1UZ in a '92 PZJ70 Cruiser

[GrahamN]

I'm after a bit of tech info on repowering my Cruiser... Any of you guys feeling helpful???

The 1PZ motor, even with a turbo strapped on the side, just doesn't have the steam to spin up the old 35's so I've got hold of a 1UZ VVTi motor to shove into it.

1st question.. Does any body out there have an ECU pinout for the VVTi loom? This one's uncut so I want to adapt it into the Link ECU. Seems the safest way of doing it instead of belling it all out manually. Looks like the VVTi 1UZ ECU shares the same header board as the Ver8 Subie Impreza so I can chop one of them up as a donor loom adaptor.

2. What's the best way of adapting to the R151F trans? The 1UZ auto bellhousing is 160mm long and the original housing is 200mm. None of the adaptors or bellhousings on TM would work for me from what I can see. Anybody else mated up to this box? And what flywheel/clutch combo works best?

3. Auto option. (diff and CV saver!) Anybody tried mating a Lexus auto up to a Cruiser transfer box? I was told the auto box I got with the motor is a 5spd as its a 2000 model year (may be BS). Anybody know of any adaptors and/or info on the electrics to do this?

4. Anything else that may help me!!

Other info...
My truck is the SWB with 4.1 diffs (High pinion front) and factory front&rear lockers.

Cheers

Graham

[turoa]

ive done it by getting a prado auto box and transfercase, and swapping the input shaft, oil pump and bellhousing from the 1uz auto to the cruiser one. Then drilled out a boss for a speed sensor and chucked it back together. Im planning on wiring the prado box up to the 1uz computer to control the shifts, but ill be putting a manual shift option in aswell. If you want to know more just ask. This is in a s2a landrover btw Auto all the way

Cant help you with the manual box or vvti though

[GrahamN]

Thanks Turoa!
I was looking at a Prado auto box yesterday and that did get me thinking...

What do you know about the Surf V6 auto? I have an option on a complete unit out of truck being wrecked including levers, loom, ECU etc. It's a fair bit longer than my R151F box so would need new mounts making but that's no drama I guess.

The VVTi will be a challenge for sure. reckon it will be worth it in the end over the old 1UZ. On paper the VVTi and variable inlet runner length control gives more grunt all round.

[haydgq]

Hi there,

The v6 surf auto box is the same series as the 70 series prado auto and lexus auto, They are A34x series boxes.

I think the main difference is the v6 surf auto has the transfer case with the the rear centered output and the prado boxes normally had the offset rear output, My Hilux is going to use a factory 1UZ A341-E lexus auto thats had a v6 surf transfer mated up to it using the output shaft from the v6 surf auto etc

Cheers

[GrahamN]

Cheers. That's some good info. reckon it may be easier to go auto after all then.

My next drama will be getting it all to work in a 24v truck....

[Big]

Good luck with getting the ecu to run the engine..as from what I know..it has a security code that it gets from the original key..if it doesn't see it..you can guess what'll happen!!no go
You'll be best to get a links plus and then dyno it to get it to run properly!! or you'll be the first to get it to run from factory from what I've read...cheers
PS where you get it? I'm thinking of updating my 1UZ (series 1)to the vvti version..when I blow her up..lol

[Jerry]

Mr O still has a prado auto box for sale still I think?

[GrahamN]

I'm not even trying to run it on the factory ECU. Big drama from what I hear. I've splashed out on one of the new Link G4 Extreme ECUs which has 8 coil and 8 injector drivers. Thought about doing it on the cheap but knew I'd end up doing it twice then...

Got really lucky with the motor. Bought it off a bloke who didn't realise it was any different to an old 1UZ. $880 with auto box and uncut loom with only 47k. All the block and heads are still nice and shiny, no corrosion at all.... Can't complain at that!

[Mattman]

I am running a 1UZ non vvti with a Link G5 and an R151F. Custom flywheel drilled for a toyota 9.5in clutch. 2200lb clutch cover with an organic plate. Using the 1UZ auto bellhousing with an adaptor to the R151F. Have a boss that spaces out the spigot bearing about 10mm and a larger carrier for the release bearing. Slave cylinder on the passenger side.

All of the advertised setup's on trademe should work with your R151F or the V6 R150F. There are new bellhousings and also adaptors for the 1UZ auto bellhousing. I went with a medium duty clutch and plan to change it more often. Water crossings and lots of debris usually find their way into the housing as it's hard to seal properly so I figure a slightly softer clutch will save the axles and still last about as long as a heavy duty one.

About to convert my 1UZ Soarer to a manual with an R154. The R154 has a longer input shaft than the R151/150F but A1 Turbo's now do a new bellhousing for the longer input shaft. There are a few suppliers selling new bell housings for the shorter 4x4 boxes. I am going to run a hydraulic release bearing and a 6 puck clutch with a 2800lb pressure plate.

Make sure you rebuild the starter whilst you have the motor out and it's prolly worth doing cambelt, water pump, tensioners, idlers etc as well.

Matt.

[GrahamN]

Thanks Matt,

how long was the original Bell housing on your R151F? Mine is 200mm so I figure I've got 40mm of input shaft to get rid of if I try adapting the the original 1UZ auto housing.
Cheers,
Graham

[Mattman]

I am not near my garage at the moment where I have an original 2.4 diesel R151F bellhousing as well as the Hilux with the 1UZ auto bellhousing and adaptor so can't take any measurements. I would assume the Prado/Cruiser R151 is the same as the Hilux box if they had the 2.4 turbo diesel in front of it.

Did you get a trans with your motor? I wonder if the later auto's run a different bellhousing to the 1UZ's? I know they changed to a 5speed auto and that might have a different bellhousing.

You want the auto housing to be shorter than the R151F housing as the adaptor plate will consume some of that length. I think my adaptor is about 25mm thick but as I mentioned I have a boss that spaces the spigot bearing about 10mm out from the face of the flywheel so obviously my bellhousing and adapter combo is 10mm longer than the factory R151F bellhousing.

The 4x4 boxes run a shorter input shaft than the 2wd boxes so you already have the shortest factory input shaft available. I suppose you could machine it down but I would think that it is hardened.

Let me know if you need any specific measurements and I will get them for you in a couple of days.

Matt.

[GrahamN]

Good point on the 25mm+ taken up by the 1UZ bellhousing adaptor. I'd been planning on using one of the replacement bellhousing castings off TM which would have not needed an adaptor.

The diesel motor currently fitted to my Cruiser is the 5cyl 3.5 (1PZ). The VVTi Lexus motor came with an auto box which 'could' be a 5spd. Don't know how I'd go about checking that though. I've checked it side by side with a V6 Surf auto and they look virtually identical except for the rear housing and transfer box which makes me think its a 4spd. The Surf auto also has the 160mm long bellhousing.

I'm not that bothered if I go the auto or manual route. Ideally I'd make the most of the stuff I've already got and not have to spend out on another trans. I guess the simplest would be to adapt the auto VVTi bellhousing onto my R151F manual trans and buy a flywheel and clutch as you have done because that avoids any electrical dramas with the auto. BUT the auto would be lot easier on the driveline...

I haven't pulled the trans out of my truck yet as I want to minimise the time it spends parked up and unuseable.

[Mattman]

Realistically a flywheel and adaptor plate is 1k and a decent heavy duty clutch is about $800 so there is a bit of cost to get the manual setup.

The auto wouldn't cost as much but would need some time to get it connected to the transfer case and then wired up to the factory ECU or an aftermarket controller.

I have a manual Hilux and I am about to convert my Soarer to a manual from an auto.

Matt.

[mfrsr]

I can bring my LJ71 round if having one already done will make it any easier - getting measurements etc.. Mine's non VVT, running a R151 with an adaptor plate and the cheapest LINK.

A lot of excess length on the input shaft was taken up with the thick flywheel and the adapter plate. Using a mix and match on the clutch parts. I think it was a 1-JZ supra listing for the cover and Skyline plate, but i'll look back thru my receipts and double check that.

Flywheel is custom, weighs about 15kg, all up there's about 20kg inside the bellhousing. Once it gets the revs up it's pretty good. I'm thinking i should have got it a little lighter, as it could be a bit happier in the revs, but then again there's a lot to do with the economy tune it's got in it at the moment.

Clutch was around $800 for heavy duty exedy stuff, Flywheel was $150, adapter plate was $150. Keep in mind that's from a good engineer and a clutch specialist, not trademe.

[GrahamN]

I'd be very interested in taking a look at your conversion. A couple of people in the HB club said that there was a Lexus powered Cruiser in the Bay but nobody had seen it around for a while. We've got a workshop in Onekawa if you're ever passing. It would be good to pick your brains on the pros and cons of having run one already.
Did you use Mark Walford to help with yours?
Cheers,
Graham

[mfrsr]

Nope - i did most of the conversion while i was living in Taupo.

I'll be in Napier sometime over the long weekend if you're around.

[GrahamN]

Sounds good. I'm not sure what I'm doing yet over the long weekend but drop me a text on 021 949842 when you know what day you'll be around and I'll give you a call. It would be really good to take a look at a Cruiser with one installed.

Cheers,
Graham

[GrahamN]

Anybody got more info on combining the parts of a Prado auto and the Lexus auto to make something up to work in a 70 series?
I'm still not sure whether to go auto or stick with the manual. A few more pointers on what needs to be swapped between the Prado and Lexus Autos might help make my mind up...

And big thanks to Mac for bringing his truck round today. The sound of it driving away from the workshop has convinced me that the V8 just has to go in!

Cheers

[Mattman]

Have you had a look over at www.lextreme.com? Tons of Lexus info over there.

Matt.

[haydgq]

Anybody got more info on combining the parts of a Prado auto and the Lexus auto to make something up to work in a 70 series?
I'm still not sure whether to go auto or stick with the manual. A few more pointers on what needs to be swapped between the Prado and Lexus Autos might help make my mind up...

And big thanks to Mac for bringing his truck round today. The sound of it driving away from the workshop has convinced me that the V8 just has to go in!

Cheers

Hi there, This is some info I got off the net below.!!!, The first part about the surf transfer case to the lexus box Is what ive got but its a centered rear output with the surf transfer case, If you use a transfer case from a 78 prado etc it will be a offset rear output, And as Im keeping the standard 1UZ computer it will run my lexus box so theres no dramas there, If you use a surf/Prado auto with the Lexus auto bell housing the lexus computer might not run it that well and that might be why some guys that use a surf/prado auto have the auto fully manual with no computer etc, And obviously the benefit in just putting the lexus bell housing, flex plate and torque converter on the surf/prado auto is that you allready have ya transfer case on the arse of it.

(All I did was use the (Crown in my case) auto and the t'case from a surf will bolt directly to the back of the auto. It will require you to change the output shaft from a surf auto as well, but depending on you mech skills can do it yourself or outsource it.

I have seen many people try to use a complete surf auto and fails most time. Keep the half cut auto and the ECT/ECU will live happily ever after.

Get an lj71 or lj78 prado with the auto attached. You can bolt the 1uzfe v8 up with just swapping the bellhousing and using 1uz flex plate and torque converter, or you can swap the output shaft from the lj auto to the lexus auto. The transfer case is the same as a split case 40/60/70 seris cruiser case so is offset. Unfortunately it has vaccum 4wd.!!

[GrahamN]

Thanks for that.. I've been ploughing through stuff on the web this morning trying to get a better picture of whats needed.

As it's the VVti motor I'm using the Link ECU so I have no option of a factory 1UZ ECU to control the auto. I reckon I will have to use a manual shift whatever.

I'm assuming the Lexus Auto has beefed up internals compared to a Prado auto so that's got to be the way to go for me. I do need the offset rear transfer case for my Cruiser which means I'll be doing something similar to you but with the Prado Transfer.

[haydgq]

Thanks for that.. I've been ploughing through stuff on the web this morning trying to get a better picture of whats needed.

As it's the VVti motor I'm using the Link ECU so I have no option of a factory 1UZ ECU to control the auto. I reckon I will have to use a manual shift whatever.

I'm assuming the Lexus Auto has beefed up internals compared to a Prado auto so that's got to be the way to go for me. I do need the offset rear transfer case for my Cruiser which means I'll be doing something similar to you but with the Prado Transfer.

Yea thats right the Lexus also has the stronger internals.

Good luck with the conversion.

[Mattman]

There are a number of aftermarket trans controllers out there that should give you full auto capability as well as manual shifting.

Does the cruiser have a cable or electric speedo?

Matt.

[turoa]

theres no reason why the lexus comp wont control the 4wd auto box. They are basically the same except the 4wd box just doesnt have the shift quality solenoid, but you dont need it. Aslong as you can understand a wiring diagram properly you should be able to make it work

[Mattman]

He can't use the Lexus comp as it has a built in body control module that expects to see the factory key.

Matt.

[GrahamN]

Hi Matt,

Have you looked into aftermarket auto ECUs then? The Cruiser is cable speedo drive which means I'll have to do something with the speedo too. Something else for the list of things to do.

I also don't have the original factory ECU anyway. When I bought the engine i knew of the problems with the key etc so didn't bother trying to get hold of it as it may have highlighted the age of the engine and its potential higher value...

I've been trawling through Lextreme today. Some very good info on there.

Cheers,
Graham

[Mattman]

There are a couple I have looked at, not sure of the pricing off the top of my head.

I have seen electronic to cable converters so that shouldn't be too much of a problem, getting the calibration right might be a pain though.

Matt.

[Pedro]

I have seen electronic to cable converters so that shouldn't be too much of a problem, getting the calibration right might be a pain though.

Matt.

how legal would a NAVMAN or similar gps unit permantly wired into the dash as a speedo be?, probably a damn sight more accurate than a old cable speedo, i have had a quick look at the ltsa website and in vehicle equipment all it says is speedo must work when vehicle shifting forward, could be a easy way out of speedo problems, particulary when playing with tyre sizes and diff ratios


Pedro

[Madaz]

If you use the instrument cluster out of a automatic 70 series it will have a speed sensor that you can use in it.
If you going to use a prado auto try and get one that came off a 3litre turbo(kz) motor rather than a lj(2.4t) series
They seem to work ok with no mods, and are beefed up for the extra torque of the 3litre.
If you do use a prado auto/transfer case your factory speedo will hook straight up.

[GrahamN]

Does the 3litre Prado use the same transfer as the 2.4?

As I'm thinking of using the Prado auto as a donor for the output shaft, rear housing, transfer etc I'm only really worried about the transfer box strength.

I'm hoping that the VVTi will have a bit more grunt than the older 1UZ so I want to make sure I get the right parts.

I think I've located an old 2.4 auto complete unit which i could always use as way of getting the truck mobile initially to sort the Link tune, cooling etc. I could then try to find a later KZ 3litre auto to build with the Lexus internals while I'm messing around with the rest of the truck.

Anybody know of a 3litre auto going spare?

Cheers

Graham