LS Swapping a Tacoma - Chasing 100mph

Purple was something I considered as I do love purple. I just didn't find one I had to have when I was looking. Mustard and ketchup wouldn't been funny.

Green and red is too Christmas for me. Only time I considered red was going with silver for the block and then wrinkle red heads and valves covers to imitate a Ferrari motor, but the truck LS motors have a coil pack that sits on the valve cover and would've spoiled the look too much.

Thanks for bringing back that information. Shame what was here was lost.

 

I recently painted the block on my truck and i used these to get it cleaned up. Where these wouldnt fit, i went back with a dremel with a small stainless steel wire wheel to get the hard to reach areas. Definitely made cleaning things up super easy, only took me 2-3 hours and my block was kinda crusty.

 

I have the same kit, very useful. Although I am probably due for some replacements as it is what I used to refresh my frame a while back. It'll probably take me a long time to tape off/plug the things that I don't want paint in.

 

Yep, the hard work/time consuming stuff is in all of the prep. After that, things go quick! Looking forward to following along this build

 

Ok small update. Got the heads back from the machine shop. Realized the head gaskets aren't sold in pairs and the headbolts I bought were for a SBC... So tomorrow I should get the right stuff in and be able to really get this thing together. Yesterday I got the front cover and seal in and threw on the old oil pan even though it won't work, just to cover up the internals for paint and FOD.



I will say I am pleased with the work Moffitt and bratton did on the heads. Valve job, mill the face and set spring pressures and were super cool knowing I am a newbie to this. Heads look almost new and the price was reasonable. They even squeezed me in even though they have a several months long back log. Recommend if you are in the treasure valley!

 

Went together quick. Heads on with ARP hardware. Valley cover in with new knock sensors. Rockers in and valve covers. Intake isnt bolted on just yet but it looks like an engine again! Next step is prep for paint.

 

Oh boy… this is gonna be a fun truck.

 

I will say, I need to work backwards on this. When I went to install the rockers the crank was very reluctant to turn. I used a longer breaker bar and it turned, but something isn't right. Being that the rockers weren't installed, it eliminates the valvetrain as nothing would connect the crank to the cam or lifters. So my guess is either I didn't see that I screwed up the timing chain or that when I lubed the oil pump I did not reassemble it correctly. Better to pull it apart now than when it's in the truck! To be continued....

 

And it was the oil pump, had the big gear backwards and didn't pay attention that it had a small beveled edge on it, obviously there is a reason!

 

Figured I would get through the headache that is painting. Did minimal prep, masked the important bits and spread on the primer. Yes it isn't a perfect job, after all it's going in a ratty old Toyota. And realistically I'll be the only one looking at it up close.


And then paint.

 

With the engine getting pretty close to done, I started going down the path for hooking this to my transmission which meant contacting Advance Adapters and seeing what I need to hook this thing up.


Unfortunately, the news wasn't good. While yes you can hook up an R150F to an LS l, there's a problem. One is, Toyota changes the input shaft length by 30mm according to what I've found online. The Tacoma and 4runner R150F shaft is too long. Not to mention they don't recommend the setup as it tends to eat through clutch discs. They suggested that I go and find an older model R150F and be done with it. So that's not great.

Another option would be to swap in an older R150F input shaft, which no one knows if it's a direct swap and requires a near total tear down of the transmission. So the cost goes up because why would I do that and not replace the bearings while I'm in there that far on a transmission with 215k on it. Or once mines apart I could have a machine shop turn down my current one to the right size.

Or if I can find a way to have the input shaft turned down while in the transmission, I've seen a crude way of doing it, but not sure I have the tools to do it myself. So now I gotta figure out what to do...

 

Slapped on a few bits to get them off the floor and moved the engine to the corner of the garage. I need to clean up my work space and keep learning about the next piece of the project, one I really didn't expect, and that will be a transmission rebuild.

 

https://youtube.com/watch?v=0tj5Q4IEgFo&feature=share8
R/T 0.024
E/T 15.796
Mph 85.2

 

Speed didn't change but almost a second faster with smaller tires. Knew it would be a lot. But that's more than I thought.

 

I mean yes and no. A lot of that was how aggressive I drove it. Another more humane run ran 16.080 at 84.75mph and I actually did shift to 4th on that pass ha. And I think gearing is my biggest problem.

 

You could totally do it without removing the shaft. Just need something to turn the shaft from the other end, an angle grinder, and a steady hand.

 

Yeah in the link they used a brake lathe. I would need to find someone willing to try that shit, it's not something I have the tools for, nor the skill/knowledge for grinding it right with the proper chamfer on it. You are right, it is possible, bit I don't see I direct path forward. At least with a rebuild, I tear it apart, replace the bearings and synchros and have the shaft machined locally. That is at least a clear path. Haven't committed to anything yet at least.

 

Looks like more deleted posts... hmmmm.

Currently at a stand still until I hear back from Marlin Crawler on input shafts. Oddly they didn't sell a rebuild kit for the Tacoma R150F but do offer in-house rebuilds of them. They have an upgrade kit for the main bearing plate I'll need to scoop up and then I'll have to source a rebuild kit elsewhere. Nay end up dropping the trans out this weekend with the holiday but it's a bit of a pill to swallow knowing that it will be a domino effect with the truck out of commission for a while once I start.

 

I feel like a spacer plate on the trans x bellhousing side would be very easy to make.

also the clutch pivot is on the "wrong" side of that bellhousing