Project Thread Vortech on a tired 1UZ-FE

[Thermactor]

hey Therm,

Do you have the second version of the FISH bracket? The 1st one I used smacked the A/C lines until the second version was made. Now I have 2" clearance above those lines. The frame rail shouldn't be any different between our different years.

I have the original, first version of the Fish. Maybe Lex will exchange it for the new one - I sent him a PM.
Have you got any pictures of the clearance in your setup?

It's kind of funny, I have the return oil line plumbed into the oil pan and everything. Now the return hose just snakes right in front of the battery, kind of lonely! But your post gives me hope. Now that I have my car running really nicely with the new timing belt and basic tuneup parts, it's begging for a last hurrah.

 

[spf_lexus]

I ran mine with the ac lines pulled away with zip ties but the clearance was just way too close. With the newer bracket, you should have at least 2" off the battery floor. It fits the 91 so well it makes a 1/4" "dent" on the underside foam/insulation of the hood.


I dont have any pics off hand, but when i'm home for spring break (next weekend) I'll snap a few shots for reference. I'm hoping to finally quit messing around with tuners this summer and have it wired by david, myself and smithers. Just curious but did you get your 1st gen bracket from david or another forum member?

 

[Thermactor]

Hey Shawn that sounds great. I don't mind a dent under the hood, but I have a huge problem with the lack of clearance down below

I'm looking forward to the pictures! Spring break is a great time to work on cars.
And to answer your question, I bought the bracket as part of the original group buy from David directly.

 

[spf_lexus]

The "dent" isn't so much a metal-metal thing. Just a way of showing that the bracket was raised to the point where adding more height would contact the actual hood (not the foam).


Glad to see the LS400 is getting boosted lately. Can you post some pics of your vortech w/ all the oil lines installed? I almost went with a V1 and by chance got a deal on the procharger but was curious to the oil routings.


You'll have one sweet sleeper when your done. A boosted LS400 is a tough fight for the average joe racing around town. Also, your freeway MPG will increase a couple points once it's boosted. People dog the centi blower for it's lag but i prefer it. Once your in boost w/ the pedal 100% it wont ever get out of boost, just pulls like a train until you let off.


I was curious about the bracket because I traded one to forum member "Nemesis" and he sold it again and was curious if it made a circle from the US to AU.. back to the US again.

 

[Thermactor]

I'll have to ask a moderator to change the name of this thread to just "Vortech on a tired 1UZ-FE" since it's become my buildup thread

If the bracket goes up too high I can trim a couple mm off the offending top portion to make it fit better. But that's no big deal. What did you pay for your Procharger? My Vortech cost $775 shipped from someone on eBay.

I'm thrilled to hear that highway MPG will go up with the blower! I was worried that it would go down a lot. I'll post pictures of the Vortech with the oil lines installed when I get the new bracket and bolt everything up, unless you want a picture of the oil line that I installed that goes up by the battery? Or if you want a picture of the blower itself? Right now the blower and the oil line are separated by a garage door

You should make a YouTube page for your LS400 when you get back! Even a video showing around the car would be awesome. I'd subscribe to it. I'm already subscribed to about a half dozen other 1UZ-FE maniacs

 

[1uzvl]

How/Where have you put your return oil line in??Got any pics???

 

[Thermactor]

How/Where have you put your return oil line in??Got any pics???

I will have to take pictures. My return line is drilled and tapped into the upper oil pan just below the crank pulley. I used a 1/2" NPT tap, have a 90 degree tee with two 1/2" NPT outlets - one goes to an oil temperature sender, the other goes to the oil return hose, which is a premade SAE100R2 hydraulic hose. That hose snakes up next to the front stabilizer bar and between the A/C lines, up to the battery tray. I'll have to chop the excess off and put it on the barbed end of the oil return from the supercharger.

 

[1uzvl]

Did you just pop off the steel pan and let the shavings drop out???

Theres enough meat in the ally section to tap?

I was thinking of putting a return in the steel pan as thats so easy to remove but arnt sure whether having the return line part full of oil(up to oil level) would be a problem,i cant see it been but you never know.

 

[Thermactor]

Did you just pop off the steel pan and let the shavings drop out???

Theres enough meat in the ally section to tap?

I was thinking of putting a return in the steel pan as thats so easy to remove but arnt sure whether having the return line part full of oil(up to oil level) would be a problem,i cant see it been but you never know.

I was a wild man and took a chance. I drilled it in place, used q-tips soaked in paraffin wax to gather all the shavings I could, added 2 quarts of extra oil, ran the motor for a couple of minutes, then changed the oil and filter. I wouldn't recommend this procedure to others. The car is still OK but I'm sure a used oil analysis would scream bloody murder

 

[cribbj]

I'll have to ask a moderator to change the name of this thread to just "Vortech on a tired 1UZ-FE" since it's become my buildup thread

Done. Nice project Thermactor. Good luck!

 

[Thermactor]

I just went to the local Pick-N-Pull junkyard and got two fans out of an '02-04 Taurus for $21.30. They will fit nicely on my radiator. I'll have to make a shroud for it - I'm going to head over to the local Lowe's to find an acrylic sheet. I also have a relay and temperature switch from another kit I bought a long time ago. Hope it still works.
While I'm at it, I'll have to pull off the PS pump and replace its seals, and then pull off the alternator and replace the brush. Nice little project.

 

[Thermactor]

P/S pump rebuild and alternator brush replacement jobs done, Ford fan placed on radiator, relay ready to wire in. Here comes the question:
There is an aux fan in front of the A/C condenser that comes on at two different points:
1) With the A/C on, and the temperature is above 185 degrees (low power)
2) With the A/C off, and the temperature is above 194 degrees. (high power)

Should I wire the fan relay into the high power input? If I want it to run cooler than that (track day, etc) I can just remove the connector at the radiator for the ECT switch, because it simply turns on the fan any time the key is in the ACC/ON position. It seems elegant and simple enough.

 

[spf_lexus]

I suppose you could wire the fans into both, but run a switch so you can pick your temp levels. Nice idea... been rocking just an ignition tap for mine for the last year .

 

[kc95sc400]

I used the stock control for quite awhile w/o any problems. I started running a little hot recently and switched over to a simple Hayden controller, like $20 at Advanced Auto.

Turned out that my problem was the wiring to the fan and not the controller though. I used a relay hooked to the stock wiring for the hydro pump solenoid (relay coil) and had the fans themselves on straight battery power with a fuse (relay switch).

Either way works well.

KC

 

[Thermactor]

Thanks for the posts spf and KC. I'm glad I don't have to fuss around with a potentially unreliable 3rd party temp sensor setup. Maybe I can find a way to fool the stock fan controller into thinking that the A/C clutch (and the A/C line pressure) are always on, so that when the temperature hits 185 degrees it automatically turns on, but that's sometime in the future.

Right now the car is up on jack stands and will be for maybe a week. I'm changing the transmission, or trying to. I'm sick of the gear whine in 1st and 2nd, and I have a replacement lying around that I ought to install before I move far away, otherwise the money I spent on it is wasted.
So far, the rusty cat converter exhaust bolts have been battling me every step of the way. I got one cat off with a propane torch and an electric Harbor Freight 240lb-ft impact gun, now I have to get the other cat off, and then the party can begin. Don't you all just love rust and brittle plastic? While I'm down there, I'm going to clean up the flanges really well and put in new gaskets, a new rear main seal, and a new EGR tube. I'll likely block off the EGR at the manifold with a solid gasket, but will need it easily switched back for smog testing, so I'll keep the functional EGR apparatus on the car.

 

[spf_lexus]

Therm, you can save some cash and satisfy the smog guy at the same time. Just install the EGR tube with the blockoff plates in between for a stealth install (tube mostly for show). I passed 2 different smog centers w/o it and my levels were slightly higher than stock, but well within the emission limits and this was california.


As for the cat bolts, soak all bolts/nuts with an entire can of wd-40 (or equivelent) and let them soak overnight. By morning they should come off w/o any ER trips.

 

[Thermactor]

Thanks spf! I got the other cat off today, drained the fluid, and removed one of the hard lines on the trans. I used a propane torch to get the nuts red hot and then cranked down with a torque wrench. Done! I didn't have time for much else.
Is the side of the intake manifold (opposite the throttle body, where the valve mounts up) the only area where EGR gasses enter the motor, or is there another spot where EGR gets in as well?

 

[spf_lexus]

No prob. always glad to help out a fellow LS fan . There are 3 plates. 1 for the EVAP purge valve, 1 for the very back of the upper manifold and 1 for the passenger side header. I suppose only the rear manifold plate could be used but since you have 2 plates and a potentially leaky EGR pipe, installing both exhaust plates will reduce the risk of exhaust leaks if the pipe ever breaks. The EVAP plate can also be sandwiched in between with all the vacuum lines installed just for show also. Or you could yank it all off and save it, and then put it all back on for smog.

Im to the point on my other LS where it's a lost cause trying to trick the smog shop (no cats, no evap, egr, + blower). I am expecting to fork over $200 to get it done "quietly" thu a friend hehe.

 

[Thermactor]

Red alarm!
I just pulled the pan off of the junkyard transmission to get the filter changed. Guess what? WATER CAME OUT. The remaining transmission fluid has the consistency of chocolate milk.
I'd say about 10-14 oz of water came out of there. The exposed parts were likely mainly in the valve body. I can't see any rust in the transmission and after cleaning up, everything looks normal. But now I'm worried - is the trans screwed?
I bought the transmission over a year ago and it had a six month warranty. If I call and complain I'm 100% guaranteed to be told off. This sucks.

 

[spf_lexus]

If the trans is shifting into all gears I would think it's still fine. Change the filter and use fresh dex III and cross your fingers. Is it water or coolant? If it was coolant contamination it will turn white and will smell very foul. Oil will float on top of the water so there's a chance that the trans oil pickup was circulating the oil and not the underlying water that will settle at the bottom of the pan.

The a341e is a pretty durable unit. They cost $150 from junkyards for a reason.