Builds Helga: 1966 FJ40 FST (2 Viewers)

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Still need to finish replacing the spring bushings. They are all completely destroyed or missing altogether. The parking brake needs replaced and I’ve got a little leak at the seal back there. Probably knock both of those out at the same time. Also a leak in one of the oil filter line popped up recently so I’ll have to fix sooner rather than later. I should probably also go through the front axle to make sure it’s greased up properly. Other than that she’s ready to go!
 
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Awesome man - air chisel is your best friend on those spring bushings. I’ve also found the OEM rubber less noisy and smoother ride if it’s in the budget ($OR) -

Tucker
Thanks for the advice! I’ve only had the time and heart to do one so far. I went ahead and got the rubber ones. Almost everyone else sells poly which I think is a bad idea.
 
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****!
 
Gotta be a story there …
Yep. A little too hard of a tap on the speedo to see if the needle was stuck/wrong while driving. 🤦‍♂️
 
Yep. A little too hard of a tap on the speedo to see if the needle was stuck/wrong while driving. 🤦‍♂️
Easy fix, dont beat yourself up too much. Gives you a chance to fix the speedo and odo if it doesnt work. Lots of threads on here about servicing/fixing.
 
Easy fix, dont beat yourself up too much. Gives you a chance to fix the speedo and odo if it doesnt work. Lots of threads on here about servicing/fixing.
Yeah I figured I wasn’t the first to do that. That glass broke easier than I expected for sure.
 
Yup! We have the 4 bolt early style and would be happy to help.
Perfect! Let me sell these wrong ones and I’ll hit you up!
 
Starter
Quick update: Replaced the starter with a rebuilt Toyota gear-reduction unit for a 60 series. I killed the old one by using it to get the 40 out of traffic after the surge tank’s pump died. I already had the unit handy just waiting for a good reason to install it.

Swapping the thing absolutely kicked my ass. Combination of random bolts holding the thing on and not being able to access said bolts due to the massiveness of the old starter’s body resulted in more crawls under the truck than I can remember. But I got ‘er done.

In other news, FiTech is sending me a new pump for the bum unit that dies when it gets warm. Should be getting it by the weekend. This pump failure has made me start wondering if I should change the location of the surge tank to somewhere other than the engine bay.

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FiTech surge tank
Ok, ok! Geez.

Had to replace the fuel pump inside the FiTech surge tank under warranty thankfully. The original one would lose pressure after it got hot. I’m not sure if I’m out of the woods yet though. I’ve only gotten a few runs around the block since then and I’ve noticed the new pump decreases pressure from the high 50s to the low 50s after it’s warm. This whole episode has made me wonder if I should move the surge tank out of the engine bay and into the cab somewhere. Unfortunately that will mean I need to acquire more high pressure fuel line to accomplish.

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Radiator
I also decided it was time to replace the original radiator before it failed and left me stranded somewhere really inconvenient. So I ordered an aluminum eBay/Amazon special. Knocked out the installation after several flushes of the system to get clear water coming out. So far so good. I’ll probably do some more flushes in the following weeks just to be sure and fill with coolant before it gets too cold. Of course my little mechanic insisted on helping me paint.

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Speedo
Decided to finally address the gauge cluster situation today. It was in desperate need of a few things, mostly to do with the speedometer. It was a tedious process and I had to redo a few things more than once. All part of the fun.
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The odometer was seized solid on the shaft and needed a clean and re-grease desperately. I wasn’t nervous by the third or fourth time I put it back together…
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A good cleaning and replacement glass was just what she needed. Looks almost new except for the patina.
 
Winch
Been too busy to do much recently with school/work/family, but I decided to get the winch off the garage floor finally. It’s been sitting there since I sold the 80 several months ago. Received the CCOT winch channel and hooks yesterday and they went straight on.

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Heater
Finally got another chunk of FJ40 time now that schools over and I’m off of work for a little chunk. Hoping I get one or two more chunks of time before I go back to work but we’ll see.

I decided to reinstall the heater after getting several of the parts I need in the other day. I got the blower motor tube connection from Cruiser Corps and the defroster elbows from City Racer I think. I was happy to find those as I thought I’d have to do without or get creative. Still need to get the tube to connect them to the vents though. The Dayco tubes City Racer recommends seems to be out of stock for a bit. Fortunately I can do without for quite a while.

Heater works great but I still need to work on getting the defrost lever working and the vent/circulate cable to work right. Both can wait though. I’d like to find a new knob for the fan switch as well but I’m not sure they’re out there. Any know?

Other than that I piddle-farted around with the wipers again and got the correct screws for the sun visors.

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