Build 1978 FJ40. Waking up the ol’ girl!

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EStein said:
Oh man!! Every job I start opens up two or three more! I want it done right though so I will look into that. Thanks!
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It’s not just about doing it right. It’s about gaining the confidence to use the truck for its intended purpose and know that if something goes wrong on the trail, you will already have familiarity with all the tools and parts you will need to fix your truck.

All that said, it’s never a bad idea to have at least one extra locking hub for a trail spare. I keep mine in the middle of my spare tire carrier. ;)
 
65swb45 said:
It’s not just about doing it right. It’s about gaining the confidence to use the truck for its intended purpose and know that if something goes wrong on the trail, you will already have familiarity with all the tools and parts you will need to fix your truck.

All that said, it’s never a bad idea to have at least one extra locking hub for a trail spare. I keep mine in the middle of my spare tire carrier. ;)
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Thanks for that Mark. Definitely won’t have the confidence till it’s back together and actually works! Haha.
 
Tie rod end.... is it still called a tie rod end on the end of the drag link? So first time I’ve done this. I torqued it down to 65 but I have a cheap Harbor Freight torque wrench. I’m afraid I tightened it a little too much. The nut is above the hole for the cotter pin.

Any thoughts? No biggie getting another one I suppose. This project is all about lessons.

Thanks

Eric

Hope everyone is doing OK. Such a bummer. 😷

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You put the lower relay rod end in the drag link. Common mistake.
 
Crap! I held it up and it looked exactly like the other one. OK. Is this one trashed or can I reuse it? This is the second one I put in. I had one threaded in and then once I started the castle nut on I realized it was way too long. I’ll get this!
 
Assuming you’re not using a pickle fork to remove it, it should be just fine.
 
EStein said:
Couldn’t put it off any longer...time to dig into the rear bed. I hadn't really seen cause a thick rubber mat had been screwed down many years ago. Also I was curious what was in the box of parts back there. You’re probably wondering how I could’ve waited so long but I’ve been really busy. Also part of me didn’t want to know. Soo..I think the parts are mostly smog items that were removed. Recognize anything? Couple of broken door handles, a wire that I don’t know what it does, and a receipt from 1982. That’s kind of cool. Pretty much as I expected. Rust goes about a third of the way up the bed. Wheel wells probably could use replacing but not as bad as I thought they were going to be. I’ve seen worse...that’s what I keep telling myself.

Anybody want to come get this gun rack? Also removed the Ramsey winch off the front. That was fun. Had to cut the bolts off. PTO was already gone.

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Yup. I’m seeing emissions parts in there. Make sure you don’t trash them. Getting very hard to come by.
 
EStein said:
Destroyed it getting it out. I need to learn patience. Got pissed and beat the hell out of it. I’ll be ordering a new one. 😬
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I will put one in the box with your speedo cable...when it comes in.
 
Thought I would tackle the tie rod ends today. Got them separated from the rig but there’s no way these things are coming out of the rods! Completely rusted in. Tried a vice and pipe wrench… Heat… PB blaster… I’m about ready to just order new ones. Any ideas? Yes, the clamps are loose. Made some storyboards so I could get them back close again.

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Discovered the pipe jaws in my vice....it was my grandpas. That held the shaft tighter. Heat, pb blaster, pry bar in the shaft slot and added cussing to the mix. Got them out!! Woohoo. Crisis over! Now that everything is disassembled...I guess I should rebuild the center arm assembly...”while you’re in there!” 😐

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EStein said:
Too much heat? 😁. Nothing like the smell of burning rubber. Damn steering stabilizer wouldn’t come out. Got it eventually. Actually nothing comes apart on this rig!

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Mine caught fire too when I swapped in power steering. Garage smelled like burned rubber for a month.

For the tie rod ends I also used a vise but not heat. Applied Kroil on the TRE threads once a day for 3 days, clamped it into the vise and used a big plumber's pipe wrench with a cheater bar to break them loose. Took a lot of effort though, my rod ends were the originals from 1976.

Glad you got yours out, good luck! 👍
 
Don’t want to rain on this parade, but the chances are that every thread inside the tube beyond the old TREs is fubar. And if the new ends need to be screwed in a little more to get toe-in, you’re f’ed.
 
65swb45 said:
Don’t want to rain on this parade, but the chances are that every thread inside the tube beyond the old TREs is fubar. And if the new ends need to be screwed in a little more to get toe-in, you’re f’ed.
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Well that was more like a thunderstorm Mark. 😐. I’ll take a good look. They cleaned up pretty well. If I have to buy new ones I guess it’s better than a transmission....oh wait.....

Aren’t you on vacation?

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