TLC for my '94 TLC (1 Viewer)

[80t0ylc]

Oh, the use of headless bolts for installing the front spindles was such a good idea to make an awkward step as easy as possible.

Well, the axles are back together and took it out for a short test drive. Seems to be solid and I notice that rpm's are different on the highway with the 5.29s & my 315/75-16 tires. A quick observation revealed at 70 mph on speedometer was actually 59 -60 on my GPS or about 2500 rpm. Will be taking longer and more involved test drives in the future. But for now, it's on to wiring up the Harrop e-lockers. Did some investigation & scouting already for switch placement & use of existing dash lights & figures. I will fix my burnt out OD light while in the instrument cluster. I plan on using the e-locker dash light figures as well as the LEDs on the Harrop switches. We'll see how that goes.

 

[80t0ylc]

I found a place for the switches. Works quite well, actually. My attempt to utilize the locker lights in the instrument panel will have to wait until I order DPDT switches. I was dissapointed to find no bulbs in the panel in those positions. I need to get bulb holders as well. I can't use the switches Harrop provided since they are SPDT. But the switches work fine normally. Mr. T has the circuits for their locker lights to be 12v constantly (with ignition on) from the locker ECU and when I thought I could just run them in parallel with the leds in the Harrop switches, they functioned just opposite of what they should (on all the time until you flip the locker switch, then they're off...lol). The multi-meter doesn't lie - when connected the light circuits read 12v when ignition is on. It'll be simple to wire them up when I get the switches since I already tapped into the light circuits and ran the wires to the Harrop switches.

One other notable revelation popped up. You can't have the Harrop provided wire loom anywhere near the exhaust from the manifold all the way past rear axle. When I say near I mean even 6 inches! The old girl is really hot blooded, I guess...lol. So I'm tearing the wiring I carefully routed out and re-locating it. The front was a delemma until I realized I could run it along the axle, similar to a brake line. The rear I'll connect from axle to frame along the driver's side upper control arm. Front I'll do similar to the diff hose. I think it would be too exposed to try running it on the LCA.

 

[80t0ylc]

Well, a year and a half and at least 3 serious off road trips later the Harrops and 5.29's are holding up fine. Definitely worth having Ken do the meticulous and crucial 3rd member work. @gearinstalls.com does things right the 1st time!

Regarding the idea of running 5.29's with 315/75/16's.....I'm so glad I went this way, instead of 4.88's. Towing an overland trailer and/or putting all my gear in and on the rig, like I did on the Maze run, I had no issues and plenty of power off road. Lugging the 2000 lb trailer up long highway grades is a different story, but that's not the gear ratio choice. It would be even worse with 4.88's.

Wasn't real happy with the way the elocker switches were in my dash, so during the install of my LRA aux fuel tank which required a switch/gauge in the dash, I did some re-locating and from @Mike Knorr , got some blanks and a mirror switch, because I ruined the original trying to trim it down to clear a Harrop switch mounted above it. Had to trim the tops and bottoms of the rockers to clear the dash since they're recessed.

How it looks now:

You can see the dash light dimmer switch relocation spot and the trailer brake controller under the fuse panel.

 

[patrickk]

Regarding the idea of running 5.29's with 315/75/16's.....I'm so glad I went this way, instead of 4.88's. Towing an overland trailer and/or putting all my gear in and on the rig, like I did on the Maze run, I had no issues and plenty of power off road. Lugging the 2000 lb trailer up long highway grades is a different story, but that's not the gear ratio choice. It would be even worse with 4.88's.

I'm thinking about re-gearing for my 35's and keep reading that 4.88's is the way to go. Like you, I want to eventually lug around a trailer, probably just a tear-drop. Here in Colorado we've got lots of long uphill roads... So your comment has me re-thinking my strategy. What sort of RPM's were you running on the highway with your 5.29's? Care to elaborate on why you prefer the 5.29's?

 

[80t0ylc]

I'm thinking about re-gearing for my 35's and keep reading that 4.88's is the way to go. Like you, I want to eventually lug around a trailer, probably just a tear-drop. Here in Colorado we've got lots of long uphill roads... So your comment has me re-thinking my strategy. What sort of RPM's were you running on the highway with your 5.29's? Care to elaborate on why you prefer the 5.29's?

Well it really started with a recommendation from Ken, aka Zuk or @gearinstalls.com . I suggested 4.88's when having him do my 3rd's. We got to talking and he mentioned several similarly built 80 owners that had same work done recently and the feedback he was getting was - they wished they had gone with 5.29's. Power on road and towing were the reasons. In the past most didn't upgrade to 5.29's unless they were running 37's or larger.

RPMs on mine are approx 2800 at 65 mph, which is higher than stock, of course, but my engine is "happy" because it's more into the power band. It runs cooler and IF it's getting poorer mpg, it's not that noticeable. My cooling system is in top shape though, with the TYC radiator. Off road I've noticed that if it looks like the temp is rising, it's because I'm lugging the engine - especially towing. I drop it into lo-range, get the rpms up and I can watch the gauge drop. Your fan clutch may be in good shape, but you still need the rpms to pull the air through that radiator because off road, you don't have mph going for you. Also your engine doesn't have to work as hard so it runs cooler. Lugging your engine when it's working hard is the worst thing you can do if you're trying to keep the heat down. And excessive heat is the biggest enemy of our 1FZ engine. The 5.29's IMHO, for 35" tires, is a better choice if you're running heavy armor, overlanding with a lot of gear or towing because the engine, running higher rpms, is not working as hard and runs cooler in most situations. As far as running up highway grades, the same applies. Others have said, "Well, just drop down a gear and hold it there while climbing." Whatever works for you. You can't do that in a "rock crawling" situation, though. It's nice to have that extra power available when you're at .5 mph or less. Another option is xfer case re-gearing and that may be a better route for some. But, I was into the 3rd's for pinion seal and Harrop elocker installs so the ring & pinion route worked for me.

 

[patrickk]

Great reasoning. I haven't come across anyone lay out their preference for 5.29's that well before. I really appreciate the the time you took to explain everything. I'll keep this in mind when I finally decide to re-gear my LC.

My only reservation is that I like to cruise on the highway at higher speeds, but I suppose, when I have a small trailer, I won't be bombing down the highway at 75mph regardless...

For the forum, does/has anyone had an issue with running at higher than "stock" RPM's over an extended period of time?

Sorry if I'm hijacking your thread @80t0ylc .

 

[80t0ylc]

Great reasoning. I haven't come across anyone lay out their preference for 5.29's that well before. I really appreciate the the time you took to explain everything. I'll keep this in mind when I finally decide to re-gear my LC.

My only reservation is that I like to cruise on the highway at higher speeds, but I suppose, when I have a small trailer, I won't be bombing down the highway at 75mph regardless...

For the forum, does/has anyone had an issue with running at higher than "stock" RPM's over an extended period of time?

Sorry if I'm hijacking your thread @80t0ylc .

No worries.

The transfer case re-gearing may work better for you. There's more options available. IIRC, you can do both - lower gearing for power and a higher overdrive ratio for highway. This page on Cruiser Outfitters webpage would be helpful. Scroll down to the "Land Cruiser Transfer Case Low Range Gear Sets " section. It's quite aways down there, but you can see prices. I'd get one of their reps on the phone to be sure you're ordering the correct kit(s) for what you want to do.

 

[80t0ylc]

Axle maintenance has held up well for past 25K miles. But with Mobile and Exxon bidding for leases on and under my engine, I probably should be looking at seals and gaskets soon. The engine doesn't use oil between changes - well maybe 1/2 qt at the most - but engine sides and frame and anything underneath needs de-greasing. Thinking of pulling engine/transmission/trans case out as a unit to ease access of everything. Odometer shows as into the last 10K of 300K miles, so not a bad idea.

To do list:

- Head gasket (only because not sure if it's ever been done and 1FZ susceptibility - bought rig used with 125K in '98)
- Head/valves refurb
- Rings and cylinder walls eval
- Total intake manifold clean and possible replace exhaust manifold/y pipes
- Remove rear heater pipes from firewall
- Possibly remove VC from transfer case to avoid future failure

With the price of fuel these days and my fuel economy (12 mpg best in last 100K miles) I'm hoping to improve in this area. If not, maybe upgrade my OME 2.5 to something taller, upgrade to 37's get a trailer to haul it on and try out runs like @Broski and friends have been doing lately:

Builds - Broski's Adventure Rig build thread - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/broskis-adventure-rig-build-thread.1185088/page-36#post-14520466