Builds Tokyo to Wisconsin - JDM HDJ81 Build Thread (14 Viewers)

[WiscoPat]

Enjoyed a trip to Wyalusing State Park last weekend with some Tacomaworld buddies and my fiancée.

First trip out since I got the cruiser back from Torfab in November. Had the chance to test out the mods and new gear, including my Oztent RV5 tent - always good to try your gear before major trips. Really happy with the set up and take down process of the tent, especially compared to conventional tents made for more than one person.

 

[ClassyJalopy]

Enjoyed a trip to Wyalusing State Park last weekend with some Tacomaworld buddies and my fiancée.

First trip out since I got the cruiser back from Torfab in November. Had the chance to test out the mods and new gear, including my Oztent RV5 tent - always good to try your gear before major trips. Really happy with the set up and take down process of the tent, especially compared to conventional tents made for more than one person.

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Wyalusing is a pretty special place! Hope it wasn't too cold or windy. How was the star gazing?

 

[WiscoPat]

Wyalusing is a pretty special place! Hope it wasn't too cold or windy. How was the star gazing?

Agreed!

It got down to 34 degrees F during night one, but having a buddy heater helped quite a bit (minimal condensation, too). Cloudy overnight, so not much star gazing, but it was a great time.

 

[WiscoPat]

As I'm prepping for Alaska, I want organized storage. Everything should have a home and be secure.

Two brands I've really liked are Kelmatt, an Aussie company, and Adventure Trail Gear, a Canadian company, making a whole bunch of vinyl products. High quality and the USD exchange rate is favorable. I'm not affiliated in any way with these brands but, if you're looking for bags/storage options, check them out!

Also, I finally have a 12v fridge. I've been camping since I was 6 years old (34 now) and I've only ever packed away my food/drink in coolers. I'll post up my wiring/power solution once I have everything laid out over the next few weeks, for those who might be interested.

 

[WiscoPat]

Simple but cool mod today.

Since I'm not using the rear seats anymore, I wanted to somehow take advantage of the 14mm seat belt bolt in the C pillar. The supplied bracket/mount and fire extinguisher from H3R are a perfect fit. The mount has holes that need to be drilled out to accomodate the larger 14mm (I wallowed out the top one). There are rubber pads on the mount to eliminate noise, and it's a quick release. Plus, there's no impact to grabbing things from the rear door while also being very fast to reach.

Cheers!

 

[WiscoPat]

First time wiring up power to a 12v fridge/generator and it was a fun process.

My setup combines a few things. First, I installed some gull wing rear window replacements from Explore Glazing in the Netherlands. High quality kit and no drilling required. Also, precisely zero rust along the window frames, which I was beyond thrilled to see.

Next, I put in some @Delta VS panels to go with the gull wings. I dig their built-in shelf and the offset from the windows for mounting stuff to the inside and outside of the panels. My only critique would be to make these universal molle vs a proprietary pattern, but they still work well with molle-related gear.

The star of the show was the DC to DC Charger One from Bluetti (no affiliation), mounted to the back of one of the Delta panels with some spare plywood and hardware I had. The kit it comes with has good quality 6 gauge wire with terminals, a breaker, MPPT output connection, and simple enough instructions. The 6 gauge wire could have been a little longer, but not a big deal. I ran the wire through a grommet in the driver's side firewall to the battery and then under the carpet along the OEM wires to the rear.

I really like the ability to monitor and adjust the voltage input via Bluetooth, as well as view the output. I set it to the lowest setting of 15v draw, which equates to 145W of charging. This means it's only drawing about 12 amps from the alternator/battery when running, which will help preserve the longevity of the alternator.

The goal of this set up was to provide customized charging to the Anker C1000 in the back, which in turn will run the Engel MT35 (34 quart) fridge/freezer and any camp-related stuff, from headlamps to fans to phones. The Bluetti charger or portable solar panels will recharge the Anker generator, which will have enough capacity to power the fridge for 3-4 days before it's depleted.

The MT35 is really sweet - it barely sips power and was able to go from 66 degrees F to 36 degrees F in 20 minutes.

I need to clean everything up, but overall very pleased with how things have come together.

Oh, and I found this under the carpet. The 80 is already paying for itself.

 

[WiscoPat]

I have some bad news...

On day 2 of the journey from Milwaukee to Anchorage, AK, I experienced engine failure.

While cruising west in North Dakota, I noticed a brake issue early in the day. Then, there was some low-end vibration in the driveline in first gear - tires and ujoints checked out fine, so we continue on. We pull off 94 to see a section of the "enchanted highway," just west of Bismark ND, and the 80 begins losing oil pressure and running rough. We pull off the road and it dies unexpectedly.

After being on the phone and troubleshooting for about an hour or two with the shop in Seattle that did all of the refurbishment last fall, nothing conclusive. But, we are leaning towards an injection pump failure - which I had rebuilt, but there were issues with the first rebuild session. Minimal blowby, so the block is healthy. It starts and idles, but the idle is low and the engine shudders when applying throttle. All filters and fluids are in check. Nothing visually unusual to note.

For now, we're spending the night in a hotel with the 80 towed to it. Checking the fuel filter with a new one in the morning, but a blocked fuel filter shouldn't be the issue, as the prior one had only 3k miles on it. I'll update eventually, but it will likely be shipped back out to Seattle for diagnosis.

Can't lie, I felt pretty defeated and stressed early into all this. My cousin and I spent almost 2 years planning this trip, and to have an engine failure 2 days into it is a real let down. My fiancée has had all of her PTO and flights arranged to meet us in Anchorage and drive back with me to Wisconsin, too.

We'll figure out something - saga continues tomorrow.

If anyone has ideas or thoughts, especially with those of you more familair with the 1HD line of engines, please feel free to pm me or make a comment.

 

[ClassyJalopy]

Chin up Pat - this too shall pass! It is very encouraging that the engine itself seems healthy - hopefully it's just the fuel pump. Sending good thoughts your way!

 

[ikarus]

Sucks man, sorry to hear. What were the issues with the first IP rebuild?

 

[Nframe]

Sucks Pat.
“Best laid plans…” and all.

 

[WiscoPat]

Sucks man, sorry to hear. What were the issues with the first IP rebuild?

The IP wasn't able to pull fuel on its own. It was ultimately fixed and a lift pump was installed as a precaution/backup.

 

[duece71]

Sorry to hear this, I hope it’s something fairly simple and low $$$. The IP was fixed so it could pull fuel on its own? Could the lift pump be the culprit?

 

[WiscoPat]

Positive update - I had the great fortune of meeting Steve, the owner of Overland Cruisers in Belgrade MT, at the suggestion of Torfab. I was able to get the 80 to him for his opinion and help. If he couldn't assist, I would ship it to Torfab.

What was discovered were a combination of little things: 2 loose fuel soft lines (one going to the IP), several intercooler lines loose, and one (or both) of the fuel tanks not venting properly, leading to a vacuum being created. When all of these things were fixed, I was back on the road!

Steve was awesome, and Torfab as well for the help in the field and footing the bill for Steve's time. Torfab was willing to lend me one of their personal Cruisers at no cost, if needed, too.

Currently going into night #2 in Canada. The 80 still has a bit of a low idle ocassionely, but otherwise cruises very nicely. Looks like Anchorage will be in sight soon!

 

[duece71]

Positive update - I had the great fortune of meeting Steve, the owner of Overland Cruisers in Belgrade MT, at the suggestion of Torfab. I was able to get the 80 to him for his opinion and help. If he couldn't assist, I would ship it to Torfab.

What was discovered were a combination of little things: 2 loose fuel soft lines (one going to the IP), several intercooler lines loose, and one (or both) of the fuel tanks not venting properly, leading to a vacuum being created. When all of these things were fixed, I was back on the road!

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Steve was awesome, and Torfab as well for the help in the field and footing the bill for Steve's time. Torfab was willing to lend me one of their personal Cruisers at no cost, if needed, too.

Currently going into night #2 in Canada. The 80 still has a bit of a low idle ocassionely, but otherwise cruises very nicely. Looks like Anchorage will be in sight soon!

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Glad you got it sorted out. I want to drive my HDJ81 to Dead Horse. Looks like a fun trip. Occaisionally I will get a “woosh” sound when I open the fuel cap. I really hope that isnt a vacuum developing. Safe travels.

 

[Dusten]

Positive update - I had the great fortune of meeting Steve, the owner of Overland Cruisers in Belgrade MT, at the suggestion of Torfab. I was able to get the 80 to him for his opinion and help. If he couldn't assist, I would ship it to Torfab.

What was discovered were a combination of little things: 2 loose fuel soft lines (one going to the IP), several intercooler lines loose, and one (or both) of the fuel tanks not venting properly, leading to a vacuum being created. When all of these things were fixed, I was back on the road!

View attachment 3943166View attachment 3943167

Steve was awesome, and Torfab as well for the help in the field and footing the bill for Steve's time. Torfab was willing to lend me one of their personal Cruisers at no cost, if needed, too.

Currently going into night #2 in Canada. The 80 still has a bit of a low idle ocassionely, but otherwise cruises very nicely. Looks like Anchorage will be in sight soon!

View attachment 3943168View attachment 3943169View attachment 3943170

The whole time I was reading this I was thinking "man this sounds like fuel starvation from air in the fuel"

Mine would do this cold when the old fuel filter mount had a bad oring that leaked.

Glad you got it sorted.

 

[WiscoPat]

After approximately 4,000 miles and lots of winging it, we've arrived in Anchorage!

It was certainly an adventure getting here. The Alaskan highway is smooth to a point, but right after Whitehorse to just before Anchorage, it's a beast. My suspension has certainly been tested. With the Yukon province not being wealthy by any stretch, hundreds of miles of road involve broken pavement, gravel, washboards, and severe dips. Most of the gas stations, homes, and small business along the road are abandoned and run down, giving it a very post-apocalyptic feel.

Once crossing Alaska, massive sections of road look like ocean waves from the severe permafrost...I bottomed out my suspension going 40 mph more than once on their 'highway.'

I made it unscathed, but I think a health check will be due. I burned just over 2 quarts of oil from Belgrade, MT (just over 2.5 liters, for those of you without freedom). Granted, a lot of that was extreme climbs/descents, but that's more than it should have burned off, in my opinion. There's also an engine oil leak coming from somewhere, to be determined.

My Oztent RV5 has held up well, but during the first wild camp in Canada, we experienced heavy rain and wind gusts of about 50 mph that snapped part of the internal framing in half. Thankfully, I've been able to brace it. Weather in the mountains changes on a dime.

All that to say...the landscape throughout has been stunning and the people we've met have been fantastic. The entire range of scenery is vast, beautiful, and daunting all at the same time.

Photos for your viewing pleasure!