FJ60 10/1985 H55F Upgrade Questions (1 Viewer)

[lt1823]

Hello,

I have a 1985 FJ60 (built in October) that I would like to put an H55F in this summer and just have a couple of general questions:

1) My FJ was built in October of 1985, so the H55F installation will be fairly straight forward right and I will not need to make a lot of modifications like the FJ 60s that were built in April of 1985 and earlier?

2) Will I need a different emergency brake set up with the H55F or can I use my stock E brake?

3) What are some things that you wish people would have told you before you upgraded to an H55F? I have found a few great articles detailing the installation instructions, some of them with parts lists. But were there any surprises you ran into, or additional parts or tools you wish you would have bought ahead of time etc.?

4) Once the transfer case is split, would you recommend replacing anything? I know this depends on the truck and how many miles are on it, and I know I probably wont know what I will need to replace until we split the transfer case open, but are there any parts that are commonly replaced within the transfer case?

I am working on putting together a master parts list that I will post when it is finished so you guys can look it over and tell me if I am missing anything.

I appreciate your guys help!

 

[Spike Strip]

Hello,

I have a 1985 FJ60 (built in October) that I would like to put an H55F in this summer and just have a couple of general questions:

1) My FJ was built in October of 1985, so the H55F installation will be fairly straight forward right and I will not need to make a lot of modifications like the FJ 60s that were built in April of 1985 and earlier?

Yes. Just need to plug the extra hole in the T'case.

2) Will I need a different emergency brake set up with the H55F or can I use my stock E brake?

No/Yes

3) What are some things that you wish people would have told you before you upgraded to an H55F? I have found a few great articles detailing the installation instructions, some of them with parts lists. But were there any surprises you ran into, or additional parts or tools you wish you would have bought ahead of time etc.?

How much the wife would not care even though you love it. And that you'd be foolish not to rebuild replace Clutch components. Rebuild T'case. Surface flywheel, properly, blah, blah, blah ...

4) Once the transfer case is split, would you recommend replacing anything? I know this depends on the truck and how many miles are on it, and I know I probably wont know what I will need to replace until we split the transfer case open, but are there any parts that are commonly replaced within the transfer case?

Rebuild, if original. Use good proper oil

I am working on putting together a master parts list that I will post when it is finished so you guys can look it over and tell me if I am missing anything.

I appreciate your guys help!

Get a $20 subscription so you can post pix and have a large PM inbox. You'll need it and it'll save you hundreds, if not thousands.

GL

 

[HemiAlex]

I did this in October 2018. My truck is often the worst case of all the scenarios, so this is a complete list of what I did and replaced.

I had 300,000 miles on my truck when I bought the parts to swap to an H55F. I needed to upgrade because my transfer case was falling apart and likely untouched since it went into the truck in 87. I had a low mileage 4 speed to swap in, but I got a little crazy.

I purchased a complete assembled rebuild split case and new H55F assembly from Valley Hybrids. So, that was the single biggest part of the puzzle.

What I did along the way:

New oil pan from Toyota
Rear main seal
Transmission mount
Resurfaced flywheel
Aisin Clutch kit
Rebuilt rear driveshaft
New shifter handle and shift knob.

My swap to a five speed thread

That basically knocked all of my leaks from the truck out in one move. I kept my core transfer case because it was a 38mm case and I have a project for it later.

I used normal 80w90 GL4 conventional gear oil at first, and I've been running Mobil 1 50SAE as recommended by @OSS 's old alter ego. 30,000 mile on the fluid and swap now and it all still looks good.

 

[Spike Strip]

x2 ^^ on have the Rear Driveshaft U-joints replaced and balanced. Not much $ and way worth it if truck has many miles on it. Toyota still sells the OE spiders, but you can get OEM Japanese from Kurt @ Cruiser Outfitters and take to the rebuilder, otherwise, they'll install Spicer or some other aftermarket.

 

[lt1823]

I did this in October 2018. My truck is often the worst case of all the scenarios, so this is a complete list of what I did and replaced.

I had 300,000 miles on my truck when I bought the parts to swap to an H55F. I needed to upgrade because my transfer case was falling apart and likely untouched since it went into the truck in 87. I had a low mileage 4 speed to swap in, but I got a little crazy.

I purchased a complete assembled rebuild split case and new H55F assembly from Valley Hybrids. So, that was the single biggest part of the puzzle.

What I did along the way:

New oil pan from Toyota
Rear main seal
Transmission mount
Resurfaced flywheel
Aisin Clutch kit
Rebuilt rear driveshaft
New shifter handle and shift knob.

My swap to a five speed thread

That basically knocked all of my leaks from the truck out in one move. I kept my core transfer case because it was a 38mm case and I have a project for it later.

I used normal 80w90 GL4 conventional gear oil at first, and I've been running Mobil 1 50SAE as recommended by @OSS 's old alter ego. 30,000 mile on the fluid and swap now and it all still looks good.

Thanks a lot for your reply, I really appreciate it. Yes, definitely planning on buying a clutch kit and replacing the master/slave cylinders as well, resurfacing the flywheel, replacing all the transmission gaskets, etc.

Do you think I should rebuild the transfer case and rear driveshaft if it only has 104K miles or do you think I will be okay?

Also, when you say transmission mount, are you talking about the crossmember truss mount?

And can I use the original shifter and just get a new knob?

Thanks a lot!

 

[WSOPgold2012]

I did this in October 2018. My truck is often the worst case of all the scenarios, so this is a complete list of what I did and replaced.

I had 300,000 miles on my truck when I bought the parts to swap to an H55F. I needed to upgrade because my transfer case was falling apart and likely untouched since it went into the truck in 87. I had a low mileage 4 speed to swap in, but I got a little crazy.

I purchased a complete assembled rebuild split case and new H55F assembly from Valley Hybrids. So, that was the single biggest part of the puzzle.

What I did along the way:

New oil pan from Toyota
Rear main seal
Transmission mount
Resurfaced flywheel
Aisin Clutch kit
Rebuilt rear driveshaft
New shifter handle and shift knob.

My swap to a five speed thread

That basically knocked all of my leaks from the truck out in one move. I kept my core transfer case because it was a 38mm case and I have a project for it later.

I used normal 80w90 GL4 conventional gear oil at first, and I've been running Mobil 1 50SAE as recommended by @OSS 's old alter ego. 30,000 mile on the fluid and swap now and it all still looks good.

Is replacing the oil pan, rear main seal and tranny mount typical or specific to your rig? ty

 

[HemiAlex]

Is replacing the oil pan, rear main seal and tranny mount typical or specific to your rig? ty

I needed to do my rear main because it was leaking. If I went into anything that far, I would still do the $40 RMS.

The oil pan and gasket had never been off. I had to use a bottle jack between the frame and pan to budge it off. The gasket was solid. We thought about this in advance and I didn’t want to break my factory oil pan and then be stuck with a sidelined truck.

 

[HemiAlex]

Thanks a lot for your reply, I really appreciate it. Yes, definitely planning on buying a clutch kit and replacing the master/slave cylinders as well, resurfacing the flywheel, replacing all the transmission gaskets, etc.

Do you think I should rebuild the transfer case and rear driveshaft if it only has 104K miles or do you think I will be okay?

Also, when you say transmission mount, are you talking about the crossmember truss mount?

And can I use the original shifter and just get a new knob?

Thanks a lot!

It’s very likely that you’ll be fine just resealing it and moving on with that low of mileage. If you can wiggle either of the output shaft flanges at all in a 6 to 12 motion, then you may look at a rebuild.

I replaced the rubber mount that the transmission sits on and attaches to the crossmember. I don’t trust any 35 year old rubber.

I think you can heat your shifter handle and make it work, but I only paid like $150 for the right handle that the swap calls for.