Fly and drive gone wrong! Ideas?

Limited connectivity in the remote parts, and I'm busy road-tripping! 🤣 I also plan a full build log at some point, but perhaps this thread can be renamed and become just that?

Awesome so far!

A slightly-disconcerting charge/battery warning light popped up this morning, but after some troubleshooting, thinking, and parts buying as insurance, I'm still rolling on the original batteries and original alternator (new batteries and tools still in the back in case.)

She'll cruise happily at 60ish or a little more, just as long as it isn't a long uphill, or isn't too hot, or isn't too heavily-loaded, or isn't too much of a headwind! 🤣

22 mpg on the first fill, 20 mpg on the second fill up.

No A/C is a bummer, especially as I got close to Death Valley mid-afternoon today, doubly so when trying not to run electrical accessories like the interior fan!

It could use more grunt, but that will come with time once I start modding/swapping. 

I will upload some more pics in a while.

Uh oh....   I don't think the gauge pic could look any worse

jfryjfry said:

Uh oh....   I don't think the gauge pic could look any worse

Hot, empty, not charging...

Maybe it's KO/EO?

In reply to jfryjfry :

At least the oil pressure light is dark!

wae said:

In reply to jfryjfry :

At least the oil pressure light is dark!

This is true....   and there is no blood spatter on the gauge cover.  

In reply to jfryjfry :

Damn!  You went dark with that pretty quick!

Spearfishin said:

jfryjfry said:

Uh oh....   I don't think the gauge pic could look any worse

Hot, empty, not charging...

Maybe it's KO/EO?

It is key off as I stopped at the pump. Sadly, the situation when running isn't much different! 🤣

Minor good news; I've taken care to keep the needle out the orange, and it typically runs in a normal range until a long uphill at elevation in the desert while really hot...this was just north of Death Valley. When temps creep up, I slow down, pull over, run the heater, or some combo of the above...this has kept it below 80% most of the time. There were a few awkward hills with big rigs right on my ass, two lanes, no shoulder, foot on the floor, EGTs climbing, coolant temp climbing, speed dropping, airflow dropping...not many options!

The fuel gauge isn't completely accurate. I believe the tank is 90 liters, or about 22-23 gallons. It took 14.5 gallons at the fill pictured above.

I got a tiny bit more tension on the alternator/water pump pulley this morning to see if it helps. Improvised a prybar from a broken pallet in an empty lot next to where I stopped.

Both batteries still test at 12.7V, or 25.4V for the system when shut off. I didn't run anything electrical after the issue popped up, and being a diesel with mechanical injection and mechanical pump, the only things drawing power are the warning lights, aftermarket gauges, turn signals, I think that's it.

When running, it is 25.6V-26.2V, so not terrible, but not great. Worn alternator brushes that just wore down to marginal? Erratic regulator? Failed relay for the warning lights and a so-so alternator? Slightly slipping belt? In any case, I'm carrying on, with spare batteries as insurance still in the back.

Good luck with the remainder of the trip.  Maybe stop at a Wal Mart/Costco?XXX and pick up a 1/2" breaker bar for more tension on the alternator  belts?

Following along

I hit the border of my home state Oregon yesterday evening...only 425 more miles to go from there to home! Still on the original batteries! I haven't been using the lights, stopping before dark, which makes the trip a bit longer, but saves juice...it hasn't really been charging for the past 700 miles or so! 😬

As I better learn the truck, it has been easier to keep the temperature reasonable. I now know better when to slow down a little bit to avoid everything getting heat soaked.

The pictures are insanely cool, as is the truck. 

In reply to Slippery :

Thank you; it's been a fun journey, glad to hear you've enjoyed following along!

For anyone wanting closure, yes, I made it home, and even did some adventuring along the way. Nice to be back in Oregon. Here's some from earlier today in the central part of the state before I crossed over the Cascades to the wet side. It was quite smoky from forest fires, which has sadly become the norm here in August/September.

I'm happy to report that crossing the Cascade passes near Mt. Hood went well. Some of it might have to do with moderate inclines and heights only a little over 4000 feet, versus the 7500 feet I struggled with earlier in the trip. I'd also like to think some of it had to do with my improved familiarity with the truck and my consequent improved driving technique. I didn't hold too many folks up, maintained 45-60mph most of the way, and the temp gauge stayed between 40%-75% of the way to orange.

It started this morning on the original batteries, I shut if off once to fuel up, and then drove all the way home before shutting it off. Roughly 2270 kms on the odo, but I discovered on the way that it is around 5% pessimistic, which means nearly 1500 miles, four days, three states, zero breakdowns (but some slightly dodgy mechanical stuff) and some epic scenery!

I got her tucked away in the back of the garage for now.

Next up will be charging both batteries, testing the regulator, testing the charge light relay, and rebuilding the alternator!

A successful, yet eventful fly and drive.  Well done sir. 

Great trip and commentary!

Thanks!

Rog

Very cool. Glad you made it without much fanfare. 

Thanks for the trip report.

Enjoy

Man, that garage picture almost makes it look like you've got the poor guy stuck back in the corner to think about what he's done!

Glad the title of the thread did not accurately predict the outcome of the trip!  That's an awesome adventure!

Congrats on your new, to you, Dodge Raider . . . err Toyota.

XLNT travel pics. Well done fly n drive.

What are your swap ideas?

In reply to L5wolvesf :

I'm thinking about a variety of options. I will probably use it as-is for a while, but it is fun to think about swaps. SBC has been the go-to swap in America for decades, but I'd like to keep it Toyota, because I'm a nerd like that. I'm open to suggestions.

What do I like about the current Toyota 3B with turbo?

Simple, easy enough to work on, good fuel economy, plenty of room in the engine bay, and engine weight is behind the front axle. It is also really amazing just off idle...it pulls from 650rpm, no worries about bogging/stalling, and the hand throttle (hand accelerator?) is great for crawling.

What do I dislike?  Terrible NVH; general diesel clattering, and stuff shakes and vibrates, plus there is a nasty harmonic at around 1600rpm that makes it worse in that rev range. Stinky diesel smell. My garage is the ground floor of my house, and I am planning to push it outside to start it up because the startup smoke cloud doesn't smell great. Lack of grunt for highway use. Difficulty cooling on uphills at highway speed. The relatively narrow rev range adds an interesting driving challenge, but something that winds out to more than 3500-4000rpm would be nice. Parts availability; I think these engines date back to the late-60's or early-70's, and were supplanted with newer designs a couple years after my 1986 was built. Lack of A/C. Toyota stuff is NLA. There is a reportedly good quality aftermarket kit. The kit is $4000 for the parts, still needs to be installed and charged. 😩
 

Considerations:

Keeping it mechanically-injected diesel simplifies quite a few things. If I stay mechanical injection turbo diesel I can reuse tank/filler/fuel lines, and leave the 24V electrical system intact. But this also poses some challenges if I want to keep it Toyota, because more grunt means a straight six like a 1HZ or 1HD-FT, which presents challenges mating to the transmission (needs bellhousing, input shaft, shifter, and trans crossmember changed, but same box), and adds weight, and weight further forward. The best of these engines are also not cheap because every Cruiserhead wants one.

If I jump ahead a generation of turbo diesels, there is a performance jump, but these have multivalve heads and direct injection controlled by EFI, which adds quite a bit to the list of stuff needing to be swapped, and they are still heavy and are really expensive. Like $15K used expensive.

If I convert to gas, the options open up, and I think a 1UZ Toyota/Lexus V-8 would be really sweet. It wouldn't be much harder than swapping to a modern diesel like a 1HD-FTE or 1KD-FTV. There are a couple big hurdles here: connecting to the transmission, and converting to 12V. For the transmission I can chase down little parts like throwout bearing, clutch slave, clutch disk, etc, and try to pin down some Australian specialist who supposedly made/makes one but doesn't list on their site to maybe make me a bellhousing to mate to my existing H55, or I need to find the right H151/H152 transmission that was only sold for a couple years, and only in the Middle East market. The gas V-8 will have a 12V alternator and ECU/sensors/injectors/starter wanting 12V. If I convert the truck, I believe I will need to swap all the lights, gauges, maybe some wiring?...not really sure TBH.

Anybody on here ever done a 24V->12V conversion and can offer insight?

The pluses include a much lighter engine that is still short, rev-happy, could support A/C, less noise, clatter, and emissions, and hopefully reasonably efficient.

A lot to think about...

Yes, lots to think about.

Re: engine/trans adapters. This guy made a beautiful Mazda 12A to BMW 700 transaxle adapter for us once. https://www.kennedyeng.com/engine-adapters 

No need to convert the chassis to 24 volt, but only the electric motors would be an issue. Step the power down to 12 volts at the ignition switch and any power buss that supplies the electronics. Could be done with a center tap between batteries.

Seems like the solution is to sell it and buy a modern Wrangler if you want power, A/C, 12V systems, and modern conveniences.

Everything you like about the vehicle "Simple, easy enough to work on, good fuel economy, plenty of room in the engine bay, and engine weight is behind the front axle. It is also really amazing just off idle...it pulls from 650rpm, no worries about bogging/stalling, and the hand throttle (hand accelerator?) is great for crawling." would be changed or ruined by swapping in different powertrain other than maybe another tiny 4 cylinder diesel.  That would just be a lot of work for marginal gainz, while being worth less than what you started with and costing a bunch of money.  

Only engine worth a swap is a 1HDT and that is gonna be at least $10k by the time its running and reliable, likely more since if the smell of diesel exhaust is offputting this isnt the sort of DIY task that will be successfully accomplished. 

93gsxturbo said:

Seems like the solution is to sell it and buy a modern Wrangler if you want power, A/C, 12V systems, and modern conveniences.

Buy a modern Wrangler? Is this not the GRM Forums, a place to discuss (potentially unrealistic) dreams of resto-mods and custom builds? If we can build a Gasser out of Wartburg, a Model A hot rod out of Lexus SC300, and a Volvo P1800ES out of a Miata with a small-block Ford, then surely putting a more modern engine and a few amenities in an old 4x4 shouldn't be too hard. 

In all seriousness, what I meant to say is that the truck has some charms as-is, so I will live with it for a while and see how it goes. There are some things about it that aren't ideal for the way I hope to use it, so an engine swap is a fun dream for the future. The swap would change some things about it, and present some challenges so I am not going to commit to it without some thought and planning. If done right, I think it would also result in some improvements. A guy from a Land Cruiser specialist shop came by my work a few weeks ago with this rig, and it got my imagination fired up. He said that out of dozens of 40-Series up through 100-Series it is far-and-away the most fun Cruiser he has experienced:

TurnerX19 said:

No need to convert the chassis to 24 volt, but only the electric motors would be an issue. Step the power down to 12 volts at the ignition switch and any power buss that supplies the electronics. Could be done with a center tap between batteries.

The little bit of research I've done lead me to cautionary tales from multiple people who tried a center tap all saying that it is a no-no and quickly killed their batteries. From my meager understanding, I guess that both batteries need to remain balanced, meaning that any charge or draw needs to happen equally and simultaneously, otherwise the battery life suffers badly.

I am surprised at how many people who have messed around with these systems say the easiest way to go is to keep all the existing 24V stuff and add a separate 12V system...get a 12V alternator, find a way to mount it on the engine, and find a space for a third 12V battery, which is charged by the 12V alternator and powers the 12V accessories. Seems crazy to me to have two alternators, three batteries, and two separate wiring harnesses, but this is coming from the voice of experience, and I doubt people would recommend it as best if there was an easier way that worked acceptably well.

In my mind, it seems like converting the lights, gauges, horn to 12V, and then installing a gas engine with the 12V alternator and starter that are already on it and going down to one battery might not be easy, but it might be easier than keeping the chassis 24V. From what I can tell, the latter would involve A) swapping to a 24V alternator on the gas engine, adding a 12V converter to the system in way that doesn't disrupt battery balance, and then building a harness from the 12V fuse box/bus bar to the fuel pump, starter, ignition, injectors, etc or B) adding a 24V alternator to the gas engine (in addition to the existing 12V alternator), adding a third 12V battery to the vehicle, and then connecting the 12V system to the engine and fueling system, and connecting the 24V alternator to the existing batteries and chassis harness.

Since I've never actually tackled any of this, I don't know for sure.

Maybe the real answer is to find and buy a cheap rusty 12V gasoline 70-series, harvest electrical systems and fueling parts to eventually swap into my nice rust-free body, and part out the remainders. 😅