1975 BJ40. Slow refurb underway.

[dancar]

Here's the New Mexico version: every two years you send in $72 and a copy of your insurance. The state sends back a sticker for another two years. Repeat.

God, it's great to be home!

That alone would make me want to move to NM.

Sth Australia is very relaxed to the point of no annual inspections, however if you get pulled over on the roadside for a Police inspection, you can almost guarantee they'll find something wrong and force you over the pits....

 

[Canarias]

Now it´s driving am thinking out loud about the future work.

Preventative checks/maintenance on drivetrain before I rack up any miles or put it to some proper off road abuse.

Try out various wheels and tyres I have hanging around the workshop. Current idea is to put 33s on with 1" lift but am aware gonna most likely need more lift or smaller tyres. I don´t want any rubbing. Not going to overdo lift or enlarge fenders.

Roof off. Will need some shade, and some kind of lockable box for tools that will take shovel, pickaxe etc. Have one side facing rear seat that came with vehicle and 3 others that I have sourced separately, none of which match up to threaded holes, but all/any of which can be easily made to fit. I have a roll bar, half doors and half height rear door I got from the small ads but they´re pretty crappy so have to investigate sorting them out or finding others.

Body will come off and most likely engine out for full chassis and body rust repair, rustproofing and painting, and to allow me to do a full refurb on the wiring and the longer brake lines that haven´t aready been replaced. May do a strip down of engine, gearbox, transfer case, axles etc.

 

[lostmarbles]

Now it´s driving am thinking out loud about the future work.

Preventative checks/maintenance on drivetrain before I rack up any miles or put it to some proper off road abuse.

Try out various wheels and tyres I have hanging around the workshop. Current idea is to put 33s on with 1" lift but am aware gonna most likely need more lift or smaller tyres. I don´t want any rubbing. Not going to overdo lift or enlarge fenders.

Roof off. Will need some shade, and some kind of lockable box for tools that will take shovel, pickaxe etc. Have one side facing rear seat that came with vehicle and 3 others that I have sourced separately, none of which match up to threaded holes, but all/any of which can be easily made to fit. I have a roll bar, half doors and half height rear door I got from the small ads but they´re pretty crappy so have to investigate sorting them out or finding others.

Body will come off and most likely engine out for full chassis and body rust repair, rustproofing and painting, and to allow me to do a full refurb on the wiring and the longer brake lines that haven´t aready been replaced. May do a strip down of engine, gearbox, transfer case, axles etc.

That last paragraph sure looks like you're considering devoting lots of time and money to this vehicle Canarias.

(I doubt I could tackle anything more than a "rolling restoration" myself. Because having a vehicle in pieces for very long periods without any driving enjoyment doesn't suit my temperament.. But then you've still got other 4x4s to play with .. unlike me..)

 

[Canarias]

There is so much that can be done to improve the condition of the vehicle that it would seem criminal not to. At the same time this needs to be balanced with the criminality of taking it to pieces and turning it into a never finished project instead of being able to use it. I´m trying to strike that balance by doing as much as I can with it in an on road condition, then when it´s mechanically sound and I know the vehicle inside out, going for a concerted push to completely refurb cosmetically.

 

[Canarias]

Tried 33x12.5 for size. I would prefer 33x10.5 but didn´t have any of those lying around on 6 hole wheels. Useful exercise with the 12.5 anyway to check for clearance.

 

[Canarias]

Seems like enough room at front. Fender to tyre clearance is greater than bump stop to axle clearance so initial verdict for room at the front is a thumbs up.

 

[Canarias]

My front shackles measure 70mm between the centres of the two pins. My rears measure 120mm. Visually it looks like it´s doing a slight nosedive, and two other 40s I looked at today have 70mm shackles front and rear.

So assumption is my rig is stock at front and has 25mm lift at rear (via 50mm extended shackle). Even so, 33" tyres are a tight fit at the rear. Too tight.

Tyre to bodywork clearance is 92mm whereas the bump stop to axle clearance would allow 107mm.

Verdict: with 25mm of lift at the rear already, at least another 15mm of lift is needed to allow room for 33" tyres. I guess 50mm / 2" would be the common sense safe minimum. Alternative could be an extended bump stop at the cost of the range of possible spring compression.

 

[Canarias]

Took this thing for its first proper off road trip. With 30" road tyres as that´s what I had to put on to get it road legal. Got stuck for a few mins and had to let tyres down a bit then was ok. I´m noticing a loaud clicking sound when one of the front wheels spins. Additionally, not 100% sure but suspect the clutch may have been slipping occasionally but it could have just been loss of tyre traction. Are there adjustments that can be made to combat clutch slip, or does the slightest sign of a slipping clutch meen a new one?

 

[lostmarbles]

Took this thing for its first proper off road trip. With 30" road tyres as that´s what I had to put on to get it road legal. Got stuck for a few mins and had to let tyres down a bit then was ok. I´m noticing a loaud clicking sound when one of the front wheels spins. Additionally, not 100% sure but suspect the clutch may have been slipping occasionally but it could have just been loss of tyre traction. Are there adjustments that can be made to combat clutch slip, or does the slightest sign of a slipping clutch meen a new one?

As the friction material on your clutch plate wears, the distance between your release bearing and the release-fingers on your pressure-plate decreases. So if maintenance has been neglected, it is possible for the release bearing to start making contact with the release fingers even when you don't have your foot on the clutch pedal. (So "lack of maintenance" can cause your clutch to slip.)

So the first thing to do with your clutch is to adjust it as per the FSM. (Pedal heights, master pushrod freeplay, and slave pushrod freeplay.)

If it still slips when the freeplay is ensuring the release bearing isn't touching the release fingers (when your foot is off the clutch pedal of course), then either there's oil on the friction material or the friction material has worn too thin. Either way, you'll need to drop the transmission/bellhousing off the engine to get access for repairs. (Or remove the engine, but I find removing the transmission easier.)



PS. The loud clicking could be signs of a problem with the Birf/CV on the spinning side. I'd jack up the front axle and rotate that wheel while turning the steering left and right to see if it binds at times (as opposed to continuing to turn freely regardless of steering angle).
Binding would confirm the birf problem..

 

[Canarias]

Thanks Tom you´ve given me a couple of fairly quick things to try first so fingers crossed it´s not a big job.

 

[Canarias]

So the first thing to do with your clutch is to adjust it as per the FSM. (Pedal heights, master pushrod freeplay, and slave pushrod freeplay.)

If I understand this, the problem would be like the opposite of play between the slave pushrod and the clutch lever?

The clutch pedal has almost zero play, and the slave pushrod about 5mm as per the max allowable. If I´m under it I can waggle the lever with no resistance (once the spring is off). So there is play and that´s bad news cos doesn´t give me an easy fix for the slipping clutch.

Was reviewing the process in the FSM for dropping the transmission out. looks like a ballache, removing seats etc

 

[lostmarbles]

If I understand this, the problem would be like the opposite of play between the slave pushrod and the clutch lever?

The clutch pedal has almost zero play, and the slave pushrod about 5mm as per the max allowable. If I´m under it I can waggle the lever with no resistance (once the spring is off). So there is play and that´s bad news cos doesn´t give me an easy fix for the slipping clutch.

Yep. If the clutch slips while you can waggle the release fork then it's time to get inside the bellhousing for a looksee...

(Why couldn't I have said it that simply before??? )

...Was reviewing the process in the FSM for dropping the transmission out. looks like a ballache, removing seats etc

I've done it at least two or three times but it's been a long time since the last one now..

But I'm certain I didn't remove my seats..

I know I had my cruiser wheels sitting on blocks of wood to gain some body height to enable me to slide the "gearbox/transfer/bellhousing assembly" out from under the vehicle once I'd dropped them. (Because that cast iron bellhousing is huge.)

Obviously disconnect both drive shafts (propeller shafts or whatever you want to call them). Disconnect the handbrake cable (transmission-type brake), speedo cable, and reverse-light wiring connection.
Support the rear of the engine with a jack and block of wood.

And the rear engine mount that runs between the chassis rails needs to be taken out.

I used a rather precarious arrangement each time (because I couldn't be bothered making up a proper device for a job I'll seldom repeat) with a trolley jack taking the main load of the box-trans-bell-assembly together with another spare bottle jack assisting in lowering the assembly down.

I also had ropes slung under the assembly and up-and-over the chassis rails to catch the weight if anything went wrong when lowering it to the ground.

And a common method I use to slide heavy items across concrete (without damaging them) is to drop them onto thick cardboard packaging material. I can then simply grip an edge of the cardboard and drag the item anywhere I want.



PS. I find all the bellhousing-to-engine bolts are accessible from within the engine bay ... but some may have required a little patience to undo.

And the last time I did this, I did it on my SLOPING driveway (which obviously makes the process of getting the G/box input shaft into the flywheel pilot bearing more tricky). So if you have the luxury of flat concrete it'll be even easier.

Edit: Forgot about removing/disconnecting both the gearbox lever and transfer lever. (Make sure the gearbox is in neutral before lifting the lever out.)

 

[Canarias]

Hi Tom, thanks for the detailed advice. The FSM says remove seats, seat mountings, fuel tank, transmission hump etc etc. I like your way much better and that´s the way I will do it, if I have to address this in the short term.

I´m gunning for living with it as is for a while, and not giving it any hard off road use, especially uphill. It´s due for a full body off refurb at some point. My Suzuki & Nissan are both in the workshop for necessary fixes so it´s not a good time to start taking the 40 apart.

 

[Vae Victus]

Hi Tom, thanks for the detailed advice. The FSM says remove seats, seat mountings, fuel tank, transmission hump etc etc. I like your way much better and that´s the way I will do it, if I have to address this in the short term.

I´m gunning for living with it as is for a while, and not giving it any hard off road use, especially uphill. It´s due for a full body off refurb at some point. My Suzuki & Nissan are both in the workshop for necessary fixes so it´s not a good time to start taking the 40 apart.

Taking out seats is not "required" but makes it a lot easier.

 

[Canarias]

picked up a set of 16" wheels with part worn off road 31s for 220 euros yesterday.

been trying to add foto but just get "page not found"

 

[Canarias]

pics with new wheels on

 

[Canarias]

I drove it for a little less than a mile then headed back for the workshop due to binding on full lock (in 2WD) and some friction/rubbing noises with the frequency of each wheel rotation. Took a wheel off and noticed evidence of wheel fouling on tie rod ends.

 

[Canarias]

I figured that after a couple of miles the damage that was going to be done had been done, and there is enough material left on the tie rod end and its bolt and nut to be ok, so drove it home then for a mild off road session to see how the new tyres went. All went OK but on way home more binding sounds. I´m guessing this is the wheel again but concerned it may be axle/diff/birf so back to the workshop tomo to inspect again, put previous set of wheels on and evaluate.

BY the way, the yellow 45 in the pic above is a friend´s latest purchase that I drove home for him today. Apart from it melting the sole of my shoe where I was resting it on the transmission hump due to uncomfortable throttle pedal position for motorway driving it was a good drive.

 

[lostmarbles]

Looks like the offset on those new wheels isn't right and you need spacers there Canarias.

What's with the plastic bottles of water everywhere in those first 2 pics?

Are they there because of that silly superstition that it stops dogs cr#pping in the vicinity?

 

[Canarias]

No spacers to hand so the solution will be to get those tyres onto some wheels that fit. The temporary solution is in the pic. The original wheels with 30" road tyres on the front and the wheels I bought this week with 31" off road tyres stay on the back. It brings the nose down half an inch relative to the rear but in the 15 mile or so drive home it didn´t seem to cause any problems. Obviously I was in 2 wheel drive.

Tomo I will cautiously try this setup off road in 4WD. The track I use is very soft so the ~3% difference in drive speeds between the front and rear wheels shouldn´t cause any probs right?