1988 samurai LWB build

[kris97ranger]

EDIT: this thread started as just my solution to some over heating problems but after jim oaks asked for more detail i gave it and have decided to turn it into a build thread so while your reading its all about the over heating then kinda trails off into old storys and pics. this thing has been in my family for over 20 years so there a few storys...


alright so i have an 88 lwb sammi with an 86 (i think) toyota 22re motor in it ive been having problems with it over heating and i know why for the most part. my rad is a solid brick of mud

but im getting tired of pulling it after every trail ride to clean it out again and not to mention it usuaslly cuts my day short.

so my plans are:
- fan shroud, the fan is on the front of the rad as a pusher because there is no room in the engine bay for it. so my reasoning is it'll actually get air to the whole rad not just whats under the fan and it'll block some mud comming through the grill

- i have a 3-4" gap in my wheelwell where alot of mud is comming through and again hitting the rad. so im blocking that off with some rubber matting

- louverd hood, so some heat can get out after i seal up the fenderwells

- header wrap, i figure it'll cut down on some of the heat source

and for the last thing im not sure on ive heard to pull the thermostat that way the coolant is always circualting which makes scense to me but is there any downsides to this? oh and yes i know chances are im still gonna be cleaning the rad out... but i just dont want to me doing it every time. the last 2 mud bogs i got 1 run in and started overheating waiting for my next run its a P.I.T.A oh i may as welll throw a pic of the truck in

thanks

 

[mwood1985]

relocate it to the back with an electric fan. thats how ive got my mud truck set up ill take a picture in a bit when i get home

 

[Andres629]

Yep, relocate to the back. Makes winter wheelin' more pleasurable in an enclosed vehicle, too, but you kind of want some fresh, cold air running though the rad.

 

[kris97ranger]

i cant put it in the back cause i still need that are for tools camping stuff and people.

well i went out and pulled the rad out. that was fun.... found a few surprises..
like the fact that there was NO thermostat gasket whatsover.. there are no belts left of the front of the motor. guess thats why it stopped charging the battries my alternator is frozen solid packed with mud and wont turn either.

it weighs about 50lbs due to the fact that it was a solid brick of dried clay. The eletric fan was frozen to it and all the mud. i ended up having to use a crow bar to pry the 2 apart then stood on top of my winch and pulled up with everything i had to get the rad outta the frame mounts (again coverd in 6" of frozen mud.)

heres some pics.

this is the fenderwell gap im talking about that i want to seal up

my electric fan that wont turn at all even not attached to anything. again frozen mud...

and the rad taking a bath to thaw out and loosen up some mud

once its all thawed out i gotta go through it straighten all my fins out clean the rest of the mud outta it then start building my shroud

ah yes other things on my to do list are
- rebuild the front axle again.. (did it in a rush the night b4 the last bog and never got a pinion seal in it ran anyways and took 4th in the 34"-38" class im on 33s)

- redo the lift jumping it has sagged the springs till there backwards arc

- find out why my temp gauge stopped working

 

[kris97ranger]

ah yes.. and of course because there was no thermostat gasket in it all the coolant i put in b4 winter has leaked out so some of the rad hoses are full of ice but all under the thermostat gasket is dry and the rad was empty so i dont think it'll have cause massive problems

 

[kris97ranger]

just called the rad shop because i was just washing it out and almost every single fin is bent and the whole things kinda in sad shape so if its a reasonable price ill get it redone or replaced if not i guess im gonna be bending alot of fins back into place... i think new rad is like 200 bucks and thats just for stock and because im laid off right now i may just go for replacing the fins. ideally id like to go to a nice aluminum rad and such but i think thatd be alot of $ to just end up like this by next year

 

[kris97ranger]

ok so while im waiting on a few things i decided to start on the fan shroud i started with a piece of cardboard to make a template and made it to fit my rad im going to use it as a mould and fiberglass trhe back of it to make the fan shroud
sheet of cardboard 15 3/4" by 21 3/4"

i bent the top on an angle to have it touch at the top and made a 90 lip at the bottom 1/2" big

here it is all done and the side view the angled part will be the top

 

[kris97ranger]

alright so i havnt been up to much latley went to the parts store to pickup a few things i orderd and as usual they got all the wrong parts so i had to re order them

ive still been working on getting the rad cleaned out and i was usuing a hose but there wasnt enough pressure and i get gatting the spray all over me and everything in the room. so i decided to make this thing it works awsome

.

its just a piece of old garden hose a little fual line cause the hose wasnt long enough, the top of a pop bottle as a shield and then the fitting out of the end of a air blower. i wanted to to be like the water pic the dentist uses and it is. theres a ton of pressure but because the tip is only about the diameter of a pencil lead it is easy to aim and is very accurate

 

[kris97ranger]

i think i may know where im loosing my coolant at least i hope its this and not a cracked block

 

[kris97ranger]

alright 3 days of washing and straightening fins and im finally done! gotta bring my spare alternator in to canadian tire to get it tested hopfully it still works because on sunday im going to look at this

its a 83 sj410 tin top ive always wanted one and had one when i was 13 and it was supposed to be my 1st truck but it got stolen while i was at school

 

[kris97ranger]

ok so ive got a few things done i got a gm 130 amp alternator to replace my mud packed one. finallly finished getting my rad cleaned out and i did end up picking up the sj i mentioned earlier. cool thing is the sj used to be used as a plow truck and it still has the hydralic pump to run the plow hooked up. it runs off an auxillary belt form the motor so ive been trying to think of a use for it and i think i got it im going to use to it run rear steering on the samurai when i do my toyota axle swap

 

[kris97ranger]

alright got tired of waiting for warm weather to do my fiberglassing so i took one of gwaii's tips and put a small electric heater in a cardbored box and came out with this

got it cleaned up and all the overhang cut off. just gotta cut the hole in it for the rad and mount it up

im debating on going out and installing my alternator and wiring it up, its one wire but i dont feel very motivated today haha

 

[kris97ranger]

alright so i got the fan shroud all finsished up and the hole cut. its mounted to the rad but i cannot install the rad until i get a belt. i think it threw the belt in the last mud bog i was in and its a pain to find a new one because a stock belt doesnt fit this motor because im runing the gm alternator and its on the opposite side of the motor that it is supposed to be so i get to return this belt and go get one that is 1" bigger... this is the 5th try and i keep missing by and inch over or under

so because i cant put the truck back together and actually have some room to work in the engine bay right now ive been going trough the wiring and cleaning it up redoing a few grounds that were about to fall off also found 1 or 2 vaccum leaks i also think i know why my temp gauge isnt working. im pretty sure the temp sensor in it went and died on me.

so while ive been puttering around with it i decided the stock headlights wern cutting it anymore. i couldnt see anything the parking lights on my f150 shine better and let me see more so i pulled the headlights out and replaced them with these

theyre two 6" 100w spot lights where the headlights were
and two 4" 55w floods for when im following someone on the trail id assume they would prefer these then the big lights shining in the rear view mirror ill get a daytime pic once my camera is charged

so now that thats all done once i get this belt in i have to go through the front end and re seal it up and get the pinion seal in it. then once thats done i gotta wait on some $ to redo the lift. it hass sagged so much the leafs are resting on my crossover from one knuckle to the other. and my front drive shaft wont go back in because it cant compress that much.

 

[Boggin]

thats a sweet truck there paulie

 

[kris97ranger]

thanks man but its just beggining thats how the truck has been set up for ten years id say. time for a big change my buddy just texted me and may be getting a deal on some yota axles so im hoping to pick those up once i get some $ then the axles from this one are going into the yellow sj up there. and this thing is getting some 5.13s and some 37s im pumped. hopfully tommorow i get my 1st ei cheque and because theyre 2 months behind its gonna be a big one so im ordering all new leaf springs.