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YJ Lexus 3UZ repower

Diablo169 said:
This is badass. I’m pretty much set on a 5.9 magnum for my TJ Buggy, but I’ve been looking into UZ swapping my 88’ 4Runner. Nice to see you work through the challenges.
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Thanks I appreciate it!
 
RunningProblem said:
Any updates or problems since it’s been installed?
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Thanks for the reminder! Ill take a moment to add to the thread
YotaAtieToo said:
Man that's a lot of accessories on one engine! :laughing:

I'm not sure I like the oba mount, but if it works it works.

You're in cda area?
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Yeah, it would have been nice to mount it facing forward however I felt out of options and space. the setup is doing well, while the OBA is running there is some vibration across the bracket but with the material used and how it is braced im not sure i am concerned. I will keep an eye on it of course but so far so good!

so much nicer than electric air compressors, I really appreciate the air volume you get out of these York pumps. quite a bit faster than most folks electric OBA.

I am up north of Seattle in Marysville Wa.
 
Stokes said:
Thanks for the reminder! Ill take a moment to add to the thread

Yeah, it would have been nice to mount it facing forward however I felt out of options and space. the setup is doing well, while the OBA is running there is some vibration across the bracket but with the material used and how it is braced im not sure i am concerned. I will keep an eye on it of course but so far so good!

so much nicer than electric air compressors, I really appreciate the air volume you get out of these York pumps. quite a bit faster than most folks electric OBA.

I am up north of Seattle in Marysville Wa.
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I had a York once and it was nice, almost like a shop compressor.

Have you thought about carrying a belt that by passes it just incase the bracket bends?
 
YotaAtieToo said:
I had a York once and it was nice, almost like a shop compressor.

Have you thought about carrying a belt that by passes it just incase the bracket bends?
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unfortunately, I am married to needing a pulley right there so a smaller belt would not work. I did forget that I wanted to add an extra tab to grab support from the top alternator bolt which would add more assurance that nothing ever moves. I am all for insurance that things keep working!
 
Sorry I have been slacking on updating, things have felt crazy.

thankfully the UZ was working great! We made it into Moab on Saturday afternoon and ran a night run through steel bender and things where working awesome. I wish we grabbed pics that night because it was a blast. it wasn't till Sunday that things became interesting!

Pretty fun fitting the whole family.
52377877476_58f34bb568_k.jpg 20D01D0E-3FDF-4616-8583-4156E7DB0362 by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

52377877421_0332afa72d_h.jpg 4D53F944-2E04-411F-AA70-D3165DA9F802 by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

52378104198_d9be725b59_h.jpg 57BCBF93-A792-4790-8EFE-F62C059693A2 by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

Hells revenge in thunder/lightning
52378188344_04cc09a41a_h.jpg D59C6C29-D1D3-4084-9332-F4604B7DAF35 by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

We where out on Hells revenge the next day and having a awesome time and on our way around to escalator when my rear 9" left the chat.

Clicky clicky.for vid 52550654108_9d81682a66_k.jpg IMG_0423 by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

Didn’t realize it but I had ripped both bearing caps off the third which brought me back down hard impacting my steering sector shaft into the front of my diff which allowed the back U bolt on my SUA to shear. I was trying to maneuver myself out of the way in FWD right after this happened and did not know the extent of the damage till I had a strap on the front of it a few feet later and the brake pedal hit the floor due to the axle moving enough to sheer the drivers brake line. Quite the surprise to be so broke all the sudden!

Probably was too committed to making it for the day/conditions/passengers, but I have a hard time saying no if I believe a little more skinny pedal will get it there. I have been wheeling hard on these diffs for a good 9 years so something else might have been ready to go also, but non the less that was the last straw for the rear.

52376930452_3da55df2b2_h.jpg C6577622-4EFF-4F69-ACD8-C9C757ACFE68 by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

Pulled the axle back to the leaf with my winch and smashed the brake hard line flat so that I could have brakes back. A bummer yes, but at least we where back up and moving.

52335385889_b302d65139_k.jpg IMG_6562 by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

Thankful for a good crew willing to help drag me back out.

Strap of shame on the way out. Coming down with sub par brakes and no engine brake felt like a new level of pucker.

52334129372_004d1b0c48_b.jpg IMG_6574 by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

I was very motivated to fix it to wheel another day on the trip but was unable to find a solution on the rear 3rd closer than 12hrs round trip drive so we jumped to plan B and rented a JL for the last 2 days

52335515995_434fd433d8_k.jpg IMG_6565 by Joey Stokes, on Flickr
 
On the search for bigger/stronger I pulled together to put it back together stronger.

52378105628_d04185a52f_k.jpg A877BD38-4690-46EC-B4C0-4E4128978CD9 by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

Yukon nodular 3rd, steel Daytona pinion support, solid spacer, Grizzly Locker, and 35 spline shafts.

52378296420_30a0cf2ea2_k.jpg A21B3F93-E618-4BEC-8816-321237763EAB by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

Had a few holes to fix on the rear of the housing haha. I re plated some of it and called it good. I did intend to back brace it at this point and did buy a back brace, but there is no room due to my tank. I do plan to build a tube truss around the front/top though to add strength to the housing.

52334131012_a61ee649c9_k.jpg IMG_6584 by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

We where gearing up to head to the Rubicon with the whole fam with all the required gear to camp so I knew I couldn’t ignore my lack of bump stops or the missing drivers rear shock due to the fuel line ruting, so I fitted some old JK bump brackets front and back along with Metal cloak rubber spacers installed axle side. So much nicer not having the steering box being my stop!

Crappppppy pic but you can see what I did for the front.

52347146205_a1d9bc546b_k.jpg C7108E9E-049C-4959-B717-C1CC1E23D0BE by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

And rear.

52347034329_faecdd2069_k.jpg 94DB3C59-457F-4FD0-A7B3-1451A4473E03 by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

I used the rear shock clearance issue as a excuse to improve the setup with some old Fox take offs for a JK and Ford shock towers to move the shocks outside the frame.

Tacked in and forklift flexing the check clearances.

52333993022_1dd9fabc5b_k.jpg IMG_0026 by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

Setup works OK

52335187368_5cd5edbf5e_k.jpg IMG_0025 by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

Everything welded in.

52347147685_11895657a3_k.jpg C3D12186-5A6D-42DB-AD30-9E94A222F868 by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

52347147480_2318166af1_k.jpg 7FAC73C0-FC6A-4F28-95F2-4AE63CA8720D by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

Took a moment to repurpose a harbor freight hitch rack to hang off the back for the trip too. Added tabs to the cage to mount it as close as possible in hopes to effect the rigs weight balance as much as possible.

52335187743_488a81aeee_k.jpg 68161525601__3D8687ED-37E7-4FFE-9107-09B0C32AF8EF by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

52335187493_6679c72eb9_k.jpg IMG_0008 by Joey Stokes, on Flickr
 
Do you think not having a diff cover helped shorten the life of those bearing caps?
It might not be much but SOMETHING on the rear should help.

Looking forward to the rubicon update
 
RunningProblem said:
Do you think not having a diff cover helped shorten the life of those bearing caps?
It might not be much but SOMETHING on the rear should help.

Looking forward to the rubicon update
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I believe I was just long overdue to upgrade to a nodular 3rd and the added power was the last straw. That diff was done on a tight budget back in the day and it was just the stock truck 3rd with a used well abused ARB and gears.

The teeth marks in the rear of the diff came from the diff launching back when the caps let go haha.

You could be right though, I gave the housing a hard look by eye to see if it was stressed/bent and it appeared straight. The setup is overdue to build a truss/anti wrap setup. probably should add some extra steel back there.
 
I was talking about the rear diff. Looks like you’ve hit a few things, and maybe some 3/8” thick plate could fit between your gas tank and the bottom of the diff. Something like a half diff cover if you don’t have enough space to make a full cover.
 
RunningProblem said:
I was talking about the rear diff. Looks like you’ve hit a few things, and maybe some 3/8” thick plate could fit between your gas tank and the bottom of the diff. Something like a half diff cover if you don’t have enough space to make a full cover.
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are you wondering if the bearing caps were contacted when some of those dents where created? it didnt apear that the rash on the back of the housing had contacted the third when I had it apart.

yes for sure, its fair to say its overdue. I always felt things were holding up well even with rock crawling by braille when able but adding protection there would be smart for sure.

I will be sure to post the rest of the summer tonight.
 
Did I say 3/8? I’m dumb. I was THINKING 3/16 plate for the rear. Looks like it’s hit a few things. Nothing to do with the bearing caps. More to do with just having some protection.
 
YotaAtieToo said:
3/8s is retarded over kill if it's held up this far. Even just some 3/16" added to what's there would probably be plenty.
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I was thinking the same thing, I dont think it needs to be much. it would be a nice excuse to check on the break in on the new diff and possibly cut/plate the bottom up tighter to the ring gear.
 
Stokes said:
I was thinking the same thing, I dont think it needs to be much. it would be a nice excuse to check on the break in on the new diff and possibly cut/plate the bottom up tighter to the ring gear.
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I think at some point, just save up for a fab 9 housing imo. I've never had a 9", but went through all the work to gusset, plate, shave, ect a few Toyota axles and usually ended up bending them anyway. I'm not sure the 9" housing is much better than a Toyota, but I could be wrong.
 
here's a few from the Con.

We had tried to drive down summer of 2014 but we lost a gear in the AX5 around Portland and turned around. It was a big bummer, but my wife had some scary health issues a few days later so I was thankful to not be far away from a hospital in the moment. non the less it was very redeeming to get out there!

I can't seem to be ready for these trips before hand, the night before we peel out always seems to be kahotic.

We left the trailers at Loon Lake and camped at the bottom of little sluce the first night, followed by Buck Island the second night.

I can understand more why its a favorite for many, beautiful area!

52629466867_900d001362_k.jpg 16C8178B-1951-4B0E-A11B-57645980F5F9 by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

52334947421_8873666c1d_k.jpg
IMG_0036 by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

YJ loaded to the gills

52335378235_99efdbe04c_k.jpg IMG_0034 by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

52550565670_dc748039c3_b.jpg 2EB77CE0-A570-495A-8BB9-5FD26329845D by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

52629465167_2c34af6307_k.jpg 22CB9CDD-EE9F-4CD7-9FAE-CC0FB9C9F9DB by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

52629465972_ac80b4fcb7_k.jpg F94E0057-7B65-46AF-BFFE-0434EA3FB24C by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

52629317937_36b72612b5_h.jpg A4D86767-336D-4D76-961A-3F32D605B0CB by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

52630231874_d14b8e6769_k.jpg 095CCF73-7FFD-4F65-A65A-90169DC856F7 by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

52630229759_7db618438c_k.jpg 981B4221-6B5A-4884-A3E5-E51275EEA431 by Joey Stokes, on Flickr
 
We had a moment where our group jumped up the slab and I the family and I worked our way up little sluce solo. wont lie it was pretty fun to have it to ourselves. heres the few videos I have. sorry there a bit choppy

52629328322_ee3b45b9b0_c.jpg IMG_0320 by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

52629317882_c206366760_c.jpg IMG_0321 by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

"Lizzard!" :lmao:

52630290125_45ba76740d_c.jpg IMG_0322 by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

Kinda a lame video, coming up the otherside before my friends pointed out that I missed part of the sluce :homer:

52628753637_ffa3946230_c.jpg IMG_0541 by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

My duaghter and I coming up the top section of little sluce.

52629730825_88efdc3dc3_c.jpg IMG_0324 by Joey Stokes, on Flickr
 
YotaAtieToo said:
I think at some point, just save up for a fab 9 housing imo. I've never had a 9", but went through all the work to gusset, plate, shave, ect a few Toyota axles and usually ended up bending them anyway. I'm not sure the 9" housing is much better than a Toyota, but I could be wrong.
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I appreciate you weighing in.

I know the 44 front is the next weak link, I think I will have to put something together 8 lug front and full float 9 rear. I have a extra AAM 9.25 front that I am tempted to toy with to be different and it was free, but we shall see.
 
YotaAtieToo said:
Sometimes free can be expensive :laughing:

Have you thought about a 9" front with bj60 outters?
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The idea is largely driven by trying something different, not that I’d do it if it didn’t make sense but it is motivating. I was going to start poking around to see if you could piece together some form of 35 spline and locked but not spooled/welded in. Still just a half baked thought though.

A front 9” could be a viable option.
 
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RunningProblem said:
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Thank you that's motivating

has there been good discussion about comparing the strength of a LP 9" up front vs other front diff strengths like HP44 60 ect? I have dug around from time to time but I might have missed it.

the current setup seems to be working so I have time to iron it out. I have D60 options around the garage too if needed be, just exploring ideas:beer:
 
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We made the dumb decison to test out if my reworked OBW works while on the Con on the last day when my frend in the Green 4runner ripped the ears off his front pinon flange. while it worked great tacking the U-joint back in to finish the day, the internal voltage regulator burned out. booooo

thankfully we were already within a few miles of the trailer, so the jeep made it back to the trailer on its current charge.

I am not really out to burn the guy that built my alternator for this, but at the moment it does not operate like he stated it should. per his advice I should be able to leave the voltage regulator in its OEM spot and just overpower the field connection when we switch things over for welding, I have learned since then that the regulator needs to be isolated also otherwise it burns out.

First tear down and repair

52629980671_88474a6361_k.jpg 11C7CA3E-E9C8-4566-A292-22C850723C8E by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

52629775673_fe4b9500ae_h.jpg 1DF5C884-EE10-4308-A59F-9FF359CEE522 by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

52630421060_a4fde98848_k.jpg 756199CC-C77A-44D1-88D8-67C9267D111F by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

Put it all back together with improved grounding as I was suspicious if that could have caused it at the time.

Same thing though, welded great, but would not charge when re connected to charging system.

52629542524_21258ecfa0_h.jpg E107A1B0-9274-4515-A0DE-4F14F9F5D28B by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

Merlins old school garage recently put out info that confirms this, I have not done this yet but I plan to run a DPDT switch to isolate the next voltage regulator while welding
 
Modified my DBW pedal bracket for my old hand throttle setup. I used the old EFI stainless fuel hard line to guide the hand throttle behind the throttle pedal so that it can draw the pedal back when used.

52627885451_e277609c45_k.jpg C8EC0596-32E5-4DA8-9B9B-200599B5789C by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

52628128824_3b83ec3c22_k.jpg 3ECD21C3-488D-4F64-94DB-36F00735ED9F by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

52627886146_ab0d5dfad2_k.jpg F0D0354C-8A5B-4A7E-82B4-54683E28393D by Joey Stokes, on Flickr

the hand throttle was well missed for airing up tires with the OBA and when the alternator is welding. I was pretty excited to get it back.
 
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Biggest weakness I see is you’re maybe running the ring gear on the coast side instead of the drive side, I think. It’s possible I’m wrong.

You can buy 35 and maybe even 40 spline axles and lockers for a 609, and could get some really expensive Dana 60 outer parts.

The ring gear will always be weaker than a D60.
 
Stokes said:
Modified my DBW pedal bracket for my old hand throttle setup. I used the old EFI stainless fuel hard line to guide the hand throttle behind the throttle pedal so that it can draw the pedal back when used.
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Flare the tube to reduce chafing at the corner.
 
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