You can rebuild the hazard switch. First turn it off and on like 50 times in a row and see if it will work. All your turn signal bulbs need to work or it will not flash properly.
Build 1978 FJ40 - Lovely “Linda”
- Thread starter nabbasi
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nabbasi
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #82
I removed it and tested it and it’s not grounding out against the case which was my first thought. The hazards work without issue, but it blows the turn signal/ wiper fuse. When plugged in with a new fuse, I can even use the turn signal at least once before it blows the fuse.
The hazard switch on the 78 gets power from the turn/ wiper fuse, and passes that to the turn signal switch. But it also gets power from the brake / stop fuse, and that circuit is fine.
I had to rebuild the turn signal switch. There was lots of burned away material around the contacts. I scraped out the loose stuff, then filled it in with MicroBed epoxy. After it dried, I scraped it down flat, cleaned the contacts and put it back together. That was around 1990 - still works.
Wiring is getting brittle in places. Bulb holders are getting more corroded and weaker every year.
Wiring is getting brittle in places. Bulb holders are getting more corroded and weaker every year.
nabbasi
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #84
On Monday, I spent ~3 hours going through the harness and testing my connections and routing again. No luck. Still blowing fuses.
On Wednesday, I rigged up a test light with 2 leads to the fuse holder in the fuse panel that kept blowing. On my way to work, it lit up in 4th gear. And only in 4th gear. A little searching here, and confirmed with the diagram that I was grounding the gear selector switch. In the 1978, 4th gear sends a ground signal to the emissions control computer (4th gear indicator switch - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/4th-gear-indicator-switch.1350319/).
I think I had mistaken this wire for the reverse 12V+, and connected them. @Ruski helped with the troubleshooting in the parking lot, and only got shocked once as thanks for his assistance. Several miles in and plenty of 4th gear, no blown fuses.
Oh, and the passenger side hood latch failed, so I replaced it.
On Wednesday, I rigged up a test light with 2 leads to the fuse holder in the fuse panel that kept blowing. On my way to work, it lit up in 4th gear. And only in 4th gear. A little searching here, and confirmed with the diagram that I was grounding the gear selector switch. In the 1978, 4th gear sends a ground signal to the emissions control computer (4th gear indicator switch - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/4th-gear-indicator-switch.1350319/).
I think I had mistaken this wire for the reverse 12V+, and connected them. @Ruski helped with the troubleshooting in the parking lot, and only got shocked once as thanks for his assistance. Several miles in and plenty of 4th gear, no blown fuses.
Oh, and the passenger side hood latch failed, so I replaced it.
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@nabbasi well…it stands out against the ….original paint 
nabbasi
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #86
50 miles or so over the last week and the sniper is going great. Over the last few days I’ve gotten the brakes dialed in a bit better. I reset the master cylinder / booster input depth with a gauge (not the fancy Toyota one), and realized I was rowing the wrong way on the drums, so most my pedal play had been resolved. I rebled my brakes again for good measure. They feel a bit over boosted for my liking, but they work well, so I’m going to keep moving. Parking brake works, too.
Going to wait on suspension to go back and rebuild my knuckles since seals had failed at some point, rebuild the steering center arm and replace the tie rod ends since there are no boots. Parts in transit from cruiserteq/ cruiser outfitters. I hope it goes a bit easier than the ‘67 (the early center arm was a pain!).
Next up:
Alternator - in transit
Turn signal + wiper short/blown fuses
Rear Drum Adjustment
Parking brake adjustment
Dome light install
Sniper Tuning - ongoing
Drive Linda to work
Terrain Tamer - soon?
Knuckle rebuild + new inner axle seal and bearings
TRE replacement
Center Arm Rebuild
Going to wait on suspension to go back and rebuild my knuckles since seals had failed at some point, rebuild the steering center arm and replace the tie rod ends since there are no boots. Parts in transit from cruiserteq/ cruiser outfitters. I hope it goes a bit easier than the ‘67 (the early center arm was a pain!).
Next up:
Alternator - in transit
Rear Drum Adjustment
Parking brake adjustment
Dome light install
Sniper Tuning - ongoing
Drive Linda to work
Terrain Tamer - soon?
Knuckle rebuild + new inner axle seal and bearings
TRE replacement
Center Arm Rebuild
That knuckle oil/grease aroma is something you’ll never forget.. congratulations on getting this list down so far…so , what do you do when it’s all done? I keep looking at mine and all I can do is drive it or vacuum the inside…oh, I did get the music playing again
nabbasi
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #88
I’m already dreading the smell. I’ve been hitting everything with kroil in an attempt to make everything easier, so that’s going to be quite the change in garage aroma.
Thanks! Slowly but surely. There’s no shortage of projects on this one, but if/ when I do get to a stopping point, I’ve promised myself I’d get back to my 1968 mustang. I haven’t driven it in 4 years!
The kiddos enjoy riding in the jump seats in Linda. I’ve got a rear bench in my ‘67, so this is fun for them. My goal is to get this one to the same level of drive-ability.
Music is an important one! What did you go with?
RevISK
SILVER Star
If you haven’t already thought about it, you should consider the Marlin HD axle seals. There might be a specific name for them I’m not remembering right now but the difference is very palpable. Kurt’s gang will know.
Congratulations on getting the list to where it’s at, no small feat.
Congratulations on getting the list to where it’s at, no small feat.
Oh..this one is a bit different. I had a CD/FM/AM/ head unit but removed it. Added REALLY CHEAP Bluetooth amp behind the radio delete plate with a on/off volume control and link it to the iPhone. With Apple Music and Amazon Music it will play from anything there or just say “ hey siri, play XXXX” AND IT DOES.
Acoustically, it’s like a really bad but quality speaker by itself on left and right sides. It easily out plays the drone of 60MPH Land Cruiser cabin noise and plays podcasts as well. It connects to the phone immediately and costs about $18.00 on Amazon.
Acoustically, it’s like a really bad but quality speaker by itself on left and right sides. It easily out plays the drone of 60MPH Land Cruiser cabin noise and plays podcasts as well. It connects to the phone immediately and costs about $18.00 on Amazon.
nabbasi
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #91
Thanks! I did look into but seems they’re out of stock pretty much everywhere. Just going to go original and keep moving. If the parts arrive early enough Friday I’m diving in.
Very nice! I like the radio blank plate with the knob. I did something very similar at first in Blue, but ended up going with a bluetooth boat amp for more sound. Not good sound, just more. Is it this one (or similar)?
I repurposed my “room light” switch and it turns the amp on/ off. No volume adjustment, but I just use my phone.
Yep! That’s the same but my switch is on/off and volume control…the phone increases volume as well with its volume control. As you said. Not great sound but surely more of it
nabbasi
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #93
Just a quick update. I’ve been able to tack together a few non-consecutive hours over the past 2 weeks to disassemble the knuckles, clean them, paint them, and begin the re-install.
Things were in better condition than anticipated. Only things that were notably worn were the knuckle bearings. Then I noticed that both the tie rod and relay rod were both very, very bent. Ordered new ones from Mark, and proceeded with cleaning/ painting.
I started re-assembly today, and things went smoothly right up until I was testing preload. Using the factory shims, I only had about 3.5lbs on the driver side, and less than 2lbs on the driver side.
Each side had 1.5mm on the top and 1mm on the bottom.
Dropping to 1mm on the top and .5mm on the bottom was too drastic. 1.2mm on the top and .7mm on the bottom didn’t work for the driver side.
I’m going to try to add .2mm to the passenger side to and bottom to see if it improves.
This is only my 3rd knuckle job ever, 2nd on a 40, but I don’t remember having this much trouble with something that was (probably) centered properly from the factory.
Things were in better condition than anticipated. Only things that were notably worn were the knuckle bearings. Then I noticed that both the tie rod and relay rod were both very, very bent. Ordered new ones from Mark, and proceeded with cleaning/ painting.
I started re-assembly today, and things went smoothly right up until I was testing preload. Using the factory shims, I only had about 3.5lbs on the driver side, and less than 2lbs on the driver side.
Each side had 1.5mm on the top and 1mm on the bottom.
Dropping to 1mm on the top and .5mm on the bottom was too drastic. 1.2mm on the top and .7mm on the bottom didn’t work for the driver side.
I’m going to try to add .2mm to the passenger side to and bottom to see if it improves.
This is only my 3rd knuckle job ever, 2nd on a 40, but I don’t remember having this much trouble with something that was (probably) centered properly from the factory.
My thinking about shim preload is to remove shims from the top to gain more preload. If the knuckle is centered, and the vehicles weight is on the bottom bearing. I think removing a shim from the bottom then the knuckle wouldn't be centered any more. I could be all wrong too. If no one has been there b4, I would assume the factory centered the knuckle. In the end, the adjustments are thousandth's of an inch.
nabbasi
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #99
I popped into my leftover parts for my ‘67, and grabbed the new / unused shim pack out of there. I matched the shims with what was installed originally, and then removed .2mm and everything felt great. I spent some time over the weekend to button everything back up.
Before I could do that, I decided to clean up and “rebuild” the warn hubs. I bought the Warn 7309 rebuild kit, and it didn’t really come with as much as I’d hoped. I was really only able to use the gaskets and Allen head bolts. The rest of the hardware was too big and o-rings weren’t included. Luckily the originals were in good shape, so I could easily reuse them. I got most of the years of caked grease off of them and out of them. Should be good to go now!
With that job out of the way, I’m on to rebuilding the steering center arm. Most tie rods separated easily, but the tie rod separator popped off the center arm and steering damper and smacked my thumb pretty good. I ended up needing to heat one side of the steering damper up to remove it, and cut off the other end with an angle grinder. I won’t be reusing it anyway.
The thumb has slowed me down a bit, but after rebuilding the center arm, I’ll get it reinstalled with the new tie rod, relay rod, drag link, and TRE’s.
As with any good project's project creep, I’m going to install the rebuilt steering box I had purchased a few years ago, too. Hopefully the steering will be nice and tight for a while.
I’m hoping to knock the install out this weekend, which is ambitious, but I’m ready to get it back on the road. But also, because the Terrain Tamer kit is on its way from Georg!
Next up:
Alternator - paused
Knuckle rebuild
Sniper Tuning - ongoing
Tie rod/ relay rod/ drag link replacement - in progress
Center Arm Rebuild - in progress
Replace steering box - in progress
Terrain Tamer - ORDERED!
Before I could do that, I decided to clean up and “rebuild” the warn hubs. I bought the Warn 7309 rebuild kit, and it didn’t really come with as much as I’d hoped. I was really only able to use the gaskets and Allen head bolts. The rest of the hardware was too big and o-rings weren’t included. Luckily the originals were in good shape, so I could easily reuse them. I got most of the years of caked grease off of them and out of them. Should be good to go now!
With that job out of the way, I’m on to rebuilding the steering center arm. Most tie rods separated easily, but the tie rod separator popped off the center arm and steering damper and smacked my thumb pretty good. I ended up needing to heat one side of the steering damper up to remove it, and cut off the other end with an angle grinder. I won’t be reusing it anyway.
The thumb has slowed me down a bit, but after rebuilding the center arm, I’ll get it reinstalled with the new tie rod, relay rod, drag link, and TRE’s.
As with any good project's project creep, I’m going to install the rebuilt steering box I had purchased a few years ago, too. Hopefully the steering will be nice and tight for a while.
I’m hoping to knock the install out this weekend, which is ambitious, but I’m ready to get it back on the road. But also, because the Terrain Tamer kit is on its way from Georg!
Next up:
Alternator - paused
Sniper Tuning - ongoing
Tie rod/ relay rod/ drag link replacement - in progress
Center Arm Rebuild - in progress
Replace steering box - in progress
Terrain Tamer - ORDERED!
nabbasi
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #100
Sneaking away in the evenings to get some work done.
Got the center arm rebuilt and back in. Got the new tie rods and tre’s in. Steering box is mounted. Drag link, reinstall pitman arm, torque everything, align it, and then back on the ground!
And then…
I can’t wait! Steering and suspension is going to make this thing feel better than it probably ever has.
Next up:
Alternator - paused (swapped the pulley)
Knuckle rebuild
Sniper Tuning - ongoing
Tie rod/ relay rod/ drag link replacement - in progress
Center Arm Rebuild
Replace steering box
Terrain Tamer - ARRIVED!
Got the center arm rebuilt and back in. Got the new tie rods and tre’s in. Steering box is mounted. Drag link, reinstall pitman arm, torque everything, align it, and then back on the ground!
And then…
I can’t wait! Steering and suspension is going to make this thing feel better than it probably ever has.
Next up:
Alternator - paused (swapped the pulley)
Sniper Tuning - ongoing
Tie rod/ relay rod/ drag link replacement - in progress
Terrain Tamer - ARRIVED!