Corax's 1UZ VVTi 4runner swap

[corax]

Mainly been tidying up a few odds and ends - fuel delivery, wiring, etc.  It's the small details which usually take the longest but add a lot in reliability and easier servicing.
Moved the fuel supply line back a few inches to space it further from the header and added some heat shielding (from a used PS line at work)


Finished my Bussmann fuse/relay box


and made a mounting bracket to mount  it back out of the way (also decided I'm gonna clean the stock 4runner harness of some unnecessary wiring, the original 22RE AFM wires, for example).
stock fuse box, fuel pressure regulator, stock starter relay (wired to B+ to avoid no-start issues), Bussmann fuse relay box w/ fuel pump resistor

[corax]

Frankenstein's heart is beating!  I had some issues with the immobilizer - turns out the FLAT CARD KEYS WILL NOT WORK with the immobilizer.  Maybe it's my JDM ECU, but I don't think so.  I ended up programming a spare key from an is300 to the truck and it fired off on the first crank.
video link --> https://youtu.be/gew_Ni5-WHc

now I'm working to tidy things up a bit, reinstall the radiator along with the rest of the cooling system, run a few ancillary wire circuits, etc.  I still don't know where I want to mount the immobilizer antenna - the immobilizer chip (spare key) needs to be within 1 inch of the antenna in order to unlock the immobilizer and start the engine.  I had more options if the key cards had worked

[sirdan]

sounds really good!

[corax]

sounds really good!

Thanks

I've still been plugging away at this.  I bought and returned 2 radiators because, apparently, it's really difficult to use a measuring tape to find dimensions.  So while I lost 3 weeks to a parts hold-up, I was able to work on finishing my winch mount and some other projects.

Latest victory: getting the stock 4runner tach to work.  The non-VVTi 1UZ uses a signal off one of the ignitors to trigger the tach, and these work fine.  The VVTi 1UZ has a coil on plug ignition and puts a signal out from the ECU for the tach.  The problem is that a ignitor based signal uses a much higher voltage than what the ECU puts out, so the tach will read ZERO with the engine running.  There are several solutions.  You can buy a tach signal booster - I think MSD has one, seen a few others, but didn't want to spend the money for something I could figure out myself.

This is another option and should cost less than $10.  It takes the low voltage ECU signal and uses that to trigger a transistor. The transistor energizes the relay coil and when it turns off, the relay coil induces a voltage spike (just like an ignition coil) which the tach can read.
thread with more info: http://www.toymods.org.au/forums/threads/22574-How-To-Tacho-Booster


I did an even simpler mod.  Take a 10k ohm resistor (1/4 Watt should be fine) and solder it onto the tach circuit board, just like the 3.4L swap tach mod.  I did this and it works fine, though I still have to adjust it using the stock trim pot so it reads accurately.  (not my picture, but this is where the resistor goes)


Now my tach works.  I also got the "OBD" port working.  Since I'm using a JDM ECU, which uses J-OBD, a normal OBDII app won't work.  This is what I used with the Torque app to get it to work - now I can read/clear codes and pull all the engine sensor data from the ECU

http://www.mr2.com/forums/threads/92691-Working-OBD2-on-jdm-ecu!

it started with some internet research on communicating with jdm ecu's and the protocols they use. Apparently, even though they have the same plug, they are not obd compliant. As the research contined, I found a guy who had found a way to get his import 2jz with vvti to work and I thought there is no reason why this wouldn't work also work for us.

So, I should preface this by saying that this will not make your car readable by emissions testers where it would otherwise fail, but gives you, the end user, the control. For $28 you can have this fully operational

Step 1: go out and buy an OBD2 Bluetooth adapter. In this case, the one I purchased was this one from Amazon the Bafx PIC18F2480 - http://www.amazon.com/BAFX-Products-PIC18F...=obd2+bluetooth

Step 2: Purchase the 5$ app "Torque Pro" from the google play market for Android. (For you apple guys, the App Store does not have this exact app on there so I am unsure if any of the steps after this are valid) Any android powered tablet or phone should work here.

Step 3: Inside of the app you can create car profiles for different vehicles (This app is incredible and is by far the most useful thing I've ever bought as an app because this app and the adapter can be used on ANY obd2 car) In the vehicle profile at the bottom of the profile page is a line that says Very Advanced ELM327. There is a line in that section to add text. The following text should be added to that line:

ATIB 96 \n ATIIA 13 \n ATSH8213F0 \n ATSP4 \n 0100

Once that is complete, hit SAVE and go back into the app. The app is now configured to see the JDM ecu's (that code changed the searching frequencies and some other protocol stuff in the app to be able to read the JDM ecu's)

With the app configured and your OBD 2 adapter plugged into the port on your car, you can now read all of you engine data with the the Torque app. Insert vehicle parameters to get HP and TQ estimations, Fuel economy, timing advancement, speed, the list goes on (really really nice app)

There is also a check engine light portion of this app where you can scan the ECU for codes so it becomes a scan tool as well.

[sirdan]

what radiator did you end up using? link and or part # would be appreciated. Its funny how easy modding the tach to work with another engine can be. Days of research to figure out a 5 minute fix.

[corax]

what radiator did you end up using? link and or part # would be appreciated. Its funny how easy modding the tach to work with another engine can be. Days of research to figure out a 5 minute fix.

no kidding, most of the time researching was spent trying to figure out which "fix" applies for which problem

I ended up going with another universal 24" wide x 16" tall Griffin, I wish I could have found one which was a bit taller (the 19" tall universal ones are a hair too tall for my setup).  A 22" wide one would probably fit the stock opening better, but I cut some sheet metal out a few years ago.  If I still had the stock rad opening, I probably would have tried one of the cheap aluminum 3.0 V6 radiators (though the inlet/outlet locations are wrong for this engine).

this one, not sure why it says Tesla X in the description . . . makes me want to put a button somewhere for "Ludicrous Mode"
no mounting provided, so I need to weld up some custom mounts and figure out how to mount the electric fan/shroud
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/gri-1-55201-x/overview/make/tesla/model/x

[swan song]

Nice man, glad to see this coming along. Hey, has that kid that bought my celica been on here yet?

[corax]

Nice man, glad to see this coming along. Hey, has that kid that bought my celica been on here yet?

Thanks!  Not sure, I haven't noticed if he has or not

As a quick follow-up to my previous post, I calibrated the tach to work with the new engine using the trim pot on the tach circuit board in the picture below.  Removing the speedometer allowed me to to turn the adjustment while it while plugged in, I matched the tach reading to the OBD adapter reading and verified it matched at idle as well as at 3k rpm.


It took awhile to find a radiator which would fit. I've bought and returned 3 nice aluminum radiators in the last month before settling on running the same size I used previously - I was hoping to find something a bit taller, but using a tape measure must be difficult when writing online product descriptions.   I opted for a Griffin universal Chevy style 24" wide x 16" tall radiator w/ 2 cores of 1.25" tubes (my radiator opening was cut a bit wider several years ago).  My only complaint is that the tubes are epoxied into the end tanks instead of furnace brazed.  Other than that, it appears to be a quality product.
A straight lower radiator hose outlet would have worked much better, but there were none in stock and Griffin would have had to make one before I could get it.  Not much clearance to be had here, especially considering that the hose is 1.75" wide and needs to make a hard 90 degree straight up.  I found a hose at the local parts store which made a hard turn and cut it to work.  The 90 degree piece on that  outlet is joined to the smaller diameter hose (1.5") going to the thermostat outlet by a sensor adapter with the fan switch in it.


Some very minor trimming on this Mercedes electric fan and shroud and it fit the radiator perfectly, covering the entire core side to side and top to bottom (increasing the area that air is pulled through increases fan cooling).  I'm not sure what this came out of, it's been on my garage shelf for years.  The important part is that it measured only 2" from the radiator to the back of the fan motor, so a very slim package with factory OEM cooling abilities.  Since universal radiators generally don't have a way to mount fans, and I don't have a TIG welder, I got to use my new sheet metal brake to fab up some simple brackets to hold the fan in place.
bottom brackets to support the weight and close the air gap between the shroud and the radiator core


top mounts mainly hold the fan tight to the radiator


there's not much clearance to spare, but I'm hoping there's enough that nothing touches when things start to move under load

[corax]

So far, 10 miles driven today.  Trans is shifting buttery smooth, a bit touchy pulling out (maybe because of the 19lb flywheel?) trying not to launch too hard while I break in the clutch (but, man, does it take off when I do), alternator may have died . . . and it tries to shift into 4WD when I take off quick, which is weird because I don't think the shifter is anywhere sheet metal

[corax]

well, yep, the alternator died.  luckily there's a $40 rebuild kit on Amazon which comes with both bearings, voltage regulator, and new brushes in a holder.  Unluckily, it doesn't come with the diode bridge, which is what went bad on mine.  So, any repair is a chance to upgrade, right?  The stock 97-99 LS400 alternator is rated for 100 amps.  The 01-03 LS430 alternator is rated for 130 amps, uses the same oval plug, and bolts on.  In 2004, the plug on the back changed and isn't a plug in swap.  I got the idea from this thread.  The only real difference is that the later alternator uses a 3rd bolt, which you can buy and use (p/n 90109-08298), or ignore completely.  The new alternator is also slightly smaller in size.  Install was easy and I didn't even have to remove anything to drop it out the bottom.  Don't forget to upgrade the battery/alternator lead if necessary and upgrade the alternator fuse.  Here are some comparison pics, new one on the left




While I was warming up the engine and making sure the alternator is working properly, the lower radiator hose blew off.  This happened once before, and I just tightened the hose clamp a bit.  The problem is that I had to cut off the bead at the end of the pipe when I trimmed it down.  $5 for a Harbor Freight pair of vice grips, a thick washer, a bit of welding and some work with the cut off wheel and I had a tool to make a new bead at the end of the pipe to help keep the hose on.

[corax]

I've been daily driving this beast all week, and it is an absolute blast.  It accelerates like my BEAMS swapped RA64 Celica and growls like one of the new Lexus LC500s.  I barely ever use 1st gear to pull out from a stop (what's the point) and can break the rear tires loose without even trying.  That said, there's still more work to be done to iron out the minor details.  One of the simpler things I figured out was that the 4wd shifter was just barely touching the shift boot plate, so 5 minutes spent notching it out slightly and it no longer tries to shift into 4wd when I launch the truck


I also figured out that a GX470 driveshaft is the exact same length as my stock 22RE/W trans driveshaft, except it uses 3" tube instead of 2.5" tube - larger diameter= strength increase as well as an ability to run at higher speeds before vibration and failure creeps in (called critical speed).  I also just happened to have saved one from the scrap pile at work, so, a free upgrade is nice.  Note that this driveshaft uses a different flange bolt pattern than the stock 4runner.  I already have a triple pattern pinion flange, so I'm just waiting for Marlin to get some triple pattern transfer case flanges back in stock so I can bolt this in.
(stock 22RE on the left, GX470 on the right)


I've been using the Torque App to monitor engine vitals while driving this week.  Fuel trims are off a bit, and the Check Engine Light is lit all the time.  One of the main reasons for the CEL is that I never wired or installed the 2 oxygen sensors after the catalytic converter.  I believe these do more than just monitor the life and effectiveness of the cat, for reasons that would take too long to explain here, I'm fairly certain they also affect fuel control at higher throttle and load conditions.  2 weld in bungs and 2 $20 oxygen sensors later and I have this, just need to run the wire yet and that will be 1/2 of the CEL concern taken care of.


The other half of the CEL concern is due to the fact that the ECM is looking for an auto trans which just isn't there. I've decided to buy the "ATEMU" from All4Swaps which simulates the auto trans with a few simple wire connections - just need to wait a couple weeks.  That should take care of all the DTCs causing my CEL to come on.  As an added bonus, it should also get rid of the default "limp" mode the engine has been operating under - throttle opening limited to 80% and the VVTi not operating in its full range.  The non-VVTi 1UZ doesn't need this emulator.  Here's an after ATEMU install dyno graph of a stock 1UZ VVTi

[sirdan]

Does that driveshaft have bigger U joints as well? Good to know it will work. Another thing to keep my eye out for when I go to the junkyard.

Do you think it would have been easier to just go with a megasquirt ecu than to mess around with all the stuff to get the factory one working?

Also I would really like to know what your gas mileage is with this motor.  My 22re is probably around 16 in town 20ish on highway.
 hoping you will get that if not a little better.

I actually was looking for info on radiator swaps the other day and came across your 7m swap thread.

[corax]

Does that driveshaft have bigger U joints as well? Good to know it will work. Another thing to keep my eye out for when I go to the junkyard.

They look a bit bigger, though I didn't measure them

Do you think it would have been easier to just go with a megasquirt ecu than to mess around with all the stuff to get the factory one working?

I prefer the factory ECU.  It's already programmed and tuned, plus it's a "learning" ECU and also has self protection (if a sensor or an output shorts, it doesn't damage the ECU . . . I've heard MS doesn't have that).  If it's plug and play, can control the VVTi, and has a base map installed, then the MS might be simpler (also kinda depends on the ECU size and where it can be mounted)

Also I would really like to know what your gas mileage is with this motor.  My 22re is probably around 16 in town 20ish on highway.  hoping you will get that if not a little better.

So far I'm getting 15 mpg commuting through the city, it takes an average of 45 minutes to go 8 miles in the afternoon.  It's not running at peak efficiency yet though, the downstream O2s should help as well as Yuri's ATEMU emulator (when I get it).  I have a road trip next weekend, so I'll get to see what highway mileage looks like.

I actually was looking for info on radiator swaps the other day and came across your 7m swap thread.

lol, if you lived closer, I might try to sell you that swap.  Completely plug and play, bolt-in simple - should be able to swap that in and have it running in a weekend

[Sigma Projects]

When you going to post videos

[corax]

When you going to post videos

lol, I need one of those drones that follows you.  maybe I can move my dashcam back . . .
I am looking for a good Android dyno app (preferably free) which references engine RPM so I can get a baseline before I start tuning it a bit, any recommendations?