and maybe its not sealing all the way?) The back floor is wet when it rains (high mount stop light needs some silicone). Out of 10 Toyota products I've owned in the 14 years I have been driving, none have ever had sunroof issues. Yes, I bought heater T's. Mine are solid, no leaks. But I bought new ones anyway. This brings us to April 2022.
The Grand Plan
I bought this thing because I have always been curious about the Land Cruisers, simple as that. I've driven it, used it for mild projects, and have had fun diving into the history on this platform. That said, I'm past the point of no return on 4th gen 4Runners and they are my long term vehicular home. Therefore, this LC needs eventually find a new owner. What better way to facilitate that than to do a mild build, improve a few things then sell it off?
So that is the plan. As of 4/18/2022 the truck is marinating in PB Blaster. and is sitting on jack stands in my garage. Over the next two weeks parts are finally being delivered to rebuild the font end and overhaul the suspension, The steering wheel + gear shift is being shipped to Texas to get re wrapped, and I found and purchased Doug Thorley headers at Summit Racing, even though SOMEHOW this truck does not have the 4.7 tick, even at 255k and rust. Me and my gang of idiot friends are going to give this truck some much needed attention and I think at the conclusion, a more solid vehicle will emerge. I'm fortunate to not have a timeline, or real budget here... other than it living in the middle of my garage and that will very much get annoying. I'm not building a SEMA truck, but I'm not trying to budget build.
Maintenance Commentary + Pics
1) Timing Belt, Water Pump, Coolant - February 2022
Driving back from Philly I was terrified the entire time of the timing belt snapping... there was no record in the CarFax and no stickers/documentation on/in the engine bay or cabin when I bought the thing. So I just yolo'd it home cruise control 70 mph. During tear down en route to a timing belt replacement, we found the sticker from 2013 and 200k miles. That meant in 9 years the truck only covered ~55k miles or so... not a ton of usage. Regardless, the timing belt and water pump were replaced. I found a killer Toyota shop by me, the owner is a fellow 2UZ fanatic. Wanted to help out a small business and farmed out this job. If you are in Northeast Ohio check out ECP Auto in Cuyahoga Falls. Nate, the owner, is a great mechanic and believes in the mission of keeping these things on the road.
2) New horn + wiring - March 2022
The horn worked. Wasn't a concern. Then the horn worked too well and was a big problem. 7 am on a Tuesday, during a rain storm, the truck began blaring the horn non stop. I ran outside, opened the hood and just ripped the wires out of the horns. Fun. The wiring was scary, so I chalked it up to someone half-assing a repair. I bought Hella Supertones, took the grill off, new connections and wired everything up. They sounded good, and the install was easy. So I put a set on my 4th gen 4Runner while I was in the groove.
You can imagine my unhappiness when two weeks later the LC's new and improved mega loud horns went off again at 5 AM during a rain storm. My new wiring withstood me ripping the spade connectors off the back in a half awake stupor, but the gremlin still exists as to why, during a rain, SOMETIMES, my horns go off until I un plug them.
3) Transmission, differentials (factory rear locker + center), t-case fluid change, driveline lube - April 2022
I also noticed during our initial stint using the LC for daycare/grocery/weekend trip duties that we had a horrid driveline clunk (common) and the trans was rough, at times, going 1st to second from a stop, regardless of temp. 4lo and both diffs worked great. Trans fluid was a tad low and a gross color. My local Toyota dealer helped here, I went into their parts department to get heater T's and started talking to the service manager. Long story short, be nice to people and they will be nice to you. Especially if you have a LC at a dealer that sells primarily Siennas and Priuses. I hate hate hate hate doing transmission fluid swaps at home, I asked him what they'd charge me, and for $400 I got 75 minutes of coffee and contemplation (priceless when you are the parent of a 5 year old AND you work from home full time in the same house as your wife) in their waiting room while they handled almost half a dozen annoying tasks. It was 1000% worth it. No pictures here.
Yes, I bought heater T's. Mine are solid, no leaks. But I bought new ones anyway. This brings us to April 2022.
