After nearly 10 years of trouble free use of my 2nd gen Surf - sorry, 4 Runner , I've decided to go the V8 route. The current MOT runs out in July and that's when it'll come off the road and the work will start, so at this time I'm doing all the prep of gathering info and sourcing the engine.

I'm about to look at a couple of LS400's, one of which has the later 1UZ VVTi engine in it. I have had a quick look through the forum and can't see anyone whose converted to the VVTi (I did say it was a quick look) so if anyone has done this conversion, or knows of anyone who has, please point me in the right direction.

I need to know as soon as possible if there are any potential problems with this engine/autobox - I know the wiring can be 'difficult' but my main concern is that I'm not sure if the Surf transfer box will mate directly with the autobox of the VVTi. (The earlier 1UZ auto boxes do).

Any advice, pointers etc, will be gratefully received

Cheers,

Nick.

P.S. When i start the conversion, I'll start a build thread

 

if you have an auto you can remove the tailshaft and output housing from your trans and swap it in to the lexus a340e to convert into a 340f fourwheel drive. if you dont have a lexus tranny i believe the valve bodies are different but are interchangeable.

 

Thanks for the reply. I've just found out that it's not possible to mate my transfer case to the five speed Lexus box (someone over here has tried and ended up using the Surf auto box with Lexus bellhousing, oil pump and torque converter. The transmission is then controlled by a stand alone management unit. TBH, I'd love to use the VVTi but for now I'll go for the earlier non VVTi engine. Thanks again for your advice.

 

I've finally got my rear into gear and got moving on the conversion. The first thing I did was the body lift, but whilst I was waiting for a LS400 to come along, I thought I'd do a couple of other things to it such as replacing the rusted out rear quarter bumpers and some clear indicators. (At the moment I have no intention of replacing front/rear bumpers). I also managed to get hold of some wider, deeper wheels, (freshly powder coated) and new tyres to replace the road oriented ones. Here's some pics:

As it was



Now with 2" body lift and shiny, rust free rear quarter bumpers and clear front indicators (got the repeaters to fit)




Got these to fill the arches



Oh, I nearly forgot but I found this



Next step is to remove the V8, clean it up (it's pretty clean as it is!) and replace the 'consumable' parts. I won't post every time I do something, but I'll try to update regularly.

Cheers, Nick

 

Lookin good. I do love the VVTi version despite the oil pressure finickiness and being interference engines but I'll follow along anyway

 

Thanks I had the chance of a low mileage VVTi a while back but due to the extra work involved with mating the transfer box, I opted for the pre-VVTi

 

Nice looking motor, but aren't you going to have to beef up the front suspension if you want to drop that motor into it?

 

No need. The LS400 motor is much lighter than the stock 3.0 diesel lump!