Before you jump in – just think for a second about if you really need to install the lift. A body lifts only befit is that it makes room for bigger tyres. It won’t impact suspension travel, articulation – all important to off-road capability. The downside of a body lift is that it will create spaces between your bumper bars and/or bulbar as on most occasions these will be attached to the chassis. It can be a little unsightly and custom bar work can be expensive.

You’re alternative to a body lift is raised suspension. This might be a better first mod to get, a not only does it give extra clearance, but also improves articulation. Yes this is a little more expensive, but perhaps a better place to start. Put in the body lift if you want to go even bigger with the rubber (35 inch etc) .

So if your minds made up that still want the lift, let’s get into it…

First things first you need to buy the blocks. They’ll come in various thicknesses. Installation is simple for up to 2 inches, any bigger, and you’re in for a lot more work (extended steering rods etc). There is also a range of types including metal, rubber, and polyurethane. I’ve always used polyurethane with no complaints.

Second thing you need is extended bolts. Your old chassis bolts just won’t be long enough to deal with the lift. Remove one of your existing bolts and take it to a bolt specialist and ask for ones that X longer. (x being your chosen lift size). Please, please, please use high tensile bolts.. Pay the extra or your body will snap off your chassis when you least expect it.

That’s all the stuff you need. Here’s how you put it in…

• Inspect How Your Body Bolts to Your Chassis Rail

  Get under your car and look for all the mounting points under your car. Be prepared for 8 or so mounting points – make sure you get them all. Once you’ve located the bottom, you need to determine how you car going to access the top. Some of them will be easy, but others you’re going to need to remove carpet and other accessories to gain access.

• Inspect other body to chassis components

  The biggest one here is the steering. Make sure you loosen off the steering arm before you install the lift. Also check for wires, gas lines that may not cope with the extra lift (most standard 4wd’s this wont be a problem

• Undo the body bolts and raise the body of vehicle

  Loosen and remove the bolts on one side of the vehicle. Then raise that side of the vehicle (only the body), enough to slot in your lift blocks. There are many ways to raise the body – my most popular method is to use two high-lift jacks at either end, and raise them simultaneously (you’ll need a friend). Once you’ve created space, slot in the lift blocks, thread the new bolts through and lightly tighten the nuts. Repeat for the other side.

• Tighten and your done.

  With all blcoks in place, tighten all bolts, and don’t forget to tighten your steering rod.

Jobs done – enjoy the extra clearance!

Most large 4X4’s produced after 1980 will have a spot already available for a 2nd batter, and this mod is one of the easiest you can make to your 4X4. For older and smaller 4X4’s you might have a little more work to do…

The first thing you need to do is find a mounting spot for your second battery. As I mentioned large 4X4’s like the Toyota Landcruiser already have a provision for one (on the opposite side of the radiator), others won’t. You can either buy an aftermarket 2nd battery tray from a 4X4 accessory dealer, or grab a 2nd hand unit that will fit in your area from a wreckers. Personally I’d go with the wrecker option as you’ll save a stack of cash, and will a little investigation, find a tray that will fit your application better than a purchased unit.

After you’ve installed your tray, put in your second battery and you’re ready to wire it up.

Installing your isolator: If your going to install a 2nd battery you need to install an isolator. An isolator will isolate your 2nd battery from your main battery when you’re alternator is not charging. This means that any accessories you run from your second battery whilst you car is not running (such as a fridge), will not drain your main battery. This thus ensures that you’ve always got power to start you’re vehicle. A good isolator will also prioritise charge, only charging your 2nd battery once the main battery is fully charged.

The wiring of a dual battery system is pretty simple, and looks like this:

Enjoy and, as always, any q’s just shout out.

]]> http://4x4fever.com/repair-tips/install-a-dual-battery-system/feed/ 2 http://4x4fever.com/repair-tips/toyota-hilux-diff-ratios/ http://4x4fever.com/repair-tips/toyota-hilux-diff-ratios/#comments Sat, 10 Jan 2009 08:00:38 +0000 Shayne http://4x4fever.com/?p=66 Below are the diff ratios of early model Toyota Hilux’s.

Petrol


Year	Ratio
1979 to 1996	4.875

Note: the V6 4runner has a 4.3 ratio

Diesel

Year	Ratio
1979 to 1983	4.875
1984 to 1988	4.56
1988 to 1996	4.3

If available you can always check the ratio by checking the trans/axle code:

G = 8″ crown wheel, next 2 numbers is the ratio code:

• 14 = 4.875
• 25 = 4.56
• 28 = 4.3

last number is the pinion type

• 2 = 2 pinion
• 3 = LSD 2 pinion
• 4 = 4 pinion
• 5 = LSD 4 pinon

Feel free to chime in with any later models and I’ll include it in the post.

]]> http://4x4fever.com/repair-tips/toyota-hilux-diff-ratios/feed/ 0 http://4x4fever.com/repair-tips/wiring-diagram-for-a-winch/ http://4x4fever.com/repair-tips/wiring-diagram-for-a-winch/#comments Wed, 01 Oct 2008 07:04:56 +0000 TNA http://4x4fever.com/?p=45 Looking at wiring up your winch by your self?, Or even doing in-cab controls? This diagram may prove useful to you!



]]> http://4x4fever.com/repair-tips/wiring-diagram-for-a-winch/feed/ 8 http://4x4fever.com/repair-tips/wiring-diagram-for-an-arb-air-locker/ http://4x4fever.com/repair-tips/wiring-diagram-for-an-arb-air-locker/#comments Wed, 01 Oct 2008 06:15:05 +0000 TNA http://4x4fever.com/?p=42 Need some help installing your ARB air-locker? Use this handy wiring diagram to sort out all those electrical gremlins.



]]> http://4x4fever.com/repair-tips/wiring-diagram-for-an-arb-air-locker/feed/ 0 http://4x4fever.com/repair-tips/repair-tips-landcruiser-60-series/installling-a-chevy-engine-in-a-landcruiser/ http://4x4fever.com/repair-tips/repair-tips-landcruiser-60-series/installling-a-chevy-engine-in-a-landcruiser/#comments Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:36:49 +0000 Shayne http://4x4fever.com/?p=9 This is the story of how and why I chose to install a chevy engine in my 60 series Landcruiser. I’ll share all the trials and tribulations I experienced which might just help you to not make the same mistakes I did.

Make no mistake this is not a weekend task. It takes commitment and a certain technical competency but with a little grit and determination you can end up with a truck, that leaves those sports cars for dead and is so so much fun in the bush!

In Short…

Why should you

• MORE POWER! MORE POWER!
• Parts are cheaper
• Bragging rights are cool

Why you might think twice

• It will cost more than you think
• Every repair job will be custom
• Do you really need to pop monos?

Difficulty: 9/10

 

Where it all began

Now every country has its transportation icons. Cars that maintain a reputation that sticks like glue for what seems an eternity. These are normally for a specific trait, sometimes good and sometimes bad, whether they actually have it or not. Growing up it for me it was the Landcruiser.

When the team at Toyota first thought up the Landcruiser I don’t think they ever dreamed it would become the institution to Australia that it is today. If you did a poll (and I might one day), and asked Australians to tell you the first two words that come to mind when you think of a Landcruiser, I’m certain in most cases you’d get ‘tough’ and ‘reliable’.

I’d hate to think of how many millions in marketing budgets have been spent by competitors trying to that earn that tag, and, what’s more, I don’t think the latest to roll off the Toyota factory actually deserves it.

Back in the day when my then un-broken family holiday was travelling around the Australian outback, or forging our way through mountains and mud we had no choice but to do it with the safety of the un-breakable Toyota.

Now let me think.. There was the yellow diesel 40 series, the diesel troopy, the white petrol 60 series, the brown Sahara turbo diesel and a handful of other cruisers that adorned the driveway of the place I called home.

Learning to drive, I thought all cars needed the glow plugs of a diesel to warn up before starting and a timer to cool her down before the engine shut off. Oh to be young and innocent once again..

So cometh my 18th birthday, my new drivers licence, a smile, and high hopes, I flicked through the classifieds, looked in my wallet, and somewhat deflated realised it would be sometime before I could call a Landcruiser my own…

Life went on and I owned a Camira, a couple of Commodores, a Toyota Hi-Lux, and finally a Chevrolet Camaro. When an ‘offer I couldn’t refuse’ arrived for the Camaro it was time, I was going back to my childhood and buying a Cruiser.

Now to be honest, I could have afforded a newish cruiser, and trust me that’s what my fiancée Justine wanted, but I just couldn’t step away from the 60 series. It was the car I learnt to drive in, the car that never let us down in the bush. Never did I stop to consider that we might have made 1 or 2 technical advances since the 80’s..so off I went and bought a 1986 Gun Metal Grey petrol Toyota Landcruiser…

Hot Day + Worn Bearings = Blown Bottom End

It’s mine and I love it and everything is exactly how I remembered it. The girl seems happy, and it’s off to the bush we go..

12 months and a whole lot of modifications later, we’re off to celebrate New Years Eve at the man from snowy rivers hut. Half way there, temp gauge a little high, further… a little higher. Okay time to stop now, let her cool down; it’s a hot day so there’s nothing to worry about.

Okay were back to a normal temperature, almost there, temp gauge on the rise again… then…. BANG! New Years Eve ends in a Tow Truck ride, a night in a crappy motel and a blown bottom end. Not the best way to welcome in the New Year.

Looking at about $1000 worth of repairs, I could have got it fixed, but not when your staring down the barrel of a the power of a Chevrolet Camaro in a truck purpose built for the bush.. So exit the straight six and enter the pushrod power of a small block Chev.

Now I’m not a mechanic, nor are my brothers, sisters, mother or father, but what I am is a tinkerer. I’ve changed transmissions, wired in stereos, redone interiors, changed engines, but all based on basic knowledge, doing my research and finding my way though as I go.

People who don’t understand why I don’t just pay someone to do it for me, need to understand that it’s my hobby. I like taking 5 hours to do a job that a mechanic could do in 1. Why? Because it’s a sense of achievement and I always lean something new in every task.

Through this project I was not on my own. The pit crew consisted of the following:

• Father-in-Law: well not technically the father in law yet, but close enough. He owns a Chev C20 Fleetside Truck that would make any owner proud. Easily bribed with free beer meticulous in every detail I lost count of the hours he put in to this project.
• Father: The man who knows everyone. If there’s a discount or a cheap part to be found, he knows where to get it and being from the good side of the law, knows a thing or two about the legal requirements for registration.
• The Fiancée: Honoured here not so much for pure work with the spanner, but for not getting to upset when I dragged grease through the house, took up the whole garage or feed her father so much beer, she had to drive him home.
• The Welder: The expert boiler maker/farmer/ex-cop, a vital cog in the production machine.. Without him I would never have known that an upward weld was stronger than a downward one.
• The Engineer: I called this guy the boss. He decides whether you can take your car back on the road or not. I’m not sure if it’s the same in your state, but they don’t hand out tickets to certify modifications allthe much, so they treasure their licence and rule with an Iron fist.

Research and get 5 different answers to the same question

With the team in place and the Cruiser in the garage, the planning stage commenced.

Essential things to think about before you start

There is no one way to complete this conversion. Much depends on if you’re starting with a diesel or petrol, you want to use Toyota or Chevy accessories, where you want to place your engine, what sort of engine you want to use. Some of decisions better made before you start are:

• Engine Accessories:

  I’m talking about alternator, power steering pumps, air conditioning compressors etc and you’ve really got two options. You can use your Toyota accessories and you’ll need to fabricate or buy brackets to fit your chev block, or you can use chev accessories and you’ll need to modify you’re wiring and hose fittings to suit the Toyota connections. I went with chev accessories as they’re cheaper to replace and the brackets are a lot tidier.

• Manual or Auto

  You can get bell housing adapters to suit the Toyota manual or auto transmission, however if autos what your after I’d go for a turbo 700 GM gearbox and get the adapter to add the transfer case – you might want to get an expert to do this. I went with a fresh 5-speed manual Toyota box. Be aware, your current transmission is not built for to the torque of the chev so a dodgy unit will fail pretty quickly.

• Other Accessories

  Don’t forget about gauges, the only gauge that’s not transferrable is the tacho. I managed to fit a mall tacho in the existing hole, however most people do larger external style tacho. You might need to get adapters for your temperature and oil pressure sensors as well.

• Engine Location

  The kits you can but, result in you being able to use your stock transmission cross-member. I chose to move the position a little forward, to get the fan closer to the radiator and balance the weight a little. This resulted in a custom cross member and custom front and rear tail shafts.

• Diesel or Petrol

  Make sure you get the kit to suit. The transmission cross member is further back in the diesel model so you can find yourself in all sorts of trouble with the wrong kit. This also would a custom cross-member and new tail shafts.

• Wiring

  I thought I did a good job but taking pictures making notes and tagging all wires is super important. See the section on ‘don’t make the same mistakes I did’.

• Lifting

  You do these things at your own peril. However you must plan for safely moving around items that weigh over a tonne. I did it with some scaffolding and a pulley system. I’ve also got a few sets of jack stands, trolley jacks and an engine stands.. They all got used frequently.

• Running Gear and exhaust

  Diffs, transmission, transfer case are all going to be in for a bit of a fight with the tourque of a Chevy engine. Don’t be surpised if you blow a diff or two if your unit is getting old. Its just the risk you run with more power. A reco unit will hold up pretty well.. Don’t forget these trucks a pretty tough.

• EPA and Certification

  Now this applies to only people in Victoria Australia and I can only say this is fact as of today (date). To legally drive this car you must notify Vic Roads. For Vic Roads to accept the modification it must have and engineer’s certification. This is obtained from a Vic Roads accredited engineer. Your best bet is to touch base with an engineer in your area. Talk to him about what your wanting to do (some won’t accept you doing it yourself), and generally involve him from day one. A list of engineers can be found at the end. EPA these days is an important factor in your conversion and the rule is simple. If your using an engine thats newer than the car then you’re okay, but you’ve then got all the smog stuff to install if it’s older than the car then you’ve got to run it on straight LPG. That’s what I did.

The Essential Parts to do your conversion:

• The engine – I’d suggest a fresh 4 bolt chev with a solid bottom end and plenty of torque rather than high horsepower
• Transmission adapter or transfer case adapter (if your running a chev transmission)
• Chev to Toyota Engine Mounts
• A new exhaust
• Accessory adapter kit (or use chev accessories)

Steps to a 350 Chev in your Landcruiser

This is not a step-by-step, more the general procedure I followed to do my conversion. Remember, there are a lot of variables that will slightly alter what you may need to do.

• Remove your bulbar, grill and radiator, battery(s), disconnect any wiring, hoses connected to your engine.
• Remove your tail shafts, clutch slave cylinders (if required), Speedo cable and gear shift knobs
• Remove the gear shift cover plate (under your carpet)
• Remove your exhaust system
• You should now have nothing other than supports connected to your transmission and engine.
• Supporting your transmission remove the transmission cross member
• Secure your engine hoist (or whatever you’re using to safely remove the engine).
• Take up the tension and disconnect the engine mounts.
• Carefully remove the engine and transmission from the car and put somewhere securely.
• Detach the transmission from the engine
• Following the instructions with the bell housing kit, attach the transmission flywheel and clutch to your new engine using the bell housing adapter.
• Grind off your old engine mounts; make sure you do this cleanly, as engineers don’t like deep gouges in chassis rails.
• With your engine out, tidy up your engine bay. There will be items you won’t need depending on your accessory choice (Coils, voltage regulators etc) .
• Get all your hoses and wires in place for the new engine. Air con compressors, power steering pumps, alternators etc are all reversed if you’re using Chevy accessories (which I did).
• Run any new wires you may need from your console – (i.e. new tacho)
• Position your new engine in place in the same manner you pulled out your old engine.
• If your able and opting to use your existing cross member then re-attach the transmission cross member.
• If not then position your engine to the desired spot, then have your custom transmission cross-member made and install it.
• Position and clamp your new engine mounts in place. If your welding them in weld them, if your bolting bolt them
• Connect your engine to your engine mounts
• Disconnect your hoist and your engine and transmission should be in place
• Take a deep breath as the easy parts done
• Start with your tail shafts if you’ve used the standard cross member then your old ones will do. If it’s custom, then you’ll need custom front and back shafts.
• Reconnect your Speedo, clutch slave cylinder etc
• Start one by one connecting all your hoses and wires to your new engine and accessories. This is where your preparation is important and where each installation will differ from the next.
• Put you radiator, battery and front back in and you should be ready to fire her up.
• All connected and all going to plan you should be able to take it for a test drive.
• Fix up any bugs (there will be some) and get it down to your engineer; get him to give it the thumbs up and your good to go…

Remember, this probably all sounds easy, but I’ve not gone into explicit detail on many aspects that each take a day or more to do. This is not a weekend Job.

Don’t make the same mistakes I did

Everything’s good in hindsight and these are some of the things I would have done differently if I was to do the conversion for the first time again.

• It’s essential that you start with a reconditioned, reliable, high torque at low RPM engine with a super strong bottom end. You can buy them new out of the box for next to nothing these days or there are plenty of 2nd hand engines you can get rebuilt. It will save hours of pain later.
• Before you cut any wire, take photos, make notes and tag the wire. I thought I’d done a pretty good job of this, but from experience, it will pay off big time if you’re very meticulous.
• Replace any weak accessories whilst the engine is out. This means get your radiator reco’d, alternator checked, transmission and transfer case serviced, and anything else that’s needed. Don’t forget, you’re playing around with a 20+ year old car.
• It’s an old one, but as with any customisation, figure out your budget then double it. It might come out cheaper, but at least understand your worst case scenario.
• Unless you have to, use new parts whenever you can. I used a heap of second hand parts because I had to, and whilst I made do, it would have been a lot easier to complete it with new parts.
• Give yourself lots of space in two ways. Get your engine bay as clean as possible. The whole front of a Landcruiser is pretty easy to remove so get that crap out of the way. The second is to make sure you’ve got space to store your engine and the 1,000 other bits you have off the car at any given moment
• Give yourself lots of time. Don’t think you’re going to get this done it a weekend. Whilst the task seems and is very simple, there is going to be hurdles that will stand in your way.

Useful research

Now there’s not a great deal out there in terms of research. Marks adapters is a good start, plus you’ll want to grab a good repair manual for your cruiser. Whilst your at it, you might want to grab a good chevy engine repair manual at the same time. You should also consider identifying your local engineer (should you need to) before you start. From that – find a good toyota forum as well as a chev forum. You’d be surprised just how smart, and how quick you’ll get a response to your questions at some of these places.

Happy to help and welcome comments

So you’ve got to the end of my experiences in putting a chev engine in my Landcruiser. It really was a lot of work, but I think well worth it. I’ve tried to re-enforce that there are going to be variables if your considering this for yourself and I’m happy to answer and questions you might have.

]]> http://4x4fever.com/repair-tips/repair-tips-landcruiser-60-series/installling-a-chevy-engine-in-a-landcruiser/feed/ 8 http://4x4fever.com/repair-tips/repair-tips-landcruiser-60-series/replacing-the-rear-diff-on-a-6062-series-landcruiser/ http://4x4fever.com/repair-tips/repair-tips-landcruiser-60-series/replacing-the-rear-diff-on-a-6062-series-landcruiser/#comments Wed, 11 Jun 2008 01:28:41 +0000 Shayne http://4x4fever.com/?p=4 Having a 350 chev driving the Landcruiser, it was inevitable that after 300,000+ kms the diff was going to let go at some stage. Luckily for me it was on a bitumen road, and close to home, so the drama of skidding to a halt was minimal. What amazed me more was how easy the diff is to replace…



Now we’re talking here about the full floating diff, so you’ll need to double check that you’ve got the same setup. The steps for a semi-floating diff are a little more complicated.

First thing to do it remove the axels. There’s a six bolts around the axel stub (the wheel end) that you loosen without removing the nut fully.Then grab a hammer or mallet and tap the end of the nut. You’ll see a cone shaped washer start to dislodge. Once the washer is to the point where you can remove it with your fingers, take away the all nut and washers.

Then grab a screw that will fit in the threaded bolt hole on the axel hub. You might need to clean away some of the grime inside the thread. Slowly tighten the screw and it will start the separate the axel from the hub. Once you’ve got a bit of a gap, use a big screwdriver to finish it off. The Axel should now be easy to pull out. Repeat for the other axel

Now jump under your truck and remove the tailshaft. I recommend removing it from both ends to get it right out the way, but it’s only essential to remove the diff end.

Before you continue, drain remaining oil from the diff.

To then remove the diff, remove all the bolts surrounding the diff housing, and use a screwdriver to dislodge the diff from the housing. Be careful not to leave anything under where the diff will fall – she’s heavy.

So that’s it, your diff is out, now just some final things to do before you replace it with your new one.

Make sure you remove all leftover gaskets bits on the axels and around the diff housing. Replace them with new ones when you install the new diff.

When you install the new gaskets on the axel, put a bit of grease on the gasket before you tighten.

Important: Make sure you clean out all the metal from the inside diff housing before you install your new one. This includes any metal that might had worked it was into the axel shaft. I used a broom handle and rag to push the metal out. Spend some time here making sure it’s clean. Any metal will shorten the life of your new diff.

Installation is the reverse of removal.

Enjoy getting back on the road!

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