Builds 1978 FJ-40 R2.8 Cummins Build - "Mater" (3 Viewers)

[rossl]

It is finally time to start a build thread. I purchased a 1978 FJ-40 in 2011 fully intending to rebuild it at the time. Up until now other projects have gotten in the way. When I bought it my wife thought it was just as rusty as "Mater", the tow truck from cars. The name has somehow stuck.

This is how it looked when I first put it on the trailer to bring it home:

While mostly complete, there are a ton of things wrong. The initial starting point was the previous owner told me they swapped to a Weber carb and couldn't ever get the engine to run. I am by no means a mechanic, but was willing to try to see if I could sort through the issues since I'd considered an engine swap anyway. Rust. This car has it, and has it bad in a lot of areas. Also lots of mismatched parts, hack jobs on wiring, wire hangers for door handles, mismatched tires, etc. This car has seen a lot of use and some abuse along the way. I'm hoping to try to make it right again and see if I can get it back on the roads.

Goals are to have a very reliable fun and trail vehicle. This car will never be my daily driver, but needs to be reliable. Plans are to use it for forest service roads, camping, and mild off-roading.

 

[rossl]

First order of business back in 2011 was to sort out the fact the car wouldn't start. It would crank, but never even cough or sputter. Again, I'm not a mechanic, but basic physics says I'm either not getting fuel or spark. Previous owner was kind enough to provide the Weber installation sheet, which kindly enough suggested pulling the fuel line and cranking it into a cup to see if fuel was flowing.

Good news - it was. Bad news, it was combined 50% with water. Bottom of the tank was full of pinholes and leaks in the top and northwest sunshine was mixing in with the fuel.

Once the fuel line was hooked to a temporary fuel container and clean fuel entered the carb the engine would cough, sputter, and kind of come to life. It wouldn't idle worth a darn. Plenty of gas and it would keep going, but it struggled.

 

[rossl]

Compression tests confirmed the next issue, complete lack of compression on the #2 cylinder. Opening the valve cover confirmed a stuck valve which wouldn't re-seat:

Next order of business was to pull the head and replace the stuck valve and do a valve job as long as I was there.

I remember being very amazed at how heavy the head was to remove.

 

[greenbeasty]

Good work, keep it up.

 

[rossl]

From there I did manage to drive it a couple of times, but there were a large number of items on the checklist which didn't meet my safe to drive bar. Throttle linkage was completely hacked together. And a number of other systems had clearly been neglected for many years. I decided to tear further into it since I didn't want to drive it as it was, but kept finding more things wrong. Top and doors came off. Hard top had cracks and needed repair (thus the water getting into the cab, rusting the fuel tank).

Then other things took priority, and "Mater" sat waiting...

 

[Solace in Solitude]

Keep going, that looks like a good specimen!!

It would be a good idea to clean out your hard fuel lines and replace your soft fuel lines while you’re resolving your fuel tank and carb issues. A new fuel filter is always a good idea... a really dirty fuel filter could be causing some of this —> “Plenty of gas and it would keep going, but it struggled.”.

Also, make sure you don’t have gas in the crankcase (e.g. that the fuel pump diaphragm isn’t cracked).

Sniff the dipstick for gas. If you can’t smell gas, drain the oil and oil filter. Carefully check for gas or water in the oil... run a magnet Thur the oil and see if you find anything. New oil and filter never hurt.

.. and HAVE FUN!!

Good luck!!

 

[rossl]

Until last month. Hopefully I find some renewed free time this winter, but my plan is to try to devote a lot more time to getting this project off the ground.

My first plan was to do a body swap. The original tub is really far gone, and I was lucky to find a much better body a few years ago. So that means the old tub needs to be pulled off and swapped.

So, started with the front clip:

Then pulled the body off:

And finally the engine:

Plan next weekend is to pull the suspension and free the front axle for a knuckle rebuild.

 

[rossl]

Keep going, that looks like a good specimen!!

It would be a good idea to clean out your hard fuel lines and replace your soft fuel lines while you’re resolving your fuel tank and carb issues. A new fuel filter is always a good idea... a really dirty fuel filter could be causing some of this —> “Plenty of gas and it would keep going, but it struggled.”.

Also, make sure you don’t have gas in the crankcase (e.g. that the fuel pump diaphragm isn’t cracked).

Sniff the dipstick for gas. If you can’t smell gas, drain the oil and oil filter. Carefully check for gas or water in the oil... run a magnet Thur the oil and see if you find anything. New oil and filter never hurt.

.. and HAVE FUN!!

Good luck!!

Thanks! Good idea on the fuel lines, I didn't think of that. I did swap the fuel filter at the time.

 

[tls3601]

Also a couple changes of fuel filters would be an excellent idea. I have done this with both of my rigs.

 

[rossl]

Forgot to update last weekend's progress. Got the suspension pulled after a lot of wrestling with rusty bolts. I broke a few of the retaining bolts which I'll have to clean up next weekend. But I managed to get it down to a bare frame:

Next steps for the frame is to repair the rear bumper and supports. Previous owner must have decided that the stock tail lights weren't worth it and cut wider slots to put in trailer lights. The rear support brackets are pretty rusted through. I've got replacement parts ready, so that is one of the next items on my list too. The rest of the frame looks pretty good - some rusting/pitting but still is fairly solid. A persistent oil leak has kept everything around the engine/transmission/transfer case well oiled and protected, while the battery has caused some rusting below it.

I also pulled the front axle aside and plan to pull it apart for a knuckle rebuild over Thanksgiving since it weeps fluids pretty heavily:

I've got a full knuckle rebuild kit, fresh rotors, backing plate eliminator kit, and new Marlin seals waiting for install. My plan is to pull it apart and clean/paint as well.

A couple of questions:

1) Is there an advantage to me putting on something other than the Warn hubs when putting the front axle back together? My understanding is that for 1978 I would need to replace the birfield to fit Aisin/Asco hubs from '79+, is that correct?
2) Any suggestions on straightening the knuckle limiting stops? It looks like the there were pretty large forces involved when the wheel was cranked hard to the driver's side at some point in this FJ-40's past, so the driver's rear and passenger's front brackets are pretty bent out of shape. I was thinking of trying to heat/knock back into shape, but ideas are welcome.
3) Anything else I should do/upgrade as long as I have the front axle apart?

 

[SteveH]

2) Any suggestions on straightening the knuckle limiting stops? It looks like the there were pretty large forces involved when the wheel was cranked hard to the driver's side at some point in this FJ-40's past, so the driver's rear and passenger's front brackets are pretty bent out of shape. I was thinking of trying to heat/knock back into shape, but ideas are welcome.

I think if you got the middle of the 'stop' cherry red with an oxy-acet torch, and used a screwdriver to pry the middle out, you could have some success. Be careful not to burn away the stop with too much oxygen.

 

[tls3601]

My ‘78 has the Warn hubs as well. They work excellent and see no need to replace. Just my two cents...... Man you HAVE been busy, very nice work sir!

 

[JDNs78FJ40]

I just got done with knuckle rebuild on my 1978 with warn hubs. Take lots and lots of pictures. I did one side then the other. Lot's of good threads here on mud. I rebuilt the warn hubs as well and new pinion seals and flanges. I got my knuckle kit form Cruiser Outfitters.

 

[rossl]

Knuckle rebuild update: I got most of the knuckles disassembled over the weekend but discovered more issues. Driver's side seal was bad, which meant less grease and more gear oil. Bearings were shot as well, probably due to the damaged seals. I've never done this before but it ended up being fairly straightforward and fast compared to what I thought it was going to take.

And the pulled parts waiting cleaning:

Also somehow pretty major damage was done to the knuckle wiper seal bolt on the driver's side which made it nearly impossible to remove the seal. Tried the weld a nut to the damaged head problem but it didn't work. I did manage to remove the knuckle, but after I removed it I noticed that the damage extended to the knuckle itself, including the broken bolt and damage to the knuckle seal area. I'm not sure it is salvageable. I'll try to get some good shots and post pictures.

 

[rossl]

And finally posting pictures of the damaged knuckle seal. I'm not super confident that I'll be able to remove the broken bolt head due to the deformation of the knuckle below. I should have taken a before shot, but the entire bolt head was completely crushed into the knuckle, and you can see where that pressure has deformed the knuckle underneath.

Any collective thoughts on repair?

 

[Winslow17]

For the bolt, I’d try filing a flat on the shank that’s sticking out, centre punching it, then try drilling it out and using an easy-out or re-tapping the thread. Some easy-out kits come with left handed drills and you find that when drilling the hole, the bolt comes out anyway.

For the crushed seal face edge, I wouldn’t be too concerned, just get a Dremel with a grinding wheel tip and dress it back to match the step either side of the crushed area. Okay, the top of the lip will be a little low just at that point due to the crushing, but it’s just a location register and the seal will still get plenty of support from the good areas on either side.

 

[rossl]

I didn't get much done over the holiday as I expected, but I did get a little further. Posting a little bit of eye candy - I got the hubs cleaned up and painted. They are starting to look way better. New lug nuts semi-installed (still need to press them in since I'm lacking a press at the moment), backed by OEM rotors.

Axle housings are cleaner than they were, but still need a bit of cleanup.

I'm preparing the frame to send off to get media blasted, probably next weekend. That means digging into a little frame repair next weekend prior to blasting.

 

[rossl]

Once again I feel like even spending a weekend I didn't make significant progress. I did get the lug nuts pressed into the hub and assembled the new rotors, so they are both ready to go back together. I am waiting for one or two more parts and then I can re-assemble the front axles.

I also received a package from Valley Hybrids @orangefj45 containing a shiny new H55F with a split t-case, 4:1 low range, and the factory parking brake. It is a good motivator to get the frame finished so I can get going on the drivetrain.

 

[rossl]

Got to spend a short time in the shop today to work on the front axle again. I decided to try to fab up some replacement steering stops instead of trying to move the old ones back into place figuring cutting and welding on new stops would be easier than applying a lot of heat to the axle.

So far I'm pretty happy with the results. Once I cut the old stop off and weld on the new one I don't think it will be that easy to tell.

 

[reddog90]

Nice work and sweet trans/TC!