84 bj46 long term maintenance, repair and upgrade- making it mine. (4 Viewers)

[peteinjp]

Got started on my seat/cargo securement system. I love the L track. I'm going to run it along the length of the inner rear wheel wells.

I finished drilling and countersinking the holes using 6mm 10.9 nuts and bolts every 3" as recommended by the retailer- ancra.

The hardware that I choose for the seats has one issue that needs to be resolved- it's loose in the track and will rattle like crazy. The straps will be a great way to hold stuff down between the wheel wells.

I think I'll probably switch to these studs instead of the hardware above for the seats if I can't find another solution for the rattling. The problem is that the company that sells them will not ship to Japan. So I may just put up with it until I have a way to get them to me.

What I like about this setup is that it allows me to move the seats around as needed. When camping I can turn them around or slide them back to use the interior for hanging out/ eating or whatever. Or if needed I can take the seats out and use the rails to hold down a truck load of cargo. I'll also use it to tie in a shelf as wells as my camp kitchen and cooler.


Pete

 

[peteinjp]

Here's a link to the the seat setup that I built. I'll be modifying it a bit for the L track in the 46.
https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/rear-fold-and-tumble-dont-do-it-like-i-did.479708/#post-6590921

Pete

 

[ozcrusier]

Hi Pete are those bolt down slide rails made in Australia. I can help with postage if they are.
edit
I just found them in Germany if you still need help send me a PM as my son David is in europe.

 

[peteinjp]

Thanks- it's very nice of you to offer. Ive thought about several things I could do to make the ones i have work but in the end simple seems to be best.

I'll try what I have and see how it goes. I might be able to cushion them somehow at least temporarily. Worst case I'll order some and pick them up next time I'm back to visit family.

Thanks again!

Pete

 

[peteinjp]

Pulled the seats frame that I built before to begin modifying it to fit the airline track. Decided to chop off the front end entirely and fit a new crossmember.

These rear stay will also be coming off.

Busted out my trusty welding platen- the first thing I made when I bought me welder. It has tapped holes around every vertical surface that allow for the dogs to be placed in various arrangements for jigging square and level joints.

Front chopped off.....

 

[peteinjp]

Got the front welded on but my welder is driving me nuts.

When you hold the torch right it the welds come out great....

But if there is the slighted bend in the cable the wire slows down and kind of stutters which is extremely frustrating. I think I need a new liner...

Pete

 

[Weber Sarge]

I'd be cutting and grinding those welds out ...
Nice idea on the table .
Sarge

 

[peteinjp]

Yep- I'll be redoing the bad ones. I'll just have to reposition the work so I can get a good weld. I'll order a liner but it won't get here for 2 weeks or so....

Pete

 

[Weber Sarge]

Turn up the heat a bit or slow down the wire speed as well , don't lay those beads on top like that - no strength .
Sarge

 

[peteinjp]

Oh I'll be grinding them out first for sure. The problem is that the wire speed changes as as I move along. Sometimes it just locked up completely. I have not used the welder for a while and the guys at work have been using it a lot. Last time I used it it was a little funky but now it is really affected by any bending of the cable assembly.

 

[OilHammer]

Sweet truck! Now that I've had my 40 and built it up to essentially be what you have, I realize that I should have looked for a 46 instead. The longer bed, wheelbase, and leg room would be ideal for the kind of stuff I drive now. Meh...
You'll love the cable lockers. I swapped a 13BT, H55F, and cable lockers off a 70 series into mine, and it might be the favorite mod of them all.

 

[peteinjp]

For me with 2 kids the medium wheelbase truck is perfect. Just enough to fit everyone and a good trips worth of stuff but not enough for my wife to pack in a bunch of extra stuff.....

Seriously though its good to have a limit and for basic off road exploration and camping duties I wouldn't want anything bigger that is for sure. In the future when the kids have flown the nest a shorter rear end migh be nice so I'm not always banging it against stuff. The turning radius is not too bad as is.

If you want a MWB I might- just maybe be selling my red truck as a rolling chassis with the body. All the mechanicals will be stripped but the axles only have 40,000km. It needs rockers due to the leaky roof but the rear is very solid. It would be a easy swap for ya!

Pete

 

[OilHammer]

Sure, that might be a cool swap. PM me with details when you get to it.


...via IH8MUD app

 

[lostmarbles]

My MIG welder feed misbehaves too if I have the hand-piece-lead bent at anything other than "gentle curves".

So I know your problem well Pete..

I bought the welder 2nd hand and have had the guts of that lead apart more times than I'd care to remember. The thing I really have to avoid doing is having the tip touch the workpiece when I pull the trigger. If that happens, then the wire welds itself to the tip-piece and I have the follow-on effect of the wire feed keeping thrusting the wire forward which stretches the outer sheathing of the cable (amongst the other negative effects). And clearing up the resulting mess (of removing the crumpled wire and feeding through fresh straight wire) makes me lose valuable time and puts me in entirely the wrong mood for doing quality work!

 

[Weber Sarge]

My MIG welder feed misbehaves too if I have the hand-piece-lead bent at anything other than "gentle curves".

So I know your problem well Pete..

I bought the welder 2nd hand and have had the guts of that lead apart more times than I'd care to remember. The thing I really have to avoid doing is having the tip touch the workpiece when I pull the trigger. If that happens, then the wire welds itself to the tip-piece and I have the follow-on effect of the wire feed keeping thrusting the wire forward which stretches the outer sheathing of the cable (amongst the other negative effects). And clearing up the resulting mess (of removing the crumpled wire and feeding through fresh straight wire) makes me lose valuable time and puts me in entirely the wrong mood for doing quality work!

Hence , the reason I hate mig welders so much . Don't get me wrong - they do have their uses but I prefer my stick and tig - stick for outside and dirty stuff and tig for uber-clean zen work . The tig is tough to learn but seriously worth it in the end barring the endless cost of supplement parts and consumables . Best part is the ability to weld pretty much anything that conducts electricity including copper - made a ground insect out of steel with copper inlays welded onto the steel . A pain to use on anything but a bench , but have laid in the back of a van one winter night to repair a racing motorcycle aluminum frame - with the foot pedal stuck between my legs since the hand control can't respond fast enough for the job . It is so nice to be able to weld aluminum one minute , stainless the next and steel later with no change to gas or tungsten - just a few settings on the unit itself . Migs are a constant problem unless it's a fairly expensive one with a really good whip cable and liner - that's where the problem lies . I've installed high-quality guns/cables onto even the cheaper units and that makes the most difference . Units that have adaptive hot-start and burnback tech built in sure help a lot too and hard to justify the price difference for most diy-types . Just need to adjust your methods a bit to compensate and practice will help as well .

Sarge

 

[peteinjp]

A little more progress today. A rare day where I get a full day to work on the truck AND it's not raining. I got the L- track installed. I took my time getting everything lined up and square as drilling holes in this beauty is not something I take lightly.

I sealed the thick oversized washers on the bottom with sikaflex as well as running a small bead around each hole on the bottom of the L-track. All the hardware aside from the washers is 12.9 grade.

The L-track fits perfectly up to the ribs and flush with the vertical surface of the wheel wells.

Pete

 

[Weber Sarge]

Cool idea Pete , almost looks like a possible oem upgrade for hauling .
Sarge

 

[peteinjp]

Actually got out for a decent drive with my boy last week. There are tons a logging roads in this area ripe for exploring. Many of them I won't go down until I get the Pto winch back on because they are slick and muddy- usually for track vehicles and getting back up can be a challenge. The switchbacks are super tight because they just reverse instead of turning.

Anyway another time. For now it's just easy roads and a good lunch.

 

[peteinjp]

There are hundreds of these little shrines spotted about the mountains. This one was particularly unusual. Notice the offerings- beer and canned coffee.

And another offering..... At first I thought it was probably an old suzuki but they were 2 strokes. This has plugs- a 3 cylinder.

And this is what's all about for country life here in Japan. I wish I could live out of town like this!

Pete

 

[lostmarbles]

The beer wouldn't last long if it was left as an offering to the Gods beside any of our bush tracks...

Thanx for sharing these nice pics Pete

..... At first I thought it was probably an old suzuki but they were 2 strokes. This has plugs- a 3 cylinder..............Pete

What makes you think that wreck isn't an LJ50? The Suzuki LJ50 has an inline 3-cylinder 2-stroke. . (Two stroke petrol engines have spark plugs the same as 4-strokes do.)