Winter Prep -2LTE (1 Viewer)

[shushu]

Hello Everyone,
I'm from Illinois and fresh to diesel land cruisers and ih8mud. I'm starting to gather information regarding winter prep for my turbo diesel (2LTE) LJ78 and was hoping you could steer me in the right direction. I'd like to know more about fuel additives (if needed) , oil, tires, rust prevention, timing belt service and local shops. Looking forward to hearing back

 

[JimmyPrado]

Welcome aboard Mud and the 2LTE crowd. I was in your exact shoes two years ago and I know from experience that you will be helped immensely by the info you get here. I want to encourage you to take some time this winter to read through the many LJ78 build threads on this site. You will be overwhelmed by the info but it will give you an idea of what's ahead. While the 2LTE is certainly not Toyotas best little diesel, it isn't as horrible as some lament. I think one of the first reads would be in the Diesel Tech forum.
Ideas for improving the 2LTE This is a great thread that goes through the issues and solutions to having a reliable little diesel. Read it all.

As for your immediate questions. I would personally switch out my oil for a 5W-30 diesel oil as well as flush the rad and either go Toyota Red with water wetter or better yet, get the Evans Waterless. (may want to wait if you will be doing any mechanics that require you drain the motor. It's spendy) As for additives, well, I don't need to tell you there are hundreds of choices. I'm a fan of the Hotshot brand of oil and diesel additives, but, draw your own conclusions.

It's a fun little rig to have, enjoy being pointed at from time to time and keep us posted as to how and what you do to it!

 

[coldtaco]

I use Rottela T6 5w-40, but our winters are colder longer than yours.

 

[GTSSportCoupe]

@shushu You'll find that its not so much the winters you need to worry about preparing your LJ78 for, but more the summers!

Anyhow, as said above, make sure to run the right oil for the weather. 5w30 or 5w40 is great for winter. Although Evans coolant is excellent for preventing overheating issues, I have heard it's not that good in really cold climates. In fact @coldtaco got rid of his Evans coolant for this reason. So for the time being, I'd recommend just using some high quality regular coolant. I also highly recommend a Tridon high flow thermostat. These work excellent in summer and winter. Make sure your glow system is in good working order. And installing a block heater would make starting the motor a piece of cake. Could put the block heater on a timer so as to not waste lots of electricity. You can also get coolant heaters that install in your rad hose if thats easier.

You might also consider changing out your gear oil (front/rear diffs and transfer case) to synthetic gear oil which performs better when cold.

Good luck!

 

[shushu]

Welcome aboard Mud and the 2LTE crowd. I was in your exact shoes two years ago and I know from experience that you will be helped immensely by the info you get here. I want to encourage you to take some time this winter to read through the many LJ78 build threads on this site. You will be overwhelmed by the info but it will give you an idea of what's ahead. While the 2LTE is certainly not Toyotas best little diesel, it isn't as horrible as some lament. I think one of the first reads would be in the Diesel Tech forum.
Ideas for improving the 2LTE This is a great thread that goes through the issues and solutions to having a reliable little diesel. Read it all.

As for your immediate questions. I would personally switch out my oil for a 5W-30 diesel oil as well as flush the rad and either go Toyota Red with water wetter or better yet, get the Evans Waterless. (may want to wait if you will be doing any mechanics that require you drain the motor. It's spendy) As for additives, well, I don't need to tell you there are hundreds of choices. I'm a fan of the Hotshot brand of oil and diesel additives, but, draw your own conclusions.

It's a fun little rig to have, enjoy being pointed at from time to time and keep us posted as to how and what you do to it!

thank you sooo much i'll definitely read up on the improving thread as well

 

[shushu]

@shushu You'll find that its not so much the winters you need to worry about preparing your LJ78 for, but more the summers!

Anyhow, as said above, make sure to run the right oil for the weather. 5w30 or 5w40 is great for winter. Although Evans coolant is excellent for preventing overheating issues, I have heard it's not that good in really cold climates. In fact @coldtaco got rid of his Evans coolant for this reason. So for the time being, I'd recommend just using some high quality regular coolant. I also highly recommend a Tridon high flow thermostat. These work excellent in summer and winter. Make sure your glow system is in good working order. And installing a block heater would make starting the motor a piece of cake. Could put the block heater on a timer so as to not waste lots of electricity. You can also get coolant heaters that install in your rad hose if thats easier.

You might also consider changing out your gear oil (front/rear diffs and transfer case) to synthetic gear oil which performs better when cold.

Good luck!

Thank you for the response! This information is extremely helpful If my plan for winter includes partial storage (ie: driving the car occasionally when needed) would I still perform all the fluid changes mentioned? Illinois is a high moisture, high salt climate therefore I'd like to avoid driving the LJ78 as much as possible but there's always a chance of one of my other cars forcing me into it in which case i'd like to know what my options are. Thank you again for your attention, I can't tell you how much I appreciate it.

 

[JimmyPrado]

Your choice. At least test your rad fluid to make sure it doesn’t freeze up. I’ve had good luck with “fluid film”. It’s a spray on lanolin oil and I coat my underside with it each winter. That might help if you do have to drive on the salted road.

 

[Lee777]

When I first started out with my LJ78 I learned about how the engine head is prone to cracking if its pushed to hard. I had no idea what I was doing and got a cracked head and block which resulted in having to replace the engine. Since then I made the necessary mods and have learned how to drive within its limits. Ive really enjoyed the process and love the truck! Welcome to the board!
Lee

 

[EastCoast]

@shushu You'll find that its not so much the winters you need to worry about preparing your LJ78 for, but more the summers!

Anyhow, as said above, make sure to run the right oil for the weather. 5w30 or 5w40 is great for winter. Although Evans coolant is excellent for preventing overheating issues, I have heard it's not that good in really cold climates. In fact @coldtaco got rid of his Evans coolant for this reason. So for the time being, I'd recommend just using some high quality regular coolant. I also highly recommend a Tridon high flow thermostat. These work excellent in summer and winter. Make sure your glow system is in good working order. And installing a block heater would make starting the motor a piece of cake. Could put the block heater on a timer so as to not waste lots of electricity. You can also get coolant heaters that install in your rad hose if thats easier.

You might also consider changing out your gear oil (front/rear diffs and transfer case) to synthetic gear oil which performs better when cold.

Good luck!

When changing out the diff and trans case gear oil to synthetic, would you do some extensive flush so as not to mix the 2 types of oil, or is gravity alone good enough?
I'd love to change mine out soon, but im not a fan of wasting my time.
If whats left in the axle would react with the new synthetic gear oil, what would you use to flush out the old?
Any idea what the capacity of the diffs and the transfer case is?
I'd rather buy all the oil at once.
My owners manual is all in Japanese...

 

[Nas90tdi]

Just drain and refill. The minimal amount of dino left in there will not effect a quality synthetic.
However, if you get crud out when you drain it, then you will want to flush it out some. Diesel or brake cleaner are my preferred method if I am just trying to wash a bit of sludge out..

 

[EastCoast]

thanks, i'll get on it soon.