2000 AC 4x4 2UZ 5spd re-build

Hi All,

First time poster, long time lurker. This forum has helped me immensely over the last few years, time to give back! This is going to be a long read. Not a lot of pics, I'm terrible at taking pictures. I'll post some more of the finished truck/components as I remember. This post has been written over the course of the build, its missing some bits yet.

Bit of a backstory: My 2001 Tundra was getting quite tired after 19+ years of Canadian weather and 415000kms. The bed was falling apart and that prompted a wooden flatbed conversion to get by:


The frame was "doped" by Toyota that ensured its demise in all the usual spots. That also exempted it from the frame recall. This truck is loyal though, never let me down.


Last year at the height of the pandemic I decided to give it a new lease on life. I found a 2000 on our local classifieds with a recent frame replacement and a clean stepside bed along with a door and hood. It did not run. After removing the professionally taped remote starter and emptying the water out of the tank it fired up. It had 460k on it so patching the body alone was not an option. It did come with a 2004 LSD diff in the bed along with low km front carriers. The PO was collecting parts but then gave up.

This is when scope creep started...creeping.

I took the bed off to inspect the underside and rear frame section. Toyota really skimped on weld quality here. There were bits of wire still sticking out. I proceeded to wire wheel the rear section and prime it with red oxide. Fixed some welds, removed the spare carrier as it was barely there and noticed the fuel tank had pinholes in it. That would explain the water. Time for a replacement, the entire top was like Swiss cheese under the coating.


I decided that the best way to attack the fame would be with the cab off. Took the cab off with none other than a Toyota forklift. Broke/disintegrated some mounts in the process but the cab was shot anyways. Time for a replacement. Found one buried under 15’ of snow up north. It had been to the bottom of a lake but was clean.


Since the engine and trans were high mileage and in the way of some frame components off they came as well. This is when I got another brainwave. Manual transmission. I had only ever seen one thread on Expedition Portal about a 1st Gen that was converted and there wasn’t any detailed info so I set about scouring the internet for info. Turns out the opposite is done in the 4runner world where they swap 1UZ’s in attached to their manuals.


I figured the 1st gen did come in m/t so pedals, masters etc. would have indents in the cab and I was right. Off to Kijiji (classifieds) and some Bordens later I end up with a R150F out of a 98 Tacoma. Manual trans, Manual t case.


Got a bellhousing off Ebay from Thailand that mates the 2UZ to the R150F. I’ll make a different thread with swap details for anyone interested. There are a few steps that I discovered as I went but this is the most economical approach while keeping almost every part OEM/easily available aftermarket.


By now the entire frame was wire wheeled and shot blasted where needed and primed with water immersion primer and painted with the same paint. Hopefully it holds up. Next up was the rear end. Took apart the leaf springs and they seemed upgraded to wider leafs. Wire wheeled, changed bushings, added an Icon AAL kit and reassembled with a refinished LSD diff. The diff was in great shape and only needed a wire wheel and paint. And bellcranks. They don’t like salt.

Moving to the front, went with OME 2885s and Bilstein 5100’s with KYB tops (Tacoma isolators with tundra tops as the OME is narrow) to keep it modest. PO had toytec somethings on them that were unrecognizable on the highest setting. I did get camburg UCA’s but the spherical bearings were shot. Time for a rebuild. Camburg does not sell individual parts easily so I popped one out and bought replacements from Summit. Went with the SS variant that had a slightly lower shock load rating. Wire wheel (there’s a theme here) paint and reassembly later its looking pretty. New snap rings as well from the local fastener store.


While doing all the suspension repairs the tie rods (inner+outer) and LBJs got replaced as well. The LCA’s and adjusters looked newish and OEM so I left those in place. Next were the front brake dust shields, busted oil seals and bearings.

Rebuilt the spare spindles with OEM bearings and seals and painted black. Pressed in the Camburg UBJ/SB adaptor too along with a new snap ring.

Now I have a rolling frame again. Front diff seems ok but didn’t have a drop kit and 1 bad cv. Made some 1” spacers from an old machine part and dropped it. New cv axle on pass side. The other side is OE. I blame the steep angle pre drop and ridiculous lift setting on the coilovers.

Brakes. What to do here? I heard about the Lexus 14WL caliper setup and was curious…along with the T100 master and booster. Rockauto took my money and sent me a box with LX460 calipers, rotors, pads, T100 1 1/16” master and double diaphragm booster. Got my machinist buddy to mill off 3.5mm off the ears and it bolts right up. And now I need new wheels. 16” don’t clear. More $$ later got cheap alloys from 4WP as the TRD tax is way too high on them snazzy trd pro wheels.

I was itching to try out my new engine stand from Crappy Tire and obviously none of the bolts fit and the adaptor is ½” too long. Quick meeting with the grinder and its happy. Used the bed bolts to hold motor. Took the valve covers off and sighed. It was dark inside. Pcv probably clogged…pitting on cam lobes and sludge everywhere. I guess 460km and Mr. Lube (or no lube) will do that to your engine.


Time for a different motor? Or swap in the one from my 01? That would ground the other truck for good…car-part and $500 later a clean 200km engine with perfect compression and clean insides. Did a full PM on the engine, Tbelt kit, WP, VCG, RMS, wrinkle red (+5hp) and SS hardware where possible.


Connected the engine to trans, dropped in frame and the trans mount is slightly off. No biggie, cut, weld done. Modified prop shafts to accommodate shorter trans. I stupidly threw away the Tacoma front shaft, I swear that would’ve fit within the spline engagement tolerance.

Now it’s time to drop the new/submerged cab on. Right after it got its underside blasted and painted by a truck sandblasting company. The lower sheet metal even has nuts spot welded in for the shift boot! The upper is a different panel so that had to be cut. Used Energy Tacoma mounts with fasteners from my actual work (injection molding PET) so it got 12.9 grade bolts with copious amounts of grease. Just switched the front and rear mounts around and it fits correctly. Rad support mounts are identical.


Since the fuel system was corroded, I deleted all the hard lines and ran gates 250 psi 5/16” hose (the Ethanol friendly kind) on the supply and return. I ran a good length of it through the frame to avoid heat and any exposure to the elements. I also covered them in a heat jacket for added measure. A new vent valve and 50 psi 5/16” hose for the Evap system straight to the canister in the engine bay. New fuel sock on the OEM pump and it’s happy.

Time to run the abs unit and brake lines! Oh joy! Surgically removed the ABS unit from the OG cab with the master attached to prevent bending and transferred it over to the new cab. Toyota changed the unit twice (or thrice??) I believe from AISIN to ATE. I have both versions to compare. Installed the M/T brake pedal and T100 booster. Connected the unit to the T100 master and it fits well with the original lines. Had to press the T bracket together so the holes would line up.

More brake lines later it’s bled and working. The LSBPV was crusty but did work. Wire wheel, arm hardware kit and its happy. Might toss in the wildwood PV collecting dust on my toolbox.

The clutch pedal was surprisingly easy. Tacoma setup bolts in, some differences in the spring but the pedal itself is the same part as a Tundra. Used leftover Nissan Maxima brake hoses (had a 4th gen) with banjos from a Suzuki motorcycle and a section of hard line to connect the master to slave. Smooth engagement.

Throttle: Pre 2002/3 have a throttle cable / accel pos sensor cable and mechanical pedal. The throttle body is electronic though. The ECU controls it based on pedal input but has a failsafe in the last ¼ motion where its mechanically connected. Post 03 have a smaller throttle body and electronic pedal. The 04 cab is electronic but has the indents/guide for the older style.

Dash/wiring harness: this was a mission. The 04 cab still had most of its dash and hvac still installed. I took it all out and decided to keep the dash as its black along with the HVAC. Again, Toyota made improvements as they produced these trucks and improved the HVAC design and made completely different Evaporators and blending assemblies. Even the fresh air door motor was ‘improved’ to use a smaller connector. Took it all apart and cleaned it and tested the submerged blower – works great. The blender motor was seized but a gentle tap and WD later its happy.

The wiring between every single year is different. Why IDK. The ECUs between 2000-2001.5 have the same number of plugs and will plug in but wont work without the correct main harness. Out came the 2000 harness and got cleaned up. Repaired all the remote starter butchery and removed the P/N and range switch and wired to the clutch switch for safety. Wired the R to reverse on the trans for lights and cluster indication (why not). Buttoned it all up and tested to see if it turned over and it did not. Fail. You have to wire the neutral switch to the start pin of the ecu. Now it turns over.

First start: turned it over a few times for oil circulation and then plugged in FP relay. It fired up! But died right after ☹. Tried a few more times, tested all the relevant fuses and relays and totally ignored the MAF just chilling on the airbox plugged in but not installed in the port. Unplug MAF and now she lives. Assemble airbox and vac lines, ps fluid and rad hoses etc and run it till its nice and warm. Sounds like a sewing machine!


Pressed the clutch, selected 1st and oh my this is like a diesel Hilux. It needs no throttle to get moving from a stop (on level ground). I was relieved that it actually moved!


More to come soon..

95% complete pics post paint and reassembly:
Rear:
Front:

Interior shot with gear levers

 

That's a helluva first post. Welcome! Get us some pics!

 

These 7 words really hit home.

I know all too well that feeling, when you first realize it happened. Sadly, it seems like it still manages to happen once or twice more after.

 

SO SICK!! I want a manual so bad. Any ideas on this same swap on the 2uz…not thinking it’d be that different.

 

The hardest part to track down was the MT brake pedal assembly. All you need is the pedal though, the mount is the same as the AT just flipped. Or a grinder and good welder to switch sides to clear the clutch pedal.

 

This is a 2UZ swap!

 

This is amazing. Wish I could devote the money, and time to do a manual swap. Would probably need more room too.
More info on that steering wheel swap please. Airbag work still?
Welcome to the forum!

 

Surprisingly it wasn't a lot of money. Time yes a lot of time.

The steering wheel is off a 2018 sienna, clock spring from a 04 tundra. The wheel bolts up and the splines match. Turn signals and horn work as well with no modifications.
Airbag doesn't work yet (shows short in squib on scanner) but should work on 2003+ as the 1st stage squib should plug in directly. I'm still researching the best way to have it functional even though the resistance is correct. Maybe a module swap..
None of the buttons work either as the truck doesn't have the required systems lol.

 

Do the guages work?

 

Yes they do, just have a CEL for AT solenoids.

 

Very nice work. Much more in depth than my Resurrection. Truck looks great!

 

I don’t know where but I swore I read 2uz. I don’t know of anyone with a double cab limited with a manual and this makes me want to do it so badly. You think this swap would work with a VVTI motor in an 06 or should I grab that newer 6 speed manual instead?

 

This should work fine with your engine. You will need the ATEMU kit to trick the ECU into running VVTI properly. The DC is heavier too so a different clutch setup may be ideal. I used one out of a 3VZ as it was cheap. Mileage will tell how it holds up.

 

Thanks, your resurrection build was one of the inspiring posts for this project

 

Check it out @empty_lord, I know it’s a 5 speed but hella sweet

 

Nice. I considered the 5 speed swap. But I’m lazy and have 2 5 speed tacos to fill that desire. The tundra does heavy hauling. The autos nice in traffic lol

 

Holy shit, I thought mine was an undertaking.

 

Great work, diving in the deep end for sure.

 

Any thoughts on the difficulty of putting an ra60f in? I’m thinking about putting a 6 speed in because the torque converter in my a340f is kinda crapping out and I love the idea of having a 6 speed stick especially with that 4.171 1st gear.

 

The biggest issue would be adapting the bell housing to the 2uz, afaik the ra60 does not have a removable housing. Maybe if you're adventurous the a340 housing can be cut off and married to the ra. Or custom adapter plate and flywheel.

 

Shame… all that beautiful, documented work, and yet you finish it off with a step side bed.

 

Oof

 

Not gonna lie, this pic made something wiggle downstairs though.

 

Ah, I didn't know that they didn't have a removable bellhousing. Guess I might go for an r151f for an even shorter 1st gear or just an r150f.

I would absolutely love to see this. My a340f's overdrive gear and torque converter aren't feeling great and I'd love to have a clutch instead. Did you need a different flywheel or an adapter plate, and how much needed to be done to fit the driveshafts? You've got me salivating with the idea of mimicing your swap.

 

I actually think the step side bed looks fine on this truck. Nice work @Nuclear_w0rm

 

It was either that or homemade. All the normal beds I found were irreparable

 

Ill start writing that up soon. I used all toyota parts to keep it economical except for the bellhousing, that is from ksracing thailand. Flywheel from a 3VZ (94 4runner) machined 5/16" and bolt holes elongated and 3VZ clutch with 5VZ throwout and fork. Had to machine the input shaft 10mm and recut the pilot seat as it was too long. Driveshaft wise the front had to be shortened to 27 3/8" and the "center" had to be extended 2 7/8" (output to center support). 4wd is J shift but the ADD is still stock as I reattached the shift actuator motor with contacts and removed the shaft. This way I can have 2lo as well and no need to run additional wires. Speed sensor is the same.

 

Wow, thanks for sharing. Can I bring mine to you to do next? J/K. Great job!!