Builds 1978 FJ40. Waking up the ol’ girl!

[EStein]

Is that gear oil leaking onto your parking brake? Looks like it to me. You should replace the output seal on your transfer case. It’s an easy replacement and will keep your parking brake shoes from getting covered with gear oil, causing your parking brake to fail.

I ordered a new speedo gear housing with the dual seal.... Is there another seal in the back of the actual transfer case that needs to be replaced?

 

[samatulich]

I ordered a new speedo gear housing with the dual seal.... Is there another seal in the back of the actual transfer case that needs to be replaced?

Yes. The rear output seal for the t-case. Similar but different to a pinion seal. You’ll have to remove the parking brake from the t-case. Then the staked nut from the output shaft. Pop out the old seal, and slip in the new one. Best to read the FSM, don’t just take my word. It’s simple, and you’ll be glad you’ve done it. Hardest part is draining and refilling the t-case.

 

[EStein]

Yes. The rear output seal for the t-case. Similar but different to a pinion seal. You’ll have to remove the parking brake from the t-case. Then the staked nut from the output shaft. Pop out the old seal, and slip in the new one. Best to read the FSM, don’t just take my word. It’s simple, and you’ll be glad you’ve done it. Hardest part is draining and refilling the t-case.

Ok thanks. Transfer case is drained and parking brake and speedo housing are removed. I will look into the seal. Won’t be home for a couple days.

 

[EStein]

EStein said:
I ordered a new speedo gear housing with the dual seal.... Is there another seal in the back of the actual transfer case that needs to be replaced?

Yes. The rear output seal for the t-case. Similar but different to a pinion seal. You’ll have to remove the parking brake from the t-case. Then the staked nut from the output shaft. Pop out the old seal, and slip in the new one. Best to read the FSM, don’t just take my word. It’s simple, and you’ll be glad you’ve done it. Hardest part is draining and refilling the t-case.

Not to hijack...but maybe we could talk this through a bit more.

Everything above seems like sage advice, except the TC output seal. The seal actually seats itself in the speedo housing. Mudrak's duel seal unit adds a second seal. According to my books (for a 7/74 FJ40)...there is no such thing as a TC output seal. There is only the bearing, a spacer, shim and cam on the TC output. Am I missing something?

Ok...I found this while searching for the transfer case output seal. Not to beat a dead horse here but I’m confused. Prob cause I’m not using correct terms or describing well.

I ordered a new Speedo housing complete with the dual seal from @65swb45. This goes between the TC and parking brake backing plate. Is there ANOTHER seal that goes in the TC before the Speedo housing goes on? I didn’t see one. Is the seal in the speedo housing called the TC output shaft seal?

Just want to clear this up before I start putting it all back together.

Thanks

 

[bhsdriller]

No i'm pretty sure you'll be good to go with what you're getting. That's the common leak point on the back that drips down into the parking brake assembly.
The double seal is the fix.
Also search around and people recommend using a sealer/rtv on the splines when you assemble.

 

[EStein]

Ok cool. Yeah I read that with the RTV. I’ll probably do it as well. Thanks!

 

[65swb45]

I ordered a new speedo gear housing with the dual seal.... Is there another seal in the back of the actual transfer case that needs to be replaced?

Just seeing this Eric. You’re good to go.

 

[EStein]

Ok thanks Mark!

 

[EStein]

Parts came to put the parking brake back together. Got the dual seal speedo housing from @65swb45. I might take a stab at servicing the driveshaft. Hoping to be on the road this weekend! Weather should be nice. I’ve probably got 150 miles on it since I got it running so I think I will also change all the fluids and filters again. Just for good measure!

Questions...

*I read on the forum somewhere the speedo cable comes pre-lubed. Anything else I need to do regarding that?

*I drained the transmission and transfer case and I got the transmission filled back up with 90 weight. I just use one of those small plastic manual pumps that screws on the top of the oil container. It takes forever and it hurts! Is there a better way? How do you do it?

I used to have a pump that would hook to my electric drill that I used to change oil on my boat. I think it went with it when I sold it. Maybe something like that would work.

 

[EStein]

Well I’m back on the road! Just in time for the weekend. New Speedo cable and dual seal housing and rebuilt the parking brake Assembly. Amazingly it all works!

 

[EStein]

.

 

[EStein]

Not sure how to “punch the nut”. I just took my punch and hammered it in here. It shouldn’t be able to back off. Comments?

 

[mrboatman]

Thats what I did hammer and punch at that spot.

 

[EStein]

Thats what I did hammer and punch at that spot.

Great! Thanks!

 

[EStein]

I guess I’m not surprised… So I noticed while crawling around underneath that my rear motor mounts were super loose. You can spin them around easily. Mark @65swb45 mentioned that I might want to replace the front left because if the rear been loose for a long time it could be broken. OK so I did that without too much issue. Original one seemed OK but good to have a new one on there. Then I figured I’d pull out the bolt for the rear and check its condition…
Does it look bad to you?

I guess while I’m at it, should I just go ahead and replace the donuts as well? Still seem to have some shape.


I noticed the replacement bolts online don’t have Castle nuts and cotter pins. Could I just go to the hardware store and buy some matching bolts with nyloc nuts?

 

[EStein]

Picked up a couple bolts, washers, and nyloc nuts. Hopefully that will suffice!
Replaced the right rear as well.

 

[airon23]

Dude I love your build so much. I've read through all the pages and the work you've done has been great and very helpful. It reminds me of everything I've been working currently on my own 1976 FJ40. Also I feel like I'm in the same boat as you where I haven't done much of anything on vehicles previously so that experience and suffering is coming at you in real time. I love what you've done to it and the story behind it with your daughter helping you. I found the whole thread from watching Jason on the 40 Channel where he used your 40 as inspiration that was really cool to featured on too.

Had a little time to work today. Was hoping to spend some major time this weekend but life got in the way...

I bought new calipers rotors and master cylinder. Figured I could just replace those in about two hours. How hard could it be… Take the tire off, take the caliper off pull the rotor off put the new one on… Right? Oh no! Bit different from our other cars. Didn’t know you had to pull the hub And the rotor is attached. As I said earlier, this is all new to me. Anyway, I guess it’s a good time to rebuild the knuckles! Could use some new grease and some cleaning!

At least the shocks look good. Phew! I’ll save some money there!

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These knuckles look all to familiar it's like we worked on the same vehicle.

Had a good day! Was struggling to get it to idle. Talked to Mark (65swb45) and he suspected I may have some electrical gremlins. Had me run a wire from the idle solenoid directly to the coil to bypass the bad electrical system. Holy crap! Instant success. Another good learning day! Here’s how she runs currently. Keep in mind the last time it was registered on the road was 2002. Pretty impressive.

This is a coincidence because and just to show that Mark knows what he's talking about, he was passing through Reno last year and stopped by my place. He was kind enough to give a once over on 40 and diagnosed the exact same thing. Ran like a top afterwards.

Didn’t want to post this cause it kind of sucks but figured maybe it would help someone down the road...

Cleaned and lubed the rear fan and heater assembly. Good news it runs great. Blowers are no longer blowing the fuse. I had read that Rustoleum Pewter Gray is a good match to the interior gray/silver parts. Well....it’s not. I don’t think my ocd will let me live with it. May have to order a can from cruiser corps or just paint it black which is my go to!

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I've done the same thing in mounting mine, didn't paint it but put it back together but just bolted in until I can run the new piping I have. By the way I think the 2 pipes coming out you'll want to sort of angle to point to the opening under the center console. Should be pretty easy to shift that.

Got my matching steering stabilizer installed today. Looks good and definitely feels tighter on the bumps, especially around corners.

Has anyone used the adapter kits to put the aftermarket stabilizers on their 40s? I had one from CCOT and then the Iron Man stabilizer actually came with the same thing. It’s a tapered pin that goes in the bracket. I couldn’t get either one to seat all the way. Even with my impact gun on it. I didn’t want to break anything. Does it need to seat all the way? I’ll post a photo.

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I did this exact thing which I bought the HFS lift and steering stabilizer from CCOT.
I mounted exactly like you did just made sure to really tighten it up.

Offender!

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Did this too. I added a ground through to a bolt on the fender. Mine still isn't working so maybe grounds still aren't good enough.

Eric,

Do you plan on showing your handiwork to the person you bought the truck from? For the first 10 or 15 years after I got Ruftoys I often thought about trying to track down the guy I bought it from to let him know what a life-changing event it was for me.

This is a great idea I never really thought of. The guy who sold me mine I think would like to see the progress I've made. He doesn't live too far and I think I might even have his phone number still.

.

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I'm going to keep this in mind because I don't think mine is quite as bad but it does seem to slip and isn't the quality of emergency brake I feel confident will keep the truck in place on a hill.

 

[EStein]

Dude I love your build so much. I've read through all the pages and the work you've done has been great and very helpful. It reminds me of everything I've been working currently on my own 1976 FJ40. Also I feel like I'm in the same boat as you where I haven't done much of anything on vehicles previously so that experience and suffering is coming at you in real time. I love what you've done to it and the story behind it with your daughter helping you. I found the whole thread from watching Jason on the 40 Channel where he used your 40 as inspiration that was really cool to featured on too.


These knuckles look all to familiar it's like we worked on the same vehicle.


This is a coincidence because and just to show that Mark knows what he's talking about, he was passing through Reno last year and stopped by my place. He was kind enough to give a once over on 40 and diagnosed the exact same thing. Ran like a top afterwards.


I've done the same thing in mounting mine, didn't paint it but put it back together but just bolted in until I can run the new piping I have. By the way I think the 2 pipes coming out you'll want to sort of angle to point to the opening under the center console. Should be pretty easy to shift that.


I did this exact thing which I bought the HFS lift and steering stabilizer from CCOT.
I mounted exactly like you did just made sure to really tighten it up.


Did this too. I added a ground through to a bolt on the fender. Mine still isn't working so maybe grounds still aren't good enough.


This is a great idea I never really thought of. The guy who sold me mine I think would like to see the progress I've made. He doesn't live too far and I think I might even have his phone number still.


I'm going to keep this in mind because I don't think mine is quite as bad but it does seem to slip and isn't the quality of emergency brake I feel confident will keep the truck in place on a hill.

Hey man that’s awesome! I saw you on there today! Figured you must be sick in bed or bored! . It’s amazing how so many of these build threads look exactly like mine! I think we all suffer from the same ailments and issues! great community though. I’ll have to go back and take a look at my rear heater. Sometimes I fix things after I post photos or I grab the wrong photo when I download it. Good thought though. I might start tackling the rust in the fall or next winter. All depends if the economy turns around and I can afford a welder and some lessons!

Jayson is a super cool dude. His videos are awesome. That guy has some talent but he seems pretty humble. It’s really cool that he is showcasing other peoples builds at the end of his videos now. It was fun to see mine on there. I keep waiting for the phone to ring with endorsements and free crap!

 

[EStein]

Somewhere in the past a previous owner eliminated the fusible link and put in a nice purple wire instead. Figured I should fix that.

New fusible link came in the mail today. Thanks @Coolerman!

 

[EStein]

I feel like I’ve been going 100 miles an hour on this 40 project for a couple months now. I’ve got a box full of weatherstripping and I just can’t get myself to start stripping the old off. Well OK, I did start it and it was a huge chore so I walked away for a while...

Switching gears and having a clean bench, I decided to dig into my old Warn 8274 that I picked up on craigslist a few months ago. It’s definitely going to take some work but I think most of it is salvageable. I don’t know much about electric motors but I’m thinking this one got a little hot. The seller told me it worked but didn’t have the controller or any way to prove it. Yeah right!

So anyone know much about electric motors that can tell me what this looks like? Definitely looks like something melted. Also the bearing where the motor goes into the housing looks like it is bubbled from heat…

I’m not totally bummed. Even with the rebuild kits and a new motor, it will be a good deal. Fun project as well. Also I checked the serial numbers and it’s from 1978. Same as my 40. Bonus!