2000 Toyota LandCruiser 100 Series Restoration - A Man With a Wrench Pt 2.

With the baseline mechanicals solid and the maiden trail run a success, the Cruiser returned to the garage for long-distance expedition upgrades and the permanent resolution of one remaining annoyance: the classic 2UZ-FE cold-start exhaust manifold tick.

Reaching the cracked driver-side cast-iron manifold meant removing the front inner rubber fender aprons (OEM 53735-60040) and unbolting the heat shields with a 10mm socket. The eight frozen manifold studs were soaked in penetrating oil, slowly backed out using a 14mm socket, and replaced with high-temp studs and fresh multi-layer steel gaskets (OEM 17173-50020). A new driver-side manifold (OEM 17150-50010) went in, pulled tight to the cylinder head using fresh copper-coated flange nuts torqued in a crossover pattern to 29 ft-lbs. Downstream, four fresh Denso oxygen sensors (Denso 234-4169 and Denso 234-4209) replaced the lazy 275k-mile originals, eliminating the intermittent P0420 check engine light for good.

To protect the fresh CV boots from excessive angles under articulation, a 1-inch front differential drop kit was installed. The front diff crossmember mounting bolts were unbolted with a 19mm socket, lowering the front housing and securing the aluminum spacers with high-tensile hardware torqued to 101 ft-lbs. While under the front, the 10mm hex drain and fill plugs were cracked open on the front differential, draining old fluid and pumping in fresh 75W-90 GL-5 gear oil until it reached the lip of the fill port, torquing both plugs back to 36 ft-lbs.

Next came protection and self-recovery hardware. An ARB Deluxe Front Bull Bar (ARB 3413050) was hoisted onto the front frame rails using heavy-duty mounting brackets secured with 14mm frame bolts torqued to 77 ft-lbs. Tucked neatly behind the steel bumper sat a Warn VR EVO 10-S winch with synthetic rope, wired back to a dual-battery setup under the hood. A custom aluminum tray housed a second AGM battery, tied into the main starter battery via an IBS Smart Dual Battery System isolator. Standing back as the garage light caught the clean lines of the fully armored, tick-free, expedition-ready 100 Series, the transformation was complete: from an abandoned, fluid-leaking 275,000-mile project to a bulletproof overland vehicle capable of crossing continents without hesitation.

With the front end armored and the engine bay refreshed, the focus shifted to the rear cargo space, exterior protection, and outfitting the Cruiser for true self-sufficiency. But before closing the hood completely, there was one vital electrical maintenance item to tackle. The main engine compartment fuse box cover was popped off to inspect twenty-four years of electrical load. The cloudy, heat-cycled 140A ALT fusible link and the 50A HEATER fuse were both swapped for fresh OEM units (OEM 90982-08286) to guarantee maximum current flow to the chassis.

This was critical because the next step was resurrecting the notorious 100-Series rear A/C system. Crawling under the passenger-side floorboards, the factory aluminum rear A/C lines—which were badly pitted and leaking refrigerant—were completely removed. Rather than routing new rigid aluminum lines that would inevitably corrode again, a high-pressure flexible rubber rear A/C line kit was routed along the frame rails and secured with insulated P-clamps. Inside the rear quarter panel, the rear evaporator block was flushed, and a new rear expansion valve (OEM 88515-60190) was bolted in using a 4mm hex driver. After pulling a deep vacuum for 45 minutes and charging the system with fresh R134a, the rear overhead vents finally blasted ice-cold air, ready for triple-digit summer trails.

With the climate control dialed, onboard air was next. A Slee Offroad Compressor Bracket was mounted to the passenger-side inner fender well using the factory threaded M8 holes, torquing the bolts to 16 ft-lbs with a 12mm socket. A massive ARB CKMTA12 Twin Air Compressor was dropped onto the tray. Its heavy-gauge wiring harness was routed cleanly along the firewall lip, tying directly into the secondary AGM battery and protected by twin 40A maxi fuses mounted just off the main engine compartment fuse block. An air chuck was quick-connected to the front bumper, capable of airing up all four 33-inch tires from 15 PSI to 40 PSI in under five minutes.

Moving to the tail, the flimsy factory rear bumper and hitch receiver were unbolted and dragged out of the way. Using a floor jack, a Slee Offroad Rear Bumper with Dual Swing-Outs was hoisted up to the rear frame crossmember. The massive steel assembly was secured using Grade 8 14mm bolts heavily coated in anti-seize, driven home with a 22mm socket and a long-handle torque wrench set to a bone-crushing 110 ft-lbs. The heavy-duty tapered roller bearings for the swing-out arms were packed with high-pressure lithium grease, tightening the top pivot nuts until the heavy steel arms swung with a smooth, damped resistance. A matching 285/75R16 spare tire was hoisted onto the driver-side carrier, secured with fresh M14x1.5 lug nuts torqued to 103 ft-lbs, while a dual Jerry can holder bolted onto the passenger side.

Finally, the cavernous interior cargo space was gutted. The useless third-row jump seats were unbolted with a 14mm socket (30 ft-lbs) and removed permanently. In their place, a set of ARB Outback Solutions Roller Drawers was wrestled into the back. Utilizing the factory third-row seat mounting captured nuts, the steel drawer frame was bolted directly to the floorpan using the supplied M10 hardware torqued to 35 ft-lbs. The heavy-duty carpeted drawers glided open silently on stainless steel roller bearings, providing secure, rattle-free storage for heavy recovery shackles, a metric tool roll, spare fluids, and a replacement CV axle.

The heavy Toyota Landcruiser 100 Series now sat perfectly level, fully armored, and mechanically bulletproof. The doors slammed shut with that iconic 90s Toyota vault-like thud, trapping the icy rear A/C inside, while the V8 idled smoothly in the driveway, waiting for the GPS to be set to the middle of nowhere.