Thought you guys might appreciate this, as I haven’t seen this swap done on a SAS Toy with crossover steering.
I have owned this 1992 4Runner with 2.8 Diesel engine since 1996 and it has close to 400 000 kms on the clock.
The SAS was done 2 years ago on a budget and worked out very well.
Quick specs: 33†BFG Muds, 4.88 gears, Lockrights f&r, OME 3†front springs Heavy Duty with Fox 12†Remote Res shocks, OME 51†long Heavy Duty rears with OME Shocks mounted inboard on custom cross member.
Now to get to the swap…
At first I contemplated fitting a 1UZFE, but decided on the 1KZTE for various reasons, the main one’s being that I’m used to the diesels low down torque and obviously the fuel consumption advantage.
I managed to get the engine from a local wrecking yard where the rest of the vehicle was available for stripping.
I got the engine, radiator, cowling, complete exhaust (stainless steel), wiring harness, computer and transponder with key included in the deal for R 22 000. They gave me R 8 000 for my old 2.8D engine with 380 000 km on! I had to buy a new viscous coupling and fan complete R 1 800 and the aircon bracket, as these were sold off the engine. I bought a new bell housing and clutch fork R 1 600, which is available off the shelf and a clutch release bearing. I also had to buy an intake temperature sensor, which I got for R 100!
The biggest issue was to get the sump to clear the crossover steering as initial test fitting showed about 25mm clearance between the tie rod and the sump.
The sump was modified as shown to allow the tie rod to move right up and level with the bottom of the chassis rails. The spring perches were subsequently re-drilled to move the axle 25mm forward, for better clearance. The sump and oil pickup mod is only necessary if you have crossover steering.
The oil pickup also had to be re-routed, luckily Toyota had a threaded hole in just the right place to swivel the pickup mount in the right direction. The pickup pipe had to be cut and modified.
To replace the lost oil capacity, I welded an old truck fuel filter body to the rear side if the sump, with a baffle to keep the oil from running forward too fast during descents. A small plate was added next to the oil level switch for the same purpose.
This worked out perfectly although I had to locate the axle forward 25mm to completely clear the tie rod while turning and compressing the suspension.
The old engine mountings were removed and relocated 53mm rearwards, to allow the gearbox to fit in the original position, and 20mm lower, to allow the bonnet to close without a body lift.
The next thing was to fit the radiator, this was easy enough, and just drilled some new holes next to the old ones in the radiator and it bolted straight up! The problem was that the radiator stuck out below the front cross member by almost 100mm. I made a boxed cover/skid plate from 6mm steel to protect it.
Next issue was the clearance between the fan and the radiator. It was about 16mm and way too little.
The solution was to strip the visco down, machine the rivet off that holds the shaft in on spline, press it out, cut the flange off, remove 13mm off the length of the shaft and re-weld together with a shoulder for strength and true running. Then drilled and tapped a 6mm hole at the end where the rivet was, pressed the shaft back into the visco and bolted it on with a cap screw, washer and loctite. Refilled with 3 x 18ml silicone fluid from Toyota, and viola, new shorter visco.
This presented a new problem as the fan now ran into the aircon pulley.
I got some 30mm Ø aluminium bar and machined the pieces to fit over the four tabs on the aircon bracket, bolted them on from the rear, and then welded the 60mm extensions to the bracket. Worked out perfectly, the aircon pump bolted straight up and the routing of the hoses was even better.
The thing I thought was going to be a walk in the park, fitting the fly-by-wire accelerator pedal, turned out to be the most frustrating part of the conversion. Imagine lying under the dashboard for 6 hours trying to figure out how to fit this bulky item in between the vent box and the hand brake. I eventually found a way to mount it at a 20º angle and just missing all the vent controls and handbrake still working. A slight bend in the pedal arm, and it worked perfectly.
I used some of the vacuum piping from the donor vehicle as well as some newly bent pipe to connect the vacuum pump to the brake booster. Also the power steering pump was on the opposite side of the engine right next to the steering box. I decided to loop some extra return piping with the vacuum piping to allow some additional cooling for the steering fluid.
The clutch slave cylinder was turned upside down and works perfectly!
The next part was figuring out the wiring, as I got the complete harness from the vehicle. Luckily I have a buddy who knows what to do, and after getting the correct wiring diagrams from Toyota (another buddy) he set off home with everything and promises to return shortly.
To my surprise he was back the following morning with very little wiring and said we can connect and finish off! This was unbelievable! We had to use the transponder and immobilizer as it has to “read†the ignition key as a security measure. I elected to use my existing ignition switch and key and just tied the transponder ring with the other key behind the dash. All the wiring was connected, fuel pipes connected and it started right up! We battled 3 days with an intermittent starting issue and found the culprit to be a loose earth strap and bad connection on the back of the computer. Other than that, she ran beautifully! I fitted the computer behind the cover on the transmission tunnel, under the dash, as the loom was to short to move it all the way behind the glove box. The loom is for a right hand drive vehicle. My 4Runner was an import destined for Zaire, thus the left hand drive.
I took the exhaust to another buddy at an exhaust shop and he modified the standard exhaust to fit.
I took her out for a maiden run to my father in laws game farm – a round trip of 600km – no overheating but also no power on up hills! When back at home I realized that the first gear position switch’s wires had to be connected together, as I had no such switch on my gearbox. The computer thought I was in 1st gear all the way and took some power away. After this was rectified, she ran like a rocket.
The 4.88 gears and 33’s seem to be an excellent combination with 1st gear almost not needed. The revs are 3500 at 120 km/h in 5th gear. My buddies’ KZTE does 2900 rpm at 120 km/h. I might end up fitting 35’s to bring the revs down, but at this stage without dual transfers, I don’t want to lose any crawling ability.
Now I can accelerate and overtake in 5th gear at any speed between 60 and 120 km/h. Fuel consumption is not bad at between 7.5 to 9 km/liter.
The engine is very quiet for a diesel and the lowdown torque is amazing, idling obstacles in 1st low at crazy angles. Compression braking on down hills is awesome – no brakes!
Recently took a round trip down the entire West Coast to Cape Town and back home – 5300 km – not one single problem!
Wheeling with this engine is awesome! I even use 1st high with 33’s in the mud and on hills without any loss of power.
Common 1kzte here is the cable type so my installation is quite on hold.