LJ78 Build Thread

[Ben]

Looks like a bitumen based product. I used to use something very similar for roof repairs on houses, like a self adhesive flashing.

I would like to do my doors too, but at the moment my budget is pretty tight as I only borrowed just enough to cover what I estimated I would need to spend to get the 78 finished and registered.

But I will definitely look at doing it in the future.

Work is progressing slowly on the 78 and I've set myself a target of having the interior all back in and the new rear door ready for the paint shop by the end of the week.

 

[Urban]

I have spent the last month reading your LJ70, RJ70 and now this LJ78 Build Treads. I'm impressed with the work your doing!
I've started my 4WD "career" with a Subaru Forester 2010 4 years ago and I still own it, but will trade it for a LandCruiser. Not sure yet which model. A 30 year old car in Sweden has no road tax, but of cause it is 30 year of old worn technology. A LC diesel less than 30 years old and without Diesel Particle Filter is awfully expensive in road tax (=70, 80, 90 & 100 series). Easy 13 kSEK (roughly £1100) per year. So I'm not sure which way to go yet. I do like the diesels as I sometimes tow heavy trailers.
Keep up the good work and I'm looking forward to continue reading about your LC's!

 

[Julian T]

I have spent the last month reading your LJ70, RJ70 and now this LJ78 Build Treads. I'm impressed with the work your doing!
I've started my 4WD "career" with a Subaru Forester 2010 4 years ago and I still own it, but will trade it for a LandCruiser. Not sure yet which model. A 30 year old car in Sweden has no road tax, but of cause it is 30 year of old worn technology. A LC diesel less than 30 years old and without Diesel Particle Filter is awfully expensive in road tax (=70, 80, 90 & 100 series). Easy 13 kSEK (roughly £1100) per year. So I'm not sure which way to go yet. I do like the diesels as I sometimes tow heavy trailers.
Keep up the good work and I'm looking forward to continue reading about your LC's!

Have you thought about a LWB 40 series with a 2H engine, absolute beast of a simple machine, or failing that a early 60 series if you want something more than 30 years old.

 

[Ben]

I have spent the last month reading your LJ70, RJ70 and now this LJ78 Build Treads. I'm impressed with the work your doing!
I've started my 4WD "career" with a Subaru Forester 2010 4 years ago and I still own it, but will trade it for a LandCruiser. Not sure yet which model. A 30 year old car in Sweden has no road tax, but of cause it is 30 year of old worn technology. A LC diesel less than 30 years old and without Diesel Particle Filter is awfully expensive in road tax (=70, 80, 90 & 100 series). Easy 13 kSEK (roughly £1100) per year. So I'm not sure which way to go yet. I do like the diesels as I sometimes tow heavy trailers.
Keep up the good work and I'm looking forward to continue reading about your LC's!

Thanks mate, I'm glad you've enjoyed my build threads.

As Julian suggested, a 40 or 60 would be perfect, or even an early 70 if you can find one.

A 60 would be good, especially if you could find one with a 12HT engine fitted. I used to drive a 12HT 60 when I worked at Piranha and it was a great vehicle it really was!

A 40 would look cooler but may be a bit small and not as comfortable or modern as a 60.

But I'm guessing finding those vehicles in climates with roads that get salted may be difficult, unless you source one from a warmer country.

 

[Paddler Ed]

Thanks mate, I'm glad you've enjoyed my build threads.

As Julian suggested, a 40 or 60 would be perfect, or even an early 70 if you can find one.

A 60 would be good, especially if you could find one with a 12HT engine fitted. I used to drive a 12HT 60 when I worked at Piranha and it was a great vehicle it really was!

A 40 would look cooler but may be a bit small and not as comfortable or modern as a 60.

But I'm guessing finding those vehicles in climates with roads that get salted may be difficult, unless you source one from a warmer country.

One of the guys I know here has a 12HT transplanted into a 40 series ute as his everyday work ute. He also has a Mazda BT50 (older shape) but the 40 is used far more often. He's not a little lad either!

 

[clivehorridge]

A LC diesel less than 30 years old and without Diesel Particle Filter is awfully expensive in road tax (=70, 80, 90 & 100 series). Easy 13 kSEK (roughly £1100) per year.

Tax is pretty steep here too. It goes by engine cc and the rate per liter is set by the engine Euro code, meaning my 22 year old 80 series HZJ is pretty much in the most expensive bracket.

It's about 6,500 lei, which is circa £1,300 p.a.

 

[Ben]

Tax is pretty steep here too. It goes by engine cc and the rate per liter is set by the engine Euro code, meaning my 22 year old 80 series HZJ is pretty much in the most expensive bracket.

It's about 6,500 lei, which is circa £1,300 p.a.

Thats crazy! No wonder theres not many 80's over there!

 

[Ben]

OK..........

Time for an update.

Work is progressing well on the 78 and I'm on track to hit my target of rear door finished and interior back in by the end of the week.

Rear Door First.

It was quite badly dented.

Using my cheap body work set.

I managed to knock most of the bottom dent out.

But I couldnt get anything up inside far enough to get the top dent out.

So then I started thinking and I decided really what I needed was a proper stud welder, dent puller where you weld studs on and pull the dent out.

But their not cheap and its not something I'd use very often and besides I already have a top of the range TIG/ARC and a reasonably good little MIG.

So then I did some research into using one of the welders I already have and found this from the states.

And I thought I could make that and its only going to cost me a few bits of scrap metal I already had and $13 for a cheap hand drill from Bunnings.

Picked up a cheap $13 hand drill.

All I actually wanted was the chuck for my slide hammer, but I will keep the rest as I have plans to use a mechanism like that on a small wind turbine I want to build one day.

I took a piece of 25mm round bar to work and cut it to length, this was to be the handle on the slide hammer.

I then put it on the beast of a lathe.

Put a 12mm drill bit through it.

Followed by a 16mm one.

It looked good on one end.

But the other end was totally wrong.

That went in the scrap bin and I found a piece of steam pipe, left over from when I sleeved the steering bar on this 78 build.

Dug out some nice big hole saw waste pieces from my washers box, all 5mm thick.

Drilled the center holes bigger in the drill press.

Removed the threaded section from the drill that the chuck screws onto.

Cut it down slightly.

Then I cut some 16mm round bar to length and then I had all the parts for the slide hammer.

Decided to take the 16mm bar to work and put it in the lathe so I could drill a nice 7.5mm hole in the end for the chuck threaded section to sit in.

Then the TIG welding could begin!

Few tacks first.

Then fully welded.

All welded and ready to assemble.

Next I needed to make the stud attachment for the MIG.

Found some scrap stainless tube the correct diameter to fit over the end of the MIG torch.

Cut it off and found some brake tube and cut that to length too.

Welded them together.

Cut a 2.4mm TIG filler rod into pieces to use as my studs.

And I was ready!

Cost me $13 and about 2 hours of my time.

Cleaned the paint off the door.

Welded the studs on.

Put the slide hammer on and started pulling the dent out.

I should have taken some before pics as it was 10-12mm dented in to start with.

And afterwards.

As it had worked so well and was so quick and easy I decided to do the other dent.

Cleaned the paint off.

Few before pics.

More stud welding and slide hammering.

And I was very pleased with the results!

I then got the door outside and cleaned it all up and smoothed the welds down.

Gave all the bare metal a few coats of etch primer.

Followed by a 0.5-1mm skim of filler.

Once that was sanded it got another coat of primer.

Then it was ready to drop off at the panel shop.

The guy reckons it should be ready by the middle of next week.

I did a tiny bit in the engine bay.

Fitted my silicon bend to connect my snorkel to the airbox.

The original one that came with the snorkel was very restrictive.

Was quite tight getting it through the guard and onto the snorkel and I resorted to giving the inside of it a coat of wd40 to help get it onto the snorkel.

Then it was ready to connect to the airbox.

Airbox only just fits.

I need some help working out how to connect the plug for the alternator please.

I have 5 wires in total going to the alternator, 4 of which went to a plug on the alternator, or at least on the original 2-lt motor they did, I think.

Where as my 1KZ only has a connector for 3.

The wires on the loom of my 78.

One of which goes to the accessories power box which is strange because non of my other 70's had an alternator wire.

This is the plug for the 1kz alternator.

I can work out 2 of the wires as their quite obvious.

But I'm a bit unsure about the others, particularly this one which is almost like a coaxle cable.

Doesnt look like it should go to my yellow, but maybe it does?

So I'm hoping one of you guys might be able to help.

Back to the build.....

I cleaned the last piece of chrome trim for the rear roof gutter, I had hoped to use one of the KZJ78 ones but sadly that one was damaged, presumably at the same time the rear doors got so damaged.

So I cleaned the paint off my original one.

And got that fitted.

I fitted one of the rear door cards/trims.

I was going to fit the passenger side front one next.

But first I needed to sort out the hideous MDF speaker mount that has been attached to the door.

Removed it and was impressed to find that its a proper shop bought laser cut item and not something some one has bodged together themselves.

Decided to cover it in grey vinyl that I had left over from a previous project.

Covered it completely first and tried to get it nice and tight.

Then cut the middle out and mounted it on the door with the speaker.

But sadly its not perfect, so will have to come off and be re-done.

I'm going to redo it and this time use a hot glue gun to help stick the vinyl in place as I go, so hopefully I wont have any of those loose bits.

I did lots more parts cleaning while the Mrs was in bed.

Then laid them all out to dry.

And hung all the door opening seam seals up to dry.

I used some washing line to re-glaze the smaller rear door.

Next I looked at the seat belts, which would prove a much bigger and time consuming task than it should have been.

The KZJ78 that I got all the seat belts out of had sadly been sat for 2 years with no sun roof or doors on it and the weather had taken its toll.

All the seat belt mounts were rusty.

On closer examination non of them are genuine Toyota ones.

Nor were any of the ones that came on my 78. So I can only presume that to get these imported vehicles to meet Australian Design Rules (ADR compliant) they have to change the belts.

A quick look on Toyodiy with my vin number revealed that it left the factory with only lap belts in the rear, which seems strange as the plastics are made around seat belts being installed, as is the body with its M10 fine thread captive nuts every where.

So then I tried the KZJ78 vin, thinking maybe it was just because mine was an earlier 78, but I got the same result, no rear 3 point belts fitted, only lap belts.

So I can only presume that at that time JDM vehicles didnt get rear 3 point belts, or certainly not these 70 series Prado's.

Anyway, back to the seat belt situation in the 78.............

I wasnt keen to fit rusty parts so decided to try and fit some front 79 series Ute belts I bought 4 years ago when I imported my LJ70.

It bolted in perfectly!

But sadly it wouldnt fit into the stalk on the rear seat.

The rear seat belt stalks were designed to take belts thats tang was 5mm narrower.

So then I dragged LJ's old rear seat out, something which hasnt been fitted for 7 years, but that I'm glad I kept as it will be perfect for carrying my kids when it goes in the soft top body.

But sadly the seat belt stalks on it were wrong too.

So at this point I thought right, Toyota fits the slightly wider tang belts to the front and the narrower to the rear. I will buy some rear seat belts from a new V8 76 wagon or duel cab ute.

Located some, agreed a good price on them, then asked the guy to measure them and discovered that Toyota now fits the wider front tang seat belts to the front and rear of its 70's!

So at this point I thought f*** it!

Fit the rear 2 belts out of the KZJ78, as at least their not red like the ones that came in my 78.

They were a little rusty.

Cleaned them up as best I could with a wire wheel in the drill.

Obviously couldnt get this bit very easily sadly.

Didnt want to risk using my good acid based rust killer next to the belts encase it damaged them, so settled for some much weaker Hammerite stuff I brought over with me when I emigrated.

Gave them a good coat and left it to soak for a while.

Then I masked off the belts.

And gave them 2 coats of etch primer.

Followed by a few coats of satin black enamel paint.

Then they could finally be bolted in place!

And I could start putting the inside back together with all the plastic trims.

Decided to fit the grey, VDJ79 seat belts in the front as they are much better quality than the aftermarket ones these 78's got fitted with after being imported.

The roof lining was filthy when I got the 78 and I mean filthy!

So this week when the wife wanted to clean her old car as we were getting it ready for sale, I suggested we should buy a decent hand held steam cleaner.

So we bought this.

Which has proved to be excellent for cleaning the headling and car upholstery!

The heads get dirty pretty quickly.

But the technique I've discovered which works best is to give it a good going over with the steam mop to loosen all the grease and grime and then use an old towel to rub/wipe it with and all the dirt ends up on the towel.

All of the interior grab handles were pretty gross too.

So they too got a good scrub in the kitchen sink.

The sun visors that the 78 came with had seen better days.

So I kept the ones out of LJ's old body, before I sold it, especially for this build.

Got those fitted.

Along with the rear view mirror, which I never realised before just how perfectly the mirror and visors fit together.

I found a great new automotive paint shop near where I work and picked up some seam sealer to seal where the panel shop forgot to and some stone chip to spray the wheel arches with.

This was a bargain at $15!

The last place ripped me off for $40 for the last one.

Seam sealed the door.

And also the bottom of the rear quarter panel where I did the rust repair.

*You can see the grey paint that has dripped out, thats from where I gave the inside of the quarter panel a good coat of paint a few days previously to ensure no rust can start.

I also seam sealed the inside.

Once that was all dry it was time for some Dinitrol.

I'd forgotten what a bloody messy job it is!

Gave the inside of all the doors a good coat.

And the rear quarter panels.

Carefully positioned tubs to catch it as it leaked out of the drain holes.

Mounted the jack next.

I need to get the tools to go with it, although its unlikely I will ever use it as I always use my high lift, which is very safe and stable with the attachment fitted which fits securely into tube welded into my rock sliders and bull bar, its also super quick and saves having to get down on your hands and knees to position a jack under the axle.

The door cards went on next.

Not sure if I will mount speakers in here or not as the boot will be pretty full with the fridge, water tank, drawer system and camping gear.

But I salvaged the speaker covers off the ruined KZJ78 rear door trims, so I will probably clean and paint them up to at least cover the holes.

Other side went on.

And the other rear side door card.

The faux leather hand brake cover I got from the KZJ78 was sadly a bit moldy.

So after discovering online that white vinegar is the best thing to treat/kill it with I gave it a good wipe with that and left it overnight to soak.

This morning I could fit it but I first I needed to decide whether or not to re-fit the rear heater.

Decided I would as it might be useful if the kids are cold one day, maybe after a trip to the beach, but were not, we can stay cool and just put the hot air on them.

So got it bolted in position along with the center console and hand brake cover.

Not sure if I will use these slightly crusty corroded looking pipes to connect it or not, tempted to just run rubber hoses instead then it might be more reliable.

I will need to clean up and fit this box though next.

As it is far too low to be of any use as an arm rest I'm thinking of trying to mount fold up arm rests directly to the seats. Like the early range rovers and some of the later Transit vans.

Oh one more thing I went picking last weekend.

I went back and bought a load more bits off that KZJ78.

If I had of had room I would have bought the whole thing and just parked it up, but sadly I dont have land yet.

The guy let me use his hoist and tools which was very kind of him.

Got a good trailer load.

I will sell some of it to make some money and keep some of it as spares for my 78.

Cant decide whether to keep the valuable R151 gearbox or not, I've currently got 4 and only need 2 for my 70's and I want to keep one as a spare.

Does anyone know if the KZJ78 had different gear ratios in the gearbox compared to the LJ70's?

I did some searching but couldnt find out.

This is the box.

 

[Paddler Ed]

Hey Ben,

I reckon that coaxial-esque wrap is a shield on the alternator output to prevent electrical interference (or at least that's what makes sense to me)

 

[StarCruiser]

Good work as always Ben. I think that alternator screened cable you refer to as co ax is possibly for some sort of magnetic pickup, perhaps for rpm. This is just based on the type of cable not any knowledge of the vehicle.
The other wires other than a thick charge wire which is obvious, will be a bolt sense wire that goes directly via a fusible link to the battery. An excite/field wire which is switched on by turning the key and a lamp wire.

Have a look here https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=denso+alternator+wiring&client=safari&hl=en-gb&prmd=isvn&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&fir=itNBmL9zFMJh-M%3A%2CtM3pZ7UsD3zm-M%2C_%3Bi_Ama0AYRE6ozM%3A%2Cjan1iJI43y00NM%2C_%3BVWGSFPBHM0UFdM%3A%2Cjan1iJI43y00NM%2C_%3BjZUppcJt-n6dIM%3A%2CSrRgv0BwKJhD4M%2C_%3BfWvFHhXLgaEtHM%3A%2C4-tECyqBN2y7DM%2C_%3BfI3NJkdJdVSCtM%3A%2CvFmu8vAvAYziCM%2C_%3BgY0Ywzp_Yy_BHM%3A%2COhkrZV6kvE7ylM%2C_%3B8mMqhXY4aEHHnM%3A%2CAlRTExGzug37-M%2C_%3BrBfR2hXbESN4NM%3A%2ClejgJxSJW0A7BM%2C_&usg=__I6jazfwr_JzXese7YsxXqciQHXk=&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiN34WShOXUAhWjJMAKHVMnDWkQ7AkIMg&biw=375&bih=628 for pin outs for Denso alternator connections. You could also check the connections from the original alternator and the one you intend to fit and work it out from there.

If you're still stumped then I have a pal whose business it is to rebuild these. I can ask him. Don't assume the wiring colours on the wires you have are correct from one to the other, though of course they may be. Check first as any smoke that escapes is very hard to collect and get back in again.

 

[Ben]

Thanks guys.

Rich I will let you know if I get really stuck, but I will be careful not to let that expensive smoke escape!

Wish I still had the other one parked here really so I could compare the 2.

I've got 4 days off now to play with the 78, so hopefully I will get on to the electrics in a few days.

Want to finish the interior first then do all the mechanical work and finish the exhaust off, then try and get the thing running and driving.

Insurance company have booked in the windscreen company to come Monday.

Fingers crossed I'm correct in thinking its the same screen as a Troopy as thats what I told them.

 

[StarCruiser]

If they're anything like the fitters over here Ben, take my advice and put it in yourself with butyl screen sealant around it.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221384238072
Brilliant stuff. Also good for panels.

 

[clivehorridge]

Coming along nicely Ben, great to see it coming together as an "as-new" truck, instead of a collection of used parts.

Really good work there

 

[Ben]

Thanks guys.

Day 4 of my 4 days on the build today and I've been putting in some huge hours, 12-14 hour days!

Had a few dramas and the project is likely to be delayed a bit now after I discovered some damage I hadnt expected.

Will get an update up in a day or 2 when I go back to work for a break and have some time to kill.

 

[Chris]

Ben, Lord knows what's going on with those duplicate pics. Had a look but I think it might need a Crispin! I can select and delete, it just won't let me save the changes

 

[clivehorridge]

Ben, Lord knows what's going on with those duplicate pics. Had a look but I think it might need a Crispin! I can select and delete, it just won't let me save the changes

It's a common problem too Chris, I've had a stray at the end of a post today, couldn't get rid of it, and I've noticed it happen to others on occasions.

It would be good to find a cure, if there is one...

 

[AndyCook]

Oh no, don't like the talk of damage ...Hope not too bad

 

[clivehorridge]

Oh no, don't like the talk of damage ...Hope not too bad

Me neither Andy, but I can't imagine it phasing Ben any more than just a bit more delay...

whatever it is...

 

[Ben]

Thanks guys.

 

[Ben]

Update time.

I cleaned more parts ready to refit to the car.

First the center cubby box/rear heater enclosure.

And got it fitted.

Cleaned all the air ducting pipes from under the dash.

And a few other bits and pieces.

Got them all fitted.

Along with the instrument cluster.

Next I needed to fit an extra handle to the A pillar on the passenger side, to help my Mrs get in and out of the vehicle.

Toyota saw fit to install one on the drivers side and its handy for getting into the vehicle with.

But they never fitted one on the passenger side.

Luckily I kept the one I added to LJ on the passenger side, before I sold the body.

Sadly theres no captive nuts already in the pillar on that side so I would need to add some.

Positioned a magnet on the pillar to catch the swarf and then I carefully used a step drill to add some holes.

Dug out my trusty rivnut tool which does all the way up to M12!

Fitted the M8 mandrel into it and found some M8 rivnuts.

Fitted the rivnuts into the pillar.

And bolted on the handle.

Next I removed the speaker mount that I wasnt happy with.

Removed some of the staples.

Picked up a decent glue gun from Bunnings.

Re-attached the vinyl, this time with some glue around the edge for a perfect crease free finish.

While I had the glue gun out I also stuck the insulation onto the back of the 2 front footwell side covers, as I'd had to remove it so I could clean the plastics.

One side has the fuse box cover.

And the JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) 70's got something a bit different that fitted into these 2 clips.

What fits into these brackets is something that would be damn near impossible for me to export out of Japan, if I was even allowed to buy any over there!

10 points to whoever can guess what fits in the bracket!

Back to the build.......

I needed to un-solder the speaker wires off the door speakers as the wires wernt long enough to go to the head unit and solder on new longer wires.

That passenger door card could then go back on.

Much better!

Drivers side next.

I needed to sort the speaker mount out on this one.

But I also needed to try and repair the damage on the top of the door card.

Luckily I had a spare KZJ70 door card that I brought over with me from the UK 4.5 years ago.

It wasnt ideal but it had enough grey vinyl on it to repair my damaged one.

First I bent all the clips back that hold the top chrome trim on.

And removed the trim.

Next I carefully cut the vinyl I needed off the donor door card.

Then I cut off the damaged section on the 78 door card, deciding to go back right to the end to avoid having too many joins.

Needed to remove the damaged foam underlay.

Cut it out and rust treated the bare rusty metal.

Cut a new piece of foam to stick on.

Found an old tin of contact adhesive.

And got ready to stick these bits on.

Stuck the foam on.

And left the vinyl to sit for a while so the contact adhesive could go tacky.

And then stuck it on.

I couldnt get all the wrinkles out sadly, so I'm not happy with it.

But it looks a lot better and will do for now until I find a replacement door card.

Upholstered the speaker mount.

And attached it to the door card.

Its still bugging me.

I did some more work on the exhaust next.

Cut a bit off one of my mandrel bends.

Tacked the 2 bends together.

Just fusion welded them, so no filler wire, just melting the 2 metals together.

Tacked those to the other section.

Made up a bracket out of the scrap piece off a medical trolley.

Positioned it where I wanted it and tacked the bracket in place and tacked this section of exhaust to the silencer section already on the car.

I then discovered I couldnt get the silencer section off the car with this last section attached to it, as it snaked its way around the chassis at the back.

I jacked the rear axle up a bit until the wheels were off the ground, but still no luck.

I'm convinced if the 78 was on a hoist it would have come off, but as I'm a few years away from owning my own hoist and I needed to take it off to full weld it all I was snookered.

So I decided to cut the exhaust after the silencer and add another join then the rear section should be able to be removed.

Bought some more flanges.

Cut through the exhaust and welded a flange onto the end of the silencer section.

I then refitted that section and bolted the second flange to the first one.

Positioned the rear section in place.

Used some plastic packers to pack it u off the chassis for clearance.

Made sure it was right at the back.

And tacked the second flange to the pipe.

Removed it and fully welded it.

I had to remove and scrap the bracket idea altogether as it simply wont fit on and off the car with it in position.

But I have a plan of how to make a removable bracket to fix that issue.

Thats as far as I got on the exhaust, so still a little bit to do on it.

The next big job was the rear diff needed to come out to fix the leak it had between the third member and the diff casing.

I also needed to sort out the rear brakes at the same time as the handbrake was non existent.

Jacked up and wheels off.

Brakes next.

Pads were very low.

They were genuine ones so there is every possibility they are the originals.

Caliper off.

Followed by the disc.

Which revealed the very muddy and worn hand brake shoes.

A few more pics so I can try and remember how it all goes back together.

Pulled the other side off.

These pads were down to the metal.

Pulled the half shaft/axle out and got all the bits in boxes.

Other axle was a bit more stubborn and needed a bash with the mallet to get it out.

All removed and on the bench out of the way.

Splines all looked nice and straight which is good.

I had thought of bolting the rear disc brake parts off my KZJ78 spare axle onto the LJ70 axle under LJ, but noticed the ends of the axle are completely different on the rear disc brake axles.

Pulled the rear diff out next.

My first ever factory locking diff.

But then disaster!

I spotted 2 broken teeth on the ring gear.

Now its right at the top of the teeth and that bit doesnt really mesh with the pinion, so in theory I could leave it and it might be ok for years and cause no problems.

But I cant risk that so I will need to replace the ring and pinion which isnt proving easy to find.

It turns out that the 4:8 ratio diffs run a unique ring gear that is thinner than most Toyota ring gears, its also off set slightly in the third member.

So after market gears wont fit.

I had intended to import some Nitro or Yukon ones from the states but sadly this isnt an option.

This article explains the unique issue facing people with factory 4:8 8" Toyota diffs.

http://www.locktup4x4.com.au/blog/?p=390?

I lowered the rear axle down onto a trolley so I can at least move the 78 backwards and forwards unti the diff issue gets resolved.

I did some more cleaning.

The last 2 weather strips off the front doors.





I found these scouring pads I picked up worked well for getting the blue primer off and then it was just the black paint underneath that to get off with wire wool.





I then made a start on the bump strips off the doors.



I found that by flexing them backwards and forwards I could crack a lot of the paint off.



And then I could scrub the rest off with hot soapy water and wire wool.

Was pretty time consuming but also quite satisfying.



I've just got the long 2 off the front doors still to do.



The clear side repeaters never came with bulb holders.

So I picked one up from Supercheap that I thought might fit.





I had to file out the back of the side repeater slightly to make it fit.







Then I just needed to solder the wires to the wires connected to the 78's loom/

I've seen a few people solder over the years who really dont understand the concept of it, so I thought I'd explain how I do it.

First twist the wires together like this, I twist them over each other and then back on themselves so they are really well connected.

The biggest mistake I've seen people doing is relying on the solder to hold the wires together. That is wrong, you want a really good solid mechanical conneion first before you solder.





Then when you solder them, have the tip of the soldering iron underneath the joint and then add the solder from the top, that way it gets pulled nicely through the joint.





I really should have taken a pic of the finished soldered joint, but I forgot.

I heat shrunk over the joins and then refitted it to the car.

I just need to get one more bulb holder for the other side.

Sump swap next.

I drained the oil from the old engine sump.



Removed all the 10mm bolts holding it on.



And then struggled like hell for the next hour to prise the sump off.

I wont be using RTV sealant again thats for sure!

It took all these tools.



But eventually it popped off.



Next I needed to remove the oil strainer.





Compared it to my new live axle one.





Needed to clean the old RTV sealant from the bottom of the engine next.



Razer blade worked well for that.





The old IFS sump oil strainer had a stud holding it on but that wouldnt work on the new one so I had to remove the stud from the bottom of the engine and find a suitable M6 bolt.





The new oil strainer went on next.



And I applied a bead of silicon sealant to the live axle sump.





And got the sump bolted on.



Not only does the live axle sump have slightly more oil capacity its also better designed as it doesnt have a section that juts out and corrodes like the IFS sump does, pictured below.



I'm pretty sure the KJZ70's are the only Toyota 4wd with the 1KZ-TE engine to receive the live axle sump as all the other vehicles, like 4-Runner, Surf, Hi-lux, 90 and 120 series Prado and the vans that got that engine are all IFS.

I fitted the new genuine oil filter.



*Had to split this update because of the 200 pic limit.