..And so it begins.... my BJ40 frame off restoration

[jabxyz]

Originally Posted by beejay42

Good to hear you got it started again-
I put my shiny renewed starter motor in today, turned it over a few times (without starting) and then.... Click.... Click.... Click...

the new battery is flat. So it is out and I am going to give it a good 2-3 day charge.
I have half pulled off the dash and have wires everywhere trying to figure out the wiring for my windscreen washer, fix the manual EDIC choke/kill switch, and sort out a few other things.
Found out my priming pump is leaking- have to get a new one..
Also a bit bummed that one of my two new indicator lights I just got sent has a crooked mount- that cannot be fixed...
Got it from roodogs on ebay- so I have just contacted him to see if he can do anything about it (have already given positive feedback...)

Good Luck,
Hans.

Hans,
I am absolutely no expert in things under the hood but from limited working on electrics in other areas and a vague memory of physics class, it is starting to sound like there is a load on your battery, something drawing it down, even though the vehicle is off and not running. This like the third new battery you've gone through. Maybe you want to take a look at anything the PO added to the car's basic electrical system or any re-wiring he did. Could be that something has been wired to get juice directly from the battery that should be getting juice only when the key is turned. Maybe you or somebody can go over the rig's electrics with a multimeter and see if anything is still hot and drawing juice even though the vehicle is off and parked.

Funny that you mentioned the dash. Only one of the guages on my instrument cluster work and according to the PO have ever worked in his time.They are also too small, poorly positioned and lit for me to read while driving or at night. I was thinking about upgrading the guages but CCOT wants you to send in the whole instrument cluster in with proof of authenticity which I simply dont have time to do. Instead I found a mudder who has made a new powder coated instrument cluster panel to fit the original dash cutout. It comes with a variety of guage configurations and finishes. You get the new panel from him, buy the guages and senders to fit your selected configuration and hook it all up. Gonna try to see if I can find someplace that sells the guages locally if not...more crap to have shipped in. Let me know how your indicator light problem gets resolved as I need a couple of those too.

[beejay42]

You might be right there-
I am going to get a little help with a multimeter soon (damned if I know how to use them).

But, this most recent new battery (the second one) has done a whole lot of glow-pluging and starting (with some light testing and some stereo playing) with very very little running. It does have an excuse for being low.
It still had power enough for most things... just barely enough to turn it over.

I've started removing some of the extra wiring the PO had put in for a second amp (like one isn't enough)- but this wasn't even connected to the battery.

I thought about these lights from Hong Kong-
pretty cheap

eBay Motors: Toyota FJ40 FJ45 BJ42 Land Cruiser Amber signal lights (item 150242896880 end time May-12-08 07:18:20 PDT)
but I ended up going for Roodogs 'Jap Brand' lights thinking they would be better quality.
These are the ones I bought

LANDCRUISER 40 SERIES FRONT INDICATORS (2) JAP BRAND, - eBay, Other Car Parts, Accessories, Car Parts, Accessories, Cars, Bikes, Boats. (end time 28-May-08 11:08:15 AEST)

Its a bit late for me to be voicing issues (I gave positive feedback before I found out about the crooked mount)- but just now replying to you I have found a couple of other things that annoy me.

I had already noticed they were made in Taiwan- fair enough I thought, 'Jap Brand' may very well be made in Taiwan.
But the brand on the box 'Lucid Auto Lamp' doesn't google to Japan.
The base of these ones I got has the proper angle that the other cheaper ones don't have, but it would be possible to use your old bases (if you have them) on the new lamps (like I might have to do if I don't get this one replaced)

I am not overly impressed with the casting quality of this lamp- and the bases of mine do not include the the black (rubber I assume) gasket thing pictured.

I'll try to contact Roodogs again about this- and hopefully my concerns are dealt with.
I have only heard good things about the business so far so don't want' to bad mouth it.
I really should have taken more time and care before I threw away my feedback bargaining chip though.

[jabxyz]

Hans, don't feel bad, as many parts as I am ordering from all over the place this bound to happen to everyone. As a back-up for you, just in case Roodogs doesn't do the right thing, here are some other lights from CCOT Turn Signals
They are not cheap and folks have varying experiences with them and some of their policies but I have only heard that their parts are quality, at least I hope so given how many bits and bobs I've ordered from them. Let me know How the multi meter testing goes. BTW so far so good the new battery cranked the engine over and everything went fine today. Again funny you mentioned wiring but I was looking at SOR wiring replacement kits just this morning...what is it they say about great minds.

[beejay42]

Let me say one thing about Roodogs-
they are champions. (I am sorry if I implied otherwise)
I see why they have their good reputation. (finally I've found some good internet sellers- after a bad run of experiences this year).

First thing this morning two replies to me-
One from the guy responsible (who accidently sent me the taiwanese ones), and then one from maybe the boss- they are sending me out a new set of proper Japanese ones- and I am to simply keep this Taiwanese set as spares (gratis).

Other good news- they have the primer pump I need (mine is leaking) and I will be getting another set of plugs (just in case).


Cheers Roodogs-
even though I have yet to see these new Japanese lamps- They have more than earned my respect and return of business.

Gotta run,
Hans.

[jabxyz]

Originally Posted by beejay42

Let me say one thing about Roodogs-
they are champions. (I am sorry if I implied otherwise)
I see why they have their good reputation. (finally I've found some good internet sellers- after a bad run of experiences this year).

First thing this morning two replies to me-
One from the guy responsible (who accidently sent me the taiwanese ones), and then one from maybe the boss- they are sending me out a new set of proper Japanese ones- and I am to simply keep this Taiwanese set as spares (gratis).

Other good news- they have the primer pump I need (mine is leaking) and I will be getting another set of plugs (just in case).


Cheers Roodogs-
even though I have yet to see these new Japanese lamps- They have more than earned my respect and return of business.

Gotta run,
Hans.

Nice I'm glad that it worked out. Send me a link for these guys when you get a chance.

[Teebag]

Roo Dogs 4WD and 2WD Spares

[jabxyz]

Originally Posted by Teebag

Roo Dogs 4WD and 2WD Spares

Thanks!

[beejay42]

if they don't have what you want listed-
just ask them- they may have it anyway.
The primer pump for my 3B isn't listed- but Craig said there would be no problem providing one for me.

heres their direct sales email address.
sales_roodogs4wd@bigpond.com

[jabxyz]

I really know that this is not such a big deal but I have been feeling like this project got bogged down in parts sourcing parts and dealing with shipping and customs and freight forwarders. As such the arrival of my replacement my replacement halogen headlights was like Christmas. Of course as I was going out to install them I noticed that in addition to the connection for the three pronged connector there are two short wires, red and black which pop out from the back of each unit. No instructions were included so I have written back to the seller to have him send me the insructions. Thanks again for all of the help.

[jabxyz]

...It's startin to feel a lot like Christmas....
(except when I read the sales receipts and invoices). Today the combo A/C and heat unit kit arrived. I decided to go with this one even though I have a factory A/C unit because of design, thinner and wider under the dash unit than the stock one and because it included the heater and defroster plumbing and parts as well. I took a couple of pics of the in cab unit. The kit comes from Nostalgic Air and includes:
Compressor with the mount kit
Condenser with the mount kit
Drier with straps
binary saftey switch
evaporator unit with expansion valve and mounting hardware
Drain tube with tee
heater control valve with cable
heater line block off plate
firewall block off plate with grommets
Hose to plumb the unit and assorted screws, nuts bolts and washers. Below are a few pics of the new stuff.

[jabxyz]

Her are some pics

[jabxyz]

Two of the back of the in cab unit. P.S. The unit comes with plumbing for defroster as well.

[hes21]

I'm guessing the extra wires on the headlight are for an inbuilt LED parking light?

[jabxyz]

Originally Posted by hes21

I'm guessing the extra wires on the headlight are for an inbuilt LED parking light?

I think that you are right. I installed them and low and high beams work fine but I still need to connect the blue LED parking light leads. My question is should I splice the leads in somewhere after the harness but given that no instructions ever showed up with the lamps I'm not sure.

[jabxyz]

Sorry guys I got busy at work. Ok by way of update my orders from CCOT finally arrived. Everything very well packed. I went with them for most of the body related crap, e.g. weatherstripping, nuts and bolts for hinges, hood hardware, emblems etc. Everything arrived except for the bezel which is on backorder. I know that folks have issues with them but I can say that I have had good experience working with them. In particular Gaylon really did a good job consolidating several orders and working with me while I found a shipping solution that made economic sense. Thanks.
I am now waiting on the lift kit from SOR which should start arriving any day. Again I want to give a big shout out to Paul from SOR who patiently answered and complimented my newbie questions and gave me really good info and worked with me on shipping by breaking the order up into separate packages thereby keeping each package under max shipping weight and within my budget. Paul was especially quick in catching everything as it was headed out the door when we realized that the shocks that come with the kit could not be shipped by air (twin chamber gas filled). He recalculated the order price, had the package re-packed and still got it out quickly. I expect it all anytime this week.
As you guys know I had a dead battery a ways back and my plan to buy Optimas was frustrated by lack of a local dealer. I ended up getting a cheapo from the local version of Costco so I could get around town while I could figure out something else. At least it wasn't leaking like the one from the PO. As luck would have it I had occassion to call Optima basically to grouse about the lack of any local option. I ended uo talking to J.C. the regional sales manager and a great guy. I told him that I after the bad battery incident I had decided to go with the Hell Roaring dual battery setup. He thought the world of those guys ( Shout out to Mike and the Hell Roaring crew, thanks!) and let me in on the fact that he had just signed up a local company to carry the Optima line here in El Sal and gave me the name of the owner and all of his contact info. After which we spopke about overseas wheeling and how once I'm done with the project I'm looking to hook up with a local club. He told me to stay in contact and that he would sponsor club events with banners, hats, tee shirts etc. He also wants me to hook him up on any club mailing lists so that he can be in on events as he travels up and down Central and South America and is always looking for like minded folks to hang with. When I asked why he was willing to do sponsorships etc, he said that Optima wouldn't be the company that it is today if not for the support of the 4x4 community when it was starting out He said the company really appreciated 4x4 folks and was always looking to support their activities. I told him that I would post up this conversation as I thought that it was great that he was extending support like that.

[jabxyz]

Ok, I have been looking hard at replacing the partially functioning instrument cluster. First, only the fuel gauge and the turn signal work. What light there is is barely visible at night.All that said I have agonized about replacing it with a similar shaped cluster but with modern gauges etc. Just not the way I wanted the dash to look. After posting and discussing it with a few folks here I decided that it would be worth one more shot to try and salvage/upgrade the original cluster. Pictures will follow this. Tonight I pulled the cluster from the dash. If I was ever on the f...ing fence about the wiring in this rig being a mess I am no longer . Tomorrow I am getting the Painless ( I know not painless to install) wirining gear. I have never seen such a mess of wires leading to no f...ing where. OMG WTF at least five indicators or switches on the dash ( can you say emergency flashers) had their wires just hanging in mid air or in a tangle behind the dash. For example as I worked my way from the headlight switch through the firewall the bundle eventually dwindled down to a single strand as I was headed to the headlight relay. This was this guys DD! How do people drive around just leaving important s...t dangling like Grandpa's former glory. Geez. Almost every wire hand some slap dab splice on it using a combo of duct and electrical tape. Not a crimp in sight. No excuse as the PO was a business guy not some poor farmer just trying to make it. Ok end of rant.
Again I pulled the cluster and broke it down completely. My goal was to inspect it and clean it , to remove the two "helmets" light shades and to pull a bulb and connector so that I could go and get some LED replacement bulbs. Most obvious thing found was that someone had replaced the speedometer cable with a wire that was red electrical taped into the hole at the back of the speedometer hence explaining why the speedometer and odometer don't work. The other two connectors were fine. The break down went well. I easily located the little helmets and put them out of their misery after nearly 30 years of service. I washed, wiped or alcohol swabbed everything down as appropriate for the component. Basically I put it all back together and put it back in the rig . I tested it and I have to say even without upgraded bulbs there is an improvement, although not yet enough for me to cancel the replacement, still too dim for my eyes at night. That being said the turn signals are really much brighter and I can actually see the high beam indicator lit up now. Back lighting of the other gauges was improved some. I'll try it with the LEds before I pass final judgement. Ok here are pics and I'm off to bed. Thanks.

[jabxyz]

To be exact I broke the instrument cluster down completely. Among my faults is that once I focus on a thing I'm very anal. In this instance I cleaned all the metal and glass, blew dust out of the gears, cleaned the gauge faces, the weatherstripping and then reassembled the cluster.

[jabxyz]

next series

[jabxyz]

Good news, only dust, no rust! Q tips and alcohol work great in tight places like between the pins and connectors of the old circuit board.

[jabxyz]

Helmets are gone and time to put the puzzle pieces back where I found them

[jabxyz]

Now I need to replace the bulbs with LEDs. If this works out well I'll need to have the restoration shop sand the cluster face with is scratched up a lot and paint it ( no powder coat here)