First FJ60, is there a 12 step program? (1 Viewer)

[vszUnclear]

Greetings Mudders,
I bought this FJ60 (my first) back in Aug 2012 and have been hooked ever since. It's a roughly stock 60, silver (i guess grey with age now), 143K. I don't believe any of the drive train has been rebuilt. Rust isn't too bad AFAI can tell. Frame has surface rust and body has some spots but no holes. I'm not sure if I have a lift, perhaps someone can tell - Ironman shocks.

Pics: http://imgur.com/a/tpMdi#0

Since I bought her I've been doing a bunch of basics, using this forum (and FSM) as my bible - a huge thanks to all of you - it's incredible how useful your posts have been, even old stuff. I'm a novice mechanic, in fact this is the first rig I've ever touched with tools. So bear with me as I'm learning slowly but surely. I've done a bunch of things but here's a highlights list:

- knuckle rebuild including wheel bearings on driver side to fix inner seal leak using marlin crawler kit
- oil galley plug drilled out, tapped and fixed with allen plug and jbweld (no leaks!)
- fixed carb fan, which was causing slow "hot starts" since i got her
- brakes all around, including new wheel/brake cylinders in the drums. Fixed a pesky frozen ebrake system too (new cable, unseized bellcranks, etc)
- fixed crooked steering wheel by adjusting relay rod
- replaced charcoal canister per this post. Vac leaks I could find.
- basic fluids and filters swapped
- FJ62 mirrors thanks to the guys at Torfab

Plans:
- I have a rebuilt carb that I want to install, hoping to improve MPG. I may do the valve cover and manifold gaskets at the same time. Maybe desmog... not sure yet as it looks intimidating.
- Rust. I'm currently working on rust removal/prevention. I've been wire wheeling the frame, permatex rust treatment, followed by epoxy paint to seal. I know I'm not getting the inside of the frame... but I don't have the know-how or space for a frame-off job.

I'm not really going to crawl her, I'm using her for camping and hiking, getting into trouble on forest service roads, etc. I'd like to get her a bit more fuel efficient (currently 11.5 mixed / 14.5 hwy). I'm curious based on the pics and what I've mentioned here - what else would you guys prioritize on this rig? Looking at the pics, anyone see anything glaring that I should address?

Thanks a lot, and I hope to get to know some of you better over time.

-- Vic (in Seattle, WA)

 

[8960series]

Beautiful rig. I wish I had that little amount of rust.Your truck sits like it has an old man emu suspension 2inch lift but is could be just good springs and shocks. I cant see any thing wrong with your truck. There is a sticky on the faq thread of best mods under 50 bucks. i would check that out.

 

[vszUnclear]

Thanks man, will definitely check out the mods under $50. Your rig looks great with all that mud on youtube

 

[8960series]

yeah i can't wait to get some more videos up.

 

[klinetime574]

Nice 60!

Looks like we have the same wheels and tires. Eagle Alloy 058 with 33x10.5x15 BFG A/T

I'd suspect you have an OME lift. Do you have any pictures of the shackles?

Looks like the cruise control module is on the passenger fender under the hood. In front of the coil. The battery terminals clamps are different than stock. But there will be a few more things on the positive due to the fusible links.

The mileage you're getting is good. If you can consistently get that kind of mileage you can't complain I never get higher than 12 in the city. Highway I'll break 14 if I drive no faster than 65.

 

[vszUnclear]

Thanks klinetime,
I would be thrilled if it turned out to be an OME lift, here's a pic of a shackle:
http://imgur.com/a/tpMdi#13

Interesting about the CC. I wonder how to get it working...
And thanks for the info on the wheels. I never knew what I had so I'll make not of that.

Cheers,

 

[RodrigzCrzr]

Nice rig man! very nice, good to read that your doing your own work on it. good to be one with your cruiser!

 

[klinetime574]

Looks like a stock shackle. Take more pics of the springs though. The height your rig is at seems like it could have one. Was the tire size I stated correct? 33x10.5x15?

There are many different things it could have under there. OME, AAL, custom leaf packs, etc.

 

[Butt Ugly Chuck]

Good looking rig, and nice job baselining it!

You are getting about all the mileage you're going to squeeze of of a 2F. No mod is going to gain you more than driving slow . I can get 16 out of mine if I drive 55 on a long highway trip.

Butt

 

[vszUnclear]

Thanks, Butt - I guess I'm capped on fuel efficiency, so it goes...

Klinetime, I looked today and turns out I have BFG 32 x 11.5 x 15 tires, not 33s. Not sure what model wheels then. I'll get under the rig this weekend and take some shots of the springs. I'm mighty curious to find out what I have going in terms of lift.

Thanks to everyone for the positive feedback!

 

[The Machinist]

Great looking 60! Silver is totally the best color.

 

[klinetime574]

The wheels could still be an Eagle Alloy 058. Doesn't really matter what they are. They are just 15" wheels that work

I'll be watching this thread

 

[DFXR]

Good looking truck and props for all you've done to it so far.

You may be getting better mileage than you think - your tires are 3" bigger than stock so you are going a little faster and a little further than the speedo/odo says. Even so, your stated numbers are not bad. I think the original window stickers claimed something like 12/14 or 13/15, and that was without a lift, bigger tires, and 25 years on the road. Someone will chime in and claim 20 MPG on their heavily modified 60 but take it with a grain of salt...

 

[vszUnclear]

Looks like a stock shackle. Take more pics of the springs though. The height your rig is at seems like it could have one. Was the tire size I stated correct? 33x10.5x15?

There are many different things it could have under there. OME, AAL, custom leaf packs, etc.

OK I think I've figured out what I have in terms of lift: Ironman 2" spring lift. First, my front shocks are labeled Ironman Elite 24637FE (which I found out are foam cell shocks). Cleaned off the dirt from my front leaf springs and it has a part number on it: 008262. After searching a bit another thread on mud talks about this part number as being associated to the Ironman 2" lift kit. So I guess the mystery is solved.

Good looking truck and props for all you've done to it so far.

You may be getting better mileage than you think - your tires are 3" bigger than stock so you are going a little faster and a little further than the speedo/odo says. Even so, your stated numbers are not bad. I think the original window stickers claimed something like 12/14 or 13/15, and that was without a lift, bigger tires, and 25 years on the road. Someone will chime in and claim 20 MPG on their heavily modified 60 but take it with a grain of salt...

Thanks DFXR - you're absolutely right and I need to account for that. I'll figure out the percentage skew on my next roadtrip with a speedo check segment.

Thanks to everyone for the encouraging feedback. I'll post updates now and again in this thread when I take on bigger projects. Hope to keep learning for you all in the mean time.

 

[vszUnclear]

Update:

Radiator:
Last week I noticed that no matter how often I filled the radiator overflow tank, it would quickly empty again. Then i saw the dreaded pool of green fluid under my truck. I bought a new CSR 2708 radiator on fleabay and installed it. Seems to be running cool after some burping. Swap was a pain but I'm glad I have a new rad.

Fuel pump:
When cold the truck experiences low power and hesitation when driving the first 200 yards or so. This quickly goes away as the truck warms up, but it's rough because I live on a hill and I need it to have enough power in that first 100 yards to get out of my neighborhood. So I read some threads here and some people had success with this problem by improving fuel delivery (fuel filter, pump, etc.) I did the filter a while back so yesterday I swapped the fuel pump. I ordered a Carter pump but they sent me a Kyosan Denki TP-636, made in Japan, which I saw someone mention is the OE part... cool! See pic below for side by side new and old:
http://i.imgur.com/yiZpAIX.jpg

We'll see if this solves the problem. I can say that the truck has noticeably more power in general. I can get up hills in Seattle no problem in 3rd or even 4th now. I need to try it a few days in a row to make sure things are in fact better on cold start.

Next up: fan clutch
Never heard of it but looking at threads related to cooling system made me realize that mine must be busted. The fan never "kicks in", it's just always spinning at the same rate. When off, if I try to spin the fan by hand it only moves 2 blade widths before stopping. Seized?

 

[gregnash]

Fan clutch sounds pretty much like mine was. Do you hear a loud roar of the fan when driving (almost sounds like an oversized box fan)? If so then yours is toast, there are a couple rebuild threads out there but it takes a few days to get all of the old fluid out. New clutch will run you about $70, get the AISIN FCT-017 as the is pretty much the OE replacement. Mine has been working great since I replaced it a couple weekends ago. While you are there you might as well split the fan shroud (look for it in the FAQ) as it will make life on the re-install MUCH easier.

 

[vszUnclear]

Gregnash: Yes, that's the fan clutch I ordered: Aisin FCT-017. I don't know if I can hear the fan while driving, it's just the way this rig has always been so I'm curious if the fan clutch will make any difference. What I know is that it doesn't "change" in terms of the fan kicking in, etc. So I'm guessing it's hosed.

BTW, your rig BeBe looks really good! I need to do my rear panels too - my speakers are hanging out of the walls at the moment

 

[vszUnclear]

Update: Fan clutch is replaced.

Now, I'm in the process of replacing the carb with a rebuilt Aisan and in the process replacing the manifold gasket. I've gotten as far as removing the air rail, but three of the six pipes into the head broke while wrenching them off, so my air rail is dead.

I read threads here and it seems like i have some options now: I can replace the air rail or plug the holes. I don't really want to get into a full desmog atm, but I'm leaning toward plugging the holes. While I did read as many threads as I could I'm not 100% on whether removing the air rail and plugging WITHOUT doing a full desmog is OK. Seems like it would be, since it's main purpose is further cleaning the exhaust output, but I thought I'd ask.

Also, there is a hose that goes from the air rail to the ABV. Can I just plug it? With a desmog I guess you'd remove the whole ABV, but is plugging OK? (This thread has a good pic of the hose in question: https://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-wagons/532615-rusty-air-injection-check-valve.html )

Thanks to anyone who has some advice for me!

 

[CruiserHappy]

With all the rain we get around here I did the inside of my frame with Eastwood internal frame coating. There are enough holes in the frame to cover it.

 

[1988fj62]

Lookin good man. Really clean slate to start with. Take your time and enjoy the journey