Starting conversion: '89 4x4 XCab

[jcm55]

After nearly two months of searching, I've finally found a truck to convert. My requirements were:

1989 - 1995
XtraCab
4x4
5-speed
22r/re engine (for ease of swap)

It seems that combo is not very common. 90% of the 4x4 XtraCabs I saw for sale had V6's. The very few with 22re's that I did find for sale here in the SF bay area, either the seller was asking an outrageous price, or it was a rust bucket -- and sometimes both :wtf: I was starting to think I'd have to drop either the 4x4 or XtraCab requirement.

Then on Thursday I saw an ad on cars.com (from the Recycler) for an '89 XtraCab 4x4 down in LA, 200k miles, asking price $4500. I called the seller and everything seemed to check out, so I hopped on the next Southwest flight to LAX, rented a car, and drove out to take a look. Turned out to be a really nice truck. Very nice repaint, nice interior. SR5, power everything, and really nice aftermarket sound system. After a test drive, I offered $4300 and he took it. Seemed like a really good deal to me -- I could probably turn around and sell it up here in SF for at least $1000 more.




It's got a 2" body lift, and bigger tires/rims. Probably I will put stock sized rims and tires on it to improve the performance and fuel economy. Might also undo the body lift then as well -- the smaller wheels will probably make the lift look weird.

Engine is fair. It's been well maintained, and just got a new timing belt and guides. Seller told me it eats some oil, and that proved itself out on the drive back up here -- was down 1/2 quart or so by the time I got home. It was pretty slow going up the Grapevine on I-5. Best I could do was 55 mph with it floored in 4th. Does that seem about right for this truck/engine, or was it just showing its age/miles?

Anyway, not that I really care that much about the engine that's in there right now. Danny @ Reseda Engines called on Friday and said my 2LII-T should be in next week :thumbs:

I'm sure I'll have lots of questions once I get underway with the swap...

Jim Meehan
Oakland, CA

[Turbo diesels]

Now thats sporty!

Have fun with it!

[bigwavedv]

55 mph isnt too bad but thats lugging a 4cylinder pretty good in 4th if floored. You have to be willing to rev it a bit with the 22re. My 315k 22re will still pull well at that speed in 3rd and its not running that hard. Thats at 8000 ft also. Looks like a nice truck! Good find in your area with no rust. I am real curious about your swap, be sure to post it all on here along with pics. I am interested in how well the engine looks too from Reseda. :thumbs: Have a good one,

Dave

[Nitrousoxide764]

Nice looking yota. This will be a sweet truck in the end.

[jcm55]

Starting to track down some of the misc. stuff I'll need for the conversion. I have some options on some of these items, so comments are appreciated.

1. Engine and bellhousing from Reseda. Check.

2. Oil pan. Since this 2LII-T is coming from Japan, it's mostly likely out of a sedan type vehicle and will have a 2WD oil pan. I think I've seen it confirmed in another thread that a pan from a US SFA 2L-T 4x4 truck will fit without problems on an IFS 4x4, except maybe the oil drain plug being in a bad location. Looks like Autozone can get that pan for $69: 2L-T 4x4 oil pan at Autozone
Is that the best way to go? Is there a foreign source for a pan that's already got the drain plug in a better location?

3. Radiator. Autozone has this too, but wants $170 for it:
2L-T radiator at Autozone
Maybe a Pick 'n Pull item? Nearest one is a 90 min drive from me, up near Sacramento, so not too convenient. Could also order one from a dismantler for $60 or so... Also, is a diesel radiator from a '84-'85 going to fit in my '89?

4. Radiator hoses. Kragen has these for cheap:
Upper radiator hose at Kragen
Lower radiator hose at Kragen

5. Glow system. Not too worried about this. I'm sure I can cobble something together as has been described in other threads.

6. Tachometer. I know about the Dakota Digital solution. How hard is the flywheel pickup to install? Do you have to drill and tap a hole in the bellhousing for the pickup to screw into? Anyone know if a diesel tach from a foreign truck will fit in the same spot on the instrument cluster? That might be a better way to go.

7. Power steering hoses. I know I'll have to get some new hoses fabbed to go from the 2LII-T p/s pump to the existing gear box. Any leads on who can make these?

8. Air conditioning. Currently there's an R-12 system in my truck, and it's working well right now. Easiest thing to do would be to put the existing compressor on the 2LII-T, without disconnecting any coolant hoses. Will it fit? If not, will the existing coolant hoses fit the compressor on the 2LII-T? (assuming it comes with one...)

9. Fuel filter. Pick 'n Pull?

10. Fuel tank. I've seen how to modify the pickup to remove the pump. Probably will just do that.

I'm sure there's other stuff I'm forgetting. I figure I'll try to start locating this stuff now before the engine shows up...

[mainer]

hey, will you take a pic of the under the hood fuse box for me. It might be the one i need but not sure. thanks mainer

[Nitrousoxide764]

Jcm, I'm not sure if you can use a SAS pan on an IFS truck. I think I remember reading a post a while back saying the pan hit the front "chunk". Keep us posted on how it turns out. I'm interested in doing the same swap as you with a 2LT engine that has a SAS pan. Thanks

[plcb4]

I have the same body lift that you have (i think) on my 95 4runner- it should be about the same. after much research i finally just cut and welded the origonal pan. it fits fine with the 2 inch body lift. the drain is a little tight but works. you should only have to cut away one small area, about half a quart maybe.

a good trick to make the pan weld easy:

1) mark the area that needs to be cut out.
2) take the pan and dip it in water with a little oil on the surface until it has overlaped the area to be cut. the oil will mark a straight line arround the pan.
3) Then you can use a flat sheat of steel (instead of some bent up custum one) to weld to the pan.

P.S. don't let your engine sit too long at Danny's. I did and i think thats what cracked some seals in my injector pump. they must have sat too long dry.... :shit_hap:

Good luck!

[jcm55]

Hmm, I may remove the lift at some point, so maybe better just to try and track down the correct IFS pan. I've got an e-mail in to these guys to see if they have one:

http://www.4x4parts.com.au/

Does anyone have a Toyota part number for that pan?

[DieselToyz]

Before you go tearing that oil pan off, do a dry fit with the engine lift. I bought a jap 2l-t and heard that I needed an oil pan as well. Once I put the engine in "with a US 4x4 oil pan, I noticed that I could've pitched a tent under there. I guess due to the body lift, there was more than enough room. My 2cents...-Todd