xtremewlr
Member
Front and rear driveshafts are both custom made to fit the new length. There are no other driveshafts you can swap in unfortunately.
(Another) FJ T-case swap question
- Thread starter aemravan
- Start date
Front and rear driveshafts are both custom made to fit the new length. There are no other driveshafts you can swap in unfortunately.
xtremewlr
Member
AWD is nice but with a manual shifted tcase, you still have 4HI, which is essentially like AWD. You just can't leave it engaged in dry conditions like AWD, it can cause the transfer case to bind up.
Yep exactly. Which is why I'm wondering about the GX470 t-case since it has a manual shifter I think for 4hi/4lo not 2wd/4wd hi-lo like the FJC t-case. Might be a good option for those that want a manual shifter but keep AWD.
xtremewlr
Member
Little update to my tcase swap for anyone thinking about doing this.
I have 46k miles on the swap now and have only had 3 issues.
First was breaking the welds on my shifter and having to re-weld it. Not a big deal and my fault for not making it beefier.
Second was I had to replace the input shaft seal on the transfer case as it started leaking. This was on a used tcase with over 130k miles on it when I installed it, plus the additional 40k-odd miles I put on it before replacing the seal. Not caused by overpressure or some other bullshit that has been reported before. No leaks since, pretty straight forward repair. Drop the tcase, pry the old seal out and install the new one and then reinstall the tcase.
Last was the disintegrated OEM plastic shifter bushing. Common problem on these tcases and other Toyota manual shifters, most notably the 1st gen Tacomas. Marlin Crawler sells new Delrin (or something similar) bushings that drop right into the shifter housing. You need their BLUE bushing for the FJ tcase. Replaced that when I replaced the input shaft seal. Link to the seats -> Heavy Duty Seats | Marlin Crawler, Inc.
So far, it's a 100% reliable swap. I can literally go months without worrying wether the tcase will go into 4WD when the time comes. It's a non-issue. Stock front axle is fine and so is the tcase.
Do the swap, you won't regret it.
I have 46k miles on the swap now and have only had 3 issues.
First was breaking the welds on my shifter and having to re-weld it. Not a big deal and my fault for not making it beefier.
Second was I had to replace the input shaft seal on the transfer case as it started leaking. This was on a used tcase with over 130k miles on it when I installed it, plus the additional 40k-odd miles I put on it before replacing the seal. Not caused by overpressure or some other bullshit that has been reported before. No leaks since, pretty straight forward repair. Drop the tcase, pry the old seal out and install the new one and then reinstall the tcase.
Last was the disintegrated OEM plastic shifter bushing. Common problem on these tcases and other Toyota manual shifters, most notably the 1st gen Tacomas. Marlin Crawler sells new Delrin (or something similar) bushings that drop right into the shifter housing. You need their BLUE bushing for the FJ tcase. Replaced that when I replaced the input shaft seal. Link to the seats -> Heavy Duty Seats | Marlin Crawler, Inc.
So far, it's a 100% reliable swap. I can literally go months without worrying wether the tcase will go into 4WD when the time comes. It's a non-issue. Stock front axle is fine and so is the tcase.
Do the swap, you won't regret it.
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4RunnerAquasport
Senior Member
Biggest mistake I made was getting the bushing too hot when I welded the shifter, so I had to replace it. There has to be a better way than I did it. Never even occurred to my dumb ass that the bushing was vulnerable.
Didn't replace my input seal either, so I'll keep an eye on it.
One thought I have about my +3.5 Axles:
With the assembly free spinning in 2wd, I get a varying vibration/harmonic that cycles through the front end at 70 to 80 miles per hour. It doesn't affect handling, it's more of a hum most of the time. I obviously didnt build this to be a hwy cream puff, so it doesnt concern me a whole lot. I cruise under 70 most of the time anyway. But just thought I'd mention it.
I'm not sure if it's more pronounced because of the LT Axles or maybe I have an issue in there. I would love to retro some manual hubs in there, to see if it goes away. Its not high on the priority list, or if it's even possible on a budget like most of us are on.
If your concerned about full time awd in rain or snow, I've shifted mine into 4 hi quite easily at 30 to 45 mph. Keeping the rpms constant, it drops right in and out of 4 hi.
Very happy w this swap off road. Reliable, convenient, and a locked rear axle in 2wd is a blast when you have the room to throw the back end around.
xtremewlr
Member
For welding the shifter, I tacked it in place and then removed it from the housing to final weld it. That will protect the plastic seat that's in there.
Are you sure the vibration/harmonic isn't the tires? I get that at like 45mph since I swapped to the R/T Trails. Mainly depends on the road surface too.
Technically, you aren't supposed to shift into 4HI above 25mph, but if it works at faster speeds, then it works. I've never actually tried that myself as I haven't had a need.
4RunnerAquasport
Senior Member
The 5th gen crowd mentions below 55mph. Mine is out of a 2012 4Runner. No idea how accurate this article is, but I do keep it below 50mph. Only time I need it on pavement is extreme down pours/ponding at hwy speeds.
5th Gen 4Runner Off-Road Features, 4Runner Off-Road Settings Guide
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Hatfield405
New member
Anyone have a top down view of their tunnel cut and where the FJ stick comes through the tunnel? Looks like it's almost dead nuts under the shifter. Is that right? Anyone thought about moving the trans shifter to the left and having the FJ stick come out where the trans shifter used to be? Or just shimming the trans shifter higher off the tunnel instead of a body lift?
4RunnerAquasport
Senior Member
Good Morning, hopefully this helps.
Attachments
xtremewlr
Member
See 4RunnerAquasport's pic above. That is the bare minimum you need to cut out to have the shifter be functional and make it easy to cover up with a boot.
You can't move the trans shifter left easily and probably not worth the hassle of trying. when it's so simple and easy todo as pictured above.
Along with moving the shifter, you would have to make a custom console as nothing from the OEM console would then work.
Shimming the shifter also negates keeping things looking stock with the console. The body lift isn't a requirement to do the swap but it does make it a little easier.
Hatfield405
New member
4runnerAquasport and xtremewlr, Thanks for the photo and info. Having that OE finished look that you guys ended up with is key. But a trim ring or bezel could solve that. So forgetting the console side of it. Would you do it differently? Is there room to move the shifter over or space it up or both? I don't love the idea of such a large hole.
xtremewlr
Member
Cover the hole with a bolt on plate that you fabricate and use a shifter boot. Easy.
There really isn't room to move the shifter over, it's still going to cover the tcase shifter. You have to cut a hole no matter what. 4runnerAquasport has the smallest hole required to get the job done and be able to access the top of the tcase where the shifter goes.
+1 on the above^
moving the shifter gains nothing, if anything, it will get you further from the "oem" look since your console wont fit/sit right if it moves.
There is space under the shifter to allow for actuating of the t-case shifter, but it needs to be modified. You'll need to cut the the FJ T-case shifter down just about to the boot (depending on body lift) and shift it laterally before you re-do the vertical run to land where you need it. It comes out pretty nicely in the original cigarette lighter hole and with a little attention/work could be closed up pretty nicely with a boot. I was running a twin-stick (which I advise against) and was able to make them work using some flat bar to shift things over, the factory J-pattern would be my preference if I did it again.
The amount of clearance you need to cut for the shifter in the tunnel is really not that much. Like mentioned, 4RunnerAquasport probably has the most minimalistic cut I've seen. I went too heavy on mine and lost one of the 4 mounting holes for the original shifter (but to be fair.. I rushed through it and had the case swapped in in less than a day, if you take your time you could make it much cleaner).
moving the shifter gains nothing, if anything, it will get you further from the "oem" look since your console wont fit/sit right if it moves.
There is space under the shifter to allow for actuating of the t-case shifter, but it needs to be modified. You'll need to cut the the FJ T-case shifter down just about to the boot (depending on body lift) and shift it laterally before you re-do the vertical run to land where you need it. It comes out pretty nicely in the original cigarette lighter hole and with a little attention/work could be closed up pretty nicely with a boot. I was running a twin-stick (which I advise against) and was able to make them work using some flat bar to shift things over, the factory J-pattern would be my preference if I did it again.
The amount of clearance you need to cut for the shifter in the tunnel is really not that much. Like mentioned, 4RunnerAquasport probably has the most minimalistic cut I've seen. I went too heavy on mine and lost one of the 4 mounting holes for the original shifter (but to be fair.. I rushed through it and had the case swapped in in less than a day, if you take your time you could make it much cleaner).
4thGenCanuck
New member
Following. Thinking about doing this as well
Seeing that there are more people starting to show interest in possibly doing the FJ transfer case swap, I'm providing more information here to try and help out. There is some mis-information out there and there is some good information out there and all of it seems to be spread around on various forums or web sites.
These tips should apply to both V6 and V8 4Runners but I cannot verify the V6 stuff since I have never worked on one. This is not a how-to, this is just pics and tips from my swap experience and what I did. All work was done by me, at home in my garage. It's not a super difficult swap.
First off, the only viable transfer case from an FJ Cruiser for the swap is the manually shift tcase from the automatic transmission FJCs.
The AWD FJ tcase from the 6 speed manual trucks can't be used. It physically will not bolt up to anything other than that 6 speed manual transmission. If you want to swap that transmission and tcase into your 4runner, you are on your own.
This is the FJ tcase in my truck. It's from a 2011 FJC that had around 130k miles on it. Still had the OEM gear oil and looked practically brand new. I paid $269 for it from a local used part seller. LKQ is a good place to shop for stuff like this if you don't have a local self-service wrecking yard. Prices seem to range between $225 to $350 depending on mileage and condition. Make sure you get one that includes the shifter so you know the tcase hasn't been opened up or shit gotten into it.
The next big thing and a major source of confusion and misinformation from various sources, is the front axle.
For the AWD V8 4Runners, you do not need to touch anything! I will say this again... YOU DO NOT NEED TO SWAP TO AN ADD FRONT DIFFERENTIAL.
V6 trucks, you can either leave the ADD and figure out the wiring to engage/disengage the ADD or eliminate the ADD all together by swapping in a non-ADD axle and axle tube to your existing ADD differential. There are tons or write-ups out there that cover doing this. Here's a good one over on Tacoma World.
How to: Deleting ADD system | Tacoma World
There is one company that has spread this rumor/misinformation regarding the V8 4Runners, because all they want to do is take more money from you and then never deliver the parts that you paid for. Avoid RST, that's all I'm going to say.
The AWD front differential is the strongest IFS front diff setup you can have from Toyota. Period. The FJ tcase already has an internal oil pump that is driven off the chain in both 2wd and 4wd. Neither frothing nor pressure build up will happen when driving in 2wd with the front driveshaft turning. You aren't going to destroy the transfer case.
This shows you the inner workings of the FJ tcase, including the oil pump that you can see, is driven off the chain.
From my experience, having a body lift makes things a little easier when doing the swap. It's not a requirement, it just helps give you more room to work and bonus of making more room for bigger tires. I went with a 1" body lift in preparation for the swap. Lots of body lift information out there, so I'm not going to get into that here. Personally, I don't recommend anything over a 1" body lift. Mine was from Toytec.
Another strong recommendation but not a requirement is a new trans mount for the swap that I posted previously. These 4th gen 4Runners are getting old and have higher mileage so a new mount is a good idea and easy to do while you're in there since you need to remove the old one anyhow. This is the one for the V8. Since I've never worked on a V6, I don't know if they are the same or not but I assume they are since the FJC was V6 only.
The original mount on the left from my 4Runner with around 290k on it at the time.
Toyota part number for the replacement mount.
Wiring: There is no wiring that is *required* to be done for this swap to work. Only wiring that you *might* want to do is for the 4WD and 4LO dash lights to work.
For my swap, with the V8, there is no 4WD light in the dash. There is the CDL (Center Diff Lock) light however and I used that as the 4WD indicator. The 4LO light remains the same.
Different years may be slightly different, so check the wiring diagrams and locations for your specific year first. For my 2003, the 4WD computer, which is where you need to pull the wires from, is under the glove box on the passenger side. NOTE: you do NOT need to remove the glove box like I had done here. The lower panel can be unbolted and removed without removing the glove box.
That little grey box on the right is the 4WD computer. The wires needed are in the left hand plug when you have the plugs facing you to unplug. Not sure if the wire colors are consistent across years for the 4th gens or not but for my 2003, it was the green w/ red stripe wire for the CDL light and the brown w/ white stripe for the 4LO light.
Make a new harness for the swap and connect them to the shift solenoids on the FJ tcase to complete the circuits and turn on the dash lights. I strongly suggest extending the wires from the shift solenoids BEFORE installing the tcase, to make them easier to access when the tcase is under the truck.
Another thing that you will need is some way to lift/lower both transfer cases from under the truck. I already had a good floor jack, so I made a cradle for the tcases that worked on both the FJ case and the 4Runner AWD case.
First 2 pics are the FJ case on the cradle.
Here is the AWD case on the cradle.
Drive shafts: Your stock driveshafts will have to be either modified or replaced for this swap. I have new driveshafts.
- Front driveshaft gets shortened by about 1 1/4".
- Rear gets lengthened by about 1 1/4" as well.
Your measurements might be different, those were what mine ended up at. Find a good driveshaft shop for this work and they will tell you exactly what they need for measurements.
My old driveshafts with the original u-joints and over 290k miles on them.
Brand new driveshafts.
Doing the actual swap: With the driveshafts out, swapping the transfer cases is very straight forward. Unbolt and lower the old one, raise and bolt up the new one. Simple. But then you need to cut a hole in the transmission tunnel to allow the new manual shifter access to the cab.
Here is the hole that I cut for this. Note that the trans tunnel is dual layer. I used a jigsaw for the majority of the cutting. Just have a shop vac handy to vacuum up all the steel shavings. You can probably get away with a lot less than this, especially on the side where the shifter is, but it does allow you access to the top of the transfer case for removing and installing the shifter. You don't want the shifter installed when removing or installing the FJ case as it makes things much more difficult.
And the tcase in place to figure out how to re-route the shifter. It needs to clear the bottom of the transmission shifter and come up through the center console where the ashtray/cig-lighter was.
My modified shifter. I stuck with the single stick but you can also go with a twin stick if you want. Ether one will need to be cut and modified to fit. This requires welding so you need to do that yourself or find a welder to work with.
Just make sure the shifter clears everything and there is room to shift from 2HI to 4HI and 4LO. You can then fabricate up a cover for the hole you cut in the trans tunnel. I used some thin, around 22 ga, zinc coated sheet steel from Home Depot and cut it with tin snips and then shaped it as best I could to fit the trans tunnel. It's sealed to the tunnel with black RTV to prevent water from getting inside. Note how small of a hole the shifter actually needs to move through the whole range of 2WD/4HI/4LO.
I also used half of the boot for a twin stick (I have a twin stick for future use if I decide to do so) to make a shifter boot and used self tapping screws to keep it in place and seal it to the tunnel. Maybe overkill but I'm OK with that.
One thing I originally forgot to mention about this swap and where the shifter handle comes up, which is realistically the ONLY place that it will work without major modifications to other stuff. You will have to permanently remove the tube for the rear AC vents that come out of the back of the console. It's directly in the way of where the shifter handle is and the range of movement it needs. I used duct tape to seal off the attachment point under the HVAC controls and gutted everything I could of the system from the console. Vents are still there but do nothing now.
Continued in the next post because the forum won't allow more than 20 images in one post. This forum software sucks balls and is severely outdated!
I Have a question on the wiring part. When I put on H4 the CDL light is on, but when I switch to neutral. The CDL and 4lo turns on, even if I switch to 4H, my 4lo and CDL light is still on my dash. I would assume that when switching between H4,N,4H, The CDL and 4lo would be off while on Neutral, and CDL will be the only light on while on 4H and 4lo would only be on while on 4H.
Thank you
Firstly, I think you mean H2, N, H4? When your t-case is set to Hi2, do you have any indicators on the dash for CDL or 4lo?
Either way, sounds like you have something messed up with where you're pulling the signals for each indicator. It's been a while... but if memory serves me well, there are a total or 3 position switches that are on the FJ t-case. When I set mine up (granted I was using a twin-stick mod, instead of J-pattern, but theory is still the same) I fed the 4Hi indicator switch to turn on the CDL light to tell me I am not in 4wd instead of 2wd. I did not use the neutral position switch, but then wired the 4Lo switch to the 4Lo indicator on the dash. I only used 2 wires coming off the t-case to splice into the factory harness for these dash indicators. I grounded both switches right to the t-case housing and everything worked as needed.
The only reasonable way for this to indicate, since it's not a direct factory swap, is to have No indicators when in 2Hi, No indicators when going to Neutral, CDL indicator when locked into 4Hi, and then 4Lo indicator on when you j-over to 4lo. I'm pretty certain each indicator switch is just grounded when pushed in, but a multimeter test should be a quick verification.
also dropping link to my build for reference here, the FJ t-case swap should start on page15 , post #222 (aemravan's build thread - project TacoRunner)
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locked up
Member
That link doesn't work anymore .... is the the right part?:
Heavy Duty Shifter Seat, Forward Shift '-' Marlin Crawler Off'-'Road
I don't see anything specific to the FJ on there so not sure if that is it.
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xtremewlr
Member
Yeah, that's the right one. Marlin has changed their web site since I posted the original link.
As indicated in the description on that page: "It also fits top shifting chain drive transfer case shift bases." That's exactly what the FJ tcase is.
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