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I have swapped a 2010 5.3 mated to a 6l80 into a Toyota Land Cruiser. Recently we completed an off-road trip here in Alaska, about 160 miles after we left the road system, easily 75 river crossings, plus the usual assortment of mud, rocks, ruts, & bogs.
Once into camp, slid under the truck, to check for any fluid leaks. Noticed a section of wiring loom, passing UNDER the front of the oil pan, that due to its location, just seemed to be prone to: a snag, a dunk in the water or mud. Gingerly tried to tuck it up, with little improvement.
next morning tried to start her up, just cranked & cranked, didn’t even sputter. No CES codes. WHAT THE HECK ?!?! Eight hours from the nearest road, two more hours to the nearest town, and no clue what was even wrong !! After momentary panic, I remembered jiggling the loom the prior evening, a little more jiggling, and found a loose ground, problem solved
What about next time ? If I had just been driving along, hit a bump, I’m not sure I would have ever found that loose screw with the ground.
Back home, I checked with my programmer, and he did not know of a field diagnostic tool (he uses the usual HP software).
Long sad post, here’s my question:
Is there a field diagnostic tool, that will run through the sensors & components , send ‘em a ping, and give a list of components that did not respond. Injector bank 1-check, injector bank 2-check, crank sensor-check, MAF-error, etc etc ? Or some other tool, to help dail in on an issue that may pop up ? If I learn the HP software, I know the software can track real-time logs, program the computer, but can it be used to diagnose a no start ?
Last edited by Boy Scout; Aug 15, 2019 at 02:39 AM.
I think that unless a code is thrown it would be difficult for an electronic tool to diagnose things like what transpired this time. Best thing to do is a GOOD going over all the wiring before any major excursion, mainly grounds.
Buy a Foseal dongle and download one of the apps (Dash Command, Torque, etc.) onto your phone. I keep mine in the car -- at least it's a place to start.
Buy a Foseal dongle and download one of the apps (Dash Command, Torque, etc.) onto your phone. I keep mine in the car -- at least it's a place to start.
Thanks MY. I’ve got the free Tourque-lite on my tablet, just for a speedo (haven’t got mine to work yet), and basic dash gauges (Toyota dash gauges are chronically squishy. Probably fine for a soccer mom, but not really spot-on for monitoring real conditions)
I worked hard to get my old fashioned analog gauges (old enough to not have any hysteresis built in) working with the LS. So I only use the app for confirmation that things are reasonably accurate. But it also reads codes and other diagnostics -- that was the piece I thought would be helpful for you to use for real time diagnosis. Of course -- a bad ground wouldn't show up as anything other than "I can't get any data cuz the damn thing stopped running"....
There are probably hundreds of diagnostic tools out there, generic or brand specific.
How useful they are will depend on the user, and the actual problem.
Knowing some basics, and how your car is put together and any potential problem areas you can check, and modify to prevent future issues is perhaps more valuable than a simple scan tool.
Many handheld OBD type devices, or laptop based....really, it's up to you. A quick google etc
Maybe an ecm pin out and a good multimeter? Badass Land Cruiser by the way, do you have a build thread on it anywhere or more pics?
Excellent idea on the multimeter. I’ll have to see if I can work it through.
Sorry no build thread. Really took (me), year’s to figure through all the aspects of this build with no guarantee I could pull it off. So didn’t document a build thread to start.
Google “Arctic Trucks” for what I was trying to accomplish, with the added benefit a light weight aluminum LS drive train. Right after 1st startup, I posted a walk around video on a Land Cruiser forum
For as reasonable as DVD service manuals are, I'd have the wiring diagrams and troubleshooting logic-flows from the factory service manuals in print, or on a notebook on-board. It sounds like you're away from "the city' far enough that it could come in real handy.
What do the tires do for you that usually-available stuff won't?
What do the tires do for you that usually-available stuff won't?
Most tires this size have a much more aggressive MT (mud tread), or AG (agricultural tractor) tread. These tires have a realitively modest AT (all terrain) tread. For snow travel, one does not want to auger down.
Rare to find a 44” AT tire on a 15” wheel. This provides a lot of side wall, to maximize floatation when aired down. For instance, in Iceland, they have onboard systems to monitor air pressure real-time, can adjust air pressure on the fly, and run as low as 2-3 psi. As they increase/decrease elevation, +/- air pressure to stay at a certain level in the snow profile. Somebody will find a good layer 3” down, +/- air pressure to rise or lower in the snow, to run at that depth. I am no where near that sophisticated. But the LS swap to an AL block & tranny, shaved several hundred pounds in an effort to enhance floatation.
In short, these tires have a modest tread, and a bunch of sidewall to maximize floatation (to the extent possible) for off road travel in snow.
Last edited by Boy Scout; Aug 19, 2019 at 08:47 PM.
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LS Diagnostic Tools 
