Well, I am finally home from Afghanistan. It was a long time coming. After some time is spent with the family, I am going to get started on the parts install. I will have pictures as soon as I can get started on the stuff...and if anyone is interested, I can put up a few pictures of the jets in Afghanistan. Unless someone asks, I will spare you all the needless posts.

 

so i got started on installing my giant parts pile today...a pic of me
at work on the project



a pic of all the parts i replaced



also, i removed the exhaust manifold in order to replace it with the new LCE street header. question. do i really need an O2 sensor? my header came with a block off plate and i would like to avoid the reinstallation of the O2 sensor. anyone know where i can find a shorting cap for the O2 sensor connector? here is a picture of the hole waiting for tomorrow...

 

22RE will run w/o the sensor, but poorly. It'll be in open loop mode on the ECU and you'll get bad gas mileage and poor performance.

 

so no shorting cap for the connector i guess? disappointing. also, as you can see i have started removing my alternator to replace a 140 amp upgrade. the install instructions from LCE say to route a new cable from the alternator to the battery, bypassing the fuse box. so what do i do with the stock connector and power cable?

 

Well, O2 sensors put out a small oscillating voltage in response to the O2 levels in the exhaust. Shorting or putting in a resistor or something like that will not generate the right kind of signal.

I run a 160a alt. in my '85, just spliced the 4ga. power cable from it to a dual battery solenoid (that connects to the batteries) and then a cable from that to the end of the factory battery cable right next to the fuse block. That way can swap back to the stock alt. if needed for a spare, as I had to do once on a long road trip when the brushes in the big alt. wore out.

 

is there any reason you could see it a bad idea to go straight to the battery terminal? i am not an electrician, but shouldnt there also be a ground? i am skeptical on the simplicity of these instructions.

 

Actually, I mis-spoke a little earlier, going by memory from 12 years ago when I installed mine. After checking my install writeup, I actually ran the heavy alt. power cable to a solenoid when connects my dual batteries. Then there is a connection from that to the remnant of the old battery cable connection to the main fuse block under the hood:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...oxInstallation

So forgot about the intermediate solenoid/battery connection. My batteries are way in back of the truck, so that is why I hooked to the solenoid. But yes, you can go to the battery if you want. Stock setup has basically the same setup except there is an 80a fusible link in between the alt. and battery/fuse block. Suppose you could upgrade that to keep a stock-like connection, or leave it as is and bypass it to get the full alt. output to the battery.

 

as always, i am impressed by your wealth of knowledge...so what is your take on interior mods...where should i start?

 

No ideas on the interior, mine is pretty much stock. Only change has been to remove the rear seat and replace it with a fold down cover to stash small parts and tools underneath. Ultimately want to add some long pull out drawers in the cargo area to keep all the routine gear stored out of the way.

 

alright, well, i got back in there today...the good news is that i got the alternator and its brackets out...the bad news? when i removed the lower bracket, i failed to realize that that motor mount was missing a bolt. i guess it had just fallen out. moral of the story is i cant get the lower bracket back in because the motor shifted slightly...it doesnt look like it went that far, but far enough to make getting the bracket back in between the block and the motor mount darn near impossible...pic time...



most definitely not a necessity, but i took the air intake and radiator out just to get a look at everything...you know, make sure all the hardware was in and tight...i had already found that one bolt in a bracket that comes off of the transmission and goes into the block backed almost all the way out. also, when i went to remove the old alternator i found that the bottom bolt had backed nearly all the way out...anyway, i digress...



now for some pics of things to come...





oh yeah, found this yesterday along with two definitely and one possibly burnt-out fuses and only three or so strands left on my fusible or "main" link.

 

Looks like you have some parts to put in!

 

and more in the shopping carts!

i promised you all some pics and posts as soon as i got back from Bagram, and i feel like i have been making good on my word. anyway, on with the story.

so i got up today, went to sears and got a pry bar and put some parts on order at the local toyota dealership. with the pry bar, i was EASILY able to get the lower alternator mount bracket installed and torqued into place. i put the alternator in as detailed by the instructions, and began to install the top mount...problems...the directions read to install the top mount to the alternator just like the old one. well, thats not how things are working. the new bracket is fitting perfectly BEHIND the alternator, and the bolt (when installed the only way that it could possibly make sense with this new setup) is not fitting into the heli-coil properly. here is what it looked like...









i called the people at LCEngineering (who i had ordered the alt. kit from) and asked them if what i was experiencing was normal. they said no, to send them some pictures of the setup and they would tell me where i had gone wrong. come to find out, it was their mistake...the top mount had been fab'd wrong. they promised that one would be properly constructed and sent today, (hopefully next day air) at no charge. all-in-all, i was very pleased. their customer service was great, and they made good on the mistake. frustrated that i was slowed down even more, but happy that everything was being resolved. i should have it all finished by the end of the week, ready to make the trip to my fathers for clutch, winch, and locker/4.88 install!!!


then for the suspension lift...(provided that my wife doesnt murder me for spending all this money on a truck that we have to leave here for four years while in Japan...we will see how that goes over...)

 

can anyone tell me what exactly that restrictive flap-door mass air flow sensor is for and how to get rid of it???

 

See below:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTricks/AFM/index.shtml
and
- http://www.autoshop101.com/forms/h21.pdf

 

Love the bumper, cant wait to see what you do with her.

 

Looks like you've been busy!

Nice work so far!

:wabbit2:

 

so would the jumper set mentioned in the troubleshooting section allow me to remove the AFM entirely?

would the truck run right?

 

thanks for the compliments everyone!

 

today was my first day back to work since my return home from afghanistan and usps delivered the new upper alt bracket from lce. i managed to get it installed, tightened everything up on the alt and put my new belts on and tightened them. then i tried to get started on the header...unfortunately it was pretty late and i had to stop. no pics yet, but i will get them soon. when i get started tomorrow, i think i am going to save the header for last. i want to get the fusible link back in, (which i picked up from Toyota today) along with the radiator and airbox so that as soon as the header is in, i can crank her up.

 

again no pics today, but i did get some things done. all in all i am pretty excited about the progress. i finished the alt, installed the radiator, and airbox completely, and mocked up the header. i am going to have to go back to toyota and get four more studs and nuts for the header, and figure out the fusable link setup. after that i'll be ready to take it up to VA and install the locker and R&P gears.