FJ-55 Rescue - Help Needed.

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Max Wilder

Max Wilder

Joined
Jul 12, 2010
Threads
28
Messages
123
Location
Rogers/Bentonville AR
Website
www.wilder.solutions
You will never believe what I found on my trailer this morning:

P1060246-1.jpg




And miracle of miracles, it's got a 5.9L Cummins Diesel in it with a 5 speed manual transmission!

Now if I was an Arkansan I would come up with a clever name like Iron Razorback and maybe paint it red. But I ain't, I'm a Texan and I shall call him Rocinante ('cause my other one is Rucio ;)



Apparently, to install the Cummins it was necessary to lift it, and so the axles were flipped over the springs gaining about 4"? Anyway, because of this the shocks no longer reach, the steering linkage has been (shoddily) adapted and the oil pan has been gouged and re-welded (several times by the look of it)

And that's where I could use some help.

Tomorrow I will take detailed pictures and you can have a look underneath. This will be a project and I will continue to update this thread as it goes along.

Ideally I would like to reduce the lift to 2-3 inches, but I'm not sure if this is doable. Can I notch the oil pan to fit over the drive shaft and differential? Where should I look for the steering linkages to fit?

I'll be back tomorrow with pictures, thanks in advance.:cheers:
 
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That is my dream rig- you are lucky. From what I have read on Cummins conversions, you need the spring over axle lift to clear the pan. I doubt you could modify it enough to go as low as you want, you should just sell it to me at a great loss:D.
 
Yeh you need the SOA for the pan clearance on the Cummins
Nice rig I love the orange I almost bought an orange one last year now I am regretting it after looking at yours.
 
Nice... I saw that on Craigslist myself. I just couldn't convince my wife it was the right thing to do. I'd love to have that one!

EDIT:

Now that I've seen the pictures underneath, maybe I'm glad I didn't go look at it and buy it. Looks kinda scary. Especially like the front tie rods. That's A+ fabrication work...
 
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Okay, pictures.

Here's the steering situation:



Where can I find the right parts to replace this?




And here's the oil pan situation. Tell me if I'm wrong, but it looks to me like I can drop the rig a bit lower if I just cut the pan to fit around the drive shaft where it's been smacked.



And here's the rear driveshaft:



Is that angle acceptable there? Do I need to rotate the rear axle/diff to line up better? is it okay as it sits?



What I'd like to do if possible is buy some new 2.5" lift springs for it, undo the SOA, and then mod the oil pan to fit, but so far I'm just thinking, I won't get to actually start work on it for another week or so.
 
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I love that steering! Why change it?! And those booger welds are awesome! :D

Buy some hi steer arms and a drag link and tear into it. link ---> http://www.4x4labs.com/products/steering/crossover-frombe-hi-steering-system/

As far as the oil pan clearance, its pretty hard to tell from the pictures. Grab a tape measure and measure clearance between the pan and the diff / driveshaft. Then do the math. A SOA nets 5-6" of lift, so if you go to a 2.5" lift, you will be dropping ~3 inches closer to the pan. Remember to take into account spring compression.

Yes, the rear driveshaft looks a little steep. But, I'd probably run it first and see what kind of vibration you get and whether or not it binds.

Lots of potential in that rig!

Good luck! :cheers:
 
Woah.... Damn..... Wow..... a five speed too?? Ugh.....

"Rocinante".... wasn't that John Stienback's truck name in Travels with Charlie.... and also the name of someone's horse too.....;)

Your troubles are far outweighed by that Cummins.... Dang!....
 
That is an awesome Pig!

Look at D'animal's thread on his FJ45, it may be of help for you.
 
Get a 60 series axle which is a bit wider with the diff offset 1.5" more to the passenger's side. Then clearance the oil pan. It'll give you a 3" wider axle which will be more stable, SOA or SUA.
 
ridgerunner said:
Get a 60 series axle which is a bit wider with the diff offset 1.5" more to the passenger's side. Then clearance the oil pan. It'll give you a 3" wider axle which will be more stable, SOA or SUA.
Click to expand...

That's a really good thought, maybe I'll replace both axles with 60's. Are there any other differences between 40 series and 60 series axles?



Sorry I'm not updating, I'll be back to work on it this weekend.
 
2X on the hi steer setup.

I would definitely fab up an anti-wrap bar on the rear.....lot's of torque with a 5.9.....your pinion will thank you.
 
Gobo Fongo said:
That's a really good thought, maybe I'll replace both axles with 60's. Are there any other differences between 40 series and 60 series axles?
Click to expand...

It seems you already have disks. 60 axles are 3" wider and usually have 3.70 or 3.73... I don't remember. You've got 4.10 in your stock axles, and perhaps course spline pinions. Otherwise, there wouldn't be much difference between that and your current setup. My old 55 had a 60 rear axle in the back and it made it feel more stable. You'll need different caliper brackets in order to use those rear disks.

To use them, you'll need to inboard your spring mounts and fab some shock mounts for the back. On the front, I would outboard the spring hangers and use the 60 spring perches, in either SOA or SUA. I think SUA would be possible but you'll still have to cut into the oil pan to make it work. I had a little 3.4L cummins, 2.5" lift, a "self clearanced" oil pan and a 1" dropped bumpstop. I think your setup will need a bit more, but it looks workable.

What is your transfer case? That doesn't look Toyota, and if it's not offset it could be hurting your rear drive line angle (so, swap for either a centered rear axle or for a newer split tranfercase from a 60 (since it's stronger than the older cases)).

Also- you might want to consider a different hysteer setup than 4x4labs since your engine might contact your tie rod if it's behind the axle.
 
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ridgerunner said:
What is your transfer case? That doesn't look Toyota,
Click to expand...

It goes with the engine I believe, it all came out of the same pickup.

cmiller114 said:
I would definitely fab up an anti-wrap bar on the rear.....lot's of torque with a 5.9.....your pinion will thank you.
Click to expand...

please explain? link or picture maybe?


Thanks for the help, I (obviously) don't have experience with the swapping and lifting game.
 
Do a search on "anti wrap bar" or "track bar".
Leaf springs in a SOA situation can flex enough to allow the axle to "wrap-up" or roll the pinion up-ward under hard acceleration causing mayhem.
 
So finally getting something done. Not much but something.

I've decided against new axles for now, and after some measuring and thinking I've decided against trying to lower it for now also. My plan is to make it work and make it safe, then get the little things taken care of like the exhaust, interior, and fancy stuff like lights and signals.

I ordered Hi-Steer stuff (from Iron Pig Offroad) and some shocks. Then I cut up the damaged oil pan and shortened the sump tube a teensy bit. Turns out there's plenty of room under there.

I'll have some pics of it all finished later, but this is the general idea:



The guys at Iron Pig Offroad are awesome and extremely helpful.
 
"is that a waterfall?"

"I think that's a waterfall."

"So should we try to stop? Like now?"

"Ummmm...... I think we'll be alright..."

SPLASH!

and that was the end of my camera :crybaby: on a kayak trip last week. We were paddling and camping our way down an otherwise calm river and I had my camera out taking pictures when we went for a swim. And it was a really nice one too :(



Some "Before" pics from my cell phone:
(oh, well, kind of in between anyway)



I apologize for the non-pretty weld, but it ain't leakin.

I should have a bunch of progress this week, and I'm slowly getting pictures.
 
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