Lexus V8 (1UZ) into Prado 90 V6

[james_hbay Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close james_hbay]

fark yeah, looks awsome , the charger idea is good but would cost nearly as much to bolt a supercharger on than do the 1uz conversion, and i think most people will be dissapointed by the superchargers performance considering cost to set up etc.

[LouisF Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close LouisF]

GREENVX, I sincerely hope I do not have to replace the drivebelt. There's only one, what is called a serpentine belt. Hopefully Crooza is correct, otherwise I'll remove the radiator first.
I'll post all the pictures I can, but due the car being about 90 mins drive from my house, I cannot get there more often than once every weekend. This week I won't even have time for that, but the mechanic said he'll take pics. Next weekend the truck should come home.

[shorty Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close shorty]

Keeping an eye on this thread as my 90 1kz is a great engine but is using coolant (the old cracked head syndrome) and i have a 1uz at home which i am thinking of pulling out of my 280zx so please keep the info and pics coming.
Chris

[LouisF Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close LouisF]

The transplant is complete bar some finishing-off still required. A pic or two of the engine in the car:



All I can say is, if you drop the hammer, she's off like a bat out of hell: roaring engine, push in the back, nose up!
Fuel usage still inconclusive. Did find 5.1km/l (14,5mpg), but I made some use of the extra oomph

But what a rush to drop some unsuspecting guy in a car he had thought was quick.

[Beast2h Member Find all posts View Profile Close Beast2h]

More info please! eg: what had to be modified on the car and engine, is you car manual or auto? and more pics!! thanks in advance!

[williade Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close williade]

is you car manual or auto?

I think its an Auto, judging by the lack of a clutch master cylinder.

[Beast2h Member Find all posts View Profile Close Beast2h]

Ahhh! good eye's!

[LouisF Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close LouisF]

Yes, an auto. The engine is too long for the engine bay in that one has to remove the viscous fan. Mine was replaced by a 16" electric fan (controlled from the ECU) mounted between the engine radiator and the A/C radiator. Two smaller fans are also mounted in front of the A/C radiator. The engine's ECU would obviously not work properly with the Toy 'box so that has been replaced by a locally produced one, a Spitronic. Very tuneable. The bell housing and torque converter have been replaced with Lexus units. At the moment the idling is set at 1 000r/min, which I believe is too high, for when coming to a standstill and taking off gently there is a sort of jerk before stopping completely and just when you start moving, but that may be a result of the high idling speed not working well with the torque converter's stalling speed, or something. It has to be reset at 700r/min and then we'll see if that is all that is required. The mechy wants to replace the 'box ECU also with Spitronic's TCU (transmission control unit) - at his own cost, would you believe it! - for then one can setup the shift pattern to your liking. Up to 3 programs can be loaded, each programmed from your laptop while on the move, and you choose the one you want for the road/traffic conditions. The shifts are almost super smooth at present, even better than I can remember it being before, even under hard acceleration.

When I searched the web for the weights of the V6 and of the V8, I could only find a post somewhere (can't remember where!) that says the V8 (aluminium block) is 60 kg lighter than the V6 (cast iron block). Be that as it may, there is no suspension sag to speak of up front. Front is slightly less than 10 mm (3/8") lower than rear, measuring the height of the wheel arch above the bottom edge of the rims (763mm rear and 757 front). I do not pretend that my measurement is 100% accurate, but you get the picture.

And that is about the extent of the modifications. Ah yes, the engine's sump has been replaced by a mild steel one fabricated in their workshop. Before I post anymore pics, I want the finishing off to be done to my taste. That is planned for the near future. And maybe I can do an acceleration run and see what she'll do from 0 to 100km/h (0 - 60mph, actually 62,5mph to be precise.)

[Beast2h Member Find all posts View Profile Close Beast2h]

Thank you, how did you go with the engine mounts?

[Torrie 72 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Torrie 72]

Wow! Looks great Louis. Well done. I'm keen to see how your fuel economy works out. Keep the pics coming if you can - there's some very keen Aussies watching this with envy!
Cheers, Ben.

[LouisF Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close LouisF]

The engine mounts were modified by the mechy who did the job. I'll ask him again, but IIRC he kept the mounts on the car and made a modification to fir the engine to the mounts, a steel bracket. I was not there at the time the engine was installed, but I'll see if I acn get pics of the mounts as they are now, or otherwise try and get pics at the shop next time I go there. The truck has to on the lift again and maybe one can get pics then. Maybe the mechy indeed took some pics as he had promised at the start.

I made a mistake with the measurements last night and will re-do those and report back. The truck has a decidely nose-down look that I can't recall from before. Maybe the pics I took shortly after I bought her and after pics now will show the diffirence clearly.

I filled her up last Saturday, first time since the swap, and the results showed 5.5 km/l (about 14.5 mpg) previously 5.6 - 6.0 km/l (15.9 - 17.0mpg), but that included a little more spirited driving than my usual style. I burn to see what she'll do on the trail, but that might have to wait a bit.

[Edit: Made a typo with fuel economy. Should be 5.1km/l (which is indeed 14.5mpg) and not 5.5 km/l. Sorry.]

[LouisF Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close LouisF]

Checked the measurement again, and the difference between front and rear is 10mm (3/8") not much different from the previous post where I mentioned this. So the V8 does not have an effect on the height, after all, meaning the springs are OK for it.

[LouisF Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close LouisF]

Here are two pics of the radiator setup, that shows why an electric fan is required.
[Click on image to enlarge]

[glen_ep Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close glen_ep]

WOW that IS TIGHT!
Are the fan(s) located on the front side?

[Beast2h Member Find all posts View Profile Close Beast2h]

I would be interested to see if that comes close to touching in rough conditions.