Thank you and great build thread 
Let us know what we can help with!
Let us know what we can help with!
Builds 77 FJ40 Build, It begins...and may take a while (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter franklin40
- Start date
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I'm happy to help in a small way. There are are a couple vendors that I trust completely and Kurt is one of them. He's a good dude and runs a great shop. You won't be steered wrong
I agree with this I had to force the issue with a builder to get it done. He didn't want to do the sleeve (it's a long, extra step) on my H3. I had ate the front axle because the crush sleeve collapsed during a 4x4 trip, that allowed the pinion to move which thrashed the ring gear. A few weeks later the front axle started leaking from the seal, by then it was too late..... about the only thing good out of it is I now know that royal purple with finely-crushed needle bearings makes an interesting, almost likeable, color.
the cause was I was blowing along on a couple feet of snow, and there was a tree under the snow.... oops.... the transfer case broke a tooth off one of the gears which did everything else no good at all (got me home, though), then a few weeks later I had to replace the front differential... wish I was perfect, but nope, this is just one example of why I know I'm not... oh well, at least I ended up with an e-locker in the front - but it wsa a $2500 lesson in slow-the-hell-down...
- Thread starter
- #244
bit of a mile stone tonight. yes we're still in mock up phase but these two haven't seen each other for two years.
a friend was over so helped me put the body on the frame. this will help with determining clearances as I hopefully build some motor mounts tomorrow and start positioning things.
a friend was over so helped me put the body on the frame. this will help with determining clearances as I hopefully build some motor mounts tomorrow and start positioning things.
- Thread starter
- #245
i built some motor mounts tonight. the OEM ones are a little too wide by the time you have to use the OEM rubber mounts. i went with a similar design as DPV7070 did in his build. i'm using the advance adapters rubber mount as well. it took me a few tries to get them right as the drivers side of the block slopes about 10 degrees inwards while the passenger side is staring up and down. i had initially split the difference but then the passenger side was way lower than the drivers side and would have tilted my engine. so i cut them all apart and built them again with o degrees on the passenger side and 10 degrees down on the drivers. this made them flat relative to each other but the passenger side is 1/4 inch lower than the drivers side which i'll have to make up in adjustments on the frame side. this was the difference in height of the OEM mounts too. a little weird but just some info for those who might be doing this swap.
crapy blurry pictures. sorry. my iPhone is dying i guess. anyway i'll gusset the sides once i know how long they have to be.
and heres the frame side mounts. probably a little overkill but i figure its not worth doing unless done to excess!
and yes theres steel wool in the block. its just on the edge to keep mice out while i'm building. i'll give it a good vacuum when i take it out to make sure all shavings as gone.
crapy blurry pictures. sorry. my iPhone is dying i guess. anyway i'll gusset the sides once i know how long they have to be.
and heres the frame side mounts. probably a little overkill but i figure its not worth doing unless done to excess!
and yes theres steel wool in the block. its just on the edge to keep mice out while i'm building. i'll give it a good vacuum when i take it out to make sure all shavings as gone.
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the mounts look good.
yes, you frightened me a bit with the steel wool in the intake (exhaust doesn't really matter)... duct tape works too. One thing we have to do when letting a motor sit for awhile is put oil down the spark plug holes, rotate the engine, then release the tension on the valves - otherwise the motor will seize due to rust... other benefit is mice can't get into the cylinder so can be vacuumed out when needed.
yes, you frightened me a bit with the steel wool in the intake (exhaust doesn't really matter)... duct tape works too. One thing we have to do when letting a motor sit for awhile is put oil down the spark plug holes, rotate the engine, then release the tension on the valves - otherwise the motor will seize due to rust... other benefit is mice can't get into the cylinder so can be vacuumed out when needed.
- Thread starter
- #247
i've had mice chew through tapes and plastics. they hate the feeling of steel wool though. hence my thought to use it. hope i don't regret it!!
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- #248
just turned the engine over with my hands so I know it's not frozen but it's probably time to add a little oil to the cylinders just to make sure it stays supple.
it's what the world needs, supple motors.
- Thread starter
- #250
preliminary engine positioning done tonight. i hope my clearances are going to be ok. i won't be able to use the stock fan shroud as the mercedes fan is a little larger and not offset like the fj40 one. right now my fan sits 6 cm (just under 3 inches back from the radiator which i think is about as far forward as i want. my shifter comes up through the transmission cover about an inch back from where the stock shifter comes and i need to do some hump modifications anyway so that seems good. my clutch lever has about an inch of clearance from the body. is that enough or is the rod on the slave cylinder going to stick through and interfere? i don't know yet. i'm trying to get the engine perfectly up and down without any clocking and the transmission seems to like that position too. i also want to try to get the engine horizontal from to back which may prove a little more difficult to keep the engine high above the front axle but the tranny low enough to not stick up too high in the cab and also have too steep of an angle from transferase to the axle. i have my body mounts in place so i know the body is where it'll be for sure. i have to mock up the steering stuff too to make sure it all fits. one good thing is that as i put all the weight of the engine on the frame the shackles hardly moved at all so i can mover my spring mounts a little which will drop the truck about 2 inches. i should be able to shave another inch or so with trimming other perches a little too. i want to keep it as low as i can with spring over so thats encouraging to me.
heres the distance between radiator and fan
1 inch of clearance between cutch arm and body. think that'll be enough? the body is the rust and blue coloured thing. frame looks close but doesnt come into play
heres the distance between radiator and fan
1 inch of clearance between cutch arm and body. think that'll be enough? the body is the rust and blue coloured thing. frame looks close but doesnt come into play
Have you considered mocking up the front fenders with the motor in to see how it sits? I did a 2 inch body lift on mine and that gave me a ton more room underneath. Although an inch will probably be enough.
- Thread starter
- #252
that's a good idea. I think I'm going to push things forward another inch and then I'll put the fenders on after the steering.
- Thread starter
- #253
moved things forward and didn't like it so I moved it back. it was too close to the radiator that way. now it's a little low on the drivers side but I like front to back. I also got it perfectly centered and then put the steering column in and fenders on. I then placed the steering shaft from the column to the power steering box and there's lots of room. I'm happy with that. I also welded up the transmission cross member and bracket it will bolt to. I need to get a bigger drill bit than I have a I was to use a 5/8 bolt. that's a pretty big hole I have to drill through an inch of metal on each side. the box tube cross member is 1/4 inch metal and the bracket tabs are 1/4 as well. I've also measured and by the time I get the atlas in I'll have some cutting of my tub to do. I didn't want to do that but I think it's longer than the stock transfer case. oh well
currently how it sits
drivers side clearance
passenger side
final distance from the radiator 1 4/3 inches
the fan is also going to hit the lower rad hose. I know some guys trim the fan blades but I may play with the rad supports a bit and see if I can drop the radiator down a little. lots of little adjustments at this stage!!
currently how it sits
drivers side clearance
passenger side
final distance from the radiator 1 4/3 inches
the fan is also going to hit the lower rad hose. I know some guys trim the fan blades but I may play with the rad supports a bit and see if I can drop the radiator down a little. lots of little adjustments at this stage!!
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Just now seeing this thread, this thing is going to be freaking sexy when it's done. Keep it up!
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- #256
I figure that the rad was good enough for a larger gas engine and these diesels I don't think put out as much heat. the factory rad will be better built than most aluminum rads these days. I have been thinking of aftermarket which I agree would be best at this stage. I may research this a little more though while I'm where I am.
I have a stock-sized, aluminum radiator, 38.5 bias ply tires, 355 chevrolet motor with a hotter cam, and one ton axles. it runs at 218* no matter if 40 degrees or 100 degrees outside. The only thing I had to do extra was a radiator shroud. Also, I run Earls coolant - so the temp as measured by the sensor reads about 10 degrees warmer then what it really is.
As for Earls, I like it because its stable - I don't like it because its expensive and I had to remove (and save it) 3x due to other issues.... that said, it doesn't boil, it doesn't overheat.
Reading temps-wise, it's 202* at the thermostat, it's 157 degrees at the bottom of the radiator....
As for Earls, I like it because its stable - I don't like it because its expensive and I had to remove (and save it) 3x due to other issues.... that said, it doesn't boil, it doesn't overheat.
Reading temps-wise, it's 202* at the thermostat, it's 157 degrees at the bottom of the radiator....
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- #258
so I'm thinking over the fan and radiator problem and was looking at a friends fj40 tonight. he's running a small block chevy with the same 4 core rad I have but is using an electric fan and says he has no troubles with cooling. that might just be the best way for me to go as I'll be able to move the fan where ever I want and then I might put a kill switch in the cab for water crossings. I have some good waterproof connectors. I know there are electric fan haters out there but haven't really heard any convincing aguuements against them. can anyone here talk me down from this idea?
I could also steal a couple more inches of forward position of the engine that way too
I could also steal a couple more inches of forward position of the engine that way too
if you move the engine too far forward, you'll run into some pretty major oil pan issues.
I prefer mechanical fans because they're mechanical - that said, i run a clutch fan which is just as reliable as an electric fan... the one thing about mechanical fans, they have the capability of drawing nearly twice the amount of air as an electric fan; add in the 30 amp (or more) draw and electric kind of loses its luster. With that said, having both is always a good idea.
I prefer mechanical fans because they're mechanical - that said, i run a clutch fan which is just as reliable as an electric fan... the one thing about mechanical fans, they have the capability of drawing nearly twice the amount of air as an electric fan; add in the 30 amp (or more) draw and electric kind of loses its luster. With that said, having both is always a good idea.
Very cool build. I hope that you have your gearing all figured out. That engine loves to rev high. I had to switch to an H41 with the lower first gear to get decent take off acceleration.
