FourWheelForum  

Go Back   FourWheelForum > Truck Talk > LEXUS 1UZ-FE Engine Swap

LEXUS 1UZ-FE Engine Swap My blood sweat and tears. It will be worth it!!

Reply
Thread Tools
  #16  
Unread 04-07-2010, 11:19 PM
jdmhn8 jdmhn8 is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 13
Default

As far as I'm concerned, there is no feasible way to do this swap without at least a 1.5" body lift. You would have to cut or beat the shit out of the trans tunnel to avoid the body lift, and possibly clearance around the brake booster.

I don't think the ABS lines (or rear heat lines) will be an issue with the body lift.

It's now been over a month since I placed my order with 4Crawler for the body lift. Sucks ass. Can't do anything until I get that!
Reply With Quote
  #17  
Unread 04-08-2010, 06:14 AM
Smithers's Avatar
Smithers Smithers is offline
Admin
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: San Luis Obispo, CA
Posts: 3,238
Send a message via AIM to Smithers Send a message via Skype™ to Smithers
Default

Cancel your order and just make your own. It's just some spacers and longer bolts. You can buy all that on your own for cheap. Waiting for a month for a body lift is insane. You should be able to get a body lift for that truck overnight!
Reply With Quote
  #18  
Unread 04-12-2010, 10:05 PM
RMA RMA is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 3
Default

yea , i made my body lift .

ordered some 2" x 12" hpde whatever rod online and cut to 1 inch lengths with chop saw, bought some longer bolts and done ....spent $22 bucks on the whole thing.

heres one site , its not the one i ordered from .. cant remember the name of that one.
http://www.k-mac-plastics.net/hdpe-rod.htm
Reply With Quote
  #19  
Unread 04-13-2010, 06:35 AM
Smithers's Avatar
Smithers Smithers is offline
Admin
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: San Luis Obispo, CA
Posts: 3,238
Send a message via AIM to Smithers Send a message via Skype™ to Smithers
Default

Crazy huh!? And if you go any longer you can weld on an extension to your steering shaft. I have pictures somewhere on here showing how I did it. The steering column comes out easier than you think if you elect to do that. And your thread is 2 pages long now, woohoo.
Reply With Quote
  #20  
Unread 04-13-2010, 10:49 PM
jdmhn8 jdmhn8 is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 13
Default

OK so finally got the damn body lift. I was seriously looking on Mcmaster Saturday for the raw material to make my own when the mailman dropped it off.

The kit is of so so quality; certainly could have done the same myself. The only thing I really needed were the 9th and 10th body mount brackets ('96 4Runners are missing these), but the welds are shit and one of them isn't square by 0.25". I give the 4Crawler body lift kit a 3/10, mostly because it took over a month to get something so basic.

Back on track!

Was hoping to get away with just 1.5", but the bell housing was contacting a bump on the passenger side of the tunnel. It would technically work if you pound the sheet metal for clearance, but I chose to add my 0.5" blocks back in just to make it less complicated. These pics are the final 2" body lift setup.





Up top, the clearance is a bit better. Still tight around the ABS lines, but I don't think the engine will move much longitudinally under WOT with very rigid mounts. Much more room around the rear heat lines and heater core connections.





Should finish the templates for the mounts tomorrow. Really hoping to have this thing running my mid-May!
Reply With Quote
  #21  
Unread 04-14-2010, 06:48 AM
Smithers's Avatar
Smithers Smithers is offline
Admin
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: San Luis Obispo, CA
Posts: 3,238
Send a message via AIM to Smithers Send a message via Skype™ to Smithers
Default

I'm using the stock engine mount rubber and transmission mount rubber which holds the engine in place very well with very little movement at all. I replaced the factory engine and trans mounts 3 years ago so they are in good shape. The originals might not have held the engine so well. My headers were maybe 1/4" away from the upper control arm hardware and there are no signs of contact so that shows how little mine moved. I would beat back the firewall a bit where your valve cover came into contact. Shame to have scratched it like that!

The only thing I'm really afraid will make your life miserable is the steering shaft spacer you have on there. The header will need to squeeze by that bukly apparatus. =\
Reply With Quote
  #22  
Unread 05-25-2010, 11:47 PM
jdmhn8 jdmhn8 is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 13
Default

Well, it's been a long, long time since I've had any updates.

And unfortunately, it looks like this project has gotten the best of me.

I'm officially out of money, deep into the red, and not really close to getting it done. Still trying to track down parts (pain in the ass), and I still have quite a few expensive purchases to get it running right. Notably, $600 for an exhaust since I can't weld.

I think I'm throwing in the towel. Really hard to do, but I don't have much choice at this point. I've been borrowing a car from a friend for about a month now, and there's no clear end in sight for this swap. I think it's best to cut my losses so I can at least buy a cheap daily driver to get to work.

Unfortunately, that means my truck is out of commission until who knows when. So much work in it, and I can't enjoy any of it until I can rally the funds to put a 5VZ back in. I might just part it out and get back into Honda's. Really lost a lot of interest in anything Toyota because of this experience! Oh how I miss engine swaps that take just a weekend...

Big thanks to Smitherz for keeping such a detailed build of his Tacoma. But one thing the pictures can't tell you is the incredible investment of time and effort it takes to attempt a swap like this. Even with a good plan of attack, it's still full of set backs, tight fitments and brain melting issues. Should have definitely budgeted a cheap car for a DD in my initial plan.

Probably have the engine and harness on eBay, TTORA, Yotatech, UZswap and Lextreme in the next few days...
Reply With Quote
  #23  
Unread 05-26-2010, 07:57 AM
Smithers's Avatar
Smithers Smithers is offline
Admin
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: San Luis Obispo, CA
Posts: 3,238
Send a message via AIM to Smithers Send a message via Skype™ to Smithers
Default

Man I feel your pain. It's extremely hard to do a 1UZ swap into anything. I have an insane amount of work into my swap and no one can even imagine how hard it was to keep motivated on my truck. I tell you I had to work through some really cold nights, some rainy days and also cash in some favors from friends and you can only imagine how hard it is to get OTHER people motivated to help you out. I had to take about a 2 month break almost on mine and go ride motorcycles and save up a little money. I just made sure that every time I worked on it I accomplished something. What's worse is when your working on something and your friends drop by and just want to hang out which totally distracts you to the point where you can't do a damn thing but stop working or just sit there and tell them to leave.

I wish I was there to do your exhaust for you. So can you make a list of the things that you would need to do to finish your swap? It might not be as bad as you predict to get to the end maybe? I've seen some people swap these engines into old trucks with hardly any money at all so I'm thinking you can go into economy mode and get it rolling maybe? The wiring should be intimidating you I hope. That's one of the easier parts as these engines just need a few wires hooked up to them to run.

Having another means of transportation is mandatory when doing this difficult of a swap. I save a lot of money by having motorcycles around that are super cheap to get around on. And trust me I am still paying off my credit card that I filled up with all sorts of $$ from buying all sorts of parts I didn't think I would need in the beginning.
Reply With Quote
  #24  
Unread 01-20-2011, 03:13 PM
Kokanee Ranger Kokanee Ranger is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 3
Default

that is a very saddening story, I too want this engine... in a 3rd gen.. but ive heard some success stories and some pretty bad failure stories... getting 2nd thoughts myself.
ive contacted someone, who claims they can put a 1uz into anything. and will charge from $3000-$5000 to do it... I may go that route and get someone experienced installing these engines...
since i dont have much mechanical knowledge.
very fast learner about these things and very good at hands on stuff, but it seems too much for my plate to take on by myself...
Reply With Quote
  #25  
Unread 02-21-2011, 07:52 AM
Smithers's Avatar
Smithers Smithers is offline
Admin
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: San Luis Obispo, CA
Posts: 3,238
Send a message via AIM to Smithers Send a message via Skype™ to Smithers
Default

It's just a ton of work! That's about how much I would charge but that's just labor. And I wouldn't feel like that was enough money while I was doing it either. The result is incredible BUT it comes at a huge cost... and don't forget about the down time. It could be done in less than a month if you have all your parts ready but people don't realize how bad it sucks not to have your truck on the road for that long. You also have to have a steady income so you can keep shoveling it into the project. If you run out of cash and can't keep it coming to pay for random parts you might (will) need then you're dead in the water. The last couple weeks of my install were painfully expensive. I had to swap in some ARP hardware to hold the cylinder heads down properly and once I did get it running the charging system wasn't working... the only thing I DIDn'T replace or buy new was the alternator and yep, it was bad and I had to buy a new one. And the high power alternators for the Lexus cars aren't cheap no matter where you get them.
Reply With Quote
  #26  
Unread 04-15-2012, 01:33 PM
zukijames zukijames is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 4
Default

i think thats my motor!
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 12:59 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.