My FZJ80 Overland Build

[NM-Frontier]

Build Updates: New Exhaust and a CB Radio

Had to bite the bullet and get the exhaust done. The cats had broken up and made a terrible rattle, also some of the mounts had broke were one of the POs had welded in a new muffler at some point, so it was well over due. After talking with the local exhaust shop and some reading on Mud I decided to convert to one larger OBDII cat instead of replace both with factory units. This was for two reasons; cost (obviously one is cheaper then two), and ground clearance. Their is also an argument to be made for a performance gain but that is just a side effect to my reasons. The new cat was clocked 90* and is now level with the frame. It is nice to look at the side of the truck and not see the cats hanging down! We did reused some of the factory tubing and mounts to ensure the 02 sensors stayed in the same place, this seems to have worked because the check engine light has not come on. This can happen if you convert to one cat and move around the 02s.( At least that is the theory I subscribed to after some research) The rest from the cat back was redone with new tubing and a new performance"ish" muffler. This was his call and the new tone is growing on me. It's no Flowmaster but it is just a bit louder under load, but with out a drone at cruising speed.

The end result is a bit more throaty tone and a decent gain in ground clearance.:sombrero:

Were did the cats go...

Tucked up nice and safe now

Tail pipe is up higher then factory but the extra bracket for the bumper limits it from being tucked up all the way. Still much better.

 

[NM-Frontier]

Next on my list was to install the Uniden Cb that had been sitting on the shelf for the last year. Pretty standard set up, Uniden 510 with a 4ft Firestick antenna Fire ring cable and mount. Nothing fancy but will work for the occasional group outing.:sombrero:

The 510 mounts to holes left from the original phone mount. Originally I planed to stuff it in to the ash try but chickened out on cutting up the dash and trim, the radio is small enough that the phone mount stuck out in to the passenger's feet more then it dose.

I used the Fire ring cable and stud for a cleaner install.

The 4ft Firestick antenna is mounted to the tire swind out and is tall but barely sticks up above the tent when mounted.

 

[Mauka2Makai]

Thats how Toyota should have done it from the beginning. Looking Awesome

 

[NM-Frontier]

"Thats how Toyota should have done it from the beginning. Looking Awesome"

Exactly, it's nice to look down there and not have to see those cats hanging down anymore. This mod has set me up to pull the trigger on some new rocker protection that LandCruiserPhil has been working on, they won't be full blown sliders but I think they will offer the protection I am looking for. Hoping to get them in, painted, and on the cruiser this weekend. :sombrero:

 

[ab1985]

We did reused some of the factory tubing and mounts to ensure the 02 sensors stayed in the same place, this seems to have worked because the check engine light has not come on. This can happen if you convert to one cat and move around the 02s.( At least that is the theory I subscribed to after some research)

Any research you can point me to? I had a complete system bent up and installed last week in including new O2 sensors. I went to one cat, had it clocked, and ran the pipes over the frame. I got a CE light the next day, but the guy checked and thinks it's just a bad sensor which he offered to replace. I initially went in for just a muffler knowing that would be a bandaid and decided to replace the whole thing on the spot. I showed him pictures of LandCruiserPhil's setup for routing, but maybe I should have done more research on the components before pulling the trigger...

 

[concretejungle]

I agree about the cats! I did that years ago before i spent the $$ on a new exhaust. Any reputable exhaust shop should be able to cut the cats out, rotate them flat and then weld them back up. Makes a pretty dramatic difference for little cost.

I also will note that it's WELL worth the money if you start messing with the exhaust at all to just go to ih8mud and buy a rear oxygen sensor simulator from lilevo. They are very cheap, in fact probably ¼ the price of a new sensor. You keep the sensor in place so you can pass inspections.

 

[LexusAllTerrain]

Any research you can point me to? I had a complete system bent up and installed last week in including new O2 sensors. I went to one cat, had it clocked, and ran the pipes over the frame. I got a CE light the next day, but the guy checked and thinks it's just a bad sensor which he offered to replace. I initially went in for just a muffler knowing that would be a bandaid and decided to replace the whole thing on the spot. I showed him pictures of LandCruiserPhil's setup for routing, but maybe I should have done more research on the components before pulling the trigger...

Keeping an eye on this one, as I get my engine light ON once a year, maybe a sensor is going out ! I add Lucas Fuel Treatment and is good for another year!

 

[ab1985]

go to ih8mud and buy a rear oxygen sensor simulator from lilevo. They are very cheap, in fact probably ¼ the price of a new sensor. You keep the sensor in place so you can pass inspections.

Good info - thanks!

 

[NM-Frontier]

I tried to find the thread on mud I found that mentions how the placement of the o2 sensors can effect you CEL but no joy. I know I read that on there! Good luck getting it sorted, seems like each truck is different, exhaust set ups and age of o2 sensors seem to effect some trucks more then others. On an interesting note, my CEL never came on once the cats broke down and were rattling around, every one says it should have so I got to look in to that one.:sombrero:

 

[NM-Frontier]

LCP Rock Rails

Rocker panel protection is always a good idea, but most offerings for the FZJ80 are big heavy rock sliders with heavy duty cat protection. All that is great but it comes a significant weight penalty. So what if you don't need full blown sliders? What if you just want the added protection and peace of mind for those close calls, but your driving style or the type of trails you drive don't require sliders built for rock crawling? This was my issue, I got the exhaust tucked so no need for cat protection, and lord knows I don't need any extra weight added to the Cruiser.
A few months ago, I found my answer in a thread on Mud. LandCruiserPhill (same handle here on ExPo also), had posted some pics of some light wight rocker guards he was working on that bolted to the pinch weld of the sills. Well the time finally came and a production run was made, what you see here is the final product, light weight but still plenty strong if you need them. These seem perfect for the average overland built 80 or for a precise pilot. More info can be had here:LCP Rock Rails/

The rails come primed so final paint is up to you. I went with the hammered finish, in an attempt to match the textured powder on the rear bumper it did match but the finish is sweet and seems tough.

A close up of the finish.

Painted and ready for install.

Straight forward design with excellent construction.

All you need to do is line up and drill 5 holes on each side.

A nice tight fit!

All in all I am stoked on these, very painless to install and they seem up to the task for any of the trails I usually take, plus the price and more importantly the weight are spot on.:sombrero:

 

[Drover]

Those are nice, I was looking at those myself. But my wife uses the truck a lot , and having a larger slider she can use as a step would be more useful for my setup.

Nice concept though, nice and clean looking

 

[concretejungle]

I spent a lot of time monkeying around with my exhaust. In the end, I pretty much decided that to keep the oxygen sensors happy i needed to either, go OEM cats, buy expensive aftermarket cats, or use an oxygen sensor simulator. I tried an expensive aftermarket cat that didn't work. I tried new sensors, that didn't work.

EDIT: i'm not trying to push the simulator. I have posted in a few threads about it. I just found that it's the easiest and cheapest way to keep the truck running well and CEL free when you want to mess with the exhaust and make it breath better. So no affiliation, just a happy customer.

 

[NM-Frontier]

DroverRover,

Yea not much of a step on these!

 

[NM-Frontier]

concretejungle,

The guy I got the exhaust from actually talked me out of the more expensive Magnaflow, and we went with the FloPro. He claimed like with most things aftermarket that they are all the same. I don't have any facts to back up his claim but so far it seems to be working great, well any thing was better then my old broke down cats!:sombrero:

 

[concretejungle]

Just as an FYI, i went with a custom 2.5 inch exhaust, one high flow spun magna flow cat and a dynomax muffler. Sounds great, but i was getting a CEL. No matter what i did. the simulator fixed that.

I really like how it sounds and how it performs. with the supercharger it really is noticeable.

as a data point, i have a good friend who has a 3 inch custom exhaust and i personally think it's too loud. I don't notice any performance gain with his over mine.