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40th Anniversary salvage rebuild

Inukshuk

Rising Sun Member
Joined
Aug 24, 2005
Messages
7,271
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Denver, CO
The plan is to fill the cooling system with distilled water, as it had green coolant in it when I took everything apart, and fill and drain it until everything runs clear, then fill it up with Toyota red. I'm not worried about sludge because everything was nice and green.
Perfectly fine to keep it all green. That was Robbie's advice to me when he rebuilt mine in 2012. 125,000 miles and 10 years later, all is well. GX and 100 had red, they are both now pink. Pink and red are compatible. Flame suit on!
 

HDavis

Hard Core 4+
Joined
Feb 13, 2019
Messages
1,116
Perfectly fine to keep it all green. That was Robbie's advice to me when he rebuilt mine in 2012. 125,000 miles and 10 years later, all is well. GX and 100 had red, they are both now pink. Pink and red are compatible. Flame suit on!
I read through the many debates on mud yesterday. There were several people backing up what you are saying with the addition that the Prestone green was preferred and just avoid the high mileage stuff. I'll probably still flush the system, but everything looks fine on this thing and who knows how long it has been running green. Hearing it from a trusted source I will probably just stick with the green.
 

subzali

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Aug 22, 2005
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10,309
Location
Denver CO
I read through the many debates on mud yesterday. There were several people backing up what you are saying with the addition that the Prestone green was preferred and just avoid the high mileage stuff. I'll probably still flush the system, but everything looks fine on this thing and who knows how long it has been running green. Hearing it from a trusted source I will probably just stick with the green.
Until it keeps you up at night...:LOL::devilish:
 

HDavis

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Feb 13, 2019
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1,116
I am determined to get this thing to a point that I can drive it around the block this weekend. I've gotten the trans cooler and the condenser mounted but I got stopped at the radiator. There was a koyorad radiator on the truck during the accident and the one I have I believe is an oem one. The problem I'm facing is where the trans lines connect to the radiator, they are different thread styles, with both being male. Can someone confirm that the radiator I have is oem and if there were other automatic Toyotas that had this style? Does anyone have these laying around?

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HDavis

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Feb 13, 2019
Messages
1,116
I got up early and ran to the junkyard to see what I could come up with to attach the transmission cooler lines. It turns out that a 95 Avalon uses the same threaded fittings as the 80 series. I bolted in the radiator, hooked up all the hoses then filled it up with distilled water and atf. I then hooked up the battery and the culmination of 6 months' worth of work came down to one moment. It cranked and cranked but didn't start, as it turns out I had not hooked up the coil wire. After that was plugged back in it fired right up and idealed out nicely. After bleeding the cooling system and adding ATF to the power steering reservoir, I decided it was time to drive it around the block. It made it, but I needed to add ATF to the transmission as it was jumping from first to second with a slight clunk. After adding more fluid, it smoothed out nicely and read right where it should on the dip stick. After getting it up to temp and driving it around the block many times there is no check engine light, it's got good oil pressure, and the lockers work. There is still plenty left to do, however, I had enough daylight to loosely put the headlights and valance in just to get a bit more satisfaction. It sure is nice to have made it this far!

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subzali

Hard Core 4+
Joined
Aug 22, 2005
Messages
10,309
Location
Denver CO
It’s coming together! Gonna be sweet!
 

Notyourmomslx450

Cruise Moab Committee
Cruise Moab Committee
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Aug 4, 2014
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3,202
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Westminster
Nice!
Congrats!
 

HDavis

Hard Core 4+
Joined
Feb 13, 2019
Messages
1,116
I decided to carry the momentum that I established to button up the front end and iron out a few things that will be required for the inspection. After getting the headlights hooked up, I realized the bright's were not working. I was able to trace it back to the combination switch. For the time being I pulled the pin from the plug and used a plug that I salvaged from Stout project that goes to a rocker switch on the dash. An additional item that was not working was the horn. I could hear the relay triggering but it was not getting power to the horn. I was able to find where the wire had been separated so I cut and soldered it back together. I've managed to put 8 miles on the truck in a 3 block radius and aside from needing an alignment everything is working exactly as it should. With that said that should be all that is required for the inspection and although this project is far from completely finished updates will probably slow down for a while now.

I can't extend my gratitude enough to those that shared their wisdom as I navigated this project. I could not have made it this far without the help from all of you great people, thanks for the support!

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CardinalFJ60

Rising Sun Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2005
Messages
2,483
Location
Lafayette
Perfectly fine to keep it all green. That was Robbie's advice to me when he rebuilt mine in 2012. 125,000 miles and 10 years later, all is well. GX and 100 had red, they are both now pink. Pink and red are compatible. Flame suit on!
same advice here and have had no issues in 40 or 60.
 

Jenny Cruiser

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Joined
Nov 22, 2006
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1,168
Location
North of Hell
How much you want for it? J/J Great work as usual!
 

HDavis

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Feb 13, 2019
Messages
1,116
How much you want for it? J/J Great work as usual!
Thanks! This group will be the first to know if I decide to sell. I’ve wanted one of these for 20 years though, so dont hold your breath!
 

HDavis

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Joined
Feb 13, 2019
Messages
1,116
As it turns out, a project 80 is never done. I received all of my parts from Serra Toyota after waiting 2 months. The parts consisted of plugs, wires, hoses, belts and an oil filter, so I spent Sunday morning flushing the coolant system, changing the oil, and replacing the spark plugs and wires. After I got all the new stuff on, I honestly couldn't tell a difference in how it ran, but I now have peace of mind. With that done I finally scheduled the vin inspection and went to get my temp plates. Now that it was completely road legal, we decided to take it on a short family drive to Rocky Mountain Arsenal. It was a blast, and my son absolutely loves the thing dearly. Although he's only 3 he has been "helping" me with it since day 1 and now refers to himself as an "80 series guy"... Anyways, I noticed a weird clunk in the back going over bumps on the passenger rear and after poking around a bit i found that the rear end links for the sway bar have seen better days. Does anyone have experience with bad end links and would it produce a clunk? I guess I can just remove the sway bar and drive around the block. I also tried to put it in low 4 when we were on some dirt in the Arsenal and the center diff is not engaging. I can hear the relay working, so my next step is to pull the actuator switch to see if its stiff. It all worked last week, so I hope it's something simple.

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subzali

Hard Core 4+
Joined
Aug 22, 2005
Messages
10,309
Location
Denver CO
As it turns out, a project 80 is never done. I received all of my parts from Serra Toyota after waiting 2 months. The parts consisted of plugs, wires, hoses, belts and an oil filter, so I spent Sunday morning flushing the coolant system, changing the oil, and replacing the spark plugs and wires. After I got all the new stuff on, I honestly couldn't tell a difference in how it ran, but I now have peace of mind. With that done I finally scheduled the vin inspection and went to get my temp plates. Now that it was completely road legal, we decided to take it on a short family drive to Rocky Mountain Arsenal. It was a blast, and my son absolutely loves the thing dearly. Although he's only 3 he has been "helping" me with it since day 1 and now refers to himself as an "80 series guy"... Anyways, I noticed a weird clunk in the back going over bumps on the passenger rear and after poking around a bit i found that the rear end links for the sway bar have seen better days. Does anyone have experience with bad end links and would it produce a clunk? I guess I can just remove the sway bar and drive around the block. I also tried to put it in low 4 when we were on some dirt in the Arsenal and the center diff is not engaging. I can hear the relay working, so my next step is to pull the actuator switch to see if its stiff. It all worked last week, so I hope it's something simple.

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It’ll just take a bit to get sorted and then it’ll give many miles of happiness with only periodic maintenance 👍
 

Jacket

RS Moderator
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Feb 3, 2006
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5,278
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Lafayette
Cruiser Outfitters sells a reasonably priced sway bar refresh kit with links and bushings (or just bushings). Could be that (easy), or maybe the suspension links/bushings (harder) causing the clunk.
 

nakman

Club Secretary
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Aug 23, 2005
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north side
Does it have a CDL button? or are you still on automatic cdl mode for low range?
 

HDavis

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Joined
Feb 13, 2019
Messages
1,116
Cruiser Outfitters sells a reasonably priced sway bar refresh kit with links and bushings (or just bushings). Could be that (easy), or maybe the suspension links/bushings (harder) causing the clunk.
Thanks! Thats seems reasonable enough for both the front and rear refresh.
 

HDavis

Hard Core 4+
Joined
Feb 13, 2019
Messages
1,116
Does it have a CDL button? or are you still on automatic cdl mode for low range?
It does. @ccslider gifted me a hazard switch and I hooked it up a few months ago. Unfortunately it doesn't respond with the button either.
 
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