Builds "The Milk Truck" FJ45 Preservation Sorta (6 Viewers)

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That sucks about the condenser. Sure looks like trans fluid. No chance some just happened to spill by that mangled fin? Maybe see if you can pull a vacuum before you swap it?
I agree... fluid looks pretty red. I think its rare to get PAG oil out of the middle/top of a condenser too. I've seen some pretty mangled radiators/condensers/coolers that somehow still hold pressure.
 
That sucks about the condenser. Sure looks like trans fluid. No chance some just happened to spill by that mangled fin? Maybe see if you can pull a vacuum before you swap it?

I agree... fluid looks pretty red. I think its rare to get PAG oil out of the middle/top of a condenser too. I've seen some pretty mangled radiators/condensers/coolers that somehow still hold pressure.

I agree it looks red even when wiping it off. I have not messed with ATF for so long I don’t recall if I could have spilt ATF on it but I will try to test it before I take it apart or buy another.
 
I pulled the dash harness out and brought it inside to trim more of the excess out of it.
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I stretched it out and got things oriented on the table top then removed more of the obvious stuff I didn’t need. I really want to size it to fit dash space properly to do that I mocked up a cardboard box that is roughly similar to the inside of the dash.

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On the front side of the box I measured and drew out the dash features to help visualize that space.

I have a bunch to remove still. I think I am also going to make a mock harness out of rope in the dash to use as a comparison to make sure there is enough length for the harness to work around the in dash features.

It is going be a slow job.
 
Great ideas Dennis. Well done!
 
I got a fair amount done on the harness. The mock rope harness taped to cardboard has been very helpful to get is sized to fit. The cardboard allows you to add additional lines and notes in sharpie to help keep it organized.
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I have been making some changes to the harness and expect I will have to fit it again to test everything one last time before it gets wrapped.

I have been repinning and and replacing harness plugs were I can to reduce the solder splices but there will be a few.

I have been researching how to make the light switches glow with the dash lights on then brighten up when they are pulled. All the switches are backlit with a led bulb. The only way I can see doing this is to install a resistor inline with the dash light circuit just prior to the switches and then by pass it with the full 12 bolts when the switch is pulled. I’m not sure I can make it work. Open to suggestions if there are any wiring gurus following along.
 
That is a damn clever idea with the rope and cardboard. Steeling that for when my loom comes back out for final cleanup once I stop adding toys!
 
I got a fair amount done on the harness. The mock rope harness taped to cardboard has been very helpful to get is sized to fit. The cardboard allows you to add additional lines and notes in sharpie to help keep it organized.
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I have been making some changes to the harness and expect I will have to fit it again to test everything one last time before it gets wrapped.

I have been repinning and and replacing harness plugs were I can to reduce the solder splices but there will be a few.

I have been researching how to make the light switches glow with the dash lights on then brighten up when they are pulled. All the switches are backlit with a led bulb. The only way I can see doing this is to install a resistor inline with the dash light circuit just prior to the switches and then by pass it with the full 12 bolts when the switch is pulled. I’m not sure I can make it work. Open to suggestions if there are any wiring gurus following along.
Im not a guru, but maybe have diodes on the dim lighting so the higher bright voltage doesnt feed into the dim circuit making all the switches bright.
 
The harness is almost ready to put back in the dash to test it again. I ran out of some connectors and broke an LED light bulb, so will have to wait on parts to arrive before it is totally done.

I finished creating the knobs for the lockers. They will still be backlit, the font is close to oem just a little smaller to fit everything.

I will add a picture of them lit up after they get installed in the dash again.

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The transfer case and shifter harness sections are installed. I don’t see any reason I should have a problem with these sections 🤔. I made them so they plug into the main dash harness under the dash allowing the removal of the dash harness without having to pull these sections out too.

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Installed the dash harness and found my hazard switch does not work and the rear passenger taillight comes on when the headlights are switched on. I have a few things to sort out again, glad I tested it before wrapping it up.
 
I figured out my taillight and hazard switch issues. I didn’t have the drive taillight plugged in, so it was an easy fix.

The hazard switch was not working because I built the wiring system around a non-illuminated switch and later installed an illuminated switch that had the same odd plug and didn’t think to consider they were pinned differently.

Non-illuminated on the left illuminated on the right.
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With the non-illuminated switch installed all light systems were back to working as they should.

After I figure out how the illuminated switch works I will rewire it the harness for the illuminated switch.
 
I decided to do away with the weird plug hazard switches all together and used another 6 pin illuminated hazard switch I had. It turned out to to be a much simpler and cleaner fit for the harness I am using.

New switch

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I should have just used this switch to begin with. It is the same as what I am using to run the center diff locker. Using the same switch reduces the number of spares I need to hoard.
 
All the dash switches work as they should, so the dash harness is back on the table to get finished and make sure I have everything I need in place to wire the cluster up. I feel like I am getting close.

I needed to do something other than wiring today to feel like I had accomplished something, so I installed the transmission cover and shifter console. I may have made it more difficult to get under the dash to install the harness again but it feels good to bolt parts on that I hope I won’t have to remove again soon.

I used some 1 x 1/8 inch closed cell foam adhesive strip to create a gasket for the cover. To make the mounting holes in the foam I used an old short piece of fuel line and a hammer to punch holes through it after laying the foam over the flange to mark the locations. Worked out well.

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Cover installed
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Forgot how cool your TEQ shifter console is. Looks fantastic in paint!
 
Forgot how cool your TEQ shifter console is. Looks fantastic in paint!

Thanks, I really like how it turned out.
 
I wrapped up and secured the front chassis harness.
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I am hoping I won’t have drop the front bib again. To test my luck I installed the winch. I have synthetic line for it but I will wait to install it in the event I have to pull the winch off. I have no intention to restore the winch, I appreciate the aged look to match the truck. I will end up swapping all the wires and solenoid pack for a contactor.

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I’m working on integrating the two locker harnesses and the ac/heater harness with the 80 series harness. The locker and ac/heater harnesses all come with the below pictured fuse/breaker box as best I know.

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I believe these fuse’s perform the same function as the fusible links in the 80 harness. I would like to eliminate these fuses by Turin the 12v power source into the relay box that is already protected by the fusible links. Each locker and AC/heater system would run through a relay an Fuse as designed by the manufacturer.

My question, is acceptable to delete the fuse blocks and allow the fusible links to replace their role in protecting the system?

I really don’t want a bunch of mismatch harnesses and relays under the hood. Integrating it with the 80 harness would allow for a much cleaner install. It would also reduce the need for having a bunch of non Toyota fuses and relays in the parts bag.

I reached out to Eaton and for obvious reasons they only recommend installation per the instructions.
 
If your going to protect the circuits with same rating and quality of fuse in your fuse box then go for it. A fuse is a fuse. Electricity doesn't care whether it was the exact one that was supplied or not, so long as it does the same job
 
I only hope that your recessed fairlead doesn't hamper your ability to operate to the extreme side or up directions.
 
I only hope that your recessed fairlead doesn't hamper your ability to operate to the extreme side or up directions.
I definitely considered this when I built the bumper. The face of the fairlead is only an inch and a half recessed from the face of the bumper.

I intentionally angled the sides of the recession as I did with the soft radius to allow the winch line to slide over it if a winch is needed at a significant side angle pull. I really don’t expect it to be an issue for how I plan to use the truck but time will tell.
 

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