ROTW: 73 FJ40 (color of money) and a few bikini models

fuelgeddes · 08-23-08, 07:37 AM

Tops off to ya ! what a great ROTW ! Your rig is so nice I almost missed the girls.

Renoron · 01-23-09, 07:17 PM

Ross,
I would love to see pictures of your engine bay and set-up. Do you have PS or did I miss that in your write-up?

I am currently planning on a 5.0 Explorer MAS intake and Mustang computer and harness for my 302. Found out also that a later cam is needed.

65swb45 is correct in that the engine sits lower in bay which requires an electric puller fan and shroud.

Thanks in advance.

Ron

orangefj45 · 01-23-09, 07:25 PM

the cruiser is currently at my shop for some more upgrades and a couple of small repairs. if ross does'nt have any engine bay pics then i'll be happy to ake some and post them if it's ok with him.

FJ40_68_Nick · 01-23-09, 10:32 PM

Nice Rig, I saw it at Georg's Shop. The photos (of the 40) do it no justice!!! The Sliders are Fawkin' nice to boot!
What's w/all the -half- naked women? Is this a family site or something?

Splash · 01-23-09, 11:37 PM

Ron: As Georg mentioned the rig is at his shop. I do not have any pictures of the engine bay so hopefully he can post some for you. Ross

Renoron · 01-24-09, 03:56 PM

Thanks Ross! Great looking rig!

orangefj45 · 01-24-09, 04:05 PM

i'll take some pics on monday.

orangefj45 · 01-31-09, 11:59 AM

alright, got a progress report and some pics.

the orion was initially purchased thru and installed by another shop in northern CA but it's never been "right". lots of leaks as well as a noticeable gear whine that developed in the last couple of months. i had addressed most of the leaks when the case was out for the automatic swap but never tore it down completely. i replaced a few gaskets and one seal. now it's got a gear whine so we decided to take it out and completely tear it apart. the main sgaft was worn beyond my "acceptable" limits where the high speed gear/busing ride on it. the shaft in the orion was the earlier coarse spline model.
after tearing the case down, we discovered a severely worn high-low fork as well as a bad bushing in the high speed gear and the worn main shaft. AA was very helpful onece again, with tech info and supplying part to rebuild the case. i discussed the situation with their haed tech, randy, and after we came up with a game plan, AA sent out a bunch of new part, gasket kit and even a new shifter boot, all for free. i have been dealing withthem for 15 years or so and once again, their service and customer support has been top notch.

while i was waiting for the parts, i took a couple of engine pics so here ya go:

orangefj45 · 01-31-09, 05:21 PM

got most opf the t-case put together and updated with a better breather, fine spline shafts and my HD nose-cone saver. some of the parts in the pics are semi-assembled for mock-up only. i will post pics of the finished t-case which should be done by the middle of next week.

i had already built the original nose-cone only to find out that i could not get a new main shaft. so i had to coem up with a later model front output shaft for the fine spline coupling yet i needed the intermediate style in order to be able to run the same front flange. the front driveline is custom with 12" of slip and i was'nt about to chage the yoke on it, especially since i just got it back from the driveline shop on thursday.
i found what i needed to build the proper nose cone. luckily i have plenty of bearings and seals in stock so i left the early nose cone alone; put it on the shelf. then i just built up a later model nose cone with the proper front output shaft. got the shift pod rebuilt as well and bolted on for mock-up.

one thing to keep in mind is that the snap ring which retains the front output bearing ends up leaving about a 1/2" opening once installed. that opening is supposed to line up with the fluid drain "trench" in the nose cone so the oil and any possible contaminants can drain back into the main case. that way the magnet on the drain plug can retain any ferrous contaminats so they don't go thru the bearings or gears.
if the snap ring is not situated correctly, then the fluid has to return thru the front output bearing which can cause bearing damage if there are some metal shavings floating around in it.

hth

georg @ valley hybrids

orangefj45 · 01-31-09, 05:27 PM

whenever i build one of these t-cases, i like to remove the stock breather. for stock applications, the stock breather works just fine. but i figure if somebody is going to put an orion in their cruiser, they're gonna wheel it. and part of wheeling here in the sierras consists of having to cross a stream from time to time. the last thing i want to see happen is for some water to get into an orion and then the rig gets put back in the garage for a few weeks or months.
so i remove the stock breather and tap the existing hole with a 1/2" pipe tap. i then install a 1/2"npt 90deg 3/8" barbed fitting and run a hose up to the top of the firewall witha breather at the end.
you can cut off the top of the stock breather and drill and tap it for a 90 deg fitting but that's more work and they end up being taller so i prefer tapping the aluminum cover instead. i know the factory breather has an internal "snorkle" tube to prevent fluid being flung up into the breather, but with the length of hose going up to the top of the firewall, the fluid will not make it's way out if any of it even gets past the fitting.

amaurer · 02-01-09, 02:04 AM

hedonist · 02-01-09, 08:57 AM

you should be rotw...every week!

nicely done!

orangefj45 · 02-01-09, 12:05 PM

roos' rig is one of my favorites that i have worked on. imho, it's "well proportioned" as in there's nothing that stands out and says "why did you install that?!"
everything is set up to make the rig do what it's supposed to do. it gets driven on the street quite a bit, gets driven up to tahoe, toes a couple of snow mobiles to the snow park and in summertime it gets to run rubicon a few times every year.

it's a great setup and ross is constantly looking to improve it. at this point, the wish-list is getting pretty short. i think fuel injection would be the next big item, but after that there's really not much that ought to be done to this cruiser.

orangefj45 · 02-04-09, 08:14 PM

alright.

got the last couple of parts monday night and yesterday morning including the new main shaft. today i finally go a chance to finish putting the orion back together. usual build, but i did install one of my nose-cone savers and stud kits for the nose cone.

i should have the case installed by tomorrow evening. i need to finish the new rear brake lines for the rear disc conversion and then it'll be time for a test drive.

voyager:01 · 02-05-09, 08:52 AM

AMAZING RIG and interesting ROTW thread.. nice work on the tcase too orange45..

here's a couple more tech pics to stick with the theme..

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Splash · 02-05-09, 02:17 PM

Georg: Thanks for the photos. You do amazing work. It is always fun to read about what you are up to.

Renoron · 02-05-09, 11:13 PM

Thanks for the pics of the engine, Georg. Looks great!

Curious about the PS pump. Is it a Volvo with custom bracket or Sag?

orangefj45 · 02-06-09, 07:56 AM

thanks guys. i will take some more pics of the ps pump and bracket when i get back to the shop.

i got the t-case, cross member, shifters and drive lines installed yesterday but shortly after lunch i got some viscious stomach cramps so i called it a day. last night was rough......

at least everything that requires sealant is installed and has had some time to set up before i fill everything with the proper fluids and go for a test drive. i still need to finish the rear brake lines, hopefully by lunch-time i'll feel a little better so i can get this buttoned up today.

orangefj45 · 02-07-09, 12:50 PM

i went to the shop to do some work on the rig but i don't think it was a good idea. well, i thought it was but my stomch did'nt. got the t-case filled, the track bar installed and started on replacing a busted engine mount. i knew the engine was an early 70s vintage 302 but the mount did'nt look familiar. so i grabed the busted mount and headed out on the search for a replacement. first stop was a local mustang parts and resto place. nice parts, nice showrom but the salesman was useless. his first question was "is that an engine or a transmission mount?". needless to say, they could'nt help but i was promised that they could have the right mount shipped in and it would only take 10 days. yeah, that'll work........NOT!
so i headed across town to one of the premiere early bronco shops around. they had the stock mount, an HD rubber version and an interlocking HD fabbed version. did'nt take long to decide to go with the top notch mounts, especially considering how much of a PITA it was to get the old mount out.......
got back to the shop about two hours later after having some soup for lunch and tinkered with the mounts until i had to throw in the towell again.
stomach flu 2 - georg 0

here's a pic of the busted rubber mount and it's HD counterpart:

orangefj45 · 02-07-09, 12:51 PM

i did remember to snap a couple more pics of the ps pump setup. hope this helps, let me know if you need any more.

Poser · 02-07-09, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by orangefj45

one thing to keep in mind is that the snap ring which retains the front output bearing ends up leaving about a 1/2" opening once installed. that opening is supposed to line up with the fluid drain "trench" in the nose cone so the oil and any possible contaminants can drain back into the main case. that way the magnet on the drain plug can retain any ferrous contaminats so they don't go thru the bearings or gears.
if the snap ring is not situated correctly, then the fluid has to return thru the front output bearing which can cause bearing damage if there are some metal shavings floating around in it.

hth

georg @ valley hybrids

Not busting your balls Georg, but those oil return grooves in the nose cones are cut deeper than the output bearing retaining ring groove by a significant amount and also forward of the retaining ring groove so that the retaining ring would not prevent oil from draining back from the nose cone, no matter the position of the retaining ring. If you have chunks of ferrous debris plugging up that return groove, you have larger issues than the groove being plugged.

Splash · 02-07-09, 09:05 PM

Georg: Thanks for the update and for caring about the outcome. You always do great work. Can't wait to get the rig back on the road. Ross

orangefj45 · 02-08-09, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poser

Not busting your balls Georg, but those oil return grooves in the nose cones are cut deeper than the output bearing retaining ring groove by a significant amount and also forward of the retaining ring groove so that the retaining ring would not prevent oil from draining back from the nose cone, no matter the position of the retaining ring. If you have chunks of ferrous debris plugging up that return groove, you have larger issues than the groove being plugged.

you're right steve, but i know that you also see my point about the "proper" snap ring alignment. i know you've seen more of these than you care to remember but i want to explain this to some of the other guys on here so i took a few pics to demonstrate my point.

i learned to watch for oil return grooves and galleys when i was working at a transmission shop. when assembling certain transmissions or transfer cases, it's vital to have the snap rings properly installed or they can cause an oiling problem. since installing them in the "proper" orientation takes no extra time, can't hurt anything and can only help, i do it everytime i build a t-case or transmission. i know, kinda anal.........

toyota must have seen a problem with the oil return galley on the nose cones because the changed the design quite a bit from the early to the later cone. obviously the entire assembly is submerged in oil when the case is at proper oil level but when the vehicle/case is at rest, the metal particles sink to the bottom and having proper drainage/galleys helps to get any contaminants to the magnet on the drain plug where they can't do any damage.

if you've ever torn apart an early case, i bet you found a bunch of crud in the bottom of the nose cone. wonder why?! cause the oiling galley was'nt designed all that well.
here's a pic that shows the early and late galleys. the later galley goes all the way along the bottom of the nose cone without obstructions, the earlier counterpart does not.

orangefj45 · 02-08-09, 08:47 PM

a couple more pics. top pic shows the early cone, middle the later style and then the bottom pic shows both of them as a side-by-side comparo.

sorry about the crappy shots.........

orangefj45 · 02-08-09, 08:54 PM

two more pics and i'll get off my soap-box. we all know that internet argumants are like the special olympics..........and i have no intention on starting an argument here.

the pics clearly show steve's point about the oil galley still being exposed once the snap ring is installed. i purposely installed the snap ring to cover the oiling galleys in these pics so you could see the opening left.

the top pic shows the early cone. there is an opening, but it's small. i'd say 1/16" if even that much. that can get plugged up pretty quickly.

the bottom pic shows the later cone, with about 1/8" of open galley, possibly even a little more. sure, over time this can still get plugged up with debris but it would take a lot longer.

bottom line, installing the snap ring the way i like to install them can not hurt. installing them in any orientation mostlikely won't make any difference. of course my theory would get shot all to hell if a piece of gasket material or a chunch of adhesive made it's way into that cavity and would then plug up the galley, but it'd have to make it's way thru the input bearing in one piece to get there.......

so i'm gonna keep doing it my way!

orangefj45 · 02-08-09, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Splash

Georg: Thanks for the update and for caring about the outcome. You always do great work. Can't wait to get the rig back on the road. Ross

thanks ross.

i went to the shop for a couple of hours today to button up the driver side mount install but i was'nt happy with the geometry and design of the whole "mounting system" so i'm going to remove them again and fab up a better version. it'll eliminate one bracket so it'll be simpler and stronger.

i hope to have this done tomorrow and will post some pics when i get it done. this will also help position the engine exactly where it needs to be. future mount replacement, if ever needed, will also be a lot easier.

hill · 02-09-09, 09:05 PM

yeow!!!

orangefj45 · 02-09-09, 10:09 PM

i had to work on another project today since it's leaving tomorrow but i did spend a couple of hours on the mounts for the 40. after looking at the driver side, i decided that i was'nt all that happy with the design and setup. access to the mount and serviceability ( hopefully no t anytime soon ) would not have been all that good so i removed the driver side mount again and fabbed up a different sleeve for the bushings. it will take the place of the original sleeve as well as an "L" bracket that was used to bolt the mount to the frame bracket. so i'm eliminating one part out of 4. less parts, less chance for trouble!

hopefully the mounts will be done tomorrow so i can finally get the brake lines done and put this puppy back on it's wheels!

Splash · 02-10-09, 10:35 PM

Georg: Thanks for going the extra distance to make it right. I always appreciate your attention to detail. Ross

orangefj45 · 02-16-09, 06:31 PM

sorry i did'nt get back to this thread sooner, forgot the camera at the shop and we all know what a post without pics is worth..........

so this is the "updated" version of the engine mounts pictured previously. they are now installed in the vehicle. much stronger than stock or even the aftermarket mounts when i bought them and a lot more serviceable as well.