FJ62 LS Swap - Lone Star Sleeper - Stoffregen Motorsports

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Will do. I'm in the process of setting up the software now.

When I was down at Mark Romans' place, I watched him go through the steps and it's a very intuitive interface, so I don't think I can screw it up that badly...

 

[bkg]

Now that all the hard parts ore off getting powder coated, it's time to dot some i's and cross some t's.

I'm sure most of you Toyota die hards have heard of the FJ80 brake master cylinder swap. It's a popular swap but I doubt most people realize why. Bigger is not always better and simply bolting on a larger bore master is not going to make your brakes better. In some cases, it will make your brakes worse. In my experience, I have found that using the larger master in conjunction with the larger booster is the trick. But then that leads us back to the booster. Who sells a "FJ80 brake master cylinder"? Go down to your local auto parts store and ask for one. About six varieties come up. Do you have rear disc brakes? ABS? What year is the truck? All good questions. Places like Marlin Crawler and Trail Gear sell the mythical master cylinder, but I like to go to the source.

One question that needs to be answered before you buy a new brake master is disc/disc or disc/drum? If you've got disc front brakes and drum rear brakes, then you need the early FJ80 master.

Specter Off Road sells them at a reasonable price, and by application too.

Here's a pic of the new master with the box and it's part number. I hope this saves some of you from a potential headache.

I've spent a stupid amount of time trying to solve problems on my wildwood/mini truck (f/r) disk disk setup.

If I had an earlier Tacoma, or if I could get the booster out of the truck (4wu shock tower in the way), a 87-89 Supra MC would have been my solution. Plus, it has the added benefit of moving the brake ports to the pass side, which I need for clearance. Unfortunately for me, the plunger rod on the 01-04 booster won't work with the supra mc...

Added benefit is it would have been about 1/2 price of the Fzj mc

 

[buffy]

Why didn't you push back with Tilden to get a matching set of computers. Seems like there were multiple mistakes on their part.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

I've spent a stupid amount of time trying to solve problems on my wildwood/mini truck (f/r) disk disk setup.

If I had an earlier Tacoma, or if I could get the master out of the truck (4wu shock tower in the way), a 87-89 Supra MC would have been my solution. Plus, it has the added benefit of moving the brake ports to the pass side, which I need for clearance. Unfortunately for me, the plunger rod on the 01-04 booster won't work with the supra mc...

Added benefit is it would have been about 1/2 price of the Fzj mc

Your MC is captive? That could be quite a problem. Good to know about the Supra master.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Why didn't you push back with Tilden to get a matching set of computers. Seems like there were multiple mistakes on their part.

I did, and they finally got me what I needed.

I think the real moral of the story here is that these swaps are a bit more complex than anybody thinks. Spending a few hours tuning revealed many, many variables that get tweaked to make each swap tailored to the vehicle. And the initial tuning session didn't reveal a smoking gun either. It took some time to find the initial problem.

 

[buffy]

I did, and they finally got me what I needed.

I think the real moral of the story here is that these swaps are a bit more complex than anybody thinks. Spending a few hours tuning revealed many, many variables that get tweaked to make each swap tailored to the vehicle. And the initial tuning session didn't reveal a smoking gun either. It took some time to find the initial problem.

That's so good to hear. It really got my attention when the 6 speeds first came out and the OEM engineers struggled to line them out for driveability in those first couple of years. I wouldn't know where to begin. I'd just sit there with a big dumb look on my face for a long time.

 

[bkg]

Your MC is captive? That could be quite a problem. Good to know about the Supra master.

Oops. Sorry. Typo. My booster is captive between the body and shock tower.

 

[Metcalf]

I did, and they finally got me what I needed.

I think the real moral of the story here is that these swaps are a bit more complex than anybody thinks. Spending a few hours tuning revealed many, many variables that get tweaked to make each swap tailored to the vehicle. And the initial tuning session didn't reveal a smoking gun either. It took some time to find the initial problem.

This is why I got a complete matched pullout of a 5.3 and 6L80. I also got the matching BCM from the vehicle.
It is my understanding that some things go wonky when you try to run the truck 5.3/6L80 without the BCM. It can be done, but is know to have some issues.
If you can retain the BCM everything can function much like stock....including the factory Tap Shift function, tow/haul, and even cruise control.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

That is what I thought we were buying.

Anyway, I've got a ton of catching up to do. I just uploaded about 80 pics to my Photobucket account, and I need to organize them so it makes sense to you guys.

 

[JunkManTX]

Yep Matt. We all had hoped Tilden would actually ship what was ordered and paid for. This delay is solely on them. When they initially shipped the wrong transmission they should have stepped up and corrected their mistake then.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

I have faith that they can fix the problem, but my concern is that they don't realize the problems started on their end. I'm going to give them a chance to make it right. Hopefully they come through. If not, it's on me, Brian. I'll do what I can so you don't see any additional cost no matter how Pacific Fab handles it.

Matt

 

[buffy]

I think it's strange that they don't drop what they're doing and prioritize their mistake. The whole point of their business is to make the engine and transmission management more plug and play so installers don't have to learn a new language to get these working. Tilden = Fail

Hope they wake up instead of hurting their brand.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

I am dropping it off at Pacific Fab next Monday. A short 3.5 hour drive for me...one way...

Like I said, I am certain they can fix the problem, I am less certain they will do what they can to make it right with me and Brian. If it comes to that, the only card I have up my sleeve is whether or not I do business with them in the future. This is putting the cart before the horse though. I am sure they will come through.

Lesson learned on my part. No more mix-n-match engine/trans packages. From here on out, it's either all from the same vehicle, or it's all brand new, or I get a meaningful guarantee that it will all work as promised.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Now for some real updates. The truck is basically finished, with only a couple minor things needed. The dash is still out to make it easier to access wiring during the time it will be at Pacific Fab, but other than that, it's ready to go.

Where did I leave off...it was final assembly time.

Some basic things to get started.

Building a dust shield for the bellhousing. The original oil pan was not used, and there doesn't seem to be a dust shield available in the aftermarket.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Transfer case assembly time. One aspect of using an adapter for the split case t-case is that it can now be installed and removed while fully assembled. That's huge. Normally, the split case needs to be partially disassembled to be able to get it off the trans. I've always thought this was really dumb. The adapter pieces came from Advance Adapters.

Note - this adapter will not work with a 6L90E trans a the rear output spline on the trans is larger than on the spud shaft provided in the adapter.