[xtfritz]

So, as a veteran FJC owner coming into the 'real' fold of owning a 1984 FJ40 I've recently acquired, this is going to be my semi build/mod thread plus a great place for me to organize the millions of questions that pertain to my new Bestia.

On with the show:

My rig is a totally stock '84 FJ40 with 2F engine. I'm the third owner of the truck, the first owner paid for its importation to Chile circa 1987 where he then sold it to the previous owner in 2002. It lived its whole life in Chile in the desert region of the Atacama, not so different from say Arizona-New Mexico in the US in terms of heat/humidity (or lack thereof since the Atacama is the driest desert on the planet). The previous owner kept it in fairly good condition and had the vehicle repainted its original red color.

Immediate questions:

How common was it to have a H41 tranny? I've read a little and the article said it was more common to have the H42. All I know is my rig practically takes off on its own when in 1st and I have yet to be able to stall it.

How big is the tank on this model? I fueled up when I first bought it and it took 80 liters. For that matter it also took 8 liters of oil in the oil change.

Thanks all for you input.

[CruiserStuff]

The H41's do have a very low granny gear first which is more desirable off road. US trucks came with the H42's. I believe fluid capacities are covered in the FAQ's in this section.....good reading for someone new to the FJ40.

How about some pics?

[xtfritz]

For those who have restored vehicles, what are the primary points of interest that I should look at? My goal for this truck is to restore it to a great degree of trustworthyness/asthetics while at the same time modernizing key points such as putting OME suspension on it, upgrading seats to Paradrive Rally or similar, new paint, redo all rubber seals, upgrade the instrument display, put some thermal shielding between the engine/tranny and flooring, etc.

Here are some pics of the truck as is in my driveway.





Thanks

[xtfritz]

More pics as taken by the previous owner prior to sale.

[xtfritz]

[xtfritz]

[xtfritz]

While driving at night I noticed that the cluster light is extremely dim, so much so I could barely if at all make out my speed at night. Can this light be changed or cleaned? Anyone else notice this?

[77cruiser77]

this is just me full of my own opinions but first off nice ride. make sure it's mechanically sound. hows the brakes? do you have drums or disks in the front? If you have drums I'd be doing a swap before a suspension upgrade unless you've got a broken leaf. Also how is the steering? does the whole truck shake uncontrollably at speed. Who knows instead of some racing seats a power steering swap might be a better investment. In term of little things you mention (heres my opinion) why? You have great seats aside from them not being stock covers. Put stock covers on them and they'll look great. The cluster, I personally love my stock looking cluster and if it works leave it unless you're going into racing comps where you need new different gauges. If its too dim turn the light on off knob. If still to dim there's things you can do about that, do a search theres tons of info from cutting the boxes around the lights to installing el wire from a cruiseruser named amauer on mud here. if you hate your gauges that much check him and his site out

I say drive it for a bit and get used to it. It will always be different from your FJC and will never be anything like it does not matter how you spend. But hey thats why we like em

[pappy]

Looking at this picture. If you hadn't said Chile I would have place the truck in the desert east of Palm Springs. Extremely similar.

I'm not sure you need to "restore" this truck. It's fine. Just do preventative maintenance on it, upgrade as your heart desires, and enjoy. Very nice rig.

[pbgbottle]

in that part of the world they did get cloth covers in some models ,covers could be oem

Originally Posted by 77cruiser77

You have great seats aside from them not being stock covers. Put stock covers on them and they'll look great.

I say drive it for a bit and get used to it. It will always be different from your FJC and will never be anything like it does not matter how you spend. But hey thats why we like em

[lostmarbles]

Love your cruiser. It is very original (unmolested) considering its age too.

Originally Posted by xtfritz

How big is the tank on this model? I fueled up when I first bought it and it took 80 liters. ...

Capacity is only 84 litres so your PO was was really miserly to give you only 4 litres of fuel!

Originally Posted by 77cruiser77

If its too dim turn the light on off knob. ...

Being able to dim/brighten your dash lights (by turning your headlight on/off switch) was a feature only on early models. Even my 1979 hasn't got this feature...... darn it!

[CruiserStuff]

Looks like you've discovered how much kids like the FJ40's! Mine too.

Also looks like you have factory power steering which is very desireable.

I agree with the above comments that you should make it mechanically sound and then drive it a while before you start making "upgrades." If you do swap out the seats, let me know, I'd love to have them.....

Nice rig.....

[Dieseler]

I would assume this is a South American production FJ40.
Something funky about the way those fenders are sitting.
Like the split rear window

[CruiserStuff]

Yeah, I think there's some fender damage.....and maybe some minor dents on the front side of the hood, too.

[xtfritz]

Just the right comments I was interested in

First off, I forgot to mention its features: it has power steering (awesome) and it has disc brakes. I bought it in a town about 150km from where I'm living and as such had an interesting ride home to really get it up to speed. When I test drove it, I went with my wife and met the PO and his wife and then drove around town for about 2 hours, letting me play with it. Tried out the H4 and L4, locking hubs all worked fine. Feels fine at 100km/h even though above that speed the steering is almost too sensitive and I didn't buy this with the intention of going above 100km/h anyways. I did however find out the hard way that leaving the lights on in a parking lot kill old batteries definitively Had to get jumped via swap in battery/swap back, find an electrician to get his .02 and promptly bought a new battery with higher specs. Need to make sure the original alternator is working correctly though, he mentioned it was hot while trying to push amps to the old battery, but without a new battery in hand, couldn't distinguish one problem from the other, though with the new one, I haven't had any problems. I thought the suspension on this was going to be really stiff and instead its just right after loading 4 people aboard with a toolbox. Not sure how old the absorbers are though (maybe stock) and the springs are original. The fan unit doesn't work, the odometer is stuck (10th digit runs, just need to pull it apart, lube and roll), the seat belts are mounted to the wall and not the rollcage (need to change that), some cosmetic stuff on the dash from good use over the years. I have both jumpseats that I need to put seatbelts on to offer the kiddos a safer ride too.

And yes, my kids loved our beloved FJC that is now so far away from us, but they are showing more "cariño" (love/care) with the new 40.

Ah, the right front fender is bent down somewhat that I'd like to straighten if possible. No big rust issues to speak of except for the inside portion of the roofline where it meets the walls.

The PO replaced the distributor recently, as well as a new fuel pump. One other thing I noticed, the wiper blades run, but it doesn't pump fluid out to the jet for cleaning.

Oh, didn't mention the pricetag, it was a bargain as far as cruisers are concerned here at 3000 dollars. Most have V8 mods or used in "jeepeo" events meaning they are made into race trucks and beaten to smithereens.

[xtfritz]

With regards to mods I actually have a purpose for this truck:

I want it to be as mechanically sound as possible
I want to 'modernize' it bringing its comfort level up to more recent vehicles without losing its 40 character
I want this vehicle to be a capable overlander for trips upwards of 3000km in length into remote areas, meaning it'll need a lowprofile roof rack to mount a RTT, storage solutions for the rear cargo area, extra fuel tank(s) and water tanks

The point of all of this is actually to be a keystone in a new business I'm putting together This is (hopefully) going to be the pilot truck for a grant going towards refurbing 40's to the best they can be plus modern overlanding accessories.

When I bought this truck I was actually looking for a BJ40 but the pricetag was spendy plus the truck being nearly 1000km away from me... now THAT would be a long walk home if the PO didn't take care of it..

[xtfritz]

Two questions at present:

I have the wsm from 1966 on the F engine. Obviously I have the 2F. To what degree does the F engine manual help me troubleshooting elements on the F engine? What were the major changes between F and 2F?

I was also inspecting the vehicle yesterday and I noticed that while checking the oil on the dipstick it smelled of gasoline. When I changed the oil, the oil came out very runny and very dark, also smelling of gas. What could cause this? The PO recently changed the fuel pump, could a faulty gasket here cause this?

Thanks

[DanS HJ-45]

I'm with pappy here: you don't need to "restore" it. In fact, I don't see any rust there really at all, and doing work might even be worse for it than leaving it original. I wouldn't even repaint it if it was me. Unless those front fenders just bug you too much, then a repaint might be in order.

The OME suspension will go a LONG way towards making it more roadable for you, as will different seats.

If I were doing what you are talking about, I'd simply put on an OME suspension, and then do any and all preventative maintenance you can. You can do a knuckle job, and replace any gaskets on the motor that are leaking, plus adjust the valves and you've got yourself a very reliable truck.

As to your gas/oil question: it is possible that your fuel pump is leaking fuel into the crankcase I guess. How's your mileage?

Dan

PS-I live in New Mexico and have been to the Atacama--it's drier. And cooler. We don't get penitentes here. I don't remember ever seeing a 40 there though.

[Hobbs]

The fuel in the oil is most commonly caused by a leaking fuel pump diaphram. It is possible that the fuel got in the oil BEFORE the fuel pump was replaced; hard to say without knowing when the fuel pump was replaced or wheather or not the oil has been changed recently.

I would put in fresh oil and monitor the oil condition (fuel contamination) VERY CLOSELY, as fuel in the oil is hard on engine bearings, oil pump, seals, valve train, ect. Good luck!

[xtfritz]

The day I bought the truck, I took it to the local Shell station and had the oil changed. The PO pointed out the new fuel pump but I can't atest to the age of it or its install. The Shell mechanic thought the gas contamination probably occurred when the fuel pump was changed but couldn't be sure. The oil that came out as was pitch black but very runny. Now I have the best oil the station could offer and its still keeping its color characteristics but it does smell (now only 6 days after changing the oil). I've only driven it about 400km since I bought it, mostly around town type runs. I do catch a strong odor of gas on downhills though and I wonder if its extra fuel in carb semi-flooding it. This is where my experience with carburated vehicles ends. Any thoughts?

[xtfritz]

[QUOTE=
The OME suspension will go a LONG way towards making it more roadable for you, as will different seats.

As to your gas/oil question: it is possible that your fuel pump is leaking fuel into the crankcase I guess. How's your mileage?
[/QUOTE]

Nice to see the OME setup is highly thought of. I love my OME setup on my FJC. I can only imagine the difference it would make on my 40.

My mileage is a bit 'sticky' pun intended, since my odometer is frozen and I need to dismantle it and lube it. I have been getting about 300km to a tank more or less, certainly not stellar. The odometer is frozen on 251k km, not sure how far above that I am.

[1911]

Originally Posted by xtfritz

...my odometer is frozen and I need to dismantle it and lube it.

Not a difficult job; there are a couple of threads on it with pictures and everything:

http://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-series...meter-fix.html

[xtfritz]

Originally Posted by 1911

Not a difficult job; there are a couple of threads on it with pictures and everything:

http://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-series...meter-fix.html

Thanks 1911, this evening I pulled apart the cluster and did a bit of cleaning. The odometer was super sticky but now its lubed with bicycle chain oil and spins nicely. Tomorrow morning I'll have a better verdict of my work when I put the cluster back in.

[xtfritz]

Cluster is in and working fantastic. One step to having a better idea of mpg which might be better than I think I'm getting. Right now I figure I get about 5km/l or 12 mpg. Not too bad considering these weren't meant to be hybrids

[xtfritz]

Changed out the spark plugs, new fuel filter, adjusted timing, adjusted clutch engagement. Today its getting the blower motor rebuilt, a voltmeter installed (ammeter is dead on the cluster), washer pump had a new button installed since the original control didn't work. The gas in the oil problem was resolved (no problems ). Seat belts now installed on both jumpseats, radiator flushed and new cap put on. Tomorrow it gets a complete tranny/diffs/transfer case oil change and complete greasing on the underside.

Things are certainly looking up

[xtfritz]

Next serious question:

How difficult is it to change the rear seal on the transfer case? I've seen on CCOT that there is a basic seals kit for 35 dollars, whereas a rebuild kit for around 195 if I'm not mistaken. Would I need only the seals kit, or does an oil leak on either seal cause for greater alarm and need a rebuild regardless?

Thanks

[xtfritz]

For those of you guys who have split windows, is there a way to get new clips for the windows? What solutions do you have for this?