TDI-J70 - LJ70 TDI Swap (Erika)

[DirtSniffer]

Hi, my name’s Dan, and I have a Toyota problem

Today I took delivery of this 1987 LJ70. The story behind this one was that it was purchased by someone in the air force stationed in Germany, who must have loved it as they brought it back with them. The next owner seemed to have some sort of catastrophic engine failure and started an engine swap with a non turbo 2L, but the specifics are unknown as that information died with the owner at the time. We came to this conclusion as the 70 originally had a 2LT, and it had a non turbo 2L in it and a bunch of 2LT engine parts in totes. The PO who then bought it tried to get it running, just to find out the rings were shot and threw in the towel. Now, it's my problem.

Prior to taking delivery of the 70, I acquired a low mile JDM TDI ALH 1.9. I am not after big power, I think I would personally be happy keeping the stock VNT-15 and running a stage 1-3 tune to keep temps more comfortable. I currently have a TD conversions adapter on order, but it is a way out for lead time yet. I selected this adapter as it is 2” thick and *should* space the engine out enough to fit the vacuum pump off the back of the head without much if any firewall bashing. It also allows for a few engine clocking options, as well as a Toyota V8 starter. Unfortunately, I ordered one for a 3VZ r150f, as I thought the LJ70s all came with R151Fs, but after pulling the engine today, it looks like I have a W56. Not the end of the world, the W56 should serve my lower power goal needs just fine. But, I will need to have my adapter order swapped out for the 22R version.


Upon rolling it off the trailer, one of the rear drums decided to lock up. Not even in the driveway and its already got its first recovery under its belt. Dragged it in with the winch.

I started taking a few easy parts off to get ready to remove the engine. I wasn't planning to pull the engine till this weekend, but one thing lead to another, and I had the engine out this evening... Not much to these things.

Engine bay with what I believe is a W56 bellhousing. Will confirm tomorrow.

Loving the mix of English, Japanese, and German all over this thing.

Here is the engine that is going in, supposedly 50-75k miles. looks very clean.

Being that this is German imported Landcruiser, getting a German engine.... It only felt fitting to name it "Erika".

Next, I will give it a good power wash including the engine bay and start working on smaller stuff till I get the adapter.

 

[DirtSniffer]

Correction, looks like a G52.

 

[AirheadNut]

Welcome to the madness! There are actually quite a few LC/TDI swaps going on around here right now, so you're in good company. Interesting that yours came with a 2L originally, I was under the impression that all LJ's came with either a turbo 2L series or a 3L engine. Your VIN comes back as a 12/1984 European spec, so maybe the really early ones were naturally aspirated. The G52 is kind of a bummer, but you should be able to swap everything over to 22R spec and use that adapter plate.

If you aren't already a member over at TDIClub I would strongly recommend signing up, tons of additional useful information and very helpful folks over there. I would also recommend getting in touch with @burpod there, he does custom tunes on these VE TDI's that are way better than the cookie cutter "stage" tunes from the big name places. A little more effort on your end, but the result is a tune tailored to your vehicle and driving style. I was very happy with my switch from a Malone Stage 4 to his custom tuning in my LJ78.

 

[DirtSniffer]

Welcome to the madness! There are actually quite a few LC/TDI swaps going on around here right now, so you're in good company. Interesting that yours came with a 2L originally, I was under the impression that all LJ's came with either a turbo 2L series or a 3L engine. Your VIN comes back as a 12/1984 European spec, so maybe the really early ones were naturally aspirated. The G52 is kind of a bummer, but you should be able to swap everything over to 22R spec and use that adapter plate.

If you aren't already a member over at TDIClub I would strongly recommend signing up, tons of additional useful information and very helpful folks over there. I would also recommend getting in touch with @burpod there, he does custom tunes on these VE TDI's that are way better than the cookie cutter "stage" tunes from the big name places. A little more effort on your end, but the result is a tune tailored to your vehicle and driving style. I was very happy with my switch from a Malone Stage 4 to his custom tuning in my LJ78.

Thanks, I have been following your build and it has been a good source of info for me.

Need to do some parts cross referencing, I wonder if the tail housing off the G52 will swap on to a W56 to run the split case. Might try to do that swap now while everything is apart. Got some time to figure that out.

As for the year, the title actually says its an '86, for what that's worth. According to parts diagrams on Partsouq, the LJ70LV-MRW did originally have a turbo, but it had a 2L in when the PO bought it, with a good bit of the 2LT engine parts in bins. But, no matter, its all ripped out for good now.

Thanks on the tuner rec, I'll keep that in mind when I get to that point. Planning on ordering a harness from fast forward when I am further along.

 

[DirtSniffer]

Another option I am looking at, can get an r151F from cruiserparts that should be set up for the split case.

Manual Transmission R151F 1HZ 1HDT [33030-6A413-U] - $825.00 : Zen Cart!, The Art of E-commerce

Zen Cart! Manual Transmission R151F 1HZ 1HDT [33030-6A413-U] - R151F manual transmission for HZJ79 and others. If you have any questions about the item(s) that you may need please feel free to call and we will be glad to help you find what you are looking for. Feel free to call or email the...

shop.cruiserparts.net

 

[AirheadNut]

The Partsouq diagrams sometimes show things that may have been options, but not necessarily fitted to the specific vehicle. The data tag shows 2L, as does a VIN lookup here: https://www.toyodiy.com/parts/q?vin=JT1V0LJ7009000150. I wonder if it wasn't originally registered in Germany until early 1986, with a build date of 12/84 it is probably technically a 1985 model year but may have took a while to sell? I've seen that sort of year discrepancy on a couple of older vehicles.

An R151f would be the ideal transmission choice, I believe the 1HZ spec uses the same, longer input shaft as the 5VZ spec transmission. You'd need to source a 5VZ bell housing, clutch fork, throwout bearing, etc, but the benefit would be an additional inch of firewall clearance. It would also keep the clutch slave cylinder on the same side of the transmission but move the starter to the other side.

That is one clean looking ALH, is there any indication that the timing belt has ever been serviced? IIRC the original service interval was 60k miles, extended to 100k miles with updated belt and idler designs. With that low of mileage it is probably safe to assume it has never been done, I would strongly recommend doing the service before running the engine. You'll also want to mark the new flywheel with a TDC mark for future servicing. Looks like yours is a manual transmission spec, and may still be bolted to the transmission? In which case it would be easiest to do the timing belt now, set the engine to TDC before installing the new flywheel, then bolt up the adapter and bell housing to make a TDC flywheel mark. The 5VZ bell housing has a convenient, though small, drain hole at the bottom that can be used to line up a TDC mark.

 

[DirtSniffer]

The Partsouq diagrams sometimes show things that may have been options, but not necessarily fitted to the specific vehicle. The data tag shows 2L, as does a VIN lookup here: https://www.toyodiy.com/parts/q?vin=JT1V0LJ7009000150. I wonder if it wasn't originally registered in Germany until early 1986, with a build date of 12/84 it is probably technically a 1985 model year but may have took a while to sell? I've seen that sort of year discrepancy on a couple of older vehicles.

An R151f would be the ideal transmission choice, I believe the 1HZ spec uses the same, longer input shaft as the 5VZ spec transmission. You'd need to source a 5VZ bell housing, clutch fork, throwout bearing, etc, but the benefit would be an additional inch of firewall clearance. It would also keep the clutch slave cylinder on the same side of the transmission but move the starter to the other side.

That is one clean looking ALH, is there any indication that the timing belt has ever been serviced? IIRC the original service interval was 60k miles, extended to 100k miles with updated belt and idler designs. With that low of mileage it is probably safe to assume it has never been done, I would strongly recommend doing the service before running the engine. You'll also want to mark the new flywheel with a TDC mark for future servicing. Looks like yours is a manual transmission spec, and may still be bolted to the transmission? In which case it would be easiest to do the timing belt now, set the engine to TDC before installing the new flywheel, then bolt up the adapter and bell housing to make a TDC flywheel mark. The 5VZ bell housing has a convenient, though small, drain hole at the bottom that can be used to line up a TDC mark.

I realized I actually had the wrong model page open for partsouq, would not be surprised if it was originally a 2L, I think the engine badge on the firewall would have said 2L-T if it was one.

Timing belt looks fine but some rust on the idlers from sitting, was planning on doing it anyways as it will never be easier. Yep, manual and 10mm pump should be fine for my goals for now at least. I took the trans and flywheel off last week to sell.

 

[DirtSniffer]

Wasn't quite able to drop the trans today as it started raining shortly after I got off work, but just the cross member holding it up now. I am leaning towards that R151F, as I am pretty sure the split case that came in the 70 will bolt right up, may just need the correct input shaft. My only concern is that this 70 has a manual shifting split case (which I like) and I think all or most of the later ones that the R151F would have come in had vacuum actuated 4WD (which disgusts me) so I may have to do some work to mount the shift linkages. The W56 and G52 tail housing bolt patters look different, so I do not think that is an option.

 

[DirtSniffer]

Nevermind

 

[DirtSniffer]

So as I suspected, the used R151fs are out of mine trucks. They do split them to inspect, but still seems like a gamble. I can get a brand new unit from Toyotapartsdeals for about $2350 shipped, with no need to rebuild or replace cooked gears or bent shafts. Was not planning on spending this kind of money on the trans, but it's probably worth biting the bullet now and having a reliable drivetrain to go with the new engine...

 

[DirtSniffer]

This was satisfying. My driveway is covered in all kinds of pretty colors now, too. I'll pull the split case tonight or tomorrow and see how things look inside, that's about all I'll be able to get done until next weekend with the weather and work next week.

 

[Broski]

Following along nice find !!

 

[sogncab]

It only felt fitting to name it "Erika".

I still like Das Boot

 

[DirtSniffer]

Some more tinkering done. Motor mounts and exhaust hacked off, will go back in with an air chisel to more surgically remove the leftover bits later. Engine bay is basically cleared out. It may not be super apparent from the pictures posted so far, but this 70 needs some love. Frame is solid, but has some rust to deal with. As of right now, the only rust I plan to attack is the holes on the inner fenders. Smaller hole on the passenger side, but the drivers side had a nice rust sandwich from a reinforcement plate bolted under the fender for the battery. Fortunately, looks like the inner fenders should unbolt pretty easily so I can patch them off the car. And while I'm at it, I might order a new fender for the drivers side which has taken a hit or two in it's time. Front lower valence is slightly tweaked from those hits, but looks like Yoshi Parts has it available from a distributor in Belgium I may order.

I was originally thinking about cleaning up the bubbling rust and bolting on some Kut Snake flares, but after getting those dumb extend-a-fenders off, the clean no flare look is growing on me. Next year, I will likely buy new rockers and the quarter patch panels from Cruiser Corps and make her look pretty again. Probably wont be doing a full respray until I get around to a body off refresh down the road, though.

I am waiting to hear back from the local Toyota dealer if they are able to order the R151F for me for cheaper than Toyotapartsdeal, but will be putting in an order soon. Just pulled the split case off, everything looks great inside. About 114K miles on this 70.

Going to be in a bit of a holding pattern until I get the trans and TDConversions adapter, but I have plenty of smaller stuff to chew on in the meantime. The rear brakes need some work, and I am tempted to just get the rear wheel bearings over with now for peace of mind and so I have an excuse to pull the diff and confirm if it still has the limited slip as I can tell it has been pulled at some point for some reason. Just an idea right now, but I am thinking I will want taller gears eventually for highway driving and when regearing, I may see if I can put the limited slip in the front and put an Eaton e-locker in the rear. The carrier is the same part number for the front high pinion as the rear open diff carrier, so I see no reason that should not work out.

 

[DirtSniffer]

 

[DirtSniffer]

Trans order from TPD fell through, apparent availability elsewhere seems to also be fake. Working out alternatives now. I am debating between either doing a dyna 5th gear swap or regearing from 4.88 to 4.10 gears to get RPMs down at highway speed. According to GrimmJeeper calculator, I am looking at about 2900 rpm at 70 mph, which drops to ~2450 with 4.10s, ~2400 with just the dyna 5th gear swap, and ~2000 with both. From what I have read online through, sustained 2900 rpm may not be a big deal for the ALH. Dont think I'd want to cruise much faster in a SWB 70. I would prefer to not raise my low range final drive ratio, but may be a worthy tradeoff for this rig's intended use which does not involve much serious rock crawling. Unfortunately, the dyna 5th gear swap is not an option for the early R150s or the Landcruiser R151s. Trail Tamer does offer a 5th gear option for the landcruiser R151, but it is too spendy for me to want to bother.

There are 3 options I am considering. I can still roll the dice on a mine truck trans, but I can also get the tailhousing from cruiserparts to put on a domestic R150F. In talks with them now, they may even have the early shorter R150/151 from a 70 on hand. Not sure which, it could be either a 150 or 151.

Here are the pros and cons of each option:

---

Option 1: Buy early 70 R150/151, keep driveshafts, buy 3VZ bellhousing, work with 1” less firewall clearance (should be fine with my 2" adapter plate), regear diffs for better highway cruise RPM if needed

R151/R150
4.88
1st gear low final drive: 48.4:1 / 43:1
70 mph rpm: 2887 / 2922

4.10
1st gear low final drive: 40.6:1 if R151, 36.1:1 if R150
70 mph rpm: 2425 / 2455

Pros: *Should* be able to keep driveshafts and cross member, least amount of work, probably cheapest option.
Cons: Shorter early R series trans input shaft, no dyna 5th gear option, less parts availability, lose final drive if regearing.

---

Option 2: Buy later R151F (Mine truck part or new for $$$), buy 5VZ bellhousing, move cross member, have rear DS shortened, spacer for front DS, t-case shifter mod, regear diffs for highway cruiser rpm.

4.88
1st gear low final drive: 48.4:1
70 mph rpm: 2887

4.10
1st gear low final drive: 40.6:1
70 mph rpm: 2425

Pros: Longer trans input shaft, better parts availability, lower 1st gear (compensates some for having to regear diffs),
Cons: Have to move cross member and modify t-case shifter, lose final drive if regearing, probably want to rebuild if from mine truck.

---

Option 3: Buy domestic R150f, do dyna 5th swap, swap on split case tail housing, have rear DS shortened, spacer for front DS, t-case shifter mod

4.88
1st gear low final drive: 43:1
70 mph rpm: 2400

4.10
1st gear low final drive: 36.1:1
70 mph rpm: 2016

Pros: transmissions much more available, can do 5th gear swap and keep 4.88s
Cons: More work to prep trans, need to move cross member, modify t-case shifter


As of right now, I am thinking that if I can live with 2900 rpm at 70 mph cross country, the early short 70 R151, if I can get one, and stock 4.88s would be my best option as it would be the easiest and cheapest to do and give the best crawl ratio. If that rpm is too high, then option 3 with 4.88s looks second best.

 

[jblueridge]

I have had zero luck with TPD. I said nothing till now hoping it would work out for you.

 

[DirtSniffer]

I have had zero luck with TPD. I said nothing till now hoping it would work out for you.

I was somewhat hopeful as there was a recent 5* review, but they must not have bothered to go back in and change it. I've had good experiences with them otherwise for more typical parts.

 

[AirheadNut]

Trans order from TPD fell through, apparent availability elsewhere seems to also be fake. Working out alternatives now. I am debating between either doing a dyna 5th gear swap or regearing from 4.88 to 4.10 gears to get RPMs down at highway speed. According to GrimmJeeper calculator, I am looking at about 2900 rpm at 70 mph, which drops to ~2450 with 4.10s, ~2400 with just the dyna 5th gear swap, and ~2000 with both. From what I have read online through, sustained 2900 rpm may not be a big deal for the ALH. Dont think I'd want to cruise much faster in a SWB 70. I would prefer to not raise my low range final drive ratio, but may be a worthy tradeoff for this rig's intended use which does not involve much serious rock crawling. Unfortunately, the dyna 5th gear swap is not an option for the early R150s or the Landcruiser R151s. Trail Tamer does offer a 5th gear option for the landcruiser R151, but it is too spendy for me to want to bother.

There are 3 options I am considering. I can still roll the dice on a mine truck trans, but I can also get the tailhousing from cruiserparts to put on a domestic R150F. In talks with them now, they may even have the early shorter R150/151 from a 70 on hand. Not sure which, it could be either a 150 or 151.

Here are the pros and cons of each option:

---

Option 1: Buy early 70 R150/151, keep driveshafts, buy 3VZ bellhousing, work with 1” less firewall clearance (should be fine with my 2" adapter plate), regear diffs for better highway cruise RPM if needed

R151/R150
4.88
1st gear low final drive: 48.4:1 / 43:1
70 mph rpm: 2887 / 2922

4.10
1st gear low final drive: 40.6:1 if R151, 36.1:1 if R150
70 mph rpm: 2425 / 2455

Pros: *Should* be able to keep driveshafts and cross member, least amount of work, probably cheapest option.
Cons: Shorter early R series trans input shaft, no dyna 5th gear option, less parts availability, lose final drive if regearing.

---

Option 2: Buy later R151F (Mine truck part or new for $$$), buy 5VZ bellhousing, move cross member, have rear DS shortened, spacer for front DS, t-case shifter mod, regear diffs for highway cruiser rpm.

4.88
1st gear low final drive: 48.4:1
70 mph rpm: 2887

4.10
1st gear low final drive: 40.6:1
70 mph rpm: 2425

Pros: Longer trans input shaft, better parts availability, lower 1st gear (compensates some for having to regear diffs),
Cons: Have to move cross member and modify t-case shifter, lose final drive if regearing, probably want to rebuild if from mine truck.

---

Option 3: Buy domestic R150f, do dyna 5th swap, swap on split case tail housing, have rear DS shortened, spacer for front DS, t-case shifter mod

4.88
1st gear low final drive: 43:1
70 mph rpm: 2400

4.10
1st gear low final drive: 36.1:1
70 mph rpm: 2016

Pros: transmissions much more available, can do 5th gear swap and keep 4.88s
Cons: More work to prep trans, need to move cross member, modify t-case shifter


As of right now, I am thinking that if I can live with 2900 rpm at 70 mph cross country, the early short 70 R151, if I can get one, and stock 4.88s would be my best option as it would be the easiest and cheapest to do and give the best crawl ratio. If that rpm is too high, then option 3 with 4.88s looks second best.

What tire size are you looking at running? I've got 235/85/16 tires on mine with stock transfer gears and 4.88 diffs. Like you, I didn't want to sacrifice low range with a diff regear so I kept the 4.88's. Another gearing alternative that would be worth exploring is transfer gears, you can get 3:1 and 4:1 low range gears and something like 10% overdrive or 10% under drive high range. I think the 4:1 low only works with stock or under drive high.

As a point of comparison, when completely stock mine would have done 3050rpm @ 70mph, with the Dyna 5th it does 2500rpm @ 70mph. Pretty sure I have the 2:1 low range transfer case, which puts my 1st hear low final drive at 37.4:1.

The TDI will be perfectly happy spending hours at 2900rpm, that's what my stock Jetta runs at 80mph. My LJ78 is actually geared a little higher than I'd like with the Dyna 5th, it would be ideal to add 100-200rpm at highway cruising speed but it works ok as is. Performance in 5th is a little slow until I get up past 70mph. I would aim for around 2600-2700rpm @ 70mph, 2900-3000rpm at 80mph. A stock R150f with 4.30 diffs and 235/85/16 tires would nail those speeds.

Any 1996+ R150/151 should work with the Dyna 5th gears, including the 1999+ HD 70-series unit with the longer transfer adapter.

 

[DirtSniffer]

What tire size are you looking at running? I've got 235/85/16 tires on mine with stock transfer gears and 4.88 diffs. Like you, I didn't want to sacrifice low range with a diff regear so I kept the 4.88's. Another gearing alternative that would be worth exploring is transfer gears, you can get 3:1 and 4:1 low range gears and something like 10% overdrive or 10% under drive high range. I think the 4:1 low only works with stock or under drive high.

As a point of comparison, when completely stock mine would have done 3050rpm @ 70mph, with the Dyna 5th it does 2500rpm @ 70mph. Pretty sure I have the 2:1 low range transfer case, which puts my 1st hear low final drive at 37.4:1.

The TDI will be perfectly happy spending hours at 2900rpm, that's what my stock Jetta runs at 80mph. My LJ78 is actually geared a little higher than I'd like with the Dyna 5th, it would be ideal to add 100-200rpm at highway cruising speed but it works ok as is. Performance in 5th is a little slow until I get up past 70mph. I would aim for around 2600-2700rpm @ 70mph, 2900-3000rpm at 80mph. A stock R150f with 4.30 diffs and 235/85/16 tires would nail those speeds.

Any 1996+ R150/151 should work with the Dyna 5th gears, including the 1999+ HD 70-series unit with the longer transfer adapter.

So I haven't dived too deep into the dyna 5th swap yet, but according to this video, the Landcruiser R151 uses a 4 notch synchro hub on 5th and so the dyna 3 notch hub won't work, and would probably require swapping out the countershaft?

I'm looking to run skinny 33s of some sort, either 33x10.5 or 255/85r16.

I'll have to confirm my split case ratio, I wasn't aware there was a 2:1 version, I thought they were all 2.28:1. New gears are an option too, can do them later and make due for now.