getting started..holy molygrease (3 Viewers)

[RunTrout]

RunTrout's 84 FJ60 project

I am hoping to make this my build thread.
purchased a 1984 FJ60 in Sept. 2010, 176,000mi on original motor, saggy springs with a few busted leafs. A bit of rust, krylon will do for now. Otherwise the thing is pretty clean. Came with newer 31x10.5x15 BFG at's.

Added 15x8 rock crawler wheels in black
Added smittybuilt bumper (slight mod) and lights
Had Tcase output seals done (sorry not my thing)

Plans for thanksgiving week (parts overflowing my bedroom)

OME medium springs 2-3", 2.5" over-stock barbell shackles
skyjacker nitro shocks, swaybar and brake line extensions
New U-bolts, bushings, and all the hardware. 4 degree shims. Heckthorn steering stabilizer. (hybrid of stuff from 4wheel online, MAF, CCOT, and SOR; I was trying to save money and build something unique, but spent more in shipping and obtaining all of the right bolts

Thinking about extending the front shock mounts with modified F250 mounts (hopefully use the existing leaf bumpers and have plenty of compression and extension). These will be bolted at first and eventually welded for heavier use.

Oh yeah, when time permits... maybe this week if all goes well???
New tie rod ends (taiwanese...we shall see)
New radiator hoses from SOR
Knuckle rebuild Kit from JTO (been reading all of the scary knuckle stories!)
Drain and fill diff's

Last but not least... been noticing the leak on my powesr steering unit getting worse. Now I have tools and parts, but need to wait for more $$$ to fix the pump. The leak just got worse, spewing crap everywhere... need to fix it before the dexron destroys my hoses and belts Plus it is going to drip onto my new steering stabilizer.

JT has a rebuilt pump for $168
Not sure I want to go converting to 'saginaw' quite yet... my hands are full. Here is before the lift. Originally had chrome wheels and bumper. I want it all black and blue.

Thank you to all who have posted before. I am looking forward to the 'rewarding' stuff like the knuckle rebuild.

 

[lovetoski]

I installed a rebuilt PS pump. Paid somewhere in the low to mid 100's. It lasted 14 months. Bought an OEM pump from Cdan (~$300) and still working fine after 3 years.

If I were to do it again, the LAST option would be to install a rebuilt pump.

First option would be a Saginaw. Prolly cheaper, and for sure stronger.

My 2 cents.

 

[motoman426]

I have pump that I just took off mine to put a psc pump on if u want it $50 plus shipping and I may have two if u want them both

 

[Spike Strip]

Rebuild PS pump is the proverbial 'penny-wise, pound-foolish' option: You'll end up spending 50% more in the long run by not using new or going saginaw the 1st time. On my '85 I went with a new pump - great, no problems. The '86 came with a rebuilt pump that groaned, had a bent pulley, and made other delicious noises, and it was less than 2 yrs old. Amsoil syn ATF helped a bit, but it still was noisy.

Just bite the bullet and get a new pump (or sag) and never look back.

 

[RunTrout]

Thanks for the feedback, I don't want to fix the PS pump again in a year.
Am I correct in reading that a saginaw pump will mount to the 80's 2F block?
SO I would need???
-Gm saginaw pump
-belt adjustment bracket/mounting bracket
-longer belt to accommodate the change

Any ideas on total cost for the saginaw conversion (and better to find a used one or get a new unit? parts#'s ??)

Suspension lift update.
in 8 hours (for a virgin solo lift job):
i got all of the front components removed, cleaned, buffed, polished, and painted. Everything came off pretty easy until the spring hangers. These monsters took over 1hour each side to cut through with a sawzall and grinder wheel (wish I had a cutting torch too).

I had a front shock stud fall off just by pulling on the shock laterally (easiest part removed). I had 2 chunks of broken leaf 'fall out' when I removed the front driver sd pack.

For the record. 84 FJ60 shock mounts use M12 1.25 bolts (very short, maybe 25mm long for rear, slightly longer in front)

going to replace tie rod ends and attach a new steering stabilizer today, waiting on the elusive 2.5" over shackles to arrive to sew everything back up.

Re: used pump for sale, I might get in touch to get the pump fixed for now. Thanks again for the feedback.

RunTrout

another attempt at posting a pic before the lift:

 

[Cruzerman]

I too tried to save money and go with a rebuilt power steering pump. I had the same experience that it lasted just longer than the one year warranty. Lesson learned. I then went with the Saginaw upgrade. I do consider it an upgrade since in my opinion it is a superior pump that works better, is much cheaper, and extremely easy to obtain.

I'd get a used pump from the junk yard. You should be able to get one from one of those 'pick and pull' yards for cheap. I've heard that the Volvo unit is a good one (they used Saginaw pumps) since it has a wide pulley to accommodate a wide belt. I believe that you can get a rebuilt one in the $60 range, but would most likely need a core anyhow. If you are unable to make a bracket, many of the vendors have brackets available making the entire thing a bolt on operation. And many vendors also have the wide pulley if you need one.

 

[RunTrout]

Day 2 update (8 hours yesterday, 4 today... had to work this morning, and it is ~35 degrees outside, no garage.) Still waiting for shackles (had an order in with CCOT for 3 weeks, finally got some shipped from SOR instead, nothing against CCOT, I just need to get rolling!)

Added MAF stainless extended brake line up front. The small bolts on the hard line are 10mm (not 11mm, try not to strip them and have to refile them like me). The extended line fit nicely with the old hard line, and looks pretty cool.

Removed tie-rod, relay rod, and stabilizer. I have a puller tool, but the opening was too large. Pickle fork to the rescue. (I am becoming a fan of the pickle fork for these dirty, corroded, greasy jobs... still want a better puller, but the P-fork is saving the day.

For Tomorrow: new tie rod and relay rod ends installed, Heckthorn Heavy duty Stabilizer added, maybe radiator hoses? If I had my shackles I would sew it back up and start on the rear.

Let's try this photo thing one more time...Here before the lift.

 

[RunTrout]

Day 3, 6-7 hours
(taking my time, still waiting on shackles and bushings from SOR, and it has hovered between 25-45 degrees outside the whole time I'm working)

new tie rod ends in, half of radiator hoses done, stabilizer added (doing away with stock location onto relay rod, stabilizer now sits between the axle and the tie rod... looks pretty sweet, Heckthorn stabilizer from MAF). Added sway bar extension, wish I had known it was just a threaded rod and bushings, I would have built my own, but the MAF part seems to fit seemlessly, and saved me time.

Basically the whole front end is being redone (saving the knuckles for warmer weather though, maybe squeeze another winter out of the old set, and do the CV's when I get there.)

Rattle can rust prevention on all exposed frame parts. (krylon 'hammered black') looks really cool on the old cleaned up parts.

i would add photos, but I lost my camera, and can't post old pics anyway (need website URL???)

I am going to attempt to get the air out of the cooling system after the last hoses... wish me luck! and thanks for the posts on how to burp the system. Debating on whether to drain the diffs, or just to wait until doing the knuckles (did I mention freezing outside?)

Anyone selling a [functional non-leaking] PS pump? mine is leaking all over. Motoman, you still got one to show me??? Still interested if you have it.

So far the hardest jobs:
-cutting the spring hangers with a grinder and sawzall.
-reaching the brake line fittings for the front axle, 1/3 turn at a time on those bolts, while brake fluid drips onto me... maybe easy if I had smaller hands.
-trying to figure out the best way to access the water hose between the pump and the lower hard water line... TBD today.

Everything else has been rather 'civilized', luckily my shock stud nuts came out cleanly, no need to re-tap.

Any helpful pointers are appreciated.
-

 

[RunTrout]

Got a noob question:

I am adding extended brake lines for the lift, no big deal.

What are the other lines going from frame to axle? oil? grease? sensors? they look like reinforced braided lines going straight in to the axle housing (unlike the brake hoses, where the hard line rides on top of the axle)

Just wondering, it looks like whatever they are i might need to extend them too... can't figure out what they are from looking at my two manuals (chilton and Haynes). Are these just differential oil pressure releases? extra reservoir? Help a virgin solo guy out...

 

[lonelydriver]

Are these just differential oil pressure releases? <--- that's right,

if you think you may be entering deep water often, you might want to get longer tubing and extend them higher.

 

[RunTrout]

thank you, less concerned now.

finished the radiator hoses...
they are all easy, except the one underneath the alternator mount. i would have payed to have that one done. Had to remove the alternator with belt and mount, had to undo to bottom hose, undo the hard pipe mount, then fit the middle hose and then add the bottom hose. Hot water helped a ton in getting the hose soft enough to mount. I'm not sure this procedure would be possible without removing the alternator.

Shackles.... still waiting for shackles.

 

[lovetoski]

finished the radiator hoses...
they are all easy, except the one underneath the alternator mount...

I replaced that one when I replaced my failed waterpump...and I remember thinking "boy that would be tough to replace if you didn't pull the waterpump..."

I'm impressed.

 

[RunTrout]

I was almost thinking the AC pump would have to go to change the hose... didn't even want to mess with the water pump. I was amazed when the hose finally slipped over the water pump outlet (basically had it on the hard pipe first).

I swore a lot... tore my rubber gloves, and made a huge mess, but the thing started right up afterward. I managed to burp some of the air from the system, more tomorrow.

Thank you though, that makes me feel better about changing 2 hoses is 4 hours

 

[RunTrout]

Okay, finally got a pic in.
Here with the new bumper and rims, before the lift.

I got the thing about a week after the place I was living in burned down in a forest fire, so I'm thinking 'The Phoenix' would be a good name. Due to the fire, all of my tools (and everything else) is pretty much new or donated. Working on the cruiser has been good therapy!

 

[RunTrout]

I used a buffing compound and wax on the paint, came out pretty nice (not really clean here).

 

[RunTrout]

Broke down and bought a re-manufactured power steering pump (AC Delco, says fits 84 2f 4.2L) $125 w/ two day shipping. Hopefully will last a year or more (but I won't cry if it doesn't... I've been warned)

I would love to do a saginaw conversion, definitely don't feel like spending $490 on OEM. But can't afford either right now, and need to drive my rig!

 

[RunTrout]

Finally got my shackles

 

[RunTrout]

After the lift, more details on another thread (drive shaft bind up front), But I wanted to continue this build thread.
About 4" taller

 

[Happy Trails]

Looks fantastic!

 

[OGBeno]

Looks fantastic!

x2. Looks great. I like the very slight rake.