1975 BJ40. Slow refurb underway.

[lostmarbles]

... 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?

The different tyre sizing between front and rear will accentuate "transmission bind-up/wind-up" (making it harder to exit 4WD-mode without simultaneously performing multiple backwards-forwards gear-changing movements) but this'll occur only when driving in 4-wheel-drive on a solid surface like concrete or asphalt (which is never recommended anyway).

In my opinion the different sizing will have no adverse effect when driving off-road in sand, loose gravel, mud and suchlike.

 

[Canarias]

the mismatched wheels were no problem at all offroad. I have noticed tho that I lose traction on the front right wheel very easily in low ratio . I get that clicking from front right wheel that I mentioned before and the transfer case shift knob waggles noticeably. In high ratio 4x4 there are no problems whatsoever. I am going to check the trans n transfer mountings low ratio is out of bounds till I discover the root cause. I can go everywhere I need to go in high ratio.

I suspect this is something that will only get fixed when I do the full refurb. There hasn´t been any instance of anything that felt like clutch slipping since that one time I noted previously.

 

[Canarias]

I was given some mixed use 31 tyres and got these put on some wheels that fit without spacers or rubbing, so back to 31s all round and made a couple more off road test trips. Still having problems in low ratio off road, and sometimes in high ratio. If the surface is slightly loose and the vehicle is climbing, I get wheel spin on the front right. This is in conditions that a normal 2 wheel drive car could handle. If the going gets tough, the only way I can get the 40 thru is by putting it into 2WD.

Got the end caps off the front short axles, and there is diff oil in with the grease, so going for the knuckle rebuild. My 50mm socket isn't deep enough to go over the end of the axle and engage the nut. A friend took the socket away and is going to grind the back off it and weld some pipe to it, turning it into a box spanner. Said he would bring it back tomorrow. That was a month ago so sending off for a 50mm box spanner on ebay just now.


Once I´ve dug into the axles, I´ll get everything looked at by a pro to see if there´s anything in there that explains this front wheel slipping.

Got the bumper off for painting. Been experimenting with electrolysis for rust removal as per coolerman´s great site and getting mixed results. More on this when I iron out the bugs.

 

[lostmarbles]

Hate to put a fly in the ointment ... but my wheel bearing socket is 55mm not 50mm.

 

[Canarias]

The nut i'm up against is definitely a 50mm. Hope there isnt a 55 behind it

 

[lostmarbles]

The nut i'm up against is definitely a 50mm. Hope there isnt a 55 behind it

That's interesting..

I've just searched "land cruiser axle nut socket" and all the hits I get say 54mm!

I'll tell you what, I'll go and get and axle nut kit and my 55mm socket and take a photo of one of the nuts sitting inside my 55mm socket for you..

(I'll post that up in a few minutes as an edit...)

I've never heard of different sizes being used between inner and outer.

And I just had a brief squizz at the EPC and couldn't see any sign of a size-change occuring in the 1970's..

Anyone have an idea why we have this discrepancy in socket size (50, 54 and 55)? Is one of us wrong or are there both 50mm and 54mm nut sizes?

(I'm guessing 54 and 55 are so close it doesn't matter.)

 

[DSRTRDR]

early trucks with 6-spline birfs had the 50mm hub nut - changed to 54mm with the fine spline birfs

I used to have the 50mm when I had the '72 front knuckles - now that I have 60 series knuckles, I have the 54mm nut

in lieu of a properly fitting hub nut socket, the nut can be chiseled loose with a hammer and a screwdriver it will leave marks on the nut, though, and some PO may curse you later

 

[lostmarbles]

early trucks with 6-spline birfs had the 50mm hub nut - changed to 54mm with the fine spline birfs

I used to have the 50mm when I had the '72 front knuckles - now that I have 60 series knuckles, I have the 54mm nut

in lieu of a properly fitting hub nut socket, the nut can be chiseled loose with a hammer and a screwdriver it will leave marks on the nut, though, and some PO may curse you later

Ah.. Thanks Claudia. I knew there had to be a good explanation.

So looking at the EPC, 43521-60010 must be the part number of the 50mm nut and 43521-60011 must be the part number for the 54mm nut.

That goes against the norm where such a single digit change in part number makes parts interchangeable! Damn! (There's never any consistency.)

And I probably acquired that 55mm socket for my fine-spline-axle nuts because I probably couldn't find a decent 54mm one at the time.

I think 54mm is an unusual metric hex size.

Perhaps my axle nuts were even designed for 2 1/8 inch imperial sockets to be used (and I probably ignorantly discounted searching for an imperial socket back then in the belief that everything on my cruiser just HAD to be metric because Toyota was based in a metric country).

(Of course I now know that there are quite a few imperial/inches dimensions/specifications on a Land Cruiser.)

Most 54mm sockets I see are cheap pressed-sheetmetal things that do the job OK but are offensive as far as quality their is concerned. (Hence my preference for a proper chrome vanadium socket.)

Anyway, before reading your post Claudia, I took my pics so I might as well post them to eliminate any future arguments about socket size for nuts used on fine-spline axles:

The first proves my 55mm socket is a bit too large:

 

[Canarias]

I hope u didnt get ur nuts out just to post the foto

 

[lostmarbles]

I hope u didnt get ur nuts out just to post the foto

Watch it...

Authorities are constantly running software programs that search for key words and key word-sequences. As we speak, somebody in the Internet Porn Section has probably been jolted awake (by an integrated humane-cattle-prod-type device) to study this thread.

 

[Canarias]

Watch it...

Authorities are constantly running software programs that search for key words and key word-sequences. As we speak, somebody in the Internet Porn Section has probably been jolted awake (by an integrated humane-cattle-prod-type device) to study this thread.

The more cattle prodding of the gravy-trainers the better... so here´s a pic of my nuts in their nutbag with some of their friends along with proof that your nuts are in fact slightly bigger than mine.

 

[Canarias]

Was hoping to have the birfs out both sides by now but struggling getting the cone washers out on the right hand side so haven't dug into the left yet. Got 3 stuck cones under the knuckle, need to raise it up another notch or two on the axle stands so I can get into better position for bashing stuff.

What I do know is there is diff oil past the seals on both sides, so this is going to be a worthwhile exercise even if I don´t find the cause of the clicking/wheelspins. No sign of damage or a great deal of wear on the right, and bearings seem to be sweet. Will get someone who knows what they looking at to check things over when other side is stripped so I don´t miss the opportunity to replace something that is past it.

 

[Canarias]

Got round the cone washers by locking two nuts together on the studs and screwing the studs out. Got half axles out both sides now. Pics to follow.

 

[Canarias]

Had the birfields and half axles checked out by a mechanic. Said all looked OK and nothing obvious that was causing front wheel to spin. Also checked out the gearbox/engine mountings by seeing what would move with help of a crowbar and all OK. Suspicion was that front right wheel was becoming light due to combination of going uphill, better tyres on rear than front, and the front spring on left hand side having lost some of its arch. Will do some research on correcting cruiser lean. Have toyed with idea of buying new lift springs, but nothing avail at a good price locally, and cost of shipping in from abroad not encouraging.

 

[lostmarbles]

.... Suspicion was that front right wheel was becoming light due to combination of going uphill, better tyres on rear than front, and the front spring on left hand side having lost some of its arch. ......

Steep uphill driving definitely takes the weight off the front.

And better tyres on the rear will certainly encourage the front tyres to break their grip first.

And the different tyre sizes between front and rear won't be helping grip.

And if your cruiser's right-hand-drive like mine, then you'll notice the right-front spinning and fail to see others spinning.

So it's probably nothing mechanical as you say...

 

[Canarias]

And if your cruiser's right-hand-drive like mine, then you'll notice the right-front spinning and fail to see others spinning.

It´s LHD. 80% sure its just the right hand front spinning. I was thinking its cos driver is on left side then the right is lighter n therefore spinning first.

 

[Canarias]

Where I am with this now is...

Knuckle rebuild kit (seals n bearings) has arrived from USA
New poly spring bushings (current ones are mashed) have arrived from Australia
But... I haven´t been able to split the ball joints. Ball joint splitter on way from UK should arrive within a week.

Meanwhile have rubbed down and/or broken off the rustiest parts of roof gutter, applied rust converter, then built them up with filler. It´s a bit rough looking at the moment, not sure how it´s going to turn out cosmetically after sanding and painting, and also not sure if/when rust might come thru later. Wasn´t going to tackle this at this point, but stuck with ball joints so gave it a shot. I guess at some point I will take the gutter off and replace it, but want to get this vehicle back on the road again once knuckles are rebuilt and finish with any mechanical gremlins before getting deep into cosmetics.

Edit ... and how could I forget, still need to source some new TREs ... $15 a pair sound about right?

 

[Canarias]

Ordered a 5 piece tie rod end kit from Australia for AU$ 135, half of which was for shipping. If it arrives as quick as the bushings from Oz did it will be here early next week.

 

[Canarias]

I don´t think the bearings they sent me in the knuckle rebuild kit are gonna fit...

 

[pbgbottle]

does it say 30303d
is that what i can see ?

should fit