10 years on the road... (1 Viewer)

[riderjgs]

“Beef” is definitely on the menu. I was the one responsible for both attempting to follow you through the mud north of the Great Salt Lake and hooking up the strap when you extricated me. That driver side “Rear Quarter Panel Damage Multiplier” has had several near death experiences.

 

[riderjgs]

Bolted the new rear bumper up today. Wiring the plug in may wait until after PP 2021. I think I like it...ought to be a good rear quarter panel saver too.

 

[riderjgs]

Great "Color Sunday" weekend with some local Cruiser folks up near Leadville, CO. Started from Camp Hale, historic training sight for WWII's 10th Mountain Division so that troops could mimic conditions in the occupied Alps. Did McCalester Gulch, Ptarmigan Pass and some other loops with remote camping. Lots more to do in the area. Plans to do Shrine Pass were stymied by a locked forest service gate, probably due to washouts. Could have done it Sunday afternoon from nearby Red Cliff but folks were anxious to head home. Might be consideration for a future Pig Party with base camping in the campground at Camp Hale. Challenging and scenic without the need for traffic cops (even if our trail leader is one) like over in the San Juans.
And yes, that's a Rubicon in the fourth pic, but she's also a Cruiser owner. Special dispensation since the LC was temporarily out of service.

 

[riderjgs]

More pics from the Camp Hale weekend. My favorite is Bonnie sitting alone overlooking Camp Hale from our timberline campsite Saturday night.

 

[RUSH55]

Looks awesome up there, Jim

 

[greenbeast]

Good year for leaves, pretty nice up here around Steamboat.

 

[PabloCruise]

@riderjgs - Jim, I think this is your "build thread", eh?

I thought I saw you mention you needed to replace a leaky fuel tank somewhere in here - am I remembering correctly?

Wondering if you did replace the tank, and what your after-action assessment was? Wondering if you had a tear similar to mine.

Thanks for any details you may have!

 

[riderjgs]

Jacked up, wheels off and tank drained yesterday afternoon. Heading out to the garage right now to swap tanks and button things up. Still need to figure out my pressurization issue. Using a OEM replacement vented cap and all lines and the manifold are clear. Can also blow air through the cannister.
Here are some pics of the spare replacement tank. You can see where repairs were necessary, both on the top side. Both spots had been fixed before with patches on top of the splits. Specialty shop that fixes a lot of various kinds of industrial tanks welded them up directly this time. I'll know in a little while where the tank I'm pulling leaked. Hopefully it's fixable and I'll have a good spare. With any luck at all it won't be needed.

 

[Dankhorn]

@riderjgs - Jim, I think this is your "build thread", eh?

I thought I saw you mention you needed to replace a leaky fuel tank somewhere in here - am I remembering correctly?

Wondering if you did replace the tank, and what your after-action assessment was? Wondering if you had a tear similar to mine.

Thanks for any details you may have!

There is a recall for certain Land Cruisers built from 1987-1989 where the fuel tanks need to be replaced. Toyota seems to be honoring the recall, but every dealer is different whether they want to deal with an old car or not. I had one dealer tell me it can't be done and for me to contact Toyota for them to buy back the vehicle. Instead, I called Toyota and the Toyota representative and I made a three-way call to another local dealership and it had no issues replacing the fuel tank for free.

I assume it will significantly improve the resale value of the vehicle. I believe I read somewhere (possibly on here) there were a number of Land Cruisers made/marketed for PR/Mexico, but I'm having trouble finding any information here or on the web. I also think I read that it's those particular vehicles that have the fuel tank recall issues for them? Let me know if you heard something like that

 

[PabloCruise]

There is a recall for certain Land Cruisers built from 1987-1989 where the fuel tanks need to be replaced. Toyota seems to be honoring the recall, but every dealer is different whether they want to deal with an old car or not. I had one dealer tell me it can't be done and for me to contact Toyota for them to buy back the vehicle. Instead, I called Toyota and the Toyota representative and I made a three-way call to another local dealership and it had no issues replacing the fuel tank for free.

I assume it will significantly improve the resale value of the vehicle. I believe I read somewhere (possibly on here) there were a number of Land Cruisers made/marketed for PR/Mexico, but I'm having trouble finding any information here or on the web. I also think I read that it's those particular vehicles that have the fuel tank recall issues for them? Let me know if you heard something like that

I think that was for rust forming in the tanks...

 

[riderjgs]

Damn gas tank swap completed a few days ago. A little more work than expected. The supportive crossmember added at the rear frame triangle to reinforce the receiver hitch tube in my new bumper meant I was less than a half inch short of room to wiggle the tank out of its hole. Excellent welding by the fab guy (stacked like dimes with change left over) was three cutting discs worth of hell to remove. Not to mention drilling remounting holes through quarter inch angle iron and the frame. All while on my back pushing up on an angle grinder and heavy duty electric drill. At least it'll be easier next time to just remove a couple of bolts at each end. Renewed appreciation for all of you tackling much worse in your driveways and garages.
Can see where the removed tank was leaking on a top corner but not why. Must be a pin hole leaking under pressure. One of these days I'll clean off the top of the tank and figure it out. After all that grinding dust oozes out of my pores.

 

[tucker74]

I’ve learned that a step-bit works wonders in those situations, unbelievable how much faster and easier than a traditional drill bit. Grinding overhead sucks no matter how you dice it

 

[bobm]

And welding overhead Sucks

 

[riderjgs]

So I've been looking for some of these wheels for awhile, hoping to be able to fit tall skinny 16s when I do my next tire swap in order to have a better tire selection. They're extremely hard to find in the 16" version...usually came on Prados and some other 70 series. Proving it's better to be lucky than smart, five of these showed up right here in town on a Troopy that's being re-outfitted in a serious fashion. Also managed to snag another 4 last year and was only looking for a spare when I found the latest batch. Pics show the 6x16 wheels with 35 year old 235x85x16s. Wonder what everyone thinks (though I suspect @J Mack, @fj55-100, @Megadoomer and @fj55tlc will not approve). Would probably blast 'em and powdercoat or paint in the Ash Grey Metallic to match my bumpers. Also need to find at least the rear center caps. Would also consider going up to 255s. It's amazing how much lighter these wheels and tires are compared to my existing Toyota 15" white spokes and 33s.

 

[scrapdaddy]

I have no sense of style, so I'm sure they're fine. I'm wondering about the width of the rim and moving up to a 255/85. I'm probably wrong, but I think they need a 7" wide wheel. Something to check at the least.

 

[riderjgs]

I'm sure you're right, Ron, since the 235s spec to a 6.5" wheel. But I'm running 15" 33s on a 6" Toyota FJ60 wheel with no issues, Probably getting some minor crowning but usually run a softer tire pressure to compensate. Tread depth measurements today show the ATs are wearing evenly.

 

[Dankhorn]

Damn gas tank swap completed a few days ago. A little more work than expected. The supportive crossmember added at the rear frame triangle to reinforce the receiver hitch tube in my new bumper meant I was less than a half inch short of room to wiggle the tank out of its hole. Excellent welding by the fab guy (stacked like dimes with change left over) was three cutting discs worth of hell to remove. Not to mention drilling remounting holes through quarter inch angle iron and the frame. All while on my back pushing up on an angle grinder and heavy duty electric drill. At least it'll be easier next time to just remove a couple of bolts at each end. Renewed appreciation for all of you tackling much worse in your driveways and garages.
Can see where the removed tank was leaking on a top corner but not why. Must be a pin hole leaking under pressure. One of these days I'll clean off the top of the tank and figure it out. After all that grinding dust oozes out of my pores.

Did you get it done under the recall?

 

[riderjgs]

Did you get it done under the recall?

No. Don't believe the recall applied to 55s, only later model Cruisers.

 

[scrapdaddy]

I heard they had a recall on rust with the 55s, anybody take theirs in?

 

[fj55tlc]

Actually, one of Toyota's first recalls was on the fj55 for the rear wire harness for trailer wiring. Fun fact for those of us that have done far too many recalls for far too long.
Also, I totally approve of your wheels as long as I can four wheel along with you. Maybe someday we can get those in some serious rocks!